Author | Lightnews

Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

Their time is ending. Democracy's reckoning is coming. And no rigged map, no stolen vote, no erased record can stop a people who refuse to be silent.

We're just getting started.

#NoKings #NCPolitics #DefendDemocracy #TheyreAfraid

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

Yesterday, truth was spoken. Today, they're still trying to silence it. Tomorrow, we rise louder than before.

The fight continues. The promise endures. And every desperate attempt they make to silence us only proves we're saying exactly what they fear most:

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

They were so afraid of the truth, they voted to erase it from history.

That tells you everything about the weakness of their cause and everything about the power of ours.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

So we get louder. We organize harder. We fight fiercer.

They can block words from a journal, but they cannot block the march of justice. They can erase speeches from the record, but they cannot erase the promise from the hearts of a people who refuse to bow to kings.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

Their fear means we're winning. Their desperation means our movement has power. Their need to erase us from the record means they hear us perfectly, and what they hear terrifies them.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

Because every time they silence a voice, ten more rise up. Every time they rig a map, a thousand more people organize. Every time they betray democracy, a million more Americans understand: this is the fight of our generation, and surrender is not an option.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

This weekend, millions marched saying "America has no kings." Yesterday, North Carolina Republicans proved exactly why those marches were necessary.

They rigged our elections, tried to erase any record of opposition, then went home thinking they'd won.

They have no idea what's coming.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

Not today's vote, they won that. They got their rigged maps. They'll steal their seats. They'll cling to power for a few more years.

But they're losing the war that matters. The war for legitimacy. The war for history's judgment. The war for the hearts and minds of the next generation watching.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

You don't vote on party lines to block routine motions unless you're terrified of what they represent.

You don't abandon decades of Senate courtesy unless you know, deep in your bones, that history will not be kind.

They are losing, and they know it.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

And now millions more will hear about it, because their attempt to silence it only amplified the message.

They tried to bury the truth. Instead, they proved it.

Their fear is our proof. Their shame is our vindication.

You don't try to erase words from the record unless those words have power.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

But you can't erase truth by blocking it from a journal.

You can't make democracy's defenders disappear by parliamentary procedure. You can't memory-hole a movement by refusing to record it.

Those words were said. Thousands watched online. The press reported it. North Carolinians heard it.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

They know they stole voices and rigged maps and betrayed their oaths.

And they're so ashamed, so terrified that future generations will read what was said and render judgment, that they won't even let the words stand in the record.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

If they believed they were serving North Carolina, they'd let history judge them on the merits.

But they don't believe any of that. They know what they did was wrong. They know they sold out democracy. They know they chose Trump over the people of North Carolina.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

That's not the behavior of people confident in their principles. That's the behavior of people ashamed of their actions.

If what they did was righteous, they'd want it documented. If their cause was just, they'd welcome debate for the permanent record.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

They weren't blocking the record to protect themselves, they were doing it because they know history will judge them harshly for what they did yesterday.

They voted to rig our elections at Trump's command, and then, in the very next breath, tried to memory-hole anyone who dared to say it out loud.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

They rigged the maps. Then they voted to erase any record of someone calling them out for it.

This isn't about me. This is about what their fear reveals.

They weren't afraid of my words because they were false, they were afraid because they were true.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

The Republicans immediately objected.

They forced a vote. And on a straight party line, they voted to keep my words out of the permanent record.

In my entire time in the Senate, I have never seen this happen.

Let that sink in for a moment.

🔗 to full speech: www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2bK...

Democracy Under Assault in North Carolina

YouTube video by Michael Garrett

www.youtube.com

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

Senator Grafstein moved that my remarks be spread upon the journal, entered into the permanent record of this body. This is routine. It happens constantly. It's almost always done without objection, a simple courtesy extended across party lines for speeches on both sides.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · 22h

They Were So Afraid, They Erased the Words.

Yesterday, I spoke truth about what happened in North Carolina. About democracy being stolen in broad daylight. About rigged maps and broken promises. About betraying every sacrifice ever made for the right to vote.

Then something extraordinary happened.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · Aug 25

Here's to a year of new friendships, breakthrough moments, and growth for every student. The future isn't just bright, Guilford County—it's blazing with possibility.

Let's make it unforgettable!

#BackToSchool #GuilfordCounty #ProudParent #Education

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · Aug 25

That same spirit lives on today. To every teacher, bus driver, cafeteria worker, custodian, and staff member—you are the architects of possibility. You plant seeds of curiosity that bloom for decades. You make magic happen, and we see you.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · Aug 25

Ms. Murr who believed in us with unwavering faith. These weren't just educators—they were champions who poured their hearts into every lesson and ignited something powerful within us.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · Aug 25

I know the magic that happens in Guilford County schools because I lived it. Mrs. Karas, my kindergarten teacher. Mrs. Morris and Mrs. Lawson with that special pig drawing. Mr. Farkas who knew every student's name and played the Rocky theme song at awards ceremonies.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · Aug 25

Time moves in slow motion during exhausting toddler days, then suddenly fast-forwards. Before you know it, you're at the school entrance with that bittersweet ache every parent knows.

To every parent dropping off their little one today—we're all in this beautiful, terrifying journey together.

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Sen. Michael K. Garrett @michaelgarrett.bsky.social · Aug 25

It feels like just yesterday I was driving 10 mph under the speed limit home from the hospital. Those sleepless nights, wobbly first steps across our living room floor.

And here we are. Jack walking confidently into second grade, Charlotte clutching her kindergarten lunchbox with pure excitement.

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