and so we have to have a government that works for the middle class, that leaves the ladder down, gives hope and opportunity to people. president clinton knows this. when he was campaigning here in 1992 he said he was going to build a bridge to the 20th century and guess what? he did. he built that bridge mplets 8 million people lifted out of poverty, shared prosperity around the country. he knew when we make gains, everybody ought to take part in that. [cheers and applause] my friend always says we all do better when we all do better. but since president clinton left the office in 2001, republicans have been determined to tear that bredge down. they've replaced it with a bridge to nowhere.

. call the bridge backward inquality in this country not seen since the 1920's. iowans don't want to go quackward. we do not want a tea party senator who says she wants to abolish the department of ducation and repeal the cainer act, and privatize medicare. now, friends, joanienst is known for what she does to hogs. [laughter] but i got to tell you, what scares me is what she wants to do to people. especially working people, our students, our seniors. she says she's going to go to washington "make them squeal."

but the last thing we need in the united states senate is another tea party zell other who mocks people, refuses to compromise and gets nothing done for iowa. cheers and applause] we don't need another bridge burner in the senate. we need a bridge builder, someone well grounded in their philosophy and a good progressive philosophy but understands you've got to make do. you've got to get things done. who respects the views of those with whom we may disagree. we need a sflert iowa with a proven record of reaching across the isle to get things done and no one has done a better job of building bridges and getting things done than congressman bruce braley. a lot of folks ask me if i'm going to miss the senate.

yes, i am. i love my work. i love my job. i even love the senate with all its dysfunctions. it's still a great place you can get things done. 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. and i am thrilled to think that this next january 3 at noon i'll be able to walk down the center aisle of the senate and pass the torch to senator bruce braley from iowa. [cheers and applause] and as ruth mentioned, we'll be spending a lot more time now in iowa. we're going to be doing a lot of work with the harkin institute at the university. and since we're going to be here in iowa, i sure would like to have a governor who represents me in the same progressive,

forward manner as our other two governors and that's why we got to elect our next governor to be jack hatch! [cheers and applause] and folks, this group and i live in warren down in the 3rd district. in this district i want to be represented by the first iowa woman to ever serve in the united states congress, stacy apple. [cheers and applause] . stacy apple, right here. we're in her district. [cheers and applause] and jim nower for his past service with our nation in the military in iraq, thank you for that. but thank you for your future service in getting steve king out of congress and getting in there. where is jim now we are? -- 't speak too highly of

pat murphy is going to replace bruce brayly in the 1st district. [cheers and applause] and in the 2nd district, i want you to know i've never seen anybody work harder than steve. he is out there all the time. i know he's going to get re-elected. i want to thank him for his great service and thank him for winning the next election. dave! [cheers and applause] this can all happen but we need your help. we need you to volunteer when you leave here today help us get the absentee ballots in, door knocking. if democrats who voted in the last election this time we win, we've just got to get those

votes. democratic people and power in iowa will win every time! cheers and applause] job and noud hillary clinton who spoke at this event for about 20 minutes. >> hello, iowa! cheers and applause] >> i'm back! [cheers and applause] i'm so glad to be with all of you on this beautiful day. now, we're 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 to help more people in more places share in the american dream. and i want to thank not only tom

and ruth, but i want to thank amy and jenny and the entire harkin family for sharing tom and ruth with all of us over those years. [cheers and applause] it's also great to be with a lot of friends. i see some special friends, tom and christy vilsack and i heartyly 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's in it. [laughter] i also want to thank christy for her service and she's carrying that forward on u.s.a.i.d. you know, it does really feel just like yesterday when i was last here at the harkin steak fry or as my husband now prefers

. call it, the stir fry as i recall, there was a young senator from illinois there, the same time. and i wonder whatever happened to him. well, it's been seven years, and a lot has changed. senator obama became president obama. [cheers and applause] and to my great surprise, he asked me to join his team as a member of his cabinet, so we went from rivals to partners to friends. and sometimes we would even reminisce a little about old days, and let me tell you, he sure loves iowa. [cheers and applause]

now, with -- when tom harkin called and asked me to come, i have to admit, i wasn't sure what to say. i've got a few things on my mind these days. first -- [cheers and applause] first and most importantly, bill and i are on constant grandchild watch. [cheers and applause] i'm calling chelsea every five minutes to make sure things are going already, and when the big moment comes, you can get that i will drop everything to be there in a flash, so i'm telling you now, if you see us sprinting off the stage, that's why. and then of course, there's that other thing. cheers and applause]

well, it is true, i am thinking about it. [cheers and applause] but -- but for today, that is ot why i'm here. i'm here for the steak. for four years as secretary secretary of state, i was more likely to be eating backmeat in mongolia, having a great time doing it, but thinking a lot about being back home. and i'm here first and fore most r tom, for ruth, and for the great candidates that you have a chance to elect. for bruce braley and jack hatch and monica vernon, his running mate, staci an pell and pat murphy, all of the great candidates that are bearing the

democratic party standard. now, think about it. in just 50 days, iowans have a choice to make. a choice 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 tom harkin's legacy of fighting for hard working families. a chance to elect a governor who actually believes the economy00 work for everyone. a chance -- economy should work for everybody. 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, believe it or not, equals, call pay should mean you get equal pay for equal work. cheers and applause] sol although it's wonderful we're all here to absolute tom and ruth and for bill and me to -- salute tom and ruthened for bill me and me to be with you, i know there are a lot of other things you could be doing on this afternoon. there are errands to run and kids to watch and television to catch up on, but you're here, too, and you're here because something or someone inspired you to get off the sidelines.

noumble, maybe you want to do your -- now, maybe you want to your part to strengthen the america. you know what it is. no matter who you are or where you come from, if you work hard and play by the rules, you deserve the same opportunity as everyone else to build a good life for yourself and your family. for tom harkin, that spark was lit just 20 miles from here in that small town of come ink, iowa. for ruth -- coming, iowa. for ruth it was a small town in minnesota. the cole miner's son and the schoolteacher's daughter know that the only direction in life that matters is forward. they also learned to never quit, never lose faith, never stop

fighting for others, and when you get knocked down, get right back up. cheers and applause] so that's why they're champions for those trying to get into the middle class and those trying to get there. for children, veterans, farmers, for people with disabilities, in fact, for all of us. by the way, if you need any further evidence for how important control of the senate actually 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 landmark legislation, the americans with disabilities act that was one of tom's finest accomplishments. but unfortunately, a handful of republican senators stood in the way, despite empassioned pleas 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. now, 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 rights, quality affordable health care, tom has fought for

them all. now, i served in the senate with him for eight years. as we said, we are 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's a story told about tom that i think is pretty telling. one of his neighbors from cumming said that 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 bales 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 harkin. 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, abandoned 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 worse 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 themselves. cheers and applause] and 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 who they are, where they came from, and what to do to open arms and put the ladder up for others. they've actually lived that lesson. now, 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's too little cooperation and too much conflict, and when it comes to moving america forward, we know what it action takes. we've seen it. we've seen it in tom harkin, we've seen it in bill clinton, and we have seen it in barack obama. cheers and applause] 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 4.5%25% since 2009 to just this summer. [cheers and applause] renewable energy, renewable energy production has quadrupled in iowa, which means more jobs

and a cleaner environment, and thanks to the affordable caring act, insurance companies have een forced to refund more than $1.7 million to iowa families. cheers and applause] 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 productivityives went up, wages went up. people could actually see all of that in their paychecks and feel it in their walts. today, you know -- wallets. today you know american families are working harder than ever but maintaining a middle class life feels like pushing a boulder uphill every day. that is not how it's supposed to be in america.

this is a 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's who our country must be again. so that's what this election is really about. because in 50 days, sever 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. cheers and applause] for jack hatch, fixing up 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 harkin asked him to be his state director. and he and monica vernon are going to make a great team in the state capital. [cheers and applause] i met stathi appel and her family over a pork dinner years ago 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. as a financial consultant she helps families plan for retirement and save for college. and she did it all while being a great mom to her six kids. cheers and applause] her firsthand experience with the economic pressures facing

iowa families made her look around and think, werk do better, and now with your help, she's poised to be the first woman ever to represent iowa in the united states congress. cheers and applause] and dave and jim and pat will bring with them compassion and american common sense to a congress where, frankly, those qualities are in short supply. and bruce braley, well, 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. cheers and 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 even talking about eliminating it altogether, if you can believe that. well, here's a little fact or two. women hold a majority of the minimum wage jobs in this country. 3/4 men also hold nearly of jobs like bartenders, waiters, hairstylists, that don't even get the minimum wage. legally, they're not entitled to it. i'd thought that, oh, they'll do fine with tips.

now, these are often moms ntributing to their families economic well-being. sometimes they're 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 childcare. i think bruce braley 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's going to do his best to make this a better country for my grandchild and all of our children. so --

[cheers and applause] iowa, leave here committed to working as hard as you can. we see your neighbors in the super market or pick your kids up from school, tell them about our candidates, share your passion, share your enthusiasm, knock on some doors, make some phone calls. remember, when democrats show up, we win. not just by electing our candidates, but by voting for the kind of future all of our people deserve. now, if you're 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, but -- [cheers and applause] 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 health care, your lives. so use the enthusiasm that iowa 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. because you will have done everything you could to make sure that tom harkin'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 write 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! [cheers and applause] >> people in our country feel very,

very strongly about the internet. not only how they use it but how they think about it and the access to it and that it be free and that it be open and that no >> monday night at 8:00 eastern on "the communicators." communicators" is next.