We can’t have nice things because Republicans in Congress refuse to move on things that used to be nonpartisan. And by nice things, I mean a decent wage, infrastructure, a measure of equality, and affordable education. Since Democrats historically don’t vote in midterms, Republicans get to obstruct laws that would help everyone.
Speaking to a crowd of an estimated 200 supporters at a sold out DNC event held at the San Francisco W Hotel Friday night, President Obama called out the current Congress for being unwilling to move forward legislation that would help average Americans.
The President reminded the audience that their vision was shared by the majority of Americans, but “we don’t have a Congress right now that is willing to move to them forward.”
To get more stories like this, subscribe to our newsletter The Daily.
President Obama explained that while “there’s almost no economic measure by which we’re not doing better than we were six years ago… People are still worried … because for about 20, 30 years now, the trend has been that gains in the economy go to folks at the very top, and ordinary folks — the middle class, people working to get into the middle class — their income and wages have not gone up.”
The President acknowledged that some of this pain is from globalization and trends that we can’t control with policy, but “some of it is that we’re not taking the steps that would grow the economy even faster and give workers a stronger position to be able to get wages that are higher, and incomes that are higher, and more stability and security in their lives.”
Guess why we’re not doing this? It’s not because the majority of Americans don’t agree. They do. It’s “not because I haven’t proposed them. It’s not because I haven’t fought for them.”
“It’s because we don’t have a Congress right now that is willing to move to them forward,” the President told the crowd.
Obama laid down some more facts about the minimum wage, equal pay for women, infrastructure and making education affordable and accessible. He pointed out that these ideas used to be nonpartisan, “And all these ideas historically have not been partisan ideas. And yet, we’ve got a House of Representatives in particular, and a small faction within the other party, that simply says no to every single step that could be taken to help working families.”
Someone yelled, “Yes sir!” at this point, clearly feeling impatient with Republican obstruction.
The President challenged the crowd, “(T)he question now is, what are we going to do about it? I heard, when I mentioned the other party, I heard a few “boos.”
“And I always say, don’t boo, vote. Vote.”
These specific Democratic policies are supported by the majority of Americans. Obama said, “The fact is that our vision is shared by the majority of Americans. The majority of Americans believe in raising the minimum wage. A majority of Americans believe in investing in early childhood education. A majority of Americans think we should rebuild our infrastructure. A majority of Americans think we should be investing in the research and technology and innovation that’s always been the hallmark of the American economy. A majority of Americans believe in equal pay for equal work. So on the issues, the public is on our side.”
So why can’t we have nice things?
Because Democrats don’t vote in midterms.
“But there’s a congenital problem that we have as Democrats, and that is, in non-presidential elections, in midterm elections, we don’t vote. We don’t vote,” The President charged. “So my main argument today is that it’s nice that you all came here to hear Maxwell – or look at Maxwell. It’s nice that some of you took a picture with me. I’m glad to do it. But the main thing that I need right now is votes.”
The President tasked his supporters, “We’ve got to mobilize, we’ve got to organize. We’ve got to knock on doors. We’ve got to make phone calls. If our people vote, if our — if young people vote, if women vote, if people of color vote, if people who care about the environment vote, if people who care about LGBT rights vote — that’s a majority. That’s a majority.”
President Obama is fighting hard for policies to help the working class of America. But many of his policies are gathering dust because of the deliberate choice of Republicans to obstruct everything Obama is for. The problem with this is not that Obama is a good person who doesn’t deserve this; the problem is that President Obama’s policies would have helped and could help millions of Americans. They are suffering because of Republican obstruction.
Listen to Sarah on the PoliticusUSA Pod on The Daily newsletter podcast here.
Sarah has been credentialed to cover President Barack Obama, then VP Joe Biden, 2016 Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton, and exclusively interviewed Speaker Nancy Pelosi multiple times and exclusively covered her first home appearance after the first impeachment of then President Donald Trump.
Sarah is two-time Telly award winning video producer and a member of the Society of Professional Journalists.
Connect with Sarah on Post, Mastodon @PoliticusSarah@Journa.Host, & Twitter.
