Congresswoman
Debbie Wasserman Schultz
Remarks Upon Election as Chair
DNC
Meeting
Fairfax
Hotel
Washington,
DC
May 4, 2011
[prepared remarks]
Thank
you. Thank you all so much for your unwavering support.
Ray,
Alejandra,
Joyce and Stephen, you each managed to capture a part of who
I am and why I firmly believe in the future of this great nation and
our Party – the most progressive, diverse and forward thinking
political organization in this country.
Donna
Brazile, thank you for always being there for Democrats. You
have blazed so many trails, including as Interim Chair.
I
remember the first time I saw Donna on T.V. for Al Gore and how proud I
was to see a woman running his campaign.
As
we
transfer the gavel this afternoon, there is no doubt in my mind that
women like Bella Abzug and Fannie Lou Hamer will be smiling down on us.
Let us all thank the phenomenal Donna Brazile for her
unwavering
service to our Party and our country.
I
must also recognize the
leadership and service of the next Senator from the Commonwealth of
Virginia Tim Kaine. Tim served us as Chairman for the past two years
with dignity and discipline. He is leaving us a Party that is as
strong
as ever.
I
also thank and acknowledge my family, my Congressional Staff and the
staff at the DNC.
My
family
– my parents Larry and Ann Wasserman, my children Rebecca, Jake,
and Shelby, and particularly my husband Steve – all of whom are here
with me today – they make major sacrifices so that I can do a job I
love. I am truly fortunate to have such a wonderful and close
family.
My
congressional
staff works tirelessly on my behalf. They are a
committed group of public servants and I appreciate and value all that
they do.
And,
to
the dedicated staff that keeps our Party running and winning, you
have been there for me as Vice Chair, you have made my transition to
the DNC easy, and, you have pulled off yet another successful DNC
meeting. I look forward to working even more with all of you.
Of
course,
I am so honored to have been nominated for this position by the
President, and I am humbled beyond words at your vote of confidence.
To have been asked by President Obama to lead our Party is an
indescribable feeling.
You
know,
you've heard a lot about me today, but there's one piece of
my personal story that hasn't yet been mentioned: my first
decision to
run for office.
I
was 25 years old when I first ran for the Florida House of
Representatives.
Now,
I
believed I was ready to serve, but the good 'ole boys in my
Democratic Club had other plans. They patted me on the head and told me
that I was too young; that I needed to wait my turn.
Well, that just strengthened my resolve. I was determined to prove them
wrong.
So
I
spent every single day, rain or shine, knocking on the doors of my
would-be constituents. Before that race was over, I had knocked on
25,000 doors.
Now,
remember,
this is Florida –in the summer. My husband was so concerned
about how much weight I was losing that he started sending me out the
door with a chocolate milkshake for breakfast each morning.
I
was
involved in a six-way primary. Competition was fierce and my
opponents well funded. I had to demonstrate to my community who I was
and what I stood for.
But I was not deterred, because I knew that even though I did not have
a lot of money, no one was going to out-work me.
I
won that primary with 53 percent of the vote and went on to win the
general election with 64 percent of the vote. And at the age of 26, I
became the youngest woman ever elected to the Florida legislature.
That race taught me two things:
First,
there is no substitute for good, old-fashioned hard work.
Second,
don’t take no for an answer.
I
will
work every single day like I did in that first race to reelect our
President, win back the House, hold the Senate and elect Democrats up and down the ballot. On my watch
we will not be outworked.
Ours
is
the oldest and most successful political party in the history of the
world. But our success as a party isn't measured simply in political
wins and losses. And our success as a party isn't just an electoral
scoreboard.
Our
success
always will be measured by how we improve the quality of life
for Americans and ensure that everyone has a shot at the American Dream.
That's
what
I want for my children – that’s what you want for your children –
and that's what every person in our great nation wants for themselves
and their families.
Now,
it would be a great thing if our nation was free of prejudice and
inequality. If everyone had equal opportunity and there were no
barriers to success.
Of
course, no such ideal land exists.
It
has taken hard work and perseverance to get to this point in our
nation’s history:
No
longer are women prohibited from voting.
No
longer do African Americans have to sit on the back of the bus or be
forced into segregated schools.
And
now… no longer are Gay and Lesbian Americans prohibited from serving in
our country’s Armed Forces.
But
all of these things took a lot of hard work, and as great as our
country is, we have much further to go.
But
that
is the great thing about America. Our founding fathers intended
that “we the people” would determine how America was governed.
And so,
it’s our job, with every passing year, with every passing election, to
do everything we can to shape a more perfect union.
And
to me, that is what being a Democrat is all about.
Just
down
the road from where we are today, on the banks of the tidal basin,
sits a memorial to one of our greatest presidents, Franklin Delano
Roosevelt. And engraved in that memorial are words that inspire
us
still. President Roosevelt said:
“The
test
of our progress is not whether we add more to the abundance of
those who have much; it is whether we provide enough for those who have
too little.”
Now,
try telling that to some of my colleagues from the other side of the
aisle.
They
talk of deficits, but propose $1 trillion in tax cuts for the wealthy.
They
plan to eliminate Medicare as we know it and protect tax subsidies for
oil companies.
They
propose cuts to our children’s education and attack their teachers as
being overpaid.
It’s
hard to understand how they could be so out of step with Americans’
priorities.
As
Democrats, we know that government can't solve
all our problems - far from it - but we also recognize that we are all
in this together.
Simply
put;
a country of the people by the people and for the people cannot,
by definition, make progress without the success of its people.
As
Democrats we know a little about “yes we can,”
but Republicans seem to be stuck on “no we can’t.”
As
Democrats we know:
That
we can work together to care for those who can't care for themselves.
That
we
can reduce historic and institutional barriers that have prevented
many in our society from achieving their dreams or reaching their full
potential.
That
we can care for our seniors after they spent a lifetime caring for us.
That
we can ensure that the quality of our health doesn’t depend on the size
of our bank accounts.
That
we can be globally competitive if we out-educate, out-innovate and
out-build the rest of the world.
As
Democrats,
we don't believe in giving people a free ride - but we also don't
believe that people who are facing tough times through no fault of
their own should simply be left behind.
The other party has a very different approach - one that has failed
America over and over again - one that says:
If
all
the benefits of our government are showered on those at the very
top, the wealthiest among us will prosper and somehow their good
fortune will trickle down to the rest of us.
But
we know better.
The
other side is powerful and well-funded, and they are working to reverse
the progress Democrats have made.
That's
why this election is so important to the future of our country and our
party. And that's why I'm so excited to be leading our party at this
critical time in our nation's history. Because by securing a
second
term for President Obama not only do we have an opportunity to cement
the historic progress we've made, we have a chance to continue
delivering for the American people.
Many have asked what our priorities as a party will be over the next
two years. They can be boiled down to the following:
First,
we will Support the President's agenda and protect the progress we’ve
made:
We
must
trumpet President Obama’s agenda from the rooftops. We must make
sure that our friends, our neighbors, and everyone in our communities
sees that President Obama and Democrats are
delivering on the kind of change that is making America stronger.
We’ve
come
so far, but, if left to their own devices, Republicans would
repeal health care reform, Wall Street reform and student loan reform.
They
would
put insurance companies back in charge of our health care and
allow financial institutions to police themselves and once again crash
our economy. They would turn back the clock on all the progress
we’ve
made – and our children, parents, and neighbors would suffer.
So
every time they attempt to roll back these important gains, we
must rise up to stop them. We must call them out.
We
are going to run on our accomplishments, and we will not allow
Republicans to undo or distort them.
Next, we will invest in the strongest campaign and the best organizing
ever to give President Obama a second term:
This
is
going to be the toughest campaign in the history of America.
Republicans are going to throw everything they have at us.
Fortunately,
our
everything is better and the DNC isn’t doing this alone. We have an
incredible campaign team at work in Chicago.
We
have
organizers who are willing to knock on doors until they drop. We
have supporters who are willing to turn their pockets inside out for
the President and our candidates.
We’re
going
to bring all those resources and all those people together to
support a historic national effort. We’re going to support the
fifty
state strategy, and fire up and engage the grassroots with the best
staffed and most well funded national party organization behind any
President's reelection effort in our nation's history.
Next,
we will support our candidates, state parties and the constituent
institutions of the Democratic Party:
Our
success
over the past decade in expanding the Presidential map,
recruiting strong candidates and winning tough races in tough places at
the local, state and federal levels is in no small part a result of the
fifty state strategy – a strategy pioneered by Chairman Dean, adopted
and expanded by the Obama Campaign in 2008 and continued by Chairman
Kaine over the past two years.
The
DNC's
support for candidates and the other committees that make up our
party has also been vital to our success, and as Chair, support for the
fifty state strategy, our candidates and committees will be among my
highest priorities.
We
will explore every nook and cranny of this country in seeking support
for the President and Democratic candidates.
Finally, we will hold Republicans accountable:
All
across America, Democrats
are working hard to create jobs and boost economic recovery, invest in
our children’s education, and further the causes of justice and
equality. All the while, entrenched special interests and their
Republican allies are working to stall or reverse our progress.
That's why we must expose the stark differences between Democrats who are fighting for the middle class, and
Republicans who are fighting for the privileged few.
But,
this
is nothing new. In 1946, Eleanor Roosevelt told the New York state
Democratic Party at an event much like this one what to expect from the
GOP.
She
said: “Never forget that the Republican Party is the party that looks
backward.”
We
have come too far to turn back the progress Democrats
have made.
So,
let’s remember it was:
Democrats who ended the Great Depression;
Democrats who established Social Security;
Democrats who created Medicare;
Democrats who protected the rights of workers to
organize;
Democrats who cleaned our air and our water;
Democrats who have defended our rights to organize,
and mobilize . . . protest and picket for the rights and freedoms we
enjoy today!
And
it was Democrats who finally made health care
a right, not a privilege!
For
all of those advances, we can say Yes, we did.
When
we let our core principles guide us, when we work hard, Democrats are an unstoppable force. It is our job,
fellow Democrats, to remind our friends and
neighbors, that it is Democrats who stand up
for them.
We
must remind them that Democrats invest in jobs
for today and tomorrow;
We
must remind them that Democrats represent
their interests; and
We
must remind them that it is Democrats who care
for the health and welfare of the people and our planet.
So
today, I’m asking you to make a pledge. Pledge that you will:
Let
no charge go unanswered;
Let
no man or woman bear false witness against a Democrat; and
Let
no voter cast a ballot for a Republican simply because they don’t know
what Democrats have done
for them or what Republicans have done to them.
I
want you to tell others why you are a Democrat and why your friends and
neighbors should vote with you.
In
other words Democrats, we have made so much
progress but we can make even more by showing America that it is Democrats who will increase the opportunity for
prosperity for everyone.
There
is so much at stake in this coming election, and we can’t afford to let
the Republican Party take us backward.
We
worked so hard to get here.
We
worked
so hard to win for the American people so that we could
stabilize the economy, put Americans back to work and deliver on
long-term promises like health care reform.
We
worked too hard to give it right back. There is so much left to do.
This
is no time to be complacent - no time to sit on the sidelines.
We
cannot afford, no, the country cannot afford, to go backwards.
I
know this is a priority for us, so let’s make it happen!
Are
you with me Democrats?
Are
you ready to make history once again?
Let’s
go, let’s do it…let’s work hard because we must win…the stakes are
simply too high.
And
since you have all made a pledge, here is my pledge to you:
As
Chair, I will continue to strengthen every aspect of our party's
operations. Just as I did in my first race for elected office, I will
make sure that no one outworks the Democratic Party! I'm going to do
this job in the best way I know how with all the energy I have.
I
want
to see our candidates elected and our ideas implemented – because
I've got three young kids, and I want them to grow up in a country
where all things remain possible, where the American spirit continues
to thrive, and where the American Dream is within reach for everyone.
There
is no problem that we face here in America or around the world that
will not yield to human effort, to cooperation, to hard work or
perseverance.
Our
challenges have always summoned the best in America and, as we have
throughout our history, we will make the world better than it is today.
We
will do this together by reelecting Barack Obama President of the
United States.
Thank
you all for your support. I look forward to working with every one of
you toward great Democratic victories.