Melvin Poindexter’s Post

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 4, 2024 / DNC 2024 Harris-Walz Presidential Campaign Talking Points - ICYMI: JD Vance Cozies Up To “Anti-Gay,” Anti-Choice Pastor With History of Hateful Remarks Key Point: “...lead pastor, Ryan Visconti, has a history of anti-gay comments on social media….Visconti wrote that in order for ‘America to be ‘great again,’ we need to go back to opposing the abomination of gay mirage [sic] & abortion as we did before.’ A separate post from the fall of 2023 features Visconti saying that in ‘God’s eyes, there’s no such thing as ‘gay marriage,’ and argued in a lengthy thread posted earlier that year that ‘God wants homosexuals to repent and change.’” NBC News: Vance to speak at event hosted in part by pastor with history of homophobic remarks By: Alec Hernández As Vance heads out west through the weekend for a mix of campaigning and fundraising, his first stop of the multi-day swing features remarks with conservative media personality Charlie Kirk as a part of Turning Point Action’s “Chase the Vote at the Church” event. The gathering is set to take place at the Generation Church in Mesa, Arizona, where lead pastor, Ryan Visconti, has a history of anti-gay comments on social media. In one post on his X account from July of this year, Visconti wrote that in order for “America to be ‘great again,’ we need to go back to opposing the abomination of gay mirage [sic] & abortion as we did before.” A separate post from the fall of 2023 features Visconti saying that in “God’s eyes, there’s no such thing as ‘gay marriage,’ and argued in a lengthy thread posted earlier that year that “God wants homosexuals to repent and change.” In a post on Instagram last week, Visconti wrote that he is “honored” to host Vance as a part of the Turning Point event. ###

What will Kamala Harris do about America's soaring inequality and shameful tax system? Her announcement today about capital gains and small businesses ROBERT REICH - SEP 5   Friends, A few Americans at the very top have extraordinary wealth but pay incredibly low rates of income tax. Why? Their hugely profitable businesses generate very little taxable income. Mostly, they generate capital gains. Today, Kamala Harris announced that she would increase the capital gains tax to 28 percent. That’s higher than the current rate of 23.8 percent, but far lower rate than the 39.6 percent rate Biden had proposed. The move apparently came after pressure from her campaign’s biggest donors to back off some of its most aggressive tax proposals. In the same speech, Harris rolled out her new plan for an expanded tax break for business start-ups, including a 10-fold expansion of a tax deduction for new small businesses. She said she would expand the startup-expense deduction for small businesses to $50,000. (Currently, business owners can deduct up to $5,000 in startup expenses—costs they incur for items such as market surveys, advertisements and salaries for workers in training even before the business officially begins operating.) I’m hoping Harris sticks with Biden on Biden’s most important tax proposal: A 25 percent minimum tax on Americans worth more than $100 million. This 25 percent tax would apply to a combination of their regular income and their unrealized capital gains. It would raise roughly $500 billion in tax revenue over a decade, according to the Treasury Department. Biden would also tax unrealized gains at death for those holding more than $5 million worth of assets.

When the pandemic brought tourism to a stand-still, a group of hotels cited lost bookings to lay off a wave of staff. Even as the hotel industry made over $100 billion in gross profits in 2022, they have not rehired staff since they made cuts during the pandemic. This has created painful working conditions for remaining hotel staff who are forced to handle the increased workload without increased pay. After months of unsuccessful negotiations for a new union contract, more than 10,000 hotel workers went on strike on Labor Day in Baltimore, Boston, Greenwich, Honolulu, Kauai, San Diego, San Francisco, San Jose, and Seattle, and more than 9,300 remain on strike today. Workers are demanding higher wages, fair staffing and workloads, and the reversal of COVID-era staffing cuts. Write to the CEOs of Hilton, Hyatt, and Marriott today urging them to immediately meet workers’ needs. Let them know that we will not cross picket lines to stay at their hotels.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 3, 2024 / DNC 2024 Harris-Walz Presidential Campaign Talking Points - VP Harris Backs U.S. Manufacturing, While Trump Oversaw Increased Offshoring of American Jobs As Vice President Harris underlines her strong support for American manufacturing and keeping U.S. Steel American-owned and operated, DNC Spokesperson Addy Toevs released the following statement: “Donald Trump has never been a friend of the labor movement. Now, his extreme Project 2025 agenda threatens to undermine unions and hike costs for Pennsylvania families. In sharp contrast, Vice President Harris is an unwavering champion of American industry and workers. Her support for an American-owned and operated U.S. Steel is the latest example. As president, Donald Trump created new incentives for companies to ship Pennsylvanians’ jobs overseas. A Harris-Walz administration will continue to build the economy from the bottom up and middle out. As president, Kamala Harris will work alongside the United Steelworkers, invest in U.S. manufacturing, and work to create good-paying union jobs to strengthen Pennsylvania’s middle class.” Vice President Harris is an unfailing advocate for union workers and American manufacturing. Yesterday, she made that clear yet again as she vowed to pass the PRO Act and work alongside the United Steelworkers to keep U.S. Steel American-owned and operated. CNN: Harris backs US ownership of US Steel, in blow to takeover by Japanese company “Vice President Kamala Harris said Monday that US Steel should remain domestically owned, saying during a campaign stop in Pittsburgh that it is ‘vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies.’ “Harris’ comments marked the first time she lent her voice to the dispute over the proposed sale of US Steel to Nippon Steel, Japan’s biggest steelmaker. “‘The president mentioned it: US Steel is a historic American company, and it is vital for our nation to maintain strong American steel companies,’ Harris said at the Labor Day event after being introduced by Joe Biden. ‘And I couldn’t agree more with President Biden, US Steel should remain American owned and American operated.’” Pennsylvania Capital-Star: Harris and Biden campaign in Pittsburgh as presidential race enters the home stretch “Harris also said she would pass the Protecting the Right to Organize (PRO) Act, which would amend the National Labor Relations Act to provide additional supports for workers. “Biden and Harris spoke at the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers (IBEW) Hall on Pittsburgh’s South Side, appearing together on the campaign trail for the first time since he dropped his reelection bid in July and endorsed her candidacy for president. “Harris called Pittsburgh the ‘cradle of the American labor movement,’ and said the region was also shaping labor’s future. ‘Pittsburgh, together, we are fighting to build an economy that works for all working people.’ [...] ###

It’s a disgraceful anniversary, and a lot has happened since then. Trump’s own former Chief of Staff John Kelly confirmed the comments, and that Trump asked at the grave of Kelly’s fallen son: “I don’t get it. What was in it for them?” Trump refused to be seen with combat-wounded Troops as president, saying: “It doesn’t look good for me.” Trump tried to steal an election and launched an insurrection at the Capitol when he failed, a day that ranks alongside Pearl Harbor and 9/11 in its infamy. More recently, Trump degraded the Medal of Honor and all who earned it. Just last week, Trump desecrated Arlington National Cemetery and his campaign assaulted a cemetery official, all for a political photo op. But some good things have happened since then, too. We got the PACT Act across the finish line, and a million Veterans have received treatment for toxic exposures. We protected the VA from cuts under the Trump administration and stopped cold renewed efforts from the Republican-controlled House and far-right Senators like Trump’s own VP pick, JD Vance. Oh yeah, and one more thing... We defeated Trump. When VoteVets picks a fight, we win. And we’ve got Trump’s number.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 3, 2024 / DNC 2024 Harris-Walz Presidential Campaign Talking Points - STATEMENT: Donald Trump Owns RFK Jr.’s Extreme, Dangerous Public Health Stances New reporting from the Boston Globe explains how Donald Trump’s promise to work with RFK Jr. to establish a “panel of experts” to investigate public health problems and childhood diseases – many of which RFK Jr. holds are caused by vaccines — could backfire on the former president. By aligning himself with RFK Jr., Donald Trump claims ownership of his extreme, dangerous, and unpopular anti-vaccine views. Additionally, their alliance risks alienating voters who aren’t eager to relive the disinformation campaign waged by the far right during the COVID-19 pandemic. In response, DNC Spokesperson Matt Corridoni released the following statement: “Donald Trump now owns all of RFK Jr.'s baggage, including his dangerous public health stances that have cost children their lives. We're going to hold Trump's feet to the fire on his embrace of RFK Jr. and these extreme positions. For anyone who had concerns about the first Trump administration being too extreme, RFK Jr. being anywhere near a second Trump term should terrify you.” ICYMI: Boston Globe: Trump-RFK Jr. alliance resurrects debate over COVID restrictions, vaccine skepticism in 2024 campaign By: Sam Brodey In his first appearance with Kennedy in Arizona last month, Trump promised to work with him as president to establish a “panel of top experts” to investigate chronic health problems and childhood diseases — many of which Kennedy has long insisted are caused by vaccines. This bargain, however, could easily backfire on Trump, and not only because his alliance with Kennedy tethers him to a broad range of fringe views. Democrats are confident that most voters will reject a Trump campaign infused with Kennedy rhetoric on COVID and vaccines — and, more to the point, will resent having to revisit a pandemic that most would love to leave behind. “The sentiment of most voters in Michigan is, we want to move on, we don’t want to re-litigate 2020 or COVID-19,” said Mallory McMorrow, a Democratic state senator from Michigan, where violent backlash to COVID safety measures sparked a foiled right-wing militia plot to kidnap Governor Gretchen Whitmer. The prospect of a general election with Kennedy and top Republicans campaigning on vaccine skepticism has public health advocates alarmed. And they are downright frightened that Kennedy could wind up with significant power if Trump wins. “The embrace of these two political leaders will just amp up all the antivaccine sentiment … the implicit promise of putting [Kennedy] in a senior position in the administration shows that antivaccination is coming from the fringes into the halls of power,” [said Lawrence Gostin, a professor at Georgetown University Law Center in Washington, D.C., who specializes in public health]. “This is a perfect storm.” ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 3, 2024 / Harris-Walz 2024 Presidential Campaign Talking Points - FOUR YEARS AGO TODAY: Trump Exposed for Calling Fallen Service Members ‘Suckers’ and ‘Losers’. Trump Continues to Disparage the Military in His Words and Policies Today is the four-year anniversary of news coming to light that Donald Trump called service members who made the ultimate sacrifice “suckers” and “losers” – confirmed by Trump’s own chief of staff, retired four-star general John Kelly. Trump’s disrespect for our military is nothing new and consistent with his record: attempting to cut veterans’ services and benefits and allowing his country club associates to exploit the VA for their own personal enrichment. Donald Trump has a long history of disparaging veterans and service members. VoteVets: “Three Gold Star parents, who lost their loved ones in war, are responding to attacks on them levied by the Trump campaign” CBS: “Trump questions absence of Haley’s deployed husband from campaign trail” Vietnam Veterans of America: “Trump’s Attack on Gold Star Family Is Disgraceful and Un-American” Washington Post: “A former senior administration official, who like others spoke on the condition of anonymity to speak candidly, confirmed to The Washington Post that the president frequently made disparaging comments about veterans and soldiers missing in action, referring to them at times as ‘losers.’” New York Times: “People familiar with Mr. Trump’s private conversations say he has long scorned those who served in Vietnam as being too dumb to have gotten out of it, as he did through a medical diagnosis of bone spurs in his heels.” People: “Donald Trump Refused to Be Seen with Military Amputees: ‘Doesn’t Look Good for Me,’ His Former Chief of Staff Confirms” CNN: “Trump mocks John McCain's war injury while on campaign trail” Politico: “34 troops diagnosed with brain injuries days after Trump dismissed them as ‘headaches’” The following is a statement from Harris-Walz 2024 Spokesperson Joseph Costello: “We should never forget that Donald Trump disparaged our fallen service members as ‘suckers’ and ‘losers.’ Even all these years later, it remains shocking, disturbing, and simply un-American. No one seeking America’s highest office should ever talk about our fallen heroes this way. It’s disqualifying. Trump has repeatedly attacked and demeaned our service members, veterans, and military families, and his reckless policies threaten to gut their hard-earned benefits. Donald Trump’s own generals and national security advisors say it themselves: He does not respect our military, is a threat to the safety and security of the American people, and is unfit to be commander in chief ever again.” ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 2, 2024 / DNC 2024 Harris-Walz Presidential Campaign Talking Points - FACT CHECK: Trump-Vance Ticket Stands Against the PRO Act And For an Anti-Worker Project 2025 Agenda Given that JD Vance famously runs his own X account, we wanted to provide a few feedback notes for him to make sure his Labor Day post was accurate: HERE’S THE FACTS: Donald Trump was one of the most anti-worker and anti-union presidents in American history – and his running mate JD Vance stands firmly against the PRO Act, the “holy grail” of the labor movement to protect unions. Politico: “Vance has consistently opposed the PRO Act, the ‘holy grail of pro-union labor reform’ that organized labor and its allies on the Hill have been fighting for over two years to get passed. … Vance’s skepticism of the PRO Act is part of a more fundamental skepticism that he harbors toward organized labor.” Fast Company: “Vance also voted in favor of a resolution to strike down the NLRB’s updated joint-employer rule, which would have given workers more leverage when organizing at companies—like Amazon—that rely heavily on third-party contractors, by forcing both employers to participate in labor negotiations.” Trump: “I know the unions. They’re dues-sucking people. They just want their dues and they couldn’t care less.” New York Times: “Does [Trump] support unions? He has had ‘great success’ in New York building with unions and also in Florida without unions. ‘If I had my choice,’ he said, ‘I think I’d take it without.’” Associated Press: “During Trump’s presidency, the National Labor Relations Board reversed several key rulings that made it easier for small unions to organize, strengthened the bargaining rights of franchise workers and provided protection against anti-union measures for employees. “The Supreme Court’s conservative majority — including three justices that Trump nominated — overturned a decades-old pro-union decision in 2018 involving fees paid by government workers. The justices in 2021 rejected a California regulation giving unions access to farm property so they could organize workers.” Trump recently celebrated firing striking workers, and Vance shamelessly defended his comments. Newsweek: “Donald Trump Cheers Elon Musk Over Firing Workers: ‘You’re the Greatest!’” Politico: “Vice presidential candidate JD Vance defended Donald Trump’s comments about firing striking workers during a rally in Michigan.” New Republic: “J.D. Vance Makes Huge Mistake Trying to Defend Trump’s Workers Comment” The Trump-Vance Project 2025 agenda would raise taxes for the middle class while gifting tax breaks to billionaires and big corporations and threatening to supercharge inflation. Center for American Progress: “Project 2025’s Tax Plan Would Raise Taxes on the Middle Class and Cut Taxes for the Wealthy” ###

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE - September 2, 2024 / Harris-Walz 2024 Presidential Campaign Talking Points - Statement on Donald Trump Claiming He Had ‘Every Right’ to Interfere With 2020 Election Last night in an interview with Fox News’ Mark Levin, Donald Trump admitted to interfering with the 2020 presidential election and claimed he had “every right” to do it. Trump: “Whoever heard you get indicted for interfering with a presidential election where you have every right to do it, you get indicted and your poll numbers go up.” Reminder: After encouraging a violent insurrection on January 6 to overturn the results of the 2020 election, Trump has repeatedly defended January 6 rioters who attacked law enforcement officers. Trump has already claimed, without evidence, that the 2024 election is already “rigged” and has refused to say whether he will accept the 2024 election results. Harris-Walz 2024 Spokesperson Sarafina Chitika released the following statement: “Everything Donald Trump has promised on the campaign trail – from ‘terminating’ the Constitution, to imprisoning his political opponents and promising to rule as a dictator on ‘day one’ – makes it clear that he believes he is above the law. Now, Trump is claiming he had ‘every right’ to interfere in the 2020 election. He did not. “While Donald Trump is pushing his false history about the past, the American people are ready for a new way forward. They know Vice President Harris is the tough-as-nails prosecutor we need to turn the page on chaos, fear, and division, and uphold the rule of law.” ###