Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., delivered a speech at the Connecticut People’s World Committee’s Amistad Awards, which celebrated communist achievements and the 102nd anniversary of the Communist Party USA, reported The New York Post.
Blumenthal said he was “excited and honored” to speak at the communist group’s awards ceremony.
The event, which carried the subtitle “Making Good Trouble,” also served as an opportunity to recruit more Communist Party members.
“We invite you to join the Communist Party in this epic time,” event emcee Ben McManus said, “as we make good trouble to uproot systemic racism, retool the war economy, tax the rich, address climate change, secure voting rights and create a new socialist system that puts people, peace and planet before profits,”
Blumenthal, whose net worth stands at about $100 million, spoke about “holding corporations accountable for the basic treatment of the American people.”
The Connecticut People’s World Committee and the Communist Party USA have apparently abandoned their concerns over associating with capitalists who make fortunes through financial speculation and real-estate development.
Blumenthal gave Amistad Awards to three communists who “honor the great tradition of activism and standing up for individual workers.”
He also advocated for the Build Back Better Act, which has run into resistance from Sens. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., and Kyrsten Sinema, D-Ariz.
“There’s a lot to be working for in economic justice, in racial equity, in establishing a $15 minimum wage and holding corporations accountable for the basic treatment of the American people,” Blumenthal said. “We need to look at our entire tax system, beginning with Build Back Better.”
Blumenthal said the Senate Democrats should abolish the filibuster so that they can pass the federal elections bill H.R.1 and other radical legislation with a simple 51-vote majority.
The filibuster “has been misused by Republicans again and again and again,” he said.
The Connecticut People’s World Committee posted a video of the event on Facebook.
