The great majority of the guests at the Harris/Walz Get Out the Vote Rally at Trevor Browne High School in Phoenix on October 26, 2024, have already voted in this election.
However, the message of this event conveyed by speakers including headliner Democratic Vice Presidential Nominee Minnesota Governor Tim Walz was for the people gathered to reach out to family, friends, and neighbors and encourage them to vote if they have not already done so.
Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano Opens the Event.
Calling Arizona “Ground Zero” on the path “to victory,” Arizona Democratic Party Chair Yolanda Bejarano opened the rally at the Trevor Browne event.
Telling the audience that “The future of Democracy runs through Arizona,” she took great pride in saying the people of the Grand Canyon State may be the ones to make Kamala Harris “The first woman President of the United States.”
Saying a vote for Harris would mean the continuation of many good paying union jobs through the CHIPS Act, respect for veterans, giving children a brighter future, promoting an economy where everyone who works hard has an opportunity to get ahead, and the protection of individual freedoms like women’s health care from a national abortion ban and consumers from price gouging, Ms. Bejarano called the people to action, calling on them to “Let’s turn our worry into work and our fear into fight and together, we will elect Kamala Harris as President and Tim Walz as Vice President. When we fight we win.”
In her remarks, Congressional District Three Democratic Nominee Yassamin Ansari Contrasts the Two Presidential Candidates.
Arizona House Congressional District Three Democratic Nominee Yassamin Ansari successfully framed the contrasts between Donald Trump and Kamala Harris.
Whereas Donald Trump wants to “Dismantle our Democracy” and take away rights, Kamala Harris will fight to preserve it for everyone.
Whereas Donald Trump overturned Roe v Wade, Kamala Harris will sign legislation to restore it.
While Donald Trump will fight for tax cuts for billionaires, Kamala Harris will work “For a New Way Forward” to make life more affordable in the areas like housing and college for the middle and working classes.
While Donald Trump denies climate change, Kamala Harris would “Take ambitious action to address the climate crisis-the defining issue of our time.”
Saying that everyone at the event was “Ready for Change,” Ms. Ansari called on the guest to “Make it happen” and take advantage of the opportunity “To change the trajectory of not just our state, but of our entire country” by volunteering to help turn out the vote and run up the margins in Arizona Congressional District Three.
Arizona Democratic Party Regional Organizer Berto Ibarra Frames the Choice in this Election.
Arizona Democratic Party Regional Organizer Berto Ibarra put it succinctly for the crowd by framing the election as “Do you want a criminal or do you want a prosecutor” as the next President of the United States.
He also called on everyone to make a plan to volunteer, saying “We have ten days to fight for our future and our freedom.”
Gabby Giffords and Mark Kelly speak, calling for an Army of Volunteers to Deliver Arizona for the Harris/Walz Ticket.
After a brief intermission, the wife and husband team of former Arizona Representative Gabby Giffords and current Senator Mark Kelly appeared and called on an army of volunteers to seal the deal and make the Grand Canyon State Blue.
With chants of “Gabby” from the people, former Representative Giffords first thanked President Joe Biden for always checking up on her following the attempt on her life in 2011.
On Vice President Harris, Giffords said, “My friend, Kamala will be a great president. She will protect abortion access. Join me in voting for Kamala Harris.”
Senator Kelly spoke next and voiced what was at stake in this election, relaying:
“Gabby and I don’t have to tell you all of you what is at stake in this election? Whether women today grow up with the same rights and freedoms as the generations before that or are they subject to a National Abortion Ban. Whether our economy works for everyday people with lower costs and more opportunity or is it rigged for billionaires.”
The Senator called for solutions, instead of the “Tough talk” and “Photo Ops” that they get from Trump on issues like immigration.
Saying Donald Trump only “Looks out for one person and that’s Donald Trump,” Kelly said Kamala Harris, Tim Walz, and Arizona Senate Candidate Ruben Gallego “Are leaders who are ready to serve all of America” whereas Mr. Trump “Has shown himself to be unstable and unfit.”
In calling the people to action, the Senator and former naval aviator and astronaut said:
“We need an army of people willing to put in the work. Now, here’s the good news. Our future Vice President. He’s an army guy. So, Gabby and I need all of you to become part of that army. The first order of business is to vote and to vote early. When you get home, put it in the mail, drop it off. Here’s the second thing. Gabby and I need all of you, before you leave today to sign up for a volunteer shift… If we work hard (these next) ten days, we’ll Turn the Page and move this country forward.”
Invoking the Memory of John McCain, the Views Ana Navarro Wows the Crowd.
The Views and CNN Commentator Ana Navarro, a former Republican, followed Giffords and Kelly and invoked the memory of John McCain throughout her remarks and wowed the crowd with her condemnation of Donald Trump.
Saying she voted for Hillary Clinton in 2016 because it was a question of “conscience” and how much Trump had taken the Republican Party on the path to insanity and indecency, Navarro said that vote “Felt good” and “Liberating” in voting for “What is best for America.”
Recounting the election of 2000 where Al Gore lost by only 534 votes in Florida (while winning the national popular vote,) Navarro reminded the voters, “If you’re thinking your vote doesn’t count, you are wrong. Get up and make it count.”
On voting against Trump, Navarro said she would never vote for someone who makes fun of disabled people like members of her family or a person that takes reproductive freedom away from women.
On the contrast between Harris and Trump, Navarro said, “On one hand is a woman who prosecutes criminals. On the other, there is a convicted Criminal. I am voting for the childless cat lady.”
On McCain, she said, “I will never forgive Donald Trump for speaking against John McCain… John McCain was a hero. Donald Trump was a criminal.”
Navarro called on the people to never forget the racist comments Trump has made toward Latinos when he calls all of them “rapists” or “Poisoners of the blood of the country.”
On Mr. Trumps recent remarks on referring to the United States as the “Garbage Can of the World,” Navarro called on the people to help “Send Donald Trump to the trash can of History.”
Remembering Vice President Harris as someone who consoled her after the death of her mother, Navarro closed her speech by saying:
“She’s a spectacular woman. She’s going to be a amazing President…I know what my friend Kamala Harris can do for this country. What she did for me. She can lift us up. She can hold us up. She can console us. Please elect Kamala Harris.”
Comedian George Lopez Introduces Governor Tim Walz.
Saying “Enough with the lies” from Donald Trump, comedian George Lopez, looking like Albert Einstein, marveled at the guests in the room, commenting “This is what America looks like” and they were the ones that will help “Put Kamala Harris in the White House.”
Calling Harris “The Real Deal,” Lopez invoked the memory of the Vice President’s mother and her positive message of being proactive in overcoming obstacles, telling the people “We’re going to send her daughter. Kamala Harris to the White House…We’re not going back.”
After the people chanted “We’re not going back,” Lopez introduced Walz as the opportunity for the voters to “Put a teacher in the White House” and “Not someone (Trump) who thinks the sound of windmills causes cancer.”
In his address, Governor Tim Walz Gives a Virtuoso Performance.
After thanking some of the previous speakers, Governor Walz told the crowd “You’re here for a simple reason. You love this country.”
After chants of “USA, USA” from the people, Walz said “Those days are over where they (Trump and his MAGA supporters) take a crap on this country. I’ll be damned if I let Donald Trump lecture me on what family values are.”
Warning voters not to be complacent, Walz rallied the crowd, telling them:
“We need to speak out and sound the alarm. This guy is wrong for America. This Donald Trump is not the Donald Trump of 2016. This Donald Trump called for the termination of the Constitution. He will send the United States military after people that don’t support him. (To Trump,) The Enemy Within is more dangerous than the dictator of North Korea.”
The Governor then cited retired Generals Milley, Mathis, and Kelly’s comments about Trump calling him “The Most Dangerous Person Ever” (Milley,) and a “Textbook Fascist” (Kelly.)
Saying “Don’t pretend that any of this is normal,” Walz reminded the audience that, according to Kelly, Trump wanted the generals Hitler had.
He said that the people in Arizona should be sick because Trump, “Disgraced the legacy of John McCain,” the Governor commented that “It was the sons from Minnesota and Arizona, that defeated the hell out of Adolf Hitler.”
Framing what is at stake in the election, Walz told the audience to believe a person “When someone tells you who they are,” especially when their children’s and grandchildren’s future, if Trump gets to appoint two more Supreme Court Justices, is at stake.
On moving forward, Walz told the audience, “The solutions on the wall. Arizona vote super early for Kamala Harris…Our recital is in 10 days. We need to sing.”
Referring to the Vice President as a visionary, compassionate, and effective leader, Walz told the people, “Donald Trump has an enemies list. Kamala Harris has a to-do list for the American public. We have a new way forward.”
Walz then discussed the New Way Forward-Opportunity Economy agenda of a Harris/Walz Administration including:
- Investing in the middle class.
- A $6,000 child tax credit for newborns like his government did in Minnesota.
- Promoting more child care providers unlike JD Vance’s solution to just ask grandma to put in more hours.
- Expanding the Biden/Harris era Prescription Drug Benefit to the whole population.
- Expanding Medicare to include home care for the sandwich generation as well as eye glasses and hearing aids.
- Protect Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and the Affordable Care Act.
- A $50,000 business tax credit to start a small business.
Ridiculing Donald Trump has having no solutions, Walz commented that “He’s (Trump) the person that drives by the fire, tells people how to put it out, and he’s the one who started it.”
Walz also called Trump one of “the worst business person in American history,” saying his governing plans would “Bankrupt Social Security in six years.”
Remember Mr. Trump has gone bankrupt six times including a casino.
He also mocked the current MAGA Republican concept of freedom, saying when “They talk about freedom to be in your exam room, to tell you what books, you can read...(My) Golden Rule: Mind your own damn business.”
The Governor also called for gun safety measures for public schools, saying children and teacher should not have to worry about their safety every time they step into the classroom.
He also reminded the people that while “Vice President Harris and myself are both gun owners, The Republican Presidential nominee cannot pass a background check to get one.”
Addressing the men in the audience., Walz shifted to the topic of reproductive freedom and how it was important for the men to “Think about the women in your lives” and work to elect public servants that would protect women’s health care and ensure that victims of rape and incest get the care they need and women are not forced to have miscarriages in the parking lot like what is happening in the 20 states that have Trump Abortion Bans.
On Trump and MAGA-Project 2025 designs to regulate Fertility treatments, the Governor said “Donald Trump should not have the ability to deny anyone to have a family that they want.”
Calling Trump “Pathetic and Unpatriotic” for calling America “The garbage can of the world,” Walz stated “Donald Trump hates this country. Everything he does is for Donald Trump.”
In calling the people to action, the Vice Presidential Nominee told them that “Kamala Harris thinks America is the greatest country on Earth” and it was time to the final minutes of the game, saying “We got a better team. We’ve got a better quarterback in Kamala Harris…This is all gas no break for the next 10 days…And when the little ones are around you asking what did you do to save the Democracy in 2024, The answer is that every damn thing that we could. When we fight we win. When we vote we win.”
After his address, the Governor mingled with the audience. Here is a picture he posted on social media.
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