Former President Barack Obama delivers remarks at Democrats election rally

Governor Evers he has cut taxes for the middle class put money back in your pockets and I'd be remiss if I didn't say it he's fixing the damn roads and what does Tim Michaels want to focus on what does he want to do yeah we're already booing right radical divisive out of touch policies he doesn't support marriage equality wants to ban same-sex marriage he wants to lower the funding for public schools defund our Public Schools he wants to put firearms on school grounds and he keeps telling us hey I'm a businessman I'll figure it out where have we heard that before well what do we know about the Michaels Corporation multiple instances of sexual harassment and abuse and when women reported it they were fired guess what Tim leadership starts at the top we don't want that kind of culture in Wisconsin and something that is personal to me as a mother by choice and as a nurse he says this archaic cruel medically unsound 1849 abortion law is an exact mirror of his views hey look I'm on the health committee and the assembly I get to see their agenda up close and when all these anti-abortion bills came and all these men and they were all men who testified I asked simple clinical medical questions and what did the chair of that committee do he gaveled me so I should stop asking questions and called me a nasty woman so for all of you other nasty women out there I will not shut up I will not be quiet and we're gonna fight like hell all of this is on the ballot this November and I know you are here because you want us to win and you want us to get across that finish line but I'm going to have to ask you to dig a Little Deeper we have 10 days left folks you need to make those phone calls knock on those doors and you need to vote and bring three people with you [Applause] okay I live in Waukesha County I have traveled across the state of Wisconsin I know there is more that unites us than divides us we are on the right side of history for this election [Applause] so I am so excited to be your nominee for lieutenant governor and I am so excited to make sure that you vote this November 8th but I also have to introduce somebody else who has been fighting for you for the past four years and that is your attorney general Josh call hey can we hear it for your next lieutenant governor Sarah Rodriguez hello Milwaukee it is great to be here uh what a crowd this is outstanding and what a incredible four years it has been you know four years ago wisconsinites came out in huge numbers and voted for a change of Direction and it has been four years that I don't think anybody could have imagined think about it we've had unprecedented Republican obstructionism we had a once in a century pandemic we had an attempt to overturn the results of a presidential election but after four years I am proud to be able to stand before you and say that on issue after issue that we talked about in 2018 we have delivered for wisconsinites now as your attorney general my top priority is Public Safety and we have put murderers sex offenders and Drug traffickers Behind Bars we've also worked to hold big Pharma accountable for its role in the opioid epidemic and help secure we help secure over 400 million dollars that's going to go to communities across the state to fight that crisis we've also worked to make our schools safer launching a 24 7 tip line that anybody can contact with school safety concerns to get resources to help kids and to keep our kids safe we've held polluters accountable as well and we have sued pfas manufacturers and marketers when we get those toxic forever chemicals out of our water it needs to be the polluters who made Millions who are paying to clean it up not Wisconsin taxpayers now I worked with Democrats and Republicans to reform our sexual assault kit laws so every kid gets submitted to the crime labs and we never have another backlog of untested sexual assault kids we also got Wisconsin out of that awful lawsuit that was seeking to end the Affordable Care Act or as you may have heard it called Obamacare [Applause] now after those four years Wisconsin voters have a very clear choice there are a lot of issues at stake in this election but fundamentally the question for wisconsinites boils down to this Do you want to build on the progress we have made and keep Wisconsin moving forwards or do you want to see Wisconsin taken backwards in some cases Way backwards you know Barack Obama is not on the ballot this year but a lot of the ideas that he fought for the policies he fought for the future he fought for is on the ballot in 2022. now on Public Safety I have proposed investing 115 million dollars in safer communities through community policing officer recruitment retention and wellness victim Services Mental Health crisis response advocacy for people struggling with substance use disorder re-entry programs and some common sense gun safety measures like Universal background checks and that's a clear difference in the AGS race my opponent has offered no solutions for Public Safety funding in Wisconsin he has opposed Common Sense gun safety legislation not even speaking out in favor of universal background checks on reproductive Freedom the stakes are clear as well we have begun to hear some of the horrific stories that people knew would happen if roe were overturned there's the 10 year old rape victim in Ohio who had to travel to Indiana to get the health care she needed in Wisconsin one woman had a partial miscarriage and was left to bleed for 10 days before a doctor was able to intervene I heard from one OB GYN who told me that when people come in with planned pregnancies what are usually the most joyous appointments she has she said now sometimes parents come in and they're terrified they're worried about what's going to happen if there's a complication that they weren't expecting and I remember those appointments with my kids I'm sure all the parents here do as well I remember the 20-week ultrasound when you count the fingers and the toes the idea that parents now have to be worried that if they get pregnant their kids at home might be left without a parent because of a Draconian backwards 19th century law it's wrong and four days after a roe was overturned I joined Governor Evers and announced that we had filed a lawsuit to block enforcement of that backwards law now we are going to keep fighting to block enforcement of that law and to restore reproductive freedom but this election presents a Crystal Clear Choice on that issue as well my Republican opponent has not only pledged to enforce that ban he won't rule out enforcement in cases involving rape or incest and he has suggested that we should Empower DA's in neighboring counties to prosecute abortions do you want our DA's turned into roving abortion ban enforcers the stakes on that issue are huge and last but certainly not least the stakes for our democracy are enormous in this election you know before the 2020 election my Administration defended against efforts to purge tens of thousands of Voters from the rolls and we won we stood up to Michael gableman and his sham investigation and while it lasted longer than it should we won and when Donald Trump and his allies tried to overturn the will of Wisconsin voters in lawsuit after lawsuit we defended the will of Wisconsin voters and we won every single case but there's a warning in those cases too because one of those cases was decided four to three in our state supreme court that's how close we were to having our election thrown into chaos and just imagine if our attorney general had been a friend of Michael gablemans who supported his investigation or had said that our election Commissioners broke the law and should be removed from office and you don't have to be that imaginative because that is my opponent in this election I think we need an attorney general who stands up for our democracy not one who stands with Michael gableman [Applause] so this is Wisconsin and as you may have heard we sometimes have close elections here in 2018 I won by .65 percentage points 0.65 four of our last six presidential elections were decided by less than one percentage point Governor Evers won by 1.1 percentage point or as I call it a landslide and we are going to have close elections again this year you have it within your power to decide what direction the future of our state takes to decide if we go backwards or we go forward you have that power so what I am asking everybody here to do is to make sure you get out to vote but to do more than that make sure to talk to your friends and your family and your neighbors and make sure that they are registered and they get out to vote make sure you talk to your your friends and everybody you know about the stakes in this election because if wisconsinites vote in this election we're going to win if we vote we win so everybody please get out and vote let's keep this state moving forward and with that I have the privilege of introducing one of the great members of Congress in the United States your congresswoman Gwen Moore [Applause] what's up people you know Josh I'm a little disappointed because I thought you would introduce me as the former president [Applause] because people are excited to see the former president [Applause] and I am the former president of the student council of North Division High School [Applause] go Blue Devils [Applause] so you know listening to our wonderful attorney general Josh called it's really hard not to be reminded of what is at stake he talked about that 1849 abortion law uh that the Republicans gaveled in my son is on the is in the state legislature he said they gaveled in and they gaveled out he told me that the gaveled in and gaveled out in 16 seconds I found out that he lied it was 17 seconds I want to tell y'all something I'm a mother I'm a grandmother I'm a great grandmother that makes me a Triple G great grandmother Gwen I'm a uppercase G and let me tell you for all y'all worried about how to make ends meet worried about inflation imagine what it's going to be like with forced childbirth I'm just saying I'm just saying you know what one of the questions let me keep it real with y'all today oh one of the questions that I get asked a lot because people are in distress it's been horrible two years of a pandemic an uncertainty all the stuff they'll say well why why should I vote who should I I don't know nothing about what's happening I'm talking this is the truth through real conversations I've been voting and ain't nothing changed why should I vote who should I vote for I'm I'm gonna ask the same question they asked me the same question that Janet Jackson has what you done done for me lately so I want y'all to relax cause I'm gonna run down just a few of the things they got some guy back there from Hawaii somewhere that's going to tell you more but right now I got the mic now who wasn't gave y'all them twelve hundred dollar survival checks Democrats come on help me help me with my speech y'all who was it who was it what what what governor put those shots in your arms and got to school's back going was that a Democrat or Republican who was it that kept y'all from getting evicted was that a Democrat or a Republican [Applause] who who was that uh who helped build the strongest economy in the world invested in workers rebuilding the infrastructure without one single Republican vote that was Democrats yet oh y'all all y'all all y'all union members where are y'all at Labor [Applause] can I get a witness who was it saved the Central States pensions everybody talked about the supply chain problems Mike I was on the science committee along with the Ways and Means Committee so I helped get y'all a little child tax credits did y'all appreciate that all right but I was also on the science committee to help get the chips act and let me tell you this is going to bring Milwaukee is going to be back as the machine maker of the world we have addressed the scourge of gun violence not one Republican vote for doing something around gun violence historic investments in climate change and who wasn't that forgave that student debt wasn't that stood up to Big Pharma and kept the cost of insulin at 35 for our seniors who was it that put an amazing principle black woman on the Supreme Court baby I could go on and on but they got lots of speakers that want me to get off so they can tell you what we've done done for you lately and let me just say if you didn't know now you know now you know now if y'all want us to deliver on the rest of this Democratic agenda yo y'all gotta yo yo gotta vote it's as simple as that you gotta vote and let me tell you my whole life is wrapped up in getting that child tax credit and getting Pre-K for our kids y'all the science is in I'm proud of the fact that Wisconsin was the first state to have kindergarten but y'all our babies need an education before they turn five women only all women who gonna be forced to be pregnant how you gonna go to work without help with child care these are the kinds of things that Ron Johnson wouldn't vote for that's right y'all got to put him out if you want us to finish the rest of the agenda and I'm telling you what did Maya Angelou say when they tell you who they are believe them Ron Jackson has already shown you who he is he says those people at the Capitol they were just tourists that it was uh black lives matter who was the reason that we got violence he says he Gonna Save Social Security and Medicare by putting it on the chopping block every year he's given tax breaks to his donors and let me tell you our corporate profits are higher than they've been for 70 years right now while all in us all of us are suffering Mandela Barnes will be our Ally in the Senate and let me tell you we are we are going to now the next question I get asked in case you all didn't know Mandela is black I'm gonna out him right now Kenny Wayne have the posters call your cell phone how many has they have they called your cell phone no let me tell you something our community our state wants a senator who doesn't traffic in racist dog whistle politics our folks want somebody that cares about them being able to friggin breathe and have clean air and clean water and affordable housing they want a senator who cares about them hey they may not hear our voices through these polling but they're going to hear us at the polls y'all what we gonna do y'all I don't you I want you to listen to our ancestors people like John Lewis that I served with in Congress now is not the time to give up now is not the time to give in now is not the time to give out if you're gonna do any getting out get out and vote now I want to introduce you to somebody that has worked very very hard in the U.S Senate somebody who she's the reason that you can keep your kids on your insurance to lay 26 years old she is somebody who hasn't been committed to health care for all and has made that a one of her stall work stewardships in the United States Senate but guess what y'all she is the junior senator from Wisconsin boo we want to make her the senior centers of Wisconsin and that would be none other than our own beloved United States senator Tammy Baldwin [Applause] oh my goodness thank you Gwen hello Milwaukee it feels so great to be with all of you here with only 10 days before election day I hope you are as fired up as I am right now so I could not be more excited to welcome President Barack Obama back to the badger state because simply put he knows how critical the next 10 days are going to be he also knows that Wisconsin is Ground Zero for so many of the issues that we care so deeply about whether that's protecting our very democracy access to abortion care affordable health care or giving everyone a fair shot at getting ahead President Obama is here because he knows exactly what is at stake here in the state of Wisconsin and frankly for the entire nation so I want to make this case for you Wisconsin deserves to have two senators fighting for working people and families not just one and the last few months let alone the last 12 years are a perfect example of what I mean last month's Democrats passed a historic bill that will make big corporations pay a fairer share while lowering out-of-pocket expenses for Working Families on energy on prescription drugs and on Health Care I was so proud to vote for that bill that fights inflation and delivers some fairness and relief to Wisconsin's Working Families do you know what our other Senator was proud to do he was proud to stand on the sidelines shoulder to shoulder with big corporations drug companies oil companies and those who have profited from inflations rising costs now mind you this comes just one week after he voted against the bipartisan chips Act that bill supports Wisconsin manufacturing while also lowering costs for businesses and consumers to me it was so simple we need made in America microchips to better support are made in Wisconsin manufacturing economy but apparently Ron Johnson is all talk when it comes to supporting Wisconsin businesses and jobs because he voted against this Common Sense Bill too I think folks in the badger state deserve better don't you we deserve somebody who's going to unite us rather than divide us we deserve someone who is going to fight on behalf of Wisconsin workers and families and not just the wealthy and well-connected we deserve someone who is going to bring new good paying family supporting jobs to the badger state not someone who's willing to ship Wisconsin Jobs overseas and we deserve someone who is a public servant at heart not only in this to serve himself we deserve someone who is going to protect a woman's right to choose and not someone who tells women in this state to either suck it up or move out of state that someone I'm talking about of course is Mandela Barnes now Mandela Barnes has this unprecedented ability to unite wisconsinites in a coalition that includes Farmers Union leaders teachers business owners and working people all across the state he has the a the ability to build these coalitions because he gets us he has a proud product of Wisconsin's middle class he is somebody who has dedicated his life to Public Service as a community organizer state legislator and as our lieutenant governor I cannot think of a better per person to be my partner in the United States Senate as we fight to protect the right to choose bring good union jobs back to Wisconsin and rebuild the middle class so that everyone has a fair shot at the American dream but we can't stop there we have to re-elect Tony Evers rather than focusing on what divides us Tony is committed to Bringing people together and working to address Rising costs helps small businesses expand high-speed internet and give our kids the education they need to thrive Tony is doing the right thing for Wisconsin now not only do we need to re-elect him we also need to protect his veto pen Tony has had to veto more bills than any governor in public uh in modern history he has protected our state from Republican efforts to make voting harder to harm our public schools and to roll back Environmental Protections but Republicans are only one seat away in the state senate and five seats away in the assembly from being able to override his veto that's why it's so important that we re-elect Tony and support Democratic candidates up and down the ticket so so there you go folks uh that's what's at stake and I'm here to tell you that we're going to have to fight really really hard to protect everything we care so deeply about so now it's the time to really kick things up into high gear and do everything we can over the next 10 days for Mandela for Tony for Josh call for Sarah Rodriguez for Gwen and for every other one of our Democrats up and down the ballot Wisconsin elections are close we need to remind everybody what's at stake in this election democracy and our right to vote is at stake in this election access to abortion care and a woman's ability to control her own body is on the ballot protecting our climate is on the ballot so it's up to what's up to us Wisconsin to do what our state motto always encourages us forward we must move forward I hope you will join me in giving Mandela Tony Sarah Josh Gwen and all of our Democratic candidates your full support and every ounce of energy you have in the next 10 days thank you again for being here let's get this job done [Applause] foreign [Music] [Applause] [Music] please welcome lieutenant governor Mandela Barnes candidate for U.S thank you so much all right all right all right how we feeling today thank you so much Milwaukee thank you so much I am so excited to be here I'm Mandela Barnes proudly serving as your lieutenant governor and in 10 days with your help we're gonna send Ron Johnson packing I cannot tell you how much it means to be back here at home especially uh at North Division even though I'm a proud product of Marshall High School [Applause] MPS wrong hey and I do have to give a quick shot I see my history teacher over here from high school my freshman year history teacher Mr menick and I say that to say that I wouldn't be here for one for my public school education I also would not be here if it weren't for the opportunities of Wisconsin manufacturing the strength of our labor unions I'm just so grateful for the way that things came together in this community that has given me so much and that's why all this community so much in return to make sure that we can all rise together but today has a special meaning for me because 18 years ago in the summer of 2004 came back from whatever summer job I was working that year turned on the TV and I saw then state senator Barack Obama give a keynote speech at the Democratic National Convention it was quite literally a speech that changed my life because things started to click for me I didn't really consider politics before I didn't see people who I felt shared my experience people who live like live life like I live life there weren't a whole lot of elected leaders so I felt want to give me or my community the time of day unfortunately that's still the case but there was someone whose story sound a little bit like mine someone who talked about the same issues that I saw day in and day out and seeing Barack Obama on that stage it inspired me and it made me realize that maybe if I worked hard enough that I could have the power to make a difference to as I mentioned my story is a very Wisconsin story a story that I'm incredibly proud of a story that I show and I speak about Everywhere I Go now my grandfather moved to this city after his service in World War II he got a union job as a steel worker at AO Smith and it does not get more Milwaukee than AO Smith but he walked in the factory one day and he walked out 35 years later he was able to retire comfortably he was able to lay a foundation and unfortunately when companies like that when factories like that close their doors move their operations out of state or overseas when we saw a decline in opportunity and unfortunately we saw a rise in other things that made it tough for folks to get ahead now I don't come from a wealthy or a well-connected family growing up right here in the city of Milwaukee and a union household was enough for me that's all I needed it was my parents union jobs that were the ticket to the middle class but unfortunately those tickets are a sure Supply it's a shame to think that it was easier for my granddad after World War II to get into the middle class than people my age and that's why things need to change are we all tired of being left behind by politicians who rather serve their wealthy donors and to serve us are we tired of the politicians that put their own profits before our lives I'm talking about people like Ron Johnson a person who doubled his own wealth following the U.S Senate but it's hell been on that making everybody else's life worse a person that for 12 long years has turned his back on every single person in this room every single person in the state but this November and for the next 10 days leading up to it we are going to turn our backs on Ron Johnson because the reality is any politician that wants to take away a woman's right to choose who wants to put our social security and Medicare on the chopping block or send our Wisconsin Jobs out of state or overseas does not deserve our consideration does not deserve our vote and certainly does not deserve their seat in office and while Senator Johnson tries to divide us and he tries to distract from the fact that he supported a National Abortion ban he supported a National Abortion ban with no exceptions for rape incest or the life of the mother or the fact that his biggest achievement in Office was delivering 215 million dollars in tax deductions to two of his biggest donors a person who wants to raise the retirement age to 70 years old if Ron Johnson wants to raise retirement age for us for the next 10 days we do the work to lower the retirement age for Ron Johnson because what he does not understand in rooms like this and all across the state regardless of our ZIP code regardless of where we were born what language we speak who we love or how we identify we all have so much more in common with one another than any self-serving out of touch politician like him and the reality is that it's not always about left or right red or blue it's about the very few that Ron Johnson has kept propped up at the top and the rest of us who they consistently leave behind at the bottom we know that if we're going to change Washington we got to change the people we send to Washington [Applause] Ron Johnson said that women that don't like the laws of their state like our 1849 criminal abortion ban can just move it it is careless it is callous but I do believe that the women of this state will band together and move Ryan Johnson out of the U.S Senate I love you back I got in this race because I believe that better is possible for so many people people like my friend cat and Warsaw who during the pandemic had to drive her children to a funeral home just to use Wi-Fi for my friends like Tim and the Auto Workers in Oshkosh who should absolutely be building those Next Generation postal vehicles and for little girls like Chase right here in Milwaukee who should be able to grow up and determine her own future which includes making her own health care decisions I do believe that better is possible and I know that you believe the same thing is exactly why you showed up here today people are looking for the same things people want a good school to send their children to and parents want to be able to send their children to school safely and have them return home safely without the constant threat of gun violence [Applause] [Music] people want to go to a doctor not worry about a surprise bill or worry about some local politician popping up making their decisions for them [Applause] and people want a good job that puts food on the table people just want opportunity but we'll never get that opportunity as long as Ron Johnson is in office and that's why we continue to fight [Applause] this is about leading with our values and leading with our vision for the next 10 days showing up letting people know what we stand for letting people know that we can no longer leave folks behind because that was the old way of doing things people like Ron Johnson have had their day it's our time now but I need your help to make this reality possible I need you to help us knock on every door I need you to help us make the phone calls and before you start clapping too hard and you just send those little text messages I know you love [Applause] we have to give it absolutely everything we got folks because this is a fight for Freedom it's a fight for fairness it is a fight for our future with your help I promise you this is a fight that we will win and we will all move forward together everybody thank you all so much thank you for being here thank you Milwaukee let's bring it home thank you all so much thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you thank you all so much thank you all so much thank you all and now I am so incredibly proud to introduce somebody who's been a partner to me partner with me leading the state through some incredibly difficult times a person I'm proud to call a friend someone who's been a champion for the working people Wisconsin someone who truly embodies the Wisconsin idea the same idea that made Wisconsin become the first state to ratify the 19th Amendment giving women the right to vote I got a little Encore for y'all because we're a state that advances the cause of women's rights not a state that takes them away the fact that we're the first state the first state to declare the Fugitive Slave acting constitutional the first state to have anti-disp the first state to have anti-discrimination laws based on ability on the books and the first state to have anti-discrimination laws based on sexual orientation on the books someone who has diligently held up that honor taken us boldly into the future my good friend and your Governor Tony ebers everybody foreign thank you Milwaukee thank you so much thanks for being here today let's hear it again for Mandela Barnes and Bella has been such a great partner for me and I can't wait to see him in the U.S Senate working alongside Tammy Baldwin also want to really have a shout out for every candidate here today you know we whether it's state federal or local we need to have more stronger better people running for office and thank you all for taking that up today thank you so much so it's great to be here running for re-election folks it's an honor to have such a great group small group I guess great people we're going to win this campaign because of all of you but it's not just you we also have President Barack Obama with us today and I can't wait to hear from him in just a few minutes you have to give me a few minutes first of all I'm proud of what we've been able to accomplish for Wisconsin over the past several years we have delivered on the promises that I've made and we focused on frankly Common Sense solutions for Wisconsin and Wisconsin values well yeah hell yes when we do the right thing Wisconsin is better and stronger when our kids have access to a quality education they have a foundation for a lifetime of success so I've worked with both parties actually to fund our Public Schools our technical colleges and the UW system more than in the last two decades folks because we know what's best for our kids is best for our state we're not we're not done yet I'm going to continue to create opportunities for all of our kids by investing more in special education more in mental health and more for smaller class sizes as wisconsinites are dealing with Rising costs we have put more more money into your pockets we cut income taxes for the middle class by 15 percent and we're going to continue directing income tax cuts and relief to Working Families who need it the most in the state of Wisconsin let's talk about Broadband we've expanded affordable access to 387 000 households and businesses in the state of Wisconsin thus far and we're going to expand access to another 300 000 in the next couple years and in case you didn't know it I've fixed the damn roads there were a handful of Scott holes out there as you remember we fixed nearly 5 000 miles of Highway and 1500 Bridges if you laid that out end to end and I don't think you'd really want to do this you could drive from here to Miami and back on smooth Scott hole free highways in my second term we're going to do it at more we've helped open and expand more than 6 000 small businesses through our Main Street bounce back program but we can also do lots more for the state and I know we will but my opponent wants to stop that progress and frankly he does not share in our belief that we're doing the right thing he'll take Wisconsin in a radically wrong way if we're not successful Tim Michaels supports radical and dangerous policies for the state of Wisconsin and it has nothing to do with Wisconsin values I'll tell you that yes [Applause] indeed Tim Michaels is radical and wrong on education he hasn't stepped in a public school in this state for decades and it shows he called increased funding for our schools the definition of insanity and he's open to reducing school funding by as much as 40 percent and folks if that happens we may as well close the doors on our Public Schools period he said the 1849 criminal ban is an exact mirror on his position think about that we cannot afford a governor who believes in a no exception abortion ban that would lock up doctors I'll always trust women to make these decisions for themselves Michaels said overturning the 2020 election results that means overturning the will of the people of course we'll be on the table when he becomes Governor good Lord so there's a there's a really clear choice between doing the right thing for Wisconsin and what Tim Michaels wants to do for our state first I know I'm not the flashiest guy in the room folks and this is a big room but I believe compassion respect and fairness and I believe Wisconsin is the strongest when we're working together and and just remember just remember this Mr Rogers wasn't the flashiest guy in the room either so that's what we've got at stake here folks we can choose to keep doing the right thing or go down a radical path we can't do that we cannot allow that to happen I know when we organize bring people together and talk to our neighbors about the future we want to build for this state we win and all of you can make that difference but there's someone else here today who knows a thing or two about the power of organizing someone who has delivered results during some really tough times and someone whose leadership has left a lasting positive mark on this entire nation that's why I am so excited to introduce our next speaker today who really needs no introduction he's been a champion of the working people made historic strides on everything from Health Care to Public Schools he ushered in the Affordable Care Act and Wisconsin welcome Barack Obama hello Milwaukee [Applause] how's everybody doing today oh it's good to be back in Wisconsin good to be back in the Midwest [Applause] especially when it's 67 degrees in October my nephews are here and and I was talking about the fact that when we used to go trick-or-treating in Chicago you had no idea what their costumes were because they had those big down jackets on but but this is some good trick-or-treating weather right here [Applause] and it is great to be back at North Division High [Applause] this is actually the third time that I've spoken here the last time was back in 2018 and for some reason I'm the only one who looks older which which is a little disturbing yes it's good to see you now we're not going to talk about the Bears or the Packers [Applause] maybe maybe next month but not right now we want to keep this an upbeat affair the reason I'm here is simple I am here to ask you to vote I am here to ask you to vote for my dear friend the 3G representative Gwen Moe I am here to ask you to vote for your atten attorney general Josh call for your next lieutenant governor Sarah Rodriguez for your outstanding Governor Tony Evers and your next United States Senator Mandela Barnes that's why I'm here and you don't have to wait for November 8th to cast your ballot you can vote early in person through November 5th here in Milwaukee or you can vote at your polling place on November 8th and if if you're not sure about how and where and all that you go to iwillvote.com find out what you're supposed to do and then make a plan make a plan because you don't want to sleep through the election and while you're doing that help your friends and family make a plan take them with you if you vote early if you vote in person take them with you on Election Day because this election requires every single one of us to do our part it's that important now I think it's fair to say that this country and I'm sure it's no different in Wisconsin and Milwaukee this country's gone through some tough times these past few years we have been through some stuff we're just now coming out of the historic pandemic that wrecked havoc on families and schools and businesses and communities everybody was impacted Michelle's good but she was impacted no she was yeah Michelle talked about this publicly you know even for folks who obviously you know we were in so many ways advantaged in terms of like we didn't have to worry about paying rent and you know food and stuff but emotionally it was hard for everybody yeah yeah but some folks were more impacted than others people lost loved ones nurses teachers essential workers meaning folks who actually do work they were really effective and more at risk [Applause] and the pandemic also highlighted and in some cases made worse problems that we've been struggling with for years an economy that too often works for those at the very top but not for everybody else communities where too many kids are out of school and then they end up being out of work and then they're out of Hope and sometimes that leads them to violence and despair and then there was a shift and this is a long-term Trend but we saw it get worse of just a breakdown of of basic civility a basic neighborliness and nowhere did you see it more than in our politics where suddenly you have politicians doing their best deliberately to stir up division to make us angry and afraid of each other just for their own advantage and all of this was amped up hyped up 24 7 on on on cable and then on social media that finds that it's profitable to promote controversy and conflict instead of facts and Truth you got that okay and we're still we're still seeing the aftermath of that you know I I want to take a moment just to say a prayer for a friend of mine Mr Paul Pelosi 82 years old at Teddy breaks into his house looking for his wife the Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi beats him with a hammer doctors fortunately believe that he's going to be okay and and we'll let the investigators do their jobs but but but but but one thing I think one thing's clear this habit that we've seen completely contrary to what Tony was talking about this habit of saying the worst about other people demonizing people that creates a dangerous climate and and if if elected officials don't do more explicitly to reject this kind of over the top crazy rhetoric if they keep on ignoring it or tacitly supporting it or in some cases encouraging it if they're telling supporters you got to stand outside polling places armed with guns and dressed in tactical gear you know that that's the kind of thing that that ends up getting people hurt and just as significantly it violates the basic precepts the basic spirit of who we are supposed to be as a democracy so I get why people are anxious I I understand why you might be worried about the course of the country I understand why you might sometimes just want to tune out just watch football or HGTV or or the you know the Great British baking show which is a cute show national parks that's a good show but but I'm here to tell you that tuning out Milwaukee is not an option just moping is not an option because the only way to make this economy fair to make it work for everybody is if we all fight for it the only way to make our democracy stronger is if we nurture it and work for it and that starts with electing people who know you who see you who care about you who know what you're going through and you did that two years ago when you sent Joe Biden to the White House he's fighting for you every day he's got your back he's doing everything he can to put more money in your pockets to make your streets safer to bring more good paying jobs here to Wisconsin you did it when you elected Tony Evers governor you did it when you sent Gwen Moore and Tammy Baldwin to Washington to fight for you and now you got to do it again [Applause] because because here's the thing Wisconsin there are a lot of issues at stake in this election but the most basic question the fundamental issue you should be asking yourself right now is who will Who will fight for you who who cares about you that's the choice in this election all the other stuff is is surface stuff it's distraction anybody can run a TV at anybody these days they can say anything nobody's fact checking anything but in your gut you should have a sense who who cares about you who's going to fight for working people who are struggling to pay the bills listen Gwen was talking about it I heard it backstage inflation's a real problem right now and and by the way it's not just here in America it's worldwide it's one of the legacies of the pandemic it threw off supply and demand you know folks who are in the Auto industry for example suddenly you couldn't get spare parts but people wanted to buy cars and there weren't enough cars and inventories get all this stuff has created inflation it's put pressure on prices and then on top of that you've got to war in Ukraine and that sends gas prices through the roof and and look whatever the reasons when gas prices go up when grocery prices go up that takes a bite out of people's paychecks that hurts but the question you should be asking is who's actually going to do something about it the Republicans are having a field day running ads talking about it but what is their actual solution to it well no I'll tell you they want a gun Social Security and Medicare and then give some more tax breaks to the wealthy and the reason the reason I know that's their agendas listen that's their answer to everything [Applause] when inflation is low what do you want to do cut taxes when unemployment's High what do you want let's cut taxes on the wealthy that's going to solve that I I was joking down in Georgia if there was an asteroid headed towards Earth [Applause] is going to land in like two weeks if you went in the Republican caucus and you said what do you want to do well we need a tax break for the wealthy that's going to help I I'm I'm only barely exaggerated that's their only economic policy the only one and it's been their only one for the last 20 years I mean it'd be nice yeah if if every problem you had you just had one answer you know you're those of you who are young you're still in school you know you go into math exam it's like every answer is just number eight is this right eight you'd get an A but that's not how the world works they're they don't have a plan that's why Democrats actually have plans to take on drug companies to lower prices to get oil industry to clean up its act to pass laws to make housing more affordable to make sure big corporations that are already getting tax breaks great jobs here in Wisconsin instead overseas that's the choice in this election that's what's this about I know you guys must be sick of these television ads I mean I I look so let's talk about another one there's a lot of talk about crime right now as if folks in Milwaukee don't have any idea listen that's oh yeah violent crimes gone up over the last seven years not just the last two by the way they act like the other guy wasn't president when all that some of this stuff was happening it's gone up in conservative and rural areas not just in the city so cool fight to keep you and your family safe is it is it going to be Republican politicians who want to flood our streets with more guns who actually voted against more resources for police departments or is it leaders like Tammy Baldwin and Gwen Moore who worked with President Biden to pass the first major gun safety legislation in nearly 30 years that's the choice in this election that's what at stake right now who will fight for your freedoms is it Republican politicians and judges who think they should get to decide when you start a family or how many children you should have or who you marry or who you love or is it Democratic leaders who believe that the freedom to make these most intimate personal decisions belong to every American not politicians mostly men sitting somewhere in Washington that's the choice in this election that's what you have to decide and you've got to decide who's going to fight to make our political process our democracy worked for you I look you you can watch the news read what they say these Republican politicians have promised they're on record if they get control of Congress they will spend the next two years investigating President Biden and their political opponents that's all they want to do they see it as payback and some some of them have said that they they're they've already got prepared that they're going to impeach you uh by they're not sure what for but apparently that's beside the point and you're laughing except they've actually said that they have literally said we're not sure what the theory is but we're going to come up with one now how is that going to help you pay your bills how is that going to help your kids find a good job in Korea how's that going to help Wisconsin compete or do you stand a better chance with President Biden Democratic leaders who've worked together sometimes with Republicans where possible to pass an infrastructure bill that creates new jobs who've made health care and prescription drugs more affordable who've made the single largest ever investment in fighting climate change that that's the choice in this election you've got a choice between folks who will say anything and do anything to get power and leaders who share our values who are decent good people who who are inspired by Mr Rogers [Applause] leaders leaders who want to help make your lives better and move this country forward and look let me be clear because because I've been out here campaigning for the last few days this hasn't always been a partisan thing my favorite President was a guy from my home state of Illinois named Abe Lincoln helped found the Republican Party it used to be that there were GOP members who championed progress and civil rights and rule of law folks who who were with me in the 2008 election you remember right we we talked about bringing people together and and and spoke to all people regardless of party about how we could move the country forward so so that's my instinct I I I'm not some buddy who believes that all that some party label defines this but I but I I have to speak the truth which is these days just about every Republican politician seems obsessed with just two things own the lips yeah let's own the lips and and getting Donald Trump's approval that's their agenda no no no don't boom whoa nobody can hear you boo outside this Auditorium but they'll hear your vote but this this current crop is this current crop of Republican politicians they're not interested in solving problems they're interested in making you angry and then finding somebody to blame and they're hoping that that'll distract you from the fact that they don't have any answers of Their Own that's their Obsession that's their formula that's their answer to everything now I can tell you what Tony Evers is obsessed with he's obsessed with growing Wisconsin's economy making sure every child gets a good education in this state you you heard him mention that his opponent wants to make it easier for people to sue public school districts his opponent called proposals to increase education funding the definition of insanity really I mean have you been on the internet people are out there saying that we're ruled by giant lizards and that Elvis is alive you can't think of anything crazier than investing more in our schools and our children let me tell you if that's crazier than that then Tony is a good crazy because he's a lifelong educator and as Governor he's worked with leaders from both parties to invest more in public education than Wisconsin has in almost two decades he vetoed Republican bills that tried to make it harder to vote he vetoed bills that would make it easier to con carry concealed weapons I can tell you where Mandela barnes's priorities lie as as your Senator he he won't go off on some wacky conspiracy theory you don't see him trying to make you afraid of everybody just so he can grab power he's going to work to bring manufacturing jobs to Wisconsin and help small businesses and family firms compete against huge mega corporations that's his agenda uh uh I wanna say something here I I know that there's some folks probably maybe not in this Auditorium but elsewhere in Wisconsin who think and I know these ads are running this way that just because Mandela's name Mandela just because he's a Democrat with a with a funny name he must not be like you he must not share your values I mean we've seen this it sounds pretty familiar doesn't it so so Mandela get ready to dig up that birth certificate get ready remember when that that's the good old days remember when that was the craziest thing that people said [Applause] think about that like that that wasn't that long ago everybody's all like wow that that's some crazy stuff now it doesn't even make the top 10 Lister crazy but the truth is I I just talked to manila's parents they were in the photo line son this here's son of a third shift out of working and a public school teacher grew up in Milwaukee one of Milwaukee's poorest neighborhoods worked as an organizer served as a state legislator now lieutenant governor he's fought every step of the way to make sure wisconsinites have opportunity to get ahead just like he did he believes in the American dream if that's not a true blooded Wisconsin American I don't know what is come on [Applause] and then there's Mandela's opponent oh don't go go go waste your vocal cords booing vote that's right all right you got the idea so Brian Johnson I as as your Senator he's now remember the question is who's going to fight for you remember that right that that's who's on your side who's cares about you who's thinking about you Ron Johnson as a senator helped give millions of dollars in tax deductions to some of the biggest donors who funded his campaign and after he voted for a tax plan that allows people to write off the cost of private planes I I've been trying to get this thing closed since I was president if you if you can afford a private plane you don't then you don't need a tax break but no he he he he fought for this and then his adult children bought not one not two but three private planes because apparently carpooling was not an option now I mean how you need three meanwhile Senator Johnson voted to raise the retirement age to 70. support Ed a plan that would put social security and Medicare on The Chopping Block every single year each year you'd have to vote to renew this thing I I mean think about because Washington works so well that's you on your Social Security and Medicare reliant on Congress every year he's called Social Security a Ponzi scheme said that that it's candy that the left is given away the point is some of you here are on Social Security some of your parents are on Social Security some of your grandparents are on Social Security you know why they have social security because they worked for it they worked hard jobs for it they have chapped hands for it they had long hours and sore backs and bad knees to get that Social Security and if Ron Johnson does not understand that if he understands given tax breaks for private planes more than he understands making sure that seniors who've worked all their lives are able to retire with dignity and respect he's not the person who's thinking about you and knows you and sees you and he should not be your senator from Wisconsin [Applause] I mean the message he's sending is pretty clear if you're related to him if you donate to his campaign you get a deal if you're not you're out of luck and you're on your own so when you see ads implying that Mandela somehow dangerous or different ask yourself who who knows more about your life this millionaire whose top priority seems to be looking out for his rich friends or a guy from a working class family who understands what wisconsinites are going through each and every day and wants to make your lives better whose dad knows what it's like to work hard with his hands whose mom knows what it's like to work hard as a teacher don't fall forward Wisconsin you deserve better you deserve a senator like Mandela bucks see through the surface of things just go a little deeper I do I love you too [Applause] you also deserves somebody who's going to stand up for a woman's right to make her own health care decision now let abortion has been controversial since I've been around and I genuinely believe that there are good people at conscience who may differ with me on this issue but we should all agree that women everywhere should be able to control what happens with their own bodies and it shouldn't be controversial to say that the most personal of Health Care decisions the most profound of personal choices should be made by a woman and her doctor and not by a bunch of mostly male politicians sitting in a state capitol or sitting in Washington and don't know nothing about and that's why and that's why when Supreme Court struck down Roe versus Wade it was a wake-up call for a lot of young people especially young women who maybe took role for granted it was a reminder that a politicized court can reinterpret well-settled constitutional rights we can go backwards not just forward if Republicans take back the House and Senate we could be one presidential election away from a nationwide band on access to abortion and that might just be the beginning you know I taught constitutional law for a decade if a court does not believe in a zone of privacy that allows each of us to make certain decisions without the government interfering it like it's not their business then other freedoms that we take for granted are at risk and and Justice Clarence Thomas already said as much he wrote it in the Dobb's opinion if there's no right to privacy then same-sex marriage could be at risk the the same idea of a right to privacy was the basis for saying that states couldn't ban in a racial marriage I I there's no actual right to marriage written down in the Constitution just like there's no right to contraception in the Constitution so almost every Republican in the House of Representatives has already voted against guaranteeing a right to use contraception now you think about that if they take back power there's no guarantee that that won't be next uh here here in Wisconsin Governor ever's opponent wants to ban abortion with no exceptions according to him it and I'm quoting here it's not unreasonable to for for the government to force rape victims to give birth now vote supports a criminal abortion ban passed more than 70 years before women got the right to vote that could put doctors in jail for trying to save a patient's life because part of what a lot of times people don't think about is they're they're people who want to want to bring a child to term something goes wrong and if you don't have exceptions and doctors are being criminalized they don't train to deal with those situations they won't know what to do in some cases or you won't have a lot of people who can deal with it the good news is if you vote for Tony that's not going to happen two days after the Supreme Court heard arguments in the case that would overturn Roe versus way he vetoed five Republican bills that would have eliminated or limited access to abortion as long as Tony Evers as Governor he'll keep doing whatever it takes to make sure that women have power to make their own health care decisions and that's how it should be so all all these issues are at stake gracias all these issues are saying if if it's if that's not worth 15 minutes of your time I don't know what is but if you do need another reason to vote consider the fact that democracy is also on the ballot you know I I I I mentioned earlier things have changed in terms of our political discourse and I have to admit it wears on me sometimes it feels the idea of going out on the campaign Trail feels a little bit harder and not just because I'm older and a little grayer back when I was first running for office people didn't agree with me on everything yeah I'd go and I was driving myself I didn't even have a driver and by the way I'm really dating myself because we use maps you know like paper maps you never knew how to fold them back up so they're sitting in there passenger seat and I'd be driving around and we'd go out into rural areas Farm country and there weren't a lot of folks named Barat or who look like me and a lot of these were predominantly Conservative Republican areas and I'd stop by a VFW hall or I'd talk to you know somebody at a fish fry might stop by the the local paper and and you sit down maybe into the diner over a piece of pie and coffee and they didn't agree with me on everything but you know we could have a nice conversation and we could talk about the things we had in common our hopes for our kids you know problems we were seeing with Farm prices you could have a conversation about health care and an alien mom and and over the course of the conversation maybe we kind of learn from each other and you'd persuade each other a little bit and and then folks didn't all vote for me just because I had that conversation but you you felt as if you could make a connection and that's why I ended up getting a bunch of Republican votes and then after I won for the presidency my opponent John McCain first thing he did graciously conceded got on stage wished me luck for the good and the sake of the country that that was the basic Foundation of our democracy that's how it worked some sense of mutual respect we can disagree without being disagreeable and that and that's at risk right now and and and listen you know you you may not hear this a lot of times at a democratic rally Democrats aren't perfect I wasn't perfect as president I'm the first one to admit it politicians just like all of us can make mistakes even with the best of intentions but for the most part just about unanimously Democrats still abide by the basic norms and rules of how the democracy is supposed to work like like what like in 2016 when when my successor won I and I mean I wasn't feeling good but I stayed up till three in the morning until it was finally decided and then I had to call them and say congratulations because that's how it that that's how democracy is supposed to work and we ensured a peaceful transition of power now today with just a few notable exceptions and then I give credit to some courageous Republicans who will probably lost their their seats because they they believed in the rules but the vast majority of Republican politicians whether because they actually believe it or because they're scared to say otherwise they're not even pretending that the rules apply anymore they are literally just making stuff up Mandela's opponent has done more than just about anybody in congress to spread conspiracies that there is about the 2020 election I mean he he has a gold medal in that event he said the attacks on law enforcement at the Capitol on January 6 were by and large quote peaceful protests although I I I do he did say that the rioters quote taught us all how you can use flagpoles as weapons now if that's the lesson you take away from a violent Insurrection it's storming the capital I don't I don't know what to tell you but but I do know you probably shouldn't be serving as Wisconsin's representative to the U.S Senate because that's not how our democracy is supposed to work I mean if if that can't if if if if that doesn't elicit uniform outrage what will what does it take Tony Tony's opponent said if he's elected governor he'll dissolve the bipartisan elections Commission he basically just wants I guess to be able to decide on his own how elections turned out or not he even said he's open to signing a bill to overturn the results of the last election [Music] and and to say the obvious if somebody's openly obsessed with changing the last election he probably should not be in charge of overseeing this one coming up you've got a republican you've got Republicans in the Wisconsin State Legislature trying to give themselves power to do whatever they want here in Wisconsin already the the map is so gerrymandered they only have to win 44 of the majority of the vote to get a majority of the assembly now think about that think about any other thing you do in life where 44 are on one side 56 on the other and 44 wins it don't make sense that is correct and if they pick up a few more seats in both Chambers they'll be able to force through extreme unpopular laws on everything from guns to education to abortion and there won't be anything Democrats can do about it now right now the only person standing in their way is Tony Evers and and let me say this I know Tony's low-key is self-deprecating you know he's got a little more of a Clark Kent Vibe than a Superman vibe but don't let the glasses in the necktie fool you because Tony is tough he's single-handedly keeping Republicans from driving the car off the road he might be democracy his best hope in Wisconsin that's one more reason he deserves your vote so I get the Democracy night right now today democracy might not seem like a top priority especially because people have other things to worry about they're worrying about gas bills they're worrying about food bills worried about their paychecks worried about their kids I get that I understand why when you don't see enough progress on some issues that matter to you or your family you might just say ah I don't have time to think about something so abstract like democracy but you know what we've seen throughout history what happens when we lose democracy we can see it right now around the world in other countries where the government tells you what books you can read and what books you can read that question your loyalty if you don't worship the way they want you to worship countries that put dissidents and reporters in jail countries where it really doesn't matter who you vote for because the game really is fixed and people will do anything to keep the power they've got and where corruption is rampant because there's absolutely no accountability I I've seen it I deal with when I was President I dealt with countries like that all the time and once that goes away once self-government goes away it's hard to get it back it's dangerous and people get hurt and it can have real life consequences and that's why generations of Americans my grandfather in World War II folks in every generation have fought and and died for the idea of self-government that's why folks marched down in Selma and and some folks died to make sure that the rules were fair that that's why women's suffragists marched and fought so that they could be included in self-government so that we could set up rules that were fair to give everybody a voice rules that we teach our kids when they're little about being honest and about being fair rules about how we should make decisions if we're in a group everybody gets to say everybody takes a turn everybody raises their hand if you don't get your way you don't throw a tantrum in the sandbox you don't pick up your ball and go home we teach our kids this stuff we tell our kids no you know you get over it you try to do better next time I mean I I lost my my first election for Congress I got whooped I didn't say you know uh wow the election was rigged I didn't say let's go storm the capital and that's what I mean when I say democracy is a stake in this election and that's why it's not enough to elect Democrats like Mandela Barnes and Tony Evers you've got to let good people up and down the valley because if things get close they could make all the difference and guess what the good news because I know some of this has been a little dark but but here's the good news you get to make a difference your vote will make a difference that's why Republicans are working so hard to stop you and that's why you can't let them you know we we joke in my house that between me and Michelle Michelle can be the the glass half empty person sometimes and and I'm more of the glass half full guy you know I'm the hope and change guy so I'm usually a little more optimistic at the dinner table and sometimes when she gets down about the state of the country or the world she's been reading a little bit too much news I tell her honey everything's everything's gonna be okay and I believe it will but I also know things won't be okay on their own we have to fight for it we have to work for it not just on Election Day but every day in between that's why this election matters Wisconsin and I know these are tough times but we've been through tough times before the important thing is to resist the temptation just to throw our hands up and turn inward and see politics is a zero-sum game where rules are made to be broken and the only way for people like us to win is for people like them to lose to sink into cynicism you know Even in our darkest moments and I remind Michelle and I tell my children this country has seen darker moments before Underneath It All I believe we've had more in common than our politics and our politicians suggest even when times are tough I believe what unites us can be stronger than what divides us there have always been certain values that bind us together as Citizens no matter who we are or where we come from or what we look like or who we love we think about our kids and we think about working hard and we think about being honest and being fair home spun values and it doesn't matter whether you're on the farm somewhere or you're in the inner city people have a sense of that doesn't matter what your last name is that's the promise of America that's who we at least want to be and in this election you have a chance to do that to make America live up to what we hope it can be [Applause] you have a chance to vote for leaders like Gwen Moore you have a chance to vote for Josh call you got a chance to vote for Sarah Rodriguez you got a chance to vote for a great and decent Governor like Tony Evers you got a chance to vote for an outstanding young man who will work hard for you Mandela Barnes you got a chance to to vote for this whole ticket that will fight for a blip for a big inclusive hopeful America that we believe in an America where we might not fix all our problems overnight but where we can make things better and better's Worth Fighting For so if you're anxious if you're frustrated don't complain don't boo don't tune out don't get bamboozled don't fall for that okie doke vote get off your get off your couch and put down your phones for a minute and vote for this whole Wisconsin Democratic ticket tell other folks to do the same because if enough of us make our voices heard things will be better and we will build a country that is more fair and more just and more equal and more free let's go do this Wisconsin thank you Milwaukee I love you let's get to work [Applause] [Music] [Applause] when I wake up in the morning [Music] the sunlight hurts my eyes [Music] there's heavy on my mind get you and the world's all right with me Just One Look At You and I know it's gonna be [Music] [Applause] [Music] [Applause] good [Applause] [Music] [Applause] [Applause] foreign [Music] foreign thank you [Music] [Music] I don't understand [Applause] [Music] thank you beautiful [Music] [Music] Beach foreign foreign [Music] [Applause] thank you [Music] [Music] foreign thank you [Music] thank you

Channel: Roland S. Martin

Views: 38,497

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Id: EX8PSkAonWY

Length: 111min 17sec (6677 seconds)

Published: Sun Oct 30 2022