oil drilling in the arctic and repealing the health care law's insurance mandate. watch live coverage of the house on c-span and the senate on c-span2. c-span, were history unfolds daily. c-span was created as a public service by america's cable-television companies and is brought to you today by your cable or satellite provider. >> the kennedy clinton dinner, hosted by the new hampshire democratic party speeches from representative john delaney of maryland and tim ryan of ohio. this is two hours and 15 minutes.

>> please welcome to the stage chairman ray buckley. [applause] ♪ >> we have a message for christopher. 2018 is coming. [applause] launched a project to keep him accountable for his out of touched policies were favoring his family, friends, and corporate special interests. we are tired of his phony double speak so we are calling him

out. key issues, five where his policies are hurting new hampshire. education, the economy, health care, the environment, and ethics. we cannot hold him accountable alone. follow your help, so this on twitter, like it on toebook, go to our website, learn more about the record and share it to hold him accountable. by 2% in 2016, so let us get to work and make sure he loses by far more than 2% in 2018. is everyone clear? everyone here what our focus is?

all right then. good evening, democrats. i am pleased that we are joined by congressman and presidential candidate john delaney. [applause] mr. buckley: congressman tim ryan. [applause] [cheers] mr. buckley: my good friend, congresswoman and dnc vice chair grace meng. [applause] mr. buckley: congresswoman annie kuster. [cheers] mr. buckley: congresswoman carol shea-porter. [applause] mr. buckley: and our extraordinary senator, maggie hassan. [applause] mr. buckley: tonight's dinner is a chance to pause and reflect on the year we have had. while we have plenty of work to do, new hampshire democrats have a lot to celebrate.

this year we celebrated and have sworn in the first ever all democratic, all-female congressional delegation in american history. [cheers] [no audio] mr. buckley: -- congresswoman kuster, fight for us in washington every day, and they are winning incredibly important battles to protect all the progress we have made. this year we sent donald trump a message on his very first day in office by showing up in concord, across the state, around the country, and throughout the world at the women's march. [applause] mr. buckley: this year we have won eight out of 10 special elections. [applause] mr. buckley: five in republican districts.

and our first state senate special election victory since 1984. [applause] mr. buckley: we have won house special elections across the state. in carroll county, merrimack county, sullivan county, hillsboro county, and rockingham county. simply put, there is no district that a democratic candidate who works hard can't win in 2018. [applause] mr. buckley: that would be enough to celebrate, but it is not all we did. this november, we broke records across the state with our incredible municipal victories. joyce craig became the first woman elected mayor in manchester's 171 year history. [applause] [cheers] [applause]

mr. buckley: her victory flipped the largest city from red to blue for the first time since 2003. and in nashua, sweet nashua, we pulled off a clean sweep of the at large alderman seats. thanks to dave tencza, shoshanna kelly, and brandon laws. [cheers] [applause] mr. buckley: shoshanna kelly and linda harriott-gathright became the first women of color elected to nashua's board of aldermen. think about this.

two years ago today, nashua had a republican mayor and had had one for over 25 years, with republican majorities of aldermen and school board members. today we have mayor jim donchess with overwhelming majorities on both boards. let's hear it for the nashua city democrats. [applause] mr. buckley: and gerri cannon became the first ever transgender school board member in all of new hampshire. congratulations, gerri. [applause]

mr. buckley: it has been a long time coming. jeremy hutchison became the first lgbtq city councilor in rochester history. and openly gay rochester mayor dana hilliard was reelected to his third term. berlin mayor paul grenier was reelected to a record fifth consecutive term. concord mayor jim bouley was elected to a record sixth consecutive term. election night was a historic night of record of 110 women, young democrats, persons of color, the lgbtq community, and a great night for democrats. but folks, we have a lot to accomplish.

we need to make chris sununu a one term governor. [applause] mr. buckley: we need to hold on to the first and second congressional districts. we need to win majorities on the council, the senate, and the house. democrats, with our success of 2017, we have the team, the energy, and attitude to win in 2018. so let's go do it. [applause] mr. buckley: so there is another line here that they added in since i last saw it. i was reading it and i was thinking, there is another line. the line is -- for all of you wonderful yankees this will be the best line of the night -- please don't forget, take the pumpkins at the conclusion of the program. the centerpieces are yours. [applause]

mr. buckley: we have got a full program tonight, but i want to start and take a moment to acknowledge our fantastic staff. our executive director, amy kennedy. [applause] mr. buckley: communications director wyatt roden. political director aaron trammell. finance director dallas thompson. operations director peter kramer. communications assistant sarah guggenheim. er. deputy political advisor donald stokes. county organizer aaron cotton. grassroots coordinator. deputy operations director ethan moorhouse. our phenomenal intern. and let's also acknowledge our house and senate caucus director nick taylor. the house and senate caucus finance director, michael

kennedy. and the new hampshire young democrats executive director, representative amelia keane. [applause] we are so lucky and so proud to have the best damn party staff in the country. let's take a moment to acknowledge our officers. first vice chair, senator martha fuller clark. our second vice chair. our secretary. our treasurer brian mast. legal counsel bill christie. finance chair katie wheeler. dnc woman county sullivan. -- cathy sullivan. dnc man bill shaheen. and dnc at-large member joann

dardell. [applause] thank you, everyone. let's have a great night. [applause] >> new hampshire democrats, to lead us in the pledge of allegiance, please welcome the newly elected at-large members of the nashua board of aldermen, shoshanna kelly, dave tencza, and brandon laws. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

[applause] >> new hampshire democrats, please welcome to the stage manchester's mayor elect, joyce craig. ♪

ms. craig: the manchester folks are the loudest. i am honored to welcome you here tonight as the mayor elect of manchester and as the first woman elected to lead the queen city. it is so wonderful to be here with all of you. so many of you joined the hundreds of manchester residents in knocking on thousands of doors, making phone calls, sharing our campaign's message with your friends, neighbors, colleagues. your work over the many months really make the difference, and i will forever be grateful for your support. i want to offer a special thank- you to senators hassan and shaheen and congresswoman kuster and shea-porter for their support and encouragement. new hampshire has led the way in demonstrating that we all do well when women serve in leadership roles, and i am thankful -- [applause]

ms. craig: i am so thankful to have four outstanding role models. and thank you to chairman buckley and the staff for your support of the campaign and for organizing tonight's festivities. i would also like to thank congressmen delaney and ryan for their support during our campaign, and also congresswoman meng for being with us tonight. while i'm extremely proud of our efforts to bring change to city hall, i know the real work begins now. as mayor, i will focus on improving our schools, making our streets safer, bringing businesses to our cities, and making real and lasting progress against the opioid crisis. [applause] ms. craig: thank you. manchester's best days are still ahead of us, and i hope you all will join me in building a better future for the people of manchester, because we all know that when manchester prospers,

so does the rest of our great state. thank you all, and i look forward to this wonderful evening. [applause] >> new hampshire democrats, please welcome to the stage congresswoman carol shea-porter. >> ♪ you are still the one i want to talk to in bed still the one that turns my head we are still having fun and you are still the one ♪ [applause] representative shea-porter: it is i who have to thank all of you. i am so grateful for the gift that you gave me to serve new hampshire and all the help that came from across the state over and over again. so i want to thank all of you and say we are not done yet.

we are not done. we have a lot of work to do. you heard what the chairman had to say. i am sitting here with some wonderful colleagues and i know we are going to turn this around in 2018. a full reckoning is coming -- soon, very soon. when i decided to run in 2006, i said i was running for the rest of us. throughout the time, we have had different slogans that we have used, keeping that, for the rest of us, the bottom 99%. then it started to be serious since donald trump came. so i started running through some slogans that would help me every single day. one of them was from winston churchill, very helpful lately. he said when you are going through hell, just keep going. he said a number of things like that. then i started thinking of my own slogans, because we have to

stick together. we have shown what we do when we stick together. we have done great things and we will continue to do great things. but sometimes there are things we don't like, somebody said this or thinks that or something out of washington. so now when i look at myself in the mirror every morning, i say to myself, shut up and row. [laughter] representative shea-porter: that is our message, at least my message right now. we are definitely in turbulent waters. we know that. we are confronted with a president that we never could have imagined even in our worst nightmares. nobody would have written a story about it because nobody would have believed it. if it was a screenplay, we would have laughed and said not possible. but we are confronted with an administration and president that challenges all of us and our understanding of our great country. the wonderful thing is that we are a very good people, and we

know what we need to do, and we are working on it every day. on wednesday night, i had the privilege of hearing tony bennett, and he received the gershwin award for american music. it was absolutely beautiful. 91 years old. he came running out faster than joyce and i. when it was time for him to give his speech -- there was nothing wrong with him, he belted out "left my heart in san francisco," -- he just stood there and said, i was not really prepared -- america is the greatest country in the world. it was the best speech i ever heard, because that is who we are, that is what we are. and we will overcome this. so, yes, we are in turbulent seas. but when we get to shore -- and we will -- we can pull out our maps and say, should we go left or right?

i prefer to go to the left, but some may want to go a little right. but we will get ourselves out of this. we are the people we have been waiting for. we are here. you can see the energy, feel the excitement. joyce, i can't tell you -- if i didn't have a wonderful mayor in rochester, i would be looking to move to manchester. we know we have everything we need, new hampshire young democrats, which have done tremendous work. we see the deep bench we have. i love the candidates running in my state, i think it is awesome and i think it will help amplify our message and the rest of our state will be able to hear what we stand for, because we know what we stand against -- tyranny, the deconstruction of the administrative state, the violation of human dignity and rights and all that. but we also stand for economic security. we stand for advantage for everybody, fairness, supporting

business and supporting families and individuals. we have something we can be very proud of. we have a marquee that has all of our good stuff on it. now we just need to stand together and put this message out across our state. we will win, and we will win because we have something they don't have -- we are right. we are on the right side of history. [applause] representative shea-porter: no question about it. and people are realizing that around the country. they are realizing that this agenda is the agenda that will help lift them and their families. so i just want to say thank you for your confidence in me and the hard work you have done, and say i'm not going away. i plan to be very involved. we will get through 2018 and have a really big list, which is called the 2020 presidential election. we will get it done right here in new hampshire. thank you, everybody. i love all of you, and i am so grateful.

thank you. [applause] >> new hampshire democrats, please welcome former nhdp chair kathy sullivan. >> ♪ this girl is on fire this girl is on fire ♪ [applause] ms. sullivan: i know, i came on stage before they did my walk-on music, i was so anxious. so i want to say a few things about carol shea-porter, because

she was my congressman, and i was always so proud to have csp as my congresswoman. every vote she took was always the right vote. and she was always there, as she said, fighting for the rest of us. she -- i remember the first time i met carol, she came to my office and talked about running for congress. i was quite impressed. at that point, she had stood up and protested the policies of george w. bush. [applause] ms. sullivan: she went to geoff riley's town halls, knew his record better than he did and was able to ask him the pointed question that drove him crazy. but one thing i will always remember about carol shea-porter is she made me cry once.

she may not know this story, but a lot of people do because some of you were there when this happened. it was the night of the election 2006, when she was running for congress the first time. and i was in manchester at the coordinated campaign headquarters. people say, you must have known you were going to have a good night. no, i always think we are going to lose. i had a good feeling about john lynch, ok? other than that, and judy and i had been driving around all day going to different polls in manchester. at one point i called to headquarters and said, how's it looking? mike and nick were like, the turnout is not the way it should be in some of the districts. i was like, i knew it. i knew it. then, of course, it was really the best night of my political

life, because we came from losing badly in 2002 to coming back in 2004. and then 2006, the results are coming in, and we are all standing there, numbers are coming up, this town, that down. -- that town. john lynch was winning, things were looking good, some senate races, we are all feeling really good. but things in the first district, a little close. and then epping came in, and carol won epping. and i started crying. paul was there and he was like, i'm going to take a picture. i was like, get that camera away from me. i am crying because when carol won epping, i knew she was going to be our congresswoman and i knew we were winning everything that night. and that is the night that carol shea-porter made me cry, because she took epping.

and she has been, through her political career, one of the most courageous people you could ask for. [applause] ms. sullivan: this is someone who -- no secret -- when she ran for congress, people were like, i don't know about this. people in washington were not necessarily supportive. but she came out and she surprised the heck out of everybody and won that primary and then won the general election, was reelected, and then lost a race in a republican wave year. but she came back, she did not give up, she came back and she ran again. and then when we had another republican wave year and her opponent lied about her and ran a tv ad lying about her and unfortunately defeated her, she came back again.

she never said, i'm done in the light of events where some people might have -- i have done enough. but she always came back and picked herself up. it is not just because of the work she did in congress for veterans and the middle class and working people, but also because she just always came back and fought back. and that is why i am so proud to give you -- and i'm going to cry again because i'm going to miss you -- the kathy sullivan courage award, because you deserve it, congresswoman. [applause] representative shea-porter: thank you. thank you.

i just said to kathy, i wondered why you kept talking about me. thank you very much. i am so honored. what kathy sullivan does not say about herself is there might be a tougher irish woman around, but i don't think so. so thank you, kathy, thank you everybody. i am so honored. >> new hampshire democrats, please welcome congresswoman grace meng. >> ♪ tonight is the night we will fight till it's over put your hands up like the city can't hold us like the city can't hold us ♪ [applause] representative meng: thanks, ray. good evening, everyone. it is great to be in the granite

state. thank you for dialing the temperature up 10 degrees for me. thank you, chairman buckley, for your wonderful welcome to this great state and your friendship. it truly means the world to me. ray is one of the reasons i was elected to be a vice chair of the dnc. on a good dnc news day, i'm so thankful to him. which means on most of the year, i am not. it means a lot to share the stage with three of the four women who represent the great state of new hampshire. you heard lots already tonight about congresswoman carol shea-porter, who was my

classmate going to congress. she gives a new meaning, as you know more than anyone else, to the phrase, never give up and always keep getting up. thank you, carol, for your service. [applause] representative meng: to senator maggie hassan, who has broken so many barriers, not just for women but for all americans. but she only saved health care for the whole country. [applause] representative meng: and to my good friend, one of my closest friends in congress, also my classmate congresswoman annie custer, who really has no ego

and the fights that she leads in congress, whether it is working on workforce development for combating opioid abuse and sexual harassment in the workplace, annie, just gets it done and never cares about whether her name is on the bill or news conference. i'm also honored to be here with two of my colleagues and friends, congressman john delaney and congressman tim ryan and his wife, as well. right now the national media is still focused on a democratic victory that occurred in virginia recently. but we know that the victories of 2017 began right here in new hampshire. [applause] representative meng: and continue to happen, winning a special elections,

resulting in four flips, including mayor of manchester, averaging 53% of the votes in districts where republicans have a registration advantage is incredible no matter what state you are from. i will be honest. we know the path of retaking congress in 2018 and in the white house in 2020 will not be easy ones, just as the wins we witnessed were not easy. but those were the result of days, months, and years of hard work, often unseen and underappreciated. and it is that same dedication that will make future victories possible. and frankly, to each of you here tonight, i say now more than ever, we need you to continue to

fight, to fight on behalf of every single american. that is part of our party's message. that we do fight for everyone. no one gets left out. winning races is a great feeling, but ensuring our fellow citizens' concerns are heard in the process is a much better one. at this point in american history, we are not just fighting for a new deal again. we are fighting for the basic right to a fair deal. when republicans in congress seek tax cuts for the wealthy and want pay for those giveaways by slashing medicaid and social security, we must say no. when corporations try to offshore even more american jobs, we must say -- >> no!

representative meng: when the president seeks district millions of residents from their health care and separates dreamers from their families and the only home they have known, we must say -- >> no! representative meng: these issues are not available. they are about common -- debatable. there are about common decency and dignity. there about our shared economic security. everything -- ever since the election, will keep asking what is our message. there are many places in america throughout the last election and the last two years where we might not even have had a messenger. we keep debating amongst ourselves within our democratic family whether we should be talking to the communities of color, talking to people in rural communities, or to the white working class. whether you are part of an

emerging community of first-generation americans, or whether you are part of a community that is emerging into a new era with new ideas and new industries that your parents and grandparents could never have dreamed of, it is the democratic party that will fight to give you the fair deals that we need to succeed. we do not have to choose who we talk to. that is not what our party is about. we can do it all. sure that every single voice is heard and valued. it is not just the urgency of our fights, but it is the quality of our fight. it is our democratic party, as we just saw with the tax vote in congress. it is our party that fights for every american. as a vice chair of the new dnc, that is our message, that we have learned that lesson

that swooping into a race a few weeks before election day isn't helpful. it is not effective and not even respectful. [applause] representative meng: the work put in every day between today and election day, whether fund-raising, building better tools for our activistd, crafting better messages, or ensuring state and local parties have the resources we need to succeed, that is the task at hand and we do it so we can talk and communicate with every american. i am committed to ensuring these things are happening at the dnc, and i need every person here to remain committed to specific fights that you are fighting here at home. we need you. we cannot be successful without you. i am all in. i have two young boys at home, ages 8 and 9, the i look forward

-- ages 8 and 9, that i look forward to checking into bed tomorrow night. but tonight, i stand here with you and our shared fight to build a better future for their generation, to offer them a better deal than the one that we were offered. it reminds me of a story my husband and i always tell our boys to keep fighting, never to give up when they do that on their math tests, when they miss that soccer goal during soccer, when they have trouble with a friend to keep trying, keep persisting and never give up. one day, i was putting my son to bed. he was 7 at the time. he said he wanted to go to the toy store. it was dark out. it was late. i said, you know what, it is probably closed. i do not think it is going to happen. he looks at me with all seriousness and he says, but, mom, you told me to never give up. [laughter] representative meng: as i

mentioned, we need you. our party needs you. we need you and we need new people. we need more people. america needs you. we need to be there for that woman whose life was saved because her breast cancer was detected early enough that the local planned parenthood clinic. [applause] representative meng: we need to be there for our neighbors and -- -- in rural america, whose top export has become grandchildren. we need to be there for the families, multigenerational families who are dealing with the serious effects of substance abuse. [applause] representative meng: we need to be there to fight with our allies and friends in labor for

a living wage for americans so that a single mom who is working two to three jobs cannot come home and tell her kids that she still cannot afford to get them a christmas gift. our work is not done. it has just begun. and in the words of the great son of new hampshire, the poet robert frost, "we have miles to go before we sleep. the miles to go before we sleep." thank you for your time tonight. think you for fighting for america. [applause]

>> new hampshire democrats, please welcome congresswoman annie kuster. [applause] ♪ representative kuster: good evening, new hampshire democrats, and welcome to the resistance. thank you, grace for spending , the day with me in new hampshire. thank you, carol, for your incredible leadership and courage and for hanging in there when times get tough and never taking no for an answer. i'm really grateful to have you as my colleague. thank you. and i am excited to welcome my colleagues john delaney and tim ryan. this is how we choose the next

president of the united states, so welcome to new hampshire. [applause] representative kuster: we are missing her tonight, but i am glad she is keeping the world safe for democracy. to maggie hassan, who literally has her finger in the dike. you all elected her by 1000 votes out of 700,000 votes cast. and without her, tens of millions of people, including 110,000 people right here in new hampshire, would have lost their health insurance, so get maggie a big cheer, and thank you for electing her. [applause] representative kuster: and while you are standing, give

yourselves a big cheer. if you knocked on doors, if you wrote a check, if you made a difference, you turned this country around last tuesday. thank you. joyce craig, and every candidates, thank you. thank you. people keep asking me how i am am holding up, and i am much better since last tuesday. i can see the light at the end of the tunnel. because of you, i am hopeful tonight. it is your voice, it is your calls, it is your letters that have made the difference and helped maggie and jeannie and everybody else hold the line on health care for the united states of america. it is your voice that is making the difference, and we will need you again on this -- goddamn tax bill. [laughter]

representative kuster: this last week, republicans in the house and senate committee advanced a partisan tax plan that is a raw deal for hard-working new hampshire families. and do not be fooled when republicans talk about tax reform. hell, no, this is nothing more than a tax scam for millionaires and billionaires and corporate special interests, and you are paying for it. [applause] representative kuster: so let me walk you through it and i will try to be quick at 429 pages. i will not hit every single one. here's what happens. the republican tax plan eliminates the reduction for interest on student loans. seriously? that is just plain cruel. [booing] representative kuster: their tax plan eliminates the deduction, listen to this one, designed to encourage employers hire veterans, people with disabilities, and very low-income people that cannot

find a job and are unable to obtain work. and that is just plain cruel. the tax plan eliminates the deduction for teachers to buy paper and pens for their students. and that is just plain cruel. now, this republican tax plan eliminates the home mortgage deduction and the real estate tax deduction for individuals but maintains all those deductions for big corporations. that is even more cruel. when mitt romney said corporations are people, my friends, i do not think so. congressional republicans think corporations are much better than people. but new hampshire democrats know people are people, and we need to stand up for every single last one of them. [applause]

representative kuster: so keep your calls and letters coming. now, people ask us all the time, should call us. the answer is yes, we will vote right, but then we can tell her colleagues i just got 1000 or 2000 or 3000 phone calls. but the other thing you need to do as you did this and thank you -- you need to call your friends in maine, in alaska, and arizona, and every other state, and if they are lazy you can write the email for them and have them forward it, but we have got to put the pressure on the tax bill in the united states senate. [applause] representative kuster: here's why. the bill that was passed in the house, over our dead bodies, is a terrible bill.

i've convinced you of that. the senate bill is worse. and the reason is the senate bill slipped in eliminating the mandate for health insurance, so all of us will pay more. i have lost track of the exact number. maybe my colleagues remember. i have voted over 55 times. i've only been there for five years. not to repeal the affordable care act. i still do not think we should repeal the affordable care act. we can lower the rates and make it sustainable in the long run. but while republicans in washington are giving us a raw deal, i think democrats are fighting for a much better deal. we need better wages and better jobs and a better future for all the american people. grace was with me today. we had an amazing tour at nashua

community college. they have got a fantastic program for advanced manufacturing and electronics. we have great jobs in new hampshire. 2.4% unemployment. we have tremendous opportunity. you do a two-year program at nashua community college, there is a job waiting for you with $55,000 in income. that is real money where i come from. we can do better for young people, for people that are changing careers, for people that just want opportunity. we had an amazing day talking about fighting the opioid epidemic. this morning -- and i hope jim is in the house -- we celebrated the one-year anniversary of the state stations program in nashua. 1200 people getting their help. [applause]

representative kuster: this afternoon, we had the opportunity to sit down with people in recovery, and let me tell you, there is nothing like sitting and talking to somebody who is turning their life around, getting the help they need, getting the treatment and the recovery. but this is a long-term, lifelong chronic disease. this is not a 28-day, one-and-done program. we're excited terminate the folks that revive recovery in nashua. i know there are a great recovery programs all over the state. we have to increase the number of beds, focus on education, prevention, law enforcement. get people into treatment and lifelong recovery. new hampshire may be hit the hardest in the country by this epidemic, but we will be the first out of this and we will lead the way, teaching communities all across this country how to do this right. [applause] representative kuster: that is why was proud to help create the task force. we now have 100 members of congress.

republicans and democrats working together. you will not hear about it in the press. they do not write about it when we work together, but it is happening. we passed 14 bills last year, and at the end of the year, president obama signed into law $1 billion in funding. guess what -- it is not enough. now we are coming back with a new agenda. we're calling it cara 2,0. and we are going to make sure the funding we earn comes here and make the difference in communities all across the state. we will make a difference and will get this done. times do change. i say to young people in my office, i remember ashtrays in restaurants and smoking on airplanes. i remember the death toll from highway accidents for cars without seatbelts. i remember the tragic death in

the collective fear we all felt from hiv/aids. but here is the deal. ordinary people living ordinary lives can make extraordinary change. and in the last week and last month, i had a chance to witness this and be a part of this with the #metoo campaign. thank you for standing up for survivors of sexual assault and sexual harassment. we are drawing the line right here, right now. and whether it is the united states congress for wall street wood, we have had enough. it is not funny. we are not amused. guess what -- every single person in the workplace deserves to be treated with dignity. we deserve to be treated with respect. we are going to make a difference. there are young people in this room who deserve a chance, and i am going to stand up and fight for them every single day.

thank you for all you are doing. thank you, new hampshire. let us go out and change the world. [applause] >> new hampshire democrats, please welcome to the stage, mr. william shaheen. [applause] ♪ mr. shaheen: i do not get any respect. [laughter] mr. shaheen: you know, i was in washington on wednesday and jeannie said to me, i cannot

come friday night, will you give my speech. i said, yeah, i will give your speech. look at what she gives me. one page. no respect. i guarantee you, if she were here, she would have a book appear. -- up here. she gives me one page. no respect. for those of you who know me, i have three sisters and the brothers. i have three daughters and no sons. god but it would be a good idea to make my wife a governor and a u.s. senator. [laughter] mr. shaheen: it is tough. [applause] mr. shaheen: now, i got to tell you for the men in the audience, i am holding out for you. you understand? i love the fact that we have an all-female delegation.

i love the fact that joyce won 's race.r but i still represent some of the men. so i have made three things that i am never, ever going to do. you're never going to hear me say, hey, honey, i think we are lost. we need to stop and ask for directions. not going to do it. you're never going to hear me say, jeannie, let us not watch the football game. let us try to find a true romantic story on tv. you're never going to hear me say, hey, honey, let us go on shopping and let me watch while i hold your purse. not going to happen. although, since she has been in washington, i had to make some changes. i got to learn how to make my bed, do the dishes, put the dishes in the dishwasher. i gave a shot at trying to do laundry. that is a difficult thing for guys, i am telling you right now. so i asked her to help me with this situation.

so i decided i'm going to do laundry, and i said, honey, what setting should i put on the washing machine, and she says, what does it say on your shirt? i said, it says the university of new hampshire. [laughter] mr. shaheen: no respect. no respect. i told her the other day i was going to make her the happiest woman in the world. she says, i will miss you. [laughter] mr. shaheen: don't laugh too hard. that is not that funny. ok, so, she is not here tonight, and i do miss her. i wish she was here and i know she wishes she were here. she was asked to stand in for john mccain in canada. she is the only senator that

went up to halifax to meet with leaders from around the world to represent the united states of america, and i am very proud of her. [applause] mr. shaheen: she wanted me to thank raymond for doing such a great job and all the people in the democratic party. she wanted me to thank carol and annie for their tireless efforts that they fight all the time. she told me, of course, one of my newest and biggest u.s. senators, maggie hassan. and then she writes to me, but i am partial to the senior senator. that is what she said. [laughter] mr. shaheen: and she wanted me to welcome and give a warm welcome to three congress -- the two congressmen and the congresswoman who have come to join us here in new hampshire.

meng, congressman delaney, and congressman ryan. did i get them all right? jesus christ. [laughter] mr. shaheen: huh? i'm doing all right? i am doing ok? i never get a chance to speak. i have to listen all the time. we have a lot of work in front of us democrats. a lot of work. i grabbed a quote from john adams when he was writing to his son as to why he should run for office. he was thinking about not running. he sends this letter to his son, and he said to his son, public business, my son, must always be done. and it will be done by somebody. if it is not done by good people, it will be done by bad. if it is not done by honest people, it will be done by dishonest people. if it is not done by the wise, it will be done by the unwise.

that is why we all have to continue this fight. if jeannie was here tonight, she would say, don't hate. there is no room for hates, even though you could clearly justify it. you need to be focused, you need to be determined, and you need to be together, because we have got to do stuff inside and outside. we need to take the house. we need to take the u.s. senate. god bless you. [applause] >> so wednesday night i got a call from stephanie. she got a call from her mom. stephanie, you have to be there with daddy to make sure she stays on script.

and she said, i cannot because i have got something at mit. i will call raymond. raymond will watch daddy. i am so dead. thanks, billy. so we have a number of great vip's i want to ignore knowledge. our former congressman. former house speaker jerry. former attorney general joe foster. our former democratic nominee for governor, twice, paul mceachearn.

former executive counselor, former executive counselor in 2016, executive counselor andy berlinski, executive counselor chris, senate democratic leader jeff woodburn, deputy leader donna, senator lou dela sandro, senator betty lasky, senator dan, and senator kevin cavanaugh.

house democratic leader steve. would all of the house democrats please stand up. let's give them a big round of applause. [applause] and our first district congressional candidates. mark mckenzie, mindy mesmer, harris o'rourke, lincoln, laura, your shoes are so big, it takes seven of them to fill it.

so franklin roosevelt -- words vision and strength of character, killed the nation and saved the world. fdr was determined to use his position to improve the lives of others. so each year, we present a deserving democrat the fdr award for his commitment to justice, both social and economic. this year's fdr recipient's entire life has been about justice, justice in the courtroom as a trial lawyer, in the new hampshire house, the new hampshire senate, and then the department of justice. from a victory 22 years ago, he has consistently used his position to support progressive causes here in new hampshire and nationally. as has democratic whip, senate majority leader, attorney general of new hampshire, he more than deserves the fdr award. i'm honored to present the 2017 fdr award to former attorney

general joe foster of nashua. [applause] mr. foster: i'm really honored to have this award. it is a total surprise for me. there are some people from my law firm who are not democrats, and i guess i should have realized -- when i saw them there, but -- some of us are not that quick. so i just want to say thank you to all. it has been an honor to serve the people of new hampshire. it really has been the love of

my life. thank you very much. [applause] >> new hampshire democrats, is welcome to the stage congressman john delaney. ♪ representative delaney: this walkout music is a new concept for me. we do not do it in maryland. and i'm a big bruce springsteen fan because i'm from new jersey. i have been to 30 concerts. so when ray asked what walkout music would you want, i said one of my favorite bruce springsteen

songs, and he said it is taken. [laughter] representative delaney: by the great senator from new hampshire. so i said i will not take youngstown because i know tim ryan will come out with youngstown, so i had to go down the list and come up with another song. it is a good tradition, ray. thank you all for having me. it is a great privilege to be here with you all and to share an evening that is full of such affection and love toward each other. you can really feel it. as someone who is not part of this community for a long time, it is really an impressive thing to feel. it is a great privilege to be your the amazing federal delegation that you have here in new hampshire. a friend of mine wrote a book a few years ago called "why women should rule the world." you have read that book here in new hampshire, haven't you? [applause] representative delaney so we

: give you another book tonight, because you've already read that one. it is great to be here with grace. we do have four members of the class of 2012 at our table there. she is doing a great job with the dnc. prior to people like grace getting involved, your instincts were we should sell the building and move the place out of d.c. and get it closer to the people, but we got new good leadership there. it is a real blessing that we have you, grace, here. it is good to be here with my great friend tim, who we will hear from in a few minutes. i do not want to get started until i thank the chairman, mr. buckley. as best as i can tell, he is a real singular talent for the democratic party. no, seriously. he runs a tight ship. as someone new to the scene, he runs a tight ship he represents , you well. and we are blessed to have you as a democrat around this country. [applause] he makesative delaney:

us all feel very welcomed. thank you. almost two weeks ago, we started taking our country back. we started taking our country back. we did it with terrific candidates like joyce craig, like so many other people, like the governor-elect of virginia. and these people ran by doing two things. they tapped into the energy that exists in our party right now and they also talked to people about what they care about. they do not just run a campaign saying how that the republicans were and how bad the president is. there is a real lesson to be learned from these campaigns that i really hope we do not forget. because we are in a tough spot right now as a nation. not across the long-term. i am a huge optimist about the long-term prospects of this amazing country. you could not think of a country better positioned to succeed for itself and for its people in the next century. right now we're in a really tough spot.

and i'm not just talking about the wrecking ball in the white house. it is really deeper than that. in many ways he is a punctuation of everything that is wrong with our politics. hyper partisan politics is tearing our country apart. it is dividing communities. next week, we will sit at thanksgiving tables. all around this country people will sit at this uniquely american holiday. talking about new ways to cook instead of justtalking about new ways to cook the turkey and the nfl game on television, they will be divided over politics. how did we let this happen in our country? the biggest problem is it prevented us from doing anything. we have had such huge opportunities in this nation across the last several decades, and some very significant challenges we should have dealt with it, but we did not do it. why? because hyper partisan politics

prevented us from getting anything done. if you go around this country, you see huge parts that have been left behind by rapid change that has occurred in our economies. the last election, we blamed our decision to become part of a global economy for what happens. clearly, that was the right thing to do. how could we not have become part of a global economy? but the fact that we knew this would happen, so many communities around this country and we did nothing about it and we still, to this day -- as i have been in congress, five years, i have never voted on anything that is actually going to help the communities that have been left behind by the pace of the rapid economic change in this country and it is going to happen again. it is going to happen again. and it will not be because of globalization, it will be because of technology, automation, artificial intelligence, whatever you want to call it. if you go outside of politics and you talk to people in business, academia, they are

obsessed with how these changes are fundamentally changing everything. they are changing our society, our economy, the jobs of the future, what our security risks are, the demographics of this country. and are we doing anything to prepare our country and our citizens for these changes? no. i left your book at the table youy as a gesture for having me. fundamentally changing everything and policymakers are doing nothing about it. because of our inability to confront the change that has ofeady happened, and because our inability to do with the changes that are about to happen, we are putting at risk when of the most sacred, fundamental ideals of this country, the american dream, the notion that if you work hard,

you play by the rules, you and your family can live a better life. and this is very personal to me, like it is for so many of you. my parents did not go to college. my dad was a construction worker. he was an electrician. when he worked, which is most of the time, life was good. he got paid enough to support our family. when he did not work, we had health care. why? because he was in a labor union and they gave him health care. [applause] representative delaney: i was an entrepreneur before i ran for congress. 11 years after i graduated in college, i was taking my first company public on the new york stock exchange. i was against ceo there. i remember walking into the building and lower manhattan and i looked over my shoulder at jersey city, new jersey, which is where i'm from. and i thought of the union hall

for local 164, my dad's union. and i thought about how every year in college, i would go to that union. and i would thank those electricians. you know what i was thanking them for? they paid for me to go to college. [applause] representative delaney: i was thanking them for giving me the scholarship. i was thanking them for giving me an opportunity not of them had. when i looked to the left, i could see ellis island, where my grandfather came with his seven brothers and sisters. but they were all let in, but he was detained. it was because he had one arm. and back then, we did not let people in this country who were disabled because we do not think they could contribute to our economy. after a while, he had an appeal. he was sitting in a big room.

hundreds of people speaking dozens of languages. and the judge came in. my grandfather sitting there, and he notices when the judge walks in and puts on his robe, the judge had one arm. and he used to tell the story over thanksgiving. that is when he knew he would be an american. but these are the stories of this great country. [applause] representative delaney: and these stories are not unique to me. you have these in your own families. these are the stories of this great country of people coming hope,his country with opportunity, settling in, building their communities. building their country. people work hard, play by the rules. and they are not asking for riches. they are just asking for a fair deal. people dream about their children and make sacrifices so that they can live a better

life. again, there is no guarantee. but they want institutions that can support them in doing that. these are the stories of the american dream. these are the fiber of the these are the fiber of the american dream, but it is fraying now. 60% of the kids in this country live in a county where there is absolutely no evidence of any economic upward mobility. we are writing off two thirds of the children in this great country from the american dream. they do not have that shot. what that means is this is becoming not a country of opportunity, but a country of birthright. we have to be born into the right country or go to the right schools to have a shot. we know that those stories end. we need a president who cares about us, like you do, like i do.

you have lived the american dream, members of your family have built the american dream, and this country is built on these stories. we need a president will go out to parts of the country who have been left behind by this rapid change and not put forth a tax plan that will cement and a dynastic form of wealth in this country and fundamentally change the trajectory of this country forever. we need a country will look at the tax code and say, i'm going to reform it to generate some revenue so that we can spend $1 trillion on infrastructure building our country. [applause] and guess what. that is a bipartisan idea. that is a bipartisan idea. we need a president who will look at the tax code and instead of creating incentives for companies to move jobs overseas by going to a territorial tax system, we line president would

change the tax code to create incentives for people to invest in communities that have been left behind. that is a bipartisan idea. [applause] change the tax code to create >> we want a president will change how the government contracts so that it only does business in places that have been left behind economically. that is a bipartisan idea. instead of ramming down the throat of the american people based on people buying and selling out, we need a president will use the tax code to take their places left behind, because that is our obligation. we need a president will look into the future and understand what thomas friedman was talking about in his book. he understands the world is changing and we need to do something about it. we need to make our country more entrepreneurial, because that is how you succeed in the future. we need to make our country more competitive. we need a new social contract. the social contract i succeeded under needs to change. we need to be preparing our kids

for new worlds. people need to be trained across their life. they will not have one job. they will have four or five. retirement not linked to employment. as long as it is, people will not leave their jobs and pursue opportunities. that is the kind of president and leadership we need. we need a president who does not want to repeal the estate tax but change the income tax credit, a bipartisan idea. [applause] >> but if we're going to do any of these things, what we really need a president to do is to bring us together. to restore stability to

politics, to restore respect for public service, to actually begin a dialogue about the things we agree on instead of always talking about the things we don't agree on. politics, to restore respect for president kennedy said it well in baltimore, maryland in 1958. he said "we shouldn't think the democratic answer the republican answer. we should seek the right answer." that is the kind of president we need. [applause] >> and it is not only a matter of substance the right answer for this country, but it is, as a matter of politics, the right position for the democratic party to take. we believe government can and should do transformative things to list of our people, take care of those left behind, and prepare us for the future. so how can we not become the party that wants government to work? that wants government to be civil?

that wants there to be confidence in government? this is what the american people are craving for. the kind of leadership that puts countries ahead of party. that does not mean you stop fighting for your values. that does not meet you stop trying to advance causes where there isn't broad agreement. but that does mean is you take things where there is agreement, where there is broad agreement and you get them done and you leave the country. that is the kind of president we need. if you do not -- if we do not start doing that, the grandson of the one-armed immigrant who worked on the floor of the joseph dixon pencil factory for 50 years, the son of the electrician who didn't go to college, whose union pay for him to go, anyone who thinks you'll get alone in this world is not following stories carefully, goes on to found two new york stock exchange companies before

i was 40 and served in congress with amazing people and now has the opportunity to stand before you and ask for your support. it is not going to become and stay that country unless we actually bring this country together. the democratic party can do it. it can never happen while donald trump is in the white house. he can never make the republican party and party that will bring us together, but we can and this is our moment. [applause] >> donald trump became the president of this amazing country because of two things. one, democrats did not turn out. two, we stopped talking to people about what they care about. i think the first part is going

to take care of it all. the energy you are showing, the enthusiasm this party is showing, is extraordinary. but we have to remember, we have to talk to people about what they care about, not we care about. we, as democrats, have so many issues we care about, and i believe we will be proven right by just about everyone of them. that does not mean it moves people's hearts and minds. will lose people's hearts and minds is their job, their pay, the opportunity for their kids. every time we are not talking about that, every time we're talking about how that the republicans are, it is a missed opportunity for us. that is how we take this country back in my opinion. you saw it last week here in and we saw all around this country. if we outwork them, if we outsmart them, and if we out value them we can win. we can outwork them with a sense of urgency that we are losing our country. we're losing representative

democracy and people know it. we can outsmart them by talking to the american people about democracy and people know it. policies they care about based on what is happening in the world. we cannot value them by talking about with this country wants. they want us to be brought together. they want civility back in politics. they want a president who will spend the first 100 days only doing bipartisan things. we want leaders who do not talk about half of the country as if they're wrong about everything they believe. they want the truth, transparency, confidence, -- confidence. if we do that, we will restore some of their lost faith in our government. the american people have an extra near connection with our government. we are proud of it and we're proud of the good and noble things we have done around this world.

we have not been perfect. we have not been perfect. but we fundamentally changed the trajectory of humankind, and we're proud of it. when our government is dealing, we're feeling -- failing, we are failing. we can restore faith and trust in government, we will restore people's faith in themselves. and then we can actually take advantage of the extraordinary -- we have is a nation, but results on the right trajectory, take care of those we put that we left behind, and rid this country for a future that can and will be brighter. god bless you. thank you. [applause] country for a future that can and will be brighter. god bless you. thank you. [applause] >> there is no cause of the democratic party is more important than organized labor. please join me in recognizing our brothers and sisters and

labor, glenn bracket. new hampshire firefighter president bill mccullen. afc new hampshire president representative duoug lay. andre gene from air traffic control. letter carriers. beverly from the uaw. let us give them a big round of applause. [applause]

we changed our name to kennedy-clinton. we wanted to celebrate the changeable presidencies. last year, our emerging leader award was presented to dan felton. this year's recipient is already so accomplished and she's only 26. an army medic in the u.s. army reserves, graduating this year from unh with a degree in biology, a freshman state representative serving on the veterans affairs committee all of the same time along with being the executive director of the new hampshire young democrats working with a great team of officers. she is creating such a success that she is nationally recognized for her skills and talent.

i'm so pleased to present the 2017 kennedy clinton emerging leader award to representative amelia keen of nashua. [applause] [applause] >> thank you. thank you, everyone. thank you, chairman buckley for presenting me with this award. i must say, i am very surprised. i'm shocked. this is actually the second surprise i have gone tonight. the first one was having a whole table filled with my family and friends, and now i know why. [laughter] >> this is very exciting. i started in politics -- i just started in politics, going on to my second year. i literally filed to run for

office and started working as the executive director for the young democrats in the same week. that was my introduction to politics and it has been great since. i am proud of everything we've done over the past year. this certainly couldn't have been done without lucas myers and the rest of the young democrats. [applause] >> thank you again to everybody who helped along the way. i grew much look forward to 2018 and was to come. thank you. [applause] >> if you're a young dem in the room, we will be taking a photo after the program, so just come up onto the stage. [applause] >> new hampshire democrats, please look into the stage senator maggie hassan. ♪

[applause] >> thank you. have a seat. good evening, new hampshire democrats. thank you to chairman ray buckley and the great nhdp staff for this wonderful event. this full room. thank you all. [applause] >> it is truly great to be here with congresswoman carol shea-porter and congresswoman ann kuster. carol, it has been an honor to serve alongside you. i want to thank you for your tireless efforts on behalf of the people of the first district and our wonderful state. thank you so much. [applause] >> and to the incomparable billy shaheen.

[laughter] >> you told a fib or two. you said you don't know how to make a better you are a captain in the united states army, so i know that is not true. and i will tell jeannie. the people of the first district but what a pleasure it is to serve with jeanne shaheen. she does great service for this day and country and we should all be so incredibly grateful to her. [applause] >> i also want to recognize all the elected officials here. local and eight, particularly partly because i had the privilege of serving in our state legislator, but particularly our great democratic leaders in the house and senate in new hampshire. thank you all. just a word on that, we are all

talking about the critical importance of making sure that we worked each and every day to protect our communities and our stay in our country and work for the change that we know is so essential to our future. to every single person here, please do not take your eye off the ball. the importance of our state legislation seats. whether you're talking about voting rights, a woman's right for reproductive health care. the right to form a union and collectively bargain, it starts here at the state level. [applause] and for those of you who, as we move into 2018 and you look at how you can make a difference, if there are not enough people running for the house and senate in your district, sign

up. we need you. it is also the importance of state service and what we do here that makes me so glad that amelia won her award. thank you, thank you, thank you. i also want to congratulate and say a special word about jill foster. almost 15 years ago, i was knocking on doors in new hampshire the night before the 2002 elections. my phone rang and it was joe. he was wishing me well and

and wishing me success. i lost the election but he continued to encourage me to run. i had the pleasure of serving with joe and there has never been a more dedicated public servant to doing what is right and following through and finding the right way to do it. when it was my privilege to serve as governor, there was no question of my mind who my attorney general should be. there is no one with more integrity, no one who understands the need and cause of justice better than joe foster. we are incredibly grateful, joe.

[applause] i also want to think tim ryan, john delaney and grace tang for joining us. we are so glad you are here. most of all i want to think everyone here, new hampshire democrats. with the odds against us you have shown up and spoken for our values and i am grateful. you fought for joyce craig who i am so pleased to see tonight. as we head into thanksgiving, we have so much to be grateful for as new hampshire democrats. we have enjoyed successes in the state house and senate. we 18 special election

-- we won eight special election seats. there is nothing, with joyce's success, with the special elections, there is nothing more inspiring than watching the next generation step forward and take charge. i want to commend the new hampshire young democrats. [applause] as your senator, i am focusing on the work you sent me to washington to do. fighting for a future where everyone who works hard has the opportunity to get and stay at head. where middle class is growing and thriving. where each generation is better off than the one before.

where we are unleashing economic growth. i'm committed with working with anyone who is focused on solving problems for our people, businesses, and economy. unfortunately, too many republicans in washington are focused on an agenda that rewards the wealthy few while leaving middle-class families and small businesses behind. just take a look at the republican tax plan. new hampshire democrats, do you think it is right to raise taxes on millions of hard-working americans while corporate special interests gets a tax break? do you believe we should risk a $25 billion yearly cut to medicare all to give the wealthiest few a tax break? and do you think a tax bill

should be used to sabotage our health care system? me neither. but that is exactly what the republicans want to do. it is no wonder that president trump's top economic adviser admitted that it is big corporate ceos who are in his words, the most excited about this plan. my republican colleagues ron johnson has voiced his opposition, saying under this proposal, there will be a real incentive to keep manufacturing overseas.

we need your help to fight fight against trumpcare. we have to keep up our momentum we need your help to fight against these proposals. to make your voices heard loud and clear as they were in the and harness the success we have seen this year and carry it into next year and beyond. next year we will have the opportunity to keep our congressional allegation blue. and to turn the state house and senate blue. [applause] that is why we must continue to stay organized, to engage with our fellow citizens, to stand up for the values that make us strong. i am confident in the dedication and ability of everyone here to make a difference. i have witnessed it firsthand. we have proven that we have what it takes to remain strong and determined to fight our people, state, and economy, and to build a better future. carol quoted winston churchill in her remarks.

robert frost said that a little differently. he said the only way out is through. our job as citizens and as democrats is to love and protect our country, state, communities, and each other. that is what americans have always done. in america, the way we love each other is we fight for justice for each other. [applause] we understand the value of inclusion because we were founded by people who said that every single one of us matters. our founders did not count everybody at first.

but the had the confidence that every generation of americans would work to bring more and more people in from the margins into the heart and soul of our community and economy. they understood that when you do that, you unleash talent and energy that is important for the cause of independent freedom and dignity, but it is also talent and energy that helps us all compete and grow and thrive. that, more than anything, is what this moment in time is about. there are rough patches throughout american history. go back and look at any of the times where everything was the most fraught, including right after this country won the revolutionary war.

we continue, in the face of challenges and intensely partisan differences, to find our way forward and through. that is what makes us resilient americans. we fight for each other, we love each other, and as we do that, we continue to form a more perfect union with liberty and justice for all. thank you all. thank you very much. [applause] >> you go over the list, you sit

down, is everyone here, make sure you don't miss anybody, and then you get a text from the former senate president. [applause] >> perfection still eludes me, billy. i want to thank our sponsors dr. jeffrey clark. and district council member number 35. bridge communications.

these are the guys that pay the big bucks so you might want to be a little enthusiastic. the american federation of teachers. the uaw. john on april delay knee. congressman tim riney. the human rights campaign. joan jacobs. [applause] paul montreux. [applause] the national air traffic controllers association. congresswoman annie custer. [applause] senator jean shaheen. congresswoman carol j porter. [applause]

the honorable catherine wells wheeler. [applause] paul kramer. [applause] the national association of the national association of letter carriers. [applause] let's give them all a round of applause. [applause] >> eleanor roosevelt was a fearless fighter for justice. her entire life was spent

working to make the world a better place for all. for more than 25 years, the democratic party has been honoring an outstanding woman who has fought hard and succeeded in providing an opportunity for life and success. this year's recipient of the eleanor roosevelt award embodies eleanor's spirit. during her decades of service in our community in the house and senate, her record is exemplary. she is always fighting on the side of righteousness. eight years ago in a closed-door senate caucus, she implored her colleagues to support marriage colleagues to support marriage equality. she grew up knowing what it was like to be treated less than. she always worked toward the goal of making sure no one felt less than. i am honored to present this award to senator betty lasky. [applause]

>> wow. thank you all. i could not be more surprised or honored. in this season of thanksgiving, i just want to tell you how grateful i am and have been for the last 30 years. to have served all of you and

the people of new hampshire and the people of our great country. so i think you so much -- so i thank you so much and i will treasure this always. thank you. [applause] >> new hampshire democrats please welcome congressman tim ryan to the stage. [applause] ♪ >> thank you. [applause] we have a few ohio guys here. i want to say i wish i had brought our 13-year-old daughter there tonight to hear these amazing democratic women that we

have up here. [applause] but i did bring my beautiful wife, so everybody say hello to andrea ryan. [applause] >> and maggie, thank you for your amazing leadership on the senate side. it has been an incredible battle over the past few weeks and months and you guys have been there. cheryl and annie, you guys are the best. there is not a day that goes by where carol and annie are not grabbing people and saying we need to stay organized. thank you for your amazing

national leadership on this. john, i enjoyed your words tonight, thank you for contributing your message here tonight. and my old buddy paul from way back is here. [applause] i just want to say, way back. has it been that long? i just want to say something. you get into politics to make a difference. when you see people presented with the opportunity, after being in a place like congress, where you can clearly make the easy decision and cling to your job and staff and title. but when push comes to shove and there is an opportunity to give every single american access to

health care, it was representatives from places like new hampshire like carol and paul who literally put their jobs on the line to make sure that happened. we want to thank you for doing that. [applause] those other heroes. ray buckley, my old buddy from way back. i mean old. and my buddy donny who is here. when i went to law school back here, i worked in congress for a couple years. i caught the political dog. i was in my first year of law school. anyone in the first year of law school knows you are looking for

-- from anything but law school. i wandered down to the democratic party headquarters and i met somebody who was running for the state senate. we had a great campaign and almost pulled it off. my old buddy steve is here who ran a while back. and his wife ellen is here and they took me and when i did not have any family in new hampshire. thank you so much for that. [applause] for most of my career in congress, i was single. not married. it is late, i want to make sure you know where i am coming from. [laughter] that is a certain lifestyle, as you know.

then four and a half years ago, i got married. i met my wife andrea and helen love and we got married. -- my wife andrea and we fell in love and we got married. i married a woman who had two children. so i went from being single to being married with two kids. definite change in lifestyle. when we first got married, she got rid of her place and i got rid of my place and we went to get some neutral territory. what is the first thing you do after you get married and you have two kids and a new house? you go out and get a dog. so i go from being single to being married with two kids and now we're on a way to get a dog. so we go to the shelter to pick out a rescue. what happens when you go out to

get a puppy with two kids? you get two puppies. then three and a half years ago we had brady. you get two puppies. so, single. married, three kids, two dogs. just the one wife. [laughter] a few years back i was in the family room and i noticed something. silence. the house was completely silent. i looked around and everybody was upstairs in bed. probably in the same bed, but that is a whole different story. what is a guy from northeast ohio to do when he is alone and used to watching things like nick at night and all the kids shows?

you get the remote control. and you say, oh my god, i can't believe i have the remote control. i started with the news stations. so you find a sports. you find a sports station that has a documentary from the old basketball coach jimmy valvano. he is giving a speech. he starts giving a speech and says god must have loved ordinary people. because he made so many of us. but he said, every day, ordinary people do extraordinary things. every day, in so many different

ways, ordinary people do extraordinary things. as i am listening to that, as somebody involved in the work we are involved in, i thought to myself, when we are at our best as a party, that is what it means to be a democrat. everything we do is about giving are involved in, i thought to ordinary people and opportunity to do something extraordinary. [applause] all of the speakers tonight touched upon this in one way or another. whether you are in ohio or some where in new hampshire or in the deep south or you are black or white, gay or straight, you should have an opportunity to do

something extraordinary if you are willing to put the work in to be able to do it. that is what this whole game is about. it is about us giving ordinary people an opportunity to do something extraordinary. the problem we have now is that the systems in which we are trying to allow our kids and fellow workers and entrepreneurs and innovators, we are stuck in these broken systems that will not allow people to do something extraordinary. make it so difficult. look at the broken health care system. we spent 200 half times more -- we spent 2.5 times more than anyone in the world. the education system is not working the way it should. we rank 30 in science, 19 in math.

look at our food system. we have half the country that has either diabetes or prediabetes. look at the agricultural system that is causing algae blooms in the great lakes. dead zones at the mouth of the mississippi river. over the next 70 years if we do not do anything, we will have a six degree increase in the aperture of the planet. these systems are broken. here is the problem. my wife's dad from back home is a steelworker. we celebrated in our community and in adversity -- anniversary a few years back. we have an anniversary called black monday.

that is when the u.s. sheet and to -- there is no warning notice, you have 90 days and then we are closing it down. that is when the u.s. sheet and to -- there is no warning you just showed up and there were locks on the gate. my father-in-law worked there. i remember when the new york post to the story. i sent a text of the story to my wife's side of the family. i will never forget what her mom sent back. she said, i will never forget that day. bobby came home dirty faced, lunch bucket in hand, and we had no idea what we were going to

do. we had just borrowed $4000 from his parents for a down payment on a house and got a loan for the house. and now everyone around him lost their job. no idea what they were going to do. what is frustrating is this broken economic system that we have, that was 40 years ago. 40 years and we have still failed to fix and economic system that has thrown millions of americans under the bus. [applause]

and that my friends is what this is all about tonight in the organizing and everything else. this old system, these old rogan systems, the republican party is doubling down on the old system. in every way. the tax system that the senator talked about. they are doubling down on that. like john said, and you're going to lock this in. just the way it is right now. double down. because there are a lot of people that have a lot of money that like it just the way it is. to pass this tax bill, they are going to go to the chinese banks and chinese government and

borrow $2.3 trillion and bring the money back here and not invested in our people, not invested to rebuild the country. we are going to give it away to the wealthiest people in the country. that is insanity. especially when you look at the fact that over the last 30 years since we did tax reform the last time, 96% of income growth went to the top 10%. the top 1% own 90% of the wealth of the country. and we are going to give that group a tax cut and borrow the

money from china to give it to them? they are doubling down on the old system. we see what is happening with the climate. and a global climate warming denier is head of the epa. a young baby in ohio has less of a chance of survival than a baby born in iran. and we have the republican party saying we are going to throw 20 million more people off of the health care. we are going to undermine the program that provides health care for our citizens. this is not right. this is why we are here. this is why we have come

together. this is the job before us. the democratic party's has got to be the party that builds the new system. we have to build the new system. [applause] there has been a concentration of wealth and as congressman delaney said a concentration of opportunity depending on your zip code. we have continued to prioritize capital over labor and it must stop. the challenges are great. [applause] let me tell you a story. those of you who were in manchester a few weeks ago for joyce. i love joyce. she is phenomenal. [applause]

there was an old basketball coach named john wooden. i know the celtics are on a roll, so you had to get irving here and steal a cleveland cavalier to make it happen, but that is ok. if you want to send tom brady to the browns, we would be happy to take him. [laughter] the browns might even make tom brady a loser. it is like a disease we have in the cleveland browns organization. [laughter] i just threw myself off. [laughter] there was this great basketball coach named john wooden. back in the day, possibly one of i just threw myself off.

the best ncaa basketball coaches of all time. he was coaching a young kid named lou. he could dunk basketball, a tall kid from new york city. so they dominated and kept winning. he was so good that the ncaa had to come in and say, no one is allowed to dunk anymore. they banned dunking. can you imagine? so lou was out of his mind, he did not know what he was going to do. john wooden came by and said to him, lou, this ban on the dunk is going to be your greatest opportunity. lou thought he was insane. this is going to be your john wooden came by and said to greatest opportunity. lou went on, in order to survive, learned the sky hook

and went on to the nba and became kareem abdul-jabbar and they won many championships for the lakers because of the sky-hook. that challenge, celtic fans, you do not mean that. [laughter] i was a celtics fan growing up, i don't like the lakers. i was a celtics fan growing up, i don't like the lakers. that man took that challenge and he turned it into an opportunity. the lesson for us as we look at these staggering challenges that we have is that we have to take these challenges and turn them into opportunities.

the opportunities are there. they are there. when we need to address climate change we are looking at industries like wind and solar that are growing at 25% a year. this country needs to double down on wind and solar and renewable energy. [applause] the health care system is broken. this is an opportunity for us to come in and say there is a link between global warming and food and health care and out education system. if we start using regenerative agriculture we will pull carbon out of the air and put it back into the ground where it belongs, and we can get rid of of our food deficit and make sure people have healthy food and start spending money on

health care in the united states by seeing that all of this is connected. [applause] we need to build a system. think about how revolutionary this could be. we need to start building systems that put the people first and then the old the system around the people -- and then put the system around the people instead of having people feed into the system. right now people are paying into health care and not getting coverage. people working and working and just cannot get ahead. no matter how hard they work. that is not right.

you should be able in the united states, if you put an honest days work in, and honest week of work, you should be able to have a good and happy and successful life in this country. that is what hangs in the balance. [applause] so let me wrap up by saying that we have done this before. we just gave awards away that recognize the power of the roosevelts, the power of the new deal. think about the changes in the economy now and think about the changes in the economy when we moved into the industrial age. there were all kinds of changes. the government was not keeping changes in the economy when we

up. people came together, led by our brothers and sisters in the union movement in the u.s. [applause] those manufacturing jobs were not good jobs. they were tough. up. we have a museum of labor and industry in downtown youngstown. if you are ever in youngstown, come on by. better chance of ohio people coming than new hampshire, i got it. [laughter] but go see what is happening. go see what happened in this place. how people lives and died and lost limbs and did not make any money and how the company screwed them over at every turn. we all came together and said we are not going to live that way anymore. there were battles. people died.

there is an old irish saying, is this a private fight or can anyone get into it? [laughter] i see we have a few other irish people in this place. i am in the right room. [laughter] but we had to fight for it. no one is going to give it to us. i see we have a few other irish no one is going to give it us. like my old football coach said, you have to go take it. you have to get it. we did not have 40 hour work weeks, we went and got them. we did not have an eight hour workday, pensions, social security, medicare, medicare, civil rights, we went and got it. we went and got it. [applause] building america 2.0 is going to

take a strong democratic party. we're only a country of 330 million people competing on a globe of 7 billion. we're competing with 1.3 billion people in china. we need every american citizen on the field playing for us with a team usa jersey ready to go out there and kick some butt. [applause] i never once played a lot of sports in my day, a long time ago. played a lot of sports. never once was i on a successful

team that did not absolutely love each other. just so knitted together by love and respect and appreciation for what everyone on the team had to do. in the weight room, the training room, doing sprints, what position you played, even if you did not get in the game. did not get in the game. you practice hard to make us better. you contributed. that is what we need to get back to in the united states. the attitude that everybody matters. union, nonunion, professional, worker. whatever you do, you matter in this country. you make our economy work. if you are a health care worker or a hospice worker or a waitress trying to make ends

meet, you matter in this country. you belong in the democratic party. we are going to go out and make sure you belong in this party. [applause] so we have to love each other and respect each other. we have to continue to work hard as we move forward. i will leave you with what bobby kennedy used to end a lot of his campaign speeches with. i do not promise you need and comfort. but i promise you weariness, hardship, and sacrifice. and with these, i'd promise you victory.

thank you so much. [applause] >> thank you everybody, and do not forget to take your pumpkin. >> new hampshire democrats, please take your pumpkin, tip your bartender, and there is only one way out of this parking lot. safely, thank you, and have a great night. ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2017] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

>> the c-span buses on the 50 capitals tour, hearing about each state's priories. we kicked off the tour in delaware and now have visited 12 state capitals. the next step is tallahassee, florida. we will be there