I believe destiny is comprised of two things: one, of course, what you were meant to do and two, your willingness to accept that. I have been in politics for quite a while, I have worked for candidates, causes and all manner of various ballot initiatives. I have agonized in defeat and I have celebrated in victory. I have felt the highs and lows and have amassed quite a collection of connections. Yet, despite all of this it was only when I realized how little all of the above meant did I finally feel ready to do what I am about to announce.
Greatness I have come to learn is not achieved with victories. It is not the blood spilled in a winning endeavor that makes one great, rather it is the willingness to spill one's blood when faced with an uncertain outcome that is true greatness. Watching John Edwards this past year, I have come to realize that his greatness needs no electoral validation. I have realized that it takes a special person to motivate others to act. Through his ability to overcome his trials he has both advicated for causes and inspired untold millions to achieve. John is a special person because he does not seek validation. He seeks team members. Unlike so many other politicians who act as if they are above us, he walks our planet with his feet firmly planted to the ground, by our side and ready to lend a hand. With this in mind, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that I must offer him more than my support, I must offer him, and the people of my district, my candidacy for the Missouri House of Representatives. I am announcing here that I am forming a PAC with the intentions of raising funds necessary to win the 101st District of the Missouri House of Representatives in 2010, when our popular Democratic incumbent is term limited out.
Thus this day, the 5th of November 2007, I embark upon a journey with an undetermined destination. I will go as far as I can get. I will fight for our values in a manner the state of Missouri has not seen since President Truman. One could say that I am well suited to take this journey given my political background. That would not be the case. Nothing I have ever done in politics could possibly qualify me if I were to lack the kind of education gained only through public interaction. My experience with poll numbers pale in comparison to the fire in my belly built by the sight of an expectant waitress with poorly supportive shoes. My political experience pales in comparison to the indelible image of a handshake that I have received from the gnarled fingers of a bricklayer. My connections pale in comparison to the sight of the second generation Mexican-American working 18 hours a day in a Chicago suburb in hopes that the third generation will have it better than he. And all my connections and political experience put together pale in comparison to the motivation I have caused by the knowledge of elderly choosing between medicine and heat. My fellow Americans, I have but one thing to say to that, Not in my country.
You see the actual truth of the matter is the reason I am doing this, other than the inspiration created by John Edwards, is not for power but to assuage my own pain the only way I know how-and that, my friends, is to run. I seek not power, or a place on Rushmore, no I seek only to one day experience the pleasure of enjoying a better night's sleep due to the fact that every fiber of my being has done everything I can to make a difference. I am doing this to honor a promise that I have made to so many friends I have made in my travels. I owe them this. I promised so many that a better America was on the way. I promised so many that happier times were on the way. To Billy White of Canton, Texas, this is for you. To Rob, the server at a Big Boy in a dusty desert California town, this is for you buddy. And to everyone else that I have made that promise to, I say to you, my friends, I am now at the table, I have my stake, and I want dealt in.
Of course, in order to do this, I feel a person must have a vision to implement. So in order to make a better America, this is a sampling of my vision: The Living Wage Subsidization Act. Within my first 100 days of elected office, I propose that all low income workers who are willing to honor two requirements be subsidized up to $12.00 per hour for holding a job and being willing to enroll and to attend further education courses. Simply put, if you live in Missouri and you make $8.00 per hour at, say a Wal-Mart, and you are willing and able to attend for 2 years classes on furthering your education the state will subsidize, out of the general revenue fund enhanced by closing corporate loopholes, $4.00 per hour.
Secondly, the Secondary Education Contribution Fund. Partially funded by a small tax increase on large corporations, the state of Missouri will match dollar for dollar all income up to $5,000 per year generated by teenage and young adults with the purpose of paying for college.
Third, and this applies only if and when I achieve federal level elected office, I intend to propose the Social Security Tax Elimination Act. This proposal consists of ending a workers 7.65% social security tax burden after paying in for a period of 12 years. This would be funded by a small tax increase on global corporations such as Microsoft and the aforementioned Wal-Mart. I choose 12 years because late twenties to early thirties is usually when a family starts to grow. By eliminating this burden, workers who qualify would receive a median average of nearly $3000 back in their pockets annually, without a dime of it affecting the general revenue fund. This is but a taste of the wide ranging proposals I have in mind both statewide and nationally.
As I embark on this journey, accompanied by my devoted wife Valerie who so you know is being kind enough to type this as I dictate it, I urge all of you to embark upon this journey with me, to use this day to mark a new beginning. A beginning where Clinton and Edwards and Obama supporters and supporters of all candidates recognize the value of unity and the strength of not only their arguments, but the arguments of others as well. You should know that I have a deep and abiding love for the American people, and though I disagree with some, I work for the good of all. I recognize that if I were to choose who I thought was worthy of my efforts it would result in making all of my cumulative efforts meaningless. So now I say to you that I extend my hand to all, to my allies and my opponents, to my friends and my foes. I ask you to grab onto it, and then I ask you to, with your other hand, reach out to another and encourage them to reciprocate until we have a chain of decency and compassion and love and devotion to our progressive values that could encircle the world many times over. I ask that this day be the beginning of building an unbreakable bond based upon achieving the common good for all mankind. And I ask you to realize that the sword of indifference can be as lethal as the sword of hate and to also understand the value of one kind act because for every day you treat your fellow man with love and respect is a day you have not contributed to the swords of hate and indifference wounding the heart of our nation.
Join me now, will you, and let us show strength in numbers the likes of which this country has never seen, the likes of which no media slant can temper. The likes of which no voting machine, no evil, no corruption, no transgression of any kind can threaten. I will not make a habit of making promises except for this one: that should we pledge and honor the pledge to these things I have described, we will not only ensure our greatness, we will not only have ensured our place in history, we will also have ensured that this grand experiment we call the United States will not have failed.
Thank you and may God Bless The World.
-Todd H. Bennett
Cross-posted at: http://www.mydd.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment