Republican National Committee Speech - Aug. 26, 2020

Hi, I’m U.S. Senator Marsha Blackburn from Tennessee. America is a nation of heroes; in times of difficulty we’re reminded that they're all around us. They're in the line with us at the grocery store, in the pew with us at church. They're the regular Americans who step up to volunteer and serve when we need them most. They've stood at the forefront throughout this pandemic. The emergency room nurses who go back shift after shift, the medical researchers developing a vaccine and therapies to combat what the Chinese communist regime unleashed on the world. Cookeville’s Double Springs Church of Christ members lifting our country up in prayer and providing for those impacted by tragedy.

But tonight, I want to talk to you about another kind of hero, the kind Democrats don't recognize because they don’t fit into their narrative, I'm talking about the heroes of our law enforcement and armed services. Leftists try to turn them into villains, they want to cancel them, but I'm here to tell you these heroes can't be canceled. Tennessee is full of them, after all we're the volunteer state. My dad served in the Army in World War II, when he came home, he put on another uniform and for 30 years volunteered to help our underfunded sheriff's department. I'm reminded of him whenever I see compassion and selflessness in others. When I see law enforcement officers put their lives on the line every single day to keep our communities safe in spite of the hatred thrown at them. When I see the heroes who volunteer to serve our country, putting their lives on the line for our freedom. Many of these heroes call Tennessee home and we could not be more proud of the brave men and women of the 101st Airborne Division at Fort Campbell the common thread between them is a deep-seeded desire to serve a cause larger than themselves. They don't believe their country owes them anything, they believe they owe their country and their fellow man. As hard as Democrats try, they can't cancel our heroes, they can’t contest their bravery and they can't dismiss the powerful sense of service that lives deep in their souls. So, they tried to defund them —our military, our police, even ICE — to take away their tools to keep us safe.

Joe Biden, Kamala Harris and their radical allies try to destroy these heroes because if there are no heroes to inspire us, government can control us. They close our churches but keep the liquor stores and abortion clinics open. They say we can't gather in community groups, but encourage protests, riots and looting in the streets. If the Democrats had their way, they would keep you locked in your house until you become dependent on the government for everything; that sounds a lot like communist China to me. Maybe that's why Joe Biden is so soft on them, why Nancy Pelosi says that China would prefer Joe Biden — yep, I bet they would. But President Trump has stood up for our heroes every day, he stood by our law enforcement, our military, and the freedoms we hold dear. He's made good on his promise to put America first and I hope you will stand with me as we send him back for four more years, with a clear message to the Democrats: you will never cancel our heroes.

Blackburn, M. [NBC News]. (2020, August 26). Sen. Marsha Blackburn: Democrats 'Can't Cancel Our Heroes' | NBC News [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RMrNjDo2JiI]. Retrieved on October 9, 2020 from https://www.youtube.com/user/NBCNews.