Former DNC Chair: 'This Election Was About The Economy, Stupid'

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: Looking at the results as they stand now, is this the best the Democrats could have hoped for? [00:00:04] Speaker 2: This is a remarkable evening. You look at the state of Texas. Greg Abbott was winning by 20 points four years ago, and Gina Hinojosa is now the governor-elect. You look at Georgia, history was made there. And then let's focus on the federal side. Not only do Democrats have workable, functional majorities in both chambers, and in the end of the day, there will be somewhere 55, 56 seats in the Senate. A very functional working majority in the House. This is all about the economy. It's about making sure that people who work a full-time job can feed their family. It's about addressing health care. The Republicans, Donald Trump and the Republicans in Congress, they cut health care subsidies. This election was about the economy, stupid. And Democrats and governing are going to make sure they're putting people first so that you can make a living, you can afford your health care, and that we can address the rampant corruption that was one of the top issues for voters. We need to hold this administration accountable, and Democrats will do that. [00:01:18] Speaker 3: Was it a vote for Democrats or against Republicans, the Trump administration, as you say, the economy and [00:01:26] Speaker 2: Iran? It's a vote for affordability. It's a vote to make sure that if I'm a farmer in Iowa or Kansas, that I can make a living. Tariffs have been a killer. Look at soybean exports to China. They've plummeted because of tariffs. And look at soybean exports to China from Brazil. They have skyrocketed because of tariffs. And so this is about making sure that whether you're a farmer or whether you are a factory worker, you can feed your family. It's about the economy, stupid. And it is also, again, about corruption. If you look at a Fox News poll right before the election, there were two issues that were neck and neck, affordability and corruption. And, you know, the war in Iran has been an unmitigated disaster for folks in the United States and around the world. And that's why we have high diesel costs, other high fuel costs. And it's a forever war that Donald Trump, when he campaigned for president, said he wouldn't get us into. People are sending a very clear signal. And I hope other Republicans who will still be in the House and Senate will work together with Democrats so that we can raise the minimum wage. We can make sure health care is affordable for everyone. There are things that we should be able to work together on, like tariffs and tariff reductions. [00:02:45] Speaker 1: So can the Democrats really deliver very much on those key issues, though, if President Trump, as he's said that he will do, become Mr. Vito in the next two years? [00:02:56] Speaker 2: Well, don't forget, in two years, we have a presidential election. And in two years, there's a number of Republican senators who are up for reelection. The Democrats are going to have probably 55 or 56 seats in the Senate. And a number of those senators will be asking the question, do I put my country first? Or do I simply continue to capitulate to a president? And they've done nothing to stop him in the war in Iran. They've done nothing to stop him from taking health care away. They've done nothing to stop him from the self-dealing. Again, corruption and affordability were the two top issues for voters. And so I'm hopeful that some of these Republicans will understand I need to put [00:03:41] Speaker 3: country above Trump. Okay, if then the next couple of years are spent, you know, addressing those issues, as you put them, of corruption. What does that mean for businesses and for investors? What is the takeaway for them about what to expect? We've been talking all morning about the market reaction to [00:03:58] Speaker 2: this. I think the biggest challenge that businesses and business owners that I talk to confront is uncertainty. You have a tariff this week. No, you take it away next week. It is really hard to run a business when you have that level of uncertainty. And I think there will be a bipartisan consensus in Congress to address those issues. I think we haven't raised the minimum wage in the United States in over 20 years. $7.25 is not even remotely enough to feed your family. And I think we can build bipartisan consensus and find four or five Republicans who understand that we need to raise the minimum wage. We need to address these pocketbook issues. It's about the economy, stupid. James Carville famously said that in 1992. And it is true today. And that's what Democrats are going to focus on the economy and also addressing the culture of corruption that has surrounded this administration from day one. [00:05:00] Speaker 1: One of the things that we have seen in the run up to this election was a series of redistricting, both by Republicans and Democrats, but largely by Republicans in states that doesn't seem to have delivered the election results that they were hoping for. Is that a lesson for the next couple of years as a redistrict coming up in New York, for example, for both the Democrats as well, not to engage in this? [00:05:20] Speaker 2: Well, I'll tell you, Texas is a great example. They're the ones who started it at the behest of President Obama. You look at the seat that is right along the Rio Grande River, Bobby Pulido, that used to be an R+18 district, solidly Republican. The Republicans turned it into an R+8 district. And Bobby Pulido won that race. He's the Democratic candidate in that district. He won that seat, I think by 15 or 20 points. And so the Republicans sowed the seeds of their own demise in Texas. They started this redistricting war and they self-immolated because of that in Texas.