At about 10 PM on the night of the primary, Don Berwick took the stage at the Westin Copley Place and conceded the Democratic Primary to Martha Coakley and Steve Grossman. I feel fortunate to have been one of the many Berwick supporters in the packed room when Don delivered his final speech of the campaign.
Here is the speech if any of you would like to watch it. It runs just over 11 minutes and I guarantee will provide any Berwick supporter with a sense of closure. Here’s a quote from my favorite part:
“Martin Luther King, Jr. famously said, “The arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice.” I don’t quite agree . . .
Watch the speech to find out what Don said next! And best of luck to Martha in the General! She has my vote!
This call — seven minutes into the speech, is the key to the speech and to the campaign, and holds a vital message, a crucial response both to Republican hypocrisy and conservaDem duplicity.
Reading that line I’m immediately reminded of, “the cause endures, and the dream shall never die”.
With so many politically active people on this blog, most of us have are mourning the defeat of at least one and probably several exceptionally qualified candidates that we supported.
Please watch Don’s gracious concession speech, whether you voted for him or another candidate for governor. In the media, there is so much coverage of the horse-race aspects of this primary, and this will remind you that at a higher level it is all about values.
I am also impressed by Don’s very human concern for his young campaign staff who worked so hard for him. He is that rare representative of his generation that did not succumb to cynicism and materialism and does not want to see the cycle repeated. We honor the commitment of all our candidates, winners and losers, by continuing to work for the ideals that inspired them.
I found the parts where he was speaking to his young staffers particularly moving.