Indiana Democratic Party 2-11-17 Weekly Radio Address Podcast

Chairman John Zody and the Indiana Democratic Party2-11-17 weekly radio address:

“The Court’s sharp rebuke didn’t sit well with the president, who immediately took to Twitter and let loose. We know he was serious because, this time, it was in all-caps. No need to shout, Mr. President. We will see you in court.”

TRANSCRIPT:

This is Chairman John Zody, bringing you the weekly podcast for the Indiana Democratic Party.

• On Thursday evening, The US Court of Appeals’ Ninth Circuit rejected President Trump’s request to reinstate an executive order many see as a ban on Muslims traveling to the US and is widely considered un-American and unconstitutional. The Court’s sharp rebuke didn’t sit well with the president, who immediately took to Twitter and let loose. We know he was serious because, this time, it was in all-caps. No need to shout, Mr. President. We will see you in court.

• Also, United States Senator Joe Donnelly voted against the nominations of Betsy DeVos, Jeff Sessions and Tom Price this week.

• Donnelly cited DeVos’s lack of commitment to public education in voting no. DeVos and her family are alleged to have sunk as much as $200 million into efforts to privatize public education.

• The concern of many civil rights advocates – including many Hoosiers – led Donnelly to vote against Jeff Sessions as the nation’s top law enforcement officer.

• The Senate debate turned ugly when Majority Leader Mitch McConnell forced Senator Elizabeth Warren to her seat for reading a letter penned by civil rights icon Coretta Scott King demanding Sessions be denied a federal judgeship in 1986. McConnell’s clarification that Warren had: “been warned. That she was given explanation. Nevertheless, she persisted,” has gone viral.

• Tom Price’s desire to dismantle Medicare decided Donnelly’s “No” vote. Representative Price has led the fight to privatize Medicare and repeal the Affordable Care Act.

• Senator Donnelly also announced 90 jobs at Crane Army Ammunitions facility in Martin County had been spared from a federal hiring freeze.

• Under the rotunda in Indianapolis, House Democrats unveiled a plan to repair Indiana’s crumbling infrastructure WITHOUT raising taxes on Hoosier motorists – a key component of Republicans’ plan.

• Leader Scott Pelath, Rep. Greg Porter and Rep. Dan Forestal noted Republicans have cut hundreds of millions of dollars in taxes for big businesses and banks and that it’s disingenuous to ask Hoosiers to pay more at the pump while the state lightens the tax load for corporations.

• One year later, hundreds of Hoosier working families at Carrier and Rexnord still don’t have answers. While some jobs at Carrier Corporation will remain on the west side of Indianapolis, hundreds more and all 300 jobs at Rexnord are still slated to move to Mexico.

• No word from Governor Eric Holcomb’s office on efforts to keep good-paying jobs like these in Indiana. So, these families will have to go on waiting.
• After 70 days and a denial by former-Governor Mike Pence, Holcomb took a positive step and declared a disaster emergency in East Chicago – a community overwhelmed by lead contamination. Hopefully families – especially children – will receive the attention and care they deserve now.

• Please follow the IDP on Facebook and Twitter. Simply search INDems – that’s I-N-D-E-M-S on Facebook and Twitter, and follow us to get the latest news about our candidates and what we’re doing to hold our counterparts at the Statehouse and in Washington accountable.

• Only together can we work towards a brighter and better state for Hoosiers of all walks to life to succeed in working and raising a family.

• Thank you for listening.