mr. president, there is an old saying that i bet is true in oo, if you are driving down a country road and you see a turtle on top of a fence post, you can be sure of one thing, it didn't get there by itself. clear, i didn't do it by myself. every single one of you empowered me. that you knocked on, every dollar you raise in my campaigns, empowered me to do those things. again, i stand on the shoulders of giants. you. my fellow democrats. my fellow iowans. you put your trust in me. you work your hearts out for me.

you stood by me when things got tough. sometimes things got pretty tough. imagined thathave this would be my life. think about it. as a young boy growing up in warren county, just a few miles from here, a town of 150 people, my father had a sixth-grade education. my mother was an immigrant. they raised six kids in a small, two-bedroom house. we didn't know politicians. we didn't talk politics. -- when my this family hit rock-bottom during the depression -- just a few months before i was born, my dad was out of work, he had been mining coal for most of his life . there was no work, there were no

jobs. he had five kids with another on the way -- me. life looked pretty dim. life looked pretty hopeless. but then one day he got a card in the mail. he always later said that he got a card from franklin delano or roosevelt himself. he got a card in the mail for him to report to work at once for $40.30 per month on the works project administration. [laughter] [applause] [applause] the project was over here not 10 miles from where we are today. people are still using that lake as a recreation area. wall't have and i love me in my office, but i do have my

wpa card ondads that wall to remind me of where i came from and who i should be fighting for in this country. [applause] so, that job gave him dignity. gave money to put food on the table. most importantly of all, it gave him hope. hope. it gave him hope. after a few years of that, he was able to then work her in the war years, paid enough for social security. later on before he passed away he got medicare. from all ofearn that? growing up, never talking politics or anything like that? what did i learn? with the right people in office, with the right words and the

willingness to work, our government can do good things for people in this country. [applause] it can help to give hope to people. old george w. bush, president bush, he went around campaigning saying the government cannot give hope to people. one time one of his people was in my office and said -- harken, you've got to admit, government can do these kinds of things. can't give hope to people. i said -- you are talking to the wrong person. hope, gave myher family hope. since i have gotten into politics i have always believed that a cardinal obligation of our government is to make sure that we leave the latter down for others to climb, do. you know?

[applause] there is nothing wrong with making money, having a better home and a nicer car, all the good things that money provides. that's a big part of the american dream. but here's what distinguishes us from our republican cousins. we believe, you tonight, president clinton, hillary, bruce, jack, dave, we all believe that when you climb that ladder of success, when you get to the top, when we get to the top, one of the primary functions of government is to make sure that believe the latter down for others to climb, two. --too. [applause] you see, the rungs have to be

there. the rungs have to be there. things like maternal and child health care programs. good education, great teachers, good public schools, pell grants, good things for students. sometimes people fall off the latter. they get sick, they have an illness, they get injured. that's why we have disability insurance. have joby we retraining programs to get you back up and going again, a safety net to catch you when you fall. [applause] ago this summer, 24 years ago there were about 20 million americans that no matter how hard they tried, could never climb the ladder. americans with disabilities.

what did we do? we built a ramp. we taught -- we call it the americans with disabilities act. [applause] not one, there is nickel or dime in that bill given to a person with a disability. down theid was -- tear barriers and the people with disabilities can do it on their own. but break down the barriers. [applause] it has changed the face of america. . want to thank you you gave me the opportunity to play that role. you empowered me to make a difference. i can never properly thank you. i just want you to know how grateful i am. i have done my best to carry forward the populace, progressive manner of fighting

for working people in this country. and fighting for people who didn't get a fair shake. the least, the lost, and the left behind. you empowered me to do. to fight for them. say that i know that over the last 40 years you probably don't agree with every vote i have cast. i don't think that i agree with every vote i cast, looking back. [laughter] i just hope and trust that in my 40 years, 10 in the house, 30 in the senate, that i have been able to represent you in the way that you wanted to be represented, with the highest ideals of our democratic party and the highest aspirations of the people of iowa. if i have done that, i leave as a very satisfied man. applause]d

thank you. now, i may be retiring from the senate, but i'm not retiring from the fight, i will tell you that. [cheers and applause] this week i will be leading the charge once again to increase the minimum wage in america. we've got to get it done. [applause] the republicans are probably going to filibuster it again. well, if they won't let us pass it in the congress, we will take them on in the polls and we will show them what the people at thf america want in november when we give them a good whipping. [applause]

i want to say this -- if you want to thank me for my service, there is really only one way i want you to do that. seatsure that this senate remains in good, fighting, progressive fans with congressman bruce braley being the next senator from the state of iowa. [applause] so, we have to have a government that works for the middle class, that leaves the latter down and gives hope and opportunity to people. president clinton knew this in 1992. he said he would build a bridge to the 21st century. guess what? he did. he build the bridge. 22 million new jobs. 8 million lifted out of poverty. shared prosperity around the

country. he knew that everyone should take part in economic gains. [applause] my friend paul used to say that we all do better when we all do better. since president clinton left the office in 2001, republicans have been determined to tear the bridge down. they have replaced it with a bridge to nowhere. i call it the bridge backwards to inequality in this country not seen since the 1920's. let's be clear, the people of violent don't want to go backward. we don't want a tea party senator. [boos] who says she wants to repeal the clean air act, privatize social security, and the vouchers for medicare. [boos]

friends, she is known for what she does the hogs. [laughter] -- does to hogs. [laughter] but i've got to tell you that what scares me is what she wants to do to people. [applause] especially working people, students and seniors. she says she is going to go to washington to make them squeal. but the last thing that we need in the u.s. senate is another tea parties, who mocks people, refuses to compromise, and gets nothing done for iowa. [applause] we don't need another bridge burner in the senate. we need a bridge builder. well grounded in their philosophy, a good progressive philosophy, who understands you

have got to get things done. who respects the views of those with whom we may disagree. we need a senator from iowa with a proven record of reaching across the aisle to get things done. no one has done a better job of building bridges and getting things done than congressman bruce braley. [applause] a lot of folks, a lot of folks ask me if i am going to miss the senate. yes, i am. i love my work. i love my job. i even love the senate, even with all its dysfunctions. but 40 years is long enough for anyone to serve in the congress. there comes a time to gracefully bow out and make room for a new generation of leaders. i am thrilled to think that this next january 3 at noon, i will be able to walk down the center aisle of the senate and passed

the torch to senator bruce braley. [applause] since we are going to be here in iowa, i would like to have a governor that represents me in the same progressive way as governor phil sack. that's why we have to elect jack hatch is our next governor. [applause] folks, since ruth and i live in wharton county, in the third district, in this district i want to be represented on the first iowa woman to ever serve the u.s. congress, staci appel. stacy, right here. we are in her district.

[applause] jim, for his past service to our nation in a rack, thank you for your future service in getting steve king out of congress and getting you in there. where is he? right there. [applause] i can't speak too highly of our candidate in the first district. pat murphy was an outstanding speaker of the house and with our help you will replace bruce braley. right here, from dubuque. [applause] , i haveecond district never seen anyone work as hard as dave. he is out there constantly, all the time. i know he is going to get reelected. join me in thanking dave for his great service and for winning this next election and

continuing his service in the congress. [applause] well, this can all happen, but we need your help. we need you to volunteer. when you leave here today, help us to get the absentee ballots in. if democrats who voted in the last election vote this time, we win. we just got to get the votes in. join me in showing the koch brothers and the tea party the democratic people power in iowa will whip them every time. [applause] so, friends. i know you are eager to hear from our special guests. i mentioned bill clinton's abridged to the 21st century and how it is being replaced with a bridge that goes backwards.

well, i have to close my remarks with my signature closing. at the 2000d by me national convention in los angeles. what is atsks you stake in this election, or what the election is all about, the only thing you need to tell them is this -- everything that you needed to know about the selection, you learned in drivers education. we learn in drivers education? we learned that if you want to r. backwards, you put it in o [applause] folks., come on. if you want to go forward, put it in d. [applause]

alright, on with the show. you had the steak, now it's time for some sizzle. i can't think of two people better equipped to do that than bill and hillary clinton. [applause] i have been struck this weekend by the fact that most of the hubbub and spotlight has been focused on hillary rather than build. [applause] i am reminded, back when president kennedy was president, and he went to france and jacqueline accompanied him and she got all the press and everything. when he was introduced he said he wanted to introduce himself, the person that accompanied jacqueline kennedy to friends -- france. [applause] feel a bitt bill may

like that now. i know he loves the sizzle. [applause] let me say this about our former first lady, form a set that former senator, and secretary of state, hillary clinton. when she was in the white house and the senate, no one thought -- fought morely passionately for health reform. hillary came to the senate as a rock star. after 9/11 she was a rock of gibraltar for all of those people and their families in new york city who suffered after 9/11. i was privileged to serve her of her on the health and education committee for eight years.

we worked together on a lot of things. one of the things she always worked on was advancing this concept, this idea that health care should be a right and not a privilege in this country. [applause] so, hillary was not there when the affordable care act was signed into law, she was of course secretary of state, but you should all know that her fingerprints were all over that legislation. it would not have happened but for her strenuous advocacy in that committee all those years she was there to get a health care bill passed in congress. [cheers and applause] course, you know, in history she is the first first lady ever elected to the united states senate.

as secretary of state -- my goodness, what a great job. played a central role in restoring america's image and power around the world. she stressed the smart power of american diplomacy. she put human rights back on the a baric and foreign-policy agenda. -- american foreign-policy agenda. and as much as i have traveled around the world, i can tell you that historic speech that she gave in beijing in 1995 at the women's international summit telling you that it reverberates around the globe today because she said it so poignantly. women's rights are human rights around the world. [applause]

well, i will bring her up by saying this -- a great friend, a wonderful public servant -- dedicated. this is what i said to my her book, iowa -- hard choices, i see a lot of you got it, it's a great look. read it. there are 25 chapters in that book. i am here to tell you that there are many more chapters to be written in the amazing life of hillary clinton. [applause] >> thank you so much. >> avail they are. my gosh. hillary'] '

>> well, hello, iowa. i'm back. applause]d we are all here to thank tom and ruth for their decades of service to our nation. for their generosity, their optimism, their unflagging energy, and their passion. i want to thank emmy -- amy, jenny, and the entire family for sharing, and ruth with all of us for all of those years. [applause] is also great to be with a

lot of friends. i see some special friends, tom and christie, and i heartily echo what tom harkin said about tom's service as secretary of agriculture. he and i worked together. he really likes my book because he is in it. but i also want to thank christie for her service. she is carrying that forward, continuing to work on feed the future and a lot of the programs that tom and i thought -- pioneered together. it does really feel just like yesterday when i was last here at the harkin steak fry. our as my husband prefers to call it now, the stirfried. [laughter]

as i recall, there was a young senator from illinois here at the same time. i wonder whatever happened to him. it has been 70 years and a lot has changed. senator obama became president obama. and to my great surprise, he asked me to join his team as a member of his cabinet. rivals the partners to friends. sometimes we would even reminisce a little bit about old days. let me tell you, he sure loves iowa. [applause] now, when tom harkin called and asked me to come, i have to admit that i wasn't sure what to say. i've got a few things on my mind the days.

[massive cheering and applause] first and most importantly, bill and i are on constant grandchild watch. [applause] i am calling chelsea every five minutes to make sure that things are going alright. in the big moment comes, you can bet that i will drop everything to be there in a flash, so i'm telling you now, if ucs sprinting off the stage, that's why. of course, there's another thing. [applause] [cheering] well, it is true, i am thinking about it. [cheers and applause] but for today that is not why i am here. ['awws']

i am here for the steak. [laughter] was moreyears, i likely to be eating yak meat in mongolia, having a great time doing it, but thinking a lot about being back home. i am here first and foremost for tom, for ruth, and for the great candidates that you had the chance to elect. for bruce braley, jack hatch, and monica, his running mate, for staci appel, jim, pat murphy, all of the great candidates that are bearing the democratic party standard. [applause] think about it. in just 50 days, iowans have a choice to make. and a chance.

a choice between the guardians of gridlock and the champions of shared opportunity and shared prosperity. a chance to elect leaders who will carry on the heart -- the legacy of tom harkin, of fighting for hard-working families. a chance to elect a governor who the economy should work for everyone. a chance to elect a senator who knows that women should be able to make our own health care decisions. [cheers and applause] and that -- [cheers and applause]

and that, believe it or not, equal pay should mean that you get equal pay for equal work. [cheers and applause] so, although it's wonderful we're all here to salute tom, ruth, and for bill and me to come back to be with you, i know there are a lot of other things you could be doing on this beautiful afternoon. there are errands to run, kids to watch, television to catch up on. but you're here to. you are here because something or someone inspired you to get off the sidelines. to do your part to strengthen the basic bargain of america. you know what it is. you are or where you come from, if you work hard and play by the rules, you

deserve the opportunity, the same opportunity as anyone else, to build a good life for yourself and your family. harkin, that spark was >> for tom, that spark was lit just 20 miles from here in that small town in iowa. for ruth, it was a small farming town in minnesota. the coal miners son and the school temper's daughter learned that the only direction that matters in life is forward. and they also learned to never quit, never lose faith, never stop fighting for others and when you get knocked down, get right back up.

so that's why they are champions for families fighting to get into the middle class and those fighting to stay there, for children, for veterans, for farmers, for people with disabilities, in fact, for all of us. and by the way, if you need any further evidence for how important control of the senate tually is, look no further than tom's efforts to help us pass the global treaty on the rights of people with disabilities. as secretary of state, working with the president, we made the case that this was a tribute to the united states because it was based on the land marc legislation, the americans with disabilities act. it was one of tom's finest

accomplishments. but unfortunately, a handful of republican senators stood in the way despite empassioned please from people with disabilities from across our country, including their own former leader, war hero bob dole. so don't let anyone tell you that it really doesn't matter. throughout his career, tom has gotten results by finding common ground where he could and standing his ground when he should. good jobs, higher wages, better schools, a cleaner environment, civil right rs, quality affordable healthcare, tom has fought for them all. now i served in the senate with him for eight years. as he said, we were on the same committee. i know how hard he worked and i

know how effective he was getting things done for iowa and for america. how did he do it? well, there is a story told about tom that i think is pretty telling. one of his neighbors from coming said when he was young, tom was pitching hay on a nearby farm to make a little extra money for his family. he was up on a truck catching the bails and suddenly he lost his balance and fell. everyone froze. when tom got up, everybody there said he should just call it a day. but not tom. instead, he dusted himself off, climbed right back up on that truck and got back to work. now i grew up in a middle class family outside of chicago. very different from where tom

was raised. but when i got to know tom and ruth, i recognized in them the same values that i learned from my own parents. my mother had a childhood that none of us would want, abandonned and mistreated first by her parents and then by her grandparents. so she had to start working when she was 14. but she overcame all that she faced. and became a wonderful mother to me and my brothers and she channeled her own struggles into a deep conviction that there is worth and dignity in every human being, that everyone matters. that everyone deserves not just a chance, but a second chance and even a third chance to keep going and to make something of hemselves.

that was one of the most important lessons of my life and i know it was for tom and ruth as well. they've never forgotten where they came from, who they are and what they want to do, to open doors put that ladder up fur others. they've actually lived that lesson. tom keeps score in politics the same way that bill and i do. we ask ourselves, are people better because of your efforts? do children have brighter futures? do we find ways to work together instead of being apart and divided? one of the reasons this election is so important is because in washington there is too little cooperation and too much conflict. and when it comes to moving america forward, we know what it

takes. we've seen it. we've seen it in tom, we've seen it in bill clinton and we've .een it in barack obama under president obama's leadership our country is on the road to recovery. now here in iowa, for example, exports are up, for farmers they are way up, unemployment is down, down more than 25% since 2009 to just 4.5% this summer. enewable energy production has quadrupled in iowa which means more jobs and a cleaner environment. and thanks to the r to the affordable care act, insurance companies have been forced to refund more than $1.7 million to

iowa families. but for all the progress we've made, president obama and the rest of us will be quick to say we still have a lot of work to do. because it used to be that when productivity went up, wages went up. people could actually see all of that in their paychecks and feel it in their wallets. today you know so well american families are working harder than ever but maintaining a middle class life feels like pushing a boulder up hill every single day. that is not how it's supposed to be in america. this is the country remember where if you work hard, you can make it. and each generation has done a little better than the one before. that's who we've always been and that is what our country must be

again. so that's what this election is really about because in 50 days, every iowa voter needs to know that from the president on down to local officials, we democrats are for raising the minimum wage, for equal pay for equal work, for making college and technical training affordable, for growing the economy to benefit everyone and our opponents are not. [applause] for jack hatch fixing down run down homes led to a business building affordable housing. and then to the state house where he worked to provide health insurance for children, improve foster care and clean up the environment. it's no wonder tom asked him to

be his state director. and he and monica vernon are going to make a great team in the state capitol. [applause] i met stacy apple and her formly when she was in her first year in the state senate. she had worked her way up from minimum wage to manager at an iowa department store. and as a financial consultant she helped families plan for retirement and save for college. and she did it all while being a great mom to her six kids. [applause] her firsthand experience with the economic pressures facing iowa families made her look around and think we can do better. nd now with your help, she's poised to be the first woman ever to represent iowa in the

united states congress. [applause] and dave and jim and pat will bring wisdom, compassion to a congress where those qualities are in short supply. and bruce, bruce has his own story. after his dad was badly injured in a grain elevator accident, his mom went back to school and worked like crazy to get her teaching degree and to support their family. she inspired bruce to devote his life to fighting for other families facing hard times. as a congressman, he's done just that. he went to bat for iowa's national guard members and won them the pay they deserved. [applause]

and just for a moment, think about the issue of the federal minimum wage. i understand it's being hotly debated in bruce's race. some are talking about eliminating it all together if you can believe that. here is a little fact or two. women hold a majority of the minimum wage jobs in this country. and women also hold nearly three quarters of all jobs like waiters, bartenders, hair style thaste don't even get the minute -- minute wage. it's thought they will do fine with tips. these are often moms contributing to their families economic well being, sometimes they are single moms trying to give their kids the support they

need on wages like that, without paid family leave, without sick leave, without flexibility or predictability at work. without access to quality affordable child care. i think bruce gets that. he gets it in his heart as well as his head because of his own experience. and that's why easing the burdens on iowa's working families is more than a policy proposal for him. it's a personal commitment. i look at him and i see a leader who is going to do his best to make this a better country for my grandchild and all of our children. leave here committed to working as hard as you can. when you see your neighbors in

the supermarket or pick your kids up from school, tell them about our candidates. share your ssion, thumpe. knock on doors. vote for the kind of future all of our people deserve. now after traveling nearly a million miles and going to 112 countries on your behalf, i know we face a lot of economic, political and security challenges here at home and around the world. but everything i've seen convinces me that we can meet those challenges and seize big opportunities too. we have the human and natural resources to do it. we have the knowledge to do it. we have the will if we decide to exercise it to do it.

we can build a growing economy of shared prosperity and a more equal sharing of responsibility for a secure world. that's what america has always done and it's time to summon that spirit again. too many people only get excited about presidential campaigns. look, i get excited about presidential campaigns too. [applause] but those campaigns only happen every four years. and every two years you're electing members of congress and senators and state officials who will have a big say in the quality of your schools, your healthcare, your lives. so use the enthusiasm that iowa is so well known for every

presidential year and channel that into these upcoming elections. don't wake up the day after the election and feel bad and wonder what more you could have done. do everything you can now to make sure when you wake up that morning after the election, you breathe a big sigh of relief bazz you will have done everything you could to make sure that tom's legacy of service, of fighting, of standing up and making it clear whose side he's on will continue. it's time to heed the push of our values and the pull of our future. it's time to right that new chapter in the american dream. because remember, when we show up, we win. and i thank tom and ruth for always showing up and showing us

the way. it's really great to be back. let's not let another seven years go by. thank you all very much. [applause] >> good things always happen when bill clinton comes to iowa. [applause] i just want to say about the

steak fry, this is his fourth. i remember in 2003, president clinton came. we had terrible rains but we needed toth rain. we had a drought. but it rained two or three days before and that morning. it was a sea of mud. how many of you were here? it was just muddy. it was all over the place mud. we came down here and all the candidates had spoken, bob graham and howard dean and a bunch of others. then president clinton came down. those of you who were here will remember we came up on the stage to introduce president clinton on the stage, the clouds disappeared and the sun came out . i thought to myself boy this guy

has friend in really high places. so mr. president, we're thankful for the sunshine today. but we're also thankful for the sunshine of your leadership through all these years. thank you for what you've done for our country and the world. [applause] we can do this again. we can take that bridge to the future that he started building by creating those 22 million jobs, lifting 8 million people out of poverty, shared prosperity like hillary just said. he turned the deficits into the biggest surpluses in history. if we had continued with the clinton economic program, we would have paid off the national

debt in 10 years. [applause] he pursued peace relentlessly. i have an irish ancestry. i happened to be in ireland the weekend after the good friday accords that brought peace finally to ireland. he hammered that out. he wouldn't give up on that. and he brought peace to that country. [applause] he never gave up on seeking peace in the middle east. who can forget that photo of arafat shaking hand and there is clinton pulling them together? and since leaving the white house he went on to establish the clinton foundation.

fighting global warming, combating childhood obesity, bringing global lead together to find solutions to our world's biggest problems. mr. president, it is great to welcome you back to the 37th steak fry. let me just say personally, i ran against the governor of 1992.as back in 1991 to and it was not a sad day when i dropped out of the race because i knew that there was another person that-in that race that was going to take our country to a higher level, going to bring people together, who was going to build that bridge to the 21st century. so it didn't take me very long after i dropped out of the race. i went up to new york, we met. and i came out and supported him

whole heartedly and i got to tell you, i am so proud, so proud of bill clinton. so thankful for his leadership and so grateful for his friendship to me and ruth and our family through all these years. let's give it up for a great president and a great friend of iowa, bill clinton. [applause] > thank you. thank you very much. >> you've all been out here quite a while and i don't want this to be like one of these officers installation bank quets where everybody said everything

that needs to be said but not everybody said it yet. i'll try to be brief. ut i will say first to tom and ruth harkin, i wanted to be here to honor you torks spend my sunday with my wife, to wear the birthday present she gave me last august. what do you think? you like my shirt? [applause] i was kind of worried i looked like a table cloth at a diner but she said it was cool so i'm feeling good. but we wanted to be here because you two are part of our family history, you two are making history in iowa today with the last of the steak fries and you've been an important part of

history in the last 30 or 40 years. ruth ran an agency a lot of people don't know about, the overseas private corporation but it has a big impact on whether we can have fair trade and not just free trade, a big impact on whether we can sell things in other countries and create jobs in america. and aim grateful to her for doing that. when i became president, i had -- as tom said, we had worked together through the 192 campaign and i was impressed. i really did like the guy. i hated it when we were running against each other. i always felt like there was something not quite right. and when we started working together, it always sort of clicked. and i love being here in 1992. and i thank iowa for supporting

me. and then i loved coming back in 1996 because then tom had one of his rare tough elections and looked like i could help. i was telling a group of sponsors in that whole eight-year period when i was president, there was like a 36 hour window when my aapproval rating in iowa was higher than his and he made sure i flew in here and he took advantage of it. and i got out of town before anything bad could happen to him. and you re-elected him. and i'm very grateful. 2003 it rained like crazy. a 20 somethingas at wood stock. only thing is marijuana wasn't legal yet anywhere and we were addicted to music now and we

were addicted in politics in 2003, but i was glad the sun came out so we didn't look totally i had ot i can doing what we were doing. i'm grateful. but you need to know some other things. tom harkin, besides taking good care of iowa and knowing about agnieszka projects and trying to help promote the healthcare coverage that came to fruition in the affordable care act but healthier lifestyles through nutrition standards that our friend has been trying to work through with the schools here. he was at least, when i was involved, the reigning authority in the senate on the activities of the national institute of health and what should be invested and how we should spend our investment money and give younger people a brighter

future. and also, by the way, grow our economy in a good way. he was along with senator chris d.o.d. of connecticut, one of the strongest voices for restoring democracy to haiti in 1994 because the military dictator down there was putting tires around people's necks and setting them afire. they were our nearest neighbors. they had been told they had to go and iowa is going told that nobody gave a rip about haiti and it was crazy. we did it and no shot was fired. nobody got hurt. and largely because we had a few brave members of congress like tom harkin to do it. when that eric hit haiti americans gave a billion dollars and i still work there and we're still getting stuff done and i'm convinced even though they've had a lot of ups and downs, a

lot of it never would have happened if america had walked away and allowed dictate tors to kill people virtually on our borders instead of give them a chance. and i thank tom harkin for that. [applause] he talked about the americans with disabilities act. there was another great disability act passed at the end of my presidency. and tom was one of the people that brought to my attention that it was fine to say that people who were disabled couldn't be discriminated against. it was fine to say they had the right to go to work but did they really have the means to go to work because there were so many people who were disabled and required $100,000 worth of care a year to be maintained and if they went to work for 20 hours a ek and earned $20,000 or

whatever, they would be then rendered ineligible to keep their health care. we were trapping millions of people who were classified as disabled who were in fact quite able to make a contribution to themselves, their families, their future and to our country by having this crazy rule that said i'm sorry if you make any money we have to take your medicare or medicaid away. we changed that in the late 10eu9's and enabled huge numbers of people with disabilities to have abilities in the forefront and live a better life and make a contribution to the united states and we owe thanks to tom harkin for that. [applause] and since, as hillary said, we're doing our best to be in the right zone to be good and i hope not too doting

grandparents. i don't think most people in iowa ever knew that tom harkin did more than any other member of the united states congress to make sure america was leading the charge and on the right side of the international effort to bring an toned abusive child labor practices all over the world. [applause] so i always liked him but every day i served with him, i knew why more. i think the happiest day we ever had together it was day he came to the oval office and he was able to be with me as we called his brother to have the first conversation ever had with the technology that allowed people who were deaf to communicate over telephones with people who were not.

[applause] so i'm here more than anything else because the shining life of tom harkin and ruth proves that politics can be a noble profession, that good things can come from tough elections, that people who disagree can get together, work together and find common ground. -- i want to thank tom and ruth for their service and friendship. i want to say that everything tom said about bruce is true. but i'm going to tell you a story that will make it more meaningful and i hope will make a better case at least indirectly for jack and monica

vernon and for all your ongressional candidates. i think a mother with six kids belongs in congress and i've heard some of those sexist say anybody that can raise six kids can run a foreign 500 company, they can certainly handle a seat in congress and do it justice. hope you will help stays. -- stacy. >> i thank brad anderson for running for secretary of state. effort a republican wins a secretary of state job they try to restrict voting rights and i don't like that too much. that's what wanted to say.

i want you to think about what all this means. what does it mean to say that we respect our opponents and we don't mind it if they disagree with us, vote against us, do whatever, but in the end we have to find a way to work together, to make agreements to get the show on the road. they think they are right all the time and if they make an agreement with us, it's somehow compromising, besides they might lose a primary election. now this is a modest reflection of the kind of conflict that is going on all over the world today. hear what is going on everywhere. we live in the most interdependent nage human history. -- age in hupen history. iowa farmers can find out what is happening to comparable crops

all over the world instantly. you follow the price of inputs, e price of out puts, the probably weather conditions. we are more interdependent than ever before. we are more diverse than ever before in america. but our main political problem shows you what the world's problem is. think about america. we are less racist, sexist and homophobic than we've ever been. continuing ve one problem. we don't want to be around anybody that disagrees with us more than ever before. we are living with complex problems with a lot of moving parts that require people with good minds and good experiences and different experiences to come together. that's what i always loved about

harkin. he never stopped being a good progressive liberal democrat, but he never did go to work with his ears plugged up. he never did go into a situation and put blinders on so he couldn't see what was plainly before his eyes. that is hurting america. everywhere in the world that people's interaction are characterized by constant onflict, winner take all, good things are not happening. everywhere in the world the situation reflects inclusive government, cooperation between the public and private sector and different groups for the purpose of getting something done, good things are happening. everywhere in america it's true, everywhere in the world it's true. in this interdependent age,

sadly in the last couple of months all we've been reading about are the most painful headlines. but there are some good things happening. there has been a huge drop in the last 10 years in the amount of extreme poverty in the world. healthcare goals for people all over the world, we're going to reach them. mority is down, infant mority is down. fewer babes are dying in their first five years during life because of water born illnesses. the aids rate is down. but there is a lot of violence out there. because power is dispersed. that mens that apart from any specific issue, every time you vote, you need to be looking for somebody that first agrees with you and will stand for what you believe in, but will go to work every day with their ears

unplugged and their eyes wide open prepared to reach a principle compromise and stand up and explain it to you if you disagree. we have got to pull this country together to push this country forward. [applause] that's really why i want these folks to win. this is most important for bruce 's race but it has implications elsewhere. look, i've run for office a lot of times. i never tried to put on a television ad that i thought would turn people off. without being dishonest, you want to appeal to as many people as you can. and when bruce's opponent put that ad on, i wish i could think of as diplomatic a way to

describe it as tom did, but i never graduated beyond the cows in my great grandfather's herd when i was six so i'm lothed to try to up my game at this late stage. here is what i want to say. a lot of these republicans spent all their time dising the president and dumping on the snalt majority leader harry reid. if you listen to them, half the time they are not even running against their opponents. they are trying to get you to check your brain at the door, start foaming at the mouth, push some hot button. the last thing they want to you do is think. now here is something i read the other day and i read it twice to make sure i wouldn't misrepresent it to you.

there was a rather revealing article in the press sometime in the last couple of weeks about a speech the senate republican leader who wants to be majority leader by getting you to erase all our candidates from congress and our candidate for the senate and see only the people that they are allegedly clones of taking orders from. it was senator mitch mcconnell's speech to the coke brothers political forum supposedly in secret. again, this was highly informal and informative. so mcconnell first of all said when he became majority leader, he wanted them to know that they would begin by using the budget to take over the government because the budget is the only thing that you can't filibuster. it takes majority vote. so they were going to put an

amendment on every budget of every department to get rid of anything that had been done since president obama had been in office or before they didn't like and if he vie towed it they would shut the government down over and over again this. is not an allegation. he was bragging on this like he was ion sign the discovering the theory of relativity. he found the secret to personal nant gridlock. oh happy day. what i found even more important and revealing was at the end senator mcconnell said according to the transcript released from the meeting that the worst day in his 30 year political life was the day that the mccain bill was signed into law. now for those of you who don't remember it because the supreme court has gutted its impact.

it was a bipartisan bill designed to limit campaign contributions in size and to eliminate inso far as possible secrecy in campaign contributions so we'd have to fess up and if somebody was trying to get to us, we'd know who was paying for it. how could you think that's the worst thing that happened? only if you thought the best thing that happened was if the coke brothers could run black bag operations in every country and spend all this money driving people crazy and getting them to stop thinking and never be found out. i thought some of my friends were mad at senator mcconnell. i was profoundly sad. when i look back on my life in politics, after all those decades and fights and all those campaigns, if the worst thing that ever happened to me was an

attempt to limit black bag campaign contributions. what about 9/11? what about the financial meltdown? what about the farm crisis in the 1970's and what about the middle of the country's manufacturing base hollowing out in the 1980's? and what about in his fative kentucky 70% of the coal miners losing their job before the e.p.a. said a word with no way to put them back to work in other ways? how could you possibly say the worst thing that happened to you was not being able to black bag unlimited amounts of money. in politics when all of these things have happened to americans? one thing i know, everybody up here will be just like tom harkin was in one respect. they will be in this for you when you need it.

they may make mistakes. they may do things you don't agree with. but you will not have to worry that if you elect them 30 years from now they will actually stand up with a straight face before a bunch of rich donors and say the saddest day of my life was when i couldn't take it all from you and keep it a secret. [applause] so remember this is way more than just what everybody said. we are going to define the terms in which we will relate to each other and relate to the rest of the world. you can't get a divorce from the rest of the world or the rest of your neighbors around the corner and across the country. we are interdependent. we are in this together. are we going to build the future together or play a winner take install is it going to be conflict or cooperation? you know what it ought to be. you know what you ought to do to

honor the harkin legacy and that is to elect bruce and all these congressional candidates. thank you and god bless you all. [applause] ♪ ♪