LAS CRUCES, N.M . — Today, U.S. Senator Tom Udall addressed the N.M. NAACP's 66th Annual State Conference. The following are his remarks as prepared for delivery:
Thank you mayor Ken Miyagishima for that kind introduction. You have been a positive leader who has helped shape Las Cruces into one of New Mexico's best-managed cities with a great quality of life. Thanks for your steady hand.
Thank you Dona Ana County NAACP for organizing this year’s conference. And for your contributions to social justice throughout the community.
I want to be sure to recognize your executive director – Curtis Rosemond – who wears many hats. He does double duty as President for this NAACP chapter and President and CEO of the Las Cruces Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In his “spare time,” he’s a partner in VIP Southwest Services and Tours. Curtis, you are a tremendous asset to the Las Cruces community.
The NAACP local branches are important across New Mexico. Thank you Daniel Johnson for your statewide leadership.
I am truly honored to be part of this conference. Growing up in the 1950’s and 1960’s, I was inspired by the work of the NAACP. Our country owes an enormous debt to the brilliant legal strategy behind Brown v. Board of Education. Not only did that 1954 case open doors for African American elementary school children, it helped open doors for all of America’s minorities, for women, for people with disabilities, for the LGBT community, for millions of Americans — and for the world.
My father Stewart and my uncle Mo Udall played a small part in the desegregation effort, which I’m proud of. In 1947, they were both at the University of Arizona. My father was class president at the law school, and my Uncle Mo was student body president.
At that time, African American students could not eat in the cafeteria on campus. They could order their food there. But then they had to go outside to eat. One day, my father and uncle brought a freshman friend – Morgan Maxwell, Jr. – with them to the cafeteria. They insisted he be allowed to have his meal in the cafeteria. And he did. From that day on, African Americans ate in the cafeteria. According to Morgan Maxwell, the hamburger and milkshake he ate that day were the best he’d ever had.
Decades of work by the NAACP and so many others on behalf of equality in America is being tested in our country now. For the first time in modern memory, we have a president who is building a political base grounded on division, not unity. Exploiting differences among us, rather than celebrating our commonality.
From calling Mexican immigrants criminals and “rapists,” to directing a Muslim ban, to insisting on building a wall, to blaming “both sides” for Charlottesville, to excoriating NFL players for calling attention to police brutality and racism in America, to leaving Puerto Rico stranded without adequate drinking water, power, and supplies.
We have seen hatred, bigotry, and even violence unleashed. The Council on American-Islamic Relations reported an alarming 91 percent increase in anti-Muslim hate crimes during the first half of 2017 – compared to the first half of 2016.
The Southern Poverty Law Center reported a surge of hate crimes after the 2016 presidential election. It counted almost 900 incidents in the 10 days after the election, over 1,000 in the first month after the election, and over 1,800 from November 9 through March 31.
Yes, our nation is being tested.
But we are steadfast and immoveable. Steadfast in our knowledge that our nation’s diversity has made us strong. And immovable in our belief that all persons are created equal.
Last week, President Obama gave his first major speech since leaving office. He recognized that the politics of division is “not who we are” as a nation. He recognized “the goodness of America.”
I agree. The vast majority of Americans soundly reject the politics of division.
It is up to all of us to act, to stay engaged, and to teach acceptance. It is up to all of us to speak out against hatred and to speak for unity. And it is up to all of us to VOTE.
A disconnect is growing – between what the American people want, and what their elected leaders are giving them. There is something fundamentally wrong when a Republican-controlled House of Representatives passes -- on purely partisan lines -- a health care bill that only 16 percent of the American people support.
There is something fundamentally wrong when the U.S. House and Senate pass budget resolutions that cut life-saving programs that millions of working class families depend on – while gearing up to give massive tax cuts to the super wealthy and corporations. The top 1 percent.
This is not how democracy is supposed to work.
A basic problem is that congressional districts do not reflect the collective values of the voters. Congressional districts are gerrymandered racially and by party. And this skews elections.
Think about this. In 2016, Republican candidates in the U.S. House of Representatives received about 49 percent of the total votes – but won 55 percent of the seats. Democratic candidates received 48 percent of the votes – but won less than 45 percent of the races. These margins make a big difference in the balance in the House.
I’m not saying this to make a point about partisan politics. It illustrates that our federal – and state – legislatures do not reflect the views of the voters – Democrat or Republican.
The NAACP is working hard on this issue. In North Carolina, Virginia, and Texas, federal courts, including the U.S. Supreme Court, have voided racially gerrymandered districts. And the Supreme Court has taken up a Wisconsin case testing whether partisan gerrymandering is lawful.
We also see voter suppression efforts cropping up in states -- like we have not seen in recent times. The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down critically needed Voting Rights Act protections will surely embolden others. Voter suppression skews elections.
The president has his hand in this, too. He appointed his Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity. He said the purpose was to ferret out the “millions” of fraudulent votes that lost him the popular vote. But there is no evidence whatsoever of widespread fraud. And lawmakers, election officials, citizen watchdogs, and security experts worry that the commission’s real purpose is to create obstacles to voting for American citizens -- particularly minority, younger, and low-income voters.
Last week, I joined 17 other Senate Democrats to demand answers to why the president’s election commission continues to seek sensitive voter information.
Sensitive information that many states – red and blue – and including New Mexico -- have refused to hand over. We questioned why his commission is using a particular data collection program. A federal appellate court condemned this program for targeting “African Americans with almost surgical precision” in the North Carolina redistricting effort I mentioned before. The federal appellate court – and later the U.S. Supreme Court -- found that North Carolina engaged in unlawful racial gerrymandering.
In July, I cosponsored the Anti-Voter Suppression Act, which would repeal the president’s so-called “election integrity” commission. More than 90 members in the Senate and House support this bill -- including every Democratic senator of color.
The right to vote is sacred. The president’s “election integrity” commission is really a voter suppression commission. And must be called out for what it is.
But the biggest scourge in our election system is our out-of-control campaign finance system.
Unlimited and undisclosed campaign contributions from the ultra-wealthy and large corporations skew elections. The Supreme Court’s Citizens United decision opened a Pandora’s box of ways big money can undermine our democracy. I have been fighting Citizens United from the beginning.
Last month, I introduced the bicameral We the People Democracy Reform Act of 2017. That comprehensive legislation addresses democratic and electoral reforms to restore integrity, accountability, and transparency to our broken political system. We the People ends extreme partisan gerrymandering. It increases voter participation and reforms campaign finance laws. And it strengthens lobbying and revolving door laws.
I have copies of a summary of its provisions with me for anyone who would like one.
As citizens, there is a lot we can do. We can register to vote. We can vote. We can register others to vote. And we can encourage them to vote.
Right here in Dona Ana County, the County Clerk’s Office has partnered with community volunteers to form an Election Advisory Council to build a voting culture. Their first effort is to engage youth. And their goal is to get 100 percent of graduating seniors to register to vote – and to cast their votes.
The American people are losing faith in our electoral process and democratic institutions. They’ve seen too much evidence that our government doesn’t answer to ordinary citizens.
It shouldn’t be possible for Congress to pass health care bills that the American people overwhelmingly reject because they would cause millions of people to lose access to health insurance.
It shouldn’t be possible for Congress to pass federal budgets and tax cuts for the 1 percent – while balancing the books on the backs of working and middle class families, the disadvantaged, children, and seniors.
President Obama said in his recent speech, “The most important office is the office of citizen.” He’s right. Together, we can get our democracy back on track.
Thank you again for inviting me. Keep up your good work! We WILL remain steadfast and immoveable. And we will vote!
