In July 2017 I filed to be a candidate for the US House of Representatives in PA-18, planning to take on entrenched Republican Tim Murphy.
Then a scandal erupted and Murphy resigned in disgrace in the autumn. The state Democratic party announced that its committee apparatus would select a nominee for a special election to be held March 13, 2018. A convention of committee members from the district would cast ballots on November 19, 2017 in Washington, Pennsylvania.
Although I was not the choice of the party establishment that day, I delivered a speech intended to appeal to those who were driven by the issues that matter to Democrats - and, I think, to all Americans. I was allotted five minutes.
Here is the text of that speech:
Fellow Democrats, my name is Bob Solomon, and I am here today because Pennsylvania’s 18th Congressional District needs a new representative who will serve the people: someone who will go to that other Washington and work every day to make their lives better.
I have spent the last 32 years taking care of people who visit hospital emergency departments. They come to see me on the worst day of their lives. They face serious illness or injury, and I work quickly to figure out what is wrong and set them on the road to recovery. I have done this for every patient, every day, without regard for whether they look like me, or sound like me, and without regard for whether they have the means to pay their bills.
I have also spent many days on Capitol Hill, talking to Senators and Representatives, trying to use my expertise in health policy to influence decision makers.
Now I seek to become one of those decision makers and move from helping patients one at a time to helping Americans a thousand at a time, or a million at a time.
Voters who have gathered to hear the Democratic candidates for the nomination to fill the vacant Congressional seat in the special election next March have learned what I stand for.
My public speeches and answers to questions have left no doubt, because they are brimming with the ideals that animate true Democrats, and those ideals are voiced with clarity and passion.
I make the case for voters to choose Democrat over Republican in March, and again in November, based on a clear vision, and a mission to take the Democratic platform and make it work for the people of our district, returning government to its proper role as a servant of the people.
So often we hear candidates speak not in specifics but in platitudes. We cannot count on voters to recoil in horror from the right-wing extremist chosen by the GOP. They want to know what we will do, and they want specifics.
I give them specifics.
I will work to achieve universal healthcare: a system in which if you are a human being on American soil, you get high-quality healthcare, and no decision about seeing a doctor or going to the hospital is tinged with the fear of financial ruin. Two thirds of Democrats support a Medicare for All approach to solving that problem. Independents and Republicans will join us when we stand firm for our ideals. That is political leadership.
I will work to put this nation on a path to an energy future that relies on sources that will not run out, like wind and solar. Democrats know this is a matter of urgency. The fossil fuels industries are telling us we should just “Drill, baby, drill!” Some people seem to like that message, but they will join us in planning the transition to a secure energy future, protecting the environment, and dramatically slowing climate change, when we stand firm for our ideals. That is political leadership.
I will work for an economy in which no one who labors 40 hours a week is living in poverty, needing entitlement programs like Medicaid and food stamps just to survive, because we have a living wage. We will work with our traditional partners in organized labor to help make that happen.
I will work to assure tax fairness for workers, not tax cuts for the wealthy. Republicans say cutting taxes for the rich will help regular folks, too, because of the trickle-down effect. But the rich invest money to make more money, not to spur growth or create jobs. Basic facts tell us consumer spending drives economic growth and job creation, so the money must be given to people who will turn around and spend it. Voters will see that the Democratic approach is the right one for hard-working Americans when we stand firm for our ideals. That is political leadership.
I will work to assure that government regulation does what we need it to do: protect the environment, protect consumers, protect workers’ rights, and voting rights, and women’s rights, and civil liberties. Republicans always put the words “job killing” in front of “government regulation.” We know that is wrong. When we stand firm for our ideals, voters will recognize that government is our servant, and that we can, and will, and must use it to protect all of us, especially the most vulnerable of our society - and to be the agent of social progress we all know it can be. That is political leadership.
There is a national spotlight on this special election. Reforming the way we finance healthcare is at the top of the list of priorities for many Americans. You can send to Congress a candidate with the experience and the policy expertise to shape the debate, and the ability to lead us to solutions that work for all Americans. You can vote to put our district on the map, and I pledge to you I will make you proud that you did.
I am Bob Solomon and I ask you to give me what matters most today: your vote.
