Linda Sanchez, (CA-39)
Tuesday, August 26, 2008 at 03:35 PM Good afternoon. I’m Congresswoman Linda Sanchez and I’d like to share a story with you. One day in the Capitol while going to vote, I threw my arm into the closing doors of an elevator to catch it. There were two older men standing inside, and one of them asked me, “So, whose office do you work in?” Dressed professionally and wearing my pin that identified me as a member of Congress, I was dismayed that these two assumed I was someone else’s staff. I politely smiled and responded, “Oh, I have my own office in this building.” Then the elevator doors opened, and they scurried out. As a young Latina, most people may not think of me as a person they would go to in search of answers. But I’ll tell you someone who did: Barack Obama. He recognized that my background as a union member and organizer gave me a grasp of the difficulty families face trying to make ends meet. That’s why he picks up the phone to ask me about policies that impact working families. With the soaring cost of energy, families today are paying more for basics like food and fuel and just about everything else. Rising health care costs mean that for many people, coverage is out of reach. With joblessness on the rise, hard-working families are being squeezed from all sides. They worry about their economic security and whether tomorrow will bring more hardship than happiness. But Barack Obama knows what we need to get the American economy back on track. He’s restoring America’s promise that if you work hard and play by the rules, you won’t be left behind. Barack Obama understands what single-parent families confront every day, because he grew up in a single-parent home. Barack Obama understands that we must preserve programs like low-interest student loans, because that’s how he was able to afford to go to college. Barack Obama understands that as Americans, we can achieve economic success, but also lend a hand to help those who are struggling. He did just that when he became an advocate and organizer for communities that had been devastated by plant closures. There are people listening to me right now who think that the outcome of this election won’t affect them. It will. It will determine whether you have a champion on your side, who will help you into the elevator, or whether you get more of the same failed leadership that has given hard-working families the shaft.