Another Thursday, another announcement

There was a nineteenth-century exhortation to the cavalry: do not wait for orders, mount up and ride to the sound of guns. The sound of artillery meant that there was a battle being waged, and the cavalry needed to be in the fight.

I have placed my name on a ballot every two years for two decades because I wanted to be in the defining political fights of our generation. As a state legislator and a member of Congress, I have not sought places of political safety. As a result, I think I have more to show for my time in elective office than I would have if I had served much longer, but heeded the conventional wisdom to avoid controversy.

When I announced three weeks ago that I would not seek another term in Congress, I fully expected that I would not again seek elective office. But I never intended to retreat from the defining political fights.

I had no clue that Governor Perdue would announce on the same day that she would not seek another term. I have very much appreciated the encouragement that I have gotten to run for Governor, and I have thought hard about it.

As a former state legislator and as a citizen, I care deeply about the issues North Carolina faces as a state.

Whatever rough, imperfect equality of opportunity we have is because of the education provided in our public schools. I know that because I have lived it. My mother struggled as a widowed bookkeeper to make sure I had opportunities that were denied to her and to my father. I am determined to make those opportunities available to every child from every circumstance in every generation.

We need a Governor who will fight the efforts of Republicans in the legislature to close those doors.

But the guns I hear now are still for the fight over the dysfunction and injustice in our nation’s economy. The financial crisis and the painful recession it caused has offended the sense of justice of most Americans, including me. The financial crisis was not the result of a “perfect storm” of unforeseeable economic events. The financial crisis was the result of blameworthy conduct, of what Franklin Roosevelt called “heedless greed,” for which there has been too little accountability. Our economy and our democracy depend on the rule of law. We need to restore the faith of Americans that the same laws apply to everyone.

Although my term in Congress expires at the end of this year, I believe I will have other opportunities to stay in that fight.

I have been an energetic and determined candidate in the past. Although my determination to hold elective office appears now to be in remission, I may seek elective office again.

But I hope you will continue to support energetic and determined candidates. And I hope that if those candidates prevail, that they will not seek places of political safety, but will ride to the sound of guns.