It was a night of Democratic guests on the late night comedy shows as ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel, CBS’s Stephen Colbert, and Comedy Central’s The Daily Show’s host of the week, Desi Lydic, all welcomed Democratic politicians to their programs to instill in their audiences the importance of voting for the blue team in less than three weeks.
Kimmel asked Georgia Sen. Raphael Warnock, “And as a pastor as well, I would imagine that, I mean, you can tell me, is being a pastor something that helps you reach across the aisle? Is that something that makes people on the other side of the aisle more open to you reaching out?”
Warnock began by highlighting the work he’s done with GOP Sens. Tommy Tuberville and Marco Rubio, but then switched to raging partisan mode by engaging the very un-pastorally act of spreading fake news:
This terrible situation has gotten worse now as we've seen these extreme abortion bans in Georgia. As Donald Trump has taken credit, as he should, for overthrowing Roe v. Wade. We had a young woman in Georgia, Amber Thurman, a young mother. She had a 6-year-old son and she needed a basic—basic medical care, you know, that they do every single day, a D&C. And she didn't get it done. She was laying in the hospital for 20 hours. Why? Because the doctors were somewhere on a dilemma between their Hippocratic Oath and the reality that they might be imprisoned. And there she was languishing in this dilemma created by male politicians. And this young woman literally lost her life.
He later added, “I am a pro-choice pastor. I think that on this question the issue is not what you personally think about abortion. The issue is whose decision is it? And what we are seeing in real time is that regardless of your view on this, medicine and the science is clearly more complicated and more complex than the politics.”
Kimmel would later ask, “How did, may I ask in your opinion anyway, how did the GOP manage to cast itself as the party of Christianity? And do you believe Jesus would be a Republican?”
With no sense of self-awareness, Warnock replied, “Look, I'm a Matthew 25 Christian. I believe that the acetate test of your faith is the depth of your commitment to the poor and the most marginalized members of the human family.”
Meanwhile, over at The Late Show, Colbert lauded Texas Rep. Jasmine Crockett and put the ball on the tee for her, “You gave this great speech at the convention, as I remember, now you're going around the country for the next 20 days to get out the vote. What are people going to hear from you? What is your message for the next 20 days?”
Crockett began, “Everyone has a different issue that matters most to them. So, if I've only got you for five seconds, then what I do is I say whatever your most important issue is, Google that and Project 2025. If you like what Project 2025 says, then vote for the orange one. If you don't like what it says, then you know that the Harris-Walz ticket is for you.”
She urged people to ask, “Do we want to go back or do we want to go forward? And what type of world do we want our kids to live in? Do we want it to be a world in which they can go to school and not have to worry about an active shooter?”
Like Warnock, Crockett preyed on fears of women dying should Republicans win, “Is it a world which children, if they’re raped, or women, if they end up in this situation, have no options when it comes to their reproductive access and may end up dying?”
Crockett also not so subtly accused the GOP of racism, “Do we want to live in a world where we don't celebrate our diversity, but instead we act as if there's only one group of people that matter in this country?”
Over at The Daily Show, Lydic began by praising Georgia pretend Gov. Stacey Abrams, “You’re a large part for why Georgia flipped blue in 2020.”
She then lamented, “It feels like there is so much progress that is being made and yet, here we are again, coming up on election— on the election and it is mandated that ballots must be hand counted in Georgia. Is it as [bleep] up as it sounds?”
Abrams then went on to decry that measure, which has since been blocked by the courts, before pleading with the audience, “We need to tell people, here's why your vote matters because so many people think, ‘My vote won't count.’ Yes. Georgia was decided by fewer than 12,000 votes in a state of 11 million people. It counts. It counts more than you can imagine. Please, god, vote.”
Lydic, summing up all of the late night comedy/DNC talking point sessions, agreed, “Please, god, vote. Please, god, vote.”
Here are transcripts for the October 15-taped shows:
ABC Jimmy Kimmel Live
10/16/2024
12:24 AM ET
JIMMY KIMMEL: And as a pastor as well, I would imagine that, I mean, you can tell me, is being a pastor something that helps you reach across the aisle? Is that something that makes people on the other side of the aisle more open to you reaching out?
...
RAPHAEL WARNOCK: This terrible situation has gotten worse now as we've seen these extreme abortion bans in Georgia. As Donald Trump has taken credit, as he should, for overthrowing Roe v. Wade. We had a young woman in Georgia, Amber Thurman, a young mother. She had a 6-year-old son and she needed a basic—basic medical care, you know, that they do every single day, a D&C. And she didn't get it done. She was laying in the hospital for 20 hours. Why? Because the doctors were somewhere on a dilemma between their Hippocratic Oath and the reality that they might be imprisoned. And there she was languishing in this dilemma created by male politicians. And this young woman literally lost her life. She should be alive today. I did a press conference earlier today with her family. There are no words for that. And so here's what I believe. I get some grief from folks who think that they own the meaning of the Gospel.
I am a pro-choice pastor. I think that on this question the issue is not what you personally think about abortion. The issue is whose decision is it? And what we are seeing in real time is that regardless of your view on this, medicine and the science is clearly more complicated and more complex than the politics. Doctors are having to make these decisions every day. Women are faced with these issues every day and that's why I believe that a patient's room is too small and cramped a space for a woman, her doctor, and the United States government.
KIMMEL: How did, may I ask in your opinion anyway, how did the GOP manage to cast itself as the party of Christianity? And do you believe Jesus would be a Republican?
WARNOCK: Look, I'm a Matthew 25 Christian. I believe that the acetate test of your faith is the depth of your commitment to the poor and the most marginalized members of the human family. And so my faith is what guides me in the work that I'm doing.
But I think Democrats make a mistake when they allow the other side to own the language around faith and values. My faith causes me to reach out to the poor. It causes me to hear people who are struggling and to build what Dr. King called the beloved community. My faith is not a weapon. It's a bridge.
***
CBS The Late Show with Stephen Colbert
10/16/2024
12:31 AM ET
STEPHEN COLBERT: In addition to being a member of Congress, you’re also a co-chair, national co-chair of the Harris-Walz campaign. You gave this great speech at the convention, as I remember, now you're going around the country for the next 20 days to get out the vote. What are people going to hear from you? What is your message for the next 20 days?
JASMINE CROCKETT: You know, everyone has a different issue that matters most to them. So, if I've only got you for five seconds, then what I do is I say whatever your most important issue is, Google that and Project 2025. If you like what Project 2025 says, then vote for the orange one. If you don't like what it says, then you know that the Harris-Walz ticket is for you.
In addition to that, you know, for people that feel like "Well, I don't really like either one of them or they are not perfect" or whatever it is they're searching for. What I tell them is this election isn't really about the individuals.
Now, you know, for Trump, it kind of is, because he's trying to stay out of prison. But, I mean, for the rest of us, right? We are trying to figure out what type of America we want to be. Do we want to go back or do we want to go forward? And what type of world do we want our kids to live in? Do we want it to be a world in which they can go to school and not have to worry about an active shooter?
Is it a world which children, if they’re raped, or women, if they end up in this situation, have no options when it comes to their reproductive access and may end up dying?
Do we want to live in a world where we don't celebrate our diversity, but instead we act as if there's only one group of people that matter in this country? It's not a world that I want to see. I want to see a world in which we have serious politicians that absolutely want to make sure that economically we're pushing forward and people are able to realize the American dream. Because not all of us can be born with $400 million given to us.
And so, you know, I think that we have a real opportunity. But it's about whether or not we decide we're going to seize upon the opportunity and so, I'm just telling people that while it may seem as if we are powerless, the power has always belonged to people and it's time for the people to flex their power.
***
Comedy Central The Daily Show
10/15/2024
11:28 PM ET
DESI LYDIC: You’re a large part for why Georgia flipped blue in 2020. It feels like there is so much progress that is being made and yet, here we are again, coming up on election—on the election and it is mandated that ballots must be hand counted in Georgia. Is it as [bleep] up as it sounds?
STACEY ABRAMS: Yes. So, let’s--
LYDIC: Great. Well, that's all the time we have.
ABRAMS: Okay. So, I've got two bits of goodish, kind of, news.
LYDIC: Okay.
ABRAMS: So, number one, so, when they say hand count, what they mean is count the ballots -- not the votes. So, they're physically requiring each precinct to physically count each ballot. We've got about 5.5 million voters.
LYDIC: Oh, is that all?
ABRAMS: Yeah, and so it's going to take some time. The intent is to create chaos in the system. We need to tell people, here's why your vote matters because so many people think, "My vote won't count." Yes. Georgia was decided by fewer than 12,000 votes in a state of 11 million people. It counts. It counts more than you can imagine. Please, god, vote.
LYDIC: Please, god, vote. Please, god, vote.
