Recently, the interaction between GOP Senator John Kennedy and voting rights activist Stacey Abrams circulated the internet for Abrams’ response to the Louisiana lawmaker’s questions. Kennedy’s reaction to Abrams’ answers led him to be mocked by the hosts of “Morning Joe” for trying to cut off Abrams.
During the controversial Senate hearing regarding Georgia’s restrictive voting law that has since been heavily criticized and compared to as a voter suppression effort, Kennedy questioned Abrams on the provisions that she believes are racist. As Abrams was explaining the provisions, Kennedy appeared to repeatedly cut her off in what looked to be an effort to derail Abrams on her answers. The efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, and the video clip of their interaction went viral, with many on social media mocking Kennedy.
Host Mika Brzezinski questioned why Abrams continues to get underestimated and praised her for her responses to Kennedy’s questions. Joe Scarborough pointed out the Louisiana Republican’s Oxford education, joking that the tv series “Matlock” and that its titular character would be disappointed in Kennedy. Contributor Eugene Robinson also agreed, saying that the Louisiana lawmaker at the hearing was outmatched by Abrams.
“You better come with what our faux Matlock had yesterday — that was a riot,” said Robinson. “I was thinking the same thing — that’s obviously something they don’t teach at the Oxford debating union about dealing with intelligent people, who are just going to — I mean, she mowed him down, basically. It was highly entertaining to watch.”
In other news, the Senate has overwhelmingly passed the Asian-American hate crime bill this week in response to the increasing reports of hate crimes targeting Asian-Americans. Lawmakers in the upper chamber voted 94-1, with Missouri Republican Josh Hawley being the lone “no” vote on the legislation. The legislation was introduced by Democratic Senator Mazie Hirono.
The legislation would direct the Justice Department to fast track the review of hate crimes related to the COVID-19 pandemic that was reported to law enforcement agencies. This would also help the agencies with ways to report incidents online and perform public outreach. This would also direct the Attorney General and the HHS to issue guidelines on how to combat racially discriminatory language when it comes to describing the pandemic.