DNC Chairman Howard Dean's Address to the DNC Spring Meeting
Below is the text of the address given by Democratic National Committee Chairman Howard Dean today to the DNC’s Annual Spring Meeting in New Orleans, Louisiana:
“When you first elected me chair I said that the way we will take our country back is vote by vote, block by block, and neighborhood by neighborhood.
“We are making progress toward our goal.
“I’m proud to report that we now have more than 175 organizers in all 50 states, working hard, organizing the Democratic Party in every precinct in every state.
“In fact, next week, in more than 1,000 locations around the country, Democrats will go door to door talking with their neighbors about the Democratic Party and what we stand for. That’s six months before Election Day.
“Last year we broke fundraising records and this year we’ve had a record first quarter in fundraising, raising $18 Million.
“We are using the power of the Internet so that ordinary people can get involved in the political process and organize in their communities. Through our Democracy Bonds program every Democrat can now have a stake in our Party.
“We’ve had some early victories that we can be proud of: Mayor of Mobile, Mayor of Tulsa, Mississippi special elections, Kaine and Corzine in Virginia and New Jersey; and we have a record number of Democratic candidates on the ballot this year in places like Utah and South Dakota.
“So we are at the beginning of changing our party and take our country back.
“Six months from today, Americans will be asked one simple question: do you want more of the same Bush and Republican policies? Or do you want change? The Democratic Party offers the American people the change they are looking for.
“We will be agents of change and instruments of the progress, vision and leadership our Nation so desperately needs.
“In 1989, Ron Brown put our great party on a path to historic victories. He did it by rebuilding our Party to help ensure Democrats could get elected in every region, at every level, and he brought people together from all backgrounds, ethnic, regional, economic, to ensure that our Party reflected the diversity of America.
“He also understood that in order to win, we have to clearly say who we are, who we’re standing with and what we are fighting for. Ron Brown made sure that we did that and Bill Clinton won in places where no Democrat had won. And together Bill Clinton and Al Gore balanced budgets, created jobs, and kept America safe.
“Being here in New Orleans reminds us what is at stake in this next election. But it also reminds us why we are Democrats, and of the values that define us as a party. I’m proud to be a Democrat.
“Here in New Orleans and the Gulf Coast, our fellow Americans suffered. Our nation suffered a great tragedy, worse, a loss of confidence in our federal government and many are still suffering, trying to rebuild, trying to come home, trying to move ahead with their lives.
“Here in the Gulf Coast and around the country we have seen our American community coming together as Americans. That’s what we do in times of crisis, we band together, and we don’t leave anyone behind.
“Our current Republican government will be judged by how it treats Americans of the Gulf Coast, and how it has treated, or mistreated our American community.
“Republicans have cut and run when it comes to rebuilding the Gulf Coast. We won’t.
“The incompetence we’ve seen from the Administration can be made up for by the goodness and greatness of the American people.
“We are again at a moment of change in our Nation.
“We want the American people to know the difference between what George Bush, Karl Rove, and Republicans in Washington offer: a legacy of more of the same Deficits, Divisiveness and Deceit, and what Democrats will do to restore our Nation.
“Democrats offer a change. We will hunt down the terrorists and provide our troops and agencies with the tools they need to stop future attacks. But we won't stop there.
“We need to make sure that our streets here at home are safe, too. We have to do a better job of securing our shipping ports and nuclear power plants. And we have to do a better job of securing good jobs for American workers, the retirement security of our seniors, and college educations for more of our children. And we have to do a better job of securing the American family which is under siege from all sides.
“Democrats have a bold vision for a secure America. It’s a vision based on honesty, community, responsibility and opportunity, a vision of an America that works for everyone.
“Democrats stand for honest leadership and open government.
“Democrats stand for real security and a strong defense.
“Democrats will fight for American jobs that stay in America.
“Democrats will fight for health care that works for everyone.
“Democrats will fight for energy independence that will create jobs and reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
“Democrats will fight for retirement security for all Americans.
“Americans are tired of being lectured to about morality by Republicans who have brought a culture of corruption, cronyism and incompetence to Washington that has put party ahead of country and undermines our values.
“We are tired of being lectured to about patriotism by a party that puts party ahead of country.
“The ties that bind us as a nation are strong and immutable; born from revolution, nurtured in freedom and sustained in hope.
“Our country took root and grew on the heroism of ordinary people who wanted a better life for themselves and their children. Today it is our time to believe in and ensure the dream of a better life for us and our children. It is our time to let faith and hope take root.
“There has been enough of fear, incompetence and corruption. Democrats will restore America. Our nation was not founded on fear and corruption. It was founded on hard work, and honesty, and on brotherhood and courage. Not greed. Not on suspicion. Not on division, and not on fear. Let’s remember who we are and where we come from.
“These are our values, these are America’s values, and these are the ties that unite us as a Nation. We are one American community, the United States of America, and it’s time we started acting like it again. The only path to greatness is to all be together again.
“We are united in defending America and preserving our freedoms.
“We are united in standing with our troops, their families and our veterans.
“We are united in our commitment to American workers; we know that a good job is the foundation of a strong family, a strong community, and a strong country.
“We are united in our belief that we must be good stewards of the earth and that we must reduce our dependence on foreign oil.
“We are united in our call for immigration reform that is tough and smart, that secures our borders, protects American workers and enables immigrants who work hard, obey our laws and pay taxes a path to earn the rights and privileges of citizenship.
“We are united in our belief that every single American has a voice that must be heard by guaranteeing an open and fair vote on Election Day.
“We are united in our belief in personal responsibility and personal freedom.
“We are united in our commitment that we will not forget our fellow Americans here in the Gulf Coast, and those who have not yet been able to return home. Even as we meet here today, many struggle to have a voice in the destiny of their beloved home.
“In November, America will have a choice. And Democrats will work very hard over the next six months to make that choice very clear to the American people. We will put America first where it belongs again.
“We will tell the American people that if you elect Democrats we will fight for a platform of values.
“Democrats will fight to raise the minimum wage. Hard-working Americans deserve a living wage.
“Democrats will fight for middle class tax fairness.
“Democrats will fight for real reform and ethics legislation that includes a complete ban on gifts and travel from lobbyists, ending special interest provisions being added in the dead of night.
“Democrats will enact 100% of the 9/11 Commission recommendations: its time to inspect all cargo, lock down loose nuclear material and make sure we are prepared for disasters and for the aftermath of disasters.
“Democrats will fix the disastrous Republican Medicare Part D – we should be helping our seniors, not drug companies.
“Democrats will ensure that 2006 is a year of transition in Iraq – the Iraqis need to take responsibility for their own future. It’s appalling that the President would say that this will be left to the next President. He owes it to the American people to get us out.
“Ron Brown summed it up: ‘We stand with the working people of America; we fight for the unlimited potential of the greatest Nation on the face of the earth, the courage to stand up for justice, the strength to reclaim a system Republicans rigged for themselves.’
“That is the America we are fighting for. That is what we stand for. That is how we will win in November 2006 and begin to take our country back.”
