CSI: American Carnage (Monday, July 1, 2019)
WASHINGTON — See, says Joe, here’s the thing, number one, I was talking about education busing, not the other one that she benefitted from, that’s number one. Number two, I have a strong record of support for civil rights. Black people, and I think, here’s the point, black women, understand that when I was next to President Obama, eight years we were together, and, yes, this didn’t come up, but every piece of legislation, George, every piece of legislation, I ran through, and I think, number one, that this was a very divisive issue, it was tearing the country apart, this is a long time ago, and I think that there was a feeling that maybe there were other ways to pursue the ends. So I talked to Strom and Jim. I talked to Ed Brooke. I talked to Shirley Chisholm. I talked to Roy Wilkens and Jackie Robinson. I talked to these people. These aren’t gangbangers. These aren’t kids in hoodies. These are all men talking together. Look, I haven’t got a racist bone in my body, and I’ve never had one. There are no racist bones in me, George, one way or the other. Now it is true that when my wife and daughter were killed in a terrible car wreck, that I did a lot of soul searching. And again, when my son, Beau, died of brain cancer, I searched some more. And, George, there were no racist bones. Not one. And that’s what I bring to this race, George. I’m not saying let’s get rich. I’m not saying let’s get the rich. George, it’s the working class that builds the middle class and the middle class that builds America. We have to deliver on that, and because that’s what my father told me, he sat me down and told me, Joe, if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing well. He said, Never forget, your best preparation for tomorrow is to do your best today. When it’s raining, let it rain. So that’s what it all boils down to, George. Talking with other people who can begin to deliver on the promises made. America is about promise, George. America is promises and for too long there’s been a dream deferred. But so the bottom line here is, look, everything I have done in my career, I ran because of civil rights, I continue to think we have to make fundamental changes in civil rights, and those civil rights, by the way, include not just only African Americans, but the LGBT community, the waiters, and all the others. I supported the ERA from the very beginning. I’m the guy that extended the Voting Rights Act for 25 years. We got to the place where we got 98 out of 98 votes in the United States Senate doing it. I’ve also argued very strongly that we, in fact, deal with the notion of denying people access to the ballot box. I agree that everybody, once they, in fact, I agree — anyway, my time is up. I’m sorry. — Monday, July 1, 2019