ADVERTISEMENT
At poverty forum, Joe Biden says he can win in the South
Biden made his comments at a presidential forum convened by the Poor People’s Campaign, which seeks to draw attention to issues like poverty and systemic racism. It is a revival of the campaign that was planned by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. before his assassination a half-century ago.
At poverty forum, Joe Biden says he can win in the South
“Folks, look, if you start off with the notion there’s nothing you can do, well, might you all go home then, man?” he said. “Or let’s start a real, physical revolution if you’re talking about it. Because we have to be able to change what we’re doing within our system.”
Biden, who has drawn criticism from some liberals for his efforts to appeal to moderates in a polarized era, also expressed confidence about how he would fare in the South if he wins the Democratic nomination and faces President Donald Trump in the general election. He said that he planned on winning North Carolina, South Carolina and Georgia and that he believed he could win Florida and Texas as well.
Biden made his comments at a presidential forum convened by the Poor People’s Campaign, which seeks to draw attention to issues like poverty and systemic racism. It is a revival of the campaign that was planned by the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. before his assassination a half-century ago.
ADVERTISEMENT
Biden, who leads in early polling of the Democratic presidential race, was one of nine candidates for the nomination who spoke at the forum, held at Trinity Washington University in the nation’s capital. He described poverty as “the one thing that can bring this country down.”
Sen. Bernie Sanders of Vermont also talked about a revolution but in a different way: He repeated his call for a “political revolution.”
“Today and in the last 45 years, we heard a whole lot of talk and a whole lot of speeches and a whole lot of party platforms,” Sanders said. “But you know what goes on? Today, the average worker in America is making exactly the same wages that he or she made 45 years ago.”
The candidates touched on a variety of subjects affecting lower-income people. Sanders reiterated his call for voting rights for incarcerated people. Sen. Kamala Harris of California, a former prosecutor, spoke of changing the cash bail system and providing relief to renters. Sen. Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts outlined her plan to create a wealth tax and use the proceeds to help pay for programs like universal child care.
On the matter of how to deal with likely Republican opposition in the Senate, Warren struck a notably different tone than Biden. She repeated her call to get rid of the Senate filibuster if necessary, so that a narrow Democratic majority in that chamber could push through legislation over Republican objections.
ADVERTISEMENT
“We have to be willing to get in this fight,” Warren said.
The Poor People’s Campaign is led by the Rev. William J. Barber II, a civil rights leader from North Carolina, and the Rev. Liz Theoharis, director of Kairos: The Center for Religions, Rights and Social Justice at Union Theological Seminary in New York.
The issue of poverty is at the heart of the campaign. In 2017, about 40 million people in the United States were in poverty, or roughly 12% of the population, according to the Census Bureau. To show the scope of the issue, however, the campaign says that by another measure, some 140 million people can be considered either poor or low-income.
“The word ‘poor’ has basically become a four-letter word for the past half a century,” Theoharis said in an interview. “If some politicians talk about it, it’s to punish and demonize people who are poor. And many, including many Democrats, refuse to even talk about the poor.”
The candidate forum was an effort to put a spotlight on the subject. “There has to be a narrative shift,” Barber said in an interview. “If we keep having an anemic, small, limited political debate and discussion, we’re going to keep getting what we’ve always gotten.”
ADVERTISEMENT
Before the forum Monday, the Poor People’s Campaign and the Institute for Policy Studies, a liberal think tank, released the Poor People’s Moral Budget, a lengthy collection of policy proposals intended to help bring about a “moral economy.” The proposals included reducing military spending by nearly half and increasing taxes on corporations and wealthy people, including creating a wealth tax that mirrors what Warren has proposed.
Organizers of the forum said Trump was invited to appear but did not respond. The Trump campaign declined to comment.
This article originally appeared in The New York Times.
JOIN OUR PULSE COMMUNITY!
ADVERTISEMENT
Eyewitness? Submit your stories now via social or:
Email: eyewitness@pulse.ng
ADVERTISEMENT