Source: The Washington Post / Getty
Last night after
President Trump gave an uninspired and unfocused State Of The Union Address that missed the mark,
Stacey Abrams hit back with a powerful poignant
Democratic response that was delivered with grace, passion and patriotism.
Touching on
gun control, the dwindling middle class, reproductive justice, voter suppression and health care, the 45-year-old Democratic Party rising star proved that she understands the needs and concerns of the American people.
Abrams,
who lost her governor bid for Georgia last November, opened her response speaking about her own family and how they teetered between being lower middle class and working class.
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“Now, we only had one car, so sometimes my dad had to hitchhike and walk long stretches during the 30 mile trip home from the shipyards.”
She also honed in on how voter suppression, a factor in her own political loss, continues to be a persistent problem across the country.
“Let’s be clear: Voter suppression is real,” Abrams said, speaking in Atlanta.
“From making it harder to register and stay on the rolls to moving and closing polling places to rejecting lawful ballots, we can no longer ignore these threats to democracy.”
She also ripped Trump for his “build the wall” mantra and inhumane immigration policies.
“We know bipartisanship could craft a 21st-century immigration plan, but this administration chooses to cage children and tear families apart,” adding, “Compassionate treatment at the border is not the same as open borders. President Reagan understood this. President Obama understood this. Americans understand this and the Democrats stand ready to effectively secure our ports and borders.”
Circling back to the issues that everyday Americans face daily, Abrams stressed that Republicans are out of touch and don’t understand “real life.”
“In Georgia and around the country, people are striving for a middle class where a salary truly equals economic security,” she said.
“But instead, families’ hopes are being crushed by Republican leadership that ignores real life or just doesn’t understand it. Under the current administration, far too many hard-working Americans are falling behind, living paycheck to paycheck, most without labor unions to protect them from even worse harm.”
Abrams also spoke in length about the failing health care system that often pushes out the most vulnerable, making mention of maternal mortality rates that disproportionately impact Black women.
“Maternal mortality rates show that mothers, especially black mothers, risk death to give birth and in 14 states, including my home state, where a majority want it, our leaders refuse to expand Medicaid, which could save rural hospitals, save economies, and save lives,” she stressed.
It’s clear that Abrams struck a cord with Americans. Even Fox News, of all people, praised her speech stressing that she stuck to the issues in ways the President failed to do.
Take a look at some of Abrams’ rave reviews on social media.
Read a full transcript of Abrams speech here.
