Blog: Moving Forward

Statement

On the anniversary of Martin Luther King Jr.'s historic speech at the Lincoln Memorial, conservative TV personality Glenn Beck is holding a "Restoring Honor" rally aimed at adding fuel to the movement of hate, divisiveness and fear-mongering he has championed for years.

The rallying cry of Glenn Beck, Sarah Palin and others who are now the predominant voices of the Republican Party is that we need to "take our country back." When the President was in town this month, I spoke about how irrational and wrong this philosophy is for our country.

The preferred message of so many on the right, the slogan they keep repeating: "We need to take our country back."

Think about that. "We need to take our country back"?

This divisive and offensive message has never made any sense to me. Who are the "we" they are talking about? Take it back from "whom"? And how far back do you want to go?

Back to the failed Bush/Kirk economic policies that added more to our national debt than all the previous administrations combined? To one of the greatest periods of job loss in this country's history, that Congressman Kirk helped create? To tax breaks for corporations that ship jobs overseas? To tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, with zero plans to pay for them? To the last decade, when the economic engine of the American middle class was systematically undermined?

"Take our country back"?

That's offensive. It's outrageous. And we can't let this language and this ideology continue.

We need to move this country forward, not backward.

Today, across Illinois, thousands of supporters are going door-to-door as part of OFA's "Move America Forward" day of action. We have hundreds from our own campaign who are participating and I'm going to be canvassing myself in a few hours. You can find a local canvass in your area at this link.

We have an important message to take voters, folks.

The differences between the parties could not be clearer at this moment. The modern Republican Party bears no resemblance whatsoever to the party of Lincoln or MLK Jr. It has been hijacked by the twin forces of corporate greed and rabid intolerance.

And when those forces say they want to "take our country back," what they're really saying is they want to drag our country back in time. Back when corporations were unregulated. Back when the middle class barely existed and all of society's fortunes were pooled at the top. Back when seniors lived without security.

I reject this dangerous philosophy. My philosophy is more akin to that of Bobby Kennedy:

There are those who look at things the way they are, and ask why... I dream of things that never were, and ask why not?

That's the basis of my campaign, and the basis of our progressive movement.

I dream of an America that does not depend on foreign oil and ask, why not?

I dream of an America where the prairies of Illinois are filled with wind farms and solar panels and ask, why not?

I dream of a nation where no American ever dies because of a lack of health insurance, where two people who love each other can get married no matter their gender, and where policy is shaped by principle, not campaign contributions, and I ask, why not?

That's my dream, my vision for moving our country forward, and I think a lot of you share that dream. And the only thing standing between that vision of a brilliant, 21st century America isn't a few thousand conservatives rallying in D.C.

It's us, and our willingness to get engaged, stay engaged, to elect progressive leaders and hold them accountable.

I am fired up about this election, about moving this country forward, and about taking our message directly to voters today.

Find a local canvass in your area, and let's win these races not just for today's America, but for generations to come.

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