• About
  • The Poetry of Protest

Show Me Progress

~ covering government and politics in Missouri – since 2007

Show Me Progress

Category Archives: Town Hall

Sen. Josh Hawley (r): missing another opportunity to hold open public town halls in Missouri

07 Tuesday Jan 2020

Posted by Michael Bersin in Josh Hawley, social media, Town Hall, US Senate

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

Donald Trump, Josh Hawley, missouri, social media, sycophant, Twitter

Josh Hawley (r) [2016 file photo].

Instead, he appears on the GOP propaganda network. Late last night:

Josh Hawley @HawleyMO
.@seanhannity had me on to discuss tonight: Nancy Pelosi & the Dems are afraid to try their phony impeachment case. They want to stop Senate trial. Maybe forever. Senate has to fight back!
[….]
9:27 PM · Jan 6, 2020

He doth protest too much, methinks.

Tool.

Some of the responses:

Because it is phony, you have no problem in having Bolton testify before the entire Senate, right?

Wow the insanity of the right can’t get worse – or can it. John Bolton will testify – so let him and if he proves President Trump innocent that is better than pretending he wasn’t impeached – he was!!!!

“They don’t have any evidence.”?
They have plenty of testimony in the House Intelligence committee that shows Trump soliciting a bribe (a favor) from Ukraine and using military aid as leverage.

Trump’s escalating panic and McConnell’s struggling to prevent Republican defections as new witnesses and information keep appearing would suggest otherwise.

Seriously, your smug smile, I dare you to have a real trial. No one misunderstands your eagerness to dismiss…May history treat you with brutal honesty…

You are a total stooge for the party. Do you stand for anything?

Thank God Twitter doesn’t play sound automatically so my ears aren’t abused by your fake man of the people act.

It wasn’t a flatbed.

This is NOT partisan! A fair trial with witnesses is not an unreasonable request. Aren’t you fighting the wrong fight?

I didn’t want you in office either. I don’t know why you’re trashing Pelosi when the Senate rules haven’t been agreed on. Why don’t you get to work on that?

It’s a sad day when a California representative is looking out for me and my country more than my own Senator.

Well, it is her job.

You have got to be kidding. Vote to call @AmbJohnBolton to testify, then we’ll see the dog and pony show you have for us.

Fox and Friends in the morning and Hannity at night. You have plenty of time Basic Cable Pravda but no will to host Town Halls in your *ahem* home state.

You just don’t get it. Remarkable. How did you get through Yale on your own?

“Afraid” and “Nancy Pelosi” do not belong in the same sentence, unless you’re admitting you’re afraid of her.

@HawleyMO a disgrace to his State & his Country. His words & actions will find him out. Signed His Constituent.

Go on a real news network youngster.

I truly believe he is going to be President one day

Now that the bar is so low.

Again… Reminder: You are a public servant not a Fox News contributor. You have been in the Senate a year now, would be nice if you hosted your first town hall.

I like senators I can respect….and Josh isn’t a person I can respect.

It makes my stomach hurt that he supposedly represents our state to the rest of the country & the world.

You disgrace our state. Shameful. I’d ask you to come to Kansas City to discuss, bit that would interfere with all of your Fox News airtime. Would never want to do that….

Is it so hard to come up with Senate rules for a trial, and to call relevant witnesses? Are you so desperate to get the articles because your guy just keeps criming?

Your first problem is associating yourself with Hannity. Seriously, Josh, your decision to go on his show just screams partisanship.
Oh, and by the way, could you talk Trump off the ledge, please?

Did not know who you were before tonight. I saw a few minutes of your interview w/Hannity. Dear lord! Is every single US Senator as dimwitted as you. Clueless re decency, patriotism, facts, the Constitution….we need leaders in the Senate who give a damn re the truth and Anerica

Hawley, you are a fool. You have fallen into the trap of narcissism. Get some witnesses. Let Bolton, and the others testify. American people want the truth. You are stopping it.

You’re an embarrassment to MO and worse than that, you’re spreading false information. Wanting to call witnesses doesn’t sound like a “phony case,” it sounds like an honest one.

Thanks for clearly stating you support a corrupt asshat over your country

“Faux News channel, fascist groupies” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.

Previously:

Koch Money: because Josh Hawley (r) will never need to hold over fifty open public town halls across Missouri (October 7, 2018)

Whereupon Josh Hawley (r) suddenly discovers that he has over 6,000,000 constituents (January 10, 2019)

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): Why not hold an open public town hall in the district and actually find out?

13 Friday Dec 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media, Town Hall

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

4th Congressional District, abuse of power, bribery, Donald Trump, extortion, impeachment, missouri, obstruction, quid pro quo, social media, sychophant, Twitter, Vicky Hartzler

But, she won’t.

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) [2016 file photo].

This morning:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler @RepHartzler
The Judiciary Committee #ImpeachmentVote was a straight party vote. I remember when Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Nadler said that impeachment should be broad and bipartisan.

#MO04 overwhelmingly support @realDonaldTrump. I won’t be supporting the Democrats’ political theatrics.
[….]
9:44 AM · Dec 13, 2019

“…I remember when Speaker Pelosi and Chairman Nadler said that impeachment should be broad and bipartisan….”

It is. If you don’t count the republican sycophants in Congress.

As usual, there was much hilarity in the comments:

I remember when the GOP cared about the Constitution too…

It should be…..but GOP put Trump above the Constitution.

Never in my life did I think I would live to see the day the gop betrays the country en masse, and yet here we are.

“should be” but “can’t be” when we have a #ComplicitCorruptGOP full of #usefullidots

“Make America Great Again” – in Russian.

Hard to be bipartisan when you have a panel of monkeys covering their eyes and ears and intentionally misconstruing the Constitution whilst screaming into mics in a pathetic contest to see who can get a FOX News soundbite to activate the dialysis center voting bloc.

“Faux News channel, fascist groupies” – protest sign, circa 2003- 2004.

That was before Putin took over a party.

“Россия” (Russia) – a variant of the Russian presidential flag.

That would require you. #CountryBeforeParty

Vicky Hartzler, enabling the man behind Trump University and the Trump Foundation.

You have abdicated your sworn duty and responsibility. Shame on you

This independent, suburban voter thinks the fact that this was a vote straight done party lines says more about Republicans than Democrats.

I feel like I’m living in the twilight zone, how in the world can you deny the evidence against that poor excuse for a human being. You are doing a great disservice to this country and the people will remember this!

Maybe, maybe not.

I think Pelosi made the grave mistake believing that there were a few Republicans that would stand up against a man so corrupt he had to pay 2 million to charities he stole from. It was her genuine mistake to believe this could be ethically handled.

It should be but Republicans are corrupt. All roads lead to Putin.

In Russian – “We are so fucked.”

That was when there was still an assumption Republicans would put country before party. That’s clearly out the window. And it doesn’t preclude the Dems doing the right thing. You’re shameful.

It has gone down the toilet with trump

I remember when #GOP was respectable.

We never thought the GOP was this criminal. But ya are, Blanche!

As your constituent I want you to know that I SUPPORT the impeachment of the traitor trump. And if you don’t then I will actively campaign against you in your next election.

I remember when representatives worked for the country and didn’t enable a criminal

If only there were witnesses who were handed subpoenas that could provide exculpatory evidence for the President…

She incorrectly assumed that there would be some members of the GOP that weren’t treasonous cowards. She was wrong.

There’s that.

So you think it is ok for a president to withhold aid in exchange for help with his personal reelection campaign? Our only if it’s your guy? It’s ok for a president to refuse to cooperate with a constitutionally mandated congressional investigation?

You too took an oath to defend the constitution, and you, your colleagues, and @POTUS are guilty dereliction of duty! Do your job and defend the Republic!

I remember when the GOP respected the constitution. Good times, long ago.

It would have been broad and bipartisan if Republicans had read the Constitution and followed its guidelines. No sane, ethical person can possibly think that what Trump has been doing to our country is right. It’s immoral and traitorous.

And it should have been. Too bad republicans are cowards who will not stand up for our democracy.

Complains about voting along party lines
Votes along party lines.

You can’t write hypocrisy like this

Yes, it’s too bad that the Republicans are more about partisan loyalty than loyalty to the OATH OF OFFICE they took. It makes me sad.

I remember when republicans were against foreign influence in our elections.

Maybe you should try having a town hall sometime so you can find out what your constituents actually think

Bingo!

So you don’t support impeachment for political reasons, the truth and the Constitution be damned? Got it.

Do you remember when you had a soul? What did you get for it, Vicky? Did you trade it for a golden fleece? Will that protect you from the scythes of history? The contempt of men and women?

Political theatrics is what the GOP displayed for all of America to see. #MoscowMitch

Shame on you. Your constituents wont forget your cowardice.

The GOP chose to ignore the abuses by Trump. That is on, and will always be on the GOP. That stain will stay with them in all of history.

Following a con man pulling the ultimate con.

Host a town hall and you will learn otherwise. Don’t forget you represent your whole district not just your base.

Not gonna happen.

Impeachment doesn’t undo an election. It charges an unfit President with high crimes and misdemeanors. If he were to be removed Mike Pence would be President and HRC would still be a private citizen. Get it?

And I remember what @LindseyGrahamSC said about @realDonaldTrump before he got elected. DO YOU?

There’s that.

How nice to know your job is far more important then your oath of office, the Constitution of the US, and the American people as a whole, history will record you as being just that spineless.

When history is recorded, people will note the Republicans who did not vote for impeachment.

That was said before and surely couldn’t have accounted for the fact of the entire GOP turning their backs on their oath of office to uphold and defend the Constitution. Just to protect one conman who would throw you under the bus in a heartbeat if it meant saving himself.

I’d like you to do me a favor, though.

Heh.

I remember when republicans cared about the rule of law. I guess times have changed huh?

The impeachment is not trying to undo Missourians’ votes for President Trump. That is dishonest and misleading. On the other hand, if you are in favor of Congress abdicating oversight of any President going forward, vote no.

So are you in the “he didn’t do it” camp or the “it’s fine that he did it” camp?

The “I don’t want to get primaried by a greater whack job than me” camp.

You can’t say you made this decision based on the evidence submitted. What ever price they paid for you was too much. I hope you got the money up front

Republican intransigence is not a defense

When you took office you swore an oath to protect & defend the Constitution of the United States, not to defend/protect the president or the Republican Party. Evidence shows trump committed impeachable offenses. To vote for impeachment is to honor your oath.

Shocking to no one. You would rather watch our democracy burn then dare get in the way of your farm subsidy checks. But hey, maybe you want to come to the biggest city in your district to talk about it? Lol – just kidding, I know you never willingly talk to your constituents.

I think they underestimated how craven their current Republican peers are. Congrats on being on the wrong side of history.

You will go down in history as part of the Russian plot to take down American democracy.

Future generations will have to read about it in Russian.

spare me with your bull

Putin thanks you Vicky

I am embarrassed for the GOP theatrics and hysteria during the proceedings. The only thing they can do is yell and scream nonsense because there is no defense for the lawlessness of the current administration. As one of your constituents I ask you to put Country over Party.

I remember when Republicans were intellectually honest and had principles.

Actually, no, I don’t. They have been systematically lying to the American people, defunding education systems, disenfranchising voters, and enriching their donors since before I was born.

Bad combover. Check. Too long red tie. Check. Orange spray tan. Check. Tiny hands. Check. Cluelessness. Check…

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) [2016 file photo].

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): Yes or No?

06 Wednesday Nov 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in social media, Town Hall

≈ 1 Comment

Tags

4th Congressional District, corruption, Donald Trump, impeachment, social media, Twitter, Vicky Hartzler

Representative Vicky Hartzler (r) [2016 file photo].

Today, a video, released from Washington:

CAP Action @CAPAction
QUESTION: “Do you think it’s OK for a president to pressure foreign governments to interfere in our elections?”

@RepHartzler: “I gotta get to the airport.”

Americans deserve a straight answer to this simple question.
[….]
7:59 AM · Nov 6, 2019

Well, she’d get the same question at an open public town hall in the district. If we would ever have an open public town hall in the district.

Previously:

Rep. Vicky Hartzler (r): can’t be bothered to actually read the transcripts (November 5, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Closing Remarks – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

22 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Town Hall

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

Elizabeth Warren, Indianola, Iowa, president, town hall

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) continued her presidential campaign in Iowa with a town hall at Simpson College in Indianola on Sunday afternoon.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – town hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

In a presidential campaign tour de force, she spoke at length, took questions, and then stayed and stood for selfie photographs with a very long line of supporters. Close to 500 individuals attended the event.

Senator Warren’s final remarks to the town hall audience, right before she exited the stage for a press gaggle and for audience selfie photos:

https://showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/elizabethwarrentownhallindianolaiowaclosingstatement102019.mp3

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D):…I got the issues you all brought up. I am deeply grateful, uh, that you all come out here on a Sunday afternoon. Uh, the weather was nice. Uh, we got a big decision to make in 2020. And that decision is gonna come right through Iowa. And I am deeply grateful for the time you invest in getting this right. Um, a nation owes you a great thanks. So, thank you Iowans. Thank you [applause][cheers]

The issue that we talked about today and other ones that I talk about, they’re hard. How we’re going to educate our children. Uh, how we’re gonna make sure that everyone gets access to health care. How it is that we’re going to protect seniors who rely on Social Security. By the way, my Social Security bill will lift nearly five million people out of poverty and put a lot more flexibility into the budget for millions more.

Uh, what it means to cancel student loan debts. Uh, we didn’t even get to talk about how we reduce the cost of housing and increase the housing supply across the country. Um, climate change. Very, very difficult. Uh, lots of pieces of that have an effect us.

When I made the decision to run for President I was working on most of these issues. In fact, I’ve worked on many of these issues for pretty much all my grown up life. And I started talking about it right here in Iowa. And I went back to Washington and people would say to me, experts, uh, also known as Senators [laughter], uh, they’d say to me, what you’re talking about is too hard. It’s got too many pieces to it, it’s too complicated, it’s got, uh, it’s just too hard. Uh, go with somethin easier, get some vague generalities, uh, smile more. [gasps][laughter] That’s, that’s how people run for President. Uh, and I always said, thank you.

But, here’s what I thought of them. What do you think the naysayers said to the abolitionists? Too hard, give up now. What do you think they said to the suffragettes just a little over a hundred years ago? They said, too hard. With men, right? What did they say to the early union workers? [voice: “Too hard”] Too hard. Quit now. What did they say to the foot soldiers in the civil rights movement? [with audience] Too hard, quit now. What did they say just a decade ago to the LGBTQ plus activists who wanted equal marriage? [with audience] Too hard, quit now.

But none of them quit. They fought back. They got organized, they built a grass roots movement, they persisted [applause][cheers], and they changed the course of history.

This is our moment in American history. Our moment to dream big, fight hard, and win.

Thank you. [applause][cheers]

Previously:

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 20, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – LGBTQ – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Climate – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Higher Education – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 22, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Medicare for All – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 22, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Medicare for All – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

22 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Town Hall

≈ 5 Comments

Tags

Elizabeth Warren, Indianola, Iowa, Medicare for All, president, town hall

“…the cheapest possible way to make sure that everyone gets the health care that they need is Medicare for All…”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) continued her presidential campaign in Iowa with a town hall at Simpson College in Indianola on Sunday afternoon.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – town hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

After her extensive remarks, she took questions. After the question and answer session she spoke on Medicare for All:

https://showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/elizabethwarrentownhallindianolaiowamedicareforall102019.mp3

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D): …I didn’t get a question today, uh, about Medicare for All. I want to say a word about it before we go any further.

And, there is this, every single person who is running for President of the United States on the Democratic side right now knows that families are getting crushed by the cost of health care.

They also know that the cheapest possible way to make sure that everyone gets the health care that they need is Medicare for All. And that’s why I support Medicare for All, that’s why I’m there.

What I see, though, is that we need to talk about the cost and I plan over the next, uh, few weeks to put out a plan that talks about, specifically, the cost of Medicare for All and, specifically, how we pay for it.

You know, right now, the cost estimates on Medicare for All vary by trillions and trillions of dollars. And the different revenue streams for how to fund it, there are a lot of them.

So, this is something I’ve been working on for months and months. And, uh, it’s got jut a little more work until it’s finished. But I want to bring this out.

But, here’s the promise I make to you, and make every chance I get, and that is, I will not sign a bill into law that does not reduce the cost of health care for middle class families, because it is the cost of health care that is hurting and the cost of health care is what they care about. And because they care about it, I care about it.

So…[applause][cheers]

Previously:

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 20, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – LGBTQ – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Climate – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Higher Education – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 22, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Higher Education – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

22 Tuesday Oct 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Town Hall

≈ 6 Comments

Tags

Elizabeth Warren, Indianola, Iowa, president, town hall

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) continued her presidential campaign in Iowa with a town hall at Simpson College in Indianola on Sunday afternoon.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – town hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

After her extensive remarks, she took questions.

A question and response on Higher Education:

https://showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/elizabethwarrentownhallindianolaiowatownhallqandahighered.mp3

Question: …My thoughts have been about higher ed. Um, this is an institution that’s pretty key in this community. [Senator Warren: “Yeah.”] Um, has suffered a lot of, uh, layoffs and tumult. [applause] And I also feel like there’s a higher ed arms race. I’m a parent of two high school students. Um, I, I don’t like that you have, that prep, ACT prep is required, that celebrities can have people take children, their children’s tests for them. And that, you were talking about the billion, you talk about the billionaires, that they can donate to each of the Ivy Leagues that they like, that’s not available to me.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D): Um, you’re talking about a great thing. I mean you really are. You’re talking about how the system is rigged. And, and I talk about how it’s rigged in Washington. But the consequences of that are felt all they way through. How, how the children of those who are…rich get one chance, and another, and then another, and then another, and then another, all cushioned by their folks’ money. While other kids, if they’re lucky, may get one shot. May get one shot.

So, let me just pick up on this, okay. If you want to finish the question, it’s okay, but I think I know where you’re going [crosstalk]…

Question: I guess, I guess, I guess I’m thinking what are those things to make this not be contests. And for middle class people to be not spending money, or, be spending money that realistic, do not have. So that their kids [crosstalk]…

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D): So their kids get a chance, too.

Question: Yeah, there we go.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D): So, here’s how I see this. The story I told you about me? I fell of the track. Right? I came from a family with no money. I fell off and I didn’t have a family that could pick me up. They couldn’t get me started and they couldn’t pick me up when I fell off.

But, the American taxpayer, they invested enough in giving me a chance. They invested, way back when, in schools that cost fifty dollars a semester. Okay, it was plain vanilla. It didn’t have a lot of, uh, issues you described as the arms race. It didn’t have a lazy river. [laughter] Uh, but it, it had a really good career education. And that was enough that I got to be a public school teacher. And that was my foot in the door….still available to me in terms of a law school. A chance to enter a profession, on price, okay, no longer maybe a waitressing job, four hundred fifty dollars a semester, yeah, probably.

Look, here’s how I see it, we’ve built the right structures and people thought it should be it. And not just the first chance, that if you follow the path willy nilly. You actually got a second chance, you’ve actually got a third chance. It’s there, those pathways I was talking about earlier. The bridges have narrowed and it’s got a lot of on-ramps. And recognize that some people fall off and they’ve got to get back up on…But that’s how we’ve got to build this. And understand this, we’ve got to build it that way for our kids. We also have to build it that way for the future of our country.

When you think about what it’s going to mean to be the leader of the world in the twenty-first century, how does a country lead the world? Man, the one resource that its got is its human beings. If we educate a quarter of them, we’re just taking a lot of our assets and just not taking advantage of what they can do. If we educate half, we’ll do a little better. If we educate three quarters, we’ll do a lot better. And if we educate all of them, and remember, when I say all I mean all of them, I mean kids who test through the roof and I mean kids like the kids I worked with, who didn’t, but who had something to contribute. We invest in every one of our kids, from the time they’re babies, we get those early education experiences for them. You know, rich parents are doing this for their kids. They don’t wait until the kids are in, uh, kindergarten age to be able to send them to school. They’re sending them at twelve months, at eighteen months, all these, they always have cute names to them, but they’re sending them…And it’s because they understand those babies are learning, learning, learning early. We make that investment, that’s how we build those opportunities.

And then, just to appeal to your inner wonk, if you will go to elizabethwarren.com there’s a lot in it in the education part that’s down at the, really down in the weeds about how we get some accountability back. That our schools really are focused on making sure that we’re getting the kids through school. Not just in the front door, that we’re getting them through school. That they really are able to have, uh, uh, jobs on the other side. It’s got a lot in it. And it’s, and it’s about, not only them, it’s about being realistic, not punitive.

If you’re going to educate kids who come from backgrounds where people weren’t using a lot of words, uh, people who had to use, uh, cheaper child care where they herded a bunch of kids in front of a TV set because it was the best they could do.

We’ve gotta have the resources to be able to make up that difference for our kids.

So, for me, this is about building the future, building the future and realizing the path..is through our children. It’s also about living or values, every single day. And all have value, as a country we should be investing in all of them… [applause]

Previously:

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 20, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – LGBTQ – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Climate – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – Climate – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

21 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Town Hall

≈ 7 Comments

Tags

Elizabeth Warren, Indianola, Iowa, president, town hall

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) continued her presidential campaign in Iowa with a town hall at Simpson College in Indianola on Sunday afternoon.

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – town hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

After her extensive remarks, she took questions.

A question and response on Climate:

https://showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/elizabthwarrentownhallindianolaiowaqandaclimate102019.mp3

Question: …um, the climate crisis. [Senator Warren: “Yeah.”] There’s not an Iowan, not an American, not an Earthling, human or non-human for whom this doesn’t represent an existential crisis. And yet it’s inexplicably and inexcusably missing from the wider conversation, both on the stump and on the stage. And I know you agree with this because you spoke so well to it today and I know you agree with this because you have a plan for that. In fact, you have several. And they’re quit robust and good. What I worry about is that, uh, the voters don’t understand how essential that plan is to all your other plans, and, in fact, to all of their plans. So my question is, can we count on you to raise that, the climate crisis, to the forefront of the election where it belongs? And, if so, what will that commitment look like?

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D): Okay. So, first answer is yes. [cheers][applause] Yes and. And, here’s, here’s the point I want to make ’cause Ryan’s right. Uh, go to elizabethwarren.comto to look at the climate stuff. It’s got a lot in it. Including the latest piece I just rolled out which is about environmental justice. About how it is that black children and black brown children are more likely to have breathed pollution from before they born and all through their lives. And suffer health consequences and diminished future opportunities because the dumps are located near their neighborhoods. Because industrial growth…because the trash that’s spewed into the air and poisons that are thrown into the water have been closet to their neighborhoods. So, when we think about environmental issues there a whole lot of pieces on this we have to think about. And we can’t do them as afterthoughts. We can’t do environmental generally as afterthoughts, but we can’t do these four pieces, including environmental justice. So I urge you, as we talk about this to pick up the different pieces.

I’ll give you one more that I just think is critical. We all are talking on stage, all the Democratic candidates, about how much money we’re going to invest. Me, too. I’ve got a lot of ways to invest money. Uh, I’ve got a green manufacturing plan that is going to produce about one point two million good factory jobs. Green jobs that are going to help us save the environment. Union jobs that are going to help families rebuild economically. I hope you’ll take a look at that.

Because another piece we have to be willing to talk about, many folks are not, and that is the role of regulation. Think about it this way. There are just three industries that produce seventy percent of the carbon we throw into the air…The first one is housing and buildings, right, our housing and buildings. The second one is cars. And the third one is electricity, how we produce electricity. So I’ve got a plan. I picked this up from Governor Jay Inslee ’cause I think it’s such a terrific plan. [Voice: “Yeah!”] [applause] By 2028 new building has a zero carbon footprint. By 2030 all new cars and light duty trucks that are produced, zero carbon footprint. And by 2035 all electricity that is produced, zero carbon footprint. Three regulations in place and we cut our carbon emissions by seventy percent by 2035. [applause][cheers]

That’s not all we need to do, there’s much more. We need to think about this globally, which I do. I’ve got a lot of plans around this. But here’s the part I want to go to just to pull this back together. Noting is going to happen so long as Washington remains as corrupt as it is. So anyone who tells you, oh I’ve got great plan and number A, terrific plan number B, and fabulous plan number C, and isn’t willing to say I’m going to beat back the influence of the big polluters, of the carbon based industry, of the Koch brothers, it’s not gonna happen.

Oh, there may be some bills that get passed that have wonderful names. Right. Like clean up everything and the future only…[laughter] and unicorns. [laughter] Right?

But to make real change we have got to beat back the corruption in Washington. We have got to beat back the influence of money.

So, you ask me what’s it going to look like? And the answer is, all I can talk about is corruption. [applause] I will absolutely…[applause][cheers]

And when Mark Zuckerberg doesn’t like it, too bad for Mark Zuckerberg. [cheers][applause]

But, it is about having the courage to call out the corruption. And let me tell you one other, just how this is going to fit together. It’s that we’ve got to attack the corruption head on. So that we can disrupt it. So we can put it on its back feet. So that we can start making the changes we need to make, and I mean making them fast, on every single possible front. It is absolutely critical that we do this. I want to say a lot more about this. It’s the reason, also, that I’m in the fight. Say, I’m going to get rid of the filibuster on the first day. Otherwise those guys, the money interests will continue to have a veto over everything that comes through Congress.

We simply cannot afford this anymore. We need to make change starting January 2021. We need to make it fast. We need to make it right. And we to be in this fight, all of us, all the way. [cheers][applause]

Previously:

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 20, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – LGBTQ – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 21, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall Q and A – LGBTQ – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

21 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Town Hall

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Elizabeth Warren, Indianola, Iowa, president, town hall

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – town hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

The question and response:

https://showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/elizabethwarrentownhallindianolaiowaqandalgbtq102019.mp3

Question: …Last Summer, uh, I spent some time in the Philippines, for, and, uh, one of the things I noticed was the number of, uh, LGBTQ in the Philippines that were very free to express who they were and be who they were without any fear. And so, when I come here I see so many that have to hide. And so, just my one question, there, you know, what more could you hope to do for our LGBTQ?

[….]

…to marry an immigrant, uh, this coming Summer. I’d like to invite you to come. [cheers][applause]

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D): Well, let me know what the dress is, whether I can wear my sneaks or we’re really gonna go for it. Okay, sounds great. Thank you, Michael. And thank you for being here.

Um, so. let’s start the question about our LGBTQ youth. Uh, What do we do to provide better support? For me, this, this starts at a foundational place. And that is the statement of our values. What kind of a country we want to be, what kind of a people we want to be. The thing? This is very straightforward. I believe in the worth of every single human being in this country. [applause][cheers] And I believe we can support that in a million ways, large and small. But let’s start, I’ll talk about it in just a second, let’s start with where we are right now. And that is, we have a President who traffics in hate…It is a strategy, a strategy, and the strategy is, turn people against people. Turn people against people. Turn white against black and brown. Turn, uh, um, straight against gay, and particularly trans, and particularly trans people of color. Um, turn Christian against Muslim. Turn everyone against immigrants, particularly black and brown immigrants. And his hope is that enough people are fighting with each other, nobody will notice that Donald Trump and his corrupt buddies are stealing this country blind. [applause][cheers]

And here’s the benefit we’ve got as we start rolling into 2020, it’s about what we’re out there fighting for, but it’s also how we’re fighting. How we are building a grass roots movement together to pick up each others’ fights. Not to state, well, that’s your fight, and then your fight is the other one, and your fight is about Social Security, your fight is about student, that’s ’cause you’re different ages, your fight is about what’s happening in criminal justice where there’s such a heavy race component. It’s to say, no. We’re gonna pick up each others’ fights. We’re all gonna make this America that works, not just for a thinner and thinner slice at the top, we’re gonna make this an America that works for everyone. That is our goal…[cheers][applause].

So, I have, as you’re not surprised, lots of plans around LGBTQ plus, and LGBTQ plus youth. Uh, LGBTQ plus youth are more likely to be homeless. We need to put real resources in. And that means counselors, sending people into the field…in the streets, so that we can help families, and places for people to go, if that’s what they have to do.

Uh, it’s powerfully important that every policy we think about we take a step back and think about how it’s felt by people of different sexual orientation, different identification, uh, people who are non-binary. How does it, how does it work? And nowhere is that more true than for our youth.

So, it’s about health care, it’s about immigration, it’s about every time we want to make sure as a country that we’re building opportunity, that opportunity is not a narrow bridge, that you gotta be just one way, to cross that bridge. That it’s a bridge that’s got a whole lot of on-ramps to it for a whole lot of people. ‘Cause, here’s the deal, we are a country that will be the country of our best values when every single one of our children is valued, gets a good education, and has lots of opportunities available to them. [applause][cheers]

Previously:

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019 (October 20, 2019)

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – Town Hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

20 Sunday Oct 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Town Hall

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Elizabeth Warren, Indianola, Iowa, president, town hall

“…And understand this, that difference is not accidental. It’s not the consequence of, of gravity. That difference is about who government works for…”

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) – town hall – Indianola, Iowa – October 20, 2019

Senator Elizabeth Warren (D) continued her presidential campaign in Iowa with a town hall at Simpson College in Indianola on Sunday afternoon. In a presidential campaign tour de force, she spoke at length, took questions, and then stayed and stood for selfie photographs with a very long line of supporters. Close to 500 individuals attended the event.

Senator Warren’s remarks:

https://showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/elizabethwarrentownhallindianolaiowa102019.mp3

…Today, the question asked in Washington is, where do we set the minimum wage to maximize the profits of giant multinational corporations? Well, I don’t want a government that works for giant multinational corporations. I want one that works for our priorities. [applause][cheers]…

…We have a government that works great. Works fabulously. For giant drug companies. Just not for people who are trying to get a prescription filled. Can I have an amen on that? [voices: “Amen!”] A government that works terrifically for anyone who wants to invest in private prisons or private detention centers. Just not for the people whose live are destroyed…[applause][cheers] A government that works terrifically for giant oil companies that want to drill everywhere. Just not for the rest of us who see climate change…And when you see a government that works great for those with money and not so good for everyone else, that is corruption, pure and simple, and we need to call it out for what it is [applause][cheers]…

…whatever issue brought you here today, whatever is the one that gets you up in the morning, keeps you up at night, whether it’s criminal justice reform, whether it’s climate, whether it’s gun safety, whether it’s health care, student loans, whatever is the issue, if there is a decision to be made in Washington, I guarantee it’s been touched by money. It’s been influenced by money…

…If we…want to make this country, this government, this Democracy work for us its gonna take big structural change…

..And I got a plan for that [cheers][applause]…

…Here’s the good news. I have the biggest anti-corruption plan since Watergate. Yay! [applause][cheers] Here’s the bad news. We need the biggest anti-corruption plan since Watergate…

…End lobbying as we know it. [cheers][applause] Block the revolving door between Wall Street and Washington. [cheers][applause] Here’s one you may never have even thought about, make the United States Supreme Court follow basic rules of ethics. [cheers][applause] Boy, I love this. Uh, I could do these all day long. [laughter] But, I tell you what, let me just do one more. You really want to root out some corruption? Really. Here’s one. Every single person who run for Federal office has to put their tax returns online [cheers][applause]…

…Once you disrupt the influence of money, once they’re no longer able to call the shots without somebody calling them out, now we’ve got the possibility of some more change…

…Unions built America’s middle class, unions will rebuild America’s middle class…

…It is time for a wealth tax in America. [applause][cheers] And here’s how it goes, here’s my plan. Your first fifty million dollars in accumulated wealth. Free and clear. [laughter]…But on your fifty million and first dollar, you gotta pitch in two cents. And two cents on every dollar after that…

…By raising the payroll taxes on the top two percent in this country we can extend the viability of Social Security for decades we can give every single person getting a Social Security check a two hundred dollar a month raise, and we can get every person who counts on a disability check a two hundred dollar a month raise…

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Town Hall Q and A – on Climate Change – Des Moines, Iowa – October 12, 2019

14 Monday Oct 2019

Posted by Michael Bersin in Town Hall

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

climate change, Des Moines, Iowa, Pete Buttigieg, president, Q and A, town hall

Pete Buttigieg (D) – Des Moines, Iowa – October 12, 2019.

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) continued his presidential campaign in Iowa with an outdoor town hall on the grounds of Roosevelt High School in Des Moines on Saturday night. After his opening remarks he addressed written questions from the audience which were randomly selected from a large glass jar.

A question and answer on climate change:

https://showmeprogress.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/petebuttigigiegtownhallqandaclimatechangedesmoinesia101219.mp3

Question: First plan of attack for climate change.

Pete Buttigieg (D): Woo. Great question. I’m guessing that’s on the mind of a few people who are here. Look, we are coming up on the point of no return. Scientists tell us tell us we’ve got until 2030 before we hit the horizon of catastrophe. The real deadline isn’t 2030, it’s 2020, because if we don’t have the right kind of president now we’ll never be ready by 2030 to take those steps we’ve got to take.

So, there’s a whole bunch of things that we’ve got to do quick. We’ve got to quadruple Federal investment in renewable energy, energy storage, carbon storage. We’ve got to have a carbon price and dividend. Now, they way I would do it is, we assess a price on the cost of carbon, then we rebate it right back out to the American people with a progressive formula so most of us are more than made whole. ‘Cause it’s not about taking money out of the economy. It’s about making sure that the economy reflects the true cost of carbon. [voice: “Yeah!] Now, uh, big fan of carbon tax and dividend. I like that. [laughter] There we go.

But, look, I’m going to be honest with you, I think every one of us running for president ha a plan, as I do, to get our economy to be carbon neutral by 2050. We all do, and, of course, I think mine is the best one. But, [laughter] they all have the technical dimensions that are gonna be needed. The real question is, is any of it gonna get done. Otherwise all of our clever, elegant scientific proposals get multiplied by zero in terms of the impact they actually have. That’s one of the reasons it’s so important that we see to it that climate is a national project that everybody is part of the solution to.

That’s why we gotta tell people, some of whom have felt like they’re being clubbed over the head and told they’re the problem, and invite them to be the solution. For example, we cannot solve this problem without recruiting the energy, the support, and the creativity of America’s farmers. [….] We gotta send a message that we want climate solutions to come from America’s farm, farms in a way that we would be as proud of the quest for the carbon neutral farm as we are of solar panels and electric vehicles. And we can do it. But we’ve got to invest in it.

We can’t just tell farmers we want them to farm sustainably. If we want to unlock the potential of carbon capture in soil and covered crops and other things that we can do on America’s farms, we’ve got to invest in them. If we can find billions of dollars to pays farmers to not be able to sell their goods to China, you’re damn well sure we ought to be able to find billions of dollars in order to support farmers in leading the way to find a solution to the problem. [applause][cheers]

Previously:

South Bend, Indiana Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Progress Iowa Corn Feed – Cedar Rapids, Iowa – July 14, 2019 (July 15, 2019)

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Town Hall – Des Moines, Iowa – October 12, 2019 (October 13, 2017)

Mayor Pete Buttigieg (D) – Town Hall Q and A – on the Electoral College – Des Moines, Iowa – October 12, 2019 (October 13, 2019)

← Older posts

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • October 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010
  • May 2010
  • April 2010
  • March 2010
  • February 2010
  • January 2010
  • December 2009
  • November 2009
  • October 2009
  • September 2009
  • August 2009
  • July 2009
  • June 2009
  • May 2009
  • April 2009
  • March 2009
  • February 2009
  • January 2009
  • December 2008
  • November 2008
  • October 2008
  • September 2008
  • August 2008
  • July 2008
  • June 2008
  • May 2008
  • April 2008
  • March 2008
  • February 2008
  • January 2008
  • December 2007
  • November 2007
  • October 2007
  • September 2007
  • August 2007

Categories

  • campaign finance
  • Claire McCaskill
  • Democratic Party News
  • Healthcare
  • Hillary Clinton
  • Interview
  • Josh Hawley
  • media criticism
  • meta
  • Missouri General Assembly
  • Missouri Governor
  • Missouri House
  • Missouri Senate
  • Resist
  • Roy Blunt
  • social media
  • Standing Rock
  • Town Hall
  • Uncategorized
  • US Senate

Meta

  • Log in

Blogroll

  • Balloon Juice
  • Crooks and Liars
  • Digby
  • I Spy With My Little Eye
  • Lawyers, Guns, and Money
  • No More Mister Nice Blog
  • The Great Orange Satan
  • Washington Monthly
  • Yael Abouhalkah

Donate to Show Me Progress via PayPal

Your modest support helps keep the lights on. Click on the button:

Blog Stats

  • 412,450 hits

Powered by WordPress.com.