while meeting in chicago this weekend, the democratic national committee made changes to the presidential nomination process by voting to reduce the role of superdelegates at the parties 2020 convention. before the final vote, there was a debate amongst committee members that included dnc chair tom perez and former chair don fowler. [applause] >> good morning, everybody. good morning, democrats. i know emotions have run high at this meeting. because we democrats are passionate. we are passionate about our beliefs. so i want to start off this morning by sharing some good news with you first. in a major victory, a major victory for working people, the federal court has struck down the trump executive order attacking the rights of public

servants to organize and bargain collectively. that happened last night, sisters and brothers. when we fight, we went together. [applause] it was a clean sweep. it turns back a ruthless attack on the integrity of the civil service, and is therefore a victory for democracy itself, a victory for all of us. let's get down to today's business. we are here to work out our differences so we can march in unity together into the 2018 and 2020 elections. and celebrate, celebrate more victories for aftermath. -- democracy.

celebrate victories for working families. there has been a lot of talk about disenfranchisement. , there is no question that it is something we should be talking about. but these reforms that this body will vote on today, i believe are not the problem. about care disenfranchisement, look no further than what happened in november of 2016. presidency, and hundreds of other federal states and local offices across this country. room, plusin this our families and friends and our communities, were disenfranchised by the outcome of that election. make no mistake about it. look at what is happening as the result of our 2016 defeat.

,ttacks on our freedom to vote our freedom to build collective power in labor unions, our reproductive freedoms, and the freedom to love whom we love. look at the attacks on the freedom of our immigrant sisters and brothers, to simply live together in families. it is on us. it is on us to fix this. it is our responsibility, democrats. and it will be our fault if we do not act today to make a change. we cannot repair the damage that has been done. and we cannot restore the freedoms that have been taken away from us unless we can win elections. must have ae nominating process that leads to victory in 2020 and beyond.

we have the right ideas. , which the right values most americans share. that weave confidence will protect working families over wealthy corporations, that we will fight every single day for quality health care, invest in education, defend social security, protect the environment, and much more. , that is whye are we breathe, widely fight every single day. they do not, however, have confidence in a presidential nomination process as fair and democratic. they feel alienated, they feel disconnected. these are not radical or revolutionary reforms. are saying is that unpledged delegates would not automatically a vote on the first presidential nominating ballot.

that, i believe, is modest and reasonable. it will go a long way towards restoring trust in our hearts. -- party. over the last year and a half, it has been an incredible awakening around the country. a surge of activism around progressive values. i honestly believe, and i believe you do to come that we are living in a movement moment, with people organizing, mobilizing, in unprecedented ways. communities of color, rising up to fight racial and economic injustice. thousands have taken to the street to protest the separation of their children. there was a women's march, the march for our lives, the teacher walks out in the reddest of states, a movement moment.

and when we have that moment, we can win if we are together. these are one off events. they have grown into sustained movements for change. exactly the kind of change of party represents. i want to be honest with you, many of these activists do not see political parties as vehicles for change, for progress. and we needed to connect with them. we need to tap into their energy. we need to make sure they are seen and heard. we need to toss out the welcome mat and invite them into the house to walk with us, to walk door to door with us, convincing them that our party is their natural home, all of us need to do that. that with thedo

status quo. cannot do that as long as they believe insiders hold all the levers. we can't do that with the current system of unpledged elegance. -- delegates. and i say that as a superdelegate myself. and president of one of the largest unions in the american labor movement. we have got to change. rules and bylaws committee undertook a rigorous process and has come up with an evenhanded proposal, i believe. it does not disenfranchise anyone. it does not dilute the diversity that has been essential to our strength and our vitality. if it did this, i have got to tell you, speaking to you right now, i would not be on board with these proposals because of who i am and where i came from. but i support these proposals.

do. they what they do is make more people feel like they had a voice. step towardsrtant empowering grassroots and promoting inclusion. whitening the decision-making circle. the proposed coppice reforms make political engagement easy for more people, especially voters with disabilities, those who speak limited english, and working people who should not have to choose between job security and democratic participation. this is our movement moment. to take a hard look ourselves and to make a change. sisters and brothers, we cannot wait. no more delays or deliberations. we have debated this ad nauseam. our job as a democratic party is to get them across elected, so let's start but right now.

it is a total package. the total package of reforms, then we have to push this and support it and then, let us leave chicago. let us leave this place, and let's do what we do best, that is organized, mobilize and educate all of our communities across this country! and if not us, who? if not now, when? let us get this job done, sisters and brothers, thank you! [cheers and applause]

>> president saunders, thank you for your remarks and your leadership in the labor movement, and your service in the rules and bylaws committee. the tireless efforts of that committee was are so critically important. i also want to thank our friend randi weingarten, president of afd for her service it on the rules and bylaws committee as well. so, while we are thank you people, can we thank "unite here" local one for the great work they have been doing at the hotel? give them a hand? thank you, very much. you know, they're in a tough stretch right now, negotiations, and we are going to make sure that we are working with them to help them. so, ok. ok.

ok. so, folks, thank you for what you all have been doing. we've had a productive week here, we have been doing great work. we have been talking about the fact that there are 73 days until the weekend. talking about the fact that we have wind on our back that we have work to do. talking about the fact that we have been investing in our infrastructure, organizing in every state, and every zip code, and you are leaving today with a roadmap for success. that is the work you have been doing, the work we have been doing, and that is because in 73 days, we have the most important election of our lifetime. our health care is on the ballot, our democracy is on the ballot, our middle class is on the ballot. our environment is on the ballot.

our kids future is on the ballot. there are no guard rails in washington right now, and there are too many states that have no guard rails. that is what we have talked about over the course of the last few days. but we have also been talking about rebuilding trust. in a moment, i will turn it over to the rules and bylaws committee. before i do that, i will give the floor to my friend, don fowler. we talked yesterday at great length, but i want to make sure as a matter of fairness that i give don the floor. he has been a tireless member of the dnc, and i want to make sure he will have that perspective. you will hear that perspective from him. but, folks, as he correctly said, this is the time to vote. it is time to make history, time to make a clear statement to people who share our values that we trust you, and that we will take some bold measures to earn

your trust so you will join our party and join our fight to take back our democracy. that is what this package of reforms will do. let's review, very quickly, how we got here. we took a unanimous vote at the 2016 convention to reform our party, the charge was to take steps to open up our party, reform our primary and caucus process and reduce the influence of superdelegates. that was the charge and the unity reform commission under the able leadership of my good friend larry cohen, they took their charge very seriously, deliberated for months and amid a series of important recommendations, designed to make it easier for people to participate in our primary and caucus process. the rules and bylaws committee deliberated for over 80 hours. i went to say a special thanks to everyone on the committee, especially our distinguished cochairs. jim roosevelt and lorraine miller. they deliberated for over 80

hours over a period of months and produced a package of proposed reforms that we will vote on shortly. this process has been inclusive throughout. in the urc and the rbc, they have been vigilant in an sure -- ensuring that everybody's voice was heard and every idea was given careful consideration. we spent a lot of time in this room yesterday and it was an important time, because he wanted to make sure that everybody's voice was hard. it is clear now that there is in fact, a consensus on a significant portion of the package of reforms. and quite frankly, as i listened yesterday, it seems to me that they are 2 substantive issues that are going to require a vote on the body. they both relate to this subject on superdelegates. the rbc proposal states that superdelegates retain all their powers except that they will not vote on the first ballot unless the outcome has already been decided by the grassroots voters. that is what it is. so, we have two votes to take, that are the votes of

significance here. #1, does the change require a charter amendment? number two, do you want to vote for reform? these are the 2 issues, folks you said here for four hours yesterday and those are the two basic issues i heard. once we revolve these issues, we can move on to the total package. and that is what we are doing. my recommendation to you is that we pass the entire package, because the only way we can make meaningful, comprehensive, and historic change today is if we pass the full package of reforms. [applause] not half, not thirds, and you know what? because, to use my friend these -- lee's point, we have a movement moment here, folks. when it comes to building a stronger future for our people, our party and our nation, going part of the way, i don't think is enough.

as i said yesterday, being the hockey fan that i am, it is important not to simply skate to where the puck is, but where it is going. that is what this package is about. this package is helping us to skate our party to where the puck of politics is going it has always been our future, our party's future and our children's future. that is why we will return shortly to lorraine miller and jim roosevelt. but i want to give my friend don fowler, from whom you have heard, an opportunity to speak, because i know that he reflects a different view, and i want to make sure he has the opportunity. chairman fowler, the floor is yours. [applause] chairman fowler: hello, democrats!

are we going to win in 2020! more importantly, are we going to win in 2018? this party is responsible for the progress of america for 200 years, and we cannot stop now. we must move on to victory and reinstate the rights of people to act and do and be themselves, to love who they love, and to more freely engage in our political operations. that is what we all want to do here today in this meeting. [applause] i have four or five very quick points i would make with respect to this proposal that is before you. first, this addition in franchising. 200 african-americans will be eliminated from the vote on the first ballot.

100 latinos, dozens of people from the lgbtq community and dozens of people who suffer physical or other disabilities. those will all be eliminated because they are contained, and these people, you and me and other elected officials across america, those will be eliminated on the first ballot. the democratic party has been the engine for conveying the vote to african-americans, two -- to women, to lgbtq community and all other americans. we have been the engine to spread democracy there we are now, we are going to turn around and take democracy away from these folks. it is not right, and it is not fitting for the democratic party to do that. secondly, this organizational structure is unique.

and i mean that literally. if you look at any membership organization anywhere in the united states, and for that matter, most of the rest of the world, there is no membership organization that systematically cuts off its leadership from the most sacred decisions that those organizations make. [applause] not a union, not a religious organization, not a patriotic organization and any other kind. you cannot find an organization that deliberately cuts off the leadership from the most important business about the party has. that is what this proposal would do if it is adopted. and it is confusing. many of you have heard me talk about this before. it took about rbc eight hours to figure out how you calculate a

majority for the nomination. when there was an adoption of this proposal, there was a -- an adoption of this proposal, there was a telephone call to boost its support and the question was asked, how do you calculate a majority? and the answer was, it's 50% of both the pledge and the on unpledgeddged -- delegates vote, that's a return to something more than the majority required to nominate. that is 56 to 57%. it just happens, that was not what the rbc chose to offer, so there was a hurry in trying to get that straightened out. when they finally published the call to the convention, it had both those rules and there in a

very confusing way. all of this confusion and uncertainty within the confines of the people uncertainty, for who have to shape these matters how is it going to be when you , try to explain that to people in the union halls and church basement and schoolhouses? it will be very, very difficult. the last point i want to make is that this is a fundamental change. a fundamental change in the way we nominate our presidents. some of you remember back in the early 1980's, there was the hunt commission that studied the delegate selection process. they recommended the creation of these unpledged delegates, as we called them then. they were put into the charter. , not thecharter

bylaws, the charter. and they have been there ever since. now, this proposal, what it alleges to do is take that right out of the charter without amending the charter to take it out without amending it. this makes no sense whatsoever. it is clear that the right to vote permits party leadership to vote on the first ballot of every nominating procedure in the national conventions. this attempt to take voting rights away from people whose voting rights are assured in the charter, but simply ignoring the charter, is not good for government, it will not convey confidence and strength to the american people, it will be

confusing and it will take the leadership out of the presidential nominating process, which it has served very well for decades. and i ask you to vote no on this proposal when we get to the debate. thank you. [applause] announcer: from there, the dnc held a procedural vote before moving on to further debate and the final vote was was in favor of changing the presidential nomination process. this next portion is just under 1.5 hours. >> if everyone could take a seat, i apologize for the delays. we wanted to make sure that we had probably looked at all the proxies that they were properly instructed, and it took a bit longer than we thought.