On the eve of the SOTU, Joe Kennedy III weighs in.....

[Heartstrings]

Three years ago, a man named Donald Trump usurped America’s economic story. He offered a simple explanation for the hurt so many carry: It’s the other guy’s 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]

1. A wealth of great Dems out there!

[olegramps]

30. The Republicans are fully accountable for creating the present situation.

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]

33. Agree with everything you wrote, olegramps....

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]

35. LakeArenal is correct we have an embarrassment of riches on our side. nt

[olegramps]

36. I did not intend to challenge LakeArenal and totally agree the Democrats have a wealth of talent.

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]

2. I'm so ashamed..........

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]

8. I'm ashamed that any Ameticans support this loser at all.

[Heartstrings]

12. I'm presuming you're referring to trump

right?

[world wide wally]

17. Of course I was.... I said "loser", didn't I?

[Heartstrings]

18. Just checking.....

[MyOwnPeace]

31. Hey, Heartstrings!

Boy, did that wake ME up! "Whoa, you talkin' to me?"

[Heartstrings]

32. Sorry.....just wanted to be clear and precise!

[PeeJ52]

27. ...but it's so much easier to just say Make America Great Again than doing it...

[CentralMass]

3. I attended an event in MA a few years ago where i got a chance to hear

Congressman Kennedy speak on STEM and then got a chance to meet and talk with him afterwards. He is an impressive guy.

[TCJ70]

4. HOW DARE HE SPEAK BEFORE STACEY ABRAMS!!

At least Bernie has the decency to go AFTER!

[George II]

10. When is Kennedy's address? Oh wait, there ISN'T one!

[ehrnst]

16. And he was, FB fan pages for a certain Senator would be bursting with memes

about how unacceptably wealthy Kennedy is, and how "anti-progressive" he is, and DYNASTY!!111

[louis c]

11. I think it was reported in the OP that this is a post on Kennedy's face book page...

...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]

21. Kennedy is not claiming his statement is a rebuttal to Trump's SOTU.

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]

22. Even though no one gets it, I'm assuming you're making some kind of a joke. Right??

[TCJ70]

23. Absolutely.

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]

25. We support Democrats like Harris, Kennedy, and Warren. I'm fine with that.

[progressoid]

34. Ha!

[dhill926]

5. he's really good...

love how he frames things...

[DFW]

6. And THAT is the sign of a statesman, no matter how young he is.

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. I'm, in no way advocating either but....

A Biden/Kennedy ticket could be something to reckon with. The two "Joe's"!

[DFW]

24. I'm not convinced we should be running a 78 year old candidate

Though with an understudy like that in the shadows, we could hardly lose.

[Moostache]

9. When he runs, that man has me for anything needed

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]

15. He would be my choice as well.

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]

13. Weigh in... was hoping a run for president

So what if he is part of a "dynasty." He has a lot to offer.

[Honeycombe8]

14. I can hardly wait for him to run for President. nt

[AdamGG]

19. He's the Massachusetts Senator in waiting

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]

20. I wish

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]

26. Geez, I love this guy

He says the smartest, most wonderful things. Just leaves me in awe.

[pangaia]

28. This seems so brilliant. But then, the truth often does.

THAT is a message I hope DEMS will run with... held high and shouted every day..

[Texin]

29. Why is this man not running for President now? He's old enough.

[Scurrilous]

37. K&R