but the dlc first proposed it. i am pleased that a revitalized the community development financial institutions bill and found it, funding micro credit. again, it is something that we all ran on. i am pleased we have a secretary of education who believes in public school choice and charter schools. the dlc, i believe, was the first organization to talk about charter schools. i went all over america advocating at in '92, and finally, one guy knew pretty well set, bill, i do not know what the heck you're talking about. i said one, where is it? minnesota. how many states can set them up? as far as i know, too. minnesota and arkansas. you think about it. from the time i left office, we had 2000 charter schools. congress had given funding for 3000. now we have schools in new york city where my foundation is in importance neighborhoods where there are 20 applicants for every one seat open in the charter school. you should be proud of that, al from. i love the fact that the president and former secretary of education commi

the new dlc chairman harold ford, jr. continues to speak out as one of the nation's up and coming senators. rahm emanuel leads democrats back into the majority on capitol hill after penning with bruce reed a plan in 2006. in continuing with the tradition of helping young leaders emerge and the stars, the dlc founds a new program with an eye towards the future. a quarter-century later, barack obama and joe biden's historic victory in 2008 proves that the party is ready. the new administration and congress have the chance to build a long lasting change and reform, and the opportunity to carry out a new democratic agenda. education reform, national service, health reform, energy, fiscal responsibility, and long- term growth. on the democratic leadership council, the organization that al built from the ground up is taking on a new challenge. under bruce's leadership, house legacy lives on. the power of a good idea can still inspire our party and to transform our nation. >> 25 years ago, he had the courage to see it was time fo

the patron saint of the dlc, the love of his life, ginger from. [applause] he spent the last quarter- century willing the democratic party back from the dead. he is going to spend the next quarter century on a more quixotic cause, when the cubs back to the world series. tonight, all of us pledge to honor his legacy with a new wave of new democrats on the rise, new majorities in congress, and a new president in the white house. this party will remain a place where ideas matter. we have always wanted to unable every generation to build a better and brighter future for the next generation that comes along. in the end, that is what he has done for us. democrats are far better off than we were 24 years ago. so is our country as a result. [applause] our party's map is bigger, our nation's civic ethic is stronger, and our children's future is brighter because of the cause he has left us to carry on. and now, to remind you about how far we have come, and how much we can still do, we will then the lights for a video on the incredible adventure of how he ch

we attended the excellent dlc policy retreats, but it was also incorrect. our missouri police department's call the spherically about the cops program, young people called about america corps. dlc programs, but without mentioning the dlc. the political currents that al created had become so strong that it was mainstream and semel. in a place like missouri, he could provide direction for national leaders like dick gephardt, high-profile governors like mel carnahan, or four state legislators like me, navigating the rocky waters of a tricky political climate. i noted over time that he had guided every one of my political heroes, including our former president. political career. al has given us through the d.l.c. a consistently invaluable repository of ideas for the laboratory of the 50 states. through the national conversations, the new d.l.c. fellows program, or simply through the d.l.c. website, he invites us in and sends us out armed with ideas that strengthen our communities, keep our family safe, implement fiscal discipline, ect our children and spur on ec

the dlc is an important policy think tank for what we do at the white house. thank you for being involved in an import organization. if nothing else, making sure bruce has an answer when i scream at him at 11:00 at night. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much, i know you have a country to run. thank you for fighting the good fight and thank you, on behalf of democrats everywhere, thank you for making our government work again. [applause] we wanted to kick off this forum with a panel on education reform because, as rahm emanuel said, many of us are convinced that progress from education will be the quiet revolution, the sleeper issue of the obama administration. >> july 4th weekend on book tv, discover and unfamiliar side of the nation's first president as we are live from washington--george washington's not vernon estate with author john ferling. join our 3 our conversation live on in depth on c-span2's book tv. >> the u.s. senate in 5 minutes -- five minutes, getting back to legislative business. we have live coverage on c-span2 once they get underway. n

the dlc is an important policy think tank for what we do at the white house. thank you for being involved in an import organization. if nothing else, making sure bruce has an answer when i scream at him at 11:00 at night. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much, i know you have a country to run. thank you for fighting the good fight and thank you, on behalf of democrats everywhere, thank you for m m m m m >> in "washington journal" tomorrow morning, we will discuss with azar nanisi, and hear about president obama's plan of markets, hear pr jed hensarling and luis gutierrez, "washington journal" is live. >> how is c-span funded? >> i have no clue. >> i would say some government grant. >> i would say advertising. >> our taxes? >> how is c-span funded? 30 years ago america's cable companies created c-span as a public service, a private initiative, no government mandate or money. >> there was testifying before the senate on tuesday in an oversight hearing of questions of guantanamo bay. this is three hours. >> good morning and i was talking with senator session

i cannot tell you how important the dlc to what we do at the white house. the work they do their laws and have an answer when i call him and yelled at him that we need work on a project. -- the work they do allows them to have an answer when i call and yell at him to have an answer to a project. they have solutions to very important policy choices, making sure you remember what the goals are and become creative about the means to achieve those goals. the dlc is a very important policy think tank for what we do with the white house. i thank you for being involved in a very important organization, if for nothing else making sure that bruce has an answer when i scream at him at 1:00 at night. thank you. [applause] >> thank you so much, ron. i know you have a country to run. thank you for fighting the good fight. on behalf of democrats everywhere, thank you for making the government work again, rahm. >> the senate health committee continues work on health-care legislation tomorrow morning. live coverage is on c-span3 at 10:00 eastern. >> president obama wednesd

american dream, with the principles of opportunity and responsibility, is the most important thing the dlc has ever done. you were a democrat. in the 1970's, 1980's, we lost that. in the new orleans declaration, the seminal document of the d.l.c. and new democrat politics, we brought it back. we declared in clear and simple terms that the promise of america is equal opportunity. that the purpose of the democratic party is to expand opportunity, not government. and that economic growth and the private sector is the prerequisite for opportunity for all. but with opportunity comes responsibility. as we further declared in new orleans, we believe that american citizenship entails responsibilities as well as rights. we mean to ask our citizens to give something back to their communities and their country. i hope i have done that and i intend to keep on giving. we've evoked a lot of memories tonight. we should enjoy and savor every one of them, but as we do, let us not forget that our work has just begun. that we still have so much more to do. opportunity and responsibility are the cornerstones