Summary

TVU 29 PETE BUTTIGIEG FAIRFAX VA TOWN HALL REFEED ABC UNI 022320 2020 Former South Bend Mayor talked about Senator Bernie Sanders supporters as well as had a very unusual riff about race during his remarks at Washington-Liberty High School a school that was renamed post-Charlottesville's 2017 Unite the Right rally. He continued his jab at Sanders targeting people who call names online. 164531 In a few short days we could go one way or the other is a party, so much depends on getting this right now. I respect my friend senator Sanders I believe the ideals he talks about our ideals we all share. But I also believe that the way we will build a movement to defeat Donald Trump is to call people into our tents, not to call them names online. The vision of replacing this President is one that speaks to my fellow diehard democrats, yes. 164604 But we are also calling out to the independents. And we are delighted to see some of the ranks of what I like to call a "future former republican" signing up for this, and you are welcome to be on our side. We can do this, together. According to the campaign 8853 people showed up to the event at Washington - Liberty High School in Arlington, Virginia. If the name sounds familiar the school was renamed post Charlottesville <https://nam04.safelinks.protection.outlook.com/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwtop.com%2Farlington%2F2019%2F01%2Farlington-co-school-board-votes-to-rename-washington-lee-high-school%2F&data=02%7C01%7CJenna.X.Levine.-ND%40abc.com%7C58cf966cc0c84db717d708d7b8c28415%7C56b731a8a2ac4c32bf6b616810e913c6%7C1%7C0%7C637181017945756039&sdata=VQITUxGTj3KQPcprpAlcFbwHO67tY6bN%2BsFmtV0XJ%2BA%3D&reserved=0> as the school distanced itself from Confederate General Robert E. Lee, which was the source of great debate in the community. His last public event in the state last June where he held a "grassroots fundraiser" in historic Old Town Alexandria, Virginia which had over 600 RSVP's (Included in this email was my note about the Alexandria event from June which lacked diversity as well.) That event like today was mostly white, and was in general proximity to public transit. I saw little diversity in the crowd which to be honest is a stark contrast to Rep. Tulsi Gabbard's event last week which held was 10 minutes away that had a very diverse sold out crowd of 350 people. Although those are apple and oranges candidate comparison it again highlights an existing problem Buttigieg has. In a crowd where people came from across the D.C. area (and even Pennsylvania) although he Attracted a crowd of several thousands they lacked the diversity. According to the 2018 census Virginia is 69.5% white; 19.9 % African American; 9.6% Hispanic or Latino and 6.9% Asian. At the event I was struck by his remarks on race, at a school which has battled race and what the confederacy means in 2020. Although the name of the school has changed, I noticed in the outdoor stadium several signs that still say Washington-Lee. Buttigieg was asked about what he was going to do as president when it comes to low income housing for poor and vulnerable communities, he gave pretty much a standard answer but migrated to declare that black lives are at stake and pivoted in an unexpected way to talk about policing and race. His remarks were pretty stark considering he was speaking to a nearly all White Crowd. 170409 This could be a matter of life and death. Black lives are at stake, not only in reforming how policing works in the United States, but also housing because every family deserves to be able to live in a safe neighborhood. Every family deserves to be able to live in a neighborhood free of contamination from environmental pollution, which we know disproportionately happens to black and Latino and native homeowners and houses. 170437 We have to act with every bit of the intention that got us to this point to get us to a better point. Buttigieg also faced a few protestors including two women who held a sign that said priavet healthcare kills (fed in an oncloud) and a man who appeared to storm the stage during the rope line with Buttigieg and his husband Chasten. The man was quickly removed (I barely got the image of him on the stage) but did get an okay shot of the red head being dragged away by Buttigieg's advance staff. 1724. According to police I spoke to they didn't arrest him, but suspected that the campaign grabbed the guy and sent him on his way. TIMECODES BELOW FROM ORIGINAL FEED @Bernie 164531 I respect my friend Senator -- (164534 FEED FREEZES) Sanders I believe the ideals he talks about our ideals we all share. 164540 ...but I also believe that the way we will build a movement to defeat Donald Trump is to call people into our tents, not to call them names online. The vision of replacing this President is one that speaks to my fellow diehard democrats, yes. 164604 But we are also calling out to the independents. And we are delighted to see some of the ranks of what I like to call a "future former republican" signing up for this, and you are welcome to be on our side. We can do this, together. Black Lives at Stake 170409 This could be a matter of life and death. Black lives are at stake, not only in reforming how policing works in the United States, but also housing because every family deserves to be able to live in a safe neighborhood. Every family deserves to be able to live in a neighborhood free of contamination from environmental pollution, which we know disproportionately happens to black and Latino and native homeowners and houses. 170437 We have to act with every bit of the intention that got us to this point to get us to a better point. TRINT [16:42:30] Thank you so much. [16:42:37] You know how to make a guy from Indiana feel right at home. [16:42:43] Thank you so much to our phenomenal supporters. Thanks, everybody, for joining us today. This is what it feels like to build a new kind of presidency. [16:42:53] And you are right in the middle of it. [16:42:58] We are so thrilled to be here. I'll be honest. We're running on adrenaline. Twenty four hours ago, we were in Nevada. Let's say we're in Colorado. This morning, we were in church in South Carolina. And now I'm thrilled to join you right here in the Commonwealth of Virginia. [16:43:19] Whereas, you know, just over a week from now is an opportunity to make history. An opportunity to change the course of this country and so much depends on the choice that we're about to make. If you've ever seen me speak, you know how I like to begin. [16:43:40] Which is to invite everybody to form in your own mind, your own version of the image that guides this whole campaign. [16:43:49] And that is how it's going to feel the first time that that sun comes up over the Potomac. And Donald Trump is no longer the president of the United States. [16:44:09] Feels good to think about it read. Aren't you ready to put the chaos behind us? Will it feel good to put the cruelty behind us? [16:44:24] Who's ready to put the tweets behind us? [16:44:28] That's going to be a good day and we have a responsibility to make sure that day comes about sooner rather than later. [16:44:39] The good news about being a voter in 2020 is we had a chance if you watched what played out in Mitch McConnell Senate during this impeachment trial. If you felt the frustration, if you felt the exhaustion, maybe even felt that terrible temptation to turn it all off and walk away. Now is our chance to remember that they might have been the jury then. But the verdict is off to us. Now on this president and on those senators who protected him. [16:45:16] Let's use that choice wisely. [16:45:21] But that means that in a few short days we could go one way or the other as a party. So much depends on getting this right. Now I respect my friend said. [16:45:39] But I also believe that the way we will build the movement to defeat Donald Trump is to call people into our tent, not to call them names online. The vision of replacing this president is one that speaks to my fellow die hard Democrats. Yes, but we also calling up to the independents and we are delighted to see some of the risks of what I like to call future former Republicans signing up for this. [16:46:13] And you are welcome to be at our side. We can do this together. We have to do this together. And you're welcome. But that means building a tent big enough to draw us in and harnessing, galvanizing, mobilizing, not polarizing the American majority ready to see that happen. We can solve the big challenges of our time, deliver health care to every American and give everybody the freedom to walk away from their health insurance companies toward a public plan. [16:46:53] America will support that just so long as we give you the freedom to decide whether you want that public plan in the first place. [16:47:00] That's how we build this, Vegard. [16:47:06] We're going to need a nominee ready to bring Americans together and we're going to need a nominee who understands that we dare not treat the presidency like it is the only office that matters. [16:47:24] Right here in Virginia, your legislature is demonstrating the power of doing the right thing at the state level. When we get those offices into the right hands. So when voices from those frontline districts that are so critical to keeping the House in the right hands when voices working on those Senate races, we're going to need so badly in order to make sure that the judiciary is not permanently remade in the wrong direction. [16:47:59] We had better make sure we've got a nominee at the top of the ticket who can not just take back the White House, but keep the House in the right hands. And Sen. Mitch McConnell pocket. We dare not ignore, we dare not dismiss, and we absolutely dare not attack those voices in the Democratic Party focusing on keeping those seats in the right hands because the next president is going to need that in order to get any of our big, bold ideas done. [16:48:39] Also think it would help for herself, a nominee who can challenge this president and call him out. This president wants to talk about being there for the forgotten people, even though the only economic from the city is cap his tax cuts for giant corporations. [16:49:03] How about making sure he is held to account on a debate stage by a Democratic nominee who actually lives and worked in a middle class neighborhood in the industrial Midwest in the heart of the so-called Rust Belt and can talk about what it means to have an economy that actually works for us. For a president who likes to cloak himself in the language of religion, this president sends out the likes of Rush Limbaugh to give instructions on family values. [16:49:53] Wouldn't it be a good idea to have him held to account by a nominee? Prepared to insist that America belongs to people of every religion and of no religion equally. Wouldn't it be a good idea for our nominee to be prepared to call out to fellow believers with the message that God does not belong to a political party in the United States of America? [16:50:25] And if this president keeps up that tough talk, keeps beating his chest and throwing himself military parades, maybe the time has come for a war veteran to stand next to him and educate him on how pardoning war criminals is not the act of a patriot. [16:51:00] You are building a campaign that will defeat this president and this is all one shot, so we've got to get it right. And the good news is we have an American majority not only to defeat this president, not only agreeing on what it is the rule against, but in the even bigger and more powerful majority insisting on what it is that we have for. [16:51:29] That's the real reason I asked you to picture the sun coming up that day. It's not just that we got to bring that sunrise about. It's that on that day. The next president will face challenges, the likes of which we barely thought of a few years ago. [16:51:43] And we are going to need to harness the American majority determined to do something about it. [16:51:49] The American people already understand that this is a country that must elevate wages, empower workers and see to it that one job is enough. [16:51:58] Whether you've got a college degree or not. [16:52:05] There is an American majority right now prepared to act in insisting that there be no such thing as an uninsured American. And speaking of health care, the American people already understand that in order to truly have good health in this country, we've got to take that same level of urgency, the same resources and the same openness that we have for physical medical issues. [16:52:33] And finally, bring it to bear on substance use and mental health, too. We're going to bring it out of the shadows and do something about it. There's already a powerful American majority that understands that part of how you honor our troops. It was not just to say so on a bumper sticker, but to give them a commander in chief who will bring an end to endless war and never allow them to be sent into a conflict that could have been prevented. [16:53:06] Right now, we've got an American majority that understands that immigration is part of the lifeblood of this country that supports dreamers and a pathway to citizenship. And we'll send the message to those caught in limbo that it's their basis to buy his time in. We have an American majority now ready to act so that this can become a country where your race has no bearing on your health or your wealth or on your experience with law enforcement, the United States of America. We must act now to make that a reality. [16:53:48] Right now, an American majority stands ready to defend the next generation by backing up those who educate them with a secretary of education who believes in public education and supports our teachers. [16:54:08] So you see the American people are already there and now we have to have the presidential leadership to get these things done. This is not something that can wait. We cannot wait 10 years. We cannot wait for years. [16:54:30] Well, I go I meet Americans who remind me what is on the line just by chance, because I was campaigning, I was in the airport, ran into somebody I had served with, hadn't seen since we were both in Afghanistan, hadn't seen since she was injured in an insider attack. And I saw her walking down the airport concourse wearing a t shirt from the Wounded Warrior Project that said some assembly required. [16:54:59] And when I asked her how she was doing. She lifted up her knees and tapped on her prosthetic leg, the part they couldn't save. She said the navy fixed me up just fine. And she's looking forward to her next deployment. She can't wait for a commander in chief who actually understands the meaning of being sent into war by the decisions of the United States president. [16:55:24] But the ones who really get my attention are the Americans I am meeting who are not yet even old enough to vote. [16:55:37] We had an eleven year old come to one of my events and raise his hand to ask about prescription drug affordability. [16:55:46] I thought, this is pretty cool. He's a smart kid. He wasn't asking because he's an emerging health care policy buff. He was asking because he needs insulin and he's worried about whether he will continue to be able to get access to it. [16:56:00] He can't wait for us to act to ensure that there is no such thing as an unaffordable prescription in the United States of America. [16:56:13] When a 13 year old came to one of my events and let me know that she had asked for a Kevlar bulletproof backpack for Christmas. [16:56:22] I didn't even know there was such a thing. She can't wait because this should not even be her problem. We should worry about this sort of thing so she doesn't have to. [16:56:34] She can't wait for us to act so that the Second Amendment can no longer be twisted into an excuse to do nothing at all about gun violence in this country. [16:56:52] And when a 10 year old comes to one of my events and diplomatically points out that he's planning to be here in the year twenty one hundred and says that when he is, he will be looking back on the choices we made right now to see if we acted in time to create a climate that he and his future kids and grandkids could drive in. [16:57:14] They can wait for the stack to lead the world on doing something about climate change before it is too late. This is our chance and we have to do it together. And it all starts by creating a different kind of politics. One with the American experience is defined not by exclusion, but by belonging. Look around you. We are creating the community right now to show, not just tell, what America might look like if we had the powers of the presidency in the right hands. This is our chance. [16:57:53] These are the things that we can do with our American presidency. In other words, as I come here one more time to look you in the eye and ask you for your vote. The reason I'm doing it, the reason I decided to run for this office is not that I got it into my head one day that I would like to occupy it. It's that this office has a purpose. [16:58:14] And the purpose of the presidency is not the glorification of the president. It is the unification and the empowerment of the American people who do these big tax. [16:58:26] That's why I'm asking for your support. [16:58:33] So if you're ready for that understanding of the presidency, if you're ready for a politics that calls everybody in, or if you're just ready to turn on the news, look at your president and feel your blood pressure go down a little bit instead of up to this campaign is for you. [16:58:56] B, B, B, B, B, B, B, B. [16:59:03] So one thing we believe in is dialog. Our numbers have grown just a little bit since we started out a year ago with a campaign team of four people in an office about as big as this stage I'm on. But I figure, well, I've never done it with this many thousands of people. I feel there's no such thing as a audience so big we can't have some form of dialog. [16:59:25] So we gathered up questions. We got them in our famous fishbowl. And I'd like you to welcome to the stage. Brando, one of our best supporters who who's going to be your voice and guide this conversation. Come on up. [16:59:51] Bias, but don't we have the best, kindest organizers, volunteers and team members on this campaign? [17:00:01] What an amazing crowd. So I am, as he mentioned, as Pete mentioned, a volunteer and I'm delighted to be your voice this afternoon. So many of you submitted questions. I'll just start with this first one. What's been your most surreal moment of the last year? And this is from Suzanne. [17:00:20] All right. If it's your question, give a holler. I'll try to look in your direction. Oh, yeah. Oh, we're down pretty well. [17:00:31] Everything about this is surreal. [17:00:34] Look, a year and a half ago, I was an elected official, but I was also driving my Chevy to work every day. And when you wake up and you're trying to remember what state you're in or you try to make sure you have your your briefing in the back, your head on the latest foreign policy just before you go on morning news. And then Alyssa walks by. You're in a room with lÍza. You can't pay attention to anything after that. [17:00:58] It is the whole thing is unreal. But but the most remarkable thing in this kind of out of body experience is that you're in the whole country all at once. And well, you find out is that the different states and communities in this country are very different. But what people are looking for is pretty much the same people looking for a better life and a better politics. [17:01:17] We want to actually feel like politics is speaking to them, like the decisions that are made, especially in Washington, D.C., are done in a way that connects back to our everyday lives. [17:01:28] And as unreal as all of this is, it brings me right back down to earth, because it turns out that politics is just people and this is the most human process I've ever been part of. Thanks for being part of this. [17:01:48] Your next question. Wow, especially in Arlington, really resonates. How will your administration address housing discrimination and ensure access to safe, decent housing for low income and other vulnerable populations? And this one is from Kelin macbeth.. [17:02:03] All right. So this is so important. [17:02:08] I see you more or less. And this is one of those questions I'm hearing everywhere I go. The president says that the economy is fantastic because the Dow Jones is looking good. Right. There is not one county in the entire United States of America right now where somebody's working full time can afford a two bedroom apartment. [17:02:31] It is just one example of what we have got to change when it comes to access to housing. First of all, we got to make sure people have more income in the first place, which is why we've got to raise the minimum wage and power organized labor to make it possible for gig workers and domestic workers and farm workers to organize. But then we've got to deal with the cost side. And it's not going to get better without a real investment. [17:02:54] That means hundreds of billions of dollars that will be well worth it to ensure that there's no longer wait lists for housing choice vouchers for families with children and to increase by 2 million the number of affordable housing units being built here in the United States of America. And then you mentioned housing discrimination. This is so important because it continues to happen. [17:03:18] The value of a home in an identical neighborhood is forty thousand dollars lower. If that neighborhood is majority African-American, that is going on right now. Black homeownership is at the lowest level it's been at since the Fair Housing Act was passed. That's not going to get better until we put as much intention into dismantling the effective systemic racism on housing as went into it in the first place. [17:03:45] That means affirmatively enforcing fair housing rules. It means, in my view, a 21st century Homestead Act. This is go up, have the chance to build equity and build generational wealth. [17:04:04] Where they grew up. This can be a matter of life and death. [17:04:11] Black lives are at stake not only in reforming how policing works in the United States, but also housing, because every family deserves to be able to live in a safe neighborhood. Every family deserves to be able to live in a neighborhood free of contamination from environmental pollution, which we know disproportionately happens to black and Latino and native homeowners and houses. [17:04:37] We have to act with every bit of the intention that got us to this point to get us to a better point. And when I am president, we will have a Department of Housing and Urban Development that is actually committed to making sure that every American has access to that housing, regardless of their background. [17:05:00] Mashpee, how are you going to empower youth activism and this is from a 17 year old named Ellie. All right. [17:05:08] Here it is. So like I said, you don't even have to be old enough to vote to have an impact. [17:05:14] And youth activism is part of what is changing how the world works right now. Look, the longer you're planning to be here, the more you have at stake in those decisions that are about to be made. And I think it's really revealing, for example, that Time's Person of the year, if she were a U.S. citizen, would not even be old enough to vote. But the grid, the climate activism of Greg Timberg is helping change the conversation. [17:05:42] Same thing on gun violence when students marched for their lives. [17:05:47] It is changing things in a way that no politician could. And here's the really good news. This isn't the 60s where a young generation took to the streets to protest against their parents. [17:05:59] Right now what I'm seeing is young people marching for their lives when it comes to gun violence, demanding we do better on climate change. And I'm seeing their parents and their grandparents at their side cheering them on. [17:06:11] That's what we saw, the women's march. That is so powerful. [17:06:16] I know you don't yet have the power of a vote, although you're about to. But you have another kind of power, which is when you look in the eyes of anybody who is old enough to vote. Anybody who holds authority. And you raise these questions like, what are you doing to keep me safe? A voice rises up in the heart of any thinking person which says, do not let this young person down. [17:06:41] The power of that voice can do as much to change our politics as anything that any one person running for office can. And as president, I will be counting on youth activism to push our country forward and make sure these changes actually happen. [17:06:55] Great question. [17:07:02] The next question is from Terry. We need a president who believes in science. How will you support it? How will you support medical research for cures? [17:07:14] Remember when you could just assume that the president would believe in science? I'm sorry that this has become a politically controversial idea. But yes, the president and the administration should believe in science. [17:07:30] And should believe the recommendations of scientists and should make sure the people running agencies are committed to their mission. For example, someone in charge of environmental protection who believes in climate science. And as Terry's question suggests, a lot of this means making sure that we are funding basic research. This is part of our growth and development happens. [17:07:58] Maybe only a company could invent the iPhone, but only federal research could invent the Internet. The same thing is true in the medical space. I'm delighted to see people take basic research and run with it to create cures. But it's not all gonna happen for profit. We've got to fund the research that advances humanity and advances our ability to find cures for what literally ails us. [17:08:23] As an American people and as a human species in America, we restore its leadership role in the sciences under my administration. And we're going to need to call a lot of scientists into service to help us get that done. I bet there are some folks right here, right now who would be willing to be part of that mission. [17:08:44] This has been really inspiring. I'm told that we have time for just one last question. [17:08:50] I know. [17:08:53] How are you going to give hope to a generation of the homeless? This is from a spiritually a spiritual LGBTQ plus person, Justin. [17:09:05] Generation of the homeless are very good homeless. So. We draw hope from different sources, some draw hope from faith. Some draw hope from family. We can all draw hope from right around us. I'll tell you where mine comes from. People ascribe it to youth, but it's actually from experience. I think about the hope that my city represents our city was typical of the so-called Rust Belt a decade ago. [17:09:35] They said we were dying because all the factories closed and so many people had moved out. And as mayor, I was able to guide that city and join with neighbors as we picked ourselves up, defined what the press was saying about us, welcomed new residents into our community, formed a different future, and are now growing for the first time in a long time. If there a temptation to give up hope in our capacity for unity as a country, I think about it in terms of the experience I had overseas deployed with people completely different from me. [17:10:09] i've been really different politically. As well as regionally and racially, but you know what? We trusted each other with our lives because we had to. Somebody was getting into my vehicle in Afghanistan. They didn't care if I was going home to a boyfriend or girlfriend, didn't care if I was a Democrat or Republican. We trusted each other with our lives because we had to. [17:10:29] And having seen that happen, I believe you don't have to go to war in order to have that experience is part of why I believe in national service, creating a million voluntary paid national service opportunities a year. [17:10:44] And yes, I also draw a lot of my own hope from the LGBTQ experience. Look, we got a long way to go when it comes to equality. There's no question of that. And when I am president, we will beginning with the Equality Act and continuing with an end to the war on trans Americans and affirmatively building up everybody's sense of belonging in this country. [17:11:09] We do have a long way to go, but part of why I am hopeful is the fact that I'm standing in front of you as somebody who was raised at a moment when you thought you could either serve or you could be gay. You definitely could not be both of those things you need to be out or you could be involved in public service and politics. Where I came from now both. [17:11:32] You'll be married. Or you could be gay. Not both. [17:11:37] And I'm standing right in front of you as a veteran, happily married. [17:11:43] Running for president of the United States. That's where I get my. [17:11:50] Let's see one more. Said one word. [17:11:54] So the last question and just I happened to pull to. So this is the last one. How was meeting Ellen? And this is from Rachel mccluster. [17:12:03] Rachel her. Ellen is the best. [17:12:16] You know, we need we need more that we need a little more kindness in this world. [17:12:27] I understand that there are times when we've got no choice but to fight. And I'm ready for the fight of our lives in order to make sure that we make Donald Trump a one term president. I think we're all ready for that. [17:12:42] But again, this is where I view things a little differently than Senator Sanders. I don't believe we can allow ourselves to get to the point where it starts to feel like fighting is the point we're getting through like fightings all we got. [17:12:56] The point is not to fight. The point is one guys on the other side of the fight and what I see there is that experience of belonging in our country that we can build together, that we can only build together, that we cannot build by beating each other over the head. [17:13:16] Anyway, those are some of the things that go through my mind when I had the wonderful opportunity to spend time with Ellen. All right. Now, her time really as a woman would be taking her, Brenda, for being your voice. [17:13:33] And I want to ask you to soak up the sense of belonging that we are creating right here. [17:13:41] Politics will be fierce sometimes, but it is not just combat. [17:13:47] It can be about building community. It can be about lifting each other up. That's why I'm in this in the first place. And so the biggest thing that I'm asking of you besides, of course, your vote is to find people in your life who maybe did give into that temptation to walk away from it all, because it's so exhausting, because it's so crushing sometimes. [17:14:12] And to draw them back in, in the name of whatever hope propels you into this space, whatever hope made you think it was worth standing in a line a mile long. Just so we can spend some time together talking about the future of this country. [17:14:32] I know. [17:14:33] I hope as a word went out of style for a little bit. In American politics, because of the bleakness and the division of the moment we're in. But I would also argue you are here because some sense of hope tells you that our lives could be better depending on the decisions they make and those big white buildings over the river. [17:14:54] And whose hands are on the please and lovers of American government. That's why I'm here. There is a reason why. Have you ever noticed on the news they tip the word hopeful. And they turned it into a noun. And they use it as another word for candidates of a twenty twenty hopeful. That's what I'm doing here. [17:15:15] How fitting? Because running for office is an act of hope and say is helping. Somebody once says volunteering. So is voting. You are spreading that sense of hope that it does, in fact, matter who gets their hands on those polls and lives and what values guide those hands. So can I look to you to spread that sense of hope to everybody to, you know. [17:15:43] And are you ready for that sunrise when we put the Trump administration behind us and move forward into something better? Virginia, I think you are going to make me the next president of the United States, and when you do, I will do everything I can to make you proud. [17:16:03] Thank you for coming. Thank you for caring. [17:16:09] Let's go make history on March 3rd and let's win this thing in November. [17:16:13] Thank you.