tv Today in Washington CSPAN November 3, 2010 2:00am-5:59am EDT
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>> moving own to the other states spnspn >> senator michael bennett at 47%, about a 6,000 vote difference between the two. and finally in alaska, there is the write-in candidate of lisa murkowski hoping to be the first u.s. senator to win since 1964 when strom thurmond won as the write-in candidate. scott mcadams with 25% of the vote and joe miller the republican nominee at 34% of
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the vote. keep in mind there are a number of write-in candidates and the 34% could be a little deceiving and could be a couple days until we know the official winner in the alaska senate race. in florida, the governor race where alex sink and rick scott are vying to succeed charlie crist who the former republican turning independent losing his bid for the u.s. senate p race and scott ahead 49% to sink's 48%. we're going to your phone calls. first up is jacqueline from fontana, california, democrat's line. good morning. i should say good evening to you in california. caller: hi, how are you? host: fine, thank you. caller: i'm really disturb sod much outside interest money has gone into helping to assist the republicans in getting such a great advantage here, all of china, russia, egypt, brazil, all the money that was funded
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through the chamber of commerce, it really bothers me to know that they went that far. host: thanks for will caught, calling from california, jerry brown elected as governor, going back to his old job he held for eight years in the 1970's. >> marvelous effort, and i have to thank the most important person of all, my wife ann who really ran the whole show, kept me on track. and you know, i don't need a plan when i have such a good planner at my side all the time. and, you know, i did this 36 years ago, and i tried during the campaign to never mention the word "experience" or to tell some of the old stories because after a while, people were looking for something new. and -- but i'm a little something old. so that's why i wanted to be here at the fox theater, the home of the oakland school for the arts because this is a --
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this is was something built in 1929 and was done for 30 years and now through the work and contributions of a lot of people, it's one of the most magnificent buildings. look at that ceiling and all the craft that went into it. and i wanted to stand in front of the oakland military institute of cadets, this is the 109 year of the school that i started with a lot of struggle. it wasn't easy, it wasn't trouble-free and we made plenty mistakes but this june, undergraduates of the oakland military school, one out of four was accepted to the university of california. that a is heck of a record. then of course behind them are the really -- a tremendous creative force, the kids from the oakland school for the arts. and i wanted the military to
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represent my sense of honor and duty and leadership and camaraderie and i wanted the arts school to exemplify creativity and imagination because all of that is what california needs over the next four years. and i want everyone here tonight and throughout california to know, this is why i'm doing it. i built these schools because i want to build for the future and that's what it's all about. the kids in school, not just these two schools but every single public school in california, we want to make sure they have what they need to create greatness. every kid, every kid has so much potential and we ought to make sure our society keeps that in the forefront of whatever we do. well, this helps the next
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generation. that's going to be my watch word. now, we haven't got all the votes in yet, but hell, it's good enough for government work. and i think -- so looks like i'm going back again. now, as you know, i've got the know-how and the experience and all those other things i said. and this time of course we have a first lady which we didn't have last time. i think that's going to be the real difference. now, look, i like the symbolism of this theater because it was dark and there actually were people camped in here and burning the ceiling and cooking their meals and now it's transformed into this beautiful venue for music for the school, the school's upstairs. and i want people of california to know we might, and we will have times that will be tough.
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how long they'll last, a year, maybe longer, but if we all pull together and if we operate in -- with honesty, if i tell you what i understand, i level with you, and we include everybody, and it's transparent, and here's the key point, we want to be fair, in our society if we're going to hold together, if we're going to meet the challenges we have to, we've got to have a larger sense of agreement, and the only way we can get to where we are, which is polarization, division, hostility, and even this election, i mean, 90% of the republicans voted for meg whitman, 97% of the democrats voted for me. now, how do we get -- luckily the independents made a pretty big margin there in the middle and also there are more democrats than republicans. but having said all that, these are real divisions and they're divisions tonight in california, there will be
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divisions in the state capital, there will be divisions in washington. so i take as my challenge forging a common purpose but a common purpose, based not just on compromise but on a vision of what california can be. and i see a california once again leading in renewable energy, in public education. [cheers and applause] >> and an openness to every kind of person, whatever their color is. i mean, we're all god's children. and while i'm really into this politics thing, i still carry with me my sense -- host: the comments of newly elected governor jerry brown, first elected back in 1974. of course he is the son of the late governor edmond g. pat brown who ran and lost in 1966 to then candidate ronald
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reagan. jerry brown going back to his old job. he went on to serve as the mayor of oakland, california, which is where he was tonight and also as the state attorney general. we're keeping an eye on that and also on the florida governor's race where rick scott, the republican candidate, has been ahead all night. he is about to speak. let's listen in right now from florida. ok. we'll go to your phone calls, clifford joining us from georgia as we keep an eye on what's happening. go ahead, republican line. caller: thanks you for c-span. republican has had a good night tonight. and what i want to say is, mr. president, do you hear the people now? host: we'll hear from the
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president tomorrow at 1:00 eastern if his news conference. amina joining us from phoenix, arizona, a family face in the third congressional district, ben quayle winning in that seat, the son of the former vice president. go ahead. caller: hi, thank you so much for taking my call. host: sure. caller: i just wanted to speak and comment on some things mr. brown said. i do agree we're in a great state of divide, although the republicans have had a very big night tonight, i think the message really goes out to the country to show how divided we are, and that things are not going to get necessarily easier in washington because the republicans won. i think everybody needs to step back and take a look at how we got into this economic mess, that these things do not transpire over just the last year or so since obama had been in office, but it's a precedent of things that have been
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happening over the course of last 10 years or so. host: john joining us from annapolis. hello, democrat line. caller: hello. thanks a lot for c-span. host: certainly. caller: i wanted to comment a little bit about the races tonight, in maryland here, mcnally was re-elected and i'm happy about that and thanks a lot to the tea party for allowing the democrats to hold on to the senate. it looks like christine o'donnell in delaware and sharon angle in nevada have made it possible for the democrats to hold the majority in the senate and i have been watching some other coverage of the race in colorado, and they said that the a.p. had reported a 30,000 vote may be given to the republican there as opposed to giving it to bennett by
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mistake. and that was on cnn. and they said that they're going to take a while to clear that up. so that might be of significant importance in that race in colorado. host: thanks for the call. jan brewer winning, the republican governor and succeeded janet napolitano. and in hawaii, congressman neil abercrombie, democrat currently ahead in the early polls, the results coming in from the "star advertiser" in honolulu. next is marie joining us from sugar grove, north carolina. caller: hi, steve. good morning. i'm used to seeing you on "washington journal." i'm a "washington journal" junkie. host: we may just stay until the "washington journal" and keep it going all night. caller: i'm semiretired and am able to watch more than when i
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worked full time. i have a couple of things to stay. first of all, i've never missed an election since i was 18 years old. matter of fact, in my 30's and 40's i was a poll worker. and i'm 55 years old now and i've noticed basically for the past 20 years, it's just one party and it's two factions. host: thanks for the call. we'll go back. rick scott is about to speak in florida declaring victory in the governor's race succeeding charlie crist. >> the emails, thank you from the bottom of my heart. i also want to thank my wonderful wife that i met in high school. we've now been married 38 years.
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and our wonderful daughters allison and jordan and their husbands. and my mom, the big celebrity. and then you couldn't pick a better running mate, my great running mate, jennifer carroll and her husband nolan. and their children nolan, nickie and nico. you have enough room? >> yes. >> we look forward to finishing
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host: from fort lauderdale, florida, sink declaring victory in the governor's race. karla fiorina losing the bid to become senator. >> by saying it's a great night to be a republican tonight. and we have a new republican leader, john boehner. we've had a fantastic sweep across the nation. many senate seats have already fallen. and as you all well know, we have a new majority leader, john boehner, just a wonderful, wonderful night.
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yes, exactly. the message has been sent loud and clear. now here in california, you know, california is always a little bit different, right? so here in california, here's where we are. 36% of the vote has been counted, 36%. and we are in a dead heat tie. and so the facts are it is too close to call. the facts are it's going to be a long night and we're going to be watching returns all night, but all those people who have already declared this race, maybe that was probably not a smart thing to do.
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[cheers and applause] >> on primary night, on primary night, i promised that i would run a tireless, fearless campaign. >> and you have. >> and i want to tell all of you that you have run a tireless, fearless campaign as well. i want to thank the tens of thousands of volunteers who have given of their time, of their money and particularly all of you out there who made phone calls, who knocked on doors, who left literature because, you know what, with 36% of the vote in in this race in a dead heat, guess what? every call you made mattered.
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every call you made married, every door you knocked on mattered, every friend, every colleague, every worker, you said hey, you've got to get out and vote. you've got to vote for our future and vote for carly fiorina, every single one of those mattered. thanks from the bottom of my heart for doing that. you guys are the best. and frank and i love you, too. absolutely. so listen, this is going to be a long night. we're going to go up and look at data, crunch data. thank you for being here this evening. i hope you had a great party so far. stay as long as you like. get prepared. we might not know for many, many more hours. [crowd chanting "carly"] >> thank you, guys. god bless you all. god bless california.
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thank you, guys. thank you. >> from irvine, california, the campaign headquarters of carly fiorina, and the networks declared a winner with p barbara boxer being joined by dianne feinstein, also california. we'll listen in. >> i think the best thing kid say now is feinstein 2012. >> it took me a while to get down here because hours ago we were called the winner by every single station, every single publication, and we're going to win this race. and we just pulled out to a several point lead, and that's before l.a.'s in.
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and that's before alameda county is in. so i am thrilled. i want you to listen up. i want to thank you from the bottom of my heart for this victory. after the toughest and roughest campaign of my life. >> yeah! >> this is my 11th straight election victory. >> what a sweet one it is. from the time i was elected to that first office way back -- got to listen up.
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i only had one reason, one reason i went into politics and that was to make life better for the people i represent. that's who i am. that's all i'm about. there's no other agenda but to make life better for you and the people of california. now listen, listen, listen, everything was thrown at us, including the kitchen sink. and the stove and the oven and everything. millions of dollars of negative ads from known and unknown opponents. millions and millions of dollars. but because of the people of california, we matched those secret undisclosed dollars from the special interests dollar by dollar by dollar because of
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tens of thousands of small donors, and i say to you, 145,000 donors, we matched those special interests. we matched those special interests. when the people of california step up and fight for their rights and their jobs and their freedoms, we will beat any moneyed special interests that come into our states. there were so many out of state special interests. you know, i was so excited when the san francisco giants beat the texas rangers! in the world series. and guess what? guess what? i knew that would get you excited but didn't know that
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would get you that excited -- but here's the deal. the giants beat the texas rangers and we beat the texas polluters tonight. now, this campaign was never about me. although i never saw so many horrible pictures of me on tv. and honestly, where did they find those photos? i kept saying to my little grandkids, don't watch television. because my worry was they'd say at first, that's not grandma. but then they'd say but what if it is? it was very frightening. every time, every time i thought our voice would be drowned out, you came forward with $5 and $10 and $20 and $30
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and $40 and $50, just an extraordinary campaign. i've never seen anything quite like it, and i've had some tough ones before. you came to me, to us, to this campaign from all over our great state, young, i've seen you out there tonight. >> whoo! old. i've seen some of you out there tonight. middle-aged. i've seen a lot of you out there tonight. men and women and gay and straight and african-americans and whites and latinos and asian-pacific islanders, all of us together, we are california! that's what our state's about! that's what we said tonight!
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and listen, listen, listen. i want to give special thanks to veterans for boxer who stood with me and were proud of what i've accomplished for our brave men and women who put everything on the line. and we need to bring them back for more. it's time! we need to rebuild america. and tonight, tonight we all came together and we have a new governor, jerry brown.
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[crowd chanting "jerry"] >> hi, jerry. it's ok. it's ok. i'm not jealous. i love jerry brown. i wanted him to win so badly. listen, i want to thank my beautiful family, my beautiful family, they're here behind me tonight, and they're behind me every single day in the darkest moments of this campaign and the brightest moments of this campaign. and i want to thank the most incredible campaign manager known to humankind, rose kaplac hinsky. where is rose? where is she? rose, i ask you to come up on this stage. she is never, ever coming up -- she won't come up on the stage.
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>> rose, rose, rose. [crowd chanting "rose"] >> ok, never mind. she's counting the votes and she refuses to come up. she's the greatest. i'll never get her to be up front. she led me, the mysterious rose, through four winning campaigns. four. well, our victory tonight -- our victory tonight belongs to the people of california.
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democrats, republicans, yes, we got a bunch of republican votes. and i'm proud of that. and independents, and we got their votes, too. and these votes are precious. i want to tell you a story. some on the other side wanted to depress voter turnout. we even had a group, we seen had a group that cut a tv ad that they wanted to play in latino communities telling the latino communities to stay home and not vote. . [crowd booing] >> and thank goodness the tv stations would not run the ad after just a few times. that was good. but this is what i want to share with you. but i need you to listen because it's important story. i'm a first generation american on my mother's side, my mother never graduated from high
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school because she had to work to support her family. she became a naturalized citizen in the late 1930's. and after she passed away and i went through her memorabilia, i found her naturalization certificate. i found many documents. this was the only one wrapped in saran wrap to protect it. and then i started to think, in the heat of this campaign of how important it was that everybody vote, and that we have a good turnout regardless of the outcome. and i thought back to when i was a little girl, my mother would take me by the hand and she would take me into the polling booth, and in those years it was very mysterious, there was a black curtain that went around you, some of you may remember, and you push the levers like this. and my mother would look at me and seed say, honey, this is what america is about.
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do you know how many people all over the world would give up almost everything to be in a booth like this in america? and she said, our vote is secret. it's a secret ballot. so don't even tell daddy how i voted. i remember. that's what america was to my mother, freedom to choose a government, to have a secret ballot, and when i saw the attempt to depress voter turnout, it cut to my heart. so i want to say tonight to california, thank you for voting. thank you for coming out in the large numbers that you did. i don't know the exact numbers but let's say a big thank you to california tonight who voted. for exercising the franchise.
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listen, you put your faith in me and i'm going to keep the faith with you. working my heart out to create jobs and turn this economy around, focusing on small businesses that create the jobs and extending tax breaks to companies who create jobs in america. i want to see the words "made in america" again. that's what this campaign is about. it's not about giving tax breaks to companies who ship jobs overseas. that's wrong. we want to give the tax breaks to companies who create jobs right here at home. i'm going to keep on working to protect your rights, to pass
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comprehensive immigration reform. cruing the dream act -- including the dream act. i'm going to continue to work for equality on all fronts, including marriage, and don't ask, don't tell. that's what you want me to do. and you have always wanted me to protect a woman's right to choose. and you can count on me to do that. we will make sure that california is the hub of the new clean energy economy. we beat those texas polluters. we are not going back. we're going to get off the billion dollar a day habit of foreign oil.
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you know, one day my opponent said, i was an extreme environmentalist. well, this is what i want to say about that. i readily admit i want extremely clean air, extremely clean water, and extremely safe drinking water, and that's what we're going to have as i get back to the environment and public works committee. and i'm going to keep faith with our veterans. i know times are tough. i know times are tough and i've never sugarcoated it once in this campaign. and i said when the press said, how do you ever expect to win being an incumbent senator in an anti-incumbent situation with a bad economy? and this is what i said.
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i said i have two ways we're going to win. one is to tell the people if ever we needed a fighter in the senate, it is now, and i am that fighter. that's one way. and the other way -- and the other secret plan that i had to win was to tell the truth. tell the truth. and that's what we did in our commercials. and i particularly want to say to the four former hewlett-packard employees who had the courage to go up on that commercial and tell their stories, thank you from the bottom of my heart. we don't want anyone else to feel the pain of having to train their replacements.
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now, i was so proud to have president obama and vice president biden and michelle obama and jill biden. and i spoke to the president tonight and i spoke to the vice president. can we hear a cheer for them. they really helped us. >> i'm going to tell them how loudly you cheered. they were handed a situation when they took the keys to the oval office the worst recession since the great depression. bleeding 700,000 jobs a month. and you know what, we walked it back. it's still not all we want it
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to be, we walked it back. and we're pushing that car out of the ditch. and we'll continue to do it until it's going in the right direction. >> yes, we will. so listen, not all the votes have been counted but they're moving in our direction. and i feel really, really good about it tonight. and so i wanted to share that with you. and i wanted to tell you this has been quite a campaign. somebody said to me the other day, they saw me for the first time -- host: from one campaign headquarters to another, that was barbara boxer and now meg whitman in the california governor's race conceding to jerry brown. let's listen.
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>> tonight did not turn out quite as we had hoped. we've come up a little short. but certainly not for lack of hard work, determination and a clear vision for making our state better. we overcame great obstacles to get this far and i stood up to anyone who tries to hurt our state or the people of our state, and will always stand up for you. and i got to say this, we stood up to karl rove and we won. we did. we stood up to sarah palin and we won.
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we stood up to every special interest in this country who didn't want a fighter for consumers in the senate, who didn't want a fighter for the environment in the senate, who didn't want a fighter for the middle class in the senate, and we won. thank you. god bless you. god bless california. and god bless america. i love you. thank you. yes! host: barbara boxer in california re-elected to the fourth term and our aapologies, the hour is late and a lot of seats coming at this hour and we were switching back and forth from her comments and briefly to meg whitman who lost in her bid to become california
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state governor. let's look at the races too close to call, alaska with the write-in candidacy of murkowski and senator benne it t and ken buck. and in washington state where senator murray has a 1% lead over dino rossi. we'll continue the conversation on c-span's "washington journal." with a chance for you to weigh in at 7:00 eastern time and 4:00 for those of you on the west coast and we'll update the results on our website at cspan.org and joining us at 7:00 is carry brown of politico and bob cusack of the hill newspaper and will be with us 8:30 eastern time. we'll be hearing from the speaker elect. john boehner will be meeting with reporters at 11:30 eastern time, live coverage of his comments and joined by senator mitch mcconnell followed by
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live coverage of the president's news conference 1:00 eastern time from the east room of the white house. and during the course of the morning and into the afternoon, a chance for you to comment on what these results mean for the 37 governor races, 37 senate races and the balance of power now shifting back to the republicans in the u.s. house of representatives. from corel gables, florida, it was a threeway race in florida, marco rubio, the former speaker of the house winning over charlie crist and kendrick meek. here are his comments from earlier tonight. >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the last republican governor of the state of floor! >> buenos noches. good evening. it's an incredible joy to be here. my office is right here and i had talk like 50 feet to come
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here to the podium. i sam so proud of florida, i'm so proud of our state for recognizing principled leaders they're supporting all across the stay but most importantly the most principled leader i know, marco rubio. and thank you, florida. and i'm so proud of marco because when you're down 35 points, it's easy to get discouraged, isn't it? it's easy. a lot of us have tough times but he showed a dogged determination that will make him a great senator and i'm so proud he showed that. i'm so proud of his high voltage energy. i'm so proud of his enthusiasm. i'm so proud of his eloquence. and i'm so proud that he will be part of the next generation of leaders that will restore america. marco rubio is the right man at the right time. this is a great night for our state. it's a great night for florida. bushs get emotional.
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i'll try my hardest. my wife told me, don't cry, don't cry. but marco rubio makes me croy for joy. he makes me cry for joy because this is a great country and we need great leaders who inspire us to lift the cloud up above us so we can be better and do better and strive in our own families and our own communities to make life better for ourselves, not to rely on this oppressive government to be the solution to our problems. we need principled centered leaders that inspire us to solve our problems. that's in our d.n.a. as americans and i'm so proud that marco rubio will be our next united states senator. without further adieu, i give you our new leader marco rubio.
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>> thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. [crowd chanting "marco"] >> thank you. i'm glad you didn't say "polo" that would have thrown us all off. thank you. about an hour and a half ago i received two gracious phone calls, governor crist called to congratulate me and i thank him for that phone call. congressman meek told me to graduate and i told him he had
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given up a lesson in dignity and strength. and i thanked both of them for being worthy opponents in a difficult campaign. and i wanted to thank all of you for all the help you've given me as well. let me begin tonight by acknowledging a simple but profound truth. we are all children of a powerful and great god. of a god who isn't always going to -- things are not always going to end up the way you want them. his will is not always going to be yours. but i promise you this, no matter what you face in life, he will give you the strength to go through it. i bear witness to that tonight as so many of you do in your own lives and must always be acknowledged in everything we do and everywhere we go. >> daddy. >> he likes the microphones. i don't even know how to begin to describe this journey but to
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thank so many of you that have been a part of this and we'll talk about little tidbits in a moment. to my family, to my wife jeanette who has made this possible. raising children under any circumstances is a two-person job. but she has done it alone for the last two years. and i owe her a debt of gratitude i will never be able to repay. i am blessed to have her as my wife and i'm grateful she is with us here today. i am also blessed with four children who remind me every day of what's important in life, but also give me the strength, even throughout this campaign. there was a moment early in this campaign i didn't know how i was going to raise the money to be competitive and i'll never forget the next morning my children showed up, they had collected their allowance which was largely quarters and single dollar bills and handed it to me. i didn't tell them that, they overheard me. and it was in that moment i was reminded what this race and
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election was really all about, it was not about our individual ambitions but about the future as represented by them and their generation. and that lesson is profound. it's one that i will not soon forget. tomorrow or even now the stories are being written about what this election is about, what does it mean? and we still don't know all the results from around this country. but we know that tonight the power and the united states house of representatives will change hands. we know tonight that a growing number of republicans will now serve in the senate as well. and we make a grave mistake if we believe tonight these results will somehow embrace somehow the republican party. what they are is a second chance. a second chance for republicans to be what they said they were going to be, not so long ago.
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you see, i learned early on in this campaign, in fact it propel medical to enter it. what this race was about is about the great future that lies ahead for our country, a future americans know is there for the taking but it requires actions on our part. americans believe with all their heart, the vast majority of them, and the vast majority of floridians that the united states of america is simply the single greatest nation in all of human history. a place without equal in the history of all mankind. but we also know that something doesn't seem right. our nation is headed in the wrong direction and both parties are to blame. and what americans are looking for desperately are people that will go to washington, d.c. and stand up to this agenda that is taking us in the wrong direction and offer a clear and genuine alternative.
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and that's what this race is about early on for me. and that's what it's about tonight. it is about the future of this country and what it will look like when our children are our age. now, let me tell you, there are those out there who doubt about the greatness of america. sometimes when i say it, i hear the snickers from some in different parts. they think it's simplistic. but see, i know america is great not because i read about it in a book, because i've seen it with my eyes. i've been raised in a community of exiles. of people who lost their country, of people who know what it's like to live somewhere else. by the way, a community that i am proud to be a part of. a community -- a community of men and women what were once my age and when they were they had dreams like we have now. and yet they lost all those things through an accident of
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history so they came here to try to rebuild their lives. and some did. but many others could not and instead it became the purpose of their life to leave their children with the opportunities they themselves did not have. this is the story of the cuban exiled community and it defines what so many of us who are a product of it are. and i know this, no matter where i go, or what title i may achieve, i will always be the son of exiles. [cheers and applause] [crowd chanting "marco"] >> and we will always be the heirs to two generations of unfulfilled dreams. the other way that i know about america's greatness is the story of a man that i knew well, of someone who wasn't born in this country when he
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was 6 years old, he lost his mother, when he was 12 he lost a father. he grew up largely in a society where what you are going to be when you grow up is decided for you. this is like almost every other place in the world. think about what this means. that means that before you are even born, how far you are going to get to go in life is decided for you by who your parents are or are not. and that's how it is almost everywhere in the world and now this is how it was for that man. he was fortunate enough to make it here to america where he was never able to capture his own dreams of his own youth, instead he made it the mission of his life to ensure that his children would have every opportunity he did not. that every door that was closed for him would be open to them, that the day would never come for them that came for him. the day when he realized that his own dreams would not be possible. and so now life was about opening a pathway for his children. this story i know well.
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and it verifies to me the greatness of our country because tonight with your vote, you have elected his son to the united states senate. [cheers and applause] >> but you see, although that's our story, it's not exclusive to us. and in fact, at this very moment it is playing out within walking distance of this very place. tonight all across the state and all across this country, there are people working hard to ensure that their children would have a better opportunity in this life than they have had themselves and they are blessed to live in this great and extraordinary society where indeed that dream is still possible and it's still true. this is our story. but our story says more about our country than it does about us. and it is what we are fighting
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to protect and preserve for the generations to come. it's what this election has been about for me from the very beginning. you see, when you're 35 points down in the polls and the only people who think you're cool live in your house and four of them are under the age of 10, you better know why you're running. when you have to drive four hours to get back home after speaking to 50 people and it's 1:30 in the morning and there is still an hour and a half to go and you're not sure how you're going to stay awake, you better know why you're running. i found the strength in this campaign to move forward on days i was not sure if i could or should from tokens of extraordinary kindness from every corner of the state. sometimes it happened when you were -- when i was at a restaurant maybe meeting with some folks and thought maybe this is the last day of this campaign, maybe i made the wrong choice.
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and just like that someone would appear and encourage me to continue. other times it came in the form of $25 checks in the mail from a single mother or an elderly person, a senior on a fixed income. each and every time that we thought this campaign had run its course, something like that would happen. to remind us that this race is never about me or about us, it was about a fact that we are privileged and blessed to be citizens of this extraordinary society and that that is something worth fighting for. that we have the opportunity to ensure that our children and our grandchildren are the freest and most prosperous americans that ever lived. if only we are willing to do what the americans who came before us did, to stand up and confront the great challenges of our time, to say to those that came before us said we will not leave the problems for our children unresolved. we will not allow them to
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inherit our debt and our mistakes but rather we will do whatever we must do to ensure that for them life will be better than for us, that for them our country will be better than the one we inherited. that tomorrow will be greater than today. that our history will surpass our heritage. this has been the story of this extraordinary land for 230 some odd years. and tonight at this crossroads at which we stand, we are asked to choose whether it will continue to be our story moving forward. for before us lies two very different roads. one road is the road that washington and both parties have placed us on. and is a road of politicians who will say or do anything to win the next election but are unwilling to tackle the issues of our time. it the road of those who are in politics to be somebody, not to do something. it the road of those perhaps the first generation in our history big to a-- willing to
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allow their children to inherit all the mistakes and all things that went wrong, and that is tragically on the road we are on right now. but there's another road. it is the road that i hope we will begin to walk on again tonight. it is a road that says our children deserve to inherit the greatest society in all of human history. it is the understanding the "world news this morning" is a greater and safer place when america is the strongest country in the world. it is a road that realizes that there is still at least one place on this planet where it doesn't matter if your dad was a bartender and your mom was a maid. >> you go, man! >> you can accomplish anything you want if you're willing to work hard for it and play by the rules.
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[crowd chanting "marco"] >> thank you. in a few short days, i will have the extraordinary privilege and honor of joining the united states senate. but i do so with my eyes wide open. i understand that washington is the place we have sent people before and they don't come back the same way we sent them. it is a place that literally changes people and within a short period of time they forgot why they even ran. so tonight i ask for your prayers. >> you got them. >> for me and for my family, that we will not change, that we will always remember what carried us on those lonely days when few believed this day
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would come, that we would always remember the things we cared about on this night, that i will constantly carry back the obligation that comes with knowing i represent more than those who voted for me today but the millions of floridians who did not that deserve to be represented in the u.s. senate as well. and that ultimately what this is all about stands before us even as we speak. it is about how we are going to be the first generation of americans who leave our children worse off than ourselves or the next generation that will allow them to inherit what they deserve, inherit what we inherited, give to them what every generation before us has given to the next. the single greatest nation in all of human history. god bless you. thank you. and god bless america. thank you very much.
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congressman meek called. i told him he gave us a great lesson in worthiness. let me begin by 5:0 noblging a simple truth. we are all children of a powerful and great god, of a god who isn't -- things aren't always going to end up the way you want them. his will isn't always going to be yours but i promise you whatever you go through in life, he will give you the strength to go through it. i know that as much as you do. he will always be acknowledged everywhere i go. he likes the micro phone.
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clearly i'm grateful to my family. to my wife janet who has made this possible. raising children under any circumstance is a two-person job but she has done it alone for the past two years. i owe her a debt of gratitude i will never be able to repay. i am also blessed with four children who remind me everyday of what is important in life. throughout this campaign. there was a moment early in this campaign i didn't know how i would raise the money to be competitive. my children showed up the next day with what they raised in
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their allowance. i was reminded it was about the future as represented by them and their generation. that lesson is profound. it's one i will not soon forget. tomorrow an even now, the stories are being written about what this election is about, what does this mean? we don't know all the results, we know the power in the united states of representative will change hands. [applause] >> we know a growing number of republicans will now serve in the senate as well. and we make a great mistake that we think these results are somehow an embrace of the republican party. what they are is a second chance. a chance for republicans to be what they said they were going to be not so long ago.
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you see, i learned early on that what this race is about was about the great future that lie as head. it requires actions. americans believe with all their heart that the united states of america is the greatest nation in all of human history. a place without equal in the history of all mankind. we no that something didn't seem right. our nation is headed to the wrong direction and both parties are to blame. what americans are looking for is people that will go to washington, d.c. and stand up for this agenda and offer a clear and alternative agenda.
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that's what this race was about early on for me. that's what it is about tonight. it's about the future of this country and what it will look like when our children are our a age. when i say it, i hear the snikers. i know america is great not because i read about it in a book because i've seen it with my eyes. i've been raised in a community of skiles. people who lost their country. by the way, the community i am proud to be a part of. a community of men and women who were once my age.
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it vr fies the greatness of our country. tonight, you have elected his son to the united states senate. [applause] >> tonight all across this state and country, people are working hard to ensure their children will have a better opportunity in this life than themselves. that dream is still possible and true. this is our story. our story says more about our country than it does to us.
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it is what we are fighting to protect and serve for generations to come. it's what generations are to be from the beginning. when you are 35 points down in the poles and the only people who think you can win live in your house and four of them are under the age of ten, you better know why you are running. when you have to drive four hours to get back home after speaking to 50 people and the garmen says you have an hour and a half to go and you can't stay awake, you better know why you are running. from tokens of extraordinary kindness from every corner of a state. it happened in a restaurant or meeting with folks thinking maybe i made the wrong choice.
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just like that, someone would appear and encourage me to continue. it came in the form ever $25 checks in the mail from a single mother or an elderly person. each time, we thought this campaign would run its course, to remind me this race was not about me or about us, that is something worth fighting for. we have the opportunity to ensure our children and grandchildren are the freest, most prosperous american that ever lived. if only we could do what americans did to stand up. we will not leave our problems for our children unresolved. we will not allow them to
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inherent our debts, we will do whatever we ensure them to do that for them, life will be better for us. tomorrow will be greater than today. our history will surpass our heritage. this has been the story of this land for 230 some odd years. tonight, at this cross road at which we stand, we'll ask to choose whether it be our story moving forward. before us lies two different roads. one road is the road that washington and both party have placed us on. it is a road of politician that's will say or do anything but are unwilling to attack issues of the time. it's the role to be somebody, not to do something. willing to allow their children
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to inherent all the mistakes that went wrong. there's another road. it's a road i hope we will begin to walk on again. it's a road that says our children discern to inher ert the greatest society of history. it's a road that understands the world is a safer and better place when america is the strongest country in the world. there is still one place on this earth where it doesn't matter if your dad was a bartender and your mother was a maid.
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you can accomplish anything you want, if you play by the rules. [applause] thank you >> in a few short days, i will have the privilege and honor of joining the united states senate i do so with my eyes wide open. i understand that washington is a place we have send people before. they don't come back the same way we sent them. it's a place that changes people and in a short period of time, they forget why they even ran. tonight, i ask for your prayers for me and my family that we will not change, that we will always remember what carried us on those lonely days when few
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believed that this day would come. ly constantly carry on my back the obligation that came with knowing that i represent more than just those who voted for us today but those who discern to be represented in the u.s. senate as well. [applause] give to them the single greatest nation in all of american
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what a crowd. i'd like to thank my wife kelly. i couldn't have done it without her. [applause] and for the boys william, duncan and robert and the great music. thank you, guys. i have a message. a message from the people of kentucky. a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words. we've come to take our government back [applause]
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they say that the u.s. senate is the world's most delib tiff body. the american people are unhappy with what's going on in washingt washington. tonight, there's a tea party tidal wave and we are sending a message. it is a message i will carry with me on day one. it is a message of fiscal sanity, limited constitutional government and balanced budgets.
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i will ask washington to deliberate on this. we are in the midst of a debt crisis. we want to know why we have to balance our budget and they don't. i will ask them to deliberate on this. government does not create jobs. individual entrepreneurs, businessmen and woman create jobs but not the government. i will ask them respectfully to deliberate on this. why is america great?
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why are we the greatest and richest and freest country ever known to man? america is exceptional because we embraced freedom and enshrined it and lived and fought for the principles of freedom. america will remain great if we remain proud, if we remain proud of the system, the system enshrined. the system that protects the
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we must not disbelieve in ourselves we must once again believe in ourselves [applause] i will ask the senate to deliberate on this? do we wish to live free or be enslaved by debt. do we believe in the individual or the state? thomas jefferson wrote that government is best that governs least, likewise freedom is best when enjoyed by the most. [applause] america can rise up if we just
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feingold. >> thank you my friends. thank you. [applause] thank you very much. thank you. thank you. thank you, everybody. my friends. my friends, the people of wisconsin have spoken. i respect their decision. i've called ron johnson and congratulated him and wished him well as our senator. i also offered my help and the help of my staff in any transition. [applause] being your senator has been the greatest honor of my life.
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thank you. [applause] i've enjoyed working with you and feel that we did many good things together. i thank wisconsin for this great privilege i have received. it is hard -- it is hard -- you are good fans. that's why it is hard to express my gratitude for the support i have received throughout my career. it begins with my wonderful family and certain very dear ones. yeses, let's applaud for them.
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so to awful you in the words of who else? bob dylan, my heart is not weary. it's light and free. i've got nothing but affection for those who have sailed with me. [applause] >> i hope and i intend to continue to work with automatic of you in the future as much as possible so it's on to the next fight. on to the next battle. it's on to 2012 and it is on to
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>> thank you. thank you. thank you all. this is a fabulous sight. thank you all for coming. [applause] . thank you. thank you. i did get a call from senator feingold. he is very gracious and offered congratulations and to help in the transition. we wish him well. we do. i have a few thousand people to thank here. i won't go by name. first of all, i want to thank tom and tony for the fine introduction and thank you kerry for singing the national anthem. i want to thank tom and his family for doing such a fine job and contributing to the state of
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wisconsin. i'd like to thank my parents. my mother is no longer with me but my father is with me tonight on the stage and i'm very grateful. [applause] my parents instilled in me the values that brought me to this moment. and i'm sure the values that will carry me well to the next chapter of my wife here. i'd like to thank my family. my wife jane, kerry, jena, ben and our extended family. they have given me the support i needed. i needed their support and it was there. [applause] a huge thank you to my campaign
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team. they are just a fine bunch of individuals lead by a fineman, mr. justin johnson. i'm new to this process, can i not believe how hard these people work. almost 24/7. i thank them sincerely. ask i need to thank the thousands of people. there is no way a citizen candidate can enter this arena without having the backing of a strong state party. . .
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tonight we can celebrate but tomorrow we start of the hard work. our nation has dug itself a very deep hole. we are simple wisconsin folks here. we know -- we need what need -- we know what needs to be done to get out of the people. we need to start digging. the numbers are quite staggering. you know them. the last two years, we have incurred over $1.40 trillion per year death a separate our national debt stands at almost $14 trillion. 50 million people are out of work. we need to reverse course. -- 15 million people are out of work. i think the priority is pretty straightforward -- it will not be easy, it will be hard. we know what we need to do. we need to restore fiscal sanity to this nation. [applause]
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one of the ways we can restore sanity is to repeal the health care bill -- [applause] which will not only save as trillions of dollars in deficit but it will destroy the health care system if we do not repeal it. throughout this campaign, i have been reminded frequently -- remember that dealt in the parlance specter town hall meeting? she said you have awakened a sleeping giant. i certainly got a wake. [laughter] it was when they pass the health care bill. that was the final straw. it started a little bit earlier. it started a few days before the 2008 election when i heard
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president obama saying that within five days, we will fundamentally transform america. you know what? i certainly wasn't looking to transform america. i want to fix the problems. i did not want to transform america. [applause] i believe america is precious and is exceptional. [applause] something else president obama said got my attention. when he was tried to pass his health care monstrosity, he said the doctors will set out eight -- to get a set of tonsils for a few extra bucks. no, they want. the nominal doctors saved my daughter's life. they saved countless lives, they don't do that and it was an outrage. [applause]
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and now, i guess if we disagree with $3 trillion in deficit spending, we are the enemy. that is the wrong attitude if you are trying to fix our problems. that is not the attitude i will take. i will be looking for allies. i will be looking for any allied who understands that we simply cannot continue to spend and spend and spend our nation into bankruptcy [applause] i will work with anyone -- i will work with anyone who realizes that is the free market system that creates long-term self sustaining jobs. [applause] that realizes we need to reignite this economy if we're going to create jobs. that is what we have to do. i will work with anyone who
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believes it is freedom and free market system that made america great. [applause] one promise i made at the convention and i repeated daily is i will never vote with my reelection in mind. that is not what i'm doing this. i will vote with what i believe is in the best interest of wisconsin and america and that is my guarantee. [applause] as i said, we have awakened a sleeping giant but the problem is, our nation has dug itself a very deep hole and it will take time and perseverance. it is not just this election, it will take a few more elections. we have to stick to this. my purpose here is not to
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depress you. i am seeing some long faces here. i will close on a campaign by telling a story that will inspire you and prove that we can do this. this is a story i heard shortly after the start of the second iraq ordered it was told by someone in the troops. the only way you could communicate them but was by saddam -- was by satellite phone. the reporter had 30 minutes of satellite time left. because of to the first soldier and explained the situation and ask if anybody he would like to talk to. the first soldier said he wants to talk to his girlfriend. he thought about it and said his buddies wife is pregnant. one of you let him use the funds? it goes over to the other soldier and he said i your your wife is pregnant. would like to give her a call? that soldier's said there is nothing i would rather do than talk to my wife. ismaster sergeant's father
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built. he is doing well. why don't you let him use the 30 minutes. to tell you the truth, i cannot remember the exact circumstances or how many soldiers passed batphone to a buddy. i distinctly remember that by the time that reporter was done telling the tale, he was have a difficult time telling the story. all he could do with his voice cracking was look down and he murmured," where do we find such men?" i think we know. they come from oshkosh. [applause] if they come from fond du lac, they come from superior, they come from kenosha, and green bay, [applause] they come from all over wisconsin. they come from all over america. the one thought i want to leave you tonight is that the american spirit is alive.
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it may not be doing well right now. it may be under attack. it may be imperiled. it is our job, it is our duty to make sure that not -- that not only survives for future generations but that it drives. [applause] -- but that thrives. [applause] in the end, that is why it one guy from oshkosh, a husband and father, stepped up to the plate and decided to run for the u.s. senate. this campaign has been a joyful experience. i have that wonderful people. i have visited successful businesses. i have shaken the hands of thousands of hard-working wisconsinites. it has given me the confidence and i want you to have the confidence that together we can do this. we can bring back wisconsin and
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arkansas. in about 50 minutes, you will the republican representative john boozman, the winner. first, incumbent democrat blanche lincoln. [applause] [applause] >> you all are great. [applause] you are great. i look out at this sea of people and i think of a better -- of no better group i would rather spend the night with and i can't thank you enough. [cheers and applause]
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it has been an incredible journey. i am so blessed to have made it. but more than anything in this world, you all have to know that i am so blessed to have made it with the people who are in this room. you are an incredible group of people. today, arkansas voters have spoken and they have spoken and i certainly respect their decision. as you all know, i have already called congressman boozman to congratulate him and pledge my support to help him in any way in a transition in this office. you all know where my heart is. my heart is with the state of arkansas and its people. it has been and always will be. [cheers and applause]
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we will do everything to make that transition a great win for the state of arkansas. i want to tell you all -- tonight, my heart is so fall. it is so full of so many blessings. you are here to share them with me. i am so unbelievably grateful for the opportunity i have had, the honor and privilege to serve the great state of arkansas and its people that i love so much. i am so blessed with a wonderful family. [cheers and applause] hopefully by now, you know them as your family, to as i know that you do. my wonderful husband steve has been with me through thick and thin very [cheers and applause]
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