Former Iowa Congressman Berkley Bedell Endorses Martin O’Malley for President
O'Malley Can Rebuild The American Dream
By Congressman Berkley Bedell
Des Moines Register, August 31, 2015
I was elected to serve northwest Iowa in the U.S. Congress in 1975, just a few decades after World War II, when America pulled together to make difficult choices together to build a strong middle class. It was a great time. Both Congress and the American people worked together to build a better nation, and a better life for all of the people.
My generation has been called “the greatest generation” and that period was coined “the great prosperity.” But the work we did then isn’t finished.
Now, after the economic collapse in 2008, it’s time for the next generation of new leadership to rebuild that American Dream. That’s why I’m endorsing Martin O’Malley for president.
As a World War II veteran, I saw what America can accomplish when we work together. We had to tax the wealthiest Americans to build the planes, tanks, guns, and equipment needed to defeat Hitler. And, during my time in Congress, we brought people together to fund our priorities that made the American dream possible for so many in our generation.
Then Ronald Reagan was elected president. While he was very popular, he proposed a massive tax cut that benefited the wealthy and introduced a new, toxic kind of economics that changed how we operate as a country. His tax cuts for the wealthy grew even larger under following Republican presidents — leading to an economy today where wealth is so concentrated at the top, and in the hands of a select few, that it is taking opportunity away from the many.
Today, another war is going on that few people are aware of — it’s a fight for our American dream. It’s a battle between the super-rich and the common people, between Main Street and Wall Street, between those who want to invest in the things that work and those who cling to a failed trickle-down economic model. How we choose to move forward during this difficult time will make all the difference.
We need new leadership — from someone with a record of getting progressive results — to rebuild the American dream. That’s why I am proud to endorse O’Malley for president.
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Read the full op-ed here: http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/opinion/columnists/iowa-view/caucus/2015/08/31/omalley-can-rebuild-american-dream/71422890/
BERKLEY BEDELL, a Democrat from Spirit Lake, represented northwestern Iowa in Congress from 1975 to 1986.
