Earlier this week, a senior elected official in our state endorsed my opponent and said it was because he was “born to the job.”
Now, I don't know what he meant to say, I just know what he said. Born to the job? The fact is, our country's systems and institutions have largely been led by people who have always looked like that senior elected official, not like me.
See, when I was born, no one ever thought I could be a United States Senator; and why would they? There had never been a black woman elected to the Senate. And even now, there’s only been one -- Carol Moseley Braun over 20 years ago.But I don’t listen to that type of talk and to that kind of entitlement.
I’m sure few thought I would ever work on NASA's SpaceLab Project, but I did.
I’m sure few thought I could juggle law school with a newborn, but I did. I put my son on a blanket along with my bar exam textbooks, studied hard, and did it.
I’m sure few thought that a small group of women could gather on my deck, conceive and build a national organization to fight domestic violence and then pass the Violence Against Women Act -- but we did.
And I’m sure few thought I could defeat an entrenched Congressman backed by millions of dollars of special interest money and every endorsement in the book, but I did.
I don’t believe anyone in this country was born to anything. That’s not what America is about, and that’s not what this campaign is about. In Senator Barbara Mikulski's words: "30 years ago, people told me I didn't look the part...and now, the part looks like me."
Our campaign is about giving everyone a fair shot, everyone a voice, and not allowing the same old “rules” and “next turns” stop us from what we believe is right.
