Ron speaks in Medford & Portland about honoring Dr. King's legacy

Ron spoke over the weekend at ceremonies in Medford and Portland remembering Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. about the urgent need to honor the civil rights leader year-round by working to help vulnerable people in Oregon and nationwide.

He noted that Dr. King said when he accepted the Nobel Peace Prize in 1964, “There is nothing new about poverty. What is new, however, is that we have the resources to get rid of it.”

“That means helping kids sleeping on a cold sidewalk get a warm bed and a solid roof over their heads,” Ron said, “helping senior citizens who are cutting up their medicines because they can’t afford them, and making sure every American no matter their zip code has an equal chance to get ahead.”

He also pointed out that this year’s events honoring Dr. King come at the same time as the 10th anniversary of the Citizens United decision unleashing special interest money to slosh around politics to benefit the fortunate few.

Ron said Dr. King dedicated his life to resources going to the many, not the few. And as the ranking Democrat on the Senate Finance Committee, he pledged to fight to eliminate tax breaks for those at the top of the economic pyramid to provide those needed resources for housing.

“Housing the vulnerable comes before letting the special interests milk our political system,” Ron said. “Special interests belong in their place where they don’t have any more political clout than anybody else in America.

“America must honor Dr. King’s legacy today and every day by dedicating resources to putting building blocks in place so all Americans can have a roof over their heads and the chance at a quality life,” he said.