My First Political Speech

Asking the Young Democrats at the University of Washington to Endorse Tulsi Gabbard

I’d like to start off by thinking about what we’re here to do. We’re here to choose which Democratic presidential candidate to endorse.

Well, what does endorsing someone mean? It means we express approval and support for that person and their ideas.

Now, I’m here to ask the Young Democrats at the University of Washington to endorse Representative Tulsi Gabbard, to express your approval and support for her and her ideas.

However, I think we can all recognize that there is little chance of Representative Gabbard actually becoming the Democratic nominee for president; unfortunately, she just doesn’t have enough support.

And I’m under no delusions that one small university club can change that, but I’m here asking you to endorse her anyway, and that’s because of what endorsement means.

Regardless of the Democratic nomination, I think it’s important to endorse Representative Gabbard because her ideas are ideas that we should value. Because her vision of the world at the end of this tunnel we’re in is a world that we ought to value.

Because giving our approval and support for her campaign is a choice that sends the message that we, as young Americans, as current voters and future leaders, will strive for those ideas and that world with her; regardless of the nomination.

Well now I should probably tell you what some of her ideas are. There are three specific areas that Representative Gabbard stands out in and I’m going to focus on those.

The first is climate change. In 2017, two years before the Green New Deal was introduced, Representative Gabbard sponsored a bill called the OFF Fossil Fuels Act, which would require the country to convert to 100% renewable energy by 2035.

Now, while the Green New Deal is a resolution, the OFF Act is a bill; the difference being that the Green New Deal, which has been endorsed by many candidates, doesn’t lay out any actionable laws, it is simply a policy recommendation.

Representative Gabbard’s OFF Act is a law and, if approved, would actually require the federal government to take the actions it outlines.

I believe we should endorse an actionable plan to combat climate change over a recommendation that can and will be ignored by future politicians.

The next area Representative Gabbard holds a unique stance in is foreign policy. She is committed to withdrawing the US from interventionist wars, to ending America’s policy of being the world police, and to refocusing our resources on building a better nation.

As a veteran and a member of foreign relations and security committees in Congress, she plans on using her experience to build better relations with our global neighbors; isn’t that something we should endorse?

Lastly, and perhaps, most importantly, Representative Gabbard doesn’t follow a party agenda. If you’ll allow me to get political for a moment, I don’t believe anything of value can happen when we as a country and as a people are as divided as we are now.

Representative Gabbard is willing to listen to and work with people whom she disagrees with; if you look at the rest of her policy, it’s a combination of the best arguments from both progressives and conservatives.

She truly embodies the idea of “of the people, by the people, for the people,” by including all people in her considerations.

She is the candidate who can bring us back together, which is why I ask us to endorse her, to adopt and support her values, to work towards her goals as our own.

Representative Tulsi Gabbard will probably not be our next president, but she can still be the president we ask for. Thank you.