In the face of ongoing dirty pool from the GOP, Democratic Party leaders say they’re ready to get ruthless.
“It’s not about whether we play hardball anymore. It’s about how we play hardball,” Gov. Gavin Newsom said on a press call Wednesday.
Newsom, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Texas state Rep. Nicole Collier rallied in support of the passage of California’s Election Rigging Response Act. The retaliatory legislation establishes a process for implementing new, temporary, congressional maps in the nation’s most populous state if any other state engages in mid-decade redistricting.
Newsom, who unveiled the bill earlier this week, said that Democrats needed to “meet fire with fire” and be prepared to respond in kind to Republican gerrymandering efforts, warning that “this is about is about the rule of Don versus the rule of law.”
“In the spirit of Lincoln, the facts are new, and we’ve got to think anew and act anew. We’ve got to disenthrall ourselves,” Newsom said. “This is a different person. This is a different presidency. It requires a different approach than we’ve seen in the past.”
Newsom called President Donald Trump‘s push to tip the scales in Texas ahead of the 2026 midterms “the ultimate wakeup call” and a sure sign that there would be no return to normalcy from Democrats’ opponents across the aisle.
“Those who may have been holding out hope that some of this was anomalous and this recklessness was temporary, I think now deeply understand what’s at stake,” he said. “This is a new Democratic Party, this is a new day. There’s a new energy out there.”
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Democratic National Committee Chair Ken Martin was also on the call. The party leader was asked by Salon whether or not Democrats would be pushing redistricting in other states where they control the government, even in light of the fact that some of these states, like New York and California, have anti-gerrymandering amendments.
Before Martin could answer, he was interrupted by Collier, informing the call that she had to leave because she was being told that it was a felony for her to be on the call.
Collier had been participating in the call in the midst of a protest. Texas Democrats were prevented from leaving the state capitol building unless they signed permission slips promising to return. Collier refused and has been confined to the capital since.
“Sorry, I have to leave. They said it’s a felony for me to do this. Apparently, I can’t be on the floor or in the bathroom,” Collier said.
Watch the call below via YouTube:
