by guest contributor Donovan O’Leary
Photo credit: Courtesy of Patriotic Millionaires
On a cool Tuesday evening, civilians and Congresspeople alike gathered for a tax event hosted by the Patriotic Millionaires. The theme of the event? Getting rid of big money’s influence in politics. “Donald Trump gave us the message in the front row of his inauguration,” said Congressman Greg Casar, “when he put Bezos and Musk and Zuckerberg ahead of his own family, ahead of his own cabinet.” He went on to say that the ties between corporate money and corrupt money must be severed in order to create a better democracy.
Rep. Greg Casar
Following Congressman Casar was Congressman Chris Deluzio, who continued the message of the event. “It’s really good politics to fight corruption,” Deluzio stated. “People know our government is corrupt. They see it from Musk on down. And I will tell you from the Rust Belt, this is a winning message. This is a message that can work and that can win from the Rust Belt to the Sunbelt and everywhere in between.”
Rep. Chris Deluzio
The emphasis shifted once New Mexico Congresswoman Teresa Leger Fernández took the stage. Congresswoman Fernández spent much of her speech talking about how Democrats in Congress can work together to hold Republicans accountable by implementing the rule of law. Freshman Congresswoman Laura Friedman followed, spending much of her time speaking about the importance of the government taxing the rich in order to invest in their people. “We should all want to live in a society where everybody knows that they have opportunities where everybody knows that their government and their society invests in them, invest in their education, invest in their medical care, and it allows them to have the kind of upward mobility that many of our parents and grandparents fled over across the ocean to find. And that’s what you are fighting for is that basic fairness, that good taxing policy allows us to invest in as a nation.”
Rep. Laura Friedman
Also at the event was Congresswoman Delia Ramirez, who brought an energy unique to a leader fighting for her constituents. She said that this moment is all about moral courage, about having the tenacity to stand up and do what’s right. She said that everyone has to come together and fight as one against big money, that this is a time for America to become more united in its desire for a better future. She left with a simple message for the Trump administration: hands off. Hands off our communities, hands off our paid into programs, and hands off our rights. Ways and Means Democrat Congressman Jimmy Gomez spoke to the crowd, and he said that the strategy of the Republican party was to defund, defraud, and lie to the American people. In his speech, he also emphasized the importance of having tough conversations with people affected by the Trump administration on media platforms that new
generations of viewers will tune into.
Rep. Delia Ramierez
As the afternoon light washed away and night took over, one final speaker took the stage. Recently making headlines on news outlets worldwide, Senator Cory Booker delivered a passionate speech fueled by momentum carried over from his recent filibuster. Delivering by far the longest speech of the night, Senator Booker detailed his upbringing and shared that his dad taught him a conspiracy of love. “A conspiracy of love,” Booker said, “is when people come together under a common, compassionate goal. My father knew something all his life. It’s not about your personal accomplishments. It’s not about your personal success. It’s about how you use the gifts and the blessings that you’ve been given to make a better way for more people. And I talk about tax policy, but more importantly, people who have seen the kind of success that my father did, that we know of.” Senator Booker closed by saying that “I believe in us. I believin we the people, I believe in our strength, and I believe in yet again, we shall overcome.”
Senator Cory Booker
In an exclusive interview with the people behind the event, I was able to glean what they hoped to accomplish by gathering this group of people together. Legislative Affairs Director Holli Woodings said that “This is one of the top tax events of the year, no one would miss it… it’s not hard to convince offices that this is something worthy of fighting for.” She continued by saying that the top takeaway from the night “is that we have a really important fight in front of us, and it’s very timely because Washington is suddenly being taken over by oligarchs.”
Comms Director for the event, Jenna Grande, said that she hoped people who streamed the event online felt that “just because they weren’t in the room with us and our members and these panelists, they could [still] be a part of the conversation. In fact, we need their voices the most to hold our elected officials accountable.” Board of Directors member Morris Pearl said that “we need to explain to more Americans that [tax issues] are really important. More important than some of these issues they’re yelling and screaming about… we’re trying to explain to people that actually your income rates… are more important than the college football championship being on. The vast majority of Americans think the way we do. And have the same concerns we do… they’re afraid America is falling apart.”
Morris Pearl
Chief of Staff for Patriotic Millionaires, Adam Shubert, provided some closing insight underlining the importance of the event: “We recognize how dire the stakes are right now. There was an election in November, and these guys won. The Broligarchs won… [Trump] is now selling our democracy to the highest bidder.” He continued on by asking, “Why do we have billionaires laying off people who make $20 an hour trying to serve the American public. There are actually three solutions [to fixing tax policy]: tax the rich, pay the people, spread the power.” These three words encapsulate the sentiment of both organizers of the event and speakers alike, a sentiment of fighting the rich to save democracy, a sentiment of coming together and creating a conspiracy of love.
