Rep. Joe Kennedy (D-Mass.) offered the Democrat's rebuttal following President Donald Trump's State of the Union speech last night. His short speech riffed on major points of the Democrat party platform, but focused on character and human dignity.
"This administration isn’t just targeting the laws that protect us, they are targeting the very idea that we are all worthy of protection," Rep. Joe Kennedy said from Fall River, Mass.
"For them, dignity isn’t something you are born with, but something you measure by your net worth, your celebrity, your headlines, your crowd size. Not to mention, the gender of your spouse, the country of your birth, the color of your skin, the God of your prayers.
Their record is a rebuke to our highest American ideal — the belief that we are all worthy, that we are all equal, that we all count in the eyes of our law and our leaders, our God and our government. That is the American promise."
Kennedy went on to challenge the stark nationalism of Trump's speech:
"We are bombarded with one false choice after another. Coal miners or single moms, rural communities or inner cities. The coast or the heartland. ...[But] we choose both. We fight for both, because the greatest, strongest, richest nation in the world should not have to leave anyone behind."
He closed with a call for action and integrity from lawmakers and his fellow members of Congress:
"Politicians can be cheered for the promises they make. Our country will be judged by the promises we keep. That is the measure of our character."
Read Rep. Joe Kennedy's full speech here.
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