Each week, Country First will highlight a key member who has demonstrated placing Country over Party. If you would like to submit someone who has made a positive impact on your experience with Country First, please email [email protected].
Meet Jacki Abbey:
What has been your focus at Country 1st?
My focus at Country 1st has been political research. I started by identifying election deniers in various offices (e.g. members of the US House and Senate, state legislators, attorneys general, etc.), then I moved into researching the highly coordinated election manipulation efforts happening on the right, under the auspices of “election integrity”.
What was your motivation for joining and how did you hear about us?
I followed the January 6th hearings very closely, and had great respect for the whole team of people who made those happen. I set out to find a place to help to take that very important work that was done by the committee and built on it, as a means of protecting our democracy.
What are your hopes for America in the coming years and generations?
My hope is that we as a nation can move through this period of turmoil & divisiveness, and that in the next several months millions of Americans, who currently are not paying attention, will wake up to the fact that we have an aspiring authoritarian on the ballot. I hope that American voters understand that our fragile democracy is indeed at stake, and they will see that it is a bigger issue than their particular policy preferences. Policies can shift back-and-forth, but once a functioning democracy is lost, it’s very difficult to get it back again. My hope for generations to come is that the United States America remains a functioning democracy and that we all get to take advantage of the freedoms that it provides.
Do you think we can right the ship?
I’m optimistic by nature, so I believe there is a good chance that over time we can right the ship. However, I have visited several countries run by authoritarian leaders, and I lived in one for a year, so I know the threat and reality of authoritarianism. For the first time, I believe that it is a real threat here in America, where we have built strong democratic institutions, but we have a leader of a major party, who is intent on tearing those down for his own personal pay-off. It is my abiding hope that the majority of Americans will vote down that threat this November.
Thank you Jacki, for your contributions to Country First, and democracy more broadly!
