Like the one last night (State Sen. Suzette Martinez Valladares) on CNN getting all tripped up by the questions anchor Brianna Keilar was asking her.
She was one of several Republicans who filed a lawsuit to force the state legislature to pause its attempt to put a new congressional map up to a vote next year. She admitted during the interview that the California Supreme Court denied the petition.
But she still accused California Democrats of trying to redraw their congressional map “behind closed doors with no transparency.”
CNN host Brianna Keilar pressed her though.
“Do you hold Texas Republicans at all responsible for what you’re facing in your state?” as Keilar pointed out that there’s a trigger in the California bill that only lets their new map go into effect if another state, like Texas, redistricts to increase Republican power in Congress.
Valladares attempted to avoid the question by saying she's not an expert in Texas law, and said that the trigger in the California bill mentions any state, not just Texas, redistricting.
“Okay. But that’s the effect of this. There is a trigger. This isn’t happening in a vacuum. There’s a contingency. And in this case, it is Texas. So let’s just be clear. If it says other states, well, it’s Texas,” Keilar pressed. “So do you have any criticism from members of your own party in Texas?”
Valladares again balked, speaking positively about California’s independent redistricting commission.
“So then what do you think about what they’re doing in Texas?” Keilar asked again.
Valladares said that all states should “do the right thing” and “implement your own independent redistricting commission” without saying anything about Texas Republicans in particular.
“If you can’t criticize Republicans in Texas for their approach, which is so different from the one that you’re advocating for in California, I mean, how should voters see California Republicans as opposed to a move like this, only when it doesn’t favor them?” Keilar asked.
“This isn’t a Republican issue. This isn’t a Democrat issue. This is an issue of political elitists in California silencing and taking the power away from California voters,” Valladares said.
