222 Comments
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Janet Bergamo's avatar

Blessings, Mr. Schiff, don’t give up!

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Mimi Riley's avatar

Thank you for getting to the heart of the critical issues at stake in our country as exemplified in this big bill which, although pared back a bit, is still devastating in potential destruction for all but those at the very top income. Yes, WE, the American public will stand with you and other elected officials who fight for fairness in the budget. 🗽

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MT's avatar

Please say something about the big huge amount they are giving ICE!

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Christina Re's avatar

Have you seen Glee Violette recently posted on fb that these prisons will be for anyone who is American and dissents. Wake up Congress

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Rosemary's avatar

What congress?? we don’t have a Congress we have a bunch of cowards, licking Donald Trump‘s ass every day, they call him daddy! Have you ever heard of such trash in government before, this is just pure trash in government😡😡👺

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DW's avatar

Extremist🗑️🚮 !!! Totally unserious

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Rosemary's avatar

Oh, I think they are totally serious! They’re serious about destroying the American people and our democracy, which is already gone! The heritage foundation is very serious about that 😡😡👺😡👺

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DW's avatar

Unserious in that they are not doing their jobs and are destroying govt because they have bought into tRump’s illness cult.

They are unserious in that they cannot think for themselves , no hindsight no foresight no sense nor concern for cause& effect.

But yes seriously a destructive voting block of evil obstructionists and driven by their own STUPIDITY & greed.

Greed because they must have been promised some reward, gifting crypto or manipulating stocks

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Pete Willis's avatar

I have been telling Americans for 45 FUCKING YEARS about the EVILS of the Republican Party...& about the PROBABILITY of THIS VERY MOMENT we're at now!

Everybody thought I was NUTS!

I was about as "crazy" as a 13 year-old in 1972 could b, after learning the FACT my Salt-of-Earth MOTHER--who ran for Precinct Delegate as a Dem in a field of THREE, & ended up in THIRD--had her name placed on an "Enemies List" & sent to the IRS for AUDIT-HARASSMENT by President Nixon, just after winning the biggest ELECTION-LANDSLIDE America ever HAD or WILL have for as long as it can survive as a slowly-sinking "RMS Titanic"!

The MATCH to light the FUSE of the imminent "Republican-Revolution" was struck by Republican-Nixon sometime in the afterglow of WINNING 49 out of 50 States(minus Massachusetts).

Imagine being so ANGRY--after such a WHALLOPING of n opponent--to blindly sick the then-IRS Pit-Bull sadists after a mother of FIVE school-age children who also held down a FULL TIME job as a Registered Nurse, as the household's main-provider...WHILE trying to dodge the violence of her clinically Bi-Polar-Depressive, alcoholic husband...who added little $-support?!

I suppose Nixon was pissed-off that he didn't win ALL 50 States, & took it out on every Dem who ean for Office.

After Nixon's IRS-Sadists--headed by one of his friends--got done pestering, harassing & THREATENING my BEATEN-DOWN mother...ALL the thugs found was ONE measly deduction listed that had no accompanying receipt.

That deduction? A pair of Medical-Scissors (contoured & smoothed at one end for sliding under bandages applied to patients' bodies, to avoid accidentally puncturing the skin) that the Detroit hospital she worked at for 12 years was SUPPOSED to have in-stock but did NOT. Patients can't WAIT for medical big-shots to open their wallets, so my mother did what ANYONE with a CONSCIENCE would do, & carved out of her busy schedule a trip to the drugstore for scissors to GIVE to the hospital.

She had actually been forced to BUY with HER $$ MANY medical products during those 12 years: bandages, gauze, iodine, tape--u NAME it!

A NORMAL IRS would've waived the receiptless deduction...but retaining owed-IRS-$$ was NOT the reason for the audit--& it SURE as SHINOLA is SHIT was not a RANDOM audit! It was a CALCULATED-ATTACK on democrats HITLER-style: complete with the desired intimidation-of-NICE-people effect that Nixon saw as a way to control FUTURE dems.

"ENEMIES List?! IRS AUDIT?! That's a LIE!", came the response from the conservative crowd in 1980 when their "Reagan-God" emerged from the Dark-Conservative shadows.

"Your mother DESERVED to b audited--she's a tax-CHEAT!" was the usual response from the GOP peopke AND politicians in 1980.

And it's been a slow, SUCKING, DOWNWARD-pull on the American-RMS-Titanic.

Just like the original Titanic...America is slowly sinking...foot-by-foot to start, as all of the ship's numerous, elegant compartments slowly succumb to the physics of Earth's gravitational-pull DOWNWARD...the Law of Nature taking care of business as it always does...because it's NATURAL.

Nature's North Sea was here long b4 the RMS Titanic had been built by GREEDY Capitalists whose priorities were slanted AWAY from the area of SAFETY & SURETY of permanence in the ship-BUILDING & ship-OPERATING process.

Greedy-Capitalists IGNORED the almighty force, strength & power of a massive body of water contained in a Sea--filled with nature's most BRUTAL elements of ICEBERGS, strong current, northerly-cold air...& water so fuckin' COLD that ICE-CRYSTALS formed on everything wet that was exposed to the frigid air.

"NO problem! Titanic will NEVER sink--even after hitting an ICEBERG!", Titanic's owner-financier chirped to the media.

Ah...but there's that DEVIL in the ol' DETAILS:

Titanic COULD'VE been built to b safe after hitting a 'berg. But RICH-boy-owner would've needed to NOT GO CHEAP on CRUCIAL building-materials like...STEEL...to produce the RIVETS needed to fasten the ship's HULL together for water-titeness--which is the ship's PROTECTION...like a HOUSE.

But Titanic-owner opted instead for IRON...which is one HELLUVA lot WEAKER than steel--not even CLOSE!

U see any of these SKYSCRAPERS made with IRON?! FUCK no! STEEL is only used because it's reinforced. Iron is a SOFTER metal--which rich-owner KNEW...but wanted to SAVE a few PENNIES!

And rich-owner decided this DESPITE warnings from EXPERTS that a collision with the hardness of solid ACRES of ice would absolutely GRIND-UP anything with IRON in it.

Rich-owner told them to go fuck themselves--DARING Mother Nature to PROVE that it was STRONGER than that little man's TINY brain.

ONE voyage...ONE iceberg-hit...ONE sinking...THOUSANDS dead--all due to the LUSTFUL need for fame & fortune.

Titanic's FATE was SEALED on that ONE decision...by ONE uncaring, reckless piece of shit.

THIS...is the Republican Party's total effect on America today.

America's FATE has indeed been set by republicans: it's been slowly SINKING since Nixon LAUNCHED his ethically-corrupt ways in 1972...REAGAN assisted in its sinking by putting his foot on the sinking ship & pressing DOWNWARD...W. Bush added weight to HIS downward-pressure, by getting Dick Cheney & Don Rumsfeld to hop on top...& Trump has accelerated America's sinking by first convincing half of all Americans that such a sinking is NOT to b believed--despite SEEING it submerged nose-first into the Sea; then secondly--after the FIRST didn't "take" with the public--that the sinking of the vessel named America is "FAKE NEWS";

& thirdly--if #2 doesn't work--that it's the DEMOCRATS' fault.

Just as with the Titanic...America's "sinking"-FATE was sealed at the start: with a Constitution written by those who IGNORED the possible dangers of a force of nature--a human President--EXPOSING the WEAKNESSES of a grand creation...to the point of its PERIL.

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DW's avatar
1dEdited

Amen Pete!

I remember those days too

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Kat Pan's avatar

Noem has already blown through her annual budget and wants congress to give her still more so she can continuously terrorize our immigrant communities.

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Rosemary's avatar

You mean the $42,000 bonuses ? Yeah we’re paying that.😡😡👺😡

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RENATE RIGGS's avatar

Ehat did they do to get duch a bonus???????!! Bbb

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RENATE RIGGS's avatar

What did they do to get such a big bonus?????

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RENATE RIGGS's avatar

What a wonderful concept. Food is better than arrests

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Joan Bosworth's avatar

Thanks to the Republican voters and the Cowards of Congress, the U.S. will soon be listed among the third world countries.

This is what you’ve given us:

1. High poverty rates

2. Very limited or no healthcare for most Amercians

3. Hunger for millions

4. Higher death rates

5. Lower standards of living

6. Economic instability

7. Limited access to education

8. Weak governance [Cowards of Congress]

9. Poor infrastructure

10. More climate change induced disasters

11. Unequal distribution of resources [we gave it all to the million/billionaires]

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Heather.B's avatar

This bill will give the wealthy a big tax cut and the poor will get poorer and the rich will get richer. That’s the Republican way.

Make no mistake about it: Republicans are NOT for the people.

I don't think they plan to hold (fair) elections again, so they don't fear us. This bill is going to hurt all of us, except the billionaires getting all the cash.

Republicans need to grow a spine and stop kissing the Felon's butt

It's time to wear this reminder in front of Republicans 👇

https://libtees.dashery.com/products/34623946-we-the-people-means-everyone-t-shirt

They’re taking America back to the 1950s 🤦‍♀️

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Mary Greenwald's avatar

In my life time (81 years) Republicans have always been exactly like they are today. Small government. Let the buyer beware. Hate for the Poor, Women, Immigrants, and all the Others, whether that meant color or religion or partner in love. Those Republicans control all three branches of government because of voters fear.

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RENATE RIGGS's avatar

Sad and true

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Ellie Alive In 25's avatar

I'm not sure that was true about Eisenhower. Back then, the ultra wealthy were taxed at an appropriate rate.

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Jerome Vanderberg's avatar

I am a 90-year old guy and I remember this well. Eisenhower was my choice in the first election in which I voted. He was my hero in helping to wing WWII in Europe. And he was my hero in regenerating America after the war. During his administration, the tax rate for the highest paid Americans was 91% (This is not a misprint.) As a comparison, the the tax rate for the highest paid Americans is currently 37%. But that is still too much for Trump because he is looking to drastically cut the tax rate for the wealthy even more (of course this is an exchange arrangement in which the ultra wealthy will give back a large portion of their tax return money to Trump Incorporated. And although we were in the midst of a cold war with the Soviet Union during the Eisenhower administration, we built back our country to make to make it truly great!

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Ellie Alive In 25's avatar

All that is true, but Ike would never be even considered as a candidate today, by 21st century Republicans.

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Jerome Vanderberg's avatar

This is not simply about Republicans. We have had some outstanding Republican Presidents: Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, Dwight Eisenhower, George W.H. Bush (the father, NOT the son). Modern day Republicans need to look into their hearts and recognize that Trump is on the way towards destroying their Party.

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WinstonSmithLondonOceania's avatar

Ike was an outlier. Having been the General who won WWII for us, he understood what was at stake.

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Jerome Vanderberg's avatar

Hello Heather, It's interesting that you write, "the poor will get poorer and the rich will get richer". There is a 1920's Depression era song, "Ain't we got fun." with the words, "There's nothing surer, the rich get rich and the poor get poorer. In the meantime, in between time, Ain't we got fun?" You can hear it by Googling it. Nothing much has changed.

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Ellie Alive In 25's avatar

Re the infrastructure...I am thankful that we had President Biden for four years, who actually DID something about the country's infrastructure. I don't even want to imagine how bad it would be now, had we suffered those four years under the short-fingered vulgarian.

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WinstonSmithLondonOceania's avatar

Everything would be crumbling.

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Rosemary's avatar

And I remember Trump during the campaign calling our country a Third World country and said we were a trashcan country and look at us now! Narcissists are projectors they project onto others what they actually do! listen to some of his campaign speeches, blaming Biden for so much that Trump is actually doing right now😡😡😡😡

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RENATE RIGGS's avatar

True

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Frances's avatar

And it's not the children of these people who will be impacted at all. All the Senate/ Congress will benefit from this tax cut and their salary's , benefits go untouched and paid for by American Taxpayers. If we are the yield now it's because they allowed it for years. And we did not see it but blindjy trusted Democrats .

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RENATE RIGGS's avatar

Nailed that

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Shera Banbury's avatar

I totally agree with everything that Senator Adam Schiff said. It’s good to hear that some Senators are seeing clearly and are speaking up to point out that we are headed in a destructive direction. I am a single 82 year old Caucasian woman with a Master’s degree. I worked from age 16-76 (even when disabled). I feel sad and deeply concerned for those who are struggling and suffering. Our children, our grandchildren, and our great-grandchildren deserve better.

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San's avatar

Kill the big ugly bill.

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Diane Sayre's avatar

Don’t give up the fight! You’re right about what matters and we need you to keep speaking truth to power!

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ConnieW's avatar
2dEdited

This is one of senator Schiff’s best speeches, and that is really saying something. In all of our history, the disparity between rich and poor has never been as bad as it is now. This is what democrats should have emphasized as a problem to be addressed in the last election. They say we have no focus. We should focus on this. I know many democrats don’t want to alienate their big donors. They need to shape up or move out.

Of course the current administration is creating many other urgent problems that must be faced, but if we don’t fix the economic conditions of the poor and middle class, we will never get our democracy back.

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Marvin J Ramirez ❌👑's avatar

I wholeheartedly agree with you. This is the root cause of many of the issues in our American society.

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RENATE RIGGS's avatar

Republicans also want to make their do nors happy

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ConnieW's avatar

But today they are motivated more by fear of trump.

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Sara W's avatar

Thank you!!!! You carried all of us with you!! 💪🏽💪🏽💪🏽

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Laura Pizzicara's avatar

Sublime, Senator Schiff!! Hold the line, SIR!!

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K Boulter's avatar

👏👏 thankyou, that is how a leader should speak and how the country should be! Keep fighting, and Republicans grow a spine!

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RENATE RIGGS's avatar

.... would have to freeze over first.

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Karen  Mercier's avatar

That was an absolutely brilliant speech. I agree with all of it! I'm almost in tears from listening to the state of the union. There's no empathy for those who need government assistance and work hard or have in the past but are retired

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Judy Kaplan's avatar

Thank you, Senator Schiff

Great explanations on today’s economy.

Imagine, you have to explain how young people are suffering and the population in general. Who are these people you are addressing? Are they totally blind to what’s happening to the American people??? We just got over a pandemic for heavens sake. The audience in the room wants to give all the money to the fat cats, and your audience wants a tax cut. For example, I don’t get the Senator from North Carolina ( Tullis). He has grandchildren and he’s voting Yes on this bill! He’s a hypocrite!! Shame on him. He’s retiring. How convenient. I am sorry to say, with this audience, compassion is off the table. Thank you, excellent speech.

J Kaplan, pediatric nurse practitioner, CA.

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Judy Kaplan's avatar

It’s Thom Tillis. He’s retiring to spend time with his grandchildren. Excuse me, what about all the grandchildren in America, Senator Tillis?

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Megan's avatar

Judy - last I knew Tillis of NC is a no vote. Because of that, he’s retiring because Trumpty Dumpty started attacking him.

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Judy Kaplan's avatar

Let’s see if he votes No, it’s at the final vote that counts. Indivisible is requesting he be flooded with phone calls early this week.

Thank you for the information

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David (New York)'s avatar

A very inspirational speech - Kennedyesque. Why isn't this man our next President?

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ConnieW's avatar

He would be a great president!

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Sharon Cohen's avatar

Thank you Senator Schiff for speaking for many in our country ! I wholeheartedly agree with everything you have said.

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Greg Pickle's avatar

Thank you for the time and thought you put into these videos, Senator. I wish more of your colleagues made this kind of effort and showed this kind of creativity in pushing back against the destructive policies of the Rs while advancing a positive vision of what can be done by the Ds.

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SLMontgo's avatar

The last time I felt like I had a future was during the Clinton administration. Of course, the Republicans tried at every opportunity to scuttle him and his and Hillary's healthcare proposals and made a big whoopteedoo over Whitewater and Gennifer Flowers and that other one. In spite of that, Clinton left office with a balanced budget and a surplus. Remember that? Anyone?

If not for that 8 years, I would likely still be working at 77.

Because the SCOTUS screwed us over in 2000, we ended up with 8 years of lunacy ignited by 9/11. I don't need to recap how Obama restored us, Trump destroyed us, Biden restored us, and spiteful gasbags leading Trump are destroying us again.

Now, it's more of the dirty dealing of Republicans. We can blame MAGA but that is what the Republicans are. These are a small, venal, craven bunch hellbent of destroying in the name of personal wealth.

WE DID NOT WORK OURSELVES TO DEATH FOR THEIR PERSONAL WEALTH.

DEFEAT THIS TRAVESTY AGAINST WE, the PEOPLE.

AGAIN.

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