NEWBERRY — With the Democratic Presidential Preference Primary happening at the end of this month, U.S. Representative Anthony Brown (D-Maryland) stopped by Newberry to express his support for Pete Buttigieg for president of the United States.
Brown stopped by Precision Barber Shop, 1217 Friend Street, Newberry, to speak to voters about Buttigieg’s campaign and why he supports him.
“I’m a member of Congress, I’ve been in the public service for a while, I was in the Maryland General Assembly, I used to be the lieutenant governor of Maryland. I ran unsuccessfully as governor of Maryland. I learned from that unsuccessful race that in life, you have your ups and downs, your wins and losses — whether you are winning or losing, you are always learning,” he said. “Then I had the opportunity to run for Congress, and I’m now in Congress.”
Brown said he spent 30 years in the U.S. Army, five in active duty and 25 in the Reserve — during his time in the Reserve he did a tour of duty in Iraq.
“I love this country, just like each and every one of you, and it has been an honor to serve in uniform. You don’t have to be a member of Congress to know that we are facing some challenges in this country. You think internationally, our country is on the brink of war with Iran, you have Russia being aggressive, China is a competitor, we don’t know what’s going on with North Korea,” Brown said. “When I think about leadership in America, I think about a guy like Pete Buttigieg.”
Brown said one reason he likes Buttigieg is because he served in the military.
“I told you I was in the Army, Pete was Navy. I love Pete Buttigieg, but I’m always gonna want to say, beat Navy,” Brown said. “Pete served in uniform, he’s a veteran, served in Afghanistan as a Navy Intelligence officer. Now I don’t think it is a prerequisite that you served in uniform to become president of the United States — a few presidents have served in uniform, not all of them have. I can tell you one thing, the next president of this country is going to have to face that difficult decision of sending men and women of the United States into harms way, to promote our values, protect our freedoms around the world and here at home.”
Brown added that he would like to know that there is a leader that knows what it means to go into harms way, like Buttigieg.
“That’s why I like Pete Buttigieg, let me tell you why else I like Pete Buttigieg,” Brown said. “You don’t have to be a member of Congress to know these are challenging times we live in. Dealing with college affordability, have an opioid crisis that is getting worse and not better, families struggling with healthcare. In the black community, when the country sneezes, we catch a cold. That is because for generations and decades we’ve been marginalized, discounted, set aside.”
Brown said that Buttigieg has a plan and he understands that, “the rising tide doesn’t necessarily lift every vote.”
“That’s a misnomer, misbelief — yea, we want the tide to rise. So we say we are going to expand healthcare for all. You’ve got to be intentional and purposeful if you are going to address the challenges in the black community,” Brown said. “I know that from my experience in Maryland, 25 percent of the people I represent are African American — we’ve got a few challenges.”
Brown said Buttigieg has a plan, and they are going to create health equity zones — where they pour resources into communities.
Brown gave an example of racial disparages in health care, saying that an African American woman was more likely to die from breast cancer than a white woman.
Brown said to fix the racial disparages, you cannot just say you are going to eliminate race.
“If there was intentional racism that held us down, you have to be intentional in the fix — so we are going to be intentional in health care,” Brown said. “(He has) a plan that is intentional when it comes to black economic empowerment. We are talking about tripling the number of black entrepreneurs in 10 years.”
Brown said they are going to invest more in minority held banks. He said that most black owned businesses are more likely to get a loan from a black owned bank, he said while that is not always the case, there is a correlation.
“Improve employment opportunities in the black community. In the private sector in the economy, two out of three Americans work for a small business. While not always the case, chances are if you are a Korean American who owns a businesses, chances are you probably hire a lot of Korean Americans. If you are African American, chances are you are hiring more African American employees,” Brown said. “So if you are going to boost employment in the black community, start by investing in black businesses.”
Brown said there is another plan for those who graduate from college with student loans who want to start a business.
“We have a plan that if you create three jobs for other people in five years, we are going to defer then forgive student loans — to encourage entrepreneurship,” he said. “Call this the Douglass plan, intentional, quantifiable, purposeful plan to address generations of structural, institutional inequities in our community.”
Brown ended by saying that Buttigieg is an American veteran, mid-city mayor, who is committed to the United States.
“South Carolina, you have an important responsibility, the country is looking at what you’re doing. You are one of the early states, set the tone of this presidential election. There is a movement in America that wants change. This campaign is about belonging, understanding, each and every one of us has a responsibility to make a contribution,” Brown said. “Respect the dignify of every individual, so much more that unites us than divides. That is what Pete Buttigieg stands for and that’s why I support him for president.”
