06/04/18 06/04/18 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy:y: from cififica, thisis is dedemocracy now! >> the whole world saw whwhat happened to my daughter and i call for international protection. where is this international protection? where are the human rights? what was my daughter's weapon? amy: witnesses say israeli soldiers shot dead 21-year-old palestinian medic, razan al najjar as she ran toward the border fence to provide medical aid to a wounded protester.

since non-violent protests began at the end of march, israeli soldiers have killed at least 119 people, including 14 children. more than 13,000 have been undewo we'll go to gaza city to speak with dr. medhat abbas, director of al shifa hospital, the largest medical facility in the gaza strip. and we will go to turkey to speak with dalia al-najjar. then as a record 42 women run for senate and victories for female candidates in democratic races have become a trend, some 2018 will be a major year for democratic women. we'll look at one of one of the when formerg races democratic leader stacey abrams made history when she became the first african-american woman to win a major party's nomination for governor in the united states. >> we are running the next

chapter of george's future, where no one is unseen, no one unheard, and no one is uninspired. we are writing a history of a georgia where we prosper together. amy: if abrams wins in november, she will become the first african-american governor in the deep south since reconstruction. we'll speak with her about her primary victory, her campaign plans, and her book that offers advise to others inspired to take action called "minorityy leader: how to lead from the outside and make real change." all that and more, coming up. welcome to democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goodman. in gaza, thousands of palestinians gathered saturday for the funeral of 21-year-old medic razan al-najjar, who an israeli sniper shot dead on friday as she was helping evacuate wounded palestinians at a protest near the separation fence between israel and gazaza.

the israeli sniper shot her in the chest even though she was clearly wearing a medical vest and a medical id at the time of raeli liry has killed at least 119 palestinians and wounded more than 13,000 more as part of the brutal crackdown against the palestinians' ongoing nonviolent great march of return protests demanding an end to the israeli occupation. this is razan's mother, sabreen al-najjar. >> i call for international protection. where is this international protection? where are the human rights? how is my daughter a threat? what was her weapon. this is her weapon. this ethical equipment. this is my daughter's weapon. this is what she was resisting what mosost of what basis to the soldier kill her? she has beenen targeted since te first day of protest. so many times. she would come throuough and tel me what t she went through. they have to cap - --

amy: afterer headlines, we'll speaeak with razan's s cousin, dahlia, and d we'll go to gaza,o speak with dr. medhat abbas, the directctor of al shifa hospital. the largest in the gaza strip. president trump's lawyer rudy giuliani claimed sunday that trump has the power toto pardon himself. >> it is not going to happen. it is a hypothetical point. there's nothing that limits the presidential power of pardon from a federal crime, not a state crime. president trump is not going to do that. he obviously is not going to give up any of his pardon powers or any of the future president's pardon powers, but in this case he is not going to do that. amy: giuliani made the claims only one day after "the new times" plished a 20-page letter written by trump's lawyers to special counsel robert mueller, in which his lawyers claim trump could not -- trump could not have obstructed the mueller investigation because he is above the law. january 29 letter they claim -- "it remains our position that the president's actions here, by virtue of his position as the chief law enforcement officer, could neither constitutionally nor legally constitute

obstruction because that would amount to him obstructing himself, and that he could, if he wished, terminate the inquiry, or even exercise his power to pardon if he so desired." in north korea, three top military officials have reportedly been removed from their posts amid preparations for the proposed june 12 summit between president trump and north korean leader kim jong-un. in a reversal, president trump announced friday he would hold the summit after canceling the prproposed meeting only one week earlrlier. in guatemala, at least 25 people have died after the fuego volcano erupout 25 miles southwest of the capital guatemala city. hundreds more were injured when lava poured down the mountainside and engulfed nearby villages. guatemalan president jimmy morales has declared three days of national mourning. in jordan, thousands of protesteters took to the strtres of the capital amman for a fourth-straight night sunday amid a growing anti-austerity

movement sparked by an income tax increase backed by the international monetary fund. the protests are the biggest in jordan. al jazeera reports jordan's king abdullah ii is expected to ask for prime minister hani al-mulki resignation today. the biggest protest in jor years. this is yasmin myar, one of the protesters. to be honest, the citizens cannot handle the economic burdens. who was bearing a previously? we are not the people who should pay the taxes of the imf and the debt the couountry's s putting n the shoulders of the people. people are protesting and opposing these decisions. amy: tunisia's defense ministry at least 46 refugees died when their boat sank off tunisia's coast sunday. the refugees were from tunisia and other african nations and were headed toward sicily. the uniteded nations says at let 660 refugees have died crossing the mediterranean so far this year. inin nicaragua, at leastst six people were kikilled over thee weekend amid escalatating antiti-government protests that haveve engulfed nicararagua sine

mid-apl. more than 110 people in the protests so far, the majority killed by security forces or paramilitary groups loyal to nicararaguan president daniel ortega. on sunday, pope francis prayed for peace in nicaragua. >> i join my brother bishops of nicaragua in expressing sorrow for the serious violence carried out by armed groups to suppress social protest which have caused dead and wounded. i pray for the victims and the families. the church is for dialogue but this requires an active commitment to respect freedom, and above all, life. i pray that all violence can seize and the conditions for the resumption of dialogue could be found as soon as possible. amy: in puerto rico, residents lined up hundreds of pairs of shoes outside of the capitol building in san juan friday as a memorial to those who have died after hurricane mamaria. the action came e after a stunng study harvard researchers revevealed the s storm's death l is at least 4645 people -- 70

times higher than officialal count. ththis is neida morales perez speaking at the vigil. >> i'm here because my sister died. my sister is parart of the statistics. shshe got in an acaccident andny couldd nototperate on her in time.. she was inin the e emergency r n the trauma unit and in the intensive care unit for 51 days until she died on december 21, 17 amy: in texas, oregon democratic senator jeff merkley was barred from entering a detention center for immigrant children in brownsville on sunday after traveling to the center -- housed inside an old walmart -- to see firsthand the trump administration's practice of seseparating immigrant children from their parents. federal authorities reportedly separated at least 600 immigrant children from their parents last month, sparking widespread outrage and international condemnation. meanwhile, in more immigration news, houston authorities say there was a 16% drop in reports of domestic violence from the

latino community last year. community advocates are concerned women are not reporting domestic violence out of fear of deportation. in denver, cololorado, an off-dy fbi agent shot and wounded a man at a bar after the agent did a back flip in the middle of the dance floor, causing his gun to fall out of his holster and fire accidentally. in new york city, hundreds of sex workers and allies rallied outside the stonewall national monument that are they and marched to washington square park to demand protectns for sex workers on international whores day. >> let me make this abundantly clear. sex work is work. [cheers] it is labor. solution more acceptable than many others. toprovides immediate income

its workers across a multitude of generation, races, ages, and ability. when other doors are shut, sex work is open. keep the door of internet sex open a safer sex work opened, consensual sex work open. let us work. let us live. amy: and those are some of the headlines. this is democracy now!, democrcracynow.org, the war andd peace repoport. i'm amy gogoodman. we begin today in gaza, where thousands attended a funeral saturday for 21-year-old palestinian volunteer medic razan an najjar. witnessenajjy was shot dead friday by israeli soldiers as she ran toward the border fence to provide medical aid a wounded protester. this is a description of the attack from james heenan, head of the office of the united nations high commissioner for human rights in the occupied palestinian territory --

"reports indicate that razan was assisting injured demonstrators and wearing her first responder clothing, clearly distinguishing her as a healthcare worker even from a distance. reposuggesthat she was shot about 100 meters from the fence. under international human rights law, which applies in this con along with international humanitarian law, lethal force may only be used as a last resort and when there is an imminent threat of death or serious injury. it is very difficult to see how razan posed such a threat to heavily-armed, well-protected israeli forces in defensive positions on the other side of the fence," heenan said. najjar was taken to a hospital where she died from her injuries. her mother held her daughter's blood-stained medical vest as she spoke with reporters and demanded justice. >> the whole world saw what happened to my daughter and i call for international protection. where is this international

protection? where are the human rights? how is my daughter a threat? what was her weapon? this is her weapon,l pment. this is what she was resisting with. on w what basis did the soldier kill her? she is been targeted since the first day of protest. so many timemes she is survived that. she would d come through and tel me what she went through. they got to count every person who is silent about this. amy: in total, the israeli military has killed at least 119 palestinians,, when did more thn 13,000 more as part of the brutal crackdown on the ongoing nonvio great march of return protest amending an end to the israeli occupation. the israeli military says its troops worked "in accordance with standard operating procedures," but said saturday it would investitigate her deat. a volunteer ambulance worker told the associated press he and najjjjar were planning to annoue their engagement at the end of ramadan. meanwhile on friday, the united ststes vetoed d a united nations security council resolution that

would have condemned israel's "excessive, disproportionate and indiscriminate force" against palestinians. u.s. ambassador to the u.n. nikki haley said the resolution was one-sided. on sunday, israeli air forces fired at hamas sites in gaza, after they said militants fired rockets at israel. also on sunday, israeli prime minister benjamin netanyahu tweeted he had reduce the tax funds shared with palestinians in order to compensate israelis living near the gaza strip who say their property was damaged by fires caused by kites rigged incenary devices or attached to burning rags well, in a minute we will go to gaza. but first, i want to turn to razan al-najjar in her own words. this is an excerpt from her interview with "the new york times" when she said gaza needed femalmedics like herself. >> bei a a medic is not only a b b for a man, it is for wome too. somemes s thinjured e women.

who llll tre thehem? yes, a man can, but we have big lele her destabilizegoal, anevevacua peoeopl-- to savelivo send a message to the worl witht t weaps, w we n do ythingng this is the 10therere th were daily.ked they reall it is human to turn work. we d'' do it for money, we do it for. we don't nt to gepapaid obe empleded. peoplesk my dad what i'm ing here without getting a sary. heells them, i am prou of daughter. she pridides ce to the chchilen of oucountrtr

amy: for more, we go now to gaza city, where we are joined by dr. shifa hospital, the largestr ofl medical facilizaty in strip. so jalning us in istanbul, turkey, is dalia al-najjar, razan's cousin. she is co-founder of xyla water, an organization dedicated to making clean water accessible around the world. she works with everyone from massachusetts institute of technolology to lahore universi. we w welcome you both to d demoy now! dalia, we will go to you first. razan was your cousin. can you talk about what we just heard, razan describing what she felt was her obligation to be a paramedic and who she was? thank you.

was a very strong-minded girl since she was very young. she always had dreams. she loved to life. she was a source of positivity all of the time. being a nurse was one of her dreams. she worked hard to be one. she could not get a degree in nursing because of the financial situations her family were living under. she went and got training in nursing for two years and she worked as a volunteer for two years without being paid. she felt it was her duty to be a --st responder because it is everyone has a role in what is going on. she felt she can do what she is best that by being a first responder. she was one of the first female first responders.

she inspired many people. i hear stories from her colleagues saying other first mentioning her and talking about her. i would understand they would tell him, come on, razan broke her wrist and yet she completed her shift. she is a source of ipiration for everyone. amy: i want to go back to razan al-najjar talking about her life as a medic i in gaza. she was speaking to trt woror weekeks before she w was shot ad killeded by israeli forcesn friday. >>ithout pde, i want to contin helpingthers until e last day. ,, p paramic razan al-najjar 20 years old,orkingngs a fiel pamedic. the first wawas hard for m me f. i suffocateded from tear gasas e times. a cocolleague was s shot in thek and mymy friend and d nurse wast in the h hand.

amy:y: that agagain was razan al-najjar speaking. she was killed on friday by an israeli military sniper. dalia, her mother said she wished she could have seen her in her w white wedding dressss,t a shroud. she was about to getting gauged after roman on -- engaged after

ramadan? >> yes. one of her colleagues, a medic as well, was interested in her and they were to call their engagement after ramadan. motheru spoke to razan's sunday night. can you tell us about your conversation and what she said to you, your aunt? >> she told me that we really need to work hard to get this story heard razan and to get razan's heard. everyone needs to know the truth and we need to work collectively to call for justice and to hold the responsible parties accountable for this work. hold the torch and keep fighting? >> yes.

down while talking to and into his calming me dow she said, now you are razan. you used to play together all of the time as young people. i see you as razan now i know what you do continue her fight and continue sharing her message to the world. and a coat i understand that she on previousured days as she worked as a medic in gaza. one of our previous guests she proves the fainted twice due to gas inhalation while on april 13 she broke her wrist after falling while running to attend to a wounded protester." dr. medhaturn now to

abbas. talk about what happened to her on friday and was she taken to shifa? was not taken to our hospital. she was taken to another hospital based in rock the city. she was shot by an explosive bullet that penetrated her heart came out from her back. really think she did was she pointed to something on her back and then she fell on the ground and died at once. wass mentioned that she killed in a white coat. it was clear to everybody that that wasparamedic that murder, that was a crime committed before cameras. because the israelis usually run with it, so we keep repeating that. another worker was killed the same way, shot dead while trying

to rescue some of the victims among the protesters. -- they've been targeting some of the -- we have tents in the buffer zones used to treat victims of the israeli aggression against our people while at the same time they usually target those tents by tear gas. unfortunately, we gave the israelis to ps to the icrc, but they're still considered -- still attacking. targeted complete hospitals. they demolished entire hospitals. they attacked another three hospitals with partial destruction. it is that the first time were they attacked medics and paramedics in these facilities. amy: can we talk about what has taken place over the weeks since march 30?

march 30 to may 15, this six week nonviolent protest called the great march of return? cup until now, are your figures 119 palestinians dead and 13,000 wounded? >> yes, of 13,700 almost. 123 today killed. in fact, before the march of return, we have been living under a blockade for 10 years, more than a decade. prevailing. unemployment is prevailing. we've been suffering a shortage of medicine and restriction of movement of people across borders because our borders are sealed most of the time. so it was a very table situation before march of return. when the march of return started, the people started -- we have never ever thought the people would be targeted that way.

just we thought they might use some tear g gas and that t is te only thing they may be would use. but we were shohoed by the e lae numbers of casualties arriving to our hospitals. the first day they killed almost 30 persons. 1700 andded 1500 or the numbers starteountd to m every week. in the health sector, on the other side, working without salaries most of the time come in just taking some stipends, which are not enough to meet any of their financial needs. of we have shortage maintenance and spare parts. everything is quite difficult in a hospital. the total capacity we have is 2200 beds. imagine we have admitted 7000 victims of this aggression in the last two months.

received 3000 we injured and lost 63 were killed that day that the people were thrown in the ground and the blood -- i mean, it was a miserable situation. in my hospital where i had 14 operation rooms, all were operating around the clock and victims were thrown on the ground with no rooms to treat them. there was no way -- our triage tent was full of them. usually because many times a kind they use which is explosive. it t takes out the bone and blod vessels and d leaves nothing. they use it to target the lower limbs in particular. they are targeted, the patients would arrive with hemorrhagic shock and it is difficult to save our lives. say thenot been able to limbs. now we lost 33 limbs amputated

during this aggression and still they're not denying their intention to continue targeting .he civilians at the border it is quite clear it is a violation of geneva convention, which would protect all of the medical personnel in the fields and also should protect the civilians everywhere during conflict times. in effect, we are shocked and condemn what is being happening today. we feel so sad by the united states backing them and the united nations with the only thing that was required was just protect -- we are requiring anything. the goal was to break the siege. we need to be free. they're putting us in this country where we cannot travel, no salary, no hope, no electricity. we have nothing. we want to be free like any other country in the world. were many of those people children. many were women. two killed since the great march

of return. to breakjust wanting the siege and return to the homeland which was -- , can youmedhat abbas comment on whether you think medical personnel like razan are being targeted? according to the palestinian ministry of health and the palestinian red resin society, 240 five health workers and 40 ambulances have been targeted by israeli security forces since the great march of return began on march 30. before you answer, i want to ni, one of 19bo medical personnel at the time shot in gaza. the medic who went to help him

was shot dead an hour later. i asked him if he felt he was targeted. >> i don't know the answer to that. i don't know what orders they received or what wasn their heads. i can't tell you if we were deliberately targeted. what i can tell you is the things i do know. in the six weeks of the march, there were no paramedic casualties. in one day, 19 paramedics, 18 wounded plus one killed, and myself, were all injured. were all shot with live ammunition. was in a rescue the time but everybody else was like me. without smoke, without any chaos at all and we were targeted or rather hit by live ammunition, most of us in the lower limbs. so it is very hard to believe

that the israelis who shot me in the israelis who shot my other colleagues just from our medical crew, four of us were killed including mousa who passed away. it is hard to believe they did not know who we were, did not know what we were doing, and that they were aiming at anything out. dr.loubani who is a canadian emergency y om doctor, shot in gaza by an israeli sniper. again, the paramedic who helped him was then shot dead. dr. medhat abbas, do you feel medical personnel are being targeted? >> sure. sure will stop that cannot be denied. in intention. they want to scare everybody so nobody asks for freedom and to return home.

this is a problem. scaring people that wait is a miserable act and should be condemned by everybody in the international community. we receive support message from any ngos all of the world communicating with us and they offer solidarity with us, but again, still the united states are still insisting to back israel for what they do, killing civilians. we hope the propaganda that we listen to in the media is not right about the people were they areting -- unarmed civilians. the only thing they want is their freedom. they are trapped in the biggest prison, open-air prison in the world. enough is enough. the people need their freedom. , thousandsdhat abbas came out for the funeral of razan on saturday. can you describe what to lace? well, the people just wanted

to express their anger come at the condemnation of this act. mass grave in gaza strip. everybody cried for her and for the others123 persons who were killed. they were doing nothing. they were just demonstrating peacefully. there was done a single israeli soldier on the other set of the border wounded or harmed. why do they use this excessive force against civilians? everybody was condemning that. a large numbers saying everybody is supporting the right of return, everybody is against the blockade which is imposed on us for more than a decade tododay. that was t the meaning of thisis dedemonstration. was shot on the same day the united states vetoed the un security council resololution onon protection of palestinians. your comments, dr. abbas?

well, i felt bad. i was shocked, really. the only thing that we need rejection for our children, for our women, for a dignity, for a life. we need our freedom. we expect of the u.s., just not to die and to be free, but i don't know what happened. we cannot understand this. we feel so bad for that. amy: dalia al-najjar speaking to us from his symbol, turkey, cofoundeder of xyla water where you are dedicated t making clclean water accessible around the world. can you comment on the accessibility of clean water in gaza? 97% of the water in gaza are unfit for human consumption. it is horrible. exploring solutions and

alternates all the time to try to help, but it is impossible to do anything in gaza without lifting the blockade. freeing the people and granting the freedom of movement and the people to be able to bring resources to build and diver normally. i have not seen my family in two years. it is a really tgh time right now that i cannot be there with them. this is what we need to do. we need, first of all, to lift the blockade and then we will find solutions to everything else. without lifting the blockade, it solutions ford all of the problems and crisis that gaza is suffering from. amy: and your thoughts on razan being killed the day the u.s. vetoed the un security council

resolution on protection of palestinians? it is rllppointing. the whole world is watching one country of occupationlyinul everyone else and no one is doing anything. it is such a shameful -- it is a shameful site that the united states decided to take. and it is really disappointing. we wish they would rethink this and would work toward justice. because peace will never emerge keep acting the way people act in the the political leadership and the world acts. justiceto speak for amy: and finally, dr. abbas, have israeli doctors, israeli hospitals reached out to your hospital shifa?

yours is the largest medical facility in gaza during this time. the director of international committee of the red cross has said the violence since the great march of return has heard of a health crisis of unprecedented magnitude in this part of the world. yes, it is huge, but the problem, as i mentioned, the capacity that ave inur hospital is very limited. we cannot handle those mounting numbers every friday. it is a disaster. i mentioned on the 14th of may, we were not able to handle most of the cases were thrown on the ground because all of the operations rooms were operating and there were not enough to meet the need of those bleeding victims outside. for that reason, we are still appealing to the icrc, supporting a strongly, but in

fact we have too many needs that are not yet met because of lack of donors and funds arriving together during this crisis. it was mention we were disappointed. we're still -- we still need our freedom and medication and the border's to be open. amy: have any israeli hospitals or doctors reached out to you to help? >> well, no. no, not at allll. palestinians from the west bank some surgeons. to none of them have arrived us, no. amy: i want to thank you both for being with us, dr. medhat abbas, director of the al shifa hospital, the largest medical facility there. and dalia al-najjar is razan's cousin. she is co-founder of xyla water, an organization dedicated to making clean water accessible around the world.

we will end the last photograph photo moments before she was killed. this is democracy now! when we come back, we go south in the united states to atlanta, georgia, this week with the democratic candidate for governoror of georgia. if she wins in november, she will become e the first african-american woman governor in u.s. history. we will be speaking with stacey. stay with us. ♪ [music break]

amy: this is democracy now!, democracynow.org, the war and peace report. i'm amy goododman. now to, well, the rececord 42 women running for the 19 seats in theen

currently, there are 23 women senators. beyond the senate, victories for female candidates in democratic raceces have become a trend sise the primary season began march six, prompting some to predict the 2018 election will be aa major yearar for democratitic w. before this year, the last major boboom in female nomineeees wasn 1992 after the 1991 senate confirmation hearings for supreme court nominee clarence thomas. so many women were elected to the senate in 1992 that analysts called it the "year of the woman." today we're going to look at one of the most exciting races for governor. it is in georgia where the formerer state house democrats leader stacey abrams made history weeks ago by becoming the first african-american woman to win a major party's nomination for governor in u.s. history. she defeated stacey evans, a former state representative who ran as a centrist. if abrams wins in november, she'll become the first african-american governor in the

deep south since reconstruction. abrams is the former house minority leader for the georgia general assembly. she received the endorsement of numerous progressive organizations, including our revolution, the political organization that grew out of bernie sanders's run for the white house. stacey abrams addressed her supporters after her victory on may 23. >> we're in the state where the red clay gives life to generations of dreamers. martin marched on ballot boxes and challenged the nation's conscience. a georgia they gave us the godfather of soul, the queen of the met, and sent a peanut farmer to the oval office. georgia.ur amy: that was stacey abrams on her primary victory night. this november, she faces a tough race against her republican opponent who has not been decided yet.

it will be decided in a july 24 run-off election between lt. governor casey cagle or secretary of state brian kemp. to talk more about this and much more, stacey abrams joins us from atlanta. in aition running for governor, she has won national recognition for her work to register 200,000 people to vote, including voters of color in georgia. she is the 2012 recipient of the john f. kennedy new frontier award, spoke at the 2016 dnc, and has been hailed by "the new york times" as one of its "14 d she has written a new book called "minority leader: how to lead from the outside and make real change." stacey abrams, welcome back to democracy now! we interviewed you in 2014 thatd the 200,000 people you helped to register to vovot. we're asking you right now you're feeling that night in may , making history in

georgia, when you won the democratic nomination for georgia? havingk you so much for me back. it was an extraordinary night. not just for me and what it symbolized for w women and women of color, what it symbolizes for georgia and for america. we're changing the face of leadership in this country. that means reflecting the very different experiences and lives that folks have, recognizing that change is a good thing for georgia and a good thing for america. amy: talk about the issues you ran on. clearm running on very progressive dies, democratic values. we talk about immigrant -- from cradle to career. alk abt a diverse and inclusive economy that works for every georgian, no matter where you live. there's a woman i met in macon named pam step she had two daughters, one of whom was about

to give birth. she was sending her daughters off to college, getting ready to raise her grandchild because she knew that college degree was one of the best guaranteesor her daughter. but when i asked her what she wanted for herself, she didn't really know. the pigglycashier at wiggly for 20 years and no one had ever asked her what she wanted. it turns out she wants to start a daycare center so she can not only take care of her grandchild, but help other young women who were forced to make terrible choices about whether they can pursue their dream. she wanted to be a little take care of those get him into, but did not think anyone would invest in her. i want to the governor who invest in pam. the third issue, having proven leadership that make certain the state works for everyone. and that means expanding medicaid, doing in georgia what virginia was able to do last week. it is also about criminal justice reform, considering the good work that hasas been done here. but also thinking about how we deals with transit and transportation, the environment, making sure government works for

everyone. those are the issues we talked ababout and resounded a across e ststate of georgia from r ruralo urban and across every racial demographic. amy: wealked to you in 2014. you are our guest along with benjamin jealous at the time the head of the naacp. he now is running for the democratic nomination of governor in maryland. thewere talking about 000 people that you have helped to register to vote. can you talk about this? clearly in novovember, turnout is goingo be key. in fact, during the primaries, more republicans turned out the democrats. did this concern you? and how many people overall in georgia simply don't vote? about what theed primary result showed. -- 65% moreote

democrats turnout for this primary then turned out four years ago. republicans actually lost ground. that fewer folks voting than they in 2014. that is incredibly, i think, inc. uing sign for us. the large does the work we did is a georgia project which is now concerning several from me, that we have to increase the franchise for everyone. no one should lose their right to vote for some also come everyone should embrace the fact they have that right. that is what the new georgia project has done and will continue to do. sharee enough voters who those ideas of education, of economic security of really strong and effective leadership. we have enough voters in georgia to win this election. it goes to the last you made. it is not just about whether your register -- although that is critical and we will continue to make sure that voters suppression does not win the day -- but it is also about having values that voters want to voice

. what our campaign has been grounded in is engaging people so they know if they vote in this election, change e will co. their voices matter. i builcampai that is been very different from a lot of the campaigns that preceded me. rather than spending a lot of money try to convert republicans and democrats, i am spending the bulk of our resources encouraging voters who share our values. the democratic leaning voters and independent thinkers. so they know if they vote, they actually will get a different result will stop what has happened is the unheard and unseen have given up. i believe with the right candidate and the right message and the right investment, we can turn theinto active voters. amy: this dumb are you face this november, -- this number you face this november against one of the republicans who is running in the republican primary, the runoff is july 24, and i want to play excerpts from their campaign ads. this is secretary of state brian

kemp. >> i am so conservrvive, i blowup governmnment spending. i own guns. no one has taken away. mymy chainsaw w is ready t to rp some regegulation. truckust in case i neneed to roround up criminal ilillegals a and take themem hoe myself. , adjusted up. if you want a politically incorrect conservative, that's me. amy: that is secretary of state brian kemp, who fafaces a run-nf nonow with lt.t. governor r casy cagle. this is an ad by cagagle. we havave the deportation buzz. you hurt me, thehe microwaves deportation buzz for some few and defined at where w we're coming echo go to deportationbust.com. it will feel this post with illegals to send them back to

where they came from. amy: that is lieutenant governor cagle. he is running against kemp in the runoff. kemp is the man that u dealing with a secretary of state in the midst of the governor's race in georgigia between nathanan deal and jason carter. that year secretary of state brian kemp accused your group, the new georgia project, a voter reregistration fraud but investigation found just something like 51 potential forgeries out of 80,000 apapplications the group submitd and the group was the one that brought attention to these when goingoughhrhose signatures. in september 2014, audio was released of kemp, warning fellow republicans that democrats might win because they are registering minority voters. the audio was released by better georgia, and features kemp speaking at a july 12, 2014, event in gwinnett county. this is a clip. are working hard,

the stories about registering minority voters out there and other sitting on the sidelines and if they can do that, theyy can win these elelections in november. amy: can you talk about each of these possible oppts governor's race, beginning with who we just listen to, which was the man you took on in 2014, secretary of state kemp? bothwill say this about secretary kemp and lieutenant governor cagle. secretary can't has unfortunately built a very strong record of voter suppression and yes, he and i have conflicted a number of times. i think -- i don't think, i know i'm very proud of our record of forcing him to restore the canceled registration of thousands of compelling his office to do the right thing when it comes to voter registration. but t also i think it is a challenging conversation to have both with secretary kemp and

lieutenant governor cagle because rather than focusing on how we move the state forward, they are both focused, unfortunately, on this reform of bigotry and how they want to harm communities and hold us back. i will correct one thing the commercial played about the deportation buzz was actually another republican canandidate o lost, but casey cagle, unfortunate, has echoed the sentiments of treating those immigrant communities as less than in the state of georgia, of trying to harm the l lgbtq coity in georgia. i'm running a positive campaign where we talk about what we can a college together. and that is the reason i ran the new georgia project and the reason i wrote the minority leader book because i wanted to understand those who are on the sidelines, those who find their voices muted or actually silenced have power. and there's no more profound power in a democracy and the power to vote. so my mission, both as a candidate and a writer, is to talk to folks about how we own

that power, how we have the opportunity to really y take control of our government back. we have some in the opportunities, not only in georgia, butionwid georgia, the state of if we invest in our voters and if we lift up our values, we can win. what we've seen happen in the last elections i goals, unfortunately, was a disproportionate investment in trying to convince republicans to vote democratic. what we're focused on is a people powered campaign where we own the franchise and we say, if we value our voters and if we are willing to o go to every corner of the state and talk to every single person, we can actually win elections without having to cater to these right wing partially conservative policies that only serve to harm everyone. amy: the jenna governor cagle is the politician who threatened delta airlines whose home base is in atlanta. i was in atlanta on saturday speaking to a delta flight attendant. he threatened to end tax

exemption for delta because they stopped giving any kind d of discount for nra members. is that right? >> that is correct. he actually was successful. he stripped the language from the bill and took away that fuel tax exemption that was proposed. here's the thing. i'm proud to say i've never gotten better than a d or f from the nra. it is the only bad grace my parents have ever been proud of. i was always -- i will alwlways stand on the side of gun safety. this is someone who understands those who want to own weapons, come from a family that hunted. i know how to hunt, but i don't do it. that choice.make i'll's understand the higher responsibility that every person ththat uses a firearmm has is te responsibility for gun safety. i see absolutely no conflict between being a gun safety advocate who has been endorsed by gabby giffords and believing

that you can have a second amendment. that is a contrast i have with both of my opponents. i'm not going to fear monger to win the election. but will focus on the positive opportunities we have for a bright future for all of our families were everyone has the freedom and opportunity to thrive. that is why i'm really running. that is why i been doing the work i've been doing for the last 18 years because i believe we can do better by our people. we're going to go to break and come back to this discussion. our guest is stacey abrams, democratic candidate for governor in georgia. made history in may by becoming the first african-american woman to win a major party's nomination for governor in the united states. back with her in a moment. ♪ [music break]

thicy now democracynow.orgthe waand peace report. i'm amy goodman. abrams,t is stacey

democratic candidate for governor in georgia. she made history in may by becoming the first african-american woman to win a major party's nomination for governor in the united states. if she wins in november, she will become the first african-americanan governor in e deep southth since reconstructi. the first african-american woman governor anywhere in the united states. she served seven years as the democratic leader in the georgia general assembly. her new book is titled, "minority leader: how to lead from the outside and make real change." in a graphic novel about your life called "walk together" it tells the story of how a 1991 you were deniedd entntrance to e georgia governor's mansion at first when you went there along with other high school valedictorian's who had been invited. now if you win, you may be a little closer to calling the mansion home. talk about what happened then? >> 1991, a was a high school senior. i graduated as valedictorian. but my parents, who are theydible people, the time

were graduate students at emory university getting their masters of divinity. we did not have a car. my family could not afford one. we relied on public transit. that day we took the public bus to the governor's mansion was that we got off the bus and walked up thewayiv all of the other families were arriving br. the security guard looked at my parents and me and refused us injury. he told us we do not belong. he did not ask to see her invitation or check the checklist. luckily, i have very aggressive parent to believe in their children and will always stand up for us. they had a very vigorous and engaged discussion with the guard. he finally agreed to check the list and found my name on it. the point of the story as i was allowed inside, but i don't remember meeting the governor of georgia. i don't remember meeting my fellow valedictorians. what stuck with me from that day was this man standing affront of the most powerful place in georgia telling me i did not have the right t to come inside because of who he saw when he

looked at me, when he looked at that bus that my parents and i got off of. my mission in this race, my mission in the way i have lived my life is to make certain we create space for everyone to belong. that when we walk together, when we have good leadership that sees all of georgia, that no one will ever feel that they are not a part of our history and also part of our future. and that for me is that the most important piece of that story, not the narrative that some a have extracted from it about how i was left behind, but more about the opportunity to go inside and change what it means to be the governor in georgia, to be a governrnor in the deep south. amy: stacey abrams, among those who have in your student is our revolution, the outgrowth of the bernie sanders. what does that endorsement mean to you? privileged to be endorsed by our revolution,

endorsed by senator sanders, but also to be endorsed by hillary clinton. her me, it is a function of bringing together every faction in every part of the democratic party. to --e jarrett came down and president obama came down the saturday before the election. my campaign is grounded in the notion we can bring everyone together. our opponent is that thehe republicicans. our oppoponent is t the in acti. our opponent is a lack of educational opportunity for every child. our opponent is making certain economic opportunity is that relegated to privilege, that we have to fight baback against the who would deny has access to health care. i'm excited that everyone at the table with me from our revolution to secretary clinton toto valerie jarrett. because what it signals is a broader understanding that democrats and democratic values are the only way for progress in america. amy: stacey abrams, i would like to ask you to stay so we can do a post show interview and posted online under web exclusives. stacey abrams is democratic

candidate for governor in georgia. her new book "minority leader: , how to lead from the outside and make real change." democracy now! is accepting applications for our paid video production fellowships. find out more at demoow.ocryn. [captioning made possible by democracy now!] çç