We are lucky to live in Illinois. It's a solid blue state smack dab in the middle of the country. We are also lucky to have J. B. Pritzker as our Governor. He is a great public servant. Sure, he is one of the super-wealhty, but he has dedicated his time to serving the people of Illinois.
We listened to him speak, giving daily updates, during the Covid pandemic. He was a voice of cool, calm reason and warm assurance. He is smart, competant, a fabulous speaker, his head and heart are in the right place. An old-school Democrat, but a tough cookie, a fighter willing to take on the Fascists in our midst.
A few highlights:
He listed the positions on which he wants Democrats to stand firm, beginning: “It’s wrong to snatch a person off the street and ship them to a foreign gulag with no chance to defend themselves in a court of law.” This is not about immigration, he said, but about the Constitution. “Standing for the idea that the government doesn’t have the right to kidnap you without due process is arguably the MOST EFFECTIVE CAMPAIGN SLOGAN IN HISTORY,” he said. “Today, it’s an immigrant with a tattoo. Tomorrow, it’s a citizen whose Facebook post annoys Trump.”
“These Republicans cannot know a moment of peace. They have to understand that we will fight their cruelty with every megaphone and microphone that we have. We must castigate them on the soap box, and then punish them at the ballot box. They must feel in their bones that when we survive this shameful episode of American history with our democracy intact—because we have no alternative but to do just that—that we will relegate their portraits to the museum halls reserved for tyrants and traitors.”
“Cowardice can be contagious,” Pritzker said, “But so too can courage…. Just as the hope that we hold onto in the darkness, shines with its own...special light.
“Tonight, I’m telling you what I’m willing to do...is fight—for our democracy, for our liberty, for the opportunity for all our people to live lives that are meaningful and free. And I see around me tonight a roomful of people who are ready to do the same.”
“So I have one question for all of you,” Pritzker said. “Are you ready for the fight?”
