Maloney: “I think the country has kicked us in the rear end …”
POUGHKEEPSIE – Congressman Sean Patrick Maloney (D, NY-18) held an informal town hall-style meeting with constituents at Poughkeepsie High School Sunday afternoon. About two dozen people showed up, asking questions mostly concerning affordable health care.
This is at least the 15th town hall Maloney has held this year, according to his own estimate. “One of the things Democrats need to do, is stop talking to people who only agree with us; this is about addition, not just being right,” he said. “What I have tried to do in my public service, is let people know that I respect them, like them, and I want to help them, and I don’t have all the answers. I don’t think every one of my neighbors who voted for Donald Trump is a bad person,” Maloney added, noting that 30 percent of those voting for Maloney also voted Trump.
“Where we can make progress is fix what’s wrong with the Affordable Care Act,” Maloney said, noting that protecting pre-existing conditions and Medicaid expansion is top burner right now, rather than bashing Republicans and attempting to impeach the President.
Other issues covered by the congressman include medical marijuana laws, foreign policy with Syria and Iran, and veteran issues. Maloney said there was a bright side to the Trump victory last November. “I think the country has kicked us in the rear end, a little bit; we clearly got out of touch with enough of the folks, that we lost the White House. It’s kind of what the founders built into the system.”
Maloney said that the dark cloud of politics comes with a silver lining called the American Way. “If this were Europe, sooner or later there would be a revolution. In America we get caught short, and then we circle back around.”
