From the Democratic Party of Virginia:
ICYMI: DPVA, Democratic Leaders Highlight Glenn Youngkin’s Extreme Pro-Trump Agenda at Richmond Press Conference
Virginia Democrats take on Glenn Youngkin at first stop of “Where Trump Leads, Glenn Follows” Press Tour
Richmond, VA — Today, DPVA Chair Susan Swecker led a press conference with Democratic leaders highlighting Republican gubernatorial nominee Glenn Youngkin’s pro-Trump extremism and the dangerous agenda he is advancing. With Youngkin running to prove his complete allegiance to Donald Trump and advancing the former president’s disastrous policies, Virginia Democrats will hold him accountable every step of the way.
The far-right agenda Youngkin is running on includes attacking Medicaid expansion, opposing critical COVID-19 relief, and advancing Trump’s Big Lie. Today in Richmond, DPVA and Virginia leaders highlighted the case against Glenn Youngkin and his extreme Republican platform.
See below for key excerpts and watch the full conversation here.
DPVA Chairwoman Susan Swecker
“Youngkin has steadfastly opposed the COVID-19 relief that has been a crucial lifeline for working families and small businesses across the Commonwealth. […] Just yesterday he attacked the American Rescue Plan as ‘unnecessary.’ As we move forward from the pandemic, Virginians still need help. But Glenn Youngkin would rather play politics than support a bill that helps Virginians make rent, afford health care, and pay their bills.”
Richmond Mayor Levar Stoney
“Republicans’ delight in Glenn Youngkin is a cause for concern for so many Virginians — a cause of concern for Virginia’s women, when he states that he wants to restrict choice for women in the Commonwealth of Virginia; a cause of concern for people of color in the Commonwealth of Virginia, when you align yourself with Amanda Chase […]. And also, a cause of concern for Virginia’s working class, because we know that Glenn Youngkin will put his corporate insiders first, before the working class of Virginia.”
“When you align yourself with Amanda Chase, you should be disqualified. When you put corporate insiders first, before the working class — the hard working people of the great Commonwealth of Virginia — you should be disqualified. And when you align yourself with the racist rhetoric of Amanda Chase and Donald Trump, you should be disqualified.”
Delegate Lamont Bagby
“Glenn Youngkin has run his campaign for the GOP nomination on one issue and one issue alone: repeating Donald Trump’s big lie. […] While other states across this nation have decided to go the Youngkin, Trump, and Amanda Chase route […] we in the Commonwealth continue to make sure that we protect access to the ballot box. Virginia has come a long way these past few years, but Glenn Youngkin wants to take us back.”
Delegate Lashrecse Aird
“Make no mistake about it — Glenn Youngkin will drive the Commonwealth backwards and undermine the progress that we have made to improve the lives of countless people — and we cannot go back.”
“Do you want to know why we can’t go back? Because I have neighbors who are seniors that are still very much desperate to have relief relative to their health care and prescription costs. I am a mother of two young boys, and the parents when I drop my kids off at school still talk about the massive investments that we need to make in education. So, we can’t afford to take one step backwards.”
“We are finally allowing working families to begin to make progress on earning a living wage. We can’t take this moment and set them back because we are just showing them the progress that we can have here in our Commonwealth.”
Community Activist JJ Minor
“Youngkin has bought into Donald Trump’s lies about the 2020 election, and is running on a plan to bring the disastrous voter suppression laws we’ve seen in other states to Virginia. […] This is one of the defining civil rights issues of our time. We’re at a crossroads for our democracy, with one party standing with the facts and one party spewing lies about the election that led to a violent attack on the Capitol that killed five people.”
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