Change-Gephardt, Dick (Richard Andrew)-[Democratic], 1988

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Identifier: P-1066-44062

A young alderman in St. Louis, he led the fight for reform and won. He went to Congress after Watergate to change the way things were. And a new generation of reformers elected him their leader. With Bill Bradley, he defeated the strongest lobbying effort in history, closed tax loopholes for the rich, and eliminated taxes for six million poor Americans who couldn't afford to pay them. He was the floor leader when the House voted to cut off funds for Ronald Reagan's secret war in Nicaragua. He's taken on corporate polluters and fought to clean up acid rain. With Claude Pepper, he's led the fight to protect Social Security. I'm for Dick Gebhardt because I know he cares. Raised in a working class neighborhood, he's led the fight for the Gebhardt Trade Amendment to save American jobs. From the farms, the factories, the neighborhoods comes the yearning for change. And now our cause finally has a voice. If we can't fight for workers, for farmers, for seniors, the strength and soul of our party, then what really are we all about? It's your fight too, Dick Gebhardt.

Scope and Contents

In this 1988 political advertisement, Gephardt, Richard Andrew (Dick), is portrayed as a reform-minded leader whose political accomplishments include tax reform, opposition to Reagan’s funding of the Nicaragua war, environmental advocacy, and the protection of Social Security. By emphasizing Gephardt’s working-class background and commitment to American workers, the advertisement presents him as a champion of change and as an embodiment of the Democratic Party’s “strength and soul.”