DPCC Co-Chair Cicilline: Democrats Are Fighting For the People
Republicans Are For Powerful Special Interests
WASHINGTON, DC – Congressman David Cicilline, Co-Chair of the House Democratic Policy and Communications Committee (DPCC), appeared on Fox News at Night With Shannon Bream to discuss how Democrats are fighting for the people while Republicans continue to side with powerful special interests and greedy lobbyists. Below are excerpts of the interview. Click here to watch the video.
"I think one thing is very clear, what voters are interested in is voting for people who are going to fight for them - who are going to drive down the cost of health care; who are going to create good paying jobs and raise family incomes; and who are going to end the pervasive corruption in Washington.
"My constituents haven't asked at all. They don't care who the Democratic Leader is. What they care about - and what they understand - is that this election is about who is fighting for the people and who is fighting for the special interests.
"If we are privileged to go to the majority, we'll have Caucus and we'll elect our leaders. In this country, the Democrats elect their leader. And the Republicans elect their leader.
"One of the reasons we see Republicans talking about this a lot on places like Fox, to be very honest, is because Republicans don't have anything to run on.
"They did a tax bill that provided 83% of the tax cuts to the top 1%. 85 million working families will see an increase over their live because of that tax bill. It created a $2 trillion deficit. They don't have an agenda - so they are talking about Nancy Pelosi.
"Let's be vey clear. 83% of that tax cut went to the top 1% - the richest people in this country. That is a fact. 85 million working families will see a tax increase over their lives because of that tax bill.
"$2 trillion is what the tax cut costs and now the Republicans are saying we have to cut medicare, medicaid, social security in order to pay for it. The American people know that - which is why this tax cut is wildly unpopular. And it's why Republicans are not talking about [the tax scam] anymore and they are talking about Nancy Pelosi.
"There's no question that the people at the very top have benefitted. But the problem in the Bureau of Labour Statistics just released a report on Friday: wages are down over that same period. So the problem is, the people of the top are making out great but working families have seen their wages remain stagnant.
"There is no wage increase and the cost of health care is going up [and so is] the cost of out-of-pocket expenses. The Republicans are in Court this very month trying to take away coverage for pre-existing conditions. What this election is going to be about is who is fighting for the people.
"I don't think there is any question on employment as well as job creation - [which was] obviously, built on the economy of the last eight years under President Obama. I don't think there is dispute on that.
"The problem is, the economy is not working for everybody. Wages are not going up, too many families are struggling to get by. And what democrats are focused on is how do we raise wages; reduce the costs in people's lives from child care to health care to college education; how do we make sure folks have the skills necessary for the jobs in the 21st century?
"Democrats are fighting for the people of this country. They see the Republicans fighting for the powerful special interests, big lobbyists, the influencers, the folks in Washington, and that tax bill was a reflection of that.
"If you get a modest and temporary tax cut but your health care premiums go up and the cost of many other things in your life go up, you don't end up gaining. Which is why I think people know that, which is why the American people overwhelmingly don't think they got a good deal. They think the rich folks made out well: the Republican donors, lobbyists."