By Dwight Evans
Yesterday, President Donald Trump joined the entire Republican congressional caucus in Philadelphia to plan a dangerous legislative agenda that seeks to serve a narrow-minded elite at the expense of families, children, minorities, immigrants, the sick, the elderly, and the poor.
The president has already signed executive orders making it official White House policy to repeal the Affordable Care Act, limit access to reproductive health care and information, and order the construction of a wall that will only succeed in furthering to divide our country.
America is in uncharted territory — but it’s becoming increasingly clear that President Trump’s path forward will only lead to division, chaos, and hardship.
As Senator Cory Booker noted on Facebook, Samuel Adams once said, “If ever the time should come, when vain and aspiring men shall possess the highest seats in government, our country will stand in need of its experienced patriots to prevent its ruin.”
I know you love this country and want to restore its status as the beacon of liberty, equality, hope, and opportunity for all. You’re a patriot who stands for the values enshrined in our constitution.
Trump has stated that he has great relationships with “the blacks” — treating our communities as monolithic entities. He’s repeatedly called immigrants rapists, drug dealers, and “bad hombres.” He’s referred to our cities as the epicenters of carnage and said that they look like “war zones” from out the window of an airplane.
Trump has said all that while at the same time claiming that his plans will unite the country and create jobs — but the reality is that by repealing tax credits for working families and the Affordable Care Act, 137,000 jobs in Pennsylvania will be lost by 2019. At the federal level, repeal will cost taxpayers $128.9 billion between 2019-2023.
Instead of using America’s cities, minorities, and immigrants as scapegoats, Trump and the Republicans should be working with Democrats to invest in both our urban and rural areas to better connect them and lift all families up.
Together, we can tackle racial, social, and economic injustice – but now, more than ever, we must work together to protect and continue the progress we’ve made over the last several years.