'I Just Want To Point Out The Hypocrisy...': Dan Goldman Blasts GOP Over Interpreting Laws

last year

At a House Oversight Committee hearing last week, Rep. Dan Goldman (D-NY) spoke about discrimination in work.

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00:00to call on Mr. Goldman next. So, Chair recognizes Mr. Goldman for five minutes.

00:05Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It's been interesting listening to my colleagues on the other side of

00:11the aisle use phrases such as, quote, follow the science, unquote, and black letter law.

00:21Since science overwhelmingly has established that climate change is real and caused by human

00:28beings, especially oil and gas companies, I'm sure they will agree that if we are to follow the

00:32science, then we should stop denying climate change. Mr. Berry, do you agree with the Supreme

00:40Court's rationale and analysis in the Bruin decision? So, I'm not deeply familiar with it,

00:49but I, directionally, what I understand, it seems to construe the Second Amendment

00:57as a robust individual right. And would you consider it to be a strict constructionist

01:04interpretation of the Second Amendment? My impression is that it is, it attempts to be a

01:11faithful exploration of the original public meaning of the Second Amendment.

01:15The original public meaning. Okay. Just so everyone is aware, the Bruin decision

01:23interpreted the Second Amendment to only allow for gun regulation that existed at the time,

01:30or could have existed in 1789, when the Second Amendment was ratified. Of course, there were

01:35no machine guns, there were no bump stocks, you know, the list goes on as to many, many

01:40technological advances that did not exist then. But it is the original meaning.

01:48Ms. Wiley, if we're going to talk about the original meaning of the actual Black Letter

01:55law, was there any evidence in 1964 of pervasive discrimination against white people?

02:04No. So, it's fair to say this Title VII was, of course, not written because to right the

02:13wrongs of discrimination against white people in 1964. That's correct. So if one were to use

02:20the original meaning at the time that something was ratified or enacted, then discrimination

02:29against whites would not be included as a cognizable claim under Title VII. Is that right?

02:36No, because it is true that Title VII prevents all forms of racial discrimination. The reality

02:43of why the law was drafted and passed in the first place was because there were no protections

02:50that recognized that Black people, that Native Americans, that Pacific Islanders,

02:56that other people of color who were not being protected by government from discrimination,

03:02deserve to be protected by government from discrimination. Because what was happening

03:07for a hundred years after the winning of a civil war to create true equal opportunity

03:13is that it was formally and constantly denied people because they were not white.

03:20I agree with you. So, it didn't make it okay to discriminate against white people.

03:24It just made it clear you can't allow it against everyone else.

03:28I'm making somewhat of a rhetorical point because I do agree with you

03:32that we should not have discrimination based on race. I just want to point out the hypocrisy and

03:37the convenience that folks on the other side of the aisle like to use in a cynical way black

03:44letter law and the original meaning of things when it's convenient but not when it's not convenient.

03:51The fact of the matter is that 82 percent of business leaders consider diversity initiatives

03:57to be essential to their business strategy. Two percent of business leaders say that these

04:03initiatives are not important. Diversity initiatives are credited with improving

04:07business performance, enhancing talent acquisition and retention, enhancing competitiveness,

04:13and fostering innovation. And 45 percent of business leaders said that the main reason

04:18they have diversity initiatives is to improve business performance. This is motivated by

04:24businesses and it is demanded by consumers, just like ESD. And so, if Republicans profess to be

04:33the party of deregulation and free markets, why won't you just let the market decide whether

04:41diversity and inclusion or ESD is something that the market wants? Why do you now want regulation?

04:49The fact of the matter is you want regulation because you want to go back to the white

04:56replacement theory and a time when, in 1964, we needed to pass a law to protect discrimination

05:05against people of color and underserved and marginalized groups, not against white people.

05:12And it is a shame that this entire Project 2025 includes attacks on immigrants and the

05:21expulsion of immigrants and the exclusion of immigrants who make up so much of our economy

05:27and are essential to so many aspects, both from agricultural workers to highly skilled workers

05:33with H-1B visas. And so, I wish that we would have some consistency from the other side of the

05:39aisle in how we view diversity as we approach with Project 2025, with immigration, and with

05:47our employment laws. And I yield back.

'I Just Want To Point Out The Hypocrisy...': Dan Goldman Blasts GOP Over Interpreting Laws

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