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Michelle Obama: “They’re assuming that we won’t care … and only we can prove them wrong”

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First Lady Michelle Obama was in Milwaukee on Monday at a campaign rally for Democratic candidate for governor, Mary Burke.

She spoke to a packed house at the Wisconsin Center and challenged us to Get Out The Vote:

“We all need to be as passionate and hungry for this election as we were in 2008 and 2012,” Obama told a packed crowd at the Wisconsin Center Monday.

“When the midterms come along, too many of our people just tune out, and that’s what a lot of folks on the other side are counting on this year,” she said. “They’re assuming that we won’t care, they’re assuming that we won’t be organized and energized – and only we can prove them wrong.”

Transcript: Remarks by the First Lady at a Voter Mobilization Rally — Milwaukee, Wisconsin

This rally was for Mary Burke but the words should be repeated at every Democratic campaign rally in the country between now and election day.

History suggests that Democratic voters don’t care much about the midterms but this year is different; this year we have the results of the low turnout 2010 midterms as a reminder of what happens when we can’t be bothered to vote. A reminder that those of us with school age children see every single day.

When Scott Walker chopped almost a billion dollars from state aid to education in order to give tax breaks to the wealthy and to outside business interests, he dealt a huge blow to our future. His future as a GOP presidential contender may be enhanced by his teacher-bashing credentials but those of us who call Wisconsin home and who are raising families here and who count on public schools want a different future, A New Direction.

The New Direction that Mary Burke envisions for education:


Education has always offered a way up to a good job and a better life.  It’s the fabric of our communities, and it’s the key to a strong economy in the long term.

Mary believes Wisconsin schools should be among the best in the nation-and she knows that making historic cuts isn’t the way to do it.  She’ll work every day to strengthen our public education system, from K-12 to our technical colleges and university system.

The Republican Party does not want people to have a way up to a good job and a better life. It is up to us to deny them the levers of power and take back our hijacked statehouses. The future begins at the ballot box.

Get Out The Vote … Get Out And Vote.

Elections Matter. Remember, when we vote, we win. Or as we say in Wisconsin: #WIvoteWIwin.


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/ 6 Comments

6 comments

  2. JanF

    We know that races like this can be won or lost by just a few thousand or even just a few hundred votes.  And just think back to what happened in the governor’s race back in 2010.  The outcome of that election was decided by about 62,000 votes.  And while that might sound like a lot, when you break it down, that’s about 10 votes per ward — that’s right, just 10 votes per ward.

    Now, I know that every single one of you in this room knows 10 people that you can get to the polls, right?  That’s how I want you to think about this.  It is that close.  So when people act like their vote doesn’t count, every vote counts.  Let’s be clear:  This election is on us.  (Applause.)  We can’t wait around for anyone else to do this.  It’s on us to get people energized and organized and out to vote on November the 4th.  That’s on us.

  3. JanF

    Because if we don’t show up at the polls this November, if we don’t elect leaders like Mary Burke who will put people first instead of just fighting for special interests, then we know exactly what will happen.  We can’t pretend like we don’t know. […]

    So I don’t want you to be surprised.  I want to be very clear:  If you think people who work 40 or 50 hours a week shouldn’t have to live in poverty in the wealthiest nation on earth; if you don’t want women’s bosses making decisions about their birth control; if you think women should get equal pay for equal work; if you want your kids to have quality preschool and the college education they need to fill their potential — then you need to step up.  You need to get everyone you know out to vote this November.

  5. JanF

    Scott Walker’s new problem: How Michelle Obama could turn the race against him

    Democrat Mary Burke has one big advantage in running against Gov. Scott Walker: She’s not the mayor of Milwaukee, so Walker can’t run the divisive, racialized campaign against Wisconsin’s largest city – a staple of Republican politics here going back to the 1960s – that he relied on to survive a recall race against Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett in 2012.

    On the other hand, Burke’s lack of ties to Milwaukee has raised the question of whether an affluent white business owner will be able to turn out the Democrats’ urban and non-white base on Nov. 4 in sufficient numbers to beat Walker. […]

    The first lady’s appeal on behalf of Burke was warm and personal. She shared stories of Burke mentoring two young local boys, serving on the board of the Madison Boys and Girls Club and starting an educational foundation to help at risk kids go to college. “She has been such a passionate champion for our kids and families here in Wisconsin,” Obama told the crowd.

    She also played the Obamas’ unique Wisconsin card, as the mostly white state went heavily for the Illinois senator in the 2008 presidential primary against Hillary Clinton. Wisconsin’s blend of urban black voters and white college-educated liberals proved to be the campaign’s ultimate weapon that November, too, and Democrats here would like to turn out the same coalition, in the same numbers, for Burke.

    In 2012, 74% of Milwaukee’s voters turned out compared to the national average of 60% for urban areas.

    … Burke can’t win without turning out the party’s most loyal voters in Milwaukee, and that’s where the first lady came in. She talked about the country’s declining poverty rate among children, its rising high school graduation rate, the falling numbers of uninsured thanks to the Affordable Care Act, a pitch crafted for her audience.

    And she talked about the danger to all of those constituencies when Democrats don’t vote. Acknowledging the effect of money in politics, she pointed out the GOP “had plenty of money back in 2008 and 2012 – and we still won the election because we showed up to vote. That’s how Barack won … But when we stay home, they win.”

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