of education and the workforce, this ties together very carefully. voices from the states. part of c-span's 50 capitals tour. >> yesterday, former president rallyspoke at a campaign in philadelphia in support of gov. tom wolf, senator casey, and several democratic congressional candidates. this is a half hour. obama: every time we tried to pull ourselves closer to the american ideal that all of us are created equal, endowed i our creator with certain inalienable rights, every time who likesns, somebody things the way they are, somebody who is benefiting from

power and privilege, push back. way theywill push any can. sometimes, they push back directly. sometimes they are sneaky and they will try to divide working people and they will try to make you feel like you have no power and they will try to make you cynical because it helps them keep their power and privilege. and we are living through one of those moments right now. it did not start with one guy. we did not get here overnight. now, there has been anxiety, fear, and uncertainty that has been building because we live in a rapidly changing world and the economy changes and the face of america is changing and technology is changing and all of that has challenged who we

andand forced us to adapt we see things we are not accustomed to and we get stressed and scared. we do not know what the future will bring. and partly because these are serious challenges that require serious responses. it is easy sometimes when people are feeling uncertain and insecure to hear voices that stir up fears. and try to make us feel more divided. -- and we aredow in one of those moments right now. we are in a moment where there is backlash against progress. and when i was president, as bob was mentioning, we had to work to deal with the worst economic crisis since the great depression. bob was there helping every step of the way and the actions we took during the crisis, turned

the economy around and started the longest streak of job creation on record which continues to this day and we covered another 20 million people with health insurance and we cut our deficits in half and we made sure the wealthiest americans paid their fair share of the taxes. done, the time we were the uninsured rate was down. so when you hear right now folks taking credit for this economic miracle, it is like -- hold up! hold up! hold up! they act like it just started. please. [laughter]

is the thinge though, that we could not reverse, some of the long-term trends. we have seen manufacturing jobs leave the country. that was still happening. we saw a rising inequality that was still taking place. we saw the fact that the rate of unionization was still dropping. there were still a lot of trends that made life harder for ordinary people and working people and we were working on it and making progress but once the republicans took over congress, they just decided we are going to stop progress. we are going to block everything. they would not even do stuff that they used to support just because i was proposing it. though we did pull the

economy out of crisis, even though the unemployment rate went down, there were still issues that were unaddressed and people who were once solidly middle-class still felt insecure. the same way that even though overseas we took out bin laden and we wound down the iraq war and the afghanistan war, people still saw on tv that there were a lot of threats out there and terrorists. >> [indiscernible] president obama: ok. >> [indiscernible] president obama: yes, ok. -- all of thiss money was coming into politics made people feel that the

politicians are not listening to us but the lobbyists and those pulling strings behind the scenes and opportunists began to exploit these frustrations and they reached back into our history of racial division and ethnic division and religious appealed to they fear. and they tried to hit people against each other. and they said order and security would be restored if it were not for those folks. those that do not look like us or do not pray the same way we do. that is from the old playbook. i see you back there, by the way. so, the closer you get to election day, the more you will see stuff like this. fallis what politicians back on. i don't watch television generally but i can already tell

you what the ads are. they are trying to scare the heck out of you. they will say -- candidate such and such, they are going to let in murderers to your house. that is what they do. and you will see more of that. newshe thing is, the good is for a healthy democracy, that kind of fear mongering does not work. from bothgoodwill parties will call out the bigots and the fear mongers and those working to prevent things from getting done. when there is a vacuum. when we do not vote. when we take for granted our basic rights, then other voices filled avoid. thehen other voices fill void. and they promise to help the little guy even though they are supporting the wealthiest.

and then they promise to take on corruption in washington and then they plunder. and they began -- and then they begin to undermine our institutions of democracy to further entrench their power. thethen they undermine campaign finance laws. and then they make it more difficult for minorities to vote. and they substitute corporate polluters. and they give $1.5 trillion in tax cuts to folks like me who do not need them and they will pretend they are paying for them but they are not. and they know that eventually to pay for that, they will be able to argue that we should cut medicare, support for working families. you know what? none of that is conservative. don't let them for you. it is radical. they have a vision that says,

all they want to do is protect their power even if it hurts the country. even if it hurts their own constituents. we have governors around the country that did not expand even though they have hundreds of thousands of people in their own state that need health insurance. so, you have folks who are entirely comfortable with the idea that high-priced lobbyists and unlimited campaign contributions should set the agenda. and let us be honest right now -- the republicans in congress right now -- they are no check on the white house. they are bending over backwards folks fromto shield scrutiny and accountability. so, look, i am not telling you

anything you do not know. you know this. here is the good news, a november 6, you'll have a chance to restore some sanity to our policies. can set the6, you balance of power back to the people. because there is only one real check on bad policy and one real check on the abuse of power and that is you, the american people standing up and deciding to cast your ballot. and the good news is, i have some even better news -- sometimes, sometimes, you go to vote just to vote against something. now, you have some reason to vote against something but the good news is that you have something to vote for.

have these amazing democratic candidates right here. reason it is so important to stand up for them is because they will stand up for you. they are going to stand up to bad behavior in washington and they will also stand up for you. keep if republicans congress this fall, they will try to cut health care again. they said so. believe indemocrats america has to affordable health care. they believe it is not a privilege but a right. they will protect your care. they will stand up for the 5.3 million pennsylvanians that have pre-existing conditions and depend on that coverage. but, to protect that, you have

to vote and send them to congress. it -- if the republic -- ever republican takes the governor's mansion this fall, they may undermine and rollback medicare expansion without a serious alternative. that would leave many people potentially out in the cold. that would put folks caught up in this terrible opioid of endemic at greater risk as they would have less access to treatment. governor wolf expanded medicare under the affordable care act covering 700,000 pennsylvanians. you know he will protect your care. but, to make sure he can keep on doing that, you have to vote. you have to vote for governor wolf. democrats believe that a growing

economy should benefit everybody. not just a few. keepr than let congress attacking you, we have to stand up for those rights of workers to organize for higher wages and stronger benefits. rather then stand up for big banks and for-profit colleges, we have to allow more pennsylvania students to earn a higher education so they can get a good job and do not have to go broke doing it. rather than side with the big drug companies, we have to bring down the cost of prescription medicine. but to do that, you have to vote for the people that plan on doing that, have a history of doing it and will follow-up on doing it. and you have to convince people, even folks that are not democrats, on every issue, you have to convince them that this election is too important and

you have to think about things. people in both parties should be concerned about the current course of this country. folks should want to see a restoration of some values -- honesty, decency, lawfulness. you do not have to be a democrat ita republican to say that is not good to pressure the attorney general or the fbi to use the criminal justice system to punish criminal enemies. -- political enemies. that is what they do in some dictatorships. that is not what we do in the united states. that will not work here. to be a democrat or a republican to say we do not threaten newspapers or tv stations if they publish stories

that we do not like. there were a whole bunch of stories that i did not like. i did not threaten folks. just complaint. i might say to michelle, hey, that is not fair. because we live in a democracy. but, in order to protect those basic rights, you have to vote. be a democrate to or a republican to say that we do not pardon people based on how they look, how they pray, what their last name is, what their sexual orientation is -- that is not right. trading people fairly, treating people with their innate dignity -- that is not a republican or a democratic issue, that is a human issue. that is an american issue.

how hard is it to treat people fairly? come on. you are supposed to learn that in the sandbox. you should treat that person nicely. right? look, there are conservatives that think it is not responsible to run of trillion dollar deficits for our children. conservatives who think there is nothing compassionate about separating immigrant children from their moms. believe there are republicans out there who think we need a limited government but one of the things they should do is make sure that when the hurricane comes, people are taking care of. so, look, i say this

because to some degree i am preaching to the choir. hopefully, some folks beyond this amphitheater are also listening. we do not have to agree on everything but we do have to agree on some basic things. and we have to have elected officials who even if we do not agree with them on everything, the basichem to do things, the core values that make us proud as americans. going -- you know, who are actually going to stand up for what is right regardless of party loyalty and who will fight for you and fight for what is best for the american spirit. i am losing myat voice because i am out of practice.

but, -- here is -- i am wrapping up. come on. is the last thing i want to talk about though. i want to talk about the fact that i am actually hopeful right now. i am hopeful is because out of this political darkness, i see a great awakening happening. . am so encouraged because i am watching people get involved for the first time. or they are waking up to the fact that -- i need to be involved after a very long time so they are marching, organizing, registering people to vote and running for office. some people who have never run for office before our thinking crazy, i have too got to get in there. this momentze that

is too important to sit out. there are military veterans like christie hooligan and george advocates whoare fight for americans in need like mary j scanlon and scott and susan wilde. moms who have fought to protect our kids from gun violence like madeleine. way, madeleine talked hthics in college -- taug ethics in college so you know we need that in congress. so you have a movement of citizens including a record number of americans -- including a record number of women -- you know what, pennsylvania is a great state. but let me just say,

pennsylvania, right now, you have no women in congress. you can send seven democratic women to washington if you vote. and i will tell you, and michelle did not put me up to this, stuff works better when women are involved. government works better when women are represented in the halls of power. we have got great candidates but, the key is you. the antidote to a government that is run by a few people

versus a government run by the organized and the energized. this election will not fix everything but it will kickstart more progress but you have to start it. to start it in this election and then you have to go every election, every day, pay attention, be involved. the biggest threat to this democracy is not just one person in the white house, it is not just republicans in congress, the biggest threat to our democracy is indifference. the biggest threat to our democracy is cynicism. i am talking to you, young people. you. pay attention. the biggest threat to our democracy is when young people think that it is not about me.

i am just going to go and look at my phone. look at your phone to see where you can vote. [applause] phone to see, how can i get involved? if you do not like what is going on right now, do not complain. ag.not hasht do not get all anxious. do not put your head in the sand. do not boo. back with your voice and act like you are too cool. vote! vote! vote! and by the way, weight, weight.

it, i want you to vote for bob casey and tom wolfe and i want you to vote for these great congressional candidates. but, but, and this is important, i also what you to vote for mayor's and sheriffs and legislators and states attorneys and district attorneys. person that young cares about the criminal justice think, well, who do you enforces the criminal justice system? who do you think decides whether or not something bad has happened and whether or not there will be justice done? it is the state's attorney. not a president. -- you have the power

to decide who that person is. make sureote, you can that elections are fair. court drew anreme unfair electoral vote and that is because people voted. we can make that happen all across the country. when you vote, you can make sure that women are protected from harassment and discrimination and that they are paid equally. when you vote, you can make college more affordable for students. you can make it harder for some disturbed person to shoot up a classroom. when you vote, you can make sure that somebody keeps their health insurance. you can save somebody's life. you have that power in your

hands. it takes a half hour to go and vote. we have been through harder times than these and every generation took us somewhere better. not by sitting around and waiting for someone else to do it but by leading a movement for change. that is the power that you have right now. so, if you get involved and not on some doors and talk to your family, talk to your members, convince some new voters come and get them to vote with this entire pennsylvania team, something powerful will happen. change will happen. hope will happen. -- a new lawe helps a kid read or a new law helps a family get shelter, or a new law helps a veteran get it gets a little more hopeful. we take one more step in the

fairness,of justice, equality, opportunity, and hope spreads. it is up to you to spread hope. it is up to you to make change. pennsylvania, are you going to vote? get to work. thank you, everybody. god bless you.

>> with the control of congress in question this election day, see the competition for yourself on c-span. watch the debates from key house and senate races and make c-span your primary source for campaign 18. campaign 2018. sunday night on q&a, major garrett talks about his book, "mr. trump's wild ride."

>> it is not just about partisanship. it transcends party. o describe mr. trump as prot partisan because he is bigger than partisanship. an emotional dynamo that he spins within people. he does it intentionally. sometimes, he does not know he is doing it. it happens. it is influencing every aspect of american life. you detected,at and the we journalists interact with this ongoing story. >> sunday >> today on c-span, "washington journal" is next. then security at facebook and preparations for the november elections. then live coverage of the family research council's value voters summit. in about a