In a room with about five dozen very enthusiastic Harris/Walz supporters, Arizona Democratic Stars Yassamin Ansai, Gabby Giffords, and Senator Mark Kelly, along with special guests New Mexico House Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez, and Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker, wowed the attendees with what is at stake in the coming November elections and called everyone to action, imploring them to network and get out the vote for both the Presidential and down-ballot races.
Arizona House Congressional District Three Democratic Nominee Yassamin Ansari spoke first and reminded voters of what is at stake in this election, conveying:
“We all know what is at stake this election in November? That’s why all of you are sitting here. Today, we have a choice between two very different visions for this country. Two very different economic visions for this country. I have been so inspired to see all of the policy plans that Vice President Harris and Governor Tim Walz have put forward for this country. The Opportunity Economy, in particular… She has talked about her plans to make sure we tackle our housing shortage here in this country and make sure that every single American can have access to safe affordable housing and she is putting forward concrete plans, to make sure that any American who wants to start a small business, who wants to get ahead can do that. Now, on the other side, we know that Donald Trump and his Project 2025 agenda are all about giving tax breaks to do wealthiest individuals in this country to billionaires to corporations. And we know that everything that he has is just a concept of a plan. So we cannot count on Donald Trump to do anything.”
She then called the attendees to action, stating:
“The hardest work we have ahead of us is organizing and knocking on doors. The polls are tight in Arizona… It’s going to be close…Every conversation that you have. Every phone call that you make is going to make a difference. And it’s really important that we have those harder conversations, not with our friends who are Democrats, but with independents. With Republicans. With people who feel disenchanted by the political system and maybe who don’t feel like voting and say that their vote doesn’t matter. You need to tell them that it does matter…Continue to join us for the next 38 days to ensure that we elect Vice President Harris and Governors Walz to the White House.”
After the event, Ms. Ansari graciously responded to questions on the Harris/Walz program to double the number of apprenticeships and launch a Manufacturing Renaissance in Aerospace and other advanced technologies.
She responded:
“I think that should be something that is looked upon very favorably by Arizona. Arizona has become a hub for manufacturing in the United States. We want to be at the Forefront of Chips manufacturing and the semiconductor industry. And we have a lot of very strong labor unions here in the state who are benefiting both labor unions and non-labor workers, who are benefiting from, all of the new jobs.”
“I’m very excited to see that Vice President Harris wants to continue and build upon what President Biden has done when it comes to investing in jobs in the United States.”
Ms. Ansari also responded to a follow-up on Maricopa County Community Colleges receiving a grant from the CHIPS Act to train workers in semiconductor manufacturing, saying:
“That’s fantastic. The community college system here in Maricopa County deserves a lot more attention. There’s actually a proposition on the ballot this year too without raising any taxes and making sure they get a little bit more funding, and I think that is one that I’m excited to support, especially with sectors like semiconductor and also with nursing and TV technology. We really need our community colleges to be strong to help train the next generation of workers.
The CD Three Democratic Nominee also responded to my question on whether Maricopa County goes blue, so does the Grand Canyon State, saying “Yeah, absolutely. We need Maricopa County to be blue so that we can keep Arizona blue.”
Former Representative Gabby Giffords spoke next and recounted how the attempted assassination attempt on her in 2011 drove her to fight for gun safety legislation which has the support of Vice President Harris and Governor Walz.
She also appealed to the better angels in all people and that we are “up to the challenge” and “progress is possible” when people “care for each other and work together.”
Giffords’s husband, Senator Mark Kelly delivered remarks next and immediately praised his wife for her work in combatting gun violence in the United States.
Like Ansari before him, he called the guests to action, asking:
“Why are they here? Because Arizona can make the difference in this Presidential Election, as it has before In 2020. Joe Biden and Kamala Harris won Arizona by 10,000 votes. That’s it…So why are we here…We are here to make sure other people vote. And that is the difference. This is about one thing. Which side, which team, which campaign works harder than the other one. Who knocks on more doors. Who makes more phone calls. Who devotes the time to talk to their friends, their neighbors, their relatives…Because of this election in Arizona (and)the Statewide races. They are very, very close.”
Senator Kelly then spoke about “the consequences” if the Trump team prevailed, stating
“Four more years of Donald Trump would be devastating for this country and devastating to the economy. You know what economists have said about his 2025 plan, what it would do to the economy: recession, skyrocketing inflation, job loss.”
“Kamala Harris’s plan. Economists say that’s going to lift up all Americans. But mostly middle class and working class, and every day, folks are going to get a better deal under Kamala Harris, and they would never get under Donald Trump... Donald Trump is going to double down again on tax, cuts for the wealthiest Americans. That’s what he will do. He will drag us backward. He did basically three things when he was President…He cut taxes for the wealthiest Americans. He shredded our alliances…He took away women’s reproductive rights…”
He went back to asking people to work to turn out the vote, declaring:
“Your influence in this election is huge. Knock on the doors. Make phone calls. That typically adds up to one to two percent of the vote. That is tens of thousands (of votes…) Remember, it’s the team that works harder…because folks we cannot go back. We got to go forward, I see some veterans in the crowd. Donald Trump has a complete lack of respect for veterans. He does not understand us. He doesn’t understand service above self. Doing something that’s not about him. You can’t have this guy as Commander in Chief again.”
After the event, Senator Kelly graciously responded to my question on the Harris/Walz economic plan to launch a Manufacturing Renaissance in Aerospace and other advanced technologies like Quantum Computing and AI, offering:
“She’s spot on. The United States is the best. We are the best innovators in the world by far in the United States. We create Industries and even other countries benefit. But we usually benefit first and in a lot of these industries, you can create good-paying jobs that don’t require a four-year degree that you can actually raise a family on. That’s why Kamala Harris supported the Chips and Science Act that we passed that’s going to create great-paying jobs here at TSMC and Intel. We have the same opportunity to do similar things in AI, Quantum Computing, and the Aerospace industry. We’re by far the leaders in Aerospace and to be able to double down on that and she has a plan to do that.”
New Mexico House Representative Teresa Leger Fernandez appeared next and immediately said “Arizona is going to deliver us Kamala Harris.”
She said that all the guests in the room and those like them in the country “were needed” to vote down the ballot and make sure the Democrats win Congress in November.
Representative Fernandez called on everyone to work with a “joyful energy,” saying “Our joy motivates us. Our love motivates us. It gives us the energy to win in November.”
She later chastised Mr. Trump and his Project 2025 agenda for their Anti-Public Education and Reproductive Freedom positions, citing her own difficult pregnancy as a case study on what could happen to women if they do not enjoy the same health care protections she had.
Perhaps her most moving comments were when she spoke about the Harris/Walz agenda and its commitment to giving people an opportunity to own a home or start a small business. Ms. Fernandez talked about those opportunities building memories, relaying “We’re creating that future so that we can build those memories. Think about it. Think about it. That’s what we’re doing with Kamala Harris and Tim Walz and it’s really an exciting thing.”
Illinois Governor J.B. Pritzker delivered the final remarks of the event, stressing many of the same points as the earlier speakers.
In his opening remarks, he praised Gabby Giffords’s efforts in helping him pass an Assault Weapons Ban in Illinois.
Saying he came to Arizona (and its extreme heat) because this election may be “Most important for the future of the country” and it was vital to “Elect Kamala Harris and Tim Walz” because:
“Everything we care about. Everything is under siege. By a racist, misogynist, homophobic, and xenophobic former President of the United States and his MAGA extremists including Kari Lake. And we cannot and I really mean it. We cannot let them win in 2024.”
He, like the others, warned about the perils of Trump’s Project 2025 agenda, especially on Reproductive Rights, and praised the Opportunity Economy goals of the Harris/Walz ticket, stating “Kamala Harris understands that what’s right in America is standing up for working people for the most vulnerable people in our country.”
Calling the guests to action, Pritzker said:
“I believe that collectively we can win this. Despite the fact that it’s razor thin here in Arizona and all across the nation, and that’s why all of us have to get out of the boat. All of us have to knock on the doors of our neighbors. All of us have to pick up the phone and call and say to (the people,) ‘this is the most important election of our lifetime.’ You know, that better than anybody else here in Arizona.”
After the event, I had the opportunity to ask the Governor about the Harris/Walz economic plan for a Manufacturing Renaissance in aerospace and other advanced technologies, the doubling of apprenticeships, and the importance of Maricopa County.
On Harris’s Manufacturing Renaissance and the doubling of apprenticeships, he said:
“We actually have a number of aerospace companies in Chicago as well as Rockford and all across our city. So that’s hugely important for us. But you know, the policies that Kamala Harris has stood for during her term as Vice President and now what she’s put forward are great for manufacturing, and the Midwest is where manufacturing is based…High-tech is something that we’ve been going deep in Illinois, Quantum technology is something that I’ve championed and we’re seeing a huge increase in. We have that exascale computer that was developed at one of our National Laboratories. All of the capabilities that we have. Is going to be enhanced by the program that Kamala Harris put forward. Donald Trump hasn’t put anything forward that’s going to help us develop the technology by the way. This is the technology that’s going to help us beat the Chinese in the world of the economy as well as if God forbid, we get to some kind of military competition.”
On Maricopa County determining who wins Arizona, the Governor said:
“I said it this morning at the Maricopa County Democratic Party event. I’ll say it again, right here. If Maricopa County goes for Kamala Harris, this nation will go for Kamala Harris.
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