Rep. Joe Kennedy of Massachusetts gave the Democratic response to President Donald Trump’s first State of the Union address Tuesday, claiming that President Donald Trump and the Republican Party is leading American life into a “zero-sum game.”
Within a minute, Kennedy brought up the supposed Russian interference in the 2016 presidential election; a Republican tax bill that solely helps wealthy, corporate America; a Department of Justice under the leadership of Attorney General Jeff Sessions that is supposedly unfair; the Charlottesville riots; and the plight of the transgender community.
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“A government that struggles to keep itself open. Russia knee-deep in our democracy. An all-out war on environmental protection. A Justice Department rolling back civil rights by the day. Hatred and supremacy proudly marching in our streets. Bullets tearing through our classrooms, concerts, and congregations. Targeting our safest, sacred places. And that nagging, sinking feeling, no matter your political beliefs: this is not right. This is not who we are,” Kennedy said Tuesday evening.
Kennedy also promised to tear down the wall that President Donald Trump promises to build along the southern border of the U.S. and Mexico.
“You sat high atop your mom’s shoulders and held a sign that read: ‘Build a wall and my generation will tear it down,'” Kennedy said.
The Massachusetts representative went on to paint a picture of what America could be under Democratic leadership: a nation that protects global trade pacts, illegal immigrants and hits CEOs for making more money than most Americans.
“We choose the living wage, paid leave and affordable childcare your family needs to survive. We choose pensions that are solvent, trade pacts that are fair, roads and bridges that won’t rust away and good education you can afford,” Kennedy said.
“We choose a health care system that offers mercy, whether you suffer from cancer or depression or addiction. We choose an economy strong enough to boast record stock prices AND brave enough to admit that top CEOs making 300 times the average worker is not right. We choose the thousands of American communities whose roads aren’t paved with power or privilege, but with honest effort, good faith and the resolve to build something better for their kids.”
Kennedy left viewers Tuesday evening with a plea for hope, promising that “our union is hopeful, resilient, enduring.”
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