From the Democratic Party of Virginia:
ICYMI: Democratic Leaders Contrast Glenn Youngkin’s Extreme Agenda With Democrats’ Accomplishments At Press Conference In Roanoke
Roanoke, VA — Today, DPVA’s “Where Trump Leads, Glenn Follows” press tour continued as Democratic leaders highlighted Glenn Youngkin’s extreme agenda and provided a strong contrasting vision in Roanoke. While Youngkin campaigns on his complete allegiance to Donald Trump, his hardline Republican platform includes threatening to gut Virginians’ health care, opposing critical COVID-19 relief, and attacking Democratic efforts to beat the pandemic and continue our economic recovery.
Today in Roanoke, Democratic leaders once again emphasized the case against Youngkin’s extreme agenda and articulated a strong vision for moving Virginia forward.
See below for key excerpts and watch the full conversation here.
Mayor Sherman Lea
“The American Rescue Plan that President Biden and Democrats in Congress passed into law has been transformative. Millions of Virginians got direct checks to help them pay rent, pay the bills, and afford health care…Small businesses got loans so they can keep the lights on and pay their employees. It sped up vaccinations to help our communities return to normal faster.”
“As a mayor, I know how important this relief has been. State and local aid funds from the American Rescue Plan will help us open schools safely and boost essential community programs to help Virginians get back on track.”
“Virginia Republicans’ nominee for governor, Glenn Youngkin, unfortunately, is opposed to the American Rescue Plan…and the vital relief it delivers to this city and Virginians across the Commonwealth.”
“This is a candidate who stood in front of struggling Virginians and said the critical relief they needed was ‘absolutely wrong.’ This is a candidate who called this relief unnecessary! Was it unnecessary to put money in the pockets of working families struggling through this pandemic? Was it unnecessary to help small businesses right here in Roanoke? Was it unnecessary to keep getting shots in arms to speed up our fight against COVID-19?”
“Glenn Youngkin’s decision to oppose this essential relief has shown us exactly who he is — a far-right Trump supporter who cannot be trusted to lead Virginia.”
Senator John Edwards
“These past two years in the General Assembly, we’ve done so much. It has been the most remarkable two years of progress in Virginia.”
“Medicaid expansion passed because of the Democrats — we finally got that done. With regard to clean energy, we’ve done more on clean energy than we’ve ever done before… We’re paying our law enforcement officers more than ever before. We’ve also reformed our criminal justice system, which we so desperately needed.”
“But this guy, the Republican nominee, has said Donald Trump is why he’s running… he’s opposing most everything Biden is trying to do — especially with infrastructure.
“We need to make sure we remain a Democratic Virginia…otherwise, we’ll go backwards, not forwards.”
Delegate Chris Hurst
“As vaccines are being distributed, we have to make sure that we all continue to work together to keep a good thing going to ensure a proper recovery. And for us as Democrats, that’s ensuring that everyone in our communities has health care and benefits from a strong economy.”
“It’s important for us to know that despite the American Rescue Plan bringing [billions] of dollars to Virginia, Glenn Youngkin says that he doesn’t believe in it, that he thinks it’s absolutely wrong. Tell that to the people who are going to get generational access to broadband internet through the American Rescue Plan…How is he for rural Virginia? The American Jobs Plan makes an unprecedented investment in infrastructure…He and Congressional Republicans, the state party, they’re all against it.”
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