Rep. Alexandria Ocasio Cortez (D-NY) spoke at a "Fighting Oligarchy: Where Do We Go From Here" Rally in Greeley, Colorado.
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NewsTranscript
00:00Thank you all so, so much.
00:07Thank you for making the effort and taking the time out of your day to be here in community with us today.
00:16Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.
00:20How are you?
00:26Well first of all, my name is Alexandria.
00:31I know that you may not be able to see me, but I'm so happy to be here today and thank you so much for welcoming me today.
00:40I really appreciate it.
00:46Now I hear that you have a representative, but you've not done it at all.
00:58You know, I will say, usually your first three months on a new job, you are on your best behavior.
01:09And working your hardest and doing your best.
01:12I don't know if anyone's had like a probationary period on a job before.
01:15Can you imagine if we had those for members of Congress?
01:20Anyways, all of that is to say, if this is the best that you all are getting, I think you deserve better.
01:37Now my home is a ways from here, but in truth, I think the distance between us is a lot shorter than we think.
01:46And even that we're told.
01:48And in fact, I think that we are all here together because we share in the frustration and the heartache that comes from watching those in power actively tear down
02:02or refuse to fight for everyday working Americans like us.
02:07And I really get it.
02:15I was born in a working class family.
02:18My mom cleaned houses.
02:20My dad worked really hard to try to start a small business in order to do their best to give a better future to my brother and I.
02:29And they worked really hard.
02:34And for a minute there, a minute, it looked like our American dream was within grasp.
02:39We grew up and we really struggled.
02:42And my parents worked so hard.
02:44And it really started to feel like things were starting to work out.
02:48I worked really hard.
02:49I was able to get into college.
02:51And suddenly my dad was diagnosed with a really rare cancer.
02:56I don't know where.
02:58And by the time I was 18 years old, he had passed away.
03:03And I think this is an experience, while it is really difficult, I think a lot of us have had experiences like this where we work so hard.
03:18And it's one, we are one event away from feeling like the whole rug got pulled out from under us.
03:28And we shouldn't have to live like that.
03:33We shouldn't have to live like that.
03:35You know, after my dad passed away, my mom then overnight was basically a single mother to two kids.
03:42She was cleaning houses.
03:44She started driving school buses.
03:46And when I graduated from college, I started waiting tables in order to help make ends meet.
03:53And this was right after the Great Recession.
03:55And folks know how hard it was to find a job at that time.
03:58And so that's when I started waiting tables to make ends meet.
04:01And I know that, you know, we just deserve so much better than this.
04:08We deserve so much better than this.
04:13And we're here today because an extreme concentration of power and corruption is taking over our country like never before.
04:25And we are here because we do know that a better world is possible.
04:30To get there, we need to be honest about where we are right now.
04:38We are witnessing an oligarchy in America.
04:44And that is when those with the most economic, political, and technological power destroy the public good to enrich themselves while millions of Americans pay the price.
04:58And our political system is ill-prepared for this abuse of power.
05:04In fact, much of our political system enables it, starting with the role of money in politics.
05:11And I can tell you that we are not powerless in this moment.
05:21People are starting to put the pieces together.
05:31And, you know, I do think that, sorry, people are starting to put the pieces together.
05:38And, in fact, ironically, most of the divisive forces in our country are actually bringing more of us together than ever before.
05:52We can see billionaires are taking a wrecking ball to our country, and they divide their power in dividing working people apart.
06:02They specialize in getting us to turn on one another.
06:08And they get us to turn on one another along lines of left and right, race and gender, creed and culture.
06:19And we need legal and judgment and cultural debate in the book to keep us distracted.
06:30Because the last thing they want us to realize is that the division that is actually hurting our country the most is how endless greed is costing the lives of everyone else.
06:49And for most of me, I don't know if our lives are suffering because of the LGBT kid down the street, or because of the mixed status family or the dreamer down the block who's just trying to make a better life for himself.
07:03And I understand that this kind of disdain that the wealthiest, wealthiest people in this country have for the working class doesn't just come from them not being raised right.
07:26It's shorthand for the right wing's entire political agenda and a certain ugly kind of politics.
07:35A politics that involves lying to and screwing over working and middle class Americans.
07:41So that they can steal from middle class people such as Americans and African Americans to pay for tax evils for the wealthiest and bailouts for their crypto-billionaire friends.
07:54There's a word for this kind of thing. Corruption.
08:03And I know from seeing all of this stack up, from how overwhelming and selfish all of this is, from seeing the notifications on our phone popping up Monday, the Department of Education being pulled back Tuesday,
08:23I get how all of it can make us feel despair. And I get how even it can make the best of us feel like giving up and giving in.
08:37And trust me, that is by design.
08:44When the system is stacked against you, it's hard to feel like anything you do matters. It's hard to feel like we matter in this democracy.
08:55And it is easy to give in to despair. And I can tell you there, I can tell you that for a while there, when I was working double shifts, tired to the bone, I did, I did, I did try to give up.
09:10I tried to stop caring. I tried to just keep my head down and work my shifts and accept that this is just it and this is how things are.
09:19But that is no way to live.
09:29We do not have to live like this.
09:32In fact, we cannot live like this anymore.
09:41Donald Trump does see the immense pressure that working people are under.
09:47But his answer is an America that operates on the principle of every man for himself.
09:56Divine and proper.
09:58And now that Trump is back in power, we see it clear as day.
10:02He's handed the keys to Elon Musk.
10:08And he's selling off our country for parts to the wealthiest people in the world for a kickback.
10:17And in exchange, those millionaires and oligarchs will back his campaigns and bankroll those of his allies.
10:26They scratch his back and he scratches theirs.
10:30And all of us are left behind.
10:35And the clever thing that these guys sell is making working people like you and me believe that we're just one step outside from that club.
10:48That we're just a little bit out from being able to be a billionaire too.
10:54Any billionaires in this room?
10:57I didn't think so.
11:00Now, it's this idea that if we just work hard, we too can have nation-state level money.
11:08Except these kinds of spoils aren't earned, really.
11:13They aren't working for these billionaires.
11:17They're stealing them.
11:23They're stealing them.
11:25They're stealing them from you, and you, and me.
11:29Just look at what Elon Musk and Donald Trump are doing to our healthcare, our veterans benefits, and social security.
11:41Programs that we and you have spent a lifetime paying into.
11:48And by the way, not them.
11:50Because those billionaires haven't paid their fair share of taxes in years.
11:57And mind you, even if you're not on Medicaid or Medicare, this also raises your private health insurance costs too.
12:08And let's talk about Medicaid and Medicare for a second.
12:12Because your representative, Gabe Evans.
12:20You know that guy that hasn't been showing up for the last couple months?
12:25Maybe he hasn't been showing up because he voted to cut Medicaid.
12:31In fact, every single House Republican voted to cut Medicaid.
12:39And they'll tell you, no I didn't, this didn't say that.
12:53From the committee that's in charge of Medicaid.
12:57And so now they're trying to play a game and say, we didn't do that, because they did by proxy.
13:06So let's set the record straight.
13:09And you see, these budgets aren't just fights about numbers.
13:13They are fights over the values that define us as Americans.
13:20Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security were built on promises that we have made to each other.
13:28About who and what kind of country we want to be and what kind of society we want to live in.
13:36Health care, and Medicare, and Medicaid, and Social Security, these are not promises from politicians to people.
13:50They are not charities or handouts from billionaires to the working class.
13:55They are, these are, this is our money.
14:00They are promises that we have made to each other as Americans.
14:06From neighbor to neighbor, teacher to student, friend to friend.
14:14And what we can say to Elon Musk is get out of our health care.
14:21Because to me, Greeley, the strength of our country is not just measured by the height of our best days.
14:33It's measured by who we are and who is there for us on our worst.
14:39And that's why I'm here with you today.
14:42So let me share with you exactly what I mean.
14:46Because what these folks want to call radical and crazy, I think, are just common sense.
14:59We live in the wealthiest nation in the history of the world.
15:05So I believe that when a person gets sick, they shouldn't go bankrupt.
15:11Common sense.
15:14I believe that a minimum wage should cover the minimum cost to live.
15:20Common sense.
15:23And by the way, we should see that not paying a living wage is also a form of corporate welfare and handouts.
15:32Because big companies like Walmart and Amazon rely on food stamp programs and public assistance to cover the wages that they won't pay.
15:44Greeley, here's another crazy radical idea for you.
15:53I believe that homes are not slot machines for investors and Wall Street.
16:03To extort working families out of every last dollar that we have.
16:09Home is sacred.
16:11And when your landlord doubles your rent overnight, or when housing prices skyrocket because Wall Street treats our housing market like a casino,
16:21your government and your public servants should fight to help you keep an affordable roof over your head.
16:34How's that for crazy?
16:37And I believe that our elected officials should take on abuses of corporate greed everywhere we find it.
16:46We must get big money out of politics.
16:54And Greeley, that's why I don't and never will take money from industry lobbyists or corporations.
17:07You know, mass media and Fox News and the right will have you believe that these American values are something out of the Communist manifesto.
17:24They believe that we think these things because we went to some fancy college and read them in a book somewhere.
17:31But I'll tell you, I don't believe in healthcare, labor, and human dignity because I'm an extremist or a Marxist.
17:40I believe it because I was a waitress.
17:46Because I scrubbed toilets with my mom to afford school.
17:50Because I've worked double shifts to keep the lights on.
17:53Because I lost my dad to cancer as a kid and had to see my mom open hospital bills in the days after.
18:01And I don't want us to live like this anymore, Greeley.
18:06We deserve better than this.
18:11And this isn't just about Republicans.
18:14We need a Democratic Party that fights harder for us too.
18:23But Greeley, that means our communities choosing and voting for Democrats and elected officials who know how to stand for the working class.
18:48And I want to thank the entire state and each and every one of you for working so hard to make that happen.
18:56And I'll tell you, when people want to think that there's no hope out there, trust me that there are moments of bravery that are emerging.
19:06Last week, Republicans put on the floor a draconian, awful budget bill that cut billions from healthcare and from working people.
19:17In fact, one of the worst parts of what Republicans voted for, including gay veterans voted for last week, is cutting benefits for the PACT Act for veterans exposed to burn pits.
19:35Who does that? That's like cartoon villain stuff right there.
19:40And, you know, but I will say, Colorado, that when other Democrats caved, your senators, Michael Bennett and John Hickenlooper, stood strong against the D.C. pressure and voted no.
20:00They said Colorado deserves better than this.
20:05Thank you for putting in that work.
20:08And in fact, all the Democrats, all the Democrats in the state of Colorado in Congress who represent a congressional district in the state voted against that bill too.
20:19House, Senate, everybody.
20:22So I want to thank Diana Daggett, Joe Neguse, Jason Crow, Brittany Pedersen.
20:30Defend them, Colorado.
20:33And don't stop there.
20:35I want you to look at every level of office around and support Democrats who fight because those are the ones who can actually beat Republicans.
20:52But our work isn't done here.
20:54Because you know which Coloradans did vote to gut Medicaid and jack up health care costs?
21:02Gabe Evans and Lauren Boebert right next door.
21:12So, folks, you know what that means, right?
21:16We need to come together and spend every day between now and election day working to educate our neighbors and give Evans and Boebert the boot and replace them with a brawling Democrat who will stand for Colorado.
21:37In fact, if you will indulge me for a moment since Gabe hasn't been around here.
21:45If we could just say hi to him for a moment.
21:48Can we just say hi?
21:53See you in November.
21:58I'll make sure he sees that.
22:02But beyond elections, Greeley, our task here is to build community.
22:10That's the deeper, the deeper, deeper, deeper mission that we have.
22:16Elections, they come and go.
22:18We do our work.
22:19We set the board.
22:20But in the meantime, and during, throughout, before and after all of that, we need to build our bonds with each other as communities.
22:31Building community, block associations, neighborhood groups, volunteer groups, church organizations, PTAs, because community is the most powerful building block we have against fascism, to defeat authoritarianism, and to root out corruption.
22:50If you don't know your neighbor, it's easier to turn on them.
22:59That's why they want to keep us separated, alone, and apart, scrolling on our phones, thinking that the person next to us is some kind of enemy.
23:10But they're not.
23:12So I'll end where I began.
23:15We might all come from different places, but we share a lot of the same experiences.
23:22So to all of those who came here today unsure of whether this is where you belong, I want to tell you that you do.
23:31You do.
23:33Honestly, no matter who you voted for in the past, no matter if you know all the right words to say, no matter your race, religion, gender identity, or status, no matter if you disagree with me on a couple things, if you are willing to fight for someone you don't know, you are welcome here.
23:56If you are willing to fight for working people, regardless of who they are, how they identify, or where they come from, you are welcome here.
24:11But I will say this.
24:17Those leaders on either side of the aisle who are willing to put their fellow Americans down so that they can get ahead or feel better about themselves, those folks may best find a home somewhere else.
24:31Because in this house, we stand together.
24:40We know that that is our only choice, because we know that without exception, if we stand together, it is the only way that we can win.
24:52So I hope that you see this movement is not about partisan labels or purity tests, but about class solidarity.
25:03It's about the thousands of you who came out today to stand together and say our lives deserve dignity and our work deserves respect, no matter who we are or where we come from.
25:22We are here today to make a sacred promise to each other.
25:30Because our goal here today, and what I don't want for us today, what I want more for us today, is not just to come together, share a few inspiring words, and then go back to how things were.
25:42Can't do that.
25:44Our goal here today is to commit to building the kind of country we all deserve.
25:52So I'm going to take another second here.
25:56And I want each of you to turn to the people around you and get a good look.
26:02And I want you to greet someone you don't know.
26:12Hi!
26:15And this is awesome.
26:21And I think it's, I don't want to interrupt.
26:29But it's because if I can offer one assignment today, before we all depart here, it's to leave this place connected to a new person you didn't know coming into this.
26:42Because really, we do need to make that promise.
26:52We do need to take care of each other on our worst days and to share the successes of our best.
26:59And in making those promises to each other, that's how we're going to do it.
27:04No silver bullet, not from the top, but block by block.
27:13So thank you for having me.
27:23And it is my honor to introduce to you the senator, the man, the friend, the person who has helped bring all of us here together today.
27:38Senator Bernie Sanders.