Former Attorney General Eric Holder Says Citizens Need To Take To The Streets, Get Arrested Over Voter ID Battle

Former Attorney General Eric Holder called for people to take to the streets and protest voting laws while speaking on MSNBC’s “Rachel Maddow Show” Thursday night.

“Power cedes nothing without a demand. We too often underestimate the power that we have as regular American citizens by marching, by protesting, by raising our voices,” Holder said. “If we make our voices known, if we demand the kind of change, the fair change that we’re seeking, I think it will help in the process.

“It’s not going to probably move Republicans,” he continued. “On the other hand, Democrats are going to have to think to themselves, ‘do I want to be seen as the person who James Eastland…those people before, who stood against the passage of Civil Rights bill–do I want to have that as my legacy?’ In raising the consciousness of people, by demonstrating, by getting arrested, by doing the things that ended segregation.”

“If you asked people in the 1950’s, ‘do you think marching, demonstrating is going to bring down a system of American apartheid?’ You probably would have said, ‘that’s just not gonna happen.’ And we should not lose faith right now. Citizens can make a change. Citizens need to be in the streets. Citizens need to be demonstrating, citizens need to be calling representatives to demand the time of change that will make this country more representative, make our democracy more fair.”

The Republican-controlled Texas Senate voted Thursday to advance the election bill which Democrats have criticized as restrictions to voting rights. The bill would eliminate policies implemented during the pandemic such as drive-thru voting and overnight voting. The legislation will also require voters to show identification.

Meanwhile in Georgia, the Department of Justice (DOJ) is suing the state over a recently passed election law that requires voter ID for absentee ballot requests and expands early voting. The DOJ argues the law is meant to suppress the votes of black Americans. (RELATED: Georgia’S New Voting Law – Myths And Facts)

Holder also accused Republicans of cheating, claiming Republicans gerrymander districts to rig elections in their favor.

“Republicans have to cheat in order to win. So yeah, they’ll try to do what they can in Texas and Georgia, Florida, North Carolina. We’ll bring lawsuits if we have to do that,” Holder said. “If you fight for that which is fair, if we are successful in that fight, Democrats will do as I said, just fine. We don’t have to cheat. Republicans have to cheat in order to win and that’s why they are in favor of partisan and racial gerrymandering.”

Congressional Republicans have warned fellow party members to be careful when it comes to redistricting, according to Politico. Strategists warn Republicans may overplay their hand when it comes to gerrymandering and it could lead to negative consequences for Republicans.

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