I had to do my best not to cry.
My best wasn’t good enough- I’m sure anyone who's heard Khizr Khan speak, though, isn't surprised.
Last night, Mr. and Mrs. Khan took time out of their busy schedule to come and talk to the Albemarle County (VA) Democratic Party, and it was... unreal.
Mr. Khan's speech last night was honest, down to earth, and incredibly moving. I say this completely seriously, and with zero hyperbole... Khizr and Ghazala Khan may be the most humble people I've ever met in my life.
He told us the story about drafting his speech for the DNC last year; how he was told he'd have exactly two minutes to speak. So he sat down and began writing all his grievances with Mr. Trump... and writing... and writing... eventually, he came up with a couple dozen pages of material- which his wife, the incredible Ghazala, edited for him, down to exactly two-hundred and sixty words.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
He talked to us about the speeches he's done since November- 108 in total, including last night, and all pro-bono! How little time he's spent in his own bed, with his wife and family, because he is out there doing what he thinks needs to be done for our Republic.
About how he grew up under martial law, knowing what it's like when you don't have the Constitution and the rule of law at your back. About dealing with the loss of Captain Humayun Khan. About working with kids who are now too afraid to go to school, thinking their parents would be deported while they were gone, and they'd never see them again.
And he told us about being stopped on the streets of DC by a Hispanic mother whose son had been bullied at school ("Trumps gonna send you back!"). And every time that young man had a bad day at school, he’d come home, close himself in his room, and pull up Mr. Khan's speech on YouTube to give him enough confidence to go back to school the next day.
There was more, there was so much more, but I can’t do it justice here. I just can’t.
At the end of the speech, I got pulled aside by a mutual acquaintance of ours; without ceremony, she hauled me over and parked me in front of Mr. Khan.
I think I should mention now- Mr. Khan is a constituent of the 58th Virginia General Assembly District, the district that I'm running for election in this fall. He and I have exchanged messages over the past few months, but I'd never had the chance to meet him in person. He might've endorsed us during that time, if I had asked him to- but I told him, in no uncertain terms, I wanted to earn his endorsement.
And so it was that Mr. Khan looked at me- he looked me straight in the eye- shook my hand, and said he supported me. And that he'd do what he could to help our campaign.
Y'all.
There're no words that can do that justice- but I'm going to give it my best shot here.
When someone- a hero!- who has suffered great loss, who has done so much, sees fit to support you... there's no option left but to be humbled, and work hard to be worthy of that.
And, by God, that's what I intend to do. Work hard to be worthy of the support Mr. Khan has graced me with. To be worthy of the support of every single one of the good folks of the Virginia 58th General Assembly district.
It’s not easy; it never was going to be. I’m running against someone who co-sponsored the Transvaginal Ultrasound law, who’s fought tooth and nail against restoring voting rights, and who has megadonors that can literally write him six-digit checks at any time (and with Virginia’s non-existent campaign finance laws, that actually happens).
But the folks in the 58th District deserve to have someone in Richmond as humble and hard-working as they are, as Mr. Khan demonstrated to me so succinctly last night. So I can’t do anything else, but give it my all- no matter the odds- to be worthy of that support.
I'm going to fight for every Virginian in the 58th District- and with your help, I'll be able to go to Richmond and do exactly that. $10 today will go a long way; I don’t need the Baxters and the Koch Brothers of the world when I have people like you all and the Khans on my side. I don’t need the $600,000 my opponent has on hand for a state legislative race; I just need enough money to be able to get out and go where people live- to talk to them! LISTEN to them! Let them know that we do give a damn, and we’re going to FIGHT LIKE HELL for them.
Thank you.