Videos
Campaign Announcement Speech (Topeka, KS)
Jim Slattery announces his campaign in a speech in Topeka, KS on April 29th, 2008
Full Text of Remarks by Jim Slattery
My name is Jim Slattery and I am running for the United States Senate.
I’m a fourth generation Kansan who was born and raised in the farming community of Good Intent, first settled by my ancestors in the 1860s.
Like you, I was raised with Kansas values and learned early the importance of faith, family, and community.
Like you, I know the satisfaction that comes from a hard days work; I grew up working on my family’s farm in Atchison County.
I know what it feels like to lose everything; one of my first memories is of our family farmhouse burning to the ground.
I know the pressure of starting a small business; I co-founded a real estate company in Topeka.
I know the sense of accomplishment (and exhaustion) that comes from holding a job and going to school; I had to work my way through college and law school at Washburn University.
And I know what it feels like to serve in the military during a controversial war; I served in the Kansas National Guard during the Vietnam Era.
My mother and father taught me to accept personal responsibility, to think independently, and that each of us has the power to make our community a better place and the duty to try.
It is in this spirit that I announce my candidacy for the United States Senate.
I am running for office because the U.S. Senate is simply not getting the job done.
The future of our economy is unstable and uncertain.
Our reliance on foreign oil has created a national security crisis-- and a budget crisis for Kansas families.
And our nation is engaged in a tragic and costly war.
Like you, I have been observing the federal government from the outside- watching the breathtaking incompetence and indifference of our political leadership.
I cannot in good conscience continue to sit on the sidelines and watch career politicians lead our country in the wrong direction.
We can do better. We must do better.
Economy
Our country’s economy is unstable, due to the reckless spending of career politicians in both political parties.
In 2001, the federal government had a budget surplus of $250 billion and we were talking about paying off the national debt. What a wonderful legacy it would have been to leave the country debt free for our children; but thanks to career politicians in both parties, we have added $3 trillion in unpaid bills to our national debt.
This policy of spend and borrow is intergenerational robbery; these politicians expect our children and grandchildren to pay their bills.
Energy
As fiscal irresponsibility threatens the economic security of our nation, you feel the effects every time you fill your car up with gas.
Kansans pay $3.50 a gallon at the gas pump, while big oil companies take record profits, and too many in Washington look the other way.
It’s time our nation approaches the costs of energy as a serious threat to our national security. We must do everything we can to reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and it’s time to enact meaningful energy policy.
Iraq War
And finally, our nation is engaged in a tragic war that has taken the lives of more than 4,000 of our best young men and women.
The United States entered the War in Iraq based on inaccurate intelligence data and assumptions that defy Kansas common sense. As the war continues to cost more than $10 billion a month, the Kansas share of the total cost will surely be more than $4,000 for every man, woman and child in our state.
Every person who has served in Iraq and Afghanistan is an American hero as far as I am concerned and we must make sure they receive all the assistance they and their families need while they are gone and when they return. They must not be treated the way the Vietnam veterans were treated a generation ago.
In November the people of Kansas will have an important choice to make.
Career politicians on both sides of the political aisle care more about the next election than the next generation.
Partisan gridlock in Washington must end. I am determined to be a senator who will help unify our country by working with Republicans, Democrats, and Independents to promote the best ideas to solve America’s urgent problems.
I know I face a difficult race. My opponent is an entrenched career politician who moved to Washington, DC before Neil Armstrong landed on the moon.
I face someone, who for all the good he may have done, has stayed in office too long. He has become part of what we must change if we are to put our country back on track.
Pat Roberts supported the reckless fiscal policy and Iraq War policy of the Bush Administration, and they owe him a lot for his loyalty.
I am hopeful about the future of Kansas and our country because of my faith in God and my fellow Kansans.
I was taught not to make promises that I cannot keep; and so with that in mind, I make you these promises…
I will be an independent voice for Kansas in the U.S. Senate.
I will always put the people of Kansas ahead of any political party.
And, I will use every ounce of God-given energy and strength to address the problems facing our country.
In the Gospel of Luke we are taught, “To whom much is given, much is required.” As Americans and as Kansans, we have been very blessed. I have had the opportunity to live the American Dream, and I still believe in the American Dream. I want every young Kansan to know that with determination and hard work they can overcome obstacles and go as far as their talents will take them.
I invite all Kansans- Democrats, Republicans, and Independents- to join me in this campaign in Kansans to change the U.S. Senate.
My mother used to tell me that it is better to light a candle than curse the darkness. This year in Kansas, let us not curse the darkness; let us light a candle for change.
I’m Jim Slattery and I’m running for the United States Senate. I ask for your support and your vote.
- YouTube Link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OT31JtHMcVA
- BlipTV Link: http://blip.tv/file/865296/