Know, even though there are a lot of 2020 types coming, who know it is time to stop treating the president like it is the only office that matters and organize to win at every level of the ticket. I am thankful to be with you. I am with you after a challenging week back home. I have been off the campaign trail help in my community move of agh a tragic shooting eve resident of our community by a police officer. It is as if one member of our family died at the hands of another. Even as an outside process works to determine what happened, we already know why such deep wounds are surfacing. Why our whole community hurts. I also want to tell you that my community is full of people who believe in safety and justice. We will heal and come out stronger in the broken places. When a city is challenged, just as when a nation is challenged, the most important thing you can fall back on is your values. I am here to talk about the values that make us democrats. I am sick of the word values talk about like it only belongs on one side of the aisle. Freedom and security and democracy are not conservative values. They are american values. This is the year we break the republican monopoly on talking about freedom. We are the ones who know that freedom is at stake if there is a veil of mistrust between Community Members and officers. Officers sworn to keep them safe. We know you are not free if you dont have health care, and you are afraid to start a small business. We know that freedom can only come by way of education, which is why we need a president who will appoint a secretary of education who actually believes in public education. And we know that you are not free when your Reproductive Health is being dictated by mail male politicians. Freedom doesnt belong to the republican party, and neither does patriotism. Whenever i come here, i am filled with memories of the first time i spent a little visit in columbia which was not quite as comfortable as this one because i was at fort jackson learning, even though i was a sailor, learning for some reason how to do army stuff. This is where they teach you how to do that. I am pretty sure the flag we saluted was not a republican flag. It was an american flag. Symbolizing a country in which you can speak your mind, including criticizing your president , and no one will question your loyalty for the to the republic for which it stands. If we want to talk about security, lets talk about security. Lets talk about cybersecurity and election security. Lets recognize that trying climate disruption is a National Security threat. If we want to talk about National Security, let us name and confront the rising tide of violent White Nationalism that has claimed lives from charleston to san diego. That is National Security. It means Economic Security, and Economic Security felt equally. Which is why i believe we need to invest in the future of black america with a douglas plan that is as ambitious as the Marshall Plan that rebuilt europe. We have to make these investment. To get any of it done, we have to insist on democracy and recognize that our democratic republic is not democratic enough. We need fair districts. We need to get money out of politics. Yes we need to elect our , president in a way where your vote and my vote counts by adding up all of our votes into a National Popular vote and choosing our president that way. I stand before you as a n admittedly nontraditional candidate. I think it might do some good to send a mayor to washington when we need washing to look more like our best run cities and towns instead of the other way around. I would argue we need a new generation of leadership to step up at the highest levels in our country. We are not going to win by going on the president s show. I know it is massively entertaining. I dont know what kind of show to call it. Is it a game show . Is it a reality show . Its a horror show. So we are not going to go on his show. Because if you are on his show, you are losing. What are we going to do . We are going to change the channel. Running for office is an act of hope that we can make a difference. Do you have hope that we can make a difference . Are you ready to stand with me and change the channel . Then we will turn states blue from indiana to South Carolina and onto the white house and beyond. I will stand with you every step of the way. Thank you, South Carolina. Thank you. Thank you