After delivering a keynote speech at the South Carolina Democratic Party dinner, Congressman Dean Phillips, also a presidential candidate, opened up about the challenges associated with pursuing generational change in politics.
“My style of leadership is always to go upstream,” said Rep. Phillips. He noted that if America were to solve problems by “anticipating what’s coming, and investing a little bit ahead of time,” everyone would be better off. Speaking of the crisis in the Middle East and the situation in Palestine, Phillips said that “we have mismanaged this for literally decades.”
The challenger to President said that Joe Biden “has done a fine job of supporting Israel,” but the fact is that “we have eight Americans being held hostage” for the first time since 1979. Philips said that the hostage situation by Hamas should be on the news “every morning, every noon, and every night” and expressed his frustration for why this is not the case.”I think we should be a little bit more intentional about extracting them,” he said.
Speaking about the lasting solution for Palestine, he emphasized that “there has to be a state of Palestine,” and if necessary, it must be “imposed” by a multinational group. “And we’ve got to have a Marshall Plan to invest in the state of Palestine,” he added.
Discussing the need for a generational change in politics “from the West Bank to the West Wing,” Dean Phillips asserted that it won’t happen as long as “the same people in the same places [are] doing the same things.”
Phillips expressed his respect for President Biden, referring to him as “my president” who has visited his home. However, he noted that many individuals who desire to participate in American democracy have been denied the opportunity to serve the country.
“There’s nowhere for them to go when people have been there for 20, 30, 40, 50 years,” said Phillips. “I think that’s a problem.”
