Seth Moulton farewell letter

[brooklynite]

Team Moulton,

Today, I’m ending my campaign for president. It’s a sad day, but I couldn’t be more proud of what we have accomplished over the last few months.

We challenged Donald Trump where he’s weakest—as Commander in Chief—and showed this country that Democrats are the party of making America strong overseas and safe here at home. We ran to take back patriotism from the Republican Party, because true patriotism isn’t about hugging the flag—it’s about fighting to make sure the flag stands for something. We put forward the most ambitious call to national service in a generation, asking all 33 million young Americans to consider serving here at home to tackle the biggest challenges facing our country.

And this campaign has even helped me face a few of my own fears. For the first time in my life, I talked publicly about dealing with post-traumatic stress from my four combat tours in Iraq. Our team put forward a plan that will end the stigma around mental health—the same stigma that kept me silent for so long, and that kept every presidential candidate before me from talking about mental health struggles themselves.

That’s what this campaign has been about: the courage to be honest about the toughest challenges we face. And I’m so proud of what we’ve done.

I couldn’t have accomplished any of it without my wonderful family behind me, especially my amazing wife Liz and daughter Emmy. I couldn’t have done it without my extraordinary team, who worked incredibly hard for a longshot candidate because they believed in me and our mission like they believe in our country. And I definitely couldn’t have done it without you—who supported me and came out to events and volunteered for this campaign all across this country.

Each of you reminds me, everywhere and every day, of what truly makes America great. From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

While this is the end of my campaign, it is certainly not the end of our efforts. I will once again be running for Congress in the 6th District of Massachusetts, my home, and I can’t wait to get back at it. I will be relaunching my organization, Serve America, to work with all of you to keep the House, to flip the Senate, and to win back statehouses across the country next November. And most of all, I will be doing whatever I can for our nominee in 2020.

Now, before I sign off for a while, I want to say one more thing about this campaign:

My mentor in college, Reverend Peter Gomes, once said, “Hope is the stuff that gets us through and beyond when the worst that can happen, happens.” And oftentimes, in these past couple of years, and even in these past couple of weeks, it’s felt like the worst that could happen in America has happened.

But when I traveled the country and my home district over these last few months, I found hope.

I found hope in the veterans I met who are working to end the stigma around mental health by sharing their stories for the very first time. I found hope in the kids who are walking out of school demanding progress on climate change and guns. I found hope in the teachers and reporters who have been striking for basic pay. I found hope in the women who have been marching for basic respect. I found hope in the amazing, diverse, talented group of leaders we have running for president.

And I find hope in all of you: in Americans across this country who are banding together—through our shared values—to beat the hateful politics of Donald Trump and fight for who we are.

That hope is what gets us, as individuals, through the darkest of times. And it is what will lead our country through the darkest of times as well.

I often say that in the men and women I served with in Iraq, I saw the best of America in the worst of circumstances. Well, I saw the same thing in this campaign. I saw Americans from all backgrounds, all races, all religions, standing up and fighting for our values because they believe in our country—even when it lets them down. Especially when it lets them down. Because that is when our country needs us most.

Running for president with you behind me has been one of the greatest honors of my life. But I’m focused on the future, and looking forward to what’s ahead. Thank you for everything,

Seth

[msongs]

1. translation - wah wah wah nt

[Green Line]

2. He needs to concentrate on getting re-elected

He’s going to be primaried, and hopefully we can beat him.