Wednesday, November 10, 2004
Art Small's thank you
From: "Art Small III"
Dear Friends,
The race is now at an end. It was my honor to represent the Democratic
Party
in this election. I feel respect and gratitude towards the several
hundred
thousand Iowans who cast their ballots for me; towards the hundreds of
volunteers and contributors who put their faith in this campaign; and
keenly
towards my campaign staff and my family, who stood by me through a hard
but
rewarding fight.
You might well ask, Was it worth it? What did we accomplish together?
Let me
tell you what we accomplished.
I'll start with a personal confession: I didn't pull myself up by my
bootstraps. I did come from a poor family, and sure, I worked hard. But
no
matter how hard I worked, I would never have made it without Social
Security
and Medicare, to look after my folks in their old age. I would never
have
made it without the GI Bill, to fund my college education after I gave
three
years service to this country in the Army. Those were Democratic
programs.
Opportunity. That's what I had.
That's why I ran for U.S. Senate. I have seen (we have seen) the ideal
of
the United States as an opportunity society being destroyed.
We made Charles Grassley answer for his conduct as Senator. When all
these
newspapers wrote their editorials about this race, what did they talk
about?: Grassley's lost his commitment to fiscal responsibility / the
deficit has exploded on his watch / Grassley's Medicare bill is a big
giveaway to the pharmaceutical industry that does virtually nothing to
help
seniors deal with their urgent need for affordable drugs / Grassley's
become more arrogant, aloof, more dependent on out-of-state
contributors.
He's unwilling to face the voters.
All our issues! We set the agenda for this race. We held Charles
Grassley to
account for the arrogance, the irresponsibility, the gross incompetence
of
his long tenure in Washington. I daresay, tonight and these last few
months,
we scraped off a chunk of the telflon coating on ol' Aw Shucks Chuck.
We made Charles Grassley spend his war chest on himself, instead of
against
other Democrats. Charles Grassley spent over $5.6 million on this
election.
Over $5.6 million! Against my $110,000. That's $5.6 million dollars he
did not have available to give to other Republicans. $5.6 million that
did not go to support George Bush against
John Kerry. $5.6 million that did swing into opposition against
Congressman
Leonard Boswell. $5.6 million that did not support Republican
candidates in
Iowa's key legislative races.
None of us ever knows which contribution makes the essential difference.
Which ride offered to the polls. Which $50 check. We are never blessed
with
that certainty: But I believe there may be some Democrat tonight who
owes his or her victory to us. We together did a huge service to the
Democratic Party.
What did we learn?
We learned many things. Let's focus on two lessons.
First: if you want to own something, you have to pay for it yourself.
Children expect something for nothing. Grown-ups understand that if
something is worth having, there is usually a price.
There is a price for governing ourselves. It is this: we must pay for
our
own government. We The People must understand this: we have to pay,
ourselves, for the elections by which we choose our leaders.
Right now, today, here, in America, the people we are allowed to
consider
for leadership positions in our society are the ones pre-approved by
corporate paymasters. George Bush and Chuck Grassley and all their rich
supporters have been looting the public treasury and the public trust to
advance private wealth. They?\'ve been able to do it because we let them
decide who we will treat seriously.
When I say that, I'm not inviting you to feel sorry for me. You
shouldn't.
I'll be fine. The ones you should worry about are yourselves. My kids
and
grandkids, people that age, are the ones who need to grab control of the
government back from the big corporate interests.
No body likes to pay. I hate paying, for anything. Ask my family: I'm
cheap!
I won?t throw out a old can of paint, even one that's half-empty (or,
as I
prefer to think, half-full). But I know, and you know, that we don?t own
what we won?t pay for. I am cheap, but I sure do like a bargain. Public
financing of our own democratic elections would be the biggest bargain
we as
a free people could ever buy for ourselves.
We also learned something about trying. We learned that sometimes it is
vastly better to fight and try, even knowing you are going to lose. To
look
on your democracy, your dream of the kind of nation we could be, the
nation
we deserve to be -- to see that dream brutalized, destroyed right in
front of
you, in plain sight, and to say -- Oh, never-mind, I can't be bothered
to
defend what I hold sacred.? What a terrible thing that is for the
spirit.
I am honored that you chose to join me in defending what we hold sacred.
I want to honor especially my volunteers, my staff and my family, who
put
everything into this fight. Everything. Their time, their sweat, their
tears, their dreams. Thanks to everyone who gave of themselves because
they
believed in this vision of America as an opportunity society -- a
country
where the place you start doesn?t dictate where you end up.We did not
win this time, but we stood up with honor.
My wife Mary Jo has been with me in this campaign, and in every other.
We've
worked together on every Democratic presidential election since John F.
Kennedy's. We built together the home where three kids grew to healthy
adulthood. We've been married fourty-four years. I can't put into words
what
that means, what she means, to me. I'll simply trust that she knows.
So we lost. A waste of time, you might say. No. If it were always easy,
or
always fun, it wouldn?t be that much of a big deal to do it. It's the
time you waste on your dreams that makes them special. If your spirit,
your
sweat, your dreams were what you wasted time on in this campaign, I
promise
you: This was time well wasted.
This is my last campaign. After sixteen years in the Iowa Legislature
and
two statewide races, it's time to pass the torch. For the fights you
will fight after this, please accept my blessings. I discharge you from
my
service. But I hold you to a promise: You have to keep at this. Would
you
really want it otherwise?
You that outlive this day and drive home safe, will yearly on the vigil
feast your neighbors and say, "Tomorrow is Election Day."
Then you strip your sleeve and show your scars, and say
"These wounds I had on Election Day."
And never an Election Day shall go by,
From this day to the ending of the world, But we in it shall be
remembered.
And gentlefolk in Iowa who sat this one out will think themselves
accursed
they were not here!
They shall hold their life stories cheap! While any speaks,That fought
with us.
Upon this Election Day!
It has been an honor to serve with you.
All the best,
Arthur Small, Jr.
P.S. You would help us out a lot if you could contribute one last time
to
help us retire our campaign debt
(https://services.myngp.com/ngponlineservices/contribution.aspx?
X=Cyp3P%2bh5
4lD7%2f84gtREQjA%3d%3d). Last time I'll ask, I promise. Paid for by
Art Small
for Senate P.O. Box 710 Iowa City, IA 52244-0710
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- posted by John @ 9:11 PM
