Subject: FW: Please read: Talking Points for Rights Restoration
From: "Jefferson, Deshundra" <[email-masked]>
To: RR2 <[email-masked]>
Date: Wed, 11 May 2016 17:20:11 -0700

Ready for research.

From: Paustenbach, Mark
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 8:17 PM
To: Jefferson, Deshundra; Walker, Eric; Miranda, Luis; Walsh, Tom
Subject: RE: Please read: Talking Points for Rights Restoration

This is good. Go ahead with RR2.

Thanks,
Mark

Mark Paustenbach
National Press Secretary &
Deputy Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
W: 202.863.8148
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]>

From: Jefferson, Deshundra
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 7:33 PM
To: Walker, Eric; Miranda, Luis; Paustenbach, Mark; Walsh, Tom
Subject: RE: Please read: Talking Points for Rights Restoration

DPVA/McAuliffe wants us to steer clear of hitting Trump on this call. Virginia Republicans are trying to paint this as a purely partisan move, so we have to focus on how bad the law is.

Mark and Luis: Can I kick this to RR2?

From: Walker, Eric
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 7:25 PM
To: Jefferson, Deshundra; Miranda, Luis; Paustenbach, Mark; Walsh, Tom
Subject: RE: Please read: Talking Points for Rights Restoration

I think these TPs are great.

I would add 2 things. First thing I would add is to discuss the racist roots of this policy. These quotes are really sickening, and I think it will advance our cause if we can put Republicans on the side of defending this sentiment. From NYT Op-Ed<http://takingnote.blogs.nytimes.com/2016/04/26/a-crucial-right-restored-in-virginia/>:

The political leaders who amended Virginia's constitution in 1902 to make disenfranchisement laws even more onerous - and to write black people out of civic life - said openly that they were doing so to "eliminate the darkey as a political factor in this State in less than five years, so that in no single county of the Commonwealth will there be the least concern felt for the complete supremacy of the white race in affairs of government." A leading Virginia politician said plainly at the time that the new laws were intended to "discriminate to the very extremity of permissible action under the limitations of the Federal Constitution, with a view to the elimination of every negro voter who can be gotten rid of, legally, without materially impairing the numerical strength of the white electorate."
Second - I would add that Dems will remain vigilant, especially in this election. We have a dual threat: no VRA, and a racist Republican nominee who is willing to take the low road and do whatever it takes to destroy those who stand in the way of his personal ambition. If he casually slurs ethnic groups and calls on BLM protestors to be "roughed up" what do you think he will do when he sees communities of color as the obstacle to him gaining power?

From: Jefferson, Deshundra
Sent: Wednesday, May 11, 2016 6:53 PM
To: Miranda, Luis; Walker, Eric; Paustenbach, Mark; Walsh, Tom
Subject: Please read: Talking Points for Rights Restoration

Deshundra Jefferson, DNC Spokesperson

Thank you for joining us for this on-the-record call. Last month, Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an executive order restoring voting rights for more than 200,000 people with felony convictions. The Governor's actions overturned a lingering vestige of the Jim Crow laws that kept African Americans from voting, but Virginia Republicans are accusing him of "political opportunism."
It is deeply disturbing that as our nation moves forward, one of the country's major political parties is attempting to drag us backward.
We are pleased to welcome the Assistant Democratic Leader and civil rights activist Representative Jim Clyburn, Representative Bobby Scott, and Terry Garrett, to this call.
I would now like to turn the call over to the Assistant Leader who has long been on the forefront of the fight for civil and voting rights.

Talking Points for Assistant Democratic Leader Rep. Jim Clyburn

*         The right to vote is the cornerstone of democracy and the foundation upon which all other rights are built.

*         The Voting Rights Act has been the single most important tool to protect the right to vote over the last half century until Shelby County v. Holder opened the door for underhanded schemes that reduced electoral power in communities of color.

*         We see that clearly in states like North Carolina where one bad law reversed an entire generation of electoral progress.

*         In Arizona, the DNC, the DSCC, the Arizona Democratic Party, and impacted voters took the extraordinary step of suing the state of to correct the problems that led to five-hour lines during the presidential primary.

*         Republican-controlled state legislatures across the country are passing restrictive voting laws, under the guise of fighting voter fraud, but they have only made it harder for groups that tend to vote Democratic - people of color, women, and students - to cast their ballots.

*         Governor McAuliffe are doing the opposite, they are trying to make it easier to vote but Virginia Republicans are resistant to his attempts to make the Commonwealth a more fair, and inclusive society.

*         Virginia's felony disenfranchisement law was passed to keep African-Americans from gaining political power.

*         Make no mistake - the GOP seems to believe their path to victory lies in restricting access to the polls. So if you ask me, the real political opportunism lies with the Republican Party.

*         It's time to close the door on these types of laws but the Republican Party is dead sent on being on the wrong side of history.

*         I have stood on the front lines of the fight for civil rights, and I applaud Governor McAuliffe for doing the right thing.

*         Thank you for joining us today, and I am turning the call over my friend and colleague, Representative Bobby Scott.
Talking Points for Representative Bobby Scott

*         Thank you, Congressman. It was a pleasure to have you join this call.

*         The Virginia Republicans need to end their campaign of misinformation.

*         Virginia Republicans have been desperately trying to paint Governor McAuliffe's executive order as "political opportunism," in order to divert attention from their defense of an overtly racist law.

*         Yesterday, the Governor's Office released a demographic breakdown of the 200,000 people whose voting rights will now be restored.

*         What stood out for me was that 45 percent of disenfranchised voters are African-Americans even though blacks only account for 19.4 percent of the Commonwealth's entire population.

*         That clearly illustrates that the impact of this law was most keenly felt by African-Americans.

*         Governor McAuliffe's actions are consistent with just about every other state in the Union. There's nothing partisan, unusual or suspect about restoring voting rights for people who have paid their debt to society.

*         Denying them that right is partisan. Denying them that right is unusual given that Virginia is only one of four states that requires people with felony convictions to petition the Governor to have their voting rights restored. And denying that right is suspect given the origins of the felony disenfranchisement laws.

*         Virginia Republicans are using every scare tactic they can dream up to attack the Governor's motivations.

*         They claim that this gives license to rapists and murders to sit on juries, while ignoring the fact that 79 percent of the people whose rights were restored had non-violent felonies.

*         They also claim that this is a partisan ploy that will give Democrats the edge in November. If that's truly the case, then Republicans have been coasting into office all these years by limiting Democratic turnout.

*         I have a challenge for the Republican Party of Virginia. I want them to prove that they are not motivated by political opportunism by repealing the Commonwealth's restrictive photo ID law, by implementing early voting, and to fully fund the replacement of our aging voting equipment.

*         I challenge them to break down the unnecessary barriers that were erected to keep people of color away from the polls. If they are serious about protecting the integrity of our democracy then they should be willing to work with Democrats at the congressional level to restore the critical protections of the Voting Rights Act.

[SigDems]<http://www.democrats.org/>Deshundra Jefferson, Southern Regional Communications Director
Democratic National Committee
[email-masked]<mailto:[email-masked]> | (202) 863-8112