March 8 – by Brian Biggane
West Palm Beach, FL – Senator Ron Wyden, the dean of the West Coast Congressional delegation who has served the state of Oregon in Congress for the past 45 years, was the guest speaker at a Palm Beach County Democratic Party event Sunday, March 8 at Table 26 restaurant in West Palm Beach.
Wyden spoke briefly before calling up Alex Vindman, the U.S. Senate candidate and American war hero, from his seat in the audience, whereupon the two fielded questions from the 60-person audience for about 30 minutes.
Both men were outspoken in their criticism of President Donald Trump while touting the credentials of Democrat Emily Gregory, who is running in the District 87 special election to flip the State House seat in which Mar-a-Lago is located.
Introduced by former County Chairwoman Terri Rizzo as a strong advocate for health care, Wyden came to the defense of Medicare and prescription drugs while stating the new TrumpRx brand is a scam benefitting Trump and his children.
“We don’t have the resources for health care because the billionaires got the tax breaks,” he said. “I’m taking them away in the next Congress with a bill that gives everybody in America the chance to get ahead.”
Jumping over to the Epstein Files, Wyden introduced Vindman as “an expert” on ties between the Trump administration and Russia and said Democrats “caught Epstein with 4,725 wires” to Russian interests and said if Democrats win a majority in the Senate that case will get the attention it deserves.
Vindman, one of several candidates running in the August primary in hopes of unseating Republican Ashley Moody, said he learned enough about Iran while serving his country in Iraq to know the war Trump initiated isn’t likely to end anytime soon,
“This is the second time the U.S. attacked them,” he said, referring to the bombing missions last June aimed at ending Iran’s nuclear program. “This time they want to send a message that we can’t keep doing this over and over. So they’re going to keep the Middle East on fire to make sure there are significant costs.
“I’ve seen estimates of this costing a billion dollars a day, maybe more,” Vindman added. “Could you imagine those assets being deployed in this state?”
Returning to health care, Wyden said Vindman had informed him Florida doesn’t receive any money from the federal Medicaid program.
“How do you make an argument for not participating in a program where the federal government is doing most of the heavy lifting? Most of the money is on the federal side,” Wyden said. “This is a chance for people to stay healthy, stay out of hospitals and the like. And this is going to be a priority in the next Congress.”
His next statement resulted in a robust round of applause: “Everybody in America should have the ability to get Medicare choices for their health care.”
Wyden, who stands to be Chairman of the Finance Committee if the Democrats win a majority in the Senate this year, said a primary goal will be to change the current system in which America’s wealthiest citizens avoid paying FICA taxes that support Social Security.
“If you’re a nurse, or working at a gas station, or taking care of somebody, you pay FICA, and if you’re a billionaire with an accountant you don’t. We’re going to change that.”
Vindman is one of six declared candidates for the Senate seat currently held by Republican Ashley Moody, the others being Angie Nixon, Alan Grayson, Joey Atkins, Alex Gould and Hector Mujica. You can more information about candidates at our website Candidates for Office.
