Stacey Abrams Is the Perfect Person to Deliver the Dems’ Response to Trump’s State of the Union

Now that the government has been temporarily reopened, Nancy Pelosi has re-extended the invitation for Donald Trump to deliver the State of the Union Address from the House floor. Traditionally, the opposition party issues a response address afterwards, and this year, the Democrat to give that speech will be Stacey Abrams.

Abrams lost saw her race for governor stolen from her after massive reports of election fraud overseen by her opponent, Georgia’s then-Secretary of State Brian Kemp (the person charged with overseeing elections). At the time, she acknowledged that the election was over but refused to concede because “Concession means to acknowledge an action is right, true or proper.”

“I will not concede,” she said, “because the erosion of our democracy is not right.”

Trump’s State of the Union Address is likely to focus on questionable brags about economic gains under his leadership and immigration fearmongering. No doubt he will talk at length about his desired wall.

The Democrats then get to tell the country what they see as the state of the union, and by appointing Abrams to this role, party leadership is signaling that voter rights and the erosion of our democratic practices are major priorities. Indeed, that’s what Chuck Schumer said when he made the announcement.

“She is a great spokesperson, she’s an incredible leader,” he said. “She has led the charge for voting rights, which is at the root of just about everything else.”

During the 2018 primary elections, reports of election fraud came out of a number of states. In North Dakota, a new law requiring voters to show a form of identification that includes their home address directly targeted Native American voters. In Abrams’ state of Georgia, there were polling place closures, missing voting machines, and hundreds of thousands of cancelled voter registrations. After the election was over, Republicans in Michigan and Wisconsin worked to limit the power of incoming Democrats, undermining the decisions of voters who elected new leadership.

Abrams has launched a voting rights group and she’s also thought to be eyeing a Senate run in 2020. She’s exactly the kind of tenacious voice Democrats need to be representing the party.

The State of the Union and the Democratic response are scheduled for Tuesday, February 5th.

(image: Jessica McGowan/Getty Images)

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Vivian Kane

Vivian Kane (she/her) is the Senior News Editor at The Mary Sue, where she's been writing about politics and entertainment (and all the ways in which the two overlap) since the dark days of late 2016. Born in San Francisco and radicalized in Los Angeles, she now lives in Kansas City, Missouri, where she gets to put her MFA to use covering the local theatre scene. She is the co-owner of The Pitch, Kansas City’s alt news and culture magazine, alongside her husband, Brock Wilbur, with whom she also shares many cats.

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