It is a high honor and a great personal privilege for me to nominate Sam Rasoul as the Democratic candidate for the United States House of Representatives from the Sixth District of Virginia. We all know that our country is at an important crossroads this year. We have some serious choices to make about who will live in the White House, who will be our new US Senator, and who will represent us in Congress.
About three-quarters of the American people now disapprove of the president's performance, an unprecedented number. It gets harder every day to find anyone who thinks the country is moving in the right direction. But one resident of the Sixth District has done everything he possibly can to support the president's bad decisions and failed policies: our congressman has been right there with the president every step of the way.Now, don't get me wrong. Over the last few years, I have been at numerous meetings and events where our congressman has been present. He has always been pleasant, polite and cordial. He has a wonderful family. When I was on Roanoke City Council, I considered his wife to be the best real estate attorney in town, because she always tried her best to meet the needs of her clients and satisfy the goals of the city's comprehensive plan in the rezoning requests she handled. As far as I can tell, whenever our congressman is in Roanoke or Lynchburg or Staunton or Waynesboro or Harrisonburg or Covington or Lexington, he's a fine fellow.
The problem comes when he gets to Washington. Up there, he forgets all about us and goes to work for the president and everybody but us. His record speaks for itself, so maybe I can best explain what I mean by reviewing some of it with you.
Let's start by talking about education. The president says he wants to leave no child behind, but his policies are leaving whole schools behind, and our congressman is right there with him every step of the way. The National Education Association gave him a grade of "F" last year. You see, he can't really be concerned about our public education system, because he's too busy working to support school vouchers, to give our tax money to private schools. But when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
What about health care? Our congressman voted against expanding the Children's Health Insurance Program. When the bill passed and the president vetoed it, our congressman was right there with him every step of the way, working to uphold the veto. He voted against funding to combat AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis, voted against mental health coverage, voted against importing prescription drugs to keep down the cost of medications. You see, he can't be concerned about whether we get the health care we need, because he's too busy working to support the insurance companies, pharmaceutical firms, and for-profit health-care corporations. But when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
How about housing? Last year, our congressman voted against the National Affordable Housing Trust Fund Act, the Homeowners Catastrophic Insurance Act, and the Mortgage Reform and Anti-Subprime Lending Act. Now, each of those bills passed the House of Representatives, but the president was against them, and our congressman was right there with him every step of the way, working against the interests of the average homeowner. We are seeing unprecedented levels of mortgage foreclosures. Our congressman doesn't seem to be able to help the hardworking, law-abiding families that are losing their homes. He's too busy working to make sure the brokerage firms, mortgage companies and wealthy investors don't get caught holding the bag. But when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
Speaking of hard-working people, our congressman voted against improvements in safety regulations for mining operations, voted against protection from employment discrimination based on sexual orientation, voted against increases in the minimum wage. Once again, the president was against these measures, and our congressman was right there with him every step of the way. He doesn't even seem to realize that the middle class, the bedrock of our way of life, is disappearing, because he's too busy working to protect big business. But when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
Where does our congressman stand on a woman's right to choose? He claims to be a conservative, in favor of smaller government and defending our traditional rights. But he's not satisfied with allowing a woman to make one of the most difficult and personal decisions she will ever have to face with the advice of her doctor, the support of her family, and the dictates of her own conscience. He's too busy working to support those who would use the police power of the state to make her decision for her, and lock up any doctor who thinks she should be able to make her own choice. But when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
Now, agriculture is something our congressman must understand. He is the former chair of the House Agriculture Committee and currently serves as the Ranking Republican. We all know what a tough time the small farmers in the Shenandoah Valley are having and how much they need help. But last summer, our congressman voted against the Farm Bill. Of course, this year is an election year, and Sam Rasoul is beginning already to make the incumbent a little nervous. In a rare exception to his habit of toeing the White House line, he and other members of his party have broken with the president to support the farm bill this year.
We value our fields and our forests. Most of us choose to live in the Sixth District because we love the beauty of the land around us. The trouble is: our congressman is too busy working for the giant agri-businesses and the timber industry to be worried about any of that. But when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
Now, let's talk about the most serious problems facing our country today: the war and our economy. The president deceived us and got us into a terrible mess in Iraq. As a veteran of the US Army myself, my heart bleeds for the men and women who have fought and died and continue to be sent into harm's way in support of a policy that has embarrassed our friends and emboldened our enemies around the world. More than five years ago, the president stood on the deck of an aircraft carrier and declared, "Mission accomplished." As an old staff sergeant, I think he was right: for right or wrong, the military had completed its job. But then they got another mission: Mission Impossible. They were asked to keep the peace and build a nation while civil war broke out all around them. Now there's no end in sight, no plan to stop sending more troops, and far too little help to heal their bodies and their souls when they come home. But guess who has been right there with the president every step of the way? Our congressman can't be worried about the troops or about our reputation as a peace-loving nation that only goes to war as a last resort, because he has been too busy working to help the defense contractors and the neo-conservative warmongers. But when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
In addition to the horrible human costs, we literally are going bankrupt over the financial costs of this war. We are forced to borrow billions every week, and the mounting debt is destroying the value of the dollar. Since almost everyone in the world uses dollars to buy oil, oil prices go up as the dollar goes down. Incredibly, the president tries to tell us that the price of gas is so high because demand is up and supplies are down, neither of which is true. What is true is that the rising cost of gas and diesel fuel drives up the cost of everything else, and the use of food crops to develop alternative energy is driving the price of groceries through the roof. Of course, we would love to be able to rely on our congressman to tell us what's really going on, but, as usual, he's right there with the president every step of the way. They can't be worried about the price at the pump, because they're too busy working to protect the record-breaking profits of the oil companies. But when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
Now, I keep talking about "our congressman," and some of you are having a little trouble with that term. You have a hard time claiming him as your congressman, but no matter where you go to check it out, you'll only find one name listed as the member of the House of Representatives from the Sixth District of Virginia. The real question needs to be, "Why is he our congressman?" And the answer to that question is, "Because we haven't done enough to be sure that somebody else gets elected to serve as our congressman."
I am nominating Sam Rasoul for the job, because he has given us the best chance we've had in years to change that. For almost a year and a half now, Sam has been working hard to give us that chance. He hasn't just worked to get himself elected to Congress; he has worked to help elect Democrats at all levels throughout the District. He has worked to get more people registered to vote and connected to the political process. He has worked especially hard to help young people understand the importance of getting involved in their democracy. But for all his hard work, all Sam has given us is a chance.
He can't do it by himself; even if all of his family and friends vote for him in November, it won't be enough. He needs all of us, but even if everyone in this room votes for him, it won't be enough. We have to leave here today and get out there and make sure we do enough to get him elected. If you've paid any attention at all, you know that Sam Rasoul is going to do his part. You know that he will continue to work hard every day between now and the election. So it's up to us: if we work half as hard as he does, he will be elected in November, and he will go to Washington. And when Sam gets to Washington, HE'LL BE WORKING FOR US!
Go SAM!