On the recordJuly 17, 2019
Mr. Speaker, I am a Congressman in no small part due to civil rights legislation: the ADA that passed 29 years ago next week. Inclusivity is not abstract to me. Diversity is not just a buzzword. This weekend, our Nation confronted bigotry and discrimination, the vile opposites of these virtues. That we did so is not surprising. Our country is not perfect, built as it is on the original sin of slavery, but the source of these racist remarks should shock all of my colleagues, as they came from the President himself. The President's tweets attacking my fellow Representatives is inexcusable. There is no explanation, no possible context in which they would be acceptable. They are the product of his world view that prizes division and conflict. I believe in compromise. I believe in trying to work together to better our country even when we disagree, but that spirit of tolerance cannot extend to the blatantly racist and xenophobic rhetoric. I voted yesterday to condemn the President's remarks, but that should never have been necessary. Our country is better than the example this President is setting. I only hope that we can heal after this dark chapter. ____________________





