First Lady Michelle Obama fired up Democratic voters last week in downtown Detroit by urging them to go to the polls on Nov. 4 and vote for Gary Peters for U.S. Senate and Mark Schauer as the next governor.
Obama, one of the most admired Democrats in the nation, repeatedly invoked the names of Peters and Schauer to thunderous applause during her remarks, saying the 2014 Michigan Democratic ticket will save Michigan and that the candidates running this year are poised to fight for the interests of the working class.
“There are so many reasons why I’m proud to be here today for Gary and Mark, but it really boils down to one fundamental truth, that Gary and Mark — I have seen and I have heard as I have listened to what they say, and I have met them —understand what Michigan families are going through, and they are going to be on your side every single day in Lansing and in Washington, D.C.,” Obama said. “Because Mark and Gary know what they’re talking about. They are both the sons of fathers who were teachers and mothers who were a nurse and a nurse’s aide, and they both worked their way through college. They did it by pumping gas, flipping burgers, putting in long hours at local retailers. They did it the hard way.
So Gary and Mark know what it means to stretch a paycheck.”
Obama injected the auto industry into her remarks saying, “And while there were plenty of folks in Washington who said we should let the auto industry go under, your President didn’t listen. Gary Peters and Mark Schauer, they didn’t listen. They refused to walk away from workers here in Michigan. Instead, they bet on American car companies, the companies that have defined this city and this state for decades.”
She said since 2009, these companies have emerged from bankruptcy to create nearly half a million jobs, the strongest auto industry growth since the 1990s.
“In addition to all of that, our high school graduation rate is at a record high in this country. More of our young people are graduating from college than ever before. And because of the Affordable Care Act, millions of Americans finally have health insurance,” Obama said. “And I want you to just think about how different our country looks to children growing up today. Think about how our kids take for granted that a Black person or a woman, or anyone who wants to, can be President of the United States of America. They take for granted that their President will end hurtful policies like “Don’t ask, don’t tell” and speak out for equality for all Americans.
So, Michigan, while we still have plenty of work to do, we have truly made so much of that change we were talking about.”
Towards the end of her remarks the First Lady said what matters is votes.
“And ultimately, the only thing that counts are those votes. That’s what decides elections in this country, and that is why Barack Obama is President right now. He’s President because a whole bunch of folks who never voted before showed up to vote in 2008 and 2012, and a lot of people were shocked when Barack won.
You remember that? They were shocked because they were counting on folks like us to stay home. But we proved them wrong. Barack won because record numbers of women and minorities and young people showed up and voted. It was you all. It was all on you,” Obama said.
“See, but here’s what happens. When the midterms come along, too many of our people are just tuned out, and that’s what folks on the other side are counting on this year, because when we stay home, they win. So they’re assuming that we won’t care. They are hoping that we won’t be organized and energized. They are praying we just sit around and wait for somebody else to fix our problems. And only we can prove them wrong.
Make no mistake about it, this race is going to be tight. We know that races like this can be won or lost by just a few thousand, even a few hundred votes.”
Reflecting again on the last presidential election, she said, “I want you to think back to what happened in the 2012 presidential election here in Michigan. The outcome of that race was decided by about 225,000 votes. And while that might sound like a lot, when you break that number down, that’s just 46 votes per precinct. Do you hear me? Forty-six votes — and that’s for a presidential election. So the numbers are much smaller and much more impactful in a local race.
So that’s what I want people to understand, that their vote matters. Every single vote matters. So if all of us here today really get to work, we could swing precincts across this state for Gary and for Mark.”
Bankole Thompson is the editor of the Michigan Chronicle. Email bthompson@michronicle.com.
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