I am old enough to remember a time
of chaos at home and war in the Far East that inspired Americans to go to the
polls and vote for the candidate that said he will make our Country safe
again. That candidate was Richard Nixon and the year was 1968. The war
was in Vietnam and our Country was being pulled apart.
It is not a perfect comparison and Donald Trump is not Richard Nixon and
Hillary Clinton is not Hubert Humphrey. But there are enough similarities to
give us pause. There is the fact that Nixon won and that today Donald Trump is
rising in the polls with a Law & Order campaign. It appears there are ideas
that Donald Trump has grabbed onto to set himself apart from usual Republican
candidates and in this year to take on and batter all his primary opponents.
He is now about to be crowned as the Republican Party's nominee. The man who
began by telling us he'll build a wall on our southern border, he'll overturn
Obamacare, he will win the war on terror. He says he'll create jobs, turn
around our trade deficit and protect the American people and our men in blue.
There is more than enough there to interest Republicans and to turn the heads
of many Independents because the candidate he faces comes to the contest
carrying a generation of baggage that has been made worse by the recent words of
the FBI Director. There is fear, enough to go around, enough to worry a
majority of Americans and enough to make an unconventional campaign led by a
highly unconventional candidate into a opportunity to change history.
For those of you who believe in the vision of the Democratic Party and of this
year's standard bearer, Hillary Clinton, it will be necessary to extend
yourselves beyond all you think and most of what you planned. For those of you
who supported Bernie, believe in Bernie and want the transformational
change embodied in the mission of Bernie, we have to empower Hillary to realize any of his dreams. But it is necessary for you to join the campaign and
overcome the growing challenge of Donald Trump. This is a pivotal election, maybe
the most pivotal in my life. We have to work day and night to elect Hillary
Clinton and assure our Country and the World that an egocentric misogynist
doesn't get anywhere near 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. We must work with heart, join others, make
friends and convince young and old, rich and poor, Democrats, Independents and
even intelligent Republicans to join us and produce the numbers we need to win
in November and truly make America safe.