Greatest Imperative

Barack Obama Just Delivered the Greatest Imperative to Democrats Ahead of the November Elections

“The biggest threat to our democracy is indifference.”

JACKIE FLYNN MOGENSEN

At a Nevada rally on Monday, former President Barack Obama delivered one clear message to Democrats ahead of Election Day: Vote.

“This November’s elections are more important than any I can remember in my lifetime,” he said. “And that includes when I was a on the ballot.”

Nevada is a battleground state for Democrats this midterm election, with an open governor’s seat and Democrat Jacky Rosen running a tight race against incumbent Republican Sen. Dean Heller. And, as Obama pointed out on Monday, Nevada could be the first state to an elect an all-female legislature.

“This is not just about one person in the White House,” he said, pointedly avoiding naming President Trump in his speech. “This is about Congress and governor’s races and state legislative races…If all it took was being president, I would have solved everything.”

At one point in the speech, Obama specifically spoke to young voters: “You wouldn’t let your grandmother decide what you wear. You wouldn’t let your parents decide what’s on your playlist.”

“You can’t just give your power away,” he added. 

And while in Vegas, the former president—and dad joke aficionado—couldn’t resist the temptation of a betting joke, at one point saying, “I know you can bet on anything here in Vegas—but you don’t want to bet that the Republicans are actually going to protect your health care.”

In his concluding words, Obama warned that failing to vote in this election may have grave consequences. “The biggest threat to our democracy is indifference,” he said. “The biggest threat to our democracy is cynicism that says ‘we’re just gonna stay home because my vote doesn’t matter.'”