Notes from the Road: Stronger Together, Forward Together
There’s a joyful noise in Utah, Democrats. I heard it myself this week in Salt Lake City, where the DNC’s Forward Together Bus Tour rolled in to hear from voters in one of this election’s many new swing states.
As our staff have traveled the country, driving voters to the polls, getting them registered, and hearing their stories, one eternal truth has become very, very clear — we all come to this party from different backgrounds and with different experiences, but our values are the same, and we express those values with our votes.
A student in Georgia who wanted to know why she hadn’t heard Donald Trump talk about student loan debt. An immigrant who wants her daughter to grow up in a country that sees her worth. A man from Indian Country who knows how hard his people have fought for the right to vote. A retired steelworker and WWII vet whose service should be respected. A campaign volunteer who wants to see her state turn blue.
As Hillary Clinton says, we are stronger together, and that’s why we’re moving forward together.
I want to tell you about one of the many Mormons for Hillary who came out to meet the Forward Together bus yesterday. Elspeth is from Layton, Utah and an Air Force wife. She talked to us about how her faith informs her vote, and let me tell you, as a Catholic, her reason for being a Democrat and supporting Hillary rings so true to me.
“Like many Utahns, I actually started out Republican. As I have grown up and I’ve had different experiences and I’ve met different people as I’ve lived in different places, I’ve realized that there are a lot of people that need help in our country. As Mormons, we all believe that everybody is a child of our Heavenly Father, and because of that, we are all brothers and sisters and we all have a responsibility to love and help each other. As a Mormon, I’ve found that over time, the Democratic Party is more in line with my beliefs of helping people, and because of that, I support Hillary Clinton to be president.”
No matter what brought you to our party, we all share the same values: Inclusion. Equality. Justice for every American. And it is our shared responsibility to elect leaders who share those values. So no matter what state you live in, whether it’s deep red or bright blue — and especially if it’s purple — you’ve got a job to do over the next ten days:
1) VOTE: Too many people have fought too hard, shed too much blood, and sacrificed too much to guarantee your right to vote for you to let it go to waste. Visit www.IWillVote.com right now to see if you can vote early, and to get all the information you need to cast your ballot between now and November 8.
2) VOLUNTEER: It sounds cliché, but take it from me, it’s cliché for a reason — you don’t want to wake up the morning after Election Day wondering what you could have done differently, if you could have done more. Whether it’s making calls from home, knocking on doors, or using your legal skills to protect the vote, there’s a job for you in our party.
I can’t say this enough — thank you for being a Democrat. And if we all dig in now and get the hard work done, I look forward to toasting our first woman president, a blue Senate, and the next generation of newly elected Democrats with all of you next month.
