Hi Twitter! I’m at @RevDrBarber’s#PPCMoralCongress presidential forum, where 10 Dem 2020 hopefuls will make their case for how they plan to tackle inequality
Why this matters: Poverty got scant airtime during the ‘16 vetting process, and activists want to flip that trend in ‘20
— Kara Voght (@karavoght) June 17, 2019
Folks I've spoken with at #PPCMoralCongress forum tell me they have major reservations about @JoeBiden: "Why is student loan debt the only debt we can't declare bankruptcy on?" one attendee tells me (speaking only for herself and not @UniteThePoor). "Because Biden made it so."
— Kara Voght (@karavoght) June 17, 2019
Kara Vogt reports for Mother Jones; Chelsea Janes (and Dave Weigel) for the Washington Post:
… The Poor People’s Campaign is a clergy-led effort to revive the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr.’s push to focus attention and resources on poverty. At the group’s forum in Washington, about 10 of the Democratic presidential candidates showed up to make their case on fighting poverty.
The Rev. William Barber II, a founder of the campaign, asked attendees not to cheer or hiss, but rather to greet all the candidates with polite applause. Even in this subdued setting, however, the response to Biden was noticeably muted, and he left the stage to applause that was less enthusiastic than that which greeted him…
Joy-Ann Reid, an MSNBC host who moderated the session, asked Biden how he would pass his plans through a stubborn Congress — in particular, how he would work with Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), who makes little secret of his satisfaction at blocking Democratic initiatives.
Biden bristled at the suggestion that his approach was misguided. As he wound through his response, Biden moved nearer to Reid, who was seated, and leaned over her.
“Joy-Ann, I know you’re one of the ones who thinks it’s naive to think we have to work together,” Biden said. “The fact of the matter is, if we can’t get a consensus, nothing happens except the abuse of power by the executive branch. Zero.” He added that “you can shame people into doing the right thing.”
Biden’s suggestion that he could persuade McConnell to cooperate prompted skepticism from those who have interacted with McConnell…
The visual in that moment was striking in person. Not sure how it appeared on camera. https://t.co/ybyoXn4Jf3
— Chelsea Janes (@chelsea_janes) June 17, 2019
Andrew Yang took the stage at the #PPCMoralCongress presidential forum after Joe Biden, and I asked folks here whose appearance they preferred.
My five-person straw poll: They all liked Yang, who they say gave the audience a much clearer picture of what he'd do to tackle poverty
— Kara Voght (@karavoght) June 17, 2019
This crowd at #PPCMoralCongress presidential forum is apparently not familiar with @ewarren's idea to tax two cents of every dollar the ultra-wealthy make on their fortunes about $50 million.
"Your first 50 million, fine"—the crowd erupts in laughter.
— Kara Voght (@karavoght) June 17, 2019
Election 2020 Open Thread: Reverend Barber’s PPC Moral CongressPost + Comments (85)