DPCC Co-Chair Bustos: Democrats Fight For the People Who Want to Get Ahead
WASHINGTON, DC – Congresswoman Cheri Bustos, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared Bloomberg TV to discuss how Democrats are fighting for the people to lower health care costs, increase wages by rebuilding America and clean up corruption in Washington. Below are excerpts from the interview. Click here to watch the video.
"Well, Democrats have had a hard time. I think that's going to change in November of 2018, just 41 days away. You know the problem was, over an eight year period, Democrats lost about 1,000 seats when you look at governor's mansions, state legislatures, and Congress. Part of that was due to the fact that Democrats were writing off much of rural America or they would see a small town or a less populated county and say you know that's a Republican area, we're just not going to show up. What we're doing in this cycle – to your earlier point, how did I win by 20 points in a district that Donald Trump won? – I hope people back home in down-state Illinois will say ‘she shows up. It doesn't matter that my town has 300 people. She comes here. She uses her two ears and one mouth proportionally and listens, and then goes back out to Washington and knows what concerns us' and what the folks back home want me to fight for.
"I think it has been a combination of the two. I was Vice Chair of Recruitment last election cycle, not this one, where I was helping to recruit candidates running for Congress all over the country. And we found in many areas that the people who wanted to run didn't necessarily fit their Congressional districts. Maybe they were further left-leaning than a swing district or a purple district, or a slightly even red district. If you're a Democrat running in a purple or slightly red district, you better figure out how to navigate that. This cycle, I think we've got candidates that fit their districts like a glove. To your point about the policies, look I've been a Democrat my whole life. I'm proud to be a Democrat. I know why I am a Democrat because we fight for people who just want to get ahead. But when you walk into a room you don't always have to bring up issues that have a tendency more to divide than unite. And the order in which you talk about issues and the issues that you focus on heavily [should be] the kitchen table issues, like addressing the cost of health care and the price of prescription drugs; the fact that we do want to rebuild America, including making sure that high-speed internet [and] broadband is provided for the 23 million rural Americans that don't have it now; and frankly, we've got to clean up the corruption that comes out of this building where I am standing right now. It is out of control. Washington is not a place where, frankly, I think the other side of the aisle [isn't] fighting for the people. We know that we are here to do that as Democrats. It is all of that combined. November 2018, I think, is a new day.
"[Health care] is one of the top issues. I can tell you this, while we have a low unemployment rate right now, that's taken a long time to get there. In the last six years, our unemployment rate has been higher than the rest of the state of Illinois and most of the rest of the country. But our wages, like so many rural communities, the wages of people have not gone up to the same level as their expenses. One of the big expenses is health care, and I can tell you I do something called supermarket Saturdays, where I walk the aisle of grocery stores , and all I do is say ‘Hi, I'm Cheri Bustos, I represent this area in Congress. What's on your mind? What you want me to fight for?' And after they say, can you just get something done and cleanup things in Washington, the next thing out of their mouths is health care is a big concern. My mom has a pre-existing condition. My son was born with cerebral palsy. I've had cancer. I'm very concerned about pre-existing conditions, being able to get health insurance. I'm very concerned about being able to afford it. It is a top issue, no doubt about it.
"Well, you know that will be the will of our Caucus, as far as who becomes our Speaker, our Whip, our Leader, our Assistant Democratic Leader, our Caucus Chair. All of that is the will of our Caucus. I am currently in a leadership position. I'm one of three Co Chairs of the Policy and Communications Committee, which means I do have a seat at the table and it's probably worth noting that I'm the only Midwesterner sitting around that table. I'm the only person in the Democratic Caucus who comes from a district that Donald Trump won sitting around that Leadership table. I think that's an important voice, because when we win back the majority, a good deal of those seats will be districts like mine that are swing districts. They are districts that Donald Trump won, and that we as Democrats have to say to the American public, please put your faith back in us and we will prove to you that we will get something done. We've got to prove that and we've got to make sure that when we win the majority, we're going to do the hard work of cleaning up corruption, bringing down the cost of escalating health care prices, and that we rebuild America. And at the same time we'll create another 16 million jobs and make sure people are ready for those jobs."