General Discussion
Related: Editorials & Other Articles, Issue Forums, Alliance Forums, Region ForumsOn the eve of the SOTU, Joe Kennedy III weighs in.....
Three years ago, a man named Donald Trump usurped Americas economic story. He offered a simple explanation for the hurt so many carry: Its the other guys fault. The brown guy. The immigrant. The gay one, the woman, that one over there, who looks different and sounds funny.
He like many an aristocrat and supremacist before him deftly turned us on each other, defusing the force that abusers of privilege fear most: solidarity among the people they oppress. So Americans today fight each other over the scraps of our system, instead of uniting to fight a system that finds them worthy of only scraps to begin with.
A system that fails the coal miner in Harlan forced to defend his hard-earned pension and the nanny in the Bronx battling for basic benefits. That siphons the livelihood of the fifth-generation dairy farm in Oshkosh and the first-generation immigrant business in El Paso. That ignores the profound human cost of poverty on the reservation in South Dakota and in the depleted communities of Eastern Kentucky.
A year ago I had the incredible honor of addressing this nation after President Trump's State of the Union. The message still stands: Democrats choose both. We fight for both. We reject a system -- and a President -- that tells us we have to leave anyone behind.
Credit to: Joe Kennedy III Facebook page
LakeArenal
(28,947 posts)olegramps
(8,200 posts)The greatest enemy of the working class has always been and remains to be the Republican Party. They are determined to destroy the Middle Class that FDR created with the passage of numerous pieces of progressive legislation. The Democrats must also be held accountable for while they rested on the laurels that had been gained by working class the Republicans continued to work with fanatical determination to enslave the working class.
The key was the destruction of the unions which the Republicans are determined to destroy along with Social Security and Medicare. Every time they have controlled congress and the White House they have passed legislation to restrict unionization while passing every piece of legislation that benefits the oligarchs. The are determined to rescind every piece of legislation that in any why restricts profits. They could care less that industries are poisoning atmosphere and turning the water resources into sewage.
The Republican Party has not one redeeming quality. It is the enemy. When in control of the presidency they have appointed outright enemies of labor in every cabinet position and environmental agency. This administration has been appointing secretaries whose only qualification is their blind determination to pursue the goal of total disenfranchise and subjugation of the working class. They are determined to stack the courts with extreme right wing activists who will assure that their oppressive legislation is not challenged. Don't expect them to reinstate the Fairness Doctrine in broadcasting. They are determined to do exactly the opposite and destroy the free press. The enemy is not at the gates they are sitting at the banquet table and enjoying their feast of oppression.
Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)However, I think LakeArenal was just commenting on how many qualified candidates we have in our party. Open ended comment, not at all touching on republicans because, you're absolutely correct....they are the enemy!
Snotcicles
(9,089 posts)olegramps
(8,200 posts)Let me add one comment. I believe that it was a major mistake not to hold the Republicans accountable for taking the nation to war in Iraq on absolute lies by both the president and vice president. These were not mistaken falsehoods, but determined deceptions. There should have been full investigations by congress and they should have been held accountable. The fact is that they were so egregious that they should have been tried in court. They should have been held accountable for the deaths and crippling of our soldiers that they sacrificed in their determination to seize the oil supplies in the Middle East which was the stated determination of the neo-cons in their PNAC document.
MyOwnPeace
(16,975 posts)that we have Americans who cannot hear, understand, and unite for making that message into the vision for America moving forward. THAT would indeed make America great again (the right way!).
world wide wally
(21,762 posts)Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)right?
world wide wally
(21,762 posts)Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)MyOwnPeace
(16,975 posts)Boy, did that wake ME up! "Whoa, you talkin' to me?"
Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)PeeJ52
(1,588 posts)CentralMass
(15,265 posts)Congressman Kennedy speak on STEM and then got a chance to meet and talk with him afterwards. He is an impressive guy.
TCJ70
(4,387 posts)At least Bernie has the decency to go AFTER!
George II
(67,782 posts)ehrnst
(32,640 posts)about how unacceptably wealthy Kennedy is, and how "anti-progressive" he is, and DYNASTY!!111
louis c
(8,652 posts)...so I have no idea what you are talking about.
Are we supposed to stop posting here at DU until Stacy replies to Trump?
Please explain your point, because I don't get it.
SunSeeker
(52,000 posts)It can't be. It was posted BEFORE the SOTU, and is basically commemorating Kennedy's SOTU rebuttal from last year. He is not stepping on Abram's role as Rebuttal to Trump's 2019 SOTU, unlike Sanders.
I'm sure you know the difference.
NBachers
(17,236 posts)TCJ70
(4,387 posts)It doesn't matter when a political figure puts out their thoughts on social media. The outrage Bernie received compared to the lack thereof in regards to Harris and this is pretty clearly on display.
NBachers
(17,236 posts)dhill926
(16,419 posts)love how he frames things...
DFW
(54,681 posts)I am in no way advocating a ticket with him and Beto on it for next year.
(but it wouldn't break my heart, either)
Heartstrings
(7,349 posts)A Biden/Kennedy ticket could be something to reckon with. The two "Joe's"!
DFW
(54,681 posts)Though with an understudy like that in the shadows, we could hardly lose.
Moostache
(9,900 posts)THAT is what I want in my President...passion. compassion, resolve and the ability to think about issues on more than a soundbite basis.
JK3 is the one for me!!!!
smirkymonkey
(63,221 posts)He ticks off every box. Maybe he needs a bit more experience, but if the republicans can run and get Trump elected, that argument falls apart.
question everything
(47,717 posts)So what if he is part of a "dynasty." He has a lot to offer.
Honeycombe8
(37,648 posts)AdamGG
(1,306 posts)If Elizabeth Warren becomes President or takes a cabinet post from whoever does. I'd kind of like to see her come in and reconstitute the Consumer Finance Protection Bureau.
Fuzzpope
(602 posts)There was a magic button we could press to instantly make this young man ten years older.
He would be not only formidable, as he is now, but perceived as such in a manner that is not possible today.
He's outstanding but looks so young I can easily see many (idiotic) ppl dismissing him based solely upon this.
His time is yet to come, but it will indeed one day.
hermetic
(8,357 posts)He says the smartest, most wonderful things. Just leaves me in awe.
pangaia
(24,324 posts)THAT is a message I hope DEMS will run with... held high and shouted every day..