The late Senator Dianne Feinstein was known in Congress for always doing what she thought was right — whether that meant going against members of her own party or even taunting little kids.
Feinstein (D-Calif.), who died Thursday at age 90, was once criticized for her response to a group of teenagers who implored her to support a Green New Deal in 2019.
In a viral video recirculated on social media after Feinstein’s death was announced, the octogenarian can be seen meeting with more than a dozen teenagers and pre-teens from the Sunrise Movement — a group that organizes young people to fight climate change — who wrote letters to her asking him to support the law.
When Feinstein tried to explain why she couldn’t support the bill as written, a young pig-tailed girl began pleading, saying: “Government should be of the people, by the people, and all for the people.”
“I’ve been doing this for 30 years,” the senator replied. “I know what I’m doing.
“You come in here and you say it has to go my way or the highway, I don’t respond to that,” Feinstein continued.
Senator Dianne Feinstein, a Democrat from California, met with a group of young activists from the Sunrise Movement, who asked her to support a Green New Deal in 2019.
“I was chosen, I just ran [in 2018]. I was elected by almost a million plurality votes and I know what I’m doing,” he said. “So you know, maybe people need to listen a little.”
An older teenager later tried to confront Feinstein about her statement.
“I hear what you’re saying, but we’re the ones who vote [for] you, you should listen to us,” he said.
In response, Feinstein asked the girl how old she was – to which the youngster replied that she was 16.
“Well, you didn’t vote for me,” Feinstein shot back, as the pig-tailed young lady once again yelled, “It’s okay, we’re going to be the ones affected.”
When a teenager says “We are the people who vote [for] you, you should have listened to us,” replied Feinstein, “Well you didn’t vote.” Feinstein told the young activist that she knew what she was doing after more than a quarter century in Congress.
Later, another young woman chimed in, claiming: “The cost of not taking this action is far higher than the cost of the Green New Deal, and there is huge popularity for this bill across the country.
“And we ask you to be brave,” he said, arguing that “any plan that does not take bold and transformative action will not be what we need.”
“Well, you know better than I do,” Feinstein replied. “So I think one day, you should run for the Senate and then do it your own way.”
“Good, I will,” replied the teenager.
The Sunrise Movement claimed in a tweet that Feinstein responded to their letter “with arrogance and disrespect.”
“The reaction is why young people really want new leadership in Congress,” he said.
A young girl shouted “It’s okay, we’ll be the ones affected.”
But a longer version of the video, posted to Facebook, shows Feinstein explaining why she won’t support the bill.
“There’s no way to pay for it,” he said, adding: “It doesn’t have one Republican vote, and Republicans control the US Senate.”
“I’ve been in the Senate for over a quarter of a century, and I know what can pass and I know what can’t.
“The resolution will not pass the Senate, and you can take it back to whoever sent you here,” Feinstein concluded.
Feinstein died Friday at age 90, her office confirmed.AP
Near the end of the viral video, as Feinstein tried to end the meeting, a woman told her that her children “have decades of life they wish they had left, and your leadership is as wonderful, as wonderful as it can be.”
“That doesn’t work with me, thank you,” the senator replied.
After the video went viral on social media and sparked a backlash, Feinstein was forced to release a statement saying she “always welcomes the opportunity to hear from Californians who feel passionately about this issue, and it remains my priority.
“Unfortunately, it was a short meeting, but I wanted the kids to know they were heard loud and clear,” she said.
“I have done everything I can to enact real and meaningful climate change legislation.”
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Source: thtrangdai.edu.vn/en/
