"A Fresh Start" - Rally Speech

Thank you all for being here today. Thank you to my wife Julia, who makes everything I do possible. Thank you to my parents, Raymond and Naomi, for believing in me. Thank you to my grandmother Esther, who became a U.S. citizen at the tender young age of 75, and who celebrates her 90th birthday next month! Thank you all, each and every one of you, for standing up with me for a fresh start for the people of our district.

I grew up in Skokie. I went to Solomon Schechter Day School, where I was nurtured in the faith of my people. I attended Niles North High School, where I made lifelong friends from so many different backgrounds. I graduated from Harvard, and I represented my home town of Skokie abroad as a Rotary scholar. And every experience taught me how lucky I am to be from a community that treasures freedom, values success, and celebrates diversity.

I never met Rep. Sidney Yates, who represented our district for so many years. But I did watch my parents open the questionnaires he sent every few months, asking for their opinion about the decisions he had to make in Congress. I remember what it was like to feel that our representative in Washington really cared about what we had to say. I remember what it was like to have a true champion of the U.S.-Israel relationship in Congress.

This is a very important moment for the people of Chicago and Cook County. In 2009, we lost 182,300 jobs--more than any other metropolitan area in America. We pay the highest sales taxes in the country, and the governor wants to raise state income taxes by 33%. The politicians have run out of our money, and they are looking for more. They have exported that way of doing things to Washington. As a nation, we face a day of financial reckoning.

The politicians who represent us believe that the answer is to raise the debt limits and keep on spending. They want to let old tax cuts expire, and raise new taxes on what we earn, invent, and invest. They want to give even more power to the government, when we can't even pay for the things government is already supposed to do. And when we tell them "no," they don't listen. They live by a different set of rules than they make for us.

Enough is enough. It is time to retire the politicians who got us into this mess. We need a fresh start in the ninth district, in the state of Illinois, and across America. We know the answers. We must create jobs by helping small business. We must balance our budgets by cutting wasteful spending. We must limit the reach of big government. These are the solutions that have always worked, whether Democrats or Republicans were in charge.

My job as your U.S. Representative will be to do what is right for the people of the ninth district. I will not follow a party line, or put the interests of insiders ahead of your welfare. I know that my role is to represent you in Washington, not to represent Washington to you. I know this is a seat I will not hold long if I do not keep my word. I will lead by example. It is the only kind of leadership we can trust.

I became interested in politics because I wanted to help the poor and less fortunate in our society. I became a Republican because I learned that big government is the worst way to help. I did not learn that at Harvard. I learned it in housing projects on the West Side of Chicago. I learned it in the shantytowns of South Africa. I learned that freedom is the best way forward, and that America must always stand for that idea.

I am running for Congress because I believe we cannot create jobs with high taxes, heavy regulations and out-of-control spending.

I am running because I believe we cannot fix health care by forcing people to buy insurance, by cutting Medicare, or by taking away your medical choices.

I am running because I believe we cannot create a future for our families if we continue to build up trillions of dollars in debt each year.

I am running because I believe we cannot get rid of corruption when all of the power is in the hands of one political party in Chicago and Washington.

I am running because I believe we cannot protect America by giving up on Israel and giving in to the enemies of freedom.

I am running because I believe that the freedom so many of us came to this country to seek is still worth preserving and fighting for.

I am running because I believe that the people of our district deserve a real choice, and a real debate about the future of our country.

I am running because I believe there is nothing wrong in America that cannot be fixed by what is right in America.

I am running because I believe I have the knowledge to solve problems, the courage to stand up to powerful interests, and the patience to listen to those with different views. I have already stood up to Rep. Barney Frank. I demanded he take some responsibility for the financial crisis. And I am ready to debate Rep. Jan Schakowsky anywhere, anytime in the ninth district. You deserve a real debate--in person, and not through surrogates.

I'm here because I love my community and I want to help it succeed. I've seen too many businesses close down, too many jobs lost, too many homes in foreclosure. I am tired of hearing the only answer is higher taxes and more debt. I know what we are capable of doing, if we have the freedom and opportunity to follow our dreams. I refuse to be afraid of a corrupt political machine. I take my inspiration from all of you, who are here today.

Join me as we stand up for what is right. Join me as we take on the Washington establishment. Join me on the campaign trail, as we work every day until November 2nd, and beyond. This year, we are going to do more than send a message. We are going to make history. We are going to give the people of the ninth district, and the people of Illinois, and the people of America, a fresh start! God bless you and thank you.

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