My restaurant’s window was smashed in Philadelphia, where our leaders are failing their most basic duty: taking care of the people who make their city great:
At the end of this week, America’s cities will host a conference on gun violence with the specific purpose of encouraging those who feel powerless or hopeless to get involved. We want to hear from you.
So far, organizers have been successful. Three hundred people have committed to the Philadelphia meeting. It’s still not clear who has been invited, but I’d say that more than half the people who have made it will be from this city or region.
The response from leaders and politicians in other cities has been similar: leaders and politicians are eager to jump in, because they’re afraid of being replaced.
It was never our goal for Philadelphia to be the conference’s host. It’s not our goal to be the conference’s host. It’s not our goal to be the conference’s host.
I know that some of you are afraid of being replaced. That’s why we called for invitations to people who can help make a difference in your own city. We couldn’t include everyone you know, because we are only able to invite our friends.
Our friend and national political leader in the anti-gun lobby spoke yesterday at a White House press briefing on gun issues. He doesn’t even have to mention our name, yet he couldn’t stop himself from using the words “our friend,” by which he meant the anti-gun lobby.
Then he told the White House press corps:
We have been able to work with them, and we have a good relationship, and we hope to continue that relationship, but you know, we don’t always agree but we can still work together.
It wasn’t our goal to work with anti-gun people. It was theirs. It was not their goal to work with us. In fact, they didn’t even want to invite us.
Our goal is to work