On June 3, 2008, in the twilight hours of her historic Presidential campaign, then-Senator Hillary Clinton delivered a speech to her supporters which has become, for me, the consummate moment of the 2008 campaign season; and now, more than ever, I find the words of our invaluable Secretary of State to carry incredible meaning.
For the past seven years, so many people in this country have felt invisible, like your president didn't even really see you. I have seen the shuttered factories, the jobs shipped overseas, the families struggling to afford gas and groceries ...
As a Dean supporter in 2004 and Clinton supporter in 2008, I've gotten quite used to feeling maligned as a Democrat. As a young citizen, witnessing many of my counterparts whose enthusiasm brimmed in 2008 experience emotional collapse and political ennui as a result of Democratic governance seems just a bit immature. Call me a member of the "Pols are pols" society.
I, like many of my fellow Clinton supporters, swallowed hard and supported Barack Obama in the general. Ultimately, what matters the most are our causes, which no single individual is greater than. I was greatly dismayed to see so-called "PUMAs", many of whom were long-time Democrats and Democratic activists, turn against their own causes for the sake of their lingering bitterness from the primary season.
Now, in 2010, it appears that the angsty sentiments of the PUMAs (thought certainly not the PUMAs themselves) have gained great bearing in our party--the sentiments of cutting off your nose to spite your face. Many Democrats, including many members of the "Democratic wing" are preparing to stay home in November in order to teach the establishment a lesson.
In all of the states you voted because you wanted a leader who will stand up for the deepest values of our party. A party that believes everyone should have a fair shot at the American Dream. A party that cherishes every child, values every family, and counts every single vote.
Being an invisible American isn't easy. We're the ones denied the right to share our last moments with our life partners. The ones buried in student debt and saddled with $13,000 each in deficits, courtesy of Republican saboteur governance, irresponsible taxcuts, and criminal negligence from 2001 to 2009. The Americans denied a voice in the 2008 Democratic primaries because our record-shattering election contests were shamefully held a week too early. The elderly and disabled, who rely on government support to survive and whom have been ridiculed and disenfranchised from the 2000 Florida recount to the 2008 caucuses. Manufacturing families from Detroit, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, Cincinnati, and countless other industrial boontowns who now drive down once prosperous streets littered with abandoned buildings. The 10% unemployed. The Americans living one auto accident or illness away from sinking in the economic ocean.
... I’ve also seen unions retraining workers to build energy efficient buildings, innovators designing cars that run on fuel cells and bio-fuels and electricity, cars that get more miles per gallon than ever before, cars that will cut the cost of driving, reduce our reliance on foreign oil and fight global warming.
I have met too many people without health care, just a diagnosis away from financial ruin, but I have also seen the scientists and researchers solving the medical mysteries and finding the treatments and cures that are transforming lives. I have seen the struggling schools with the crumbling classrooms and the unfair burdens imposed by No Child Left Behind, but I have also met dedicated and caring teachers who use their own savings to buy supplies, and students passionately engaged in the issues of our time, from ending the genocide in Darfur to once again making the environment a central issue of our day.
Yet still, we have seen so many advances that we would have never seen in the freakshow that might have been continued Republican rule. Cash for clunkers, a program designed to promote fuel efficiency in America, could have never seen light of day in a Republican administration. The Lily Ledbetter act, a great advancementin employees' and womens' rights. A reversed trend on job losses. Larger tax refunds for lower earners. The nations first meaningful, comprehensive, progressive (if truly imperfect) health reform bill in my lifetime. The end of torture.
None of you is invisible to me. You never have been. I see you, and I know how hardworking you are. I’ve been fighting for you my whole adult life, and I will keep standing for you and working for you every single day because in your courage and character, your energy and ingenuity, your compassion and faith, I see the promise of America every day. The challenges we face are great, but our determination is greater.
As we head into the Fall election season, it's important to remember that the imperfections of our political process and our political party cannot be a detriment to our success. We cannot become our own worst enemies by abandoning our causes because we're tired of fighting for them. The time is coming soon when we must again pound pavement, knock on doors, and yes, contribute to our candidates and our causes. Because now that we're not so invisible, I'd like to keep my nose.