Kirsten Gillibrand in Democratic candidates debate in Detroit Michigan, July 30-31, 2019
On Civil Rights:
They said repealing DADT was impossible, so I did it
If you want to get something done, tell me it's impossible. I was told you couldn't repeal Don't Ask, Don't Tell. Members of my own party told me it wasn't convenient. We got it done. Ten years ago I was told you couldn't pass health care for our
9/11 first responders. Even when Congress turned its back on them, we kept fighting. Just last week we made the 9/11 health bill permanent.Beating Donald Trump definitely not impossible. We need a nominee who doesn't know the meaning of impossible.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Crime:
I understand that whiteness protects white kids
I don't believe that it's the responsibility of [African-American candidates] Cory Booker and Kamala Harris to be the only voice that takes on these issues of institutional racism, systemic racism in our country. I think as a white woman of privilege,
who is a U.S. senator, running for president of the United States, it is also my responsibility to lift up those voices that aren't being listened to.And I can talk to those white women in the suburbs that voted for Trump and explain to them what
white privilege actually is, that when their son is walking down a street with a bag of M&Ms in his pocket, wearing a hoodie, his whiteness is what protects him from not being shot.
When their child has a car that breaks down, and he knocks on
someone's door for help, and the door opens, and the help is given, it's his whiteness that protects him from being shot. That is what white privilege in America is today. Together we can make our community stronger.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Environment:
Why not have clean air and clean water for all Americans?
I will not only sign the Paris global climate accords. The greatest threat to humanity is global climate change. We need a robust solution. When John F. Kennedy said I want to put a man on the moon in the next 10 years, not because it's easy, but
because it's hard, he knew it was going to be a measure of our ability to galvanize worldwide competition. He wanted to have a space race with Russia. Why not have a green energy race with China? Why not have clean air and clean water for all Americans?
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Families & Children:
I raised kids while in Congress, working outside the home
Gillibrand [to VP Joe Biden]: I want to address Vice President Biden directly. When the Senate was debating middle-class affordability for childcare, he wrote an op-ed that he believed that women working outside the home would, "create the deterioration
of family." I need to understand as a woman who's worked my entire career as the primary wage earner, as the primary caregiver. Am I serving in Congress resulting in the deterioration of the family, because I had access to quality affordable day care?
Biden: My deceased wife worked when we had children. My present wife has worked all the way through raising our children. I wrote the Violence against Women Act, and Lilly Ledbetter. I came up with the It's On Us proposal to see to it that women
were treated more decently on college campuses.
Gillibrand: You said women working outside the home would lead to the deterioration of family. Either he no longer believes it...
Biden: I never believed it.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Health Care:
Money going to corporate profits, not health care
Health care in America should be a right. The truth about health care in America today is people can't afford it. The insurance companies, I'm sorry, they're for-profit companies. They have an obligation to their shareholders. They pay their
CEO millions of dollars. They have to have quarterly profits. They have fat in the system that's real and it should be going to health care. And let's not forget what the Republicans are doing, their whole goal is to take away your health care.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Immigration:
Treat people humanely at border; decriminalize to do so
Rep. Julian Castro: Repeal Section 1325 of the Immigration Nationality Act [which is the legal basis for criminalizing border crossings instead of treating them as a civil violation].
Gillibrand: I think when you talk about whether this should be a crime, you have to remember who we're talking about. When I was at the Texas border, I visited with women who had fled violence.
A woman from El Salvador owned a small business, gangs came to her and said if you don't give us all your money, we're going to kill your family.
Another woman was raped. This is who we're talking about -- and they're not criminals. It should be a civil violation and we should make sure that we treat people humanely.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Principles & Values:
Trump has torn apart fabric of this country
Donald Trump has really torn apart the moral fabric of this country, dividing us on every racial line, every religious line, every socioeconomic line he can find. We need a president who's not afraid of the big challenges, of the big fights.
We don't need a liberal or progressive with big ideas or we don't need a moderate who can win back Trump-Obama voters. You need someone who can do both. And that's who I am.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
On Welfare & Poverty:
We used to care about the least among us
Under his administration seven children died in his custody. Under his administration families have been torn apart. This party is talking about real ideas for the future. But we must not forget about our values. We used to believe in this country you
should treat others the way you want to be treated. We used to believe in this country we should care about the least among us. Let's remind the American people who we are, why we are democrats, and why we're running for president.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (second night in Detroit)
Jul 31, 2019
Page last updated: Sep 08, 2019