of a dinner in cedar rapids. the annual fundraiser honors state democratic leaders. the candidates include lincoln chafee, former secretary of state hillary clinton, maryland governor martin o'malley, bernie sanders, and jim [applause] >> thank you. congratulations to all of the hall of fame inductees, a great group of people working hard to get democrats elected in iowa. [applause] thank you for inviting me to this night in cedar rapids. you will hear from five good candidates tonight with a wide range of passions and experiences.

it's good to be in iowa. i am a college wrestler, and i have long admired the many hawkeye champions. [applause] as you may know, i am the only presidential candidate who has been a mayor, u.s. senator, and a governor. throughout these experiences, i have tried to earn a reputation for courage and honesty. i also have shown strong convictions, sometimes under enormous political pressure. i am proud of my lone support for beneficial social programs that help build the middle class. my lone support for tax structure that requires the wealthy to pay their fair share. [applause] my lone support for raising the minimum wage. my lone support for protecting the environment and addressing climate change.

my lone support for quality health care for all. my lone support for the woman's right to choose. my lone support for lgbt rights. my long support for immigration reform. my long support for investing in public education. my long support investing in all public infrastructure. and my record will stand up to scrutiny on these and many other issues. in this campaign, i also place a high priority on addressing what is happening overseas, especially in the middle east and north africa. as general petraeus famously

asked during the invasion of iraq in 2003, tell me, how does this end? the 2016 presidential election will go a long way to answering that question. how does this end? we have a choice in 2016 prosperity through peace or endless war. this week, we got the breakthrough with iran. what a change. let's give all those who helped make it happen a big hand, especially president obama and his team. [applause] avoiding war is worth every bit of our energy. the iran agreement was crafted with the help of russia, china the united kingdom, france, and germany. this is the right way to make the world safer. [applause]

nations partners, this is the model, the sensible path for america, leading with strong smart, patient, diplomacy. absolutely. [applause] this is also a different course than the failed arrogant unilateral, bellicose, republican approach to the world. that's the choice we have in 2016. we need to reject once and for all the belligerent etiquette of conflict. as governor and senator, i attended too many funerals of servicemen and servicewomen killed in iraq. it is a sad and avoidable chapter in american foreign-policy. as one who voted against the iraq war as a member of the foreign senate relations committee and chair of the middle east subcommittee, i have long been supportive of the course that president obama and secretary kerry are charting. not only with iran, but with cuba. this has been a historic few weeks.

if we are smart with our diplomacy, we can avoid these endless wars and create savings that can be better spent at home. diplomacy is the ultimate test of leadership. [applause] thank you, iowa democrats. leadership is also about seeing the future. i see a future with a strong and well supported diplomatic corps, a complement to our military strength. i see a future where more will help students get their

education without crushing debt. more going to struggling families for true economic opportunities and a chance to buy their own homes. more going to help our seniors enjoy the dignified retirement they work so hard to earn. [applause] i see a future where those of different races, religions believes, genders, sexual orientation, and cultural backgrounds can live and work together. i see a future where once again everyone has a chance at the american dream. the way we are going to do that is to first of all believe it is possible. that is why i'm running for president and respectfully ask

for your support. [applause] we have a special country and a special planet, let's take care of both. thank you, iowa democrats. have a great evening. [applause] we have a special country and a dr. mcguire: thank you, governor chafee. i am proud to welcome our next speaker, hillary rodham clinton. [applause] eaker, hillary rodham clinton. [applause]

>> hillary >> hillary, hillary, hillary. dr. mcguire: as senator from new york, first lady, secretary of state, hillary clinton has been a tenacious advocate for women and their families. throughout her life, she has been devoted to the cause of human rights and equality working to make our world a more peaceful and inclusive place for all. she has led the fight on some of the most pressing issues of our time, from education to health care, and gotten results to bring us closer to an america where all have the opportunity to succeed. please join me and welcoming

hillary rodham clinton. [applause] clinton: thank you so much iowa. [applause] thank you. a tenacious advocate for women andy thank you for what you are doing to bring back the democratic party in iowa. [applause] clinton: just look around this room and you can see that democrats are united, energized, and we are ready to win this election. [applause] clinton: i know, and you do as

well, that elections are always about the future. this time i feel that even more powerfully. maybe it is because our country has worked so hard to come back from the financial crisis with president obama's leadership and the determination of the american people. we are standing again. [applause] clinton: but we are not yet running the way america should. and now we have to choose whether we are going to return to the failed top-down policies that wrecked our economy before or move forward to chart a stronger fairer, and more prosperous future. maybe it is the grandmother in

me, but this is deeply personal. there is something about becoming a grandparent. it is truly transformational. some of you know what i'm talking about. it anchors you in the present and you suddenly have this incredible, amazing little person who commands a lot of attention. it also forces you to think about the future in a new way. what kind of world will be waiting for her? what kind of country will we have when she becomes an adult? and what are our responsibilities to shape it? i'm thinking a lot these days about my own mother and what she did for me. abandoned, mistreated by her own family, she was out on her own by 14, working as a housemaid

but she did not get into bitterness or despair, and i remember asking her, how did you keep your resilience? how did you keep your faith in the goodness of people and a future that would be better than the past? here is what she said. someone along the way believed she mattered. the first grade teacher who sought she had nothing to eat at lunch, and without embarrassing her brought extra food to share. the woman whose house she cleaned suggesting she go to high school so long as her work was done. and because those people believed in her, she was able to believe in me. she was able to give me the great gift of believing in others and in our country.

so my mom was not surprised that my first job out of law school was at the children's defense fund. she wasn't surprised that i spent my life fighting for women, children, families, and our country. [applause] after all, that is what she taught me to do. she never stop pushing me to fight harder for others, to have the same opportunities she never had. i can still hear her saying life is not about what happens to you, it's about what you do with what happens to you, so get act out there. that is why i am here with you today. -- so get back out there. that is why i am here with you today. [applause]

that is why i am so determined to build a better future, not just for my granddaughter, but for all of our children and grandchildren. that is why i'm never going to let a republican rep away the progress that we have made. [applause] clinton: you know, we democrats are in the future business. but from the republican candidates for president, we see the opposite. they may have some fresh faces, but they are the party of the past. we democrats, we look at america and we see limitless potential. we believe in a a sick bargain. if you work hard and do your part, you should be able to get

ahead and stay ahead. we believe that the measure of our success should be how much incomes rise for hard-working families, not just for ceos and money managers. [applause] well, republicans believe something very different. their answer is always the same cut taxes for the super wealthy let big corporations write their own rules, that's it. trickle down economics has to be one of the worst ideas of the 1980's. [applause] it is right up there with new coke, shoulder pads, and big hair. [laughter] [applause] clinton: i lived through it.

there are photographs, and we are not going back to that. [applause] clinton: this past monday, i laid out an agenda for raising incomes so hard-working americans can afford a middle-class life. it is an agenda for strong growth, fair growth, and long-term growth. that will be my mission from the first day i am president to the last. this campaign has to be about how we unlock the potential of every american. because that is how we unlock the potential of america itself. i am having -- [applause] clinton: i'm having a great debate

already with republicans about what that means for our country. governor bush scrambled to explain his statement that americans need to work longer hours. he now says he just wants part-time workers to be able to find full-time jobs. well, so do i. there's just one problem. his policies and the policies of all these republican candidates would make that harder. giving more tax cuts to those at the top won't do anything for part-time workers. rolling back rules for wall street will not help families get ahead. getting rid of the affordable care act certainly won't help entrepreneurs. just ask the folks in the sharing economy. americans don't need lectures. they need raises. [applause]

so if republicans really want to help us, why don't they join us in breaking down the barriers so more americans can enter and succeed in the work force, especially women? [applause] now, i know that when i talk about this, some people think i can see it in their eyes, there she goes again with the women's issues. well, i'm not going to stop so get ready for a long campaign. [applause] you see, i have this old fashioned idea we can't afford to leave anyone on the sidelines. and women who want to work should be able to do so without

worrying every day about how they're going to take care of their child or what will happen if a family member gets sick. that's not a luxury. it's a growth strategy. paid leave. earned sick days. child care. min wage. these are not women's issues. they're family issues. they're economic issues. [applause] so i will keep fighting for them and ask you to join, and i'm going to keep fighting for equal pay because when women get short changed families get short changed. when families get short changed, our economy and our country gets short changed. unlocking potential, though, goes beyond dollars and cents.

it really is about our values. how we treat each other. the kind of country we want to build. on that historic day, last month, when marriage equality became the law of the land, republican candidates were complaining, not cheering. we even heard a call for abolishing the supreme court itself. instead of trying to turn the clock back republicans should be joining us in saying loudly and clearly, no to discrimination once and for all. [applause] lgbt americans should be free, not just to marry, but to live, learn, and work just like everybody else.

[applause] and then there's immigration. we've heard a lot recently from the new republican front-runner. donald trump. finally, a candidate whose hair gets more attention than mine. [applause] but there is nothing funny about the hate he is spewing toward immigrants and their families. it really is shameful. and so is the fact that it took weeks for most of his fellow republican candidates to stand up to him. the sad truth is, if you look at many of their policies, it is hard to tell the difference.

just look across the border in wisconsin. governor walker kicked off his campaign by rolling back reproductive rights for women and stripping union workers of their rights. we don't knead any more politicians who shame and blame women for making our own reproductive health decisions or attacking unions for fighting for middle class jobs. [applause] and i know there are challenges right here in iowa because you've been talking to me about them.

just listen to this. iowa has fewer than 750 beds for more than 128,000 people in your state with serious mental illnesses. families worry about relatives who need help app can't get it. the iowans i've talked to don't understand why your governor would veto a bipartisan compromise without funding a viable alternative. and that's not all. the government also said no to investing in iowa students, teachers, and schools. so tonight i'm adding my voice to yours. governor bran stead put down your veto pen. [cheering]

iowa families don't need a stand off. they need solutions. that's why we can't let republicans take us back like they're trying to do. we are not going back to trickle down economics or the wild west on wall street. we're not going back to insurance companies charging women more for the same coverage. we're not going back to denying climate change. if you ask most of these republican candidates about that, they'll say, sorry. i'm not a scientist. well, then why don't they start listening to those who are scientists? look, i'm not a scientist either. i'm just a grandmother with two eyes and a brain and i'm not going to let them take us backwards.

so please. iowa democrats join me. let's build up our party in every corner of this state and country. elect democrats at every level. take back school boards and state houses all the way to the white house. i'm running to make our country work for you and for every american for the struggling, the striving and the successful, for the factory workers and the food servers who took care of us tonight. for the farmers who feed us and the small business owners who take a risk. for the nurses who work the night shift and the truckers who drive for hours. i am running for everyone who's ever been knocked down but refused to be knocked out. i'm running for you. we're going to build an america

where we don't leave anyone out or anyone behind. where if you work hard you will do your part and get ahead and where a father can tell his daughter yes. you can be anything you want to be, even president of the united states. thank you all very much. [cheering] [chanting] hillary! hillary! hillary! >> i am now excited to welcome

to the stage our next keynote speaker martin o'malley. [cheering] throughout his 15 years of elected executive experience martin o'malley has established himself as a bold, progressive leader, eager to solve big problems facing commaunts. governor o'malley has served in nearly every level of government. first as a member of the baltimore city council then as the mayor of baltimore and finally, as the governor of maryland delivering results for his constituents. as mayor of baltimore, he improved education, cracked down on crime, while improving

police accountability and drove investments to the local community. and as governor, he signed marriage equality into law, passed the dream act, fought for environmental protections, and made maryland's public schools some of the best in the country for five years in a row. no matter the role governor o'malley has always put working families first and fought for the american dream. please join me in welcoming martin o'malley. [applause] [chanting] o'malley! o'malley! >> thank you all. i thank you. thank you very very much. it is a great honor to be here tonight with all of you fine

members of the iowa democratic party in the resilient city of cedar rapids. [applause] my name is martin o'malley. i am running for president. i need your help. and tonight i would like to talk with you about the american dream that we share. you and i are part of a living, self-creating mystery of america. we've been given a gift -- not an old car to be tossed aside or traded in when we're done with it, but a country -- and we must accept this gift with an open mind and an open heart if we are to give it to our children and grandchildren and in a stronger and healthier condition than we received it ourselves. make no mistake about it. our ability to give our

children a better future depends on the strength of our country. [applause] now, let me ask you all a question. how many of you firmly believe that you've enjoyed a better quality of life than your parents and grandparents? raise your hands. second question. how many of you believe just as firmly that your children and your grandchildren will enjoy a better quality of life? raise your hands. that my friends, is the question at the center of our table of democracy. whether we are still that country where regardless of where you start through your own hard work and your own talent and your own love of family, you can still get

ahead. whether we are still that nation that finds a way in every generation to include more and more of our people more fully in the social, economic, and political life of our nation. f.d.r. told my grandparents in their day not to be afraid. john kennedy told my parents that to govern is to choose. i say to you that progress is a choice. now, i am not the only candidate for president in the democratic party who holds progressive values, but i am the only candidate for president with 15 years of executive experience. [applause] as a big city mayor and as a governor turning those progressive values into actions. getting things done. new leadership, action, not words. in baltimore, we took action to save lives by reducing record high violence to record lows.

we increased drug treatment to free thousands of our courageous neighbors from the scourge of drug addiction. in maryland, in the face of the recession, we took action to raise the minimum wage to create jobs and to make our state number one in innovation and entrepreneurship. [applause] driver's licenses for new american immigrants, marriage equality, and a ban on assault weapons, and we didn't just talk about it. we actually got it done. [applause] we took greater action not less to make our public schools number one in the country. we took action to free college tuition four years -- freeze college tuition four years in a row in order to make college more affordable for more families. we fought for the dream act, and we won. we expanded family leave, because when women succeed, america succeeds.

[applause] as a nation, we have come a long way since the wall street crash and the bush recession of 2008. as our country teetered on the brink of the second great depression we elected a new president in barack obama to move us forward, and that is exactly what president obama has done. [applause] 64 months in a row of positive job creation. our country is clearly doing better, but most american families are not. the hard truth of our times is this. 70% of us are earning the same or less today than we were 12

years ago. and that is the first time that that has happened this side of world war ii. there is a growing injustice in our country and economic inequality that threatens to tear us apart. wealth and power have been so concentrated in the hands of so few that it is actually taking opportunity out of the homes and the neighborhoods of the many. and make no mistake about it. this did not happen by accident. powerful wealthy, special interests have used our government to create in our own country an economy that is leaving a majority of our people behind. the promise of the american dream is on the ropes. and most days you know this, dave, in this obstructionist republican congress, it's not even a fair fight. 50 years ago, the nation's largest employer was g.m. and the average g.m. employee

could send a kid to college with the equivalent then of two weeks' wages. my father, like so many of his generation, went to college only because of the g.i. bill. but today we are saddling our graduating kids with more college debt than any developed nation on the planet. meanwhile, as wages flat line or decline for most of us, family owned businesses and farms are finding it harder and harder to compete with ever larger concentrations of corporate power and monopolys. get this. last year wall street bonuses alone totaled twice what every american working at minimum wage earned combined. tell me how it is that not a single wall street executive was convicted of a single crime related to the 2008 meltdown. not a single one.

[applause] what have we come to as a nation that you can get pulled over for a broken tail light but if you wreck the nation's economy you're untouchable? main street struggles. main street struggles while wall street soars, and this is not the american dream. this is not how our economy is supposed to work. and this is not how our country is supposed to work. we can do better. we must return to our true selves. our economy isn't money. our economy is people. all of our people.

a stronger middle class is not the consequence of economic growth. a stronger middle class is the cause of economic growth. [applause] therefore, we must take actions that actually lift incomes and wages again for all americans. can we all agree that no american family who works hard and plays by the rules should have to raise their children in poverty? so let's take action to raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour wherever and however we can. let us return to the economic justice of paying overtime pay for overtime work and expanding social security. and let's make it easier and

not harder for any worker to join a labor union and collectively bargain for better wages. can we all agree that every american family should have the option of sending their kids to earn a college degree debt free? then let's take the action to make debt free college a reality and an option for every american family. a new era of american progress calls for a new agenda to rebuild our cities as places of justice and opportunity. it calls for a new national security strategy and new alliances that are more forward seeing and forward acting to reduce threats and, what's

more, a new american era of progress calls for a cleaner greener, renewable energy future. [applause] and i am the first candidate but let's hope i am not the last to call for moving america forward by 2050 to a 100% clean powered electric grid for the good of our country, creating good jobs and creating more opportunity. [applause] none of these things happen by chance. they do not happen by accident. to get wages to go up there's another thing we need to do, and that is to get 11 million of our neighbors out of the underground economy and into the open light bypassing comprehensive immigration reform. [applause]

but there are also a couple of things we need to stop doing. as a party, and as a country. among them, giving a free pass to the bullies of wall street. we must reinstitute glass/steagall and reinstitute it today. we must prosecute financial crimes, and if a bank is too big to fail, too big to jail, and too big to manage then it's too damn big and it needs to be broken up before it breaks us up. and we must stop sending american jobs and profits overseas with bad trade deals like the trans pacific partnership.

many of you remember the return on nafta. it was nada. we traded away good manufacturing jobs in return getting back empty promises and empty pockets. i am fundamentally opposed as an american to secret trade deals that our congress is forced to vote on before we're even allowed to read them. your republican governor has shown us the direction their party would take us, cutting taxes for big corporations, and then telling you that iowa doesn't have the money to invest in your own children's education. welcome to today's republican party. they once had leaders and visionaries -- lincoln, eisenhower -- now they create traffic jams and dismiss

science. and now the leading candidate for president is donald trump. after his racist, hate-filled comments, true story "the los angeles times" ran a headline, and i quote "republicans feel divided on donald trump's comments about mexican immigrants." divided? as in not sure he's wrong? if donald trump wants to run on a platform of demonizing immigrants, he should go back to the 1840's and run for the presidential nomination of the know nothing party. [applause] my friends, i leave you with these final thoughts. in this summer of anger and frustration and discontent, if you become doubtful about our

country's better future, just talk to her young people. you will seldom find among them climate change denier, someone who wants to des crim nate against gay couples, or someone who wants to bash immigrants. the poet laureate of the american dream, bruce springsteen, asked once, is the dream alive but don't come true or is it something worse? whether that dream is made true again for all american families or not, is not up to the big banks. it's not even about big money trying to take over our elections. it's really up to you and me. it is about whether we still have the ability as a people to move our country forward. you have a vital choice to make and i need your help. after this election is over when a child with a world of

learning in front of him asks you who you voted for, i want you to be able to tell that child, i voted for you. when you see a dad sweating through another long shift in order to give his daughter a better future, i want you to be able to tell him, i voted for you. when you see a mom working long hours at two jobs for the dream of sending her son to college, i want you to be able to tell her, i voted for you. and when you see a young father who hungers for a job to feed his family, i want you to be able to tell him, i voted for you. we are democrats for good reasons, because ours is the party of the people. ours is the party of action. ours is the party of our country's better future. ours is the party that will rebuild the american dream and make the promise real for all americans again. god bless you, iowa. god bless the united states of america.

[applause] chanting o'malley! o'malley! o'malley! o'malley! >> and now, for our next keynote speaker, senator bernie sanders. [cheering]

bernie sanders is in his second term in the u.s. senate as the endorsed candidate of the vermont democratic party. prior to that, he served 16 years in the house of representatives. senator sanders was appointed by the democratic senate leaders as the chairman of the committee on veterans affairs, and is now the ranking democrat on the budget committee. in 1981, he was elected to his first of four terms as mayor of burlington vermont. during which time u.s. news named him as one of the 20 best mayors in america. as a >> as a student and civil rights

activist, he was a frontline activist for equality. he marched on washington with dr. martin luther king jr.. [applause] senator sanders was consistently defending working and middle-class families and stood up against the excesses of corporate america. please join me in welcoming senator bernie sanders. [applause] senator sanders: thank you for that generous introduction. my wife jane and i are so delighted to be in the great state of iowa with you tonight. i am also delighted to be here

following other remarks from great democrats who have dedicated their lives to public service. i think them all -- tahhank them all. let me begin by suggesting something to you that i think very few candidates ever say. given the reality of economics and politics in america today, no president not the best, can bring about the changes we need in this country unless there is a political revolution. [applause] senator sanders: what that means, in all honesty is the powers that be in washington.

the billionaire class, the koch brothers. the corporate interests are so powerful that nothing will get done unless millions of people stand up and loudly proclaim enough is enough. this country belongs to all of us and not a handful of billionaires. [applause] senator sanders: my point is that no president does it alone. we need a mass movement from coast to coast. so that republicans understand. when they give tax breaks to their billionaire friends when they try to cut social security or medicare, we know what is

going on and that vote will be their last term in congress. [applause] senator sanders: here is something else that all of us should know. today in our great country we are the wealthiest country in the history of the world. today, in the history of the world. but most americans don't know that because almost all of the wealth rests in the hands of the few. america now has more wealth and income inequality than any major country on earth and it is worse today than at any time since

1928. the issue of income and wealth inequality is a great moral issue of our time. the great economic issue of our time. the great political issue of our time. together, that is an issue we will address. [applause] senator sanders: let me be as clear as i can be. there is something profoundly wrong when the top 1/10 of 1% owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90%. there is something profoundly wrong when one family, the owners of volvo own as much

wealth as the bottom 40% of the american people. there's something profoundly wrong when millions of workers are working longer hours below wages. when we have the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world. and almost all new wealth and income goes into the hands of the few. enough is enough. that has got to end. together, we will end it. [applause] senator sanders: this campaign is sending a profound message to the billionaire class. you can't have it all. you can get huge tax breaks when children in america go hungry. you cannot continue to send our jobs to china when millions of

americans are looking for work. you cannot hide your profits in the cayman islands and other tax havens. when there are massive unmet needs in this country. the greed of the billionaire class has got to end. we are going to end it for them. [applause] senator sanders: but it is not just income and wealth inequality. it is the fact that we have millions of people working longer hours below wages. that is why we have to raise the minimum wage to a living wage. nobody in america works 40 hours a week should be living in poverty. and that is why i have led the effort in the united states senate not only against nafta

and permanent normal trade relations with china, but i am leaving it against this disastrous tpp agreement. [applause] senator sanders: when 33% of white kids between the ages of 17-20 two graduate high school are unemployed. when 36% of hispanic kids are unemployed who graduated high school. when 51% of african-american kids who graduated high school are unemployed, we need a massive job program to put people back to work.

and when our infrastructure, our roads and bridges there is more than enough work to do. let's rebuild the infrastructure. and create millions of decent paid jobs. today, the united states of america embarrassingly remains the only major nation on earth that does not guarantee health care as a right for all people. i voted for the affordable care act and it has done a lot of good. but there are still 35 million americans with no health insurance and many more who are underinsured. now is the time for us to say, loudly and proudly, america will join the rest of the industrialized world with medicare for all single-payer

insurance. [applause] senator sanders: and when my republican colleagues, at they s they have done for years tell us they have to cut social security despite the fact that millions of seniors are trying to survive on $13,000 a year we say, we are not going to cut social security. we are going to expand it i lifting the cap -- by lifting the cap for taxable income. my republican colleagues in the senate talk about family values. you know what they are talking about. their family values say a woman

does not have the right to control her body. i disagree. [applause] senator sanders: they say a woman should not be able to get a contraceptive. i disagree. they say that our brothers and sisters who are gay should not be able to enjoy the same marriage rights that heterosexual couples enjoy. we disagree. but we also have family values. not based on hatred but based on love and compassion. our family values say when a woman has a baby, she should get 12 weeks of family and medical leave to stay home.

there was another issue out there that must be addressed. perhaps it is the most important issue of all. that is to understand that the supreme court's decision on citizens united is moving this country toward an oligarchic form of society because it is allowing billionaires to buy elections with super pac's and unlimited sums of money. [applause] senator sanders: it should not be acceptable to any american conservative, moderate progressive, that the koch brothers alone and extreme right-wing family, will spend more money in this cycle than either the democratic or republican party.

when one family spends more money than either political parties, brothers and sisters that is not democracy. that is the path of oligarchy. that is why citizens united must be overturned. [applause] senator sanders: i have not made many promises. he was one i have made -- here is one i have made. no nominee of mine to the supreme court will be made unless that man or woman is clear that they will vote to overturn citizens united. and furthermore, we have to go further. we have to, in my view, movie

funding of elections -- move the o public funding of elections so any person can run for office without being dependent on the wealthy and powerful. at my table this evening i have seven or eight wonderful young people. the reason i asked them to join me as to highlight a tragedy in this country. these people collectively over more than $1 million in student debt. i have introduced legislation and will fight as president of the u.s. to make certain every public college and university in america is tuition free. [applause]

senator sanders: we must also significantly reduce student debt. it is in saying that people in this room are paying 8%, 9%, 10% interest rates when you can refinance your home for 2-3%. we are going to do that. when we talk about our responsibility what that means is we have the moral obligation to make certain we leave this planet for our kids and grandchildren in a way that is habitable. [applause] senator sanders: it is an international embarrassment that my republican colleagues refuse to evening knowledge the reality of climate change, let alone are prepared to do anything about

it. [applause] senator sanders: in my view, this nation must and can lead the world in transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy like wind, solar, and geothermal. [applause] senator sanders: and like everybody in this room, i want to see in america where when young black men walked down the street they will not be harassed by police officers. they will not be killed, they will not be shot. [applause]

senator sanders: to his credit, to his credit, president obama did something extraordinary the other day. he had the courage to go to a federal jail and talk about the absurdity of a criminal justice system if if we don't change it, one out of four male african-americans born today will end up behind ours. that is not the america we believe in. that is why we believe it makes more sense to invest in jobs and education, not jails and incarceration. [applause] unto our 11 million brothers and

sisters living in the shadows today, we say loudly and clearly , we are going to bring you out of the shadows and pass broad citizenship. we are not going to divide families up. brothers and sisters we are the wealthiest nation in the history of the world. there is nothing you cannot accomplish. please do not think small think big. think about a future where our kids get the best education in the world. where our young people did the jobs and education they need. where women's rights are protected. that is what we can become if we stand together and not at them divide us by race, gender, sexual orientation.

let us band together. let us remake america together. thank you very much. [applause] >> bernie. bernie. bernie. bernie. [applause] >> and now i am honored to welcome our final keynote speaker, jim webb. [applause] >> jim webb's career is defined by a lifetime of public service.

he started out serving as a marine in vietnam, where he was awarded the navy cross and two purple hearts. [applause] >> he then served as assistant secretary of defense for reserve affairs becausefore becoming secretary of the navy in 1987. he became the first naval academy graduate to serve as the civilian head of the navy. in 2006, he was elected to the senate where he passed the post-9/11 g.i. bill. jim has always stood up for those in need. we are so honored to have his passion in the democratic party. please welcome me e join me in

welcoming jim webb. senator webb: thank you very much. i have to say i had the pleasure of serving with bernie. we were elected in the same campaign cycle. bernie, you always fire me up. i appreciate the opportunity to be here. this is the center of where we need to change america. right here in the democratic party. it is amazing to see the energy here tonight. after what was just said, i would like to ask of those who have served our country to stand and be recognized, if we might. [applause]

senator webb: one of the great moments in my life, my professional life, when we were able to pass the post-9/11 g.i. bill. i wrote it with legislative council. i introduced it the first day i was a senator. there were a lot of people who thought we could not pass this most comprehensivee veterans legislation since world war ii. we built a prototype, and i would like you to consider this, a leadership prototype in the senate of a bipartisan commission. over the objection of the bush administration to the last day of our vote. we passed the bill. since that time, more than one

million 9/11 veterans have been able to ta have the kind of education bernie sanders talked about. a first class shot at the future. i also noticed the supporters mentioned on the back page about 10 of them are from organized labor. i know there are a lot of people from organized labor. i would like to say i am very proud of the fact i believe i'm the only statewide candidate in the history of virginia walked a union picket line during a campaign. those of you who know virginia know the risk involved in that. i am also the only statewide candidate elected with a union card two purple hearts and

three tattoos. we see so much demonizing of organized labor these days. when i look at what we would probably consider the most successful economic system in the world. if you want to look at the balance of trade, it is germany. if you look at their corporate boards they have for many years have organized labor as members of their corporate boards. we need to get the message out to america that organized labor is not the enemy. it is the friend of the working people. it is the voice, the way to start turning economic fairness issues around. [applause] senator webb: we have a lot of

problems in our country. we have heard a liquid remarks about those problems. -- we have heard eloquent remarks about those problems. what would you want in a president to turn these issues around? i would suggest, we should have a president who can articulate values of the democratic party and work at the same time across party lines. achieving bipartisan solutions and moving the country forward in a way we can govern. we have had it in the past, we can have it again. i believe i can do that. bernie sanders mentioned criminal justice. the fact that the president visited a federal prison and had an amnesty program for some people who had convicted unfairly in terms of sentencing, long sentences. i would like to say, when i ran

for the senate, i started talking about the need for this country to solve our broken criminal justice system. i had political advisers saying, i was committing lyrical suicide in virginia. we stuck on those issues. we held a two years of hearings in the senate on how to fix the system. we put a piece of legislation forward. creating a commission that would examine all of the different intersecting issues affecting our criminal justice system. we got a buy-in from 100 different stakeholders across the country and supporting this, including supreme court justice center kennedy and the american bar association. everyone from the national sheriffs association to the aclu and the marijuana project.

it is the only bill in the senate with both the marijuana association and sheriff association. we lost in the senate floor, it was full busted. i also raised the issue with our president. i suggested he could put that in an executive order and we could bring the best minds together to create the kind of solutions the president and bernie sanders were talking to i would say tonight, it has now been nine years since we started working on this issue. i would ask that the president consider taking one day, writing this executive order, getting the commission together, and

fixing the whole criminal justice system. not just part of it. also, i hope you will consider this of all the responsibilities of the president, none is greater than that of being your commander in chief. i spent my entire life in and around the u.s. military. i served in vietnam as a marine. i spent five years in the pentagon, four of them as executive. i have served as a journalist around the world covering the u.s. military including in beirut in 1983 when the marines were in beirut. some will remember the horrible explosion in ebay route airport that killed more than 200 -- in the beirut airport that killed more than 200. i was in afghanistan as a journalist.

i understand how our military works. i understand foreign-policy issues. if i were your president i would have never urged an invasion of iraq. as a senator, i would have never voted to authorize that proposal. five months before the invasion, i wrote a piece in the washington post warning this would be a disastrous strategic failure of historic proportions that we do not belong as an occupying power in that part of the world. that would in power iran and china. that would unleash sectarian violence and turn our soldiers into terrorist targets. if i were your president i would not have authorized the use of military force in libya

during what was called the arab spring. i warned repeatedly the use of military force in libya did not meet the test of a grave national security danger. it would have negative impacts in the entire region. i have to say, i'm still looking with some concern, great concern, about the agreement just signed with respect to iran. i would not as president sign any executive agreement establishing a long-term relationship with iran if it in any way tips the balance of power in that vital region of our world. particularly if it accepts iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons. i will say that again.

i will never accept directly or indirectly iran's acquisition of nuclear weapons. at the same time, i make it clear we have strong national security interests and we need to address them. we have talked a lot about these other issues that everyone is in strong agreement about tonight. let me speak about my view of what the american dream means. i call it the american trifecta. when our system works right we have a safety net under people who need it. who have fallen into hard times or retired. we have fairness in the middle. if you can truly make it, you can go all the way and that is the american dream. what does it look like when it does not work and when it does?

when i think about a time when it did not work, i will never forget the experience is my mother had growing up in poverty in eastern arkansas. she was one of eight kids, three of whom died in childhood. not child earth, childhood. her father died when she was 10. there was no educational opportunity. there was not social security. she chopped cotton, picked strawberries. when my dad met her at the age of 17, he said her hands felt like the bark of a tree. she gave me the energy i have today to be standing in front of you. but it was franklin roosevelt's programs and the democratic party that gave people in that part of america the safety net under them and the chance for true fairness. [applause] senator webb: when it works, i

think of the journey of my wife. in 1975, when the coming us -- the communists took over the anon, her family went into the south china sea. they did not know whether they were going to live or die. we had no legal obligation to go out and save hundreds of thousands of vietnamese and take them to refugee camps. bring them into this country. but we had a moral obligation. they took her family off the ocean. she went to two different refugee camps. she grew up in new orleans and started working in a shrimp factory. we could have said, as we hear

people say, wait a minute. we don't have any obligation to these beninese. -- vietnamese. they are not areour kind. but guess what? they make some of the greatest americans in this country today. she worked, she studied rita she ended up at the university of michigan and now law school. she had a fair shot. she has lived the american dream. that is what i am hoping for when i tell you i would like to be your president. that is the vision i have for this country. i have been able to put this vision into specific actions in a way i think i can guarantee you i will do. if you give us her support --

your support. i am one minute and 20 seconds under schedule. thank you for being here, all of you. [applause] >> let's give another round of applause for our presidential candidates. [applause] >> and let's give another round of applause for our wonderful hall of fame inductees. i want to thank you all again for joining us on this special night. a truly incredible night for being in iowa democrat. i noticed the end of the evening, but i want to see you and your neighbors out on caucus night. i know i will see you knocking

doors, making phone calls. talking to neighbors and friends and family about why it is important to elect democrats. we are going to elect democrats up and down the ticket and turned iowa blue and it will be because of people like you. have a good evening and be proud to be democrat. >> are wrote the white house coverage continues today as candidates are scheduled to speak in ames, iowa. speakers will include taco rubio, donald trump, dr. been constant senator ted cruz, mike huckabee, rick perry, louisiana governor bobby jindal, former pennsylvania senator rick santorum, and wisconsin governor scott walker. live coverage begins at 11:00

a.m. eastern on c-span. >> this weekend on the c-span networks politics, books, and american history. on c-span2's live tv, we are live from new york city for the 17th annual harlem book fair with authors and panels on economics, african identity, and race and politics and more. sunday night at 10:00, and coulter says the greatest issue facing the u.s. is immigration. on american history tv on c-span3 started at 1:00 eastern, we are live at the warren g. harding symposium on modern first ladies from florence harding to michelle obama. the executive director of the national first ladies library patricia crider. a little after 9:00, ursula of the national archives of kansas

city shows how the u.s. government used propaganda during world war ii to persuade citizens to join the military buy war bonds, and keep national secrets. get our complete schedule at www.c-span.org. >> the former director of the israeli military defense outlines some of the missile threats that isis and iran posed today. this is part of a series on proliferation and arms control. the air force association, the national defense industrial association, and the reserve officers association hosted this hour-long event.

>> i want to welcome our friends from c-span that are here this morning. my name is peter. on behalf of the air force association, the national defense industrial association and reserve officers association of america i want to thank you , all and welcome our sponsers and friends from the israeli embassy and i want to thank two of our former missile-defense information group. allison and john. i thank them for being here today as well. and i also it to say hello to the head of our government affairs program that is joining us today. uzi rubin is the father of missile defense in israel. he was head of the missile-defense organization in israel and father of the aero program. he speaks around the world about missile developments in the middle east and the threats to

the united states and our allies, in particular israel, as well as being a missile defense expert. on our dear friends and colleagues that came from israel. uzi, we want to welcome you here on behalf of our sponsors. will you all give a warm welcome to uzi rubin. [applause] mr. rubin: thank you, peter. it is always a privilege to be here. i try to be here about once a year to talk about recent things and threats and the missile defense in the middle east. this time i chose to update you on missile defense with isis and other munitions. they are now too memorable the name. -- numeral bolton name. the main point would be integrated space and missile program. i will try to show to you these programs.

they are the same program. finally, we will focus on missile defense. the iran agreement was concluded, i think it was, but it is concluded -- i was on my flight here. that will reflect in my show. i don't know many of the details. i have no prepared remarks on that. i will be happy to answer questions to the best of my ability. not on the specifics or details, but about the implications. if you have any questions, hold on. as to be a good question, not excellent question. excellent questions have slides and i do not have slides, so only good question.

let me speak first about the missiles on radical parties. let me show several pictures. this is a picture -- a recent one. it shows -- there was a big attack by isis last week towards an egyptian town. is a very nice town near the beach. a beautiful, magnificent beach. here are rockets. it was acquired for many years. isis does not like us and fires rockets at us. what is more bizarre is this picture. this picture shows isis firing rockets not at us but at hezbollah. i cannot believe my ears when i am saying that. they are firing rockets at hezbollah.

for supporting afghan. -- athens. you can see the emblem here. the black flag with emblems on them. this was last winter. the snowy ways of lebanon firing rockets. that shows you how complex the picture is in the middle east. i'm revisiting something i showed years ago. this audience, too. this is ballistic missiles in the hands of isis. the story goes like this -- this building is reported to be the nuclear reactor. that was taken out, reported by news media, in 2007. the ruins were demolished by the isis regime.

before the iaea could expect it. it shows the building in the blue was built on that site. it is a mystery what was on that building. two years ago, a video was published showing them occupying the same blue building and finding in it scud missiles. what was amazing was the launching mechanism. it is something new. it was designed locally by iraqi engineers and syrian engineers. it was iraqi missiles. it was in order to be used against israel. that can be propaganda, i'm not sure. this is the last time we saw this missile until about half a

year ago. so, they have now scud missiles which are now operational. isis is getting a lot of volunteers, talent from all over the islamic world. they have missile experts now. it could be the missile will be made operational and it could be used. here we have isis with ballistic missiles. speaking about rockets and missiles and militias, a whole zoo of missiles is showing up in iraq, apparently homemade by shia militias. now dozens of them making homemade rockets. i'm not sure if it is all homemade. it is very big.

too large to be a manufacturer in iraq these days. supplied to the local militia. a whole zoo -- i am showing you several pictures out of dozens. look at the launcher. this is a regular iraqi army. you can see the iraqi flag here. very typical lounging area is installed. same rocket is installed here on some kind of improvised object. all the shops in iraq are producing rockets and here is another type of weapon. a good launcher like this one may have dozens of flags. you have different strange flags there.

one that caught my air was the militia called joe bock -- sheback. it is on a security service. it is something we have never heard about. it is associated with some kind of splintered community. you can see all the flags. you can see more of the zoos of rockets. these are usually bombardment rockets. look at this strange element. in order to fight in close quarters. all of those flags are shia militias in iraq. i'm showing the collection all gearing up to fight isis to take

western iraq. it is not very successful as of now. talking about creativity -- in syria, rocket production -- i'm showing you a huge selection. all this fascinating stuff. for me as an engineer, fascinating stuff. homemade rockets in northern syria. the warhead is a canister, commercial canister of cooking gas. with the fuse. there is a short video showing you the delivery. it destroys buildings. it is amazing. the creativity here is really noticeable and it is being loaded into this pipe.

it is not a tube, it is a pipe. it is flying on its own. while they are doing that, the syrian army is increasing its firepower with the help of outside forces. the latest addition we see is this russian-made 220-millimeter gun. last time we saw it in action was in georgia in 2008. very impressive firepower. look at this emblem. let's see a close-up. here is a close-up of the emblem. this is a syrian officer. this is the emblem you find on google of the russian airborne. this is an emergency supply of rocket systems directly out of the russian army depots. it shows how desperate the situation is there. they fly them in or ship them in without repainting them.

they immediately go to battle. that is the other side. we will show somewhere else in the middle east. a few slides down will show it. i'm talking about homemade rockets. here is another set of homemade rockets that show some iranian influence. in yemen, this rocket industry kicking into business. it is iraqi war shops. this is very similar to one of the rockets we saw. look at that. that is very similar to that. it seems to me the fingerprints of iranian capabilities in yemen. talking about yemen, another very active arena for rocket fire on both sides. here are yemeni government missiles before the outbreak of

the civil war. they have missiles. amazingly enough, they have ballistic missiles both supplied by soviet union and north korea. if you remember, it was north yemen and southaven. -- south yemen. i think in 1998, they had a civil war. the south fired scud missiles at china and caused damage and casualties. in one case they killed 32 civilians. the north fired ss21 -- a tactical rocket. scp of less than 100 meters. it is accuracy of less the 100 meters. it has a range of 120 kilometers which is equipped with the syrian army. it had good effect against georgia in 2008 by the russians.

it was some kind of an arms situation in the civil war on the yemeni army. as soon as saudi arabia started, they declared to have ballistic destroyed ballistic -- destroyed ballistic missiles depots of the army in order for them not to fall. the next time we saw a scud was at the end of the houthi rebels. it seems to be completely undistorted. the picture was taken from smartphone. i added another picture of the system. here it is again in yemen. we never heard the government had it before. not just in yemen, but it is in the rebels hands. we never had it.

maybe they had it and it fell into the hand of the rebels or one can deduce a connection to what was being built in syria can go all the way from iran to yemen. maybe newly supplied. going back to the scud, there was interception of the scud that was fired at saudi arabia by the yemeni weapons. they say they fired several. the saudis announced the shooting down of one. we cannot find pictures of the debris. there is a reason to doubt the claim. -- there is no reason to doubt the claim. one scud fired from somewhere in yemen into a town which is a very innocent name.

hiding behind it, the largest saudi air force base regarding -- which is the main base guarding the red sea. there it is. congratulations. a good job. ending this part of the creativity, last week we celebrated a year for the operation of protective edge. it was celebrated as a victory. they showed two new missiles which may or may not be operational. probably not yet. they call them different names. turn your attention and look at this guide. here is the rocket, almost touching -- look how big of this rocket is.

it is not going to pull size now. -- full size now. the names are the first letters which those rockets are being called. there were two commanders in hamas which were targeted and killed by us during the war. you could even see the map. they show the shorter range type hitting near the tel aviv area. the larger one. the size means this is not just a dog and pony show. i speculate there are larger warheads. figuring out and clearing out most of the things -- two small warheads to cause damage.

it seems operational. or reasonable to try and fire bigger and it will cause some pain. i'm guessing it is hamas. maybe that is not what they think, it is a possibility. i want to go to my main theme which is the iranian missile program. usually i do it once a year. a tremendous amount happened over the last year and i want to draw your attention to it. it is an accelerated risk. it is not a regular pace but an accelerated pace. the main highlights are this -- we see an upgrading of older generational rockets and missiles into position. -- into precision with precisely guided ammunition. we see it going to the older types. we see the development of tactics of missile defense. they are very aware of missile defense, especially now.

especially now that they're being built in the golf states -- in the gulf states in saudi arabia. they are very aware of that and need to capabilities. there is a high rate of production of stockpiling of ballistic missiles. i'm showing you the depots. perhaps there is a blip of information that may hint of exposing iranian rockets to north korea. we usually think of it going the other way around. from north korea to iran. there may be a hint, but i am not sure. maybe i am reading the signs wrongly. [indiscernible]

last but not least, acquiring technologies for ballistic missiles. through the space program and i will show you how. let's look at the precision rockets. this is something i showed you before. i want territory that what they did -- technically, they are not a mortal enemy. they hate us and don't want to see us striving. i'm an engineer. i cannot help but admire a good engineering work. that is good engineering work. they took the rocket and turned it into a bombardment rocket. they added precision to it. they did it several different ways. there are five or six versions of it now. the basic airframe is 624-inch rocket.

and ranges 350 to 550 kilometers. it weighs more than half a ton so it is a hefty one. it could destroy a block. it is a blockbuster. they have gps guidance and precision weapons. they can hit specific buildings and targets. they could be anywhere between 10 to 50 meters which makes it a military weapon. this is a precision weapon from 300 kilometers away. notice the range. mainly it is designed to new allies and forces in the gulf area. look at the map and the bases there and range of these kind of weapons and now in position, they can select targets.

they can target our airbases now and installations. there is an anti-ship version. there are two different versions. just to show you how their minds work, this is a demonstration of the precision rocket. it is protecting the ship and that happens to be in the u.s. area. that is what they are thinking about it and training for it. and a south korean movie about north korean missile threats, i found a short clip. i got excited. a short clip of -- to my

amazement, an iranian precision rocket. it could be the editor of the south korean video did not know. he maybe was not a technical expert or maybe he was playing and north korean video. i'm not sure what it was. the north koreans showed the iranian rockets. look at the terrain. there are not many deserts in north korea. so, it could be a mistake. it could be i'm seeing the shadows. but, it could be also the south koreans -- the north koreans are thinking about it. for them, it is very important to make that. i'm not saying it is happening.

i'm turning your attention to something that might happen and maybe they are thinking about it. as i said, reversing the turn. another way you can see the precision going into the all the iranian weapons systems -- here is a picture of the exhibition. it is glacial achievements in may 2013. -- it is missile achievements in it shows all kinds of rockets. may 2013. this is now a small rocket. it is 300 millimeters. they are improvising. they are becoming that are -- they are becoming better engineering wise. it is comparable to others. here it is flying. you can see the little winglets here. it is matching the american one,

by performance and precision. also gps guide and everything. those guys are developing major power and technical capabilities. [indiscernible] this is a different version. it is about 1900 kilometers. it did not show any illustrations, but they can add capability of steering. i exaggerated just to show you the motion. once we do that and it is successful, they can make precision attacks from almost

2000 kilometers away. think about that. you don't have to do it with nuclear weapons. you could paralyze a country. saudi arabia, israel -- 2000 kilometers covers egypt, too. you can paralyze a country with a few strikes. it does not have to be nuclear to paralyze a country and this is a weapon that can do that. speaking of missile defense, two strategies. one strategy is -- another is a cluster of warheads. this is an illustration of a version.

they love those very fancy names . they have those very symbolic names. it is a cluster warhead. this is an illustration by a person who does not know very much physics. you don't have that much flying in formation in space. the idea is clear here. to make sure it is not just a n artistic concept it is very , much the same arms exposition in may 2014. you see it in another version. the 610 millimeter rocket a , cluster warhead -- they painted it bronze. it is clear it works.

another strategy of missile defense is quantities. i'm showing again and again this is a very recent disclosure. more warehouses with a rows and rows of completed rockets. they should three warehouses and a year before they showed another three warehouses and they are not the same. two of those are above ground. this is underground, a tunnel. here they show another missile and it is obviously, designed by the saudis, not isis. the range does not reach israel but it covers the major targets in saudi arabia. the rocket innovation of the scud. very clever engineering.

here 1800 kilometers against us. quantities -- they tend to overwhelm missile-defense with quantities. i think the top of it all is the long expected strategic long-range missile which has been anticipated over 10 years ago. since they stole about 20 of them soviet-made airborne strategic missiles from 3000 kilometers. when the soviet union broke up some of the strategic forces of the soviet union moved into ukraine and strategic nuclear equipped cruise missiles. they had airbase cruise missiles.

they had about 500 of them called kh-55. that is how it looks. by agreement, they were returned to russia. however, about 20 of them or so found their way to north korea china and iran. three people were indicted for that in russia. all of them mysteriously died. nobody knows anymore how it was done, but it was done. obviously, from that point it was obvious it was too small to use operationally. so they bought a template for copying and from that point on i was predicting the appearance of the 2250 would look like the -- cruise missile which would look like the soviet one. in 2012, the iranians disclosed the program but never showed a picture. they claimed the range of 2000

kilometers and the explained why this number is a holy number. the estimated range is about 2500 kilometers. obviously, lo and behold, there it is like a magician. a few months ago, here it is. but, for some reason which i cannot explain, now it is not called -- the range was not announced. but here it is. very quickly and put it on the board and compared it to the k -55. you can see it. here is a shot. it is the spitting image. obviously, this is not chinese it is iranian, probably with a different engine. maybe jet engine from china. small jet engines are very clever thing to do. it is very tricky. there is only one company that specializes in that.

they may have bought the french design and upgraded it. anyway, same missile same , length, same diameter. the wings are in the same places, the engine is in the same place, except this is land-based. it takes off from the land. this is a short video of its takeoff. this is iranian tv. the wings popout when it goes out of the canister. this is an achievement, major technical achievement. it is not copying. it is more difficult to design a new one. i take my hat off to the guys who did it technically.

you can see the russian influence. since it is a ground-based missile, it is like a booster. they did it to design a booster. here is the russian booster. the missile is different. look at the booster here. it is not the same design but you can see the russian style fingerprint. what is the strategic implication of this missile? it is too small for this generation of a bomb. let's go back to 2000 kilometers. we are not attacking. we are just listing israel. 2000 kilometers is good enough. it is almost near the pakistani border. even if they go to western iran they cannot reach with 2000

, kilometers more than some countries. they do not want to get to germany or kill angela merkel. not many people want to air kill. however with this capability , which was once airborne and could be made again airborne they have strategic air arms. an advertised -- not advertised but capable russian support. if they adopt an airborne version of the missile, they can fly 2000 kilometers. they can launch it north. that would cover all of here. under the radar, out of the attention of european capabilities which i suggest people pay attention to. in the space program, they managed to fly another satellite

this year. there were three failures which i showed here. at least three failures there , may have been more. you can admire the persistence. they tried again and again. finally, they had a success. last year. one can learn a lot from their mindset. it looks like a military operation. they fired again and again until they succeeded. in the west, we do not have this condition. if we have a major failure, we stop and go back to the drawing board. here they sent them to the test range again and again until they were successful which shows this is not exactly civilian program. i don't have to go into that.

although the space agency's so-called civilian program, it is tied to the defense establishment to the office of the supreme commander. which is integrated with the totality of the missile programs. the space launch is a worked-up operation. this is an adapted launcher. look who is making the decision. who is the boss? this is the defense minister announcing the test range for the space program. the announcement for the space program by the defense minister with a uniform general. that shows you how symbolic