Who higher than to carry collectively the nation’s eight Democratic governors than Julia Louis-Dreyfus? The actress famously starred on Veep as a fictional feminine politician and on that collection, she hilariously by no means advocated for ladies. Famously recirculated Veep scenes of late have reminded followers of the HBO comedy how she eviscerated her political aides for starting speeches with “As a woman…” or for suggesting that she run for president on an all-female ticket. (“The American people work hard for a living, OK? They don’t need that kind of bullshit,” she quipped.)
However in actual life, the Emmy-winning actress, producer and activist is sort of the alternative. On the town for the Democratic Nationwide Conference, the avid Kamala Harris supporter hosted a sit-down dialog with the nation’s eight Democratic girls governors.
Not like her character, Selina Meyer, the objective of the chat on Wednesday, the third day of the 2024 DNC, was to highlight the governors who’ve made historical past by altering the position of ladies in govt roles and shattering marble ceilings alongside the best way.
However, she nonetheless introduced some humor.
After welcoming her friends on stage by taking place the road and giving excessive fives, Louis-Dreyfus rapidly took intention at Harris’ opponent, Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, and Trump’s operating mate, J.D. Vance.
Calling out the eight girls on her stage, she took a swipe at Vance’s resurfaced, headline-making feedback about girls with out youngsters being “childless cat ladies.” The group, Louis-Dreyfus, stated was a gathering that Vance may name “a coven of semi-menstruating witches.”
Then including to the gang’s laughter, “We’re gonna have fun here.”
Becoming a member of the Seinfeld star was Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs, Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly, Maine Gov. Janet Mills, Massachusetts Gov. Maura Healey, Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, New Mexico Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham, New York Gov. Kathy Hochul and Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek.
Louis-Dreyfus, who appeared on Stephen Colbert’s DNC opening evening Late Present lineup on Monday, she stated she’s been smiling for a month. Ever since Harris was elevated to the highest of the Democratic ticket for the 2024 presidential race, “my face hurts,” she famous.
“Was anyone else weeping for two hours last night watching the first gentlemen [Doug Emhoff] and the Obamas speak?” she requested in regards to the second evening of the DNC’s primetime audio system. “We’re laughing we’re crying – I’m fucking exhausted to be honest with you. But, we’re filled with hope and joy. And all of you women on this stage are evidence that Martin Luther King, Jr. was right when he said, ‘The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.’ Sometimes we forget that when Trump is trying to bend it back the other way.”
Throughout the chat, Louis-Dreyfus requested the group lighter questions — comparable to testing them on their state flower, sharing tales about inner-office sensible jokes (New Mexico Gov. Grisham instructed a story about eradicating all the furnishings out of a congressional member’s workplace, laying sod and putting it again on the grass), and briefly referencing Harris’ Brat summer season — to heavier matters which can be presently prime of thoughts for voters.
Reminding the ladies how, on Veep, her character as soon as joked, “If men got pregnant, you could get an abortion at an ATM,” she requested New York Gov. Hochul about her expertise coping with the overturning of the Dobbs choice and Roe v. Wade.
“I’m gonna fight like hell to get it back for my granddaughter,” stated Hochul of what she described as a second of ache, but in addition considered one of motion. “Yes, you can have an abortion in the state of New York, but there are sisters across this nation who are going to need our help.”
So she says she began increasing clinics to make her state a protected harbor by passing protections for medical doctors so that they couldn’t be prosecuted by different states. “We passed laws, we jumped in. I visited Planned Parenthood clinics right off the bat. But right now, as a result of that decision, 1/3 women in child bearing age are living under and abortion ban in this country.”
In November, Gov. Hobbs stated her state has the possibility to make abortion rights protected in Arizona. “Women who get pregnant don’t have access to the care that they need,” she stated. “We’re surrounded by pro-abortion states and we are working to make sure that people can get the care they need.”
Kansas Gov. Laura Kelly added, “They should never have poked the bear. Because what happened was women, men, people all over Kansas showed up to a primary… we had record turnout and 60 percent of Kansans validated a women’s right to privacy and reproductive right. And I think we set the stage then, for other states to do what they had to do… and I think it’s carrying on. There’s no lack of interest now. It really has awoken people, particularly our young people.”
Since 2018, the DGA has invested greater than $80 million in states and campaigns to elect and re-elect this group, additionally launching the Ladies Governors Fund devoted to electing Democratic girls governors.
Watch the ladies focus on the above, share their recommendation for Harris (“Let Kamala be Kamala” and “We have not won; we have to fight for every single vote”) and extra within the chat, under.
