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Found on the Internets …
The Weekly Democratic Party Address was delivered by Congressman Jim Himes of Connecticut.
Rep. Himes: “It’s time to give America the tools to unlock a new wave of innovation, opportunity & good-paying jobs.”
Change happens today faster than ever before. New technology and global competition open new markets and offer life-changing advances.
But without planning and support, too many people get left behind.
When factories close, good people lose more than their paychecks. Dignity, worth and a sense of belonging also seep away. Pride and community turn to fear and division.
President Trump trades in that decline: He nurtures fear, paints a dark picture of the future, blames immigrants, Muslims, Democrats and the media. He promises walls and he promotes division.
And he delivers nothing. Not jobs. Not opportunity. Not unity.[…]
We must invest in lifelong learning, training and education, so that every worker, young or old, can be vital and relevant to the industries of tomorrow.
That’s why Democrats are offering the American people A Better Deal: better jobs, better wages and a better future. A Better Deal recognizes that the core of our economic success has always been hard-working Americans, growing businesses, and the sturdy playing field on which they compete: the highways, airports and railways that undergird American prosperity. […]
Our country needs and deserves leaders who will encourage us to be our better selves and who will champion the ideas that we know are good for our nation. These are the ideas that animate A Better Deal for families across America.
Democrats are all about opportunity, growth, innovation and the good jobs that follow. We will not be distracted. We will not be deterred.
(CSPAN link to Weekly Democratic Address: here)
(Link to Nancy Pelosi Newsroom here)
Transcript (via CBS): Connecticut Congressman Jim Himes Delivers Weekly Democratic Address
Hi, I’m Congressman Jim Himes. I represent southwestern Connecticut and have the privilege of chairing the New Democrat Coalition, a group of 61 forward-thinking pro-opportunity Democrats.
Walking around my district in southwestern Connecticut, you can’t miss the sharp economic challenge that we face today. In places, weeds and windblown concrete have replaced factories that used to make everything from clothing to the weapons that won two World Wars.
My grandpa Andrew spent his life working for Eastman Kodak, a company that brought magic into homes around the world. At its peak, Kodak employed almost 150,000 people. Five years ago, Eastman Kodak went bankrupt.
Fortunately, my district is also home to iconic innovators like Pitney Bowes and NBC Sports, and to growing newcomers like Datto, Synchrony and Indeed.com, which didn’t even exist 15 years ago. Restaurants and thriving retailers now occupy former barren lots in Bridgeport, Connecticut, because you cannot keep American innovation down.
Change happens today faster than ever before. New technology and global competition open new markets and offer life-changing advances.
But without planning and support, too many people get left behind.
When factories close, good people lose more than their paychecks. Dignity, worth and a sense of belonging also seep away. Pride and community turn to fear and division.
President Trump trades in that decline: He nurtures fear, paints a dark picture of the future, blames immigrants, Muslims, Democrats and the media. He promises walls and he promotes division.
And he delivers nothing. Not jobs. Not opportunity. Not unity.
We Americans are decent, neighborly, self-reliant people. We’re not looking for saviors or for handouts. We’re looking for opportunity. And we know exactly where it comes from.
In a changing world, Americans need to be better educated and skilled than people anywhere else.
That’s certainly my story. Whatever successes I’ve had ties straight back to strong public schools and teachers who cared. The Democrats’ A Better Deal demands no less for every single American child.
It’s time to make sure that our businesses offer apprenticeship programs to teach valuable skills. We must invest in lifelong learning, training and education, so that every worker, young or old, can be vital and relevant to the industries of tomorrow.
That’s why Democrats are offering the American people A Better Deal: better jobs, better wages and a better future. A Better Deal recognizes that the core of our economic success has always been hard-working Americans, growing businesses, and the sturdy playing field on which they compete: the highways, airports and railways that undergird American prosperity.
Since George Washington’s investment in the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal, businesses have always depending on a reliable foundation of communications, transportation and power.
We are descendants of people who spanned a continent with rails of steel, took to the skies, and crossed the black void of space to land men on the moon. We owe it to those generations to be better stewards of their legacy.
When did it become OK for our America to have second-class roads, airports, harbors and rails?
We know there’s hard work and tough choices ahead. But we also know from experiences that investments in education and training, in transportation, communication and power will pay for themselves many times over.
So why aren’t we coming together to make it happen?
Today, we’re distracted by the Tweeter-in-Chief, who deepens our divisions, sows seeds of discord and fans the flames of violence.
Our country needs and deserves leaders who will encourage us to be our better selves and who will champion the ideas that we know are good for our nation. These are the ideas that animate A Better Deal for families across America.
Democrats are all about opportunity, growth, innovation and the good jobs that follow. We will not be distracted. We will not be deterred. Because we understand something that President Trump never will: that our world can be a far, far better place – and that together we can make it so.
Any bolding has been added.
Rep. Himes’ New Democrat Coalition:
The New Democrat Coalition is made up of 61 forward-thinking Democrats in the House of Representatives who are committed to pro-economic growth, pro-innovation, and fiscally responsible policies. New Democrats are a solutions oriented coalition seeking to bridge the gap between left and right by challenging outmoded partisan approaches to governing. New Democrats believe the challenges ahead are too great for Members of Congress to refuse to cooperate purely out of partisanship.
There is more at the link.
More on A Better Deal:
House Democrats are fighting to make sure that all working people know that somebody has their back. By giving our communities the tools they need to thrive, and empowering American families and workers, we will unlock unprecedented economic growth that will lead to better jobs, better wages, and a better future.
The full proposal is at the link.
~
Congress is still on recess so there was no weekly House Democrat news conference this past week.
On Wednesday, Congressional Democrats issued a statement on Donald Trump’s speech at his campaign rally in Arizona Tuesday night: “Democrats Condemn Hate, Fight to Defend Sacred American Values”
Last night in his 77-minute speech in Phoenix, Arizona, President Trump went completely off the rails in defending his abhorrent response to the violence in Charlottesville – while conveniently omitting his defense of white supremacists – and hinting at pardoning Joe Arpaio, a former sheriff found guilty of racially profiling Latinos.
(UPDATE: He did pardon Arpaio)Simply put: President Trump’s behavior is beneath the dignity of the office. Even James Clapper, former Director of National Intelligence said the President’s speech was ‘downright scary and disturbing’ and called on Republicans to join Senator Bob Corker in recognizing ‘enough is enough.’
Tweets and statements of ‘anger, bewilderment, sadness’ are cheap. If Republicans are serious about fighting bigotry and white supremacy, now is the time to stop the empty rhetoric and join Democrats to defend our sacred American values and hold President Trump accountable. Here are just a few ways Republicans can make clear to the American people where they stand.
– Democratic Members of the House Judiciary are sending a letter to Chairman Goodlatte today urging Chairman Goodlatte to hold hearings in the wake of the tragic events in Charlottesville, President Trump’s shocking and divisive response – including his remarks in last night’s raucous rally – to condemn right-wing extremism.
– Democratic Members of the House Committee on Homeland Security sent a letter to Chairman McCaul on August 15th urging the Committee to hold hearings on the ongoing threat and rise of domestic terrorism.
– Representatives Nadler, Watson Coleman, and Jayapal, joined by 115 Members, introduced a resolution of censure against President Trump on August 18th. The resolution censures and condemns President Trump for his ‘inadequate’ response to the violence in Charlottesville and urges him to fire any White House advisors sympathetic to the alt-right movement.Democrats are committed to defending our country’s values and using every avenue to challenge the repulsiveness of the President’s words and actions. When will Republicans do the same?
~
Nancy Pelosi on Trump’s Signing of Memorandum Implementing Discriminatory Assault on Transgender Troops released Friday:
Thanks, Jan. That “Better Deal” is a great deal for white male workers. Too bad equal pay and equal access to healthcare and the seriously life-impacting (because it’s sometimes life-ending when not there) equal treatment by and before the law aren’t important enough to be included in it – even though almost 66 million people voted for a “Better Deal” that included those critical parts.
The Better Deal is a good deal for working families regardless of race. I am not sure I see the gender race bias you suggest exists in these plans.
Only if the inequalities in hiring and pay are addressed. Without it there are situations in which a mother cannot afford to work because she isn’t making enough to pay for childcare and the kids aren’t old enough to be latchkey kids. (Seriously not old enough – mine were latchkey kids at 9 and 6 with the 9 y.o. taking care of the 6 y.o. There’s no way I could have worked if the ages had been 6 and 3. And I had 2 college degrees at the time.) Offering her better education for a job she’ll be paid less for isn’t going to help that much – especially if she has to come up with money for the education and the childcare she needs while getting it.
This would be a wonderful plan (with the addition of revamping the criminal justice/legal system regarding race) – if we didn’t have days we mark as white woman’s pay equality day, black women’s pay equality day, hispanic women’s pay equality day, asian-american women’s pay equality day – when those markers, and the markers for minority men, are the same day a white men’s pay day…
Which doesn’t mean I don’t think this isn’t needed. Of course it’s needed. But economic equality is a subset of human rights/equality. Work on the latter, you get the former as a tagalong. Work on the former, you don’t get the latter.
I guess I don’t know why you would assume that policy proposals implemented by Democrats would exclude people of color or the poor or working mothers and not bring in every possible person to raise them up while still preserving the social safety net.
A Better Way is job training, infrastructure, advancing the new economy but it is also coupled with other Democratic Party policies of protecting the safety net: Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, housing support. It is coupled with other Democratic Party policies of respect for women and racial and religious minorities and immigrants. I don’t think there is a “stand in line, social justice, until we get the economy off to a fast start” rationale behind this.
Maybe I am missing something but I want a strong economy, I want my daughter – and everyone’s daughters and sons – to finish college without soul-crushing debt and have a chance to find meaningful employment and not get shot by a rogue cop who doesn’t like racial minorities. I don’t think we are in an either/or situation with these proposals.
I don’t assume that Dem policy proposals exclude the groups who are our actual base – but they aren’t saying it either which coupled with the bro attempts to takeover our party could very easily lead people of color to assume it. We don’t have anything – at least not where those links took me – that specifically tells our base that their issues are not being relegated to some mythical utopian society where a strong economy and jobs magically solve all the social and intersectionality issues. I want our “Better Deal” to talk to our base – not to bernie’s base.
Right now I have to assume what we are standing for in that deal. And for me, well, I’m almost 66 and in reasonably health – as long as they leave my Social Security alone I can assume and won’t be hurt if I’m wrong. But 30 years ago that would not have been true. I wouldn’t have been able to afford to assume a deal that didn’t specifically include me actually did. Those members of our base who are in situations like I was then cannot afford to assume it now.