Asderathos: The emBoldened parts are the excerpted quotes from the blaze. I see no modifying context. [That said, there is no excuse for threatening any member of government, no matter how deluded]. Of course if taking quotes out of context substantively changing what was meant, was some sort of crime, then every single leftist who's ever spread every BS lie about Glenn Beck, should be in jail. Just sayin~ Leftists are hypocrites.
http://youtu.be/07K4SF_-1Eg <-[Video URLs to actual video, to varify my transcript~]
I think what the tea party has taught all of us is that when you show up, you can make things happen. And I will tell you that uh, that when I first encountered the tea party I thought, 'oh, these people are crazy!' You know, and you would hear people tellin you 'oh they're crazy', but you know what? Crazy showed up. And not only did crazy show up but crazy elected 39 other members to the house of representatives and took alot of people out. So, you know, often times things look a little bit benign and what I'm finding particularly at the federal level now is that if something seems threatening most likely it is. Who would be thinking we would be re-litigating planned parenthood or contraception. Uh you know I thought that these issues were well resolved uh years ago, certainly uh even before the time of my birth. But I see that we are now re-litigating a whole host of issues when it comes to our civil society, and I think these are really civil society issues. I always share with people one of my favorite sort of putting things in context is the YK2, The Y2K scare. Remember, when, you know we were going into the year two thousand and everyone was like, you know 'oh my God' you know get your duct tape, get your water, get your flashlight, get your batteries, because you know, the computers are going to shut down, that life that we know is going to be over. Well I resisted that. I resisted, I said Oh please this is all hype, you know, people are just trying to sell us stuff. But around eleven thirty nine on december thirty first I ran out and got some water just in case. You know, and though that wasn't the Y2K that we thought it would be I think we're in it now. I think as a civil society we are at the point now where we have to determine which direction we take in the twenty first century. A lot of the things that we have been accustomed to, uh particularly as New Yorkers, and as a Nation quite frankly are no longer the pathways to success that we thought they were. So our economy is less industrialized than its ever been, its more technologically driven, but our school systems don't reflect that, our training doesn't reflect that. And so there's a lot that we must do uh to sort of take us there. But what is the social compact that we have one with another? To me, there's just some key things, there's social security, there're medicare, there're medicaid. They're taking care of the least of these amongst us, as part of that social compact. Well I can tell you, all of that is under threat right now. The testing of our water, of our air making sure that we're an environmentally sound civil society, that's all under threat right now, the defunding of the EPA. Even things like, um, the National Endowment of the Arts, you know. I've had the pleasure of growing up in this district of iv[as a] life long resident. And, You know, were it not for the Brooklyn museum, the botanical gardens the prosig pasig park, the brooklyn academy of music, I would dare say that my life would not have been enriched, my parents weren't wealthy. These were the institutions of the community, we could walk there, to the Children's museum. All of these institutions are now seen as luxury items, in the eyes of those who are the majority in the House of Representatives. So its a battle each and every week. I tell people I like to come home directly at the end of each week because I can detox, I can come back and remember why I took on this challenge, why I seek my constituents' support encouragement and guidance. And council, because its truly a battle in Washington right now. You see how beleagured our President has been, they day he swore in, they swore they were gonna get him out. And there's not been a moment of compramise since we've been there. Not a moment of negotiation, its been all been there way or the highway. And they even do it amongst themselves. Uh Just this week we were, uh, trying to pass a cyber security bill out of the house of representatives, I happen to serve on the Homeland Security Committee and I'm the ranking member for cyber security, and they basically dismantled this bill because other committees of jurisdiction where Tea Party members are in leadership, uh just basically got involved with the power struggle with the members of our committee. The chairman of our committee. You wouldn't believe it but Peter King is not, uh, tea party alright, he's not even, uh, well liked, necessarily within his confrence. And so he becomes the low man on the totem pole and all of our safety becomes compramised because Homeland Security has jurisdiction for cyber security yet their bill gets watered down by other committees where more power is being vested. Committees like Intelligence, the Intelligence Committee. So its a power struggle not only with the Democrats and the minority trying to keep the moral compass on the right tragectory but also then its a struggle within the Republican party itself. They're eating their own. They're trying to get as many extreme right
members in the House of Representatives because they believe that they rule the world, and that they're way is the best way, and any other way takes the highway. And that's what we've been dealing with uh whether you look at the uh Ryan, Republican, Ryan budget that just come out, again just highlighting a number of the discretionary spending, our budget has been slashed! We can go from um things like um uh, aid to women infant and children. We can go straight to food stamps. We can go to EPA standards. Everything that we need to underpin and under-gird our civil society is being dismantled, and how's that? By cutting and slashing those discretionary budgets to nothing, to smithereens. They're unable to function as Federal Agencies while laying off and trying to do more with less. So its a real struggle that we face right now, but I'm in the fight. And I think that is what my constituents want most of all. Whether its comprehensive immigration reform which is a very passionate issue for me. I just don't understand how uh uh uh, a nation uh built by immigrants for immigrants gets to the point where it uh-uh-uh, basically turns on itself. Where every other nation that we know of that does not have a vibrant immigration uh policy is basically dying, you know. We have a competitive advantage by having people here who desire to be here who desire to give their skills, their talents, their ability, to the development of our communities and by extension our nation yet there are those who don't see the value in what they bring, not understanding their own immigrant heritage. So its an ongoing challenge just to get uh immigration uh wholesomely dealt with. We need a twenty first century system in the united states Um, we don't need to keep people um, locked in a purgatory or um, of feeling as though they have created a criminal enterprise by being here. Its a civil event. But at the end of the day all of them want to make it good with us. And we do have the ability where criminal activity is concerned to weed out those who pose a real threat to us as Americans, and those who would rather bolster us as Americans, and I, that's what I'm pushing for. I was fortunate to be in the house of representatives when we did pass the dream act. Unfortunately the senate didn't follow through on their end. We lost that by six votes. But again its activism. When the face of immigration is only Latino, well then people don't realize that uh, how it means to all of us as Americans. And so I make my face plain. I think its important they hear someone who doesn't have an accent.
Better more to have many accents, uh, speak on behalf of those who need this type of relief. Who we as communities, as Americans, need this type of relief. I think there's a type of redemptive value in being able to make sure that younger people that we've invested in already through education are able to go on to college, are able to go on an become the next, uh, person who will cure cancer. Without fear of being deported to nations that they have no knowledge of or understanding of or culture that they really had no exposure to. So that's just really one of my really passionate areas. I also serve on the small business committee and I think that entrepreneurship at every level has been what makes this nation so very fascinating. Its the mom and pop that starts out, that's able to provide opportunities for other talented individuals who wanted to use that talent in the small business. I think we need to diversify our ability to bring as many people on the mainstream in the mainstream in entrepreneurship as we can. And that's very critical to many communities with high unemployment. I mean corporate America is not going to higher everyone and neither do they desire to. And you know I think that it would be great if we could provide more financial support, lending for start-ups, for small business, for women, for minorities in particular, who have really been marginalized in our civil society when it comes to business. So, I started on the small business committee where Amelia Velasquez is the chairperson... well she's ranking member now. I had the opportunity to be in congress when we were the majority for two sessions, so sometimes I lapse on who's chair, who's speaker, when, what have you because uh it was a grand time. Just let me say that. *Laughter* It was a grand time. Uh, but You know what? Its moments like this that keep you humble and keeps your feet on the ground and keeps your finger on the pulse of the people that you represent. Because I'm basically amplifying the dreams the aspirations of those, the desires, of the people that I represent. And this gives me an opportunity to really sound the alarm. I can only amplify the voices of people who understand the significance of what it is to be in a democracy. And so I'm constantly encouraging people, write me, send me letters, give, you know, call me, e-mail me, you know, just show up. Come to Washington. Its so very important. I think that we uh, have uh, sat on the sidelines, and know that you are all active, I don't want to belittle anyone in the room, but I see what happens when people show up in Washington.
When I say dealing with the Tea Party, they came up in the hundreds of thousands. So we couldn’t walk outside of our office without tripping over Tea Party members. And these are individuals that had no problems with racial epithets, they had no problem with cursing, spitting and everything else, they came to intimidate members out of passing the Affordable Care Act. That made me more determined to pass the affordable care act. I dunno, maybe its coming from Flatbush Brooklyn. *laughter* I dunno, But the moment that they came in and really just showed the ugliest sides of the United States of America, you can imagine — it was clear to me that we were doing the right thing for Americans. There will always be those in our civil society who, for whatever reason, feel like something is being taken away from them when we give to others. That has always been a challenge in the psyche of many in our civil society. But, you know, you have to save them from themselves despite those inclinations on their side. And so, you know, we have to show them something. We're in the supreme court as you all know, around the affordable care act unfortunately. Uh, while we, you know, feel good about the victory, we were not organizing politically and I think that that was a short-coming on the part of the Democrats, because what they decided to do was retrench themselves and then go into the state legislatures and turn all of these state legislatures Republican and then in twenty ten came in and took care of the House of Representatives. The Republicans, uh, you know, the one thing that I can say about them is that they seem far more focused um, organized, um, in terms of their political agenda and here we are the big tent Democratic party and here we uh, are, uh, intellectuals, and we intellectualize everything. But at the end of the day it will be action that makes a difference. And if there is anything I can do to encourage to inspire to motivate, to get people actively engaged, you know, I was a product of the movement of the sixties, because I was born in sixty four, and I know what activism does. It makes sure the children get a proper education in the public schools. Its a product of the parental involvement and community investment in the public school education. And as a result of that I was able to be re, well educated in New York City public schools. I don't see why it is that um, those type of demands can't be made on the system today. Uh, but it, uh, takes engagement. It takes sacrifice and many parents sacrificed. Many parents gave up their jobs, many parents gave up, uh, you know, uh, so much, There will... *cuts off*.
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a Q&A without any of the quotes that The Blaze covered, but from the same meeting - http://youtu.be/eBQq7tm7Qs8
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