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John Delaney on Principles & Values
Democratic candidate for President; U.S. Rep from MD-6
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Platform of real solutions, not impossible promises
Folks, we have a choice. We can go down the road that Senator Sanders and Senator Warren want to take us, which is with bad policies like Medicare for all, free everything and impossible promises that will turn off independent voters and get Trump
re-elected. That's what happened with McGovern, and Mondale, and Dukakis. Or we can nominate someone with new ideas to create universal health care for every American with choice, someone who wants to unify our country and grow the economy and create
jobs everywhere. And then we win the White House.I'm the product of the American dream. I believe in it. I'm the grandson of immigrants, the son of a construction worker. My wife April and I have four amazing daughters. I was the youngest
CEO in the history of the New York Stock Exchange, created thousands of jobs and then served in Congress. That's the type of background -- and my platform is about real solutions, not impossible promises, that can beat Trump and govern.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
, Jul 30, 2019
We win on reality instead of fairy-tale economics
Democrats win when we run on real solutions, not impossible promises, when we run on things that are workable, not fairy tale economics. We need to encourage collaboration between the government, the private sector, and the nonprofit sector, and
focus on those kitchen table, pocketbook issues that matter to hard-working Americans: building infrastructure, creating jobs, improving their pay, creating universal health care, and lowering drug prices.
Source: July Democratic Primary debate (first night in Detroit)
, Jul 30, 2019
Real solutions, not impossible promises
I believe we need to operate in a bipartisan manner. I will sign into law bills that come to the White House that are passed on a party-line basis, absolutely. But all the big transformative things we've ever done in this country's
history have happened when huge majorities of the American people get behind them. If we become the party of getting things done for the American people, with real solutions and not impossible promises, we'll be able to get all these things done.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
, Jun 26, 2019
America used to do things; let's get back to those roots
Together we are on a mission to find the America that's been lost. We're so much better than this. We're a country that used to do things. We saved the world. We created the American dream for millions of people like myself, the grandson of immigrants,
the son of a union electrician who went on to become a successful business leader and create thousands of jobs. But we did these things with real solutions, not with impossible promises. And those are the roots that we have to get back to.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate (first night in Miami)
, Jun 26, 2019
Trump could be prosecuted, but it's not an issue for voters
Q: No U.S. president has ever been prosecuted for crimes after leaving office. Do you believe that President Trump should be the first?Delaney: I guess there's always a first. This president, who is lawless, should not be above the law.
But I will tell you, the one thing when you're out doing as much campaigning as I've done, this is not the number-one issue the American people ask us about.
They want to know what we're going to do for health care, how we're going to lower pharmaceutical prices, how we're going to build infrastructure, what we're going to do to create jobs in their communities.
These kind of kitchen-table, pocket-book issues are actually what most Americans care about. They never ask about the Mueller Report.
Source: June Democratic Primary debate on Mueller Report
, Jun 26, 2019
Independently wealthy but grew up in a blue collar family
Delaney, who is independently wealthy after starting two separate companies, opened up when he discussed his own roots in a working class neighborhood in New Jersey, something he has not done much on the campaign trail, a decision he admitted to
CNN earlier this year was a mistake."I grew up in a time when we had institutions in our society that really supported people.
And I don't think we see that here today," he said. "I mean, I grew up in a blue collar family. My dad was an electrician. Neither of my parents went to college.
I needed scholarships from my dad's union to give me the opportunity to get the education that I have received. And I had this amazing kind of American dream-type life where I worked hard and played by the rules."
Source: CNN KFile on 2019 SXSW conference in Austin
, Mar 11, 2019
The enemy is hyper-partisan politics
The hard truth is that we're living in an era of hyperpartisan politics, and it's destroying our country. Particularly since the 2016 election, this rabid partisanship has been pulling communities apart. Worse, it's preventing us from seizing the
large-scale opportunities that await the next generation, and it's making it impossible for us to address the urgent problems that are threatening our quality of life. Instead of rebuilding our country, we're tearing each other down.
The cost of doing nothing is not nothing. The longer we delay addressing these problems, the worse they become. The longer we delay leading our country into the future, the more opportunities slip away.
But the enemy is NOT the person on the other sid
Source: The Right Answer, by Rep. John Delaney, p. 4
, May 29, 2018
No persuasive data to suggest embracing socialism
My policies are often progressive, but I'm also a businessman. To my mind, the way to advance our ideals is not by fighting against the private economy but by working with it. In purely pragmatic terms, doing so will make us stronger both financially
and politically. For those who suggest that the Democratic Party should move farther left and embrace socialism, I would argue that there's no credible evidence that this evolution would win us more elections or gain more support.
There are also no pragmatic data suggesting that any other nation has a better economic model than ours.
Using the wedge of the private economy to split our party into two opposing factions is the last thing we should do, because now more than ever we need to be unified.
Source: The Right Answer, by Rep. John Delaney, p. 97
, May 29, 2018
Religious freedom means no religious registry.
Delaney signed opposing a religious registry
Congressional Summary: Notwithstanding any other provision of the immigration laws, an alien may not be denied admission to the United States because of the alien's religion or lack of religious beliefs.
Argument Opposed: [Countable.us]: "The U.S. should reserve the right to ban immigrants based on religion. The government may need to enact such a ban in response to a future acts of terror, which could save American lives."
Argument In Favor: [Cato Institute, Dec. 8, 2016]: Donald Trump proposed prohibiting all Muslim immigration; then specified "suspending immigration from nations tied to Islamic terror." He said, "People are pouring in from regions of the Middle East," but that he would "stop that dead, cold flat," during his first day in office. However, under current law, it is illegal to discriminate against immigrants based on their national origin.
For almost a decade, Congress debated creating an immigration system free from discrimination by nationality, country of birth, or country of residence. President-elect Trump, however, now proposes to discriminate unlawfully against certain foreign nationals on the basis of the same protected grounds without any legislation from Congress.
Source: Protect American Families Act 16-HR5207 on May 12, 2016
Question Trump on Emoluments clause.
Delaney signed questioning Trump on Emoluments clause
Excerpts from Letter from 17 Senators to Trump Organization: The Trump Organization's continuing financial relationship with President Trump raises concerns about whether it is a pass-through for income that violates the Constitution's two Emoluments Clauses: Article I, Section 9, Clause 8 on foreign Emoluments; and Article II, Clause 7 on domestic Emoluments. Please answer the following questions to help Congress understand:
- When the Trump Organization receives income from a government agency, how is that income segregated & reported?
- How does the Trump Organization determine if income is derived from foreign governments?
- Trump promised to "donate all profits from foreign government payments made to his hotels to the US Treasury." Has the Trump Organization created a mechanism to make such payments?
- What is the estimated value of the 38 Chinese trademarks recently awarded to the Trump Organization? And the reported 157 pending trademark applications in
36 countries?
Legal Analysis: (Cato Institute, "Emoluments Clause vs. Trump Empire," 11/29/16): The wording of the Emoluments clause points one way to resolution: Congress can give consent, as it did in the early years of the Republic to presents received by Ben Franklin. It can decide what it is willing to live with in the way of Trump conflicts. If it misjudges public opinion, it will pay a political price at the next election.
FOIA argument: (ACLU Center for Democracy, "FOIA Request," 1/19/17): We filed our first Freedom of Information Act request of the Trump Era, seeking documents relating President Trump's conflicts of interest relating to his business connections. When Trump took the oath of office, he didn't take the steps necessary to ensure that he and his family's business interests comply with the Constitution. Some have even argued that upon taking the oath of office, the new president is already violating the Emoluments Clause.
Source: Letter from 17 Senators 17LTR-EMOL on May 18, 2017
Page last updated: Dec 14, 2019