I’ve seen a lot of epic rants, but this one was particularly potent. Ned Staebler viciously and correctly called out the blatant racism of two Republican who were refusing to certify the presidential election results in Michigan’s Wayne County.
Staebler pointed out the two Republican racists—Board of Canvassers members Monica Palmer and William Hartmann—had no certification concerns when there were much larger discrepancies in both the primary and the 2016 election. He also pointed out that there were bigger voting irregularities in the white cities, but for some reason, the GOP members only wanted to disenfranchise Detroit.
Staebler didn’t hold back, particularly in his final minute or so, when he spoke to the impact on their legacy.
LET THIS BE A WARNING TO THE GOP!
This is not 1955, as much as the right-wing wants to take us back there. There are real consequences for trying to take away thousands of legal votes from people of color, just because Republicans don’t like how they voted. They WILL get called out.
We will never forget, nor will we ever forgive. THESE PEOPLE WILL BE FAMOUS! Gone are the days when people get to harm people with bigotry and then move on with their lives.
Ned Staebler’s tone was perfect. This is an assault on people’s rights and on our democracy, and he wanted everyone in America to know exactly who tried to do this. And though Staebler’s tirade is (rightfully) going viral, he was far from the only Michigander fighting back Tuesday night.
It worked. After the county’s public comment session, the bigots backed down in the next vote, and unanimously certified the results. But nobody told Donald Trump.
So who will be the next to stand up for what’s right?
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