Vote until the Alabama SenateElection Results are certified. Democrat doug jones is sworn in. Senator schumers, and are about 20 minutes. Comments are about 20 minutes. [inaudible conversations] okay, good morning, everybody. I knew they were putting a quote, but i didnt know which ones. Okay, thanks for coming. First i would like to talk about the special Election Results in alabama and what they mean for both parties in the country Going Forward and then i would like to talk about the tax bill in what this election should mean for the future of the republican tax bill. First, senator elect doug jones is a really fine man. He was an excellent candidate. He is going to make an outstanding senator for the people of alabama. His biography is so touching. As a young man come he sat and watched the prosecution of one of the people involved in the 16th Street Baptist Church killing and vowed that he wanted to change his life. Hes a man of great conviction, a man of great talent and i couldnt think of anyone who would morph and they represent the people of alabama. Whittemore was a terrible candidate, but it would be a big mistake for republicans to dismiss his loss only as a result of moores personal past. The republican brand of even in deep red alabama is positively toxic. The president s approval in the state he won by nearly 30 points a year ago was dead even according to the exit polls. The president keeps talking like hes helping the middle class, but his policy after policy helps the wealthy and the powerful and helps the middle class. The American People and even some in the trunk space are beginning to catch on. If they continue to run the government with a few special powerful wealthy interests, there will be many more alabamans in 2018. Many more. What does it mean for democrats . Theres a common theme in new jersey and now alabama. One, our base is energized. People saw the passion to make their voices heard and turn now throughout alabama particularly in the black belt rural africanamerican largely africanamerican alabama was in march, large numbers. The uzi out of them to stop trump in 2,122,008. Young people, millennia else are overwhelmingly democratic, overwhelmingly, 18 to 35 will be the largest voting cohort this coming year and they are not just democratic at five points or 10, but by 20 and 30 and they too are turning out and maybe most importantly, the suburbs are swinging back to us. Republicans with their policies will lose in 20 team and are even making it worse with the tax bill, which is an antisuburban tax bill. So, you put all that together. Millennial is overwhelmingly democratic, suburbs swinging back to the democrat and it means things are looking good for us. Now, all wet about the tax bill . Todays Senate Democrats are calling on Mitch Mcconnell and hold the final vote is sworn into the senate. Dow jones will be the duly senator for the state of alabama could the governor didnt appoint him. He won an election. It would be wrong for Senate Republicans to gm through this tax bill without giving the newly elect a senator from alabama the opportunity to cast his vote. Thats exactly what republicans argued when scott brown was elected in 2010. Referring to health care, listening to a mcconnell said. What we ought to do as we repeatedly, as he said repeatedly through the month of december, we had to start and start over and concentrate on fixing the problem. One of scott brown and got the message. No more gamesmanship lots of transparent tape. What is leader reid do when scott rama select it . Well wait until the new senate arrives until we do anything more on the health care bill. What is good for the goose is good for the gander and what is good for the gander is good for the goose. What we did in 2010, delay until doug jones gets here and contest the vote. Plain and simple. Well while mcconnell and the republicans get the message that they are rushed behind closed doors tax bill which gives huge breaks to the wealthy and corporations while increasing taxes on millions of middleclass people is not the way to go being a project that by the american, will they have the strength and the political foresight to start over or at least modify their bill . Or will they just barrel head, pretending not to hear the voices of the middle class crying out against the bill because this bill is a suburban tax payment simple. It is a suburban tax because it will clobber suburbs getting rid of the state and local deduction. It will be aimed particularly at the republican constituency there. People who make the train 75,300,000, they are the ones who will get hurt at this bill. And yet the republicans are barreling ahead. And if you thought they couldnt make it, they did. They reduced the top rate speculated from 396237, benefiting only people very wealthy. How is that going to help the middle class . Its not. It helps them. Our hope is Mitch Mcconnell will do the right thing. Our hope is Mitch Mcconnell ball here with a side. Help us. It is our hope michener, will realize what the tax bill, will be a dramatic, dramatic death knell for the Republican Party and 28 team. It is a loser. It is a loser the way it was written. It is a loser because it helps the wealthy and the special power in a separate poll shows the American People know it. So, im a republican colleague should stop before it too late and work with us on a bipartisan bill. Not everyone will agree with the bipartisan bill. But we can get one done and if they benefit the country and the middle class, probably incidentally benefit the Republican Party, but they are making huge mistakes. And that is learning from them is they, republicans are barreling ahead in doubling down on process, policy, politics. Pausing on this tax bill and going back to the drawing board is the right thing for republicans to do. I hope for the sake of this country they will look at the alabama election, hit the pause button, work with us and start doing the right thing for middleclass americans. Ready for your questions on the subject first. Would have been in 2010 was an issue before importantly on health care. You believe the alabama race as a referendum . If you look at suburban places. Look at shelby county, the most collegeeducated counting in alabama. Trump one by 30 and moore only won by 10 or 12 i think it was. This was a referendum. Of middleclass people said we want change. When that happens in alabama, but its happening everywhere in america. [inaudible] has spoken a senator elect jones. I did not ask him how he voted on this tax bill. Based on what he believes is good for the people of alabama and throughout this campaign and Alabama Campaign all the way whenever theyve asked for help was given it to them. The Campaign Manager was charles perkins, long time political savant and there are too many in brooklyn. Sort of an ethnic joke. My followup question is i know what she said about the referendum, but this is a red state historic way. Hell make his own decision, but throughout america, and this tax bill is wildly unpopular and weve had a lot of democrats from very red state, some of which voted more heavily for trump then alabama voting against the bill because they thought it was so bad for the working class people of theirs dates. He will make his own decision. [inaudible] will, the lesson of this election is republican policies are all wrong. They favor the wealthy. They favor the powerful corporations and may hurt middleclass people appear middleclass people. I just saw something yesterday. Net neutrality. Helping the big owners of broadband against middleclass users, small startups, wildly unpopular with the American People on issue after issue after issue in the repeal regulations and brag about it, they are helping powerful interest in hurting average middleclass people. The hard right, which is run by a thousand very wealthy commit very narrow needy people is running the American People and they are paying price for it at the polls in new jersey, virginia, alabama and will continue to enlist a change. I hope whatever happens politically as for the good of the country they change. Will they . Thus far theyve been unable to break from the hard right. Theyve been around a long time. They spent a lot of time criticizing but now they have a chance to govern because they adopted the hard right philosophy. Its a failure. So far away from at the average american than average republican thinks that they are running in what they ran into yesterday. There are a number of republicans expressing concern. [inaudible] you have to ask that. I [inaudible] yearend negotiations. We hope the republicans get the message. Just favoring the wealthy special interests wont work. Cutting programs. Here is what we are fighting for end of year. Veterans. To help people who are being robbed of their pensions. Solid middleclass issues, while the Republican Party here the lesson of yesterday and go along on those things or will they try to don wallace . That is the 64,000 question. The subject. About daca. Having made the decision you dont need a fix for the dreamers . There are very good negotiations going on between democrats and republicans. Some republicans you might not think that we are hopeful there will be bipartisan support so we can get daca done by the end of the year. The negotiators on the tax bill for individual rate of 97 . What . 97 . The top individual. If they went for a top rate of 97 , they would have over gotten in alabama. What is your reaction . Its hard to believe they could make this new tax proposal even worse for the middle class. They are ill logic is enabled. The idea was hurting the middle class. Instead of undoing their repeal a state and local deductibility come a day youve reduce on the rich. That doesnt solve the problem which is the differential. If everyone gets the 37 rate, the differential between new york and california, new jersey, illinois, suburbs of philadelphia stays the same. It doesnt fix that problem. He gets another boom to the very wealthy and a guest Donald Trumps wealthy friends in new york said on reduce your top rate. Makes no sense. Doesnt do anything for new york. I would renew my plea to the Republican Congress members in new jersey, new york, california, suburbs of philadelphia in the suburbs of chicago, suburbs of minneapolis, suburbs of denver, do not vote for any repeal of sorts for it will hurt their constituents wrong for the country and they would have the courage like a group of us and 86 date. I was for tax reform, but i lead a coalition with the republican colleagues to say we will not vote for the bill and bradman gephardt took it out of me voted for the bill. It is in their hands. California, new jersey and new york whether theres dates can cooperate or not condition of the courage to make the right decision. Why do you think President Trump is turning back [inaudible] resin and trombone i talked to him about policy doesnt know the details than he does whatever he wants to say. So, if he got out there and many of his friends in the Real Estate Industry have told him this is going to hurt new york home values throughout new york, whether you use the standard deduction or not are going to go down. Every new yorker is going to be hurt. Same with california. Same as california, same with new jersey. By the way, the hurt to those states, massachusetts, boston, chicago, denver, miami is going to drag down our national economy. The predictions this bill hope the national economy, forget many of the things they do in the bill hurt the economy such as private activity bonds, all the hot idols built, housing on private activity bonds, repealing private activity bonds, dollar for dollar will do more to hurt the economy by reducing the corporate rate will do to help the economy. [inaudible] the House Republicans yesterday came out in bed delaying the cadillac tax, suspending for five years yeah, that they are not even negotiating with us, so i dont see how you can ask the question. The overall bill is so awful that doing these things, whether democrats are for or against them will not make the bill better. This bill, the bill that has the house, senate and wherever they seem to be headed in the compromise bill. [inaudible] not the negotiation. The republicans in the house try to jam something through and slash programs for the middle class. You saw 44 democrats wouldnt vote. They had to give that up right now. Brian has had the courage to sell the hard right. They cannot win the government. You framed it as a referendum did you think it is also a referendum [inaudible] look, there seeds of each in the election, but it was not simply where moores conduct were the Republican Voters sided with roy moore on the issue. There is a great discontent about the way donald trump has conducted his presidency and there is a great deal of discontent about the policies the republicans are pursuing. And that was not shown in alabama. The same thing was shown in virginia. Virginia and alabama were similar. But in each case, the democratic elect to read base, millennialist, suburbs came out in much higher numbers in the off year election in the Republican Base even in northeast in southern alabama decidedly republican came out in lately lower numbers than the next elections. So it is true across the country. Not just alabama. So i think moore had something to do with it and a party that claims to a candidate like that had something really wrong with it, but it wasnt the whole story and many of the seeds you saw in virginia and new jersey repeated themselves in alabama. Okay, last question. When would you like to see doug jones . Well, that would be very nice, but the law of alabama says it has to wait until at least the end of december. [inaudible] i would like to see him seated as soon as possible. We checked this out. Its nondiscretionary with the governor. At least he can be certified for at least 10, 12 days after the election. Okay . Thank you, everybody. Have you heard from senator franken when he is leaving . I am not going to comment on minnesota. There minnesota. Therell be some things you hear about shortly. [inaudible] yeah, yeah. It was a phony allegation forged from start to finish and we are pursuing every legal path to those who might have broken the law he prosecuted for it. Thank you. Senator schumer will be joining House Minority leader pelosi this afternoon to brief reporters on tax reform. Scheduled for 1 30 eastern. Watch coverage on the cspan network. A short time ago, and Minnesota Governor Mark Dayton announced the seat of al franken who is resigning from the senate. We will show you a few moments of this and take you live to the floor of the senate when big apple and. When they gavel in. [inaudible conversations] the minnesota constitution assigns me the responsibility to fill the upcoming vacancy in the United States senate. Ive given this important decision the most careful id