Has been a remarkable our here on MSNBC. I'm so grateful for my colleagues in for colleagues in particular like Nicole who can handle the emotional weight of what she just did their that was just what a service here is going to be a very big deal as well which Nicole alluded to at the end of for our there as you know, President Biden is going to be giving his first prime-time address to the nation on the issue of covid-19. One year anniversary of the Declaration of the worldwide pandemic.

We're going to have Chris Hayes at the Lincoln Memorial tomorrow coming out of that speech doing a special hour of his own looking back at what we've been through the past year, but also looking ahead toward us being back together again as we start to defeat this thing. Hopefully as a country. It's a it's a it's just a remarkable but it's a remarkable time for us is country for those of us whose job it is to cover this ongoing pandemics incredible challenge, but I am super proud of.

Colon and Crescent somebody the other was some of the rest of my colleagues who have done such a home in this work covering this and all the different ways that we can if it was all approached it in our own ways our colleagues you like Stephanie rolls with themselves. With Cove in I've been sick her and her family have been able to talk about that with you is our viewers to let you know what that's like heavy stuff but there's no roadmap for how to do it.

I mean you have to approach it everyday newly. So it's been a remarkable here tomorrow as I said, it's going to be a remarkable night. We will on this show about you with us tomorrow night, which I'm very much looking forward to in the country in the news business. It has as of today officially been 50 days of the Biden president, which means we are halfway through to that first hundred days Benchmark for the presidency of Joe Biden that first hundred days Benchmark that we've used for Generations now to Mark the initial.

Priorities of a new president they were halfway there 50 Days Inn, and what a way to spend that Day celebrating the passage of truly Landmark legislation a new survey today says it's supported by fully 70% of the American public some other new pulling actually puts the number even higher than that in terms of the public support for the covid-19 Ville minimum. We can say Bank based on a few research centers pulling that this bill has 70% support from the American public wild zero Republicans voted for it.

That usually doesn't end well for the elected officials who put themselves in that position will have more in the political aspect of that in a moment and later had this hour but sensitively from the politics. This is just a really really big deal.

About 85% of American households are about to get $1,400 stimulus checks to help dig individual American families and the American economy as a whole out of the nuclear size freighter nettekoven put in our economy.

Health insurance premiums one of the biggest monthly expenses for lots and lots of American families health insurance premiums are about to go down dramatically from millions of Americans because of this bill some people are going to see their health insurance premiums go from considerable amount from hundreds of dollars per month down to zero.

Schools protectively K through 12 schools are about to get the funding to make the changes they need to make so they can safely reopen that is finally greenlit at last alongside the new federal program that aims to have every single teacher every single School staff worker every school counselor. Every school cafeteria workers school bus driver every school maintenance worker a janitor every child care worker in America to have at least one vaccine shot by the end of this month if you work in any of those jobs in schooling or Child Care regardless of your age you have any comorbidities you are now eligible to get a vaccine shot no matter what state you live in.

And the pharmacy is getting federal government support can get you one and they should get you one by the end of this month, which means within the next 3 weeks.

While simultaneously as of now the schools are going to get a hundred and thirty billion dollars to fund the upgrades in that patients. They need to get the school doors open safely.

Bill, of course funds vaccine roll out since we now have one of the country has the largest vaccination effort effort in American history is underway. This is finally the funding for it and if you need further motivation along those lines,.

This is an unexpected place to look for motivation given the hell that these facilities have been through over the past year. But look at what is happening now with their sounds.

Nursing homes, of course were the first entities targeted intensively for vaccines nursing homes. Another congregate care facilities for the elderly such a shockingly dramatic reduction in new cases and in covid Risk overall in those facilities that today the CDC and the part of the federal government that oversees nursing homes. They issued new recommendations today advising nursing homes to start easing the restrictions on visitors for the first time since the pandemic started and that may not sound like a huge change in American life, but those visitor bands.

Made nursing home life so scary and so unbearable for our seniors throughout this terrifying last year in those places that that finally no easing up is a huge human step forward and there's there's a lot of detail to the new Guidance. The new guidance isn't directed at members of the public is directed at nursing homes in terms of how to shape new policies that can still keep their residents safe while also taking account of the progress that we've made and making those facilities safe and in the desperate need for people to have human contact with their loved ones a lot of new ones and again, I'm not going to go into them in detail.

But if you are looking for a take-home message as a member of the public based on these new guidelines if your mom or your grandpa for your great aunt or your elderly friend is in a nursing home.

Make sure that they have been able to get back to needed which means which means one or two depending on which vaccine they can get and then two weeks after the last shot that fully vaccinated make sure they are fully vaccinated and then make sure you're fully vaccinated and then.

If nursing homes, in fact change their rules to account for this new advice from the federal agency that oversees nursing homes, if your family member or loved one is fully vaccinated and you are too soon. You should be able to get in there and go see them.

If we can get this together now, you'll be able to go visit bring presents be prepared to give hugs the toll on our American seniors have been so horrific. I mean where the worst country in the world. We had more deaths than any other country in the world besides the worst epidemic of any country on Earth.

And the people who paid the most borders singers nearly 1% of All American grandparents have died from covid-19 past year.

Almost unimaginable.

We talked about there being more than a half a million deaths in this country more than a third of our deaths in this country were in congregate care facilities.

Just unimaginable unceasing tide of death.

And then we worked on it and we made that better with vaccines.

Because vaccines work deaths in new infections have plummeted in nursing homes and skilled nursing facilities and other care facilities like that so much so that we can start to change the rules. It's working. It's working even in the worst-hit parts of our country the worst-hit facilities the places who have been through the deepest of the bottomland. We really can be together again if we finish up strong.

Are vaccines today also on top of everything else was also the day that President Biden enough that we'll be getting another 100 million doses of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine. Remember the Johnson & Johnson is one shot and you're done. So we're going to be over and above what we were otherwise planning on buying at the country. And for the first time if you do that math, this raises the prospect that the United States of America may have a surplus a considerable surplus of covid-19 by this summer.

President Biden said today that once Americans are vaccinated first with our supply if we do then have a surplus we will share it with the rest of the world because he says we're not ultimately safe from the virus until the world is safe from the virus and that is not just hippy-dippy happy talk. That is true. That is meth that is virality. If this thing does run wild in pink parts of the world that aren't vaccinated new variants will develop in those parts of the world that ultimately made two feet are vaccines and are vaccine immunity and will mean that we never get out from under it really is just mathematically speaking in every country's interest that every country around the world gets vaccinated with a vaccine like this.

You cannot have unpause unvaccinated large population Pockets around the world no matter whether we like those countries or don't like those countries or have good relations with them or bad relations with them for everybody in the world including including us everybody in.

World thinks get vaccinated and now for the first time today, it looks like we are going to be in a position to help with that finally.

Here's what President Biden said about it today. He was wrapping up his comments to reporters about this new hundred million doses about his prime-time address to the country tomorrow. And then he took a question about this new idea that we never had me for today the idea of us having a vaccine Surplus.

Just watch this and why you keep in the back of your mind that only 50 days ago. The president was Donald Trump, but boy what a difference a president makes.

Tomorrow night. I'm going to Primetime address the American people and talk about what we've been through as a nation this past year, but more importantly I'm going to talk about what comes next I'm going to launch the next phase of the Cobra response and explain. What we will do is a government and what will ask of the American people there is light into this dark tunnel in the past year. We cannot let our guard down now or assume the victory is inevitable together. We're going to get through this pandemic and Usher in a healthier and more hopeful future.

So there is real reason for Hope folks is real reason for hope I promise you.

May God bless you all. May God protect our troops and may God ease the pain in the heart of so many of lost so many people in this pandemic. Thank you, and I really never going to do this going to get it done. Thank you.

Mr. President, what do you plan to do with the Surplus?.

The Surplus will if we have a surplus we're going to share it with the rest of the world. This is not something that can be stopped by a fence no matter how high you build a fence for a wall, so we're not going to be able to be safe until the world is safe. And so we're going to start off making sure Americans are taken care of first over then going to try to help the rest of the world. Thank you.

That was then going to try to help the rest of the world.

From the us having the worst epidemic on Earth the most deaths on Earth the most poorly managed response to the crisis of any major Nation on Earth.

2.

50 days later is now got a brand new National vaccination program that is vaccinating our people at a rate faster than any other major Nation on Earth. We just passed legislation in 50 days from stem to stern that is expected to add 7 million jobs back to the economy which covid-19 laps. How much is expected on the ball that soon we are going to be in a position to know soon. I mean like within a few months.

We're not only going to be in the position. Not only going to be in position to be able to vaccinate all of our own people. We will then be able to help other countries get to that point to to help ourselves and the whole world beat it once and for all from the last in the world to world leader.

Once again.

That would be nice.

Today American Airlines sent out this notice to all of its employees Nationwide telling them because the covid-19 today that was passed today by Congress a 13,000 employees of American who just got furlough notices last month morning, then they're going to be laid off in April those 13,000 people can whip up those furlough notices because thanks to this bill. They're going to be able to keep their jobs. I sent out. This letter will cost the company in the CEO posted this to Instagram right after the bill was passed.

I have fantastic news this year. So he had one of those warn act notice as we stopped February turn up to be Frozen American Airlines and hopefully never again.

Letter that American sent out to its employees also told them if you see your local congressional representative on a flight be sure to fake her or him for their work this past year and to recognizing the noble work you all do every day, which is smart. I'm honestly might be worth knowing whether your local representative actually voted for this out before you think them because in fact not a single Republican voted for release.

I still understand the spirit of the thing. It should also tell you that it's going to leave Mississippi Republican. Senator Rodger wicker today starting publicly crowing about all the good that be covered relief bill is going to do for people in, Mississippi.

As if he voted for the bill he's crawling about what's in the bill. He voted against the bill just like every single other Republican in the Senate and the house, but he is already publicly trying to take credit for it in, Mississippi.

Perseus.

I'm at American Airlines there definitely is a striking. How often do you see a company of a size able to tell its employees this thing past today? We expect it's going to be signed into law presently by the president. And so all of you who we were going to furlough will no longer be furloughed.

Just doesn't happen that definitive like that. But this is definitive and there is targeted help in this bill for Industries hit particularly hard by the pandemic including Transportation companies. Like Airlines also has just announced that they are going to be able to bring back a bunch of their employees who were furloughed because now they're going to be able to restart service at the country gets vaccinated and people are able to start traveling again sticking to restart for example, long-haul trains in the Auto Train and things like that.

So they're able to bring back their employees now because this bill is past restaurants as well. Voted. Yes for the bills restaurants are getting targeted help nonprofits also will not be able to get the kind of PPP paycheck protection loans that for-profit businesses got before there are a lot of targeted elements of help here for organizations entities and businesses.

But what is different about this covered really feels that more than anything done before radically more than anything done before this bill targets help to individual American families.

Because of this bill the poorest 20% the poorest 20% of Americans will see their income boosted by 20%.

What about that for a second? We're talking about the bottom fifth of the country in terms of income on average their income will rise 20% per household because of this bill.

What else has ever been done in our lifetime to help struggling American Working Families that much?.

Families with kids in particular will start to see real benefits really soon and addition to the stimulus payment those $1,400 checks that are about to start going out. He's got a child in your family between the ages of 6 and 17. You're going to get $3,000 because of this bill if your child is under the age of 6, it's more than that $3,600 and it will come in monthly installments which means you're going to see a difference every month in what your family is taking in if you're if you're a working-class and middle-class family with let's say two small kids say three year old in the five-year-old.

You will get several hundred dollars a month every month as a check from here on out.

In addition to the $1,400 stimulus payment that's going out right away that is going to help a lot of American families and it is going to help them a lot directly right away in a very uncomplicated way.

You want to deal with the root causes of poverty?.

Give people money.

And having more money will make you laugh poor and as a matter of policy, it's often treated as much more complicated than that, but for him from the perspective of an individual American family that does not have enough money to make ends meet many of them because of this covid-19 has.

This bill will give you more money than you had before and it will send it to you every month. You will get a chunk with the stimulus payment up front. And if you got kids you will get a check for four $700 from here on out to help you.

And that is the most direct way to alleviate child poverty and poverty will spend the same amount of money that Republican spent on the tax cuts during the Trump years. And what about do the vast majority of that spending against the same amount of spending that was targeted to the people who are already among the richest people in the country the top 5% the top 1% This bill that just passed today spend the same amount of money as Republicans did on the top earners needing tax cuts under Trump.

Except this time. We're spending the same amount of money, but we are targeting it to 85% of Americans wear only excluding the very well-off and we are especially helping the people who need the most help including American Kids growing up in poverty. This bill will cut child poverty in half in this country. It will cut property overall in this country by 1/3.

And they did it in 50 days.

And now the Biden demonstration will set out to promote the benefits of the bill White House spokeswoman. Jen sake sang today, but there will be a there will be plentiful trouble by the president and the vice president and their spouses in cabinet officials to promote. The new plan. NBC News is reporting that the president himself may spend enough time doing that that his first state of the union addresses first address to a joint session of Congress might be pushed back all the way to April.

John sake also interesting Lee said today that President Biden will likely pick a point person to be in charge of the implementation of this bill and you might remember that when he and President Obama started their Administration in 2009 and the democratic-controlled Congress passed there so much smaller stimulus Bill to deal with the financial crisis President Obama picked a person to oversee that stimulus Bill and he gave that point person job to Vice President Joe Biden now this time around there's no sign one way or the other as to whether it might be vice president who takes point on implementing the American Rescue plan to have a highly influential person with a lot of pull with direct connection to the presidents who can run point on a big initiative like this troubleshoot stuff forced through implementation of this big new set of policies and programs that are designed to help so we'll see who he chooses.

Turn the politics here. I'm I mentioned that one of the big changes people are going to see from this bill and I also received a lot of attention but it's going to make a really big difference to people's bottom line. Particularly Working Families, lower-middle-class middle middle class families of big trains. People are going to see is that health insurance premiums are going to go way down for millions of people for quite a few people health insurance premiums are going to go 2-0 for the first time.

Also, if you have ever lost a job through which you had health insurance coverage, you may know that there's this program called Cobra that lets you keep paying for the health insurance that you had your job. Even after you have lost that drop that job Cobra has been around for a long time and it does help keep people from going uninsured after they've lost their jobs. But if you've ever had to use Cobra, you know that it is wicked wicked expensive. Well, one of the things this bill is going to do is make Cobra weigh less expensive for people who find themselves in that situation.

So the bill overall does a ton to make it easier to get health insurance in this country makes it easier to keep health insurance in this country and it makes it easier much easier to afford it. All of which is going to be really popular all of which is going to have a big impact on a lot of families and it's going to be really helpful and given the coming crisis which is after all a healthcare crisis and a lot of Americans have health expenses related to people in their family suffering.

All of those Healthcare Provisions all that stuff about health insurance. It's all set to expire in two years.

Which means two years from now the house and the Senate will be taking up the question of whether to extend that whether to continue to make health insurance easier to get easier to keep and cheaper or whether those Provisions to expire which will Jack up everybody in 2022 right around the time of the 2022 midterm elections, which means right around the time of the 2022 midterm elections Republic millions of Americans off their Healthcare.

Jacopo insurance rates for millions of Americans or maybe do they want to have a change of heart. So they support these programs the next time around.

Everybody expects the president's party lose seats in the first midterm elections after new president is seated while that may yet happen history suggests that the Democrats are likely to lose seats and given the tight margins in the house and the Senate that's fraught Prospect. But in this film on everything else in this bill, there is a time bomb in this bill for Republicans on an issue that is consistently the most important issue for voters when they head to the polls, which is Healthcare that is a bomb that they will either set off or diffuse right before voters.

Go back to the polls the next time.

Stop.

Republicans interesting, they are largely ignoring the bigness of the day and conservative media and in the most or public-facing among the most public-facing Republican elected in Congress. They have spent the time where the Democrats have been considering the spill Republicans conservative media have instead see really been focusing on perceived slights to mr. Potato Head. And dr. Seuss. Also a new initiative unveiled today by leaving House Republicans to try to focus their talents on hearings involving something related to the Popstar, Britney Spears.

Throughout the consideration of the covid-19. Spell Republicans have been I've been laser focus on whatever the Common Thread is between. Mr. Potato Head Britney Spears. Dr. Seuss.

We want the top of Republican politics today with day 5 of a saga. I almost can't believe it's happening. Let alone happening alongside Democrats passing the most important legislation in a generation was there a president with Trump is demanding formally that the Republican Party stop using his name. He said that a cease-and-desist light letter he's publicly demanding repeatedly now that people who support him should not give any money or support to the Republican party. They should instead make all of their political donations to him that make it to his website and his pack don't support the Republican party just support me.

Democrats or Republicans in Congress are like Britney Spears, and dr. Seuss only.

Republicans at the top of their food chain or like give me all your money the New York Times noted, hopefully today quote that the sort of pack that Donald Trump has been soliciting donations for has no meaning for restrictions on how it could spend its money quote the former president could in theory pay himself and his family members salaries from the money raised at that Packer transactions. Come give him a string of money at a time when his private company is struggling under the scrutiny of Investigations with some discussions of whether properties need to be sold.

The Democratic party is passing the most meaningful paradigm-shifting legislation in a generation the immediate former president from the Republican party is telling his followers to not give the Republican party anymore support to said just give him their money at his website. And then if he wants to he literally could just pay that money directly to himself or his kids.

At a time when investigations including multiple criminal investigations are circling. We'll have more on that in just a moment.

Auto stores in Washington as Democrats alone past their massive covid-19 Phil Republicans really are trying to avoid talking about it all together and the most important thing you're in Republican politics appears to be sliding into considerably more trouble State Journal today reporting new details on subpoenas just issued by New York State prosecutors in conjunction with an estate north of New York City that may have been used for a multimillion-dollar Donald Trump text. Scam New York prosecutors are looking at former President Trump reportedly for potential bank fraud tax fraud dental insurance fraud.

We now know about multiple subpoenas circling yet. Another Trump property long suspected be the center of a trump tax cheating that was reported by The Wall Street Journal this morning, then a few hours later the Wall Street Journal also broke this news reporting on another aspect of the criminal case involving the president not.

In New York state but in the state of Georgia do recall that prosecutors in Georgia and Houston investigation into whether crimes were committed by President Trump or his associates when they repeatedly pressure Georgia State officials change the results of the Georgia presidential race to claim that there was some sort of previously undocumented fraud and in that the fraud is the only reason why it looked like Joe Biden had one really Joe Biden didn't win President Trump did that investigation was announced after a tape emerged of President Trump's rating the Georgia Secretary of State by phone telling him to announce that he had recalculated the results of the election and that actually Trump had one will not tonight.

The journal has published the audio of another call President Trump made in December to another Georgia state official trying to accomplish the same aim the tape the journals published tinnitus of a phone call made in late December by President Donald Trump to the chief investigator in the Georgia Secretary.

State's office. He tells her that she must find voter fraud. And what was that an ongoing audit of mail-in votes in Cobb County Georgia that existence of this phone call had previously been reported in January by The Washington Post. But tonight the Wall Street Journal obtain audio of the 6-minute call in which Trump puts the pressure on this woman tells her that she must declare are the chief found fraud play the beginning of a call. Now, you're you're going to hear it that Trump starts talk to starts the call by talking about Mark Market in this case.

Is it Chief of Staff of the time Mark Meadows? We had reported around the time that this happened that it was a surprise thing on December 22nd that Mark Meadows the President's chief of staff had surprised turned up in person at the location in Georgia where an audit of mail-in ballots was actually under way. He was not allowed into the office.

Where the audit was taking place, but he spoke with officials. There was never any White House explanation for what the white house chief of staff was doing there on site while the signature on it was underway, but you'll hear the president talk about Mark Meadows and his trip to Georgia just to look in on that audit at the start of the call.

Mr. President I am actually doing very well.

I met him I am I it was a pleasure to meet him yesterday.

Play a lot and the people know it and you know, because it's supposed to just checking one against the other you going to find things that are going to be unbelievable the dishonesty.

How old is the mother?.

Logan County our team and the gbi that we're only interested in in in the truth and in finding a new information is based on the backs and you know, wait wait wait been working on 12 16 hour days and through it and so I can assure you that and I do appreciate you and I know that you're a very very busy very important man and and I'm very honored that you called and you know, I'm quite quite quite frankly in is it that you would take time to do that?

But I am very appreciative.

At the most important job in the country right now because if we were in Georgia have to wait until people in Georgia are still angry at what happened to me today.

I won Georgia by alot something bad happens.

You have the most important job in the country right now if we win you're going to have two more wins, cuz otherwise right now they're not going to win cuz people in Georgia are so angry at what happened to me.

In a call weirdly President Trump also represent references Democrat at the previous Democratic party leader in in Georgia. Stacey Abrams why he brings Stacey Abrams up in this context. We don't know Trump clearly seems to be asking this investigator Frances Watson whose number he was provided by his Chief of Staff Mark Meadows to investigate fraud in Cobb County. And also in Fulton County Trump references Stacey Abrams here without saying why he's talking about her to sort of floating her name as a boogeyman to let this state investigator know what exactly he thinks is wrong with the Georgia voting what he wants her to find.

Because you can go back 2 years or 4 years you get a chance to totally different signature, but but hopefully, you know, I will wind wind.

Primo Hoagie trays to people will say great because that's what it's about that ability to check into it and to make it right cuz everyone knows it's wrong.

I was way ahead of them and they won because of me and we both us and they say there's no way that I beat you by 15 points is plenty of those calls.

Whatever you can do. It's important. You have no idea how important when the right answer comes out. You will be praised. You will be praised.

Georgia State prosecutor in Fulton County fani Willis launched a criminal investigation into President Trump last month. He is being investigated for having pressure Georgia election officials to pervert the results of the election to declare him the winner in addition to try to overturn the election by South Carolina, Senator, Lindsey Graham, and by the president's lawyer Rudy Giuliani possibility. We can add one more name to the list Mark Meadows.

Because she was named Jax and for lots of other reasons, we will be joined here live next by Stacey Abrams of Georgia.

Democratic presidential candidate Joe Biden won the state of Georgia and the 2020 election. He did not beat Donald Trump in Georgia by a lot, but he did definitely and decisively beat him there at one of the places in Georgia that help foot binding over the edge. Statewide was Hancock County Hancock County has one of the highest proportions of black voters of any County in the country Hancock County, Georgia by 44 point margin. Look at that.

How far is a little bit awkward that the Hancock County County attorney also happens to be a Republican state representative named Barry Fleming. Berry Fleming is also the primary Republican sponsor of the big voter suppression bill that the Georgia house passed last week. They protesters gathered outside the Hancock County Courthouse to protest the fact that their counties attorney is leading the effort to roll back voting rights across the state shortly after that rally the Board of Commissioners and Hancock County voted for two. Nothing to end. Very Fleming's tenure as their County attorney Houston from that position.

Republicans in Georgia are still working to advance 12 different bills. That would make it harder to vote in the state including the bill that the Hancock County attorney sponsored when it comes to pushing back against who has led that fight as the organizer for Macoupin tutorial candidate Democratic party leader Stacey Abrams Rose to National prominence by shining a spotlight on what Georgia Republicans were doing to try to help the playing field change election rules. In order to keep themselves in power. Now Abrams is sounding the alarm about what Georgia Republicans are doing.

Now, he's focused both on how Georgia can fight back to try to keep its voting rights intact, but she's also making clear that there needs to be National Action from Congress arguing. The Democrats should change the rules in the Senate. So that voting rights Bills should be able to be passed with a simple majority vote that a filibuster by minority party shouldn't be able to stop voting rights bills, even if they'd still can use the filibuster against other things.

I believe that we need to offer a narrowly tailored version of a filibuster that is grounded in the constitutional principle that there are certain responsibilities that only Congress can me and I think that's the underpinning for existing exception the judicial appointment at session the cabinet appointment exception the budget reconciliation exception are all grounded in this idea that these are constitutionally prescribed responsibilities that should not be supported by minority in position and we should add to it the right to protect democracy.

Joining us now is Stacey Abrams is founder of the voter. Advocacy groups fair fight, and she of course has been at the center of the voting battles in Georgia for sometime now miss Abrams. It's a real pleasure to see you tonight. Thank you so much for being here. Thank you for having me.

I think a lot of people are looking what's happening in Georgia. Now, especially given what happened in the lead-up to the gubernatorial race that you narrowly lost up to Brian Kemp after so many people were disenfranchised in that race. And I think people are concerned and want to do something and feel a little bit helpless about defending voting rights in Georgia and in Iowa and in Arizona and all the other states that Republicans are are acting right now to roll things back. Do you identify do with that sense of helplessness in frustration or do you feel like there is a path ahead to try to stop.

I understand why people may feel addressed because the Hope was that the 2020 election and the absolute debunking of the the LIE of voter fraud what is solve the problem, but unfortunately what we're seeing instead is the aftermath of January 6th wear an Insurrection that sought to overturn an election by removing voters and by removing those who would allow those voters to be heard when that failed the action moved into state capitals, but what I want people to remember is that we did show up in 2020 we showed up and we demonstrated that we would not have our voice is silenced by Republican party that across the country had a singular intention on suppressing the right to vote.

We fought back by defending absentee ballot by proliferating ballot drop boxes of people could safely participate by expanding been accessed through early voting and what we have to remember is that we've done it before that time. And again with voter suppression has taken hold.

Bar Nation we have found ways to fight back. Most recently through the Voting Rights Act of 1965. And so yes, I understand the sense that we are alone. But that's one of the intentions of voter suppression. It's designed to make it feel like an individual's responsibility to fix an entire system, but we can fix the system because we've already put the pieces in place by electing a congress. They can pass hr1, sr1 and HR for the for the people act and the Voting Rights John Lewis voting rights advancement act together will not only defend our democracy or protect it for another generation.

What do you imagine would be an effective national campaign to get HR One in HR for as you mentioned for the people act the John Lewis voting rights advancement act. What would an effective national campaign look like that would result in President Biden signing those loss.

Play first begins with the defying the Assumption Republicans have that they can satisfy their issues at the state level. We've started a website stop Jim Crow 2., We need people to go to that website because well Georgia is unfortunately a remarkable example of the Resurgence of voter suppression. It is not the only state that are 253 bills in 43 States. It's a we've got to fight back at the state level to show that we are in this and we know it can work because in New Hampshire a bill that was designed to disenfranchise Democratic and Republican young people by saying that they have to pay in-state tuition in order to vote in elections in New Hampshire where Maggie Hassan one by Disturbed thousand votes and her last election and where she's up in 22, they were able to get that bill tabled until next year.

So we know that if we show at the state level that we are fighting back. Step 1 Step 2 is calling your congressperson both your house Representatives, but also your US senator.

And expressing your belief that regardless of institutional nature of the filibuster that protecting our democracy has to take precedence and that conversation has to be had right now.

Sticky, what do you think about the prospect of some of this fight happening in the courts? We had Mark Elias here last night. And while he is an incredibly effective litigator. He showed some passion talking about the subject last night with that something that I have never seen from him in many interviews with him over many years talking about essentially a fear level for what a tsunami of anti voting rights activism in legislation. There is right now in States in republican-controlled States all over the country. He obviously is taking point on litigation against the first of these voter suppression bills to be signed into law in Iowa has already filed a suit.

There are the courts likely to be an ally in in in waging some of these battles.

Some of the courts will be and we will make it to the court of appeals level on a number of these but we are unfortunately facing a US Supreme Court that is shown as strong disinterest in protecting the right to vote for minority members in our country. Unfortunately, we saw that play out last week when that hearing was held when the Republican said boldly that this was necessary that they're evisceration of the right to vote in Arizona was necessary in order for Republicans to win and that seemed to be a persuasive argument to the body that is charged with protecting our rights.

And so I think the marker light supposed to put up a good fight as well. So many others the lawyers committee the NAACP legal defense fund so many groups have a non-partisan interest in defending the right to vote, but we can hope that the courts will save us we know that this has been a 20-year effort by the Republican party to succeed through removal instead of succeeding through Redemption through.

Changing the way they engage the people rather than becoming a party that actually speak to the needs of the people. They have been intentional thoughtful and strategic about how they can strip us of the right to vote and defend that stripping of the right to vote through the court system. I think Mark and others will do an amazing job in the courts, but we've got to use every lever at our disposal and that's the court. That's Congress and that's the White House.

Cvs in the fight in Georgia specifically there been a few little letters of embarrassment maybe letters of perhaps conscience the lieutenant governor Republican lieutenant governor on point refusing to preside over the bill to dramatically curtail absentee voting. We've even heard from Brian Kemp some residents perhaps about whether or not he's going to support this Mass roll back in Georgia. Do you think it's possible that there are Republicans even specifically in Georgia who may find it hard to swallow what their party is doing here that there may be a little bit of a of an upsurge of conscience here that might slow these things down at least.

I'm a person Too Faced of miracles do happen. But I will say this we know that these are people who have known they were wrong before but the existential crisis facing their party. Hence the lead to Amnesia and Silent that we watch the playout for 4 years on the national level and we should expect no different at the state level when Republicans look at the changing demography of Georgia. They see the future of our nation and they see that in a competitive elections. There only guaranteed route to Victory is suppressing the right to vote stripping voters of automatic registration removing days from early voting in eliminating weekend voting or making it so curtailed that it's impossible to rely on shortening the amount of time in the places where drop boxes can be out doing all of the things necessary to eviscerate access to the right to vote.

Barry Fleming is the architect of it because he's done it before this is a man who is County attorney for Hancock County the county you just referenced.

As County attorney. He suborned having deputy sheriff's fall of black men home during the time of a municipal election to terrify black men into getting off of the rolls. So they didn't risk their freedom. This is not a party that in the state of Georgia has demonstrated that they will put conscience over their party power. I believe they can and I have worked with these men and it's mostly men. I know they are capable of more but I believe that we have to do our best to win.

Anyway, I can't rely on that as The Back-up Plan.

Stacey Abrams the founder of fair fight and fair count who among other things lives rent-free inside the addled mind of the former president. We know know from him complaining about you again in coherently on tapes. That's not exactly an honour, but it's weird and it is a real honor as always rest to have you with us tonight. Thank you so much. Thank you.

All right. We'll be right back.

Does a busy time right now in politics and in the country three new cabinet officials were confirmed today by the United States Senate new secretary of Hud new attorney general new EPA administrator tomorrow night President. Biden will deliver the first prime-time address of his presidency. We of course will take that live here and MSNBC at 8 p.m. Eastern as soon as that speech is over. I'll join my friend Chris Hayes for special ed of covers that he's doing live from the Lincoln Memorial looking back on this incredible year that we have had and looking forward to what is coming next this hour 9 p.m. Eastern tomorrow.

I will be joined by. Dr. Anthony. Like I said, I will see you then.