ELEANOR ROSS ## GENERAL ELECTION CAMPAIGN RALLY SPEECH ### “A LITTLE BREATHING ROOM. A STRONGER AMERICA.” *Approximately 7–9 minutes* My friends! It is wonderful to be here with you today! Look around you. Look at the people standing beside you. Look at the families, the workers, the students, the small-business owners, and the people who have taken time out of their lives to be here. This is what America looks like. Not a collection of statistics. Not a line on an economic chart. Not a talking point in Washington. America is people. People who get up early, work long hours, raise families, care for their parents, build businesses, serve their communities, and keep this country moving forward. And I want to ask you something. When did doing everything right become so expensive? When did working a full-time job stop being enough to give a family some financial security? When did a grocery trip become something you had to calculate down to the last dollar? When did finding an affordable place to live become an extraordinary challenge? I don't think Americans are asking for too much. They're asking for a little breathing room. They're asking to work hard and actually see the benefits of that work. They're asking to build a future without wondering whether the next rent increase, medical bill, or utility payment will knock everything off course. And I believe that is a reasonable expectation of our government. **Because the economy should work for the people who make it work.** Now, President Mueller has spent his administration confronting an economy in which families have continued to face rising living costs. And I recognize that inflation is complicated. I recognize that presidents cannot simply sign an order and make every price