As President Trump prepares to deliver his first
State of the Union address, Democrats have selected Rep. Joe Kennedy
III, D-Mass., to deliver the party’s response. If history is any guide,
Kennedy will criticize President Trump and promote the Democratic Party
instead.
Yet doing so would represent a missed
opportunity. Since Hillary Clinton’s loss in 2016, the party hasn’t
fully understood or accepted the plight of America’s working class and
their desire for change. Case in point: Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif.,
recently slammed the $1,000 bonuses some companies were offering their
workers following the Trump tax cuts.
“Crumbs,” she called the amount. Never mind that $1,000 is more than the average weekly pay for the men and women at America’s factories.
Kennedy’s speech needs to tackle this ignorance head
on, blasting the Democratic Party out of its elitist moorings, and chart
a course back to victory. To do so, he needs to offer Americans
something different. Something bold. Something totally unexpected.
Here’s what I hope he says.
“Good Evening. Tonight I stand before you as a humbled man from a humbled party.
A little over a year ago, my fellow Democrats and I ran
spirited campaigns across the country to lead our great nation into the
21
st century. When the dust settled, however, it became clear that America had chosen a different path.
America’s greatness is not at risk
because of Russia, China, or North Korea. Rather, it is the partisanship
that has rooted in the hearts and minds of our leaders.
The most obvious disappointment was losing the
presidency. But that loss hides the more painful truth: my party now has
the fewest number of elected officials since the 1920s.
There’s no other way to say it. We somehow lost the confidence of our fellow Americans.
For the past year, I have spent considerable time
listening to the people of Massachusetts and states beyond to understand
exactly what happened. Tonight I’d like to share with you what I’ve
learned, because those voices – your voices – tell the important story
of the state of our union.
In virtually every conversation I’ve had, I’ve walked
away with the clear message that many Americans are hurting – and angry.
In Michigan, Ohio, and Pennsylvania, many of your steel mills and
manufacturing plants have shut down. The same is true of furniture and
clothing companies in North Carolina. The reason? Global trade deals,
especially with China.
It wasn’t supposed to be this way. In the 1990s,
politicians in Washington promised you that, in exchange for your
shuttered mills and plants, new jobs would come along. Better, safer
jobs. But it turns out that their promises were wrong. Studies now show
that many communities have been devastated by these trade deals and have
yet to recover.
In the Pacific Northwest and Appalachia, your struggles
are similar. The timber mills and mines that powered your rural cities
have largely closed, hammered by environmental regulations and a fight
against global warming. Some of those rules were important and
necessary. Others were not. Regardless, your government took away too
much, and gave too little in return.
Rather than acknowledge their mistakes, some
politicians – including Democrats – have attacked you and your
suffering. They dismissed you as deplorables who cling to your guns and
your God. That is unforgivable. I am sorry.
To add further insult to injury, many of these same
politicians have failed you in protecting the nation from foreign
threats. Take China as an example. For the past 20 years, our
intelligence community has repeatedly warned that Beijing was stealing
or hacking hundreds of billions of dollars in American technology for
their own benefit.
The result? A communist nation – unmoored by decency or
a commitment to basic freedoms – has robbed us of the very jobs and
ingenuity we need to thrive in the 21
st century. To this day, the Chinese have never paid a price for their treachery.
Meanwhile, your leadership launched an unnecessary war
in Iraq, costing over $6 trillion dollars and ending the lives of
thousands of your loved ones. These politicians also emboldened a group
of Islamic radicals that later morphed into what we now call ISIS.
And even that fight they couldn’t get right. While ISIS
is now on the run, their ideology is not. Since the attacks on 9/11,
the world has desperately needed global leadership to name and explain
the religious beliefs that underpin terrorism – specifically a brand of
Islam called Salafism. Instead, they simply say Islam is a religion of
peace.
These are just a small sample of the many issues that
you shared with me in frustration. And yet time and again, you also
shared a willingness to find solutions. To compromise. To get America
back to work. In fact, that’s what struck me the most. People on both
sides of the aisle want Washington to stop the fighting and start
governing again.
But somehow, that message isn’t reaching many of my colleagues.
And that’s perhaps the most important issue of our
time. America’s greatness is not at risk because of Russia, China, or
North Korea. Rather, it is the partisanship that has rooted in the
hearts and minds of our leaders.
In the years since my grandfather and great uncles
helped defeat the Soviet Union, race to the moon, and pass the Civil
Rights Act, our politicians have seemingly lost their desire to find
common cause and embrace common goals. Instead, they’ve locked on to
America’s darkest forces – the activists, the lobbyists – who have
demanded political purity… or else.
Sadly, this partisanship has crept into our society as a
whole. Think about how we speak to each other without concern for
decency or kindness. We use words like “libtard” or “Trumpsters.” None
of it appeals to our better angels. None of it elevates our families,
our friendships, or our politics.
And that gets to the most important reason for why I’m here tonight. How do we fix what ails us?
Can we fix what ails us?
The answer, I’m happy to say, is yes. For all of the
troubles we have – and it’s clear that we have many – we also remain an
exceptional nation.
Renewing the American spirit will not come easy. And
it’s up to you to decide whether President Trump remains the best person
to accomplish that goal. But as for the Democrats, we owe it to you to
offer a new covenant in recognition of where we’ve fallen short.
Tonight I give you a new path forward. I offer you Our American Oath.
Our oath consists of 10 priorities that I’ve heard many
of you express as the most important to you and your families.
Democrats and Republicans alike. In the days ahead, I’ll be sharing more
about these priorities with you. But, for tonight, let me tell you what
I believe to be most critical.
First, renewal starts with fixing our broken political
system. That means a constitutional amendment for term limits and a
lifetime ban on elected officials serving as lobbyists. Say what you
will about President Trump, but I share his desire to drain America’s
swamp.
As a demonstration of my seriousness, I’m calling on
Rep. Pelosi and Sen. Schumer to step down from their leadership posts.
The country cannot move forward with officials who think that a
government shutdown is in our best interest, or that a $1,000 bonus is a
meaningless crumb.
I also call on Republican leadership to step down as well. We need a clean start.
With new blood, Congress can offer a new approach with
President Trump. I believe we should meet at Camp David for a five-day
summit, plotting how we can best work together. The most important
priority for Democrats would be getting a commitment and timeline for
advancing term limits and a ban on lobbyists.
Next, our focus would be on how to best support
America’s working class. Part of that is collaborating with the Trump
administration on the renegotiation of NAFTA and changes to the World
Trade Organization. We’re also eager to prioritize inner cities and
rural communities as we craft a bipartisan infrastructure bill.
Third, we want to work with the president on doubling
down on our support for the solar, wind, and natural gas industries. The
wars of the Bush and Obama administrations were fought over oil. That
has to stop, and we can do it with renewable, homegrown energy.
And that speaks to the wholesale change needed in our
foreign policies. Though ultimately the domain of the president,
Congress needs to work hand in glove with him on bringing the nation
together in the face of global threats.
Most important of these is China and Russia. It’s time
to acknowledge that we are in a new Cold War with these nations, both of
which have the resources and conviction to wreck global peace,
prosperity, and freedom. We’ll need our diplomats, spies, and military
leaders to help guide us through this long struggle. And we’ll need our
president to make it resolutely clear that he will stand against Chinese
and Russian aggression.
Additionally, our fight against terrorism should
include tough measures against the radical Salafi ideology that pours
from Saudi Arabia. We’ll need to rework the Muslim ban, as the issue
will not be solved by targeting a few countries but rather by countering
a global ideology.
There are of course other issues to be discussed –
reforming immigration, education and entitlements in particular – and I
suspect that we’ll have disagreements. But if each side is flexible,
progress can be made.
Beyond the debates of policy, a productive summit in
and of itself would show our fellow Americans that we can lower the
temperature of the nation’s heated politics. We would show America that
it still has leaders that can focus on solving problems and facing
threats, not spewing personal insults on Twitter or shouting obscenities
in meetings.
At the end of the day, that’s the kind of leadership
that you’ll see from me and other Democrats who embrace Our American
Oath. Through actions of integrity and fortitude, we will inspire each
other to make America the more perfect union that our founding fathers
and mothers intended some 230 years ago.
With that, I wish you a good night and safe journey
wherever this message finds you. May God keep and protect you, and may
His Divine Providence bless all of us with an abundance of strength and
compassion.”
