WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, Democratic Whip Katherine Clark (MA-5) spoke at the Hands Off rally taking place on the National Mall in Washington D.C. Below is a transcript of her remarks:
"Oh, it is such a beautiful sight to see over 100,000 patriots. So, I'm the Whip in the House, and I count the votes and make sure that we stay unified. And I want to tell you, you are putting on one hell of a whip operation here. You are not just saying ‘hands off,’ you're not just standing up for your family and your community, you are the patriots standing up for our country.
"This is all about all of us versus the billionaire class and the politicians that they have purchased. This is about a Republican Party that has not betrayed just you, but the very people who voted for them. So we say to them, hands off our Social Security.
"Hands off our Medicaid.
"Hands off our public schools.
"Hands off our child care.
"Hands off our science and research.
"Hands off our veterans benefits.
"Hands off our civil rights.
"Hands off our bodies!
"And hands off our vote.
"We do not want a government of, by, and for the billionaire class. And we want to make sure that you are heard on the other end of this Mall at the Capitol and right over there at the White House. And we're going to tell them, 'We see your cowardice. We see that you have chosen power over your country, over democracy. And we're here to tell you we're not going to stand for it.’
"What we're going to do is stand together against the lies they're telling us every single day. Against the fascist lie that our bodies are not our own, that non-white means non-qualified, that billionaires are worthy of dignity more than working families. The lie that our children should go to school hungry and that our seniors should die in poverty.
"So, these have been desperate times, and we can get full of despair. That's their strategy. But I'll tell you, look around. Our power lies in our numbers. So we're going to keep up the fight, and we are going to build a future that is worthy of our children.
To view a video of her remarks, click HERE.