Cori Bush
Appearances
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
Yes, and I absolutely do. But Brittany, I'm going to take some time to look my husband in his face to spend time with my kids and, you know, and my loved ones, because we worked hard for St. Louis. I mean, I physically made myself sick multiple times, not taking days off, going for weeks physically. you know, working, you know, really, really hard for St.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
Louis, and now I'm going to take some time. But I will be able to help my colleagues, and I'm especially talking about the squad, Representative Ayanna Pressley and Ilhan Omar and Summer Lee and others, Rashida Tlaib. I will be able to push from the outside to help the work that they're doing on the inside.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
Thank you for having me.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
It was shocking because I did not expect the disinformation, the lies and the misinformation, the racism that came into play in my election to actually work.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
It was disappointing. I mean, just losing a race already is tough. But when you lose a race based on lies, when you lose a race based on just this idea that billionaire corporations and donors that they can come into your district and decide the elected representative. That's what really was disheartening for me.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
Good. It's good to talk to you again. How are you doing? I'm great. I'm great. You know, all things considered. Yeah. Yeah.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
Well, I'll say, I think progressivism is still very popular because we see all across the country where people vote for the progressive values. Like in my state, we were able to get minimum wage increase. We were able to get the abortion ban. We were able to overturn that in November. But progressive politicians, there is some struggle there.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
Well, I actually do believe that progressivism still should win the day because... What we're talking about is partly due to messaging. And so, like you said, you know, what we're seeing on social media, the whole quote unquote trad wife, you know, all of that. There are people who that's that's their thing. Absolutely. Absolutely.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
But I don't believe that the country is moving to this place of conservatism where, you know, we are pushing aside, you know, wanting because let's be clear what, you know, what progressivism is. We're saying that we want each and every person to have power. access to clean water and clean air. We want a rise, an increase in minimum wage.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
We want each and every person to have access to transportation and college, you know, if they choose to go. You know, we want to close the racial wage gap, but we also want to close the gender wage gap. We're talking about human rights for each and every person.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
Well... But the thing is, we dropped all of these investment that we spoke so much about. We just dropped it and said, hey, well, one day we'll come back to this. We've talked about being the party of civil rights and human rights and the party of peace, the party of justice. But we have not delivered on that.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
People have said, you know what, you all talk about being the party of justice, but you couldn't even get George Floyd Justice and Policing Act done. We talk about peace and you say you're fighting for a ceasefire. You say you're fighting tirelessly for a ceasefire.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
But then when you say you're fighting for the ceasefire, but then weapons and money is flowing at the same day that you say that money and weapons are flowing to go and bomb children. And so what they see is us having saying one thing and then doing doing another. But I'll say the one thing that has stuck out to me the most, Brittany, is what people have said to me is, Corey,
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
At least we see them talking about the Republicans, talking about Donald Trump fighting. I have people in my district who would never have voted for me before, who told me that they initially, you know, back a few years ago, oh, I didn't vote for you. But I changed my mind to start voting for you because I see that you are a fighter. We might not agree on all of the issues, but you fight.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
And so that's another thing. What they what people have seen is, you know, they feel like they see Donald Trump fighting. They feel like they don't see the Democrats doing the same thing as a whole. But what they have seen is us move based on corporate interests. They have seen this. They've called it this elitism that has started to push out regular everyday people. And we have to reverse that.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
We should... not fight one another. We should be who we say we are. So I think that's the first thing. Pick who, pick, like, let's pick who are the Democrats going to be now and then be that so that those folks who feel like, well, then this is not my team can go find their team. Because if progressives aren't wanted in the Democratic Party, then If we're not wanted, then tell us that.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
Let that be clear that this we've decided to move this this other way. But if we are this, you know, bigger tent that that, you know, we hear sometimes and I won't say big tent, I'll say bigger tent. If that is the case, then we have to show it. You can't push out the younger generations and say, well, you're not ready yet. It's not your time. We don't need to listen to you.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
We don't need you in places of leadership. We can't do that and then say, but we want the youth. We want the youth movement. We want the youth vote. We want the youth to feel engaged because you're showing us a different thing. So I think that Democrats, it should not be, yeah, we need to move more to the right because you need to be who you say you are.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
We allow these folks that have no clue what they're talking about to build a narrative and then we go run and we all scatter. Oh my goodness, we got to do something different.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
So I think here we are again with we allow these folks that have no clue what they're talking about to build a narrative. And then we go run and we all scatter. Oh, my goodness. We got to do something different. No, speak up and say that is not what identity politics is. So identity politics would say that, hey, we need a black person to do this.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
And so let's put let's find a black person to go and do this and let's push them up. Go do this. Work this position. That's not what we're doing. That's not what Democrats have been doing. This is about understanding that. There are people who historically have been excluded from positions of leadership simply because not that they don't have the background, the credentials, the experience.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
In other ways, oftentimes, it's just that they've been pushed out because our leadership is not being acknowledged. So identity politics was a way of saying, hey, you got to pay attention to the fact that black women don't. You know, we're just as amazing. We're just as brilliant, if not more, you know, than this candidate that you have. And so pay attention to that.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
And then we need to also celebrate the fact that, yes, Cori Bush was the very first black woman to ever go to Congress from the state of Missouri in the United States history. That is something to be celebrated and it's something to be pissed off about that it took this long to get the first one. So we shouldn't push it aside.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
We should we should be able to say, you know what, we made a mistake here. So I'm not getting rid of identity politics, but I'm not just pushing up people because of what they look like and because of what they believe. I'm not doing that either. We need the best person for the position. But the best person is not always default position. a white male.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
You know, change doesn't come easy and change may not happen overnight. But one way that change does not happen is when we stop. It's OK to get to feel discouraged, you know, on a Tuesday. But by Thursday, pull it together. We cannot allow the destruction, devastation that could happen in our communities anymore.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
The harm that could happen to our loved ones because people who don't have our best interests at heart, people who don't understand our pain are the ones in power making the decisions and they have no pushback. I understand feeling disillusioned. And I'll say this as someone who just, you know, who lost her race built upon and based upon lies. I get it. But. My kids have to live.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
I have four beautiful kids and a grandson. They have to live in this world, this legacy that will be left to them. You know, my dad, my mom, my family, you know, my friends, I have to do the work because it's in me. I have to do the work to make sure that I can build for them. So I don't care who the president or the administration is. I don't care who the mayor is.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
I had just gotten dressed because I changed clothes from being out, you know, at the polls all day. And I just walked in the room and the team was just kind of frantically looking at their phones, just looking really somber.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
I don't care, you know, who the dog catcher is. I'm going to do the work for my community. And so for those that feel that movement has not done enough, well, then join movement. Help us to do better. We work better together than we do apart fighting one another. And where we can't make the change we want, then we work to mitigate the harm.
It's Been a Minute
Is The Squad dead? Cori Bush on the future of progressive politics
And that's where we got to look to that right now with this new administration, Brittany. You know, for those of us that are feeling like what is about to happen will really hurt people around us, you know, we have to look at how we fight against what's coming. Yeah.