Jane Fonda Hails Blue Wave: 'We Have to Block What's Bad'

Jane Fonda celebrated a Democratic sweep of the House and Senate on Thursday night at the Women in Film Honors gala in Beverly Hills, telling reporters she "didn't dare imagine" the breadth of the party's Election Day gains.

"I'm so excited," Fonda said while practically skipping down the red carpet. "I felt pretty optimistic, but I didn't dare imagine that it would be this broad."

The longtime political activist said the results restored her faith in the electorate. "I'm just so proud of American people, that they were paying attention and it wasn't just about affordability," she said.

She singled out the acceptance speech of James Talarico, quoting his line: "We voted to love our neighbor." She called the speech "a masterpiece."

What does Fonda want from the new majority?

Fonda laid out a blunt agenda for Democratic lawmakers. "We have to be very smart," she said. "We can't return to the old neoliberalism. We have to take off our corporate hat, take off our donor hat, and start doing things that are going to help working people in this country, and we have to rule with love."

"We don't rule yet, but we have to block what's bad and fight for what's good," she added.

She warned against limiting the party's program to oversight. "It's not just about accountability and investigations because there's so much corruption and criminality, but it also has to be about really putting power in the hands of working people and making life better for them."

Why Fonda expects a different kind of Congress

Fonda said she personally knows many of the candidates who won their races. "I have a PAC and I've been traveling the country meeting them," she said. "These are different kinds of people."

She described the mood driving voters. "People are just pissed," she said. "They don't want crime. They don't want chaos. They don't want corruption."

Fonda also welcomed the record of women winning high offices. "I'm so excited with how many incredible women have been elected to high important offices," she said.

A gala honor for Salma Hayek

Fonda attended the gala in part to honor Salma Hayek, who received the Jane Fonda Humanitarian Award at the ceremony.

The actress's remarks cap a week of Democratic celebration and set a benchmark the new majority will be measured against: whether it delivers, as Fonda put it, for "working people in this country."