DAGA Partners with Moore & Associates on New Video Featuring a Team of Animated Democratic AG Superheroes Fighting for the People Against the Trump Administration and Its Dangerous Policies

Jon Hamm, Kathleen Turner, Franchesca Ramsey, David Cross, Amber Tamblyn, Todd Barry, Jordan Carlos, Kathy Najimy, Sandra Bernhard, Jen Kirkman and Hari Kondabolu Lend Their Voices to DAGA Effort

WASHINGTON, D.C.— The Democratic Attorneys General Association (DAGA) partnered with Moore & Associates on a series of new videos featuring a team of animated Democratic AG superheroes to spotlight the important work that has been done by Democratic Attorneys General to defend the people from a never-ending barrage of attacks coming out of the Trump administration since 2017. The videos, “DAGA vs. MAGA,” take a creative approach using comedy and cartoon to educate people about the crucial role Democratic AGs have been playing in protecting our democracy and fighting back against the bad actors.

“We’re five days away from an election that goes to the heart of what it means to be American. We will make a choice about which leaders we all can trust to put our families and communities first. In rare moments like this, we could use some real-life super-heroes,” said Sean Rankin, Executive Director of the Democratic Attorneys General Association. “For the last four years, DAGA has worked hard and succeeded in electing and supporting those real-life super-heroes. The overwhelming number of wins by Democratic AGs in court continues to be a testament to their skill in using the law as both a sword and shield to guarantee all people in this country have the opportunity to live their version of the American dream.”

“Democratic AGs told us they are the muscle of the resistance, so we took them literally,” said Mik Moore, founder of Moore + Associates, a leading producer of comedy videos for political campaigns. “At a time of seemingly uninterrupted tragedy, we thought people deserved to smile while celebrating the incredible work Democratic AGs have been doing on behalf of the American people.”

Democratic Attorneys General characters were voiced by influential artists seeking to help highlight the importance of down-ballot races like state Attorneys General and underscore Dem AGs success battling back dangerous Trump administration policies. The talent who collaborated on this project included: Amber Tamblyn, David Cross, Franchesca Ramsey, Hari Kondabolu, Jen Kirkman, Jon Hamm, Jordan Carlos, Kathleen Turner, Kathy Najimy, Sandra Bernhard, and Todd Barry.

“I was excited to voice New York State Attorney General Tish James, who has used the power of her office to hold the Trump administration and unscrupulous businesses accountable,” said Franchesca Ramsey, host of MTV’s Decoded. “We need more superheroes like her!”

“Aaron Ford is a fellow Dallasite who appreciates justice and bow ties,” said Jordan Carlos, head writer, The Drew Barrymore Show. “For those reasons he has my total support!”

Although set in a cartoon world, the scenes and characters reflect real-life issues and situations where Democratic AGs stepped up as the people’s lawyers to fight against the “villains” of the Trump administration. This includes standing up for peaceful protestors, fighting against dangerous immigration policies like family separation and rescinding the DACA program, stopping Betsy DeVos’ Department of Education’s attempt to strip funding from public schools and harm students, and protecting free and fair elections. In addition to the full video, DAGA is also releasing two vignettes portraying Democratic AGs defending the people featuring an animated Michigan AG Dana Nessel and New York AG Tish James. Additional information below on Democratic AG actions.

The chaos in Washington over the last four years has put a spotlight on the leading role Dem AGs play in protecting health care, standing up for students, fighting for immigrant communities, defending reproductive freedom, and fighting for our civil and human rights. Together, this group of real-life superheroes has served as the strongest check and balance in our democracy, holding the Administration, corporations, and all institutions legally accountable to the people they serve. In fact, Democratic AGs have filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump administration, and so far, they have seen a success rate of over 80% in court.

Bringing attention to the 10 state Attorney General races on the November ballot in this unprecedented election year required utilizing different approaches to raise awareness of this crucial office. DAGA’s partnership with Moore & Associates and prominent talent is just the latest example of DAGA thinking outside the box and doing things differently to reach people. In 2016, DAGA moved from a part-time committee based in Colorado to a full-time organization that has now won eight battleground races going head-to-head with the Republican Attorneys General Association. In 2017, DAGA launched a Women’s Initiative to elect more women to the office of state Attorney General with an expressed commitment to equal representation. In 2018, DAGA helped flip four seats blue and elect the most diverse coalition of Democratic Attorneys General in history. The committee is currently spearheaded by two women for the first time in history, Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum and Massachusetts AG Maura Healey. Most recently, DAGA earned the attention of top Democrats and reproductive rights leaders for becoming the first Democratic campaign committee to require candidates to publicly commit to protecting reproductive rights in order to receive financial support from the committee.

ADDITIONAL BACKGROUND ON DEM AG ACTIONS

Standing Up for Peaceful Protestors:

• In Portland, Oregon AG Ellen Rosenblum stood up for protestors rights to peacefully gather and sued the Trump administration for illegally deploying federal agents without the consent of the state.
• In New York, AG Tish James held public hearings and issued recommendations to hold the N.Y.P.D accountable for the conduct used against peaceful protestors.

Fighting Against Dangerous Immigration Policies:

• When it became public the Trump administration was separating families at the U.S.-Mexico border, Democratic Attorneys General across the country stepped in to take action. 18 Democratic AGs sued the Trump administration to force them to stop this harmful policy that rips kids from their families.
  • Nevada AG Aaron Ford joined the coalition of Democratic AGs saying, “This latest Trump Administration policy to keep children in cages for an indefinite period of time is both cruel and shameful.”
• California AG Xavier Becerra led a coalition of Democratic AGs in successfully defending the DACA program at the U.S. Supreme Court – allowing people to continue to sign up and renew their DACA status.
• New York AG Tish James led a coalition of Democratic AGs in asking the Supreme Court to halt Trump’s discriminatory “public charge” rule which would curtail the use of public benefits by immigrants until the COVID-19 crisis ends.

Stopping the Department of Education from Enacting Harmful Policies:

• When Education Secretary Betsy DeVos sought to take crucial aid provided by the COVID-19 relief package and give it to private schools, Democratic AGs led by Michigan AG Dana Nessel filed a lawsuit to protect critical funding for kids in low-income and diverse communities to make sure they received the aid they needed. In September, AG Nessel announced they had won!
• When Education Secretary DeVos announced weakened Title IX protections, Democratic AGs sued to make sure students were able to learn in an environment free from discrimination based on sex, and free from sexual violence and harassment.
• A Democratic AG coalition sued Education Secretary DeVos for a harmful rule change that would have made it more difficult for students who have been defrauded – particularly by for-profit colleges – to have their student loans cancelled.

Protecting the Right to Vote and the Importance of Free & Fair Elections:

• When President Trump and Republican leaders began to sabotage mail services and sow doubt in the upcoming election – questioning voting-by-mail, refusing to commit to a peaceful transfer of power and more – Democratic AGs stepped up to provide the leadership desperately needed to reassure voters their vote will count and the results of the election will be respected. For a quick recap of how Democratic AGs are protecting the election see this blog post here.
  • Three Democratic AG coalitions successfully reversed harmful changes and stop any further changes from happening.