My Response to Joe Kennedy's Response
The speech by US Representative Joseph Kennedy III was remarkably divisive and partisan. Rep. Kennedy misrepresented the President's comments while excluding the interests of a number of groups. The irony is the goal of his speech was to say Democrats are uniters while it is Donald Trump and Republicans who are the divisive ones.
Let's go down some of the points in Rep. Kennedy's speech. He started by reflecting on some things that happened in the past year. "A government that struggles to keep itself open." Passage of a budget lies with Congress not with the Executive branch of government. Furthermore, Democrats were equally to blame for the brief shutdown, providing no votes in the Senate initially to overcome the filibuster and pass a short term budget.
"Russia, knee deep in our democracy." Wait - didn't the Russian interference in our election happen during President Obama's Administration? In fact, the Obama Administration had hard evidence of Russian interference by August and took little action.*
"A Justice Department rolling back civil rights by the day." Really? Wasn't it the Obama Administration's Justice Department that dropped all charges against Black Panther thugs who stood at the polling booth with weapons threatening voters, looked the other way as White House officials used the IRS to suppress political opponents, and spied on the Trump Campaign during the last election? But let's move on to other points...
Rep. Kennedy accuses the Administration of "...turning American lives into a zero-sum game. For one to win another must lose." Really? It's been one month since the tax law passed and 3 million people have gotten bonuses from their employers. Companies have promised to invest billions in the US and create tens of thousands of jobs for Americans. Not fast food jobs but auto and technology manufacturing jobs. That's not zero sum. That's creating a situation where everyone can win.
Rep. Kennedy says "we choose a living wage..." This from the party that says bonuses of $1000 to $3000 for middle class families are crumbs. A party that whines about companies paying dividends to shareholders while conveniently ignoring the fact that every American with a 401k or an IRA is one of those shareholders and their prospects for retirement just started looking brighter. And that doesn't even include the reduction in people's income taxes that is still to follow.
So what do the Democrats propose to offer the middle class that is better than those "crumbs?" Rep. Kennedy did not say. But perhaps history should be our guide. During the Obama Administration, the Democrats worked diligently to try to raise the minimum wage and force Wal-Mart and McDonald's to pay more for greeters and hamburger flippers. They called that a living wage and apparently call those jobs that someone should aspire to achieve so they can raise a family. Really?
That said, there was one way that Rep. Kennedy's speech was inclusive. It included many of the ideas proposed by President Trump. Paid family leave - check. Trade that is fair - check. Roads and bridges - check. A good education - perhaps like the vo-tech education President Trump mentioned? Check.
Let's look at other points of so-called inclusiveness. Rep. Kennedy mentioned the recent Women's March. The March whose organizers exclude any woman who has a different political view point. He mentioned Black Lives Matter - the movement that marches in parades and shouts chants like "pigs in a blanket, fry like bacon" and other slogans advocating that cops be killed or attacked. Very inclusive that.
Then there are the "Dreamers." Did Rep. Kennedy acknowledge that President Trump is offering a plan for 2 to 3 times as many people as were covered by President Obama's DACA Executive Order? No, he did not. Did Rep. Kennedy acknowledge that President Obama's plan was to let people stay in the US under an Executive Order that Sen. Diane Feinstein said might be illegal while President Trump is forcing Congress to solve the immigration problem and give Dreamers a chance to become an American citizen under a law properly enacted by Congress? No he did not.
Sticking with immigration, did Rep. Kennedy mention the children of the two couples killed by the gang MS13? No he did not. Did he mention the terror acts by individuals who entered the country on chain migration or lottery visas? No he did not. Don't those teenage girls - don't all Americans deserve to be included as people our Country needs to protect? Apparently not because none of those people was mentioned at all by Rep. Kennedy.
Here's my advice to Rep. Kennedy and his party. If you want to make a speech that proves yours is the party for all the people then don't celebrate organizations that exclude many people and advocate violence toward police - that's promoting exclusion. Don't fail to acknowledge and credit good things done by the other party. Don't engage in condemnation and name calling. Those actions are divisive. And when you call on our Country to protect everyone, then do as President Trump did and call for helping everyone who needs protection not just the people who vote for your party.
Let's go down some of the points in Rep. Kennedy's speech. He started by reflecting on some things that happened in the past year. "A government that struggles to keep itself open." Passage of a budget lies with Congress not with the Executive branch of government. Furthermore, Democrats were equally to blame for the brief shutdown, providing no votes in the Senate initially to overcome the filibuster and pass a short term budget.
"Russia, knee deep in our democracy." Wait - didn't the Russian interference in our election happen during President Obama's Administration? In fact, the Obama Administration had hard evidence of Russian interference by August and took little action.*
"A Justice Department rolling back civil rights by the day." Really? Wasn't it the Obama Administration's Justice Department that dropped all charges against Black Panther thugs who stood at the polling booth with weapons threatening voters, looked the other way as White House officials used the IRS to suppress political opponents, and spied on the Trump Campaign during the last election? But let's move on to other points...
Rep. Kennedy accuses the Administration of "...turning American lives into a zero-sum game. For one to win another must lose." Really? It's been one month since the tax law passed and 3 million people have gotten bonuses from their employers. Companies have promised to invest billions in the US and create tens of thousands of jobs for Americans. Not fast food jobs but auto and technology manufacturing jobs. That's not zero sum. That's creating a situation where everyone can win.
Rep. Kennedy says "we choose a living wage..." This from the party that says bonuses of $1000 to $3000 for middle class families are crumbs. A party that whines about companies paying dividends to shareholders while conveniently ignoring the fact that every American with a 401k or an IRA is one of those shareholders and their prospects for retirement just started looking brighter. And that doesn't even include the reduction in people's income taxes that is still to follow.
So what do the Democrats propose to offer the middle class that is better than those "crumbs?" Rep. Kennedy did not say. But perhaps history should be our guide. During the Obama Administration, the Democrats worked diligently to try to raise the minimum wage and force Wal-Mart and McDonald's to pay more for greeters and hamburger flippers. They called that a living wage and apparently call those jobs that someone should aspire to achieve so they can raise a family. Really?
That said, there was one way that Rep. Kennedy's speech was inclusive. It included many of the ideas proposed by President Trump. Paid family leave - check. Trade that is fair - check. Roads and bridges - check. A good education - perhaps like the vo-tech education President Trump mentioned? Check.
Let's look at other points of so-called inclusiveness. Rep. Kennedy mentioned the recent Women's March. The March whose organizers exclude any woman who has a different political view point. He mentioned Black Lives Matter - the movement that marches in parades and shouts chants like "pigs in a blanket, fry like bacon" and other slogans advocating that cops be killed or attacked. Very inclusive that.
Then there are the "Dreamers." Did Rep. Kennedy acknowledge that President Trump is offering a plan for 2 to 3 times as many people as were covered by President Obama's DACA Executive Order? No, he did not. Did Rep. Kennedy acknowledge that President Obama's plan was to let people stay in the US under an Executive Order that Sen. Diane Feinstein said might be illegal while President Trump is forcing Congress to solve the immigration problem and give Dreamers a chance to become an American citizen under a law properly enacted by Congress? No he did not.
Sticking with immigration, did Rep. Kennedy mention the children of the two couples killed by the gang MS13? No he did not. Did he mention the terror acts by individuals who entered the country on chain migration or lottery visas? No he did not. Don't those teenage girls - don't all Americans deserve to be included as people our Country needs to protect? Apparently not because none of those people was mentioned at all by Rep. Kennedy.
Here's my advice to Rep. Kennedy and his party. If you want to make a speech that proves yours is the party for all the people then don't celebrate organizations that exclude many people and advocate violence toward police - that's promoting exclusion. Don't fail to acknowledge and credit good things done by the other party. Don't engage in condemnation and name calling. Those actions are divisive. And when you call on our Country to protect everyone, then do as President Trump did and call for helping everyone who needs protection not just the people who vote for your party.
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