sources who have spoken to trump about 2024, revealing he has been trashing florida governor ron desantis, who has been eyed as a possible contender for the gop nomination, saying desantis has no chance against him in a potential showdown. trump's lies made more dangerous by his parties work behind the scenes. state by state assaulting a score tenet of any democracy, the right to vote, using unfounded claims of election fraud to roll back voting rights piece by piece. senate majority leader chuck schumer says senate democrats will begin the process of debating and voting on voting rights legislation starting tuesday. a showdown over reforming filibuster rules likely to follow. the growing talking point by republicans, including senator mitt romney, claim democrats are taking oversight of elections away from the states. here's what house majority whip james clyburn had to say about that a short time ago on msnbc. >> look, read federalist papers 59. read what alexander hamilton had to say about this. he didn't say we were going to leave federal elections up to every state. he specifically said in that they cannot be left up to every state. that's why states were not allowed to place term limits on congress people. now, i would say to the senator consult your history. >> joining me now, winnia tolliver and katia tubman. katia, senate poised to take up the house-passed voting legislation tuesday. it merges the john lewis voting rights bill strengthening the 1965 voting rights act and the freedom to vote act. how are we expecting this to go down? >> well, we're being very, very hopeful. that's why we were actually able to here from clyburn earlier today how the bill may not be dead, but it's on life support at the same time. there's hope that after this weekend, after we pass through mlk day, after we see what concessions can be made here and there as so many have been made so far, that we're in a hopeful place. i mean after seeing this rally by trump over the weekend, we are fully aware that he and his constituents and his allies are actually waging a war against democracy. and if there isn't a way to fight that that has to do with the ballot box, then there probably isn't any other way. so if we're seeing any fierce resistance against this war that we're seeing that trump is raging not against a particular person or a group of people as we've seen him do in the past but, as you said, the core tenet of democracy. the only way against that as we've been hearing from civil rights leaders and also from activists and many members of congress that the one way to do it is through voting rights. >> did it give us the view from inside the party, why continue to push for this even though the path forward looks so uncertain? >> look, democrats have to demonstrate that they're doing every single thing within their power to deliver for the same individuals who organized and who served as activists to turn out historic numbers during a pandemic election in 2020, right? this comes down to demonstrating that they're doing everything they can because let's be real. this isn't just a political posture. this is about protecting our collective basic right to vote and preserving what's left of our hobbled democracy and making sure that that is front and center, i think, is going to be critical for democrats because failure to do that sends a signal to every single democratic voter, especially the voters who stand to lose under these voter suppression bills that are sweeping across the country, that they are not willing to fight for us. that's what it comes down to. democrats are making sure that that message is not going to be muddled, and they're going through this process on tuesday to get people on the record, as clyburn says, to show which side they're on. we heard the president in his speech last week talk about, are you with bull connor? are you with george wallace, or are you with martin luther king? honestly, i think republicans are underestimating how this could come back to bite them when we know the issue of voting rights is not going to go away in 2022 or 2024. i also think as we hear more coming up about the electoral count act, that alone is not going to cut it, alicia. when we hear bipartisan efforts to negotiate around the electoral count act, we have to say that only solves one of the many problems with our democracy, and voting rights and these voter suppression bills cannot go unchecked. >> talk us through it. what are the options being discussed for a rules change to the filibuster? >> yeah. look, the principal issue here is can they do a carve out for voting rights and manchin and sinema on the democratic side are going to be the key playmakers here. i've talked to a number of leadership aides and they've been making a real effort to get manchin and sinema onboard to back the rules change. i think there is some potential scope for manchin to budge if you talk to his office and you talk to schumer's aides. there is a path with manchin in part because he previously voted his own version of the voting rights act. but i think the trouble is going to be with sinema. and when biden came to address the democratic caucus earlier this week, sinema was busy on the floor talking about how the filibuster was really important and how they couldn't possibly change it. so i think that's the difficulty on the road forward ahead for democrats. >> kadia, forcing a rules change vote on the filibuster would mean senate democrats have to go on the record, republicans have to go on the record. for democrats, to what degree is 2022 on their mind as they consider that vote? >> oh, it's very much on their mind. i mean when we were hearing from either biden or other civil rights advocates or even congressmen this week around the filibuster, there was a lot of conversation about likening it to jim crow. and in the decision to see on tuesday where do people stand, that's a very big deal. it's a big deal for democrats in 2022. they're going to be saying here are folks who are on the side of the rights of the people for civil rights, for protection of those rights and here are the people who are against it. and a lot of folks were calling out the president and his allies for even likening it to that extreme. but that extreme needs to be clear. the longest speaker filibuster was 24 hours and 18 minutes and it was against the civil rights act of 1957. that's a huge deal. and it was also by a well-known segregationist. i think what we're seeing is at least democrats coming out in full force saying if you do not support this, if you do not back this voting rights bill, then you are saying you are not for the rights of all people. and if that argument can be made by democrats going into 2022 and if the people of america can hear that, the voters can hear that, then it's likely they'll see some kind of movement at the ballot box later this year. >> juanita, there's been a lot of talk about sinema, about manchin. worth mentioning, all of the republicans who have not come to the table on this. how do democrats use this to highlight that so-called moderate republicans can be both anti-trump and pro voter suppression? >> anti-trump, pro voter suppression, anti-democracy as well, right? like this is something that it just lifts the veil on how far they're willing to go to rig the system, rig our democracy. and even though they're anti-trump, participate in his same efforts to corrode it further, to undermine it. so they do not get out scot-free here. this vote on tuesday puts them on the record as well. you can better believe that democrats are going to remind vote votes voters, this is what republicans stand for. republicans aren't releasing an agenda for 2022. so every vote they take at this point is something they're going to have to face with their constituents and with voters in the midterms and beyond. because this is not something that's going to blow away or a stink that won't settle on them for the foreseeable future. >> hugo, romney and roughly other 12 bipartisan senators pushing reforms to the electoral count act of 1987. today on "meet the press," romney claimed he has not yet received a call from the white house to talk about this. while i take juanita's point that there are going to be a lot of people who say this is not enough, it does seem to be one piece of this larger discussion. can you tell us more about where that proposal stands? >> yeah. it's not enough in and of itself, but it is really significant because if you think back to january 6th and what trump was actually trying to do with the political elements of his coup, it was to abuse the vice president's role and the objection process that's spelled out in the electoral count act. and he saw the vagueness of the language, and john eastman, the conservative lawyer who was at the willard war room, saw the vagueness of the language and they decided to exploit that in order to return trump to office. so it is really significant in and of itself, and i think the issue here is, you know, the select committee investigating the capitol attack hasn't quite finished its work. but the house administration committee on which two of the members sit are also part of a select committee. so they do have some sort of insight into what's coming down the pipeline in terms of recommendations, and they are looking at recommendations in terms of reforming the vice president's role, and there's also trying to raise the threshold for the objection process. i think this is going to be really important, and i don't think the biden white house has really gotten. into the meat and the details of this, but it's clear they're going to have to because it's such a crucial part of the way the joint session of congress works. >> a busy week ahead. thank you for talking us through it. next, the doj has a new unite focused on domestic terrorism, which some argue is the most lethal threat facing this country. my next guest frank figliuzzi believes the new unit should come with new laws. plus congresswoman deborah ross will tell us why she believes the gop should take a step back. and an update to the story we brought you last night. the hospital take taker at a synagogue in dallas has been identified. the incident highlights the need to better address anti-semitism. that conversation later this hour. we're just getting started here on "american voices." erican voi. ♪ ♪ are you one of the millions of americans who experience occasional bloating, gas or abdominal discomfort? 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>> yeah, a great question. i think what they would respond is likely, look, we had prosecutors dedicated to domestic terrorism. the problem is they were seeded with the international terrorism prosecutors, and you know what happens as i've referenced in my article. the fires after 9/11 that had to consistently get put out, one threat after another coming from the middle east and other international sources, meant necessarily that the domestic folks had to get sucked into the international terrorism work and had to help prosecute that. so if this is a division of labor, i get that. i'm glad they're dedicating a unit. but if it's not with more bodies, that's an issue. if it's all about prosecution after something terrible has happened, which is typically the case with domestic terrorism, then that's a problem. if it's about prevention and prosecutions that will help prevent bad things from happening, nip something in the bud before there's violence that occurs, then i'm all for it. but what i really stress in my column is we still don't see changes to the operating guidelines for federal law enforcement, including the fbi. we still don't have a domestic terrorism law. we still don't see anything that looks like someone is implementing the white house's national strategy to counter violent extremism. so we should be asking the question, is this a label being given to bodies that you've pulled out of the international terrorism unit, or is there some substance here? >> this past june, the white house released a national domestic terrorism strategy. it talked about enhanced government and law enforcement partnerships with social media platforms, battling disinformation, updating laws. we've not heard much, though, about those initiatives. what is the actual path forward? >> right. so great strategy. i've read it multiple times. i keep waiting to hear something's going to happen with it because it looks holistically at the problem of extremism and violence. people thinking that law enforcement is the problem -- and you see this a lot on social media. when is the fbi going to handcuff this person or that person? if you think handcuffing is going to solve the domestic terror, racism, white nationalism, ethnic-based hatred in this country, you are wrong. so that national strategy has to look at the role of social media, has to help regulate and partner with social media, has to teach americans to be more savvy consumers of disinformation. that's all in the strategy. none of it seems to be moving forward. no surprise. we have a very divided country, a very divided congress. >> clint watts wrote this week for "the washington post," quote, many of the oath keepers present at the capitol were military veterans. the u.s. government is unintentionally training its own insurrectionists, providing the specialized and strategic thinking skills needed to care out an insurrection with any hope of success. you and i have talked about this, about the big questions of who is funding a lot of these people. what more does the military and law enforcement need to do to rein in extremism within their own ranks? >> well, i'm encouraged by the fact that the secretary of defense has taken the bull by the horns, that they're calling time-out. they're instructing even in some branches of the service, alicia, extending boot camp to include anti-extremism training. i think that's fantastic. good things are happening there. but that's while you're in the military. there's a second part of this i'd like to see is once you depart the military and finish your service to the nation, let's continue to partner with those vets who after 20 some odd years in the battle against terrorism deployed in the middle east, are still looking to be in the fight. they still want to contribute. they still want to belong. they still seek affirmation from a group of guys and gals they can fight with. let's harness that in the right direction and continue to partner with folks after they leave the service. >> frank, i want to go back to something you said. you were talking about the need to prosecute some of these cases before they're ever is an act of violence. what would that actually look like? what would that entail? >> it would look a whole lot, alicia, like it looks right now with international terrorism. so the rules are absolutely different. in fact, the rules essentially constrain the fbi from doing what they can do in an international terrorism case. so what can you do when someone's a part of a designated international terrorism organization like al qaeda or isis? your mere affiliation with them triggers the investigative techniques like electronic surveillance, undercover agents, development of new informants. all of that happens and allows you to prevent something from happening, and that's why we haven't seen an iconic international terrorism attack against the u.s. since 9/11. none of that applies to the domestic terrorism side. we don't have a domestic terrorism law, and the investigative techniques you're allowed to do on the international side simply don't exist on the domestic side. >> frank figliuzzi, as always, thank you for joining us. next, a victory for democracy in ohio. the state supreme court ruling new congressional maps unconstitutional. is there anything about the case that can help squash gerrymandering outside of ohio? and later, author kate bair on her new book of poetry, turning messages of hate into hope. and ahead on the mehdi hasan show, a frank discussion about the state of democracy and what it could become a year after the capitol attack. that's 8:00 p.m. eastern only on msnbc. that's 8:00 p.m. eastern only on msnbc. wait, what?! sorry, we don't even have time to say they were created by world class bakers! oh, guess we did! seriously?! my bad. oh, man that is wrinkly. like, not even just a little wrinkly, that's a whole lot of wrinkly. i've got wrinkles on top of wrinkles! at least my shoes look good! help prevent wrinkles in the dryer with bounce wrinkleguard, the megasheet with three times the wrinkle fighting ingredients. exploring the heart of historic europe with viking, you'll get closer to iconic landmarks, to local life and legendary treasures as you sail onboard our patented, award-winning viking longships. you'll enjoy many extras, including wi-fi, cultural enrichment from ship to shore and engaging excursions. viking - voted number one river cruise line by condé nast readers. learn more at viking.com. first psoriasis, then psoriatic arthritis. it was really holding me back. standing up... ...even walking was tough. my joints hurt. i was afraid things were going to get worse. i was always hiding, and that's just not me. not being there for my family, that hurt. woooo! i had to do something. i started cosentyx®. i'm feeling good. watch me. cosentyx helps people with psoriatic arthritis move, look, and feel better. it targets more than just joint pain and treats the multiple symptoms like joint swelling and tenderness, back pain, helps clear skin and helps stop further joint damage. don't use if you're allergic to cosentyx. before starting, get checked for tuberculosis. an increased risk of infections—some serious —and the lowered ability to fight them may occur. tell your doctor about an infection or symptoms or if you've had a vaccine or plan to. tell your doctor if your crohn's disease symptoms develop or worsen. serious allergic reactions may occur. it's good to be moving on. watch me. move, look, and feel better. ask your rheumatologist about cosentyx. 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joining us, jen miller, executive director of the league of women voters in ohio, and frieda levinson, legal director of the aclu of ohio. a lot of these gerrymandering cases essentially take voting power away from voters of color. how have states been able to get away with this? >> well, the more difficult issue is when gerrymandering takes power away from a political party. the federal courts have closed their doors to partisan gerrymandering, which makes it difficult to bring these cases. and the federal voting rights bill isn't a likely prospect. so lawsuits complaining of political gerrymandering have been difficult to bring. the only remaining resort to rein in gerrymandering is lawsuits in state courts such as the one that you just mentioned. racial gerrymandering is still -- in federal courts under the voting rights. so although those cases are challenges, it's not quite the same challenges. >> jen, explain what's different in ohio. what about the ohio constitution forced the court to rule the new map unconstitutional? >> in 2015, ohio voters to the tune of 72% adopted reforms for statehouse map-making, and now in 2018, by almost 75% of the vote, ohio voters demanded a transparent, bipartisan process that results in maps that serve voters rather than partisan interests. >> freda, what message does the ruling send to ohio lawmakers and perhaps lawmakers in other states? >> well, very simply, the message is no more cheating. that's not going to cut it anymore. we have actually two new decisions in ohio over the past couple of days. one striking the state legislative map and another striking the congressional map. we won both, and these decisions are very important. although other state courts are not bound by our high court's decisions as precedent, still these two decisions are persuasive authority legally, and they show that language in a state constitution, as jen mentioned, language like can't unduly favor and can't primarily favor, is judicially manageable. a court can construe this language and apply it. so this kind of provision has teeth. this is the first time these provisions have been tested in ohio. ohio was the canary in the coal mine here because we were the first state where maps were enacted. these were the first lawsuits, and they were both victories. so this sends a very strong message. >> jen, voting rights legislation that's currently stalled in the senate would effectively ban partisan gerrymandering. is there any way to end gerrymandering nationwide without that legislation? >> bottom line, every state needs a level playing field. partisan gerrymandering discriminates against voters, and in fact i believe it harms every voter because it takes away our choices. so we are absolutely supportive of the voting rights packages nationally. at the same time, we will continue to do everything we can on behalf of voters here in ohio. we've actually been fighting partisan gerrymandering here in ohio since the '70s when the maps were rigged for democratic candidates, and now that maps are rigged for republicans. >> jen, i got to ask you, i think part of the reason this conversation often gets very stuck in terms of ballot access is because that is the piece of this that most of us as voters interact with directly. something like gerrymandering, you know, may not be on everyone's radar. it's certainly not something we feel as though we have a personal relationship to. when you are talking to voters, how do you message on this piece of it? >> well, i'm just going to say that ohio voters understand this very well. so ohioans tend to not vote a straight party line, a party ticket. they like to kind of think about their candidates, but then they see situations like the last decade where even when ohio went to obama, we had 12 republican seats and 4 democratic seats for congress. when it went to trump, the same thing. we saw absolutely no movement, which is a map that we know is rigged. you know, ohio is just about 54% republican in terms of votes cast. but both in the ohio general assembly and in congress, we have these supermajorities, and ohioans understand that that is distorting our democracy, fueling partisan divides. and so this is a chance for ohio leaders to really restore faith in them as leaders as well as our democracy. everyone in ohio from the ohio river to lake erie are worried about our democracy. they know that our vote is sacred, and so it's time for maps that really serve the people rather than partisan interests. >> freda, there's always this thing we say over and over again, this refrain, where does this go from here? next week we're all going to be watching on tuesday as it sort of lights up the federal stage. the two of you are more aware than most that most of the action is happening at the state level. from your vantage point, where does this go from here? >> well, most immediately, our redistricting commission is convened, and they're meeting starting on tuesday to draw a court map -- to draw a new map under court order. they were given ten days from the date of the ruling to come up with a map, and we, the challengers of the map, have three days to file any objections to it. so we will know in short order whether they produce a compliant map and potentially the court would review that map again. with regard to the congressional map, which was just stricken on friday, the legislature has 30 days to come up with a new map. if they fail to, then the commission will have another 30 days to come up with one, and that map is -- would also be reviewable by the court. >> jen, freda, thank you both so much. next, north carolina congresswoman deborah ross making the case for why republicans are shooting themselves in the foot by fighting to limit access to voting. her own state is proof. and later, new reporting on right-wing mega donors and the powerful families helping fund and thus fuel trump's big lie. and thus fuel trump's big lie. to help keep the gum sealed tight. parodontax active gum repair toothpaste welcome to allstate. where auto insurance now costs less. ♪ now save more with allstate. you're in good hands with allstate. call a local agent or 1-888-allstate for a quote today. call a local agent or 1-888-allstate it's beautiful out here. it sure is. and i earn 5% cash back on travel purchased through chase with chase freedom unlimited. that means that i earn 5% on our rental car, i earn 5% on our cabin. i mean, c'mon! hello cashback! hello, kevin hart! i'm scared. in a good way. i'm lying. let's get inside. earn big time with chase freedom unlimited with no annual fee. how do you cashback? chase. make more of what's yours. ♪ ♪ ♪ hey google. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [copy machine printing] ♪ ♪ who would've thought printing... could lead to growing trees. ♪ ♪ i see trees of green ♪ could lead to ♪ red roses too ♪ ♪ i see them bloom for me and you ♪ (music) ♪ so i think to myself ♪ ♪ oh what a wonderful world ♪ why are republicans standing in the way of free and fair voting? not only are they rolling back rights on the state level, but they're also to blame for stalling both the freedom to vote act and john lewis voting rights advancement act in the senate. passing them, which senate democrats will try to do this week, would end partisan gerrymandering, which we were just talking about, expand ballot access, and reverse restrictive voting laws targeting communities of color. congressional democrats are hopeful about the week ahead. >> so, yes, things may look dark. keep pressing. when we came out of 1964 civil rights act, people told us we couldn't get voting, and we got voting the following year in '65. it may look bleak now, but we are going to keep pressing. we are not going to give in on this because i am convinced that the people of good will are going to step up and help us get this done. >> so far nationwide, the gop has passed at least 34 restrictive voting laws in the past year. more than 400 restricting voting bills introduced. why are republicans doing this? well, because history proves they stand to benefit from fair elections, so it is very confusing. as congresswoman deborah ross puts it, quote, republicans have nothing to fear from voting reform or higher levels of voter participation, and the proof lies in my home state of north carolina, where progressive voting laws have contributed to high turnout in elections and done little to dent republican hopes in statewide elections. representative ross, what do you make of what representative clyburn said there? are you also optimistic about the future of voting rights? >> i'm always optimistic about the future of voting rights because the people will have their voices heard. it's a bumpy road when you're dealing with political power, but we've got to make sure that the senate understands how crucial this is. and, you know, sometimes you take one step forward and two steps backward. but as we know, the arc of history bends towards justice as dr. king has told us. >> restrictive voting laws, as you highlight, also make it harder for republican voters to vote. is there the possibility this actually comes back to bite republicans? >> it comes back to bite people who don't get the vote out. and we saw that in north carolina. i was the author of the same-day voter registration law at early voting sites. it was used by barack obama to win statewide by less than 15,000 votes. but then president trump used the same provision to be able to turn out his voters. so what we have to do is encourage people to vote and make it easier for them to vote. and then it's up to either party or any interest group to get people to the polls. >> in the piece you wrote for "the hill," you end it by saying, quote, republican lawmakers should have enough faith in themselves and in our country to stop erecting new barriers to the ballot box and start working with democrats to make voting easier for all of our people. do you think that is a message that can break through? >> i think it's a message that has broken through to the people. i don't think it's broken through to the republicans in the senate because they have said that having more people vote, they believe, is bad for republicans. a lot of that has to do with our shifting demographics. but i'm here to tell you in north carolina, where we've had a huge population explosion, we have the most secure and convenient voting laws in the country, starting with mail-in voting well in advance, and that's because we're a military state. but, again, same-day voter registration, and we vote on election day. and with all that, president trump still won north carolina. so what we have to do is have fair rules and then let everybody work to get their voters out. and the republicans in the senate do not want to let that happen. they want to let some of these states that are enacting restrictive voting laws turn back, turn back time and make it harder to vote. >> it's interesting to hear you underscore the ways in which north carolina has increased access to the ballot when, in your state, these rights are under attack in a different way. just last week, a court rejected a challenge to gop gerrymandered maps. how would passing voting rights legislation, federal voting rights legislation, impact north carolina specifically? >> it would have a huge impact on north carolina. remember, since the shelby decision in 2013, the supreme court has said that we can't have the part of the voting rights act that looks at racial discrimination. and then we've just seen that they've watered down the ability to sue. so first pre-clearance, which was the racial discrimination part, and now the ability to sue. so we passed the john lewis voting rights act, which would restore both of those pieces to the voting rights act. north carolina's redistricting regularly has been struck down for racial discrimination. the other thing that the laws that we -- well, the bills that we've passed on the house side have done is look at extreme partisan gerrymandering. we just had a three-judge panel say under the facts of what the legislature just did, we have extreme partisan gerrymandering in north carolina. the facts are there. the question is, is it legal or illegal? that will be up to our state supreme court. but the u.s. supreme court has let us down on this. >> congresswoman deborah ross, thank you for joining us. busy week ahead for you. next, addressing anti-semitism in america. the need highlighted after this weekend's hostage situation in texas. and later, what it will take to save ourselves from the pandemics to voting rights and addressing climate change. all three have a common thread. that's in the next hour of "american voices." that's in the next hour of "american voices." hide my skin? 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>> well, it is obviously not something good. my father is a rabbi, has been since i was a toddler. and one of the things you see as you grow up as a child of a rabbi is how you have more security around the synagogue than we used to when i was a kid. um and now, that's just expected that you have somebody outside, um, watching on holidays and particularly important occasions and obviously that is not something as common in america. it's something that is more common in places, like europe. um, but american jews are not used to that. um, and the hope is that this is not the sort of thing that we expect to see more often. >> we have seen spikes in anti-semitic attacks last year and we followed this rise in extremism among white supremacists. talk to us because in addition to this being your life, this is also your beat. the feeling among jewish americans right now -- do they feel their concerns are being heard? >> i mean, american jews are an extremely diverse group, it is very hard to say one speaks for them. i can speak for my experience through the people i have spoken to. um, these sorts of things hit very hard because everyone can sort of envision themselves in that position. they could envision themselves in the synagogue and something like this happening. um, whenever one of these attacks happens, you know, my muslim friends, the same thing happens when you have an attack on the mosque, no matter where it is in the world. and i do think that you saw the president speak very strongly out against this, and we saw him call this an act of terror and so on. um, i do think jews are worried that sometimes the element of these attacks sometimes gets discounted. the fbi made a limited statement where they said the demands of the hostage taker were not specific to the jewish community. um, but of course, this guy flew thousands of miles and just happened to go and take a synagogue hostage. he said on the recording of the synagogue live stream that he went and found this place. um, you don't go to a synagogue to then try to get a prisoner released because this man was demanding a certain prisoner be released. um, that's a bizarre thing. the reason why he went there is because of the conspiratorial world view that jews control the systems of power, they control politics, the government, the media and so if i take a synagogue hostage, i can get what i want. it's one that inflicts itself upon jews throughout history and leads to situations like these. >> we talk a lot as the situation unfolded as we now live in the aftermath of it. what is it that you want to be hearing from those of us who are not jewish? how do we need to be showing up in this moment? >> so i think the challenge is not to show up in the moment when jews are taken hostage in a synagogue or when there is something, god forbid, worse. the challenge is to combat the things that lead to these things happening when they are. and i think this is what i hear from my friends from other communities who deal with prejudice, as well. it's there's this moment of attention that lights upon a community when a horrific act takes place and then, moves on, and things sort of return to the status quo and if you want to prevent things like this from happening, there has to be a lot more work going on in between. um, and if you have a proactive approach, rather than a reactive approach and work to help people understand who jewish people really are, and you work to debunk the conspiracy theories that swirl around jewish people when this isn't going on, you will have far fewer instances of this going on and i think that's what we all want to see. >> thank you for your time. new hour of "american voices" begins right now. this hour honoring the legacy of dr. martin luther king jr. fight for voting rights in washington and state capitols across this country. where does it go from here? also ahead. follow the money. new details about the billionaires behind the coup attempt's brain trust. we will talk to the reporter who is naming names. plus, hopeful signs the omicron variant may have crested. but that doesn't mean america's hospitals are out of the woods. and from box office hit to owning the internet, the magic of disney's encanto. let's kick things off this hour with the fight for the right to vote. imagine today, 296 days before november's mid-term election, we were actually having a conversation about expanding ballot access. you know, the basic concept of getting new voters to the polls. tomorrow, on martin luther king day jr., the king family will lead a march for voting rights in washington. they want congress to pass the freedom to vote act. it would make election day a federal holiday, and introduce election-day voter registration in all 50 states. it would, also, expand mail-in voting, and early access to the polls. this legislation would truly double down on our democracy. but instead, republican-led states want to make it harder to vote. 19 states have passed 34 restrictive voting laws over the last year. on thursday, arizona senator kyrsten sinema quashed hopes of fighting back against these