Dear Friend,
Thank you. Thank you for support throughout the primary election and the
redistricting period which preceded it. Thanks to each and every one of
you for your assistance in the campaign, your contributions, your
endorsements, your volunteer work, your sacrifices, your advice, for
strengthening not just our campaign, but for encouraging me personally. I
would particularly like to thank those of you who contributed even though
you are yourself experiencing hard times.
I went back to work in Congress the day after the primary, completed
voting in Washington, DC and then Elizabeth and I took a week to rest, to
reflect and to renew. I returned to Congress this week to continue my
duties and to plan my work for the remainder of the term.
I could not let another day to go by without sharing with you my deep
gratitude and my awareness of your role throughout my public service. I am
especially grateful to the people of the greater Cleveland area! who
have been exceptionally supportive of me through the years. In this past
primary election I achieved close to three out of every four votes from
that part of my old district which was included in the new district. I am
sure this was a resounding note of appreciation for the constituent
service performed by my staff over the past sixteen years. I am also aware
that I have I connected with the hearts of millions whose concerns
transcend district lines.
It is important to put a political defeat into perspective, so may I share
some thoughts? Since the March 6 Primary Election results, I have thought
about others who have suffered real loss, people who have lost their
homes, lost their jobs, lost their investments, lost their health care
coverage, lost their educational opportunities, lost their retirement
security, lost a loved one to the violence of war abroad or conflict
domestically. Put alongside the struggle of so many people just to
survive, the loss I experi! enced is much less consequential.
Redistricting? Political def eat? Indeed, but it is OK. I have not a shred
of regret for the campaign we ran, a campaign of integrity standing up for
progressive values and truth. I accept the outcome with equanimity but
have concern for the direction of our Congress and our country. As for the
methods used to win the election? Well, Spring has just begun. Life is
bursting forth and cherry blossoms crown Washington, DC. Truth telling
will have its season. Tomorrow's victories will be built from the embers
of defeat. Of this I have no doubt.
How do I know this? I started my career in 1967 and since then, I have
lost a total of eight times. Indeed, when I was elected to Congress in
1996, it was on my FIFTH try. When I was first sworn in January 3, 1997,
it was the culmination of a campaign for Congress which started in
December of 1971. Today I have had the honor of sixteen years of service
in the United States House of Representatives. I tell you that our victory
is inevitable. As it is for anyon! e who ceaselessly strives to make this
a better world. This is not simply about elections. This is about how we
stand up for humanity and our world by speaking and acting for the truth.
My education in losing and then winning has empowered me never to fear
defeat, instead to cast votes and to take strong positions without regard
as to how I may be affected politically. For me, truth is the highest
consequence and I am committed to defend the cause of peace, economic and
social justice. So, today I feel lighter, joyful, liberated by a familiar
sense of onrushing possibilities as embodied in these lines from one of
Elizabeth's and my favorite films, lines that Elizabeth spoke as vows to
me when we married almost seven years ago: "Knowing love, I will allow
all things to come and go. To be as supple as the wind, and take
everything that comes with great courage. My heart is as open as the sky.
Life is right in any case." With love and appreciation,
Dennis
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