Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA07) delivered an excellent speech Saturday night at the Blue Commonwealth Gala that I thought worth sharing. Thanks to Lisa Sales for videotaping it and sharing it publicly! See below for the video, as well a partial transcript, bolding added by me for emphasis (note: the audio quality is not great, probably because the acoustics in that room are really bad, also too many people talking during the speech, so I missed a few words here, but it’s great nonetheless!):
“In 2016, my daughter’s school made the rule that they couldn’t talk about politics anymore, because in their elementary school, talking about politics meant there was a child crying on the playground or upset on the bus. This is where we were in 2016, in a place where politics had become so broken and so divisive that mere talk of politics became unacceptable…Politics is personal. Politics is everywhere…
If you believe that nobody should lose their housing or their job because of who they love, that’s politics. If you believe that every child should have access to a quality education regardless of their zip code, that is politics. If you believe that nobody should have to choose between paying the rent and buying their insulin, that is politics. If you believe that children should be able to play on a playground and to school without being fearful of getting shot, that’s politics. If you believe we should honor the commitment that we have made to our country’s seniors and veterans, that is politics. If you believe that someone who has paid their debt to society should reenter the community and give back through access to meaningful work and civic engagement, that is politics. If you believe that those with substance abuse disorders need intervention and help, that is politics. If you believe that a child’s hair should not be the subject of disciplinary action, that is politics. If you believe that workers should be able to unify their voices together, that is politics. If you believe the water should be clean and we should invest in renewable energy, that is politics. If you believe a person working a full-time job should afford to support themselves and their family, that is politics. And if you believe women, victims and survivors, that is politics. And ladies and gentlemen, I’m a Democrat because those things, they’re not just politics, they’re Democratic policies…
…This country is a place of better, stronger opportunity when we acknowledge politics for the sake of our children, our neighbors and our country…But the perversion of our nation’s politics, the efforts to divide us, the anger and the hate that makes politics unacceptable in the schools, the toxic politics that ruins family Thanksgivings, these are the politics that leave us weaker as a country. And these are the politics that Democrats must reject. In these times of division and hurt, we must remember that everything is political, and that we must lead…[inaudible] the children, the seniors, the voiceless, those who think politics isn’t for them. And we must [learn?] that politics is everywhere, because everything is political.
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