Democrats call for action after Las Vegas, how to help Puerto Rico, and President Obama

• After the horror in Las Vegas, where a single gunman armed with dozens of weapons murdered nearly 60 people and injured over 500 others, Democrats were vehement: YES, now is in fact the time to talk about the urgent need for gun safety measures. People’s lives matter more than the NRA’s pockets.
  

  What Congress can & must do is pass laws that keep our citizens safe, starting w/ laws to help prevent guns frm falling into the wrong hands

  — Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) October 2, 2017

  My thoughts on the horrific shooting in Las Vegas. pic.twitter.com/52UN7mbMsh

  — Kamala Harris (@SenKamalaHarris) October 2, 2017

  We are not powerless against such evil. We must take common sense, widely supported, steps to reduce such violence, agony and grievous loss.

  — Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) October 2, 2017

  Tragedies like Las Vegas have happened too many times. We need to have the conversation about how to stop gun violence. We need it NOW.

  — Elizabeth Warren (@SenWarren) October 2, 2017

  With yet another horrific mass shooting, when will Congress stand up to the NRA? This senseless violence must end.

  — Senator Mazie Hirono (@maziehirono) October 2, 2017

  I stand with @NancyPelosi and call on @SpeakerRyan to join us in support of a Select Committee to solve the gun violence epidemic. https://t.co/15AxXX50t1

  — Elijah E. Cummings (@RepCummings) October 2, 2017

  Congress must take action – not just in our words – but also in our deeds to prevent senseless tragedies like this from ever happening again

  — Rep. Barbara Lee (@RepBarbaraLee) October 2, 2017

• House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi offered a powerful challenge to Speaker Paul Ryan:
  

  .@SpeakerRyan, it’s time for action. Congress must create a Select Committee on Gun Violence. pic.twitter.com/yCpMOUKJKg

  — Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) October 2, 2017

• Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York minced no words:
  

  It’s another disturbing and painful example of how Congress is too weak and too cowardly to stand up to the gun industry … I am praying for the victims of this shooting, their families and friends. But I am praying for my former colleagues, too. I am praying they find the courage it will take to make progress on the challenging issue of gun violence.

• Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut, where 20 small children were killed in a shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School, told MSNBC’s Brian Williams, “I’m furious that Congress has been complicit” in the rising tide of gun violence:
  
• And his colleague in Connecticut, Sen. Chris Murphy, took to the Senate floor Monday evening to express his own frustration and to expose the mendacity behind the usual arguments against doing anything to prevent future tragedies:
  
• You can do your part too. Join the movement to stop gun violence:
  

  Today we mourn for Las Vegas, tomorrow we fight for them.
  Join the movement to end gun violence: Text ACT to 64433. pic.twitter.com/hszx0iqNY0

  — Everytown (@Everytown) October 2, 2017

• Donald Trump and the GOP are still pushing their terrible tax scheme, which would raise taxes for nearly 69 million working Americans, while giving wealthy families — like Trump’s — money and benefits. Democrats have made it clear just how damaging this plan would truly be for lower and middle income people. Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey:
  

  The Trump tax plan is great for people like Donald Trump—the wealthy and the well-connected. It’s unjust and unfair for everyone else. Asking everyday Americans to shoulder the burden of a massive tax giveaway to the rich breaks the promise President Trump made—just yesterday—of a tremendous tax cut for the middle class and the vow his administration made to not cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans.

  Sen. Tammy Baldwin of Wisconsin:

  The McConnell-Ryan framework favors those at the top and I don’t support giving huge tax breaks to big corporations, millionaires, and billionaires.

  Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire:

  I have long said that any tax legislation must benefit hard-working families and small businesses — not big corporations and the top one percent — and it must be fiscally responsible. The proposal that the Republican Party unveiled appears to fail that test on both counts.

  Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer:

  .@SenSchumer criticizes the proposed #taxreform framework and says it will not help the middle class: pic.twitter.com/INdyFBX5zu

  — Face The Nation (@FaceTheNation) October 1, 2017

  
  House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi:

  You can’t put lipstick on a pig, but @SpeakerRyan sure is trying to put some on his billionaires-first tax plan. #NotOnePenny pic.twitter.com/HNhdHDgUXq

  — Nancy Pelosi (@NancyPelosi) September 27, 2017

• So, if these machinations by Trump and congressional Republicans sound utterly terrible to you, make your voice heard: There are petitions to sign and members of Congress to call. Oh, and yes, there’s an app for that, thanks to 5calls.org.

• Pelosi and Schumer are also united against Trump and in support of DREAMers, who are “as American as apple pie.”
  

  The Trump administration’s decision to rescind the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA) program was both morally and economically wrong. It was an assault against young people in communities across our country who are American in every way but one — their paperwork — and who embody our nation’s values: patriotism, hard work and perseverance.

  President Donald Trump’s decision demands an immediate response from Congress and we are ready to fight harder than ever to pass the bipartisan DREAM Act and give Dreamers the protection they have earned. […]

  We have both met Dreamers and heard their stories. We know that these young people represent what’s great about our country and they should be allowed to stay. They are an integral part of our communities, and their stories, their tenacity and fearlessness make them as American as apple pie. […]

  So we say to our colleagues, it is time to act. America cannot turn its back on Dreamers. We must pass the bipartisan DREAM Act to provide the earned path to citizenship these patriotic young men and women deserve.

• Trump’s heartlessness knows no bounds: For days now, his responses to the devastation after Hurricane Maria in Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands has been typically embarrassing, ignorant, and downright hateful. Millions of people are in dire need of assistance. If you are able to donate, Colorlines has a great round-up of local grassroots organizations in both locations that are working hard to bring relief to the people Trump has done nothing but neglect and insult.

• We have already seen time and again what a Republican-controlled Congress is willing to do to the country. One way to help make change? Get rid of gerrymandering, the devious practice of drawing and manipulating district boundaries in order to give one party a distinct advantage electorally. The U.S. Supreme Court is set to hear a huge case on the matter Tuesday, Oct. 3. And right at the courthouse steps will be a rally to end the partisan trickery.

• ICYMI, Shareblue Media’s Executive Editor Jess McIntosh was on MSNBC Sunday, with a crucial reminder that a key motivating factor behind Trump’s attacks on black athletes is as a sop to his racist base so they ignore the fact that he’s been failing on every front where he promised them nothing but “winning.”
  

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