THATS WHAT I WOULD SAY.
>>> GENERAL RUSSEL HONORE JOINS
ME ON THAT WHEN "ALL IN" STARTS
RIGHT NOW.
>>> GOOD EVENING, FROM NEW YORK,
IM CHRIS HAYES.
YOU KNOW, SO FAR, GOVERNING,
POLICY, THE THINGS THAT
GOVERNMENT DOES HASNT REALLY
BEEN THE FOCUS OF THE
OPPOSITION, OF CONSERVATIVES IN
TRUMP WORLD AND THE REPUBLICAN
PARTY SINCE PRESIDENT BIDEN WAS
ELECTED.
I MEAN, WE HAVE SEEN, OF COURSE,
THIS IMPLACABLE RAGE, RIGHT?
THIS RADICALIZING AGAINST
DEMOCRACY
DEMOCRACY.
THAT CONTINUED SPREADING THE BIG
LIE, THE ELECTION WAS STOLEN,
THE COVERING FOR THE JANUARY-6th
INSURRECTIONISTS, AND ALL THE
STUFF THAT GOES WITH THAT.
WHAT WE HAVE NOT SEEN IS THE
NONSTOP LEVEL OF ANTI-JOE BIDEN
INVECTIVE LIKE THERE WAS UNDER
PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA.
INSTEAD, WHAT WEVE SEEN IS THIS
KIND OF FASCINATING BIFURCATION
BETWEEN THE THINGS THE BIDEN
ADMINISTRATION AND CONGRESSIONAL
DEMOCRATS ARE DOING.
AND THE CULTURE WAR THE RIGHT IS
WAGING.
THIS, KIND OF, CHURNING YOU SEE.
LOOKING FOR THE RIGHT TARGET.
A REPORTER NAMED CHASE WOODRUFF
SHARED THIS INCREDIBLY TELLING
GOOGLE TRENDS CHART THAT CAUGHT
MY EYE.
THAT YELLOW BUMP EARLY ON, THAT
FIRST ONE ALL THE WAY THERE THE
LEFT OF YOUR SCREEN.
EARLY IN THE YEAR, THAT WAS WHEN
THE RIGHT PUSHED TRANSPHOBIA AND
THE THREAT OF TRANS KIDS PLAYING
SPORTS.
THAT WAS RUNNING 24/7.
THEN, NEXT, THEY TRIED CANCEL
CULTURE WHEN THEY WENT ON THE
OFFENSIVE BECAUSE, REMEMBER, THE
DR. SEUSS PUBLISHER STOPPED
PRINTING SOME DR. SEUSS BOOKS
BECAUSE SOME OF THEM CONTAINED
OFFENSIVE CARICATURES OF FOLKS
FROM DIFFERENT CULTURES.
THEN, THERE WAS A BRIEF MOMENT.
AND THIS IS INTERESTING.
THERES A BRIEF MOMENT, WHERE
GOVERNANCE AND CULTURE WAR DID
COME TOGETHER AROUND THE BORDER.
THATS WHEN THERE WAS A
SIGNIFICANT RISE IN
APPREHENSIONS OF UNACCOMPANIED
MINORITIES AT THE BORDER.
IT WAS A REAL THING.
THERE WAS DATA.
IT WAS AN ACTUAL THING THAT WAS
HAPPENING AND IN SOME WAYS, THAT
WAS KIND OF THE SWEET SPOT.
THEY ARE BRINGING GOD KNOWS WHAT
HERE, OH WE HAVE TO GET RID OF
THEM.
BUT THERE WAS AN ACTUAL HOOK TO
SOMETHING THE GOVERNMENT WAS OR
WAS NOT DOING.
THERE WAS POLICY YOU CAN
CRITICIZE.
AND THE BIDEN ADMINISTRATION
MOBILIZED TO MOVE THOSE KIDS
INTO PROPER FACILITIES.
AND THE ACTUAL APPREHENSIONS AT
THE BORDERS WENT BACK DOWN,
MASSIVELY.
SO, MOST RECENT CULTURE WAR,
RIGHT?
IN MANY WAYS, THE MOST
SUCCESSFUL, IS THIS BACKLASH
AGAINST SO-CALLED CRITICAL-RACE
THEORY.
A TERM, THE RIGHT HAS
APPROPRIATED TO MEAN THINGS
THAT, MORE OR LESS, MAKE THEM
UNCOMFORTABLE WHEN WE CONFRONT
THE LEGACY OF RACE IN AMERICA.
YOU CAN SEE, ON THIS CHART, THAT
SAME ONE, HOW ALL IN THEY ARE ON
THAT, TO COIN A TERM.
HOW EFFECTIVE THIS PARTICULAR
LINE OF ATTACK HAS BEEN.
ITS THE ONE THEYRE GOING WITH.
ITS, YOU KNOW, EVERYWHERE YOU
LOOK.
THE RIGHT-WING MEDIA,
PARTICULARLY FOX NEWS, HAS BEEN
RUNNING DIFFERENT ISSUES UP THE
FLAGPOLE TO SEE WHAT CATCHES
WIND.
AND THIS CAUGHT WIND.
SO MUCH SO, IT IS NOW THE
SUBJECT OF GRILLINGS IN
CONGRESS, WHERE REPUBLICANS,
LIKE FLORIDA CONGRESSMAN MATT
GAETZ ARE GOING AFTER THE
PENTAGON, OF ALL PLACES, FOR
BEING EXCESSIVELY,
QUOTE/UNQUOTE, WOKE.
NOW, "POLITICO" REPORTED THIS
WEEK THAT FORMER-TRUMP AIDES
HAVE BEGUN AGGRESSIVELY PUSHING
THIS BACKLASH AGAINST SO-CALLED
CRITICAL-RACE THEORY.
CONFIDENT THEY CAN RIDE THAT
ANGER BACK INTO POWER.
DONALD TRUMPS FORMER-TOP
ADVISER, THE INDICTED AND THEN
SUBSEQUENTLY PARDONED STEVE
BANNON SAID, QUOTE, I LOOK AT
THIS AND SAY, HEY, THIS IS HOW
WE ARE GOING TO WIN.
I SEE 50-HOUSE REPUBLICAN SEATS
IN 2022 KEEP.
KEEP THIS UP.
I THINK YOU ARE GOING TO SEE A
LOT MORE EMPHASIS FROM TRUMP ON
IT AND DeSANTIS AND OTHERS.
PEOPLE WHO ARE SERIOUS IN 2024
AND BEYOND ARE GOING TO FOCUS ON
IT.
OKAY.
SO, JUST TO SUMMARIZE, RIGHT,
THEY THINK THE KEY TO TAKING
BACK CONTROL OF CONGRESS, RIGHT,
IN THE YEAR WE ARE GETTING OVER
THE PANDEMIC AND WHERE THE
ECONOMY IS GETTING BACK.
AND THERES A MILLION ISSUES
THAT AMERICANS FACE, RIGHT?
THEY THINK THE KEY TO GETTING
BACK CONTROL OF CONGRESS IS THE
BACKLASH AGAINST CRITICAL-RACE
THEORY.
AND THERE IS JUST SOMETHING SO
PERFECT, ABOUT THAT CORE
CONTENTION, BECAUSE HERE IS THE
THING.
OKAY?
LOOK.
THE VAST MAJORITY OF THIS
BACKLASH IS BAD FAITH,
OBVIOUSLY.
ITS LIKE A MORAL PANIC.
BUT TO THE EXTENT THERE IS SOME
REAL, INTELLECTUAL DEBATE ABOUT
CRITICAL-RACE THEORY OR ABOUT
"THE NEW YORK TIMES" 1619
PROJECT, RIGHT?
WHICH LOOKS AT THE HISTORY OF
RACE AND SLAVERY IN AMERICA AND
ITS ENDURING EFFECT.
ITS OFTEN ASSOCIATED WITH
CRITICAL-RACE THEORY AND THE
RIGHT-WING IMAGINATION, RIGHT?
TO THE EXTENT THAT THERE IS AN
ACTUAL-SERIOUS DEBATE ON THIS
TOPIC.
IT -- IT BOILS DOWN TO THIS.
ITS A DEBATE OVER, I THINK,
THIS QUESTION.
HERES HOW I THINK OF IT.
IS RACE RACIAL HIERARCHY, RACIAL
OPPRESSION, THE CENTRAL-ORDERING
CONFLICT OF AMERICAN SOCIETY,
POLITICS, AND HISTORY?
OR NOT?
IS IT THE CENTRAL ONE?
IF YOU CAN PICK ONE.
NOW, I THINK THATS AN
INTERESTING, INTELLECTUAL
QUESTION.
FOR MY PART, FROM MY PERCH, FROM
MY READING, I TEND TO THINK THE
ANSWERS YES.
BUT ALSO, IM NOT DOGMATIC ON
THAT.
I MEAN, YOU KNOW, ITS A BIG,
COMPLICATED COUNTRY.
SOME OF THE SCHOLARLY CRITIQUES
OF CRITICAL-RACE THEORY AND THE
1619 PROJECT HAS TO DO WITH JUST
HOW CENTRAL RACE REALLY IS.
AND ARE WE OVER DETERMINING THE
VAST COMPLEXITY OF HISTORY BY
FOCUSING ON RACE AS THE CENTRAL
ORDERING CONFLICT?
OKAY.
SO THERE IS DIFFERENT WAYS YOU
CAN ARGUE IT.
BUT HERE IS THE THING.
IF YOU ARE A POLITICAL ADVISER
TO DONALD TRUMP OR REPUBLICANS.
AND YOU SURVEY THE AMERICAN
POPULOUS, AT THIS MOMENT, IN THE
21st CENTURY.
AND YOU LOOK OUT AT ALL THE
ISSUES.
ALL THE THINGS GOING ON.
AND YOU DECIDE THAT, INDEED,
WHITE BACKLASH AND MORAL PANIC
OVER CRITICAL-RACE THEORY.
IF YOU THINK THAT BACKLASH IS SO
POWERFUL THAT, IT PROVIDES SUCH
A NUCLEAR FURNACE OF RAGE THAT
IT WILL BE THE KEY TO TAKING
OVER CONGRESS IN THE MIDTERMS.
WELL THEN, YOU ARE CONCEDING THE
CENTRAL PREMISE OF CRITICAL-RACE
THEORY, ITSELF.
WHICH IS THAT, INDEED, RACIAL
RESENTMENT, THE PRESERVATION OF
RACIAL HIERARCHY, PARTICULARLY
FOR WHITE PEOPLE, IS, IN FACT,
THE CENTRAL-ORDERING CONFLICT IN
AMERICAN SOCIETY.
RIGHT?
BECAUSE IF YOU THINK THATS THE
KEY TO WINNING THE ELECTIONS,
NOT WHATEVER, JOBS, OR, I DONT
KNOW, INFLATION, RIGHT?
IF THE KEY TO WINNING ELECTIONS
IS MOBILIZING WHITE BACKLASH
ALONG THESE LINES.
THEN, YOURE REALLY SAYING, YES,
YES, AMERICAN POLITICS IS
INESCAPABLY ABOUT RACE.
IF BANNON AND THE LIKE ARE
RIGHT, THEY HAVE ASCERTAINED,
ACCURATELY, RIGHT, WHAT THE
CENTRAL-DIVIDING LINE IS IN
AMERICAN POLITICS.
THAT CENTRAL-DIVIDING LINE AND
THE HISTORY OF THAT CONFLICT IS
ONE ABOUT POWER.
WHO GETS TO HAVE IT?
RIGHT?
PARTICULARLY, HISTORY OF WHETHER
AMERICA WILL BE, TRULY, A
MULTIRACIAL DEMOCRACY.
IF WE WILL SHARE POWER WITH EACH
OTHER, RIGHT, TOGETHER, AS
EQUALS.
THAT HAS BEEN -- WELL, IF NOT
THE CENTRAL DRAMA, CERTAINLY,
ONE OF THE CENTRAL DRAMAS IN THE
HISTORY OF THIS COUNTRY.
AND, OF COURSE, THE PLACE THAT
HAS BEEN FOUGHT OVER, MOST
BRUTALLY, IS AT THE BALLOT BOX,
RIGHT?
I MEAN, STARTING WITH A
THREE-FIFTHS COMPROMISE IN THE
CONSTITUTION GIVING SOUTHERN,
SLAVE-HOLDING STATES THE ABILITY
TO COUNT SOME PORTION OF THEIR
SLAVES TOWARDS THEIR POPULATION
FOR THEIR OWN, REPRESENTATIONAL
PURPOSES, RIGHT, TO GO TO
CONGRESS.
EVEN THOUGH, OBVIOUSLY, THE
SLAVES COULDNT VOTE.
TO THE 15th AMENDMENT IN THE
WAKE OF THE UNIONS VICTORY IN
THE CIVIL WAR.
THAT DECLARED THE RIGHT OF
CITIZENS OF THE UNITED STATES TO
VOTE SHALL NOT BE DENIED OR
ABRIDGED BY THE UNITED STATES OR
BY ANY STATE ON ACCOUNT OF RACE,
COLOR, OR PREVIOUS CONDITION OF
SERVITUDE.
THAT 15th AMENDMENT, THE SUCCESS
OF SOUTHERN-WHITE TERRORISM AND
APARTHEID THAT, BASICALLY,
EXTINGUISHED BLACK SUFFRAGE FOR
ALL INTENTS AND PURPOSES FOR
ANOTHER-LITTLE-LESS-THAN-A-
CENTURY. UNTIL THE VOTING RIGHTS ACT OF
1965 AND ALL THAT BRINGS US TO
THE FIGHT WE ARE HAVING NOW IN
AMERICA.
THE MAYBE-MULTIRACIAL DEMOCRACY
WE WANT TO HAVE, FINALLY, IN THE
21st CENTURY?
IN WHICH, ONE SIDE, SAME SIDE,
WHIPPING UP THE CRITICAL-RACE
THEORY PANIC.
THE SAME SAID THAT OPENLY SAYS
THAT WHITE BACKLASH IS THE
ROCKET FUEL FOR THEIR OWN,
POLITICAL SUCCESS.
THAT SIDE IS, ALSO, WORKING, IN
STATE AFTER STATE, ALONG PARTY
LINES, TO MAKE IT HARDER TO
VOTE.
TO RESTRICT THE FRANCHISE IN
WAYS THEY THINK WILL HELP THEM.
AND THEY KNOW THAT, MAKING IT
HARDER FOR BLACK PEOPLE TO VOTE
WILL HELP THEM.
AND SO, TODAY, THIS MORNING,
ANOTHER PLOT POINT IN, AGAIN,
THAT CENTRAL STORY.
THE DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE WHICH
WAS, FIRST, CONSTITUTED IN 1877
AMIDST RECONSTRUCTION.
AND, WHOSE FIRST TASK WAS TO
BRING TO HEEL THE WHITE
TERRORISTS OF THE KNIGHTS OF THE
KU KLUX KLAN, RIGHT, WHO WERE
STOPPING BLACK PEOPLE FROM
VOTING.
THE SAME DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
THAT HAD BEEN TASKED WITH
PRE-CLEARING CHANGES TO VOTING
LAWS UNDER THE VOTING RIGHTS
ACT.
RIGHT?
THE SAME VOTING -- DEPARTMENT OF
JUSTICE THAT HAD THAT POWER THEN
TAKEN AWAY BY CHIEF JUSTICE JOHN
ROBERTS SUPREME COURT EIGHT
YEARS AGO, TODAY, WHEN HE SAID,
FAMOUSLY, THE SOUTH HAS CHANGED.
THAT DEPARTMENT OF JUSTICE
ANNOUNCED, TODAY, THAT THEY ARE
SUING THE STATE OF GEORGIA.
ITS ONE OF THE FIRST STATES OF
MANY TO PASS ONE OF THESE
RESTRICTIVE-VOTING LAWS.
MORE THAN 272,000 GEORGIANS DO
NOT HAVE ON FILE, THE KIND OF,
FOR INSTANCE, IDENTIFICATION TO
VOTE THE NEW LAW REQUIRES.
MORE THAN 55% OF THEM ARE BLACK,
WHILE BLACK VOTERS ONLY MAKE
ABOUT ABOUT A THIRD OF THE