Three keynote speakers from past conventions are considered to deliver the best speech of their political careers. Congresswoman Barbara Jordan at the 1976 Democratic Convention, three term new york governor mario cuomos address in 1984 and texas state treasurer and future governor and richards keynote speech in 1988. In 1976, congresswoman Barbara Jordan became the first black woman to give the keynote address to the dnc. She received a law degree from Boston University and was the first black woman elected to the texas senate. House,erving in the u. S. She taught political ethics at the university of texas at austin and later chaired the u. S. Commission on Immigration Reform which recommended immigration in the usb cut by 1 3. She spoke to delegates in new york city. [applause] ladies and gentlemen [applause] ladies and gentlemen [applause] ladies or arer you gentlemen. Gentlemen, in case you dont know it, may i now present our second keynote speaker, the honorable Barbara Jordan, democrat of houston, texas. [cheers and applause] thank you. Thank you. Thank you, ladies and gentlemen for a very warm reception. Was 144 years ago that members of the Democratic Party first met in convention to select a president ial candidate. Since that time, democrats have continued to convene once every four years and draft the Party Platform and nominate a president ial candidate. And our meeting this week is a continuation of that tradition. But there is Something Different about tonight, there is Something Special about tonight. What is different, what is special . I, Barbara Jordan, ma keynote speaker. [cheers and applause]. A lot of years passed since 1832, and during that time, it would have been most unusual for any National Political party to ask a Barbara Jordan to deliver a keynote address. But tonight, here i am. I feel that notwithstanding the past, that my presence here is one additional bit of evidence that the American Dream needs not forever be deferred. [cheers and applause] now that i have this grand distinction, what in the world am i supposed to say . I could easily spend this time praising the accomplishments of this party and attacking the republicans but i dont choose to do that. Problemsist the many which americans have. I could list the problems which caused people to feel cynical, angry, frustrated, problems which include lack of integrity in government, the feeling that the individual no longer counts, the reality of material and feelingl poverty, the that the grand american experiment is failing or has failed. Problemsecite these and then i could sit down and offer no solutions. But i dont choose to do that either. The citizens of america expect more. Moredeserve and they want than a recital of problems. We are a people in a quandary about the present. We are a people in search of our future. Search of aple in National Community. Trying not only to solve the problems of the present, unemployment, inflation, but we are attempting on a larger scale to fulfill the promise of america. We are attempting to fulfill our create andrpose to sustain a society in which all of us are equal. [cheers and applause] throughout our history, when people have looked for new ways to solve their problems and to uphold the principles of this nation, many times, they have turned to political parties. They have often turns to the Democratic Party. What is it . What is it about the Democratic Party that makes it the instrument, that people use when they search for ways to shape their future . I believe the answer to that question lies in our concept of governing. Governing isf derived from our view of people. Rooted inncept deeply a set of beliefs firmly etched in the National Conscience of all of us. Now, what are these beliefs . Believe in equality for all and privileges for non. [applause] this is a belief, this is a belief that each american, regardless of background, has equal standing in the public forum, all of us. [applause] because, because we believe this idea so firmly, we are an inclusive rather than an exclusive party. Let everybody come. [applause] i think it no accident that most of those immigrating to america in the 19 century identified with the Democratic Party. ,e are a Heterogeneous Party made up of americans of diverse backgrounds. People arethat the the source of all governmental power. That the authority of the people is to be extended, not restricted. [applause] this can be accomplished only by providing each citizen with every opportunity to participate in the management of the government. They must have that. We believe. Governmentthat the which represents the authority of all the people, not just one interest group, but all the tople has an obligation ,ctively underscore actively seek to remove those obstacles which would block individual achievement, obstacles emanating from race, sex, economic conditions. The government must remove them, seek to remove them. [applause] we are a party, we are a party of innovation. Traditionseject our but we are willing to adapt to changing circumstances when change we must. We are willing to suffer the discomfort of change in order to achieve a Better Future. We have a positive vision of the future founded on the belief that the gap between the promise and reality of america can one day be finally closed. We believe that. [applause] this, my friends, is the bedrock of our concept of governing. This is a part of the reason why americans have turned to the Democratic Party. Upon are the foundations which a National Community can be built. That theseerstand Guiding Principles cannot be discarded for short term political gains. They represent what this country is all about. They are indigenous to the american idea and these are principles which are not negotiable. [applause] in other times in other times, i could stand here and give this kind of exhibition exposition on the Democratic Party and that would be enough. But today, that is not enough. People want more. Reason not sufficient for the majority of the people of this country to decide to vote democratic. We have made mistakes. We realize that. We admit our mistakes. In our haste to do all things for all people, we did not foresee the full consequences of our actions. And when the people raise their didnt hear but our deafness was only a temporary condition. And not an irreversible condition. [applause] even as i stand here and admit that we have made mistakes, i still believed that as the people of america sit in judgment on each party, they will recognize that our mistakes were mistakes of the heart. They will recognize that. [applause] and now, we must look to the future. Let us heed the voice of the people and recognize their common sense. , we not only blaspheme our political heritage , we ignore the common ties that bind all americans. Future and many are distrustful of their leaders and believe that their voices are never heard. Many seek only to satisfy their private wants, to satisfy their private interests but this is the great danger america faces, that we will seek to be one instead a become collection of interest groups. Suburb, region against region, individual against individual, each seeking to satisfy private wants. Then willppens, who speak for america . Speak for the common good . This is the question which must be answered in 1976. Bound to be one people ,ogether by common spirit sharing in a common endeavor or will we become a divided nation . For all of this uncertainty, we cannot be the future. We must not become the new puritans and reject our society. Address and master the future together. If we restore the belief that we share a sense of National Community, that we share a national, a National Common endeavor, it can be done. There is no executive order, there is no law that can require the American People to form a National Community. Individuals do as and if we do it as individuals, there is no president of the United States who can v2 that veto that decision. Applause] as a first step, we must restore our belief in ourselves. We are a generous people so why cant we be generous with each other . Heart the take to words spoken by Thomas Jefferson let us restore the social let us reach restore to social intercourse that harmony and that affection without which liberty and even life are but dreary things. A nation is formed by the willingness of each of us to share in the responsibility for upholding the common good, a government is invigorated when each one of us is willing to participate in shaping the future of this nation. Mustis election year, we define the common good and begin future. Shape a common let each person do his or her part. If one citizen is unwilling to participate, all of us are going to suffer. Idea, though it is shared by all of us, is realized in each one of us. [applause] now, for those of us who are elected Public Officials supposed to do . We call earth cells Public Servants but i will tell you this servants, must set an example for the rest of the nation. [applause] it is hypocritical for the public official to admonish and ignore the people who uphold the common good if we are derelict in upholding the common good. [applause] more is required, more is required of Public Officials than slogans and handshakes and press releases. More is required. We must hold ourselves strictly accountable. We must provide the people with a vision of the future. If we promise, as Public Officials, we must deliver. [applause] if we as Public Officials propose, we must produce. Peopleay to the american , it is time for you to be , if theial, sacrifice public official says that, we must be the first to give. [applause] we must be. Again, if we make mistakes, we must be willing to admit them. We have to do that. [applause] what we have to do is strike a balance between the idea that government should do everything and the idea, the belief, that government is nothing [indiscernible] let there be no allusions. About the difficulty of forming this kind of National Community. Easy tough, difficult, not but a spirit of harmony will survive in america only if each of us remembers that we share a common destiny. Whench of us remembers selfinterest and bitterness seem to prevail, that we share a common destiny. That we candence form this kind of National Community. I have confidence that the Democratic Party can lead the way. I have that confidence. [applause] we cannot improve on the system of government handed down to us by the founders of the republic. There is no way to improve upon that, but what we can do is to find new ways to implement that system and realize our destiny. Now, i began this speech by commenting to you on the uniqueness of a Barbara Jordan making a keynote address. Well, i am going to close my speech by quoting a republican president and i ask you that as you listen to these words of abraham lincoln, relate them to the concept of a National Community in which every last one of us participates as i would not be a slave, so i would not be a master. [applause] this this expresses my idea of democracy. Whatever differs from this, to the extent of the difference, is no democracy. Thank you. [applause] eight years later, mario cuomo deliver the keynote speech to democrats. He was governor of new york and went on to serve terms. Earlier, cuomo tied for his class at law school. And was elected as Lieutenant Governor of new york. The 1984 Democratic National convention was held in san francisco. Thank you very much. On behalf of the great empire state and the whole family of new york, let me thank you for the great privilege of being able to address this convention. Please allow me to skip the stories and the poetry and the temptation to deal in nice but vague rhetoric. Let me instead use this valuable opportunity to deal immediately with the questions that should determine this election and that we all know are vital to the American People. Ten days ago, president reagan admitted that although some people in this country seemed to be doing well nowadays, others were unhappy, even worried, about themselves, their families, and their futures. The president said that he didnt understand that fear. He said, why, this country is a shining city on a hill. And the president is right. In many ways we are a shining city on a hill. But the hard truth is that not everyone is sharing in this citys splendor and glory. A shining city is perhaps all the president sees from the portico of the white house and the veranda of his ranch, where everyone seems to be doing well. But theres another city, theres another part to the shining city, the part where some people cant pay their mortgages, and most young people cant afford one, where students cant afford the education they need, and middleclass parents watch the dreams they hold for their children evaporate. In this part of the city there are more poor than ever, more families in trouble, more and more people who need help but cant find it. Even worse, there are elderly people who tremble in the basements of the houses there. And there are people who sleep in the city streets, in the gutter, where the glitter doesnt show. There are ghettos where thousands of young people, without a job or an education, give their lives away to drug dealers every day. There is despair, mr. President , in the faces that you dont see, in the places that you dont visit in your shining city. In fact, mr. President , this is a nation [applause] mr. President you ought to know that this nation is more a tale of two cities than it is just a shining city on a hill. [applause] maybe, maybe, mr. President , if you visited some more places, maybe if you went to appalachia where some people still live in sheds, maybe if you went to lackawanna where thousands of unemployed Steel Workers wonder why we subsidized foreign steel. [applause] maybe maybe, mr. President , if you stopped in at a shelter in chicago and spoke to the homeless there, maybe, mr. President , if you asked a woman who had been denied the help she needed to feed her children because you said you needed the money for a tax break for a millionaire or for a missile we couldnt afford to use. [applause] maybe maybe, mr. President. But im afraid not. Because the truth is, ladies and gentlemen, that this is how we were warned it would be. President reagan told us from the very beginning that he believed in a kind of social darwinism. Survival of the fittest. Government cant do everything, we were told, so it should settle for taking care of the strong and hope that economic ambition and charity will do the rest. Make the rich richer, and what falls from the table will be enough for the middle class and those who are trying desperately to work their way into the middle class. [applause] you know, the republicans called it trickledown when hoover tried it. Now they call it supply side. But its the same shining city for those relative few who are lucky enough to live in its good neighborhoods. But for the people who are excluded, for the people who are locked out, all they can do is stare from a distance at that citys glimmering towers. Its an old story. Its as old as our history. The difference between democrats and republicans has always been measured in courage and confidence. The republicans [applause] the republicans believe that the wagon train will not make it to the frontier unless some of the old, some of the young, some of the weak are left behind by the side of the trail. [applause] the strong the strong, they tell us, will inherit the land. We democrats believe in something else. We democrats believe that we can make it all the way with the whole family intact, and we have more than once. [applause] ever since Franklin Roosevelt lifted himself from his wheelchair to lift this nation from its knees wagon train after wagon train to new frontiers of education, housing, peace, the whole family aboard, constantly reaching out to extend and enlarge that family, lifting them up into the wagon on the way, blacks and hispanics, and people of every ethnic group, and native americans all those struggling to build their families and claim some small share of america. For nearly 50 years we carried them all to new levels of comfort, and security, and dignity, even affluence. And remember this, some of us in this room today are here only because this nation had that kind of confidence. And it would be wrong to forget that. So, here we are at this convention to remind ourselves where we come from and to claim the future for ourselves and for our children. Today our great Democratic Party, which has saved this nation from depression, from fascism, from racism, from corruption, is called upon to do it again, this time to save the nation from confusion and division, from the threat of eventual fiscal disaster, and most of all from the fear of a Nuclear Holocaust. [applause] thats not going to be easy. Mo udall is exactly right it wont be easy. And in order to succeed, we must answer our opponents polished and appealing rhetoric with a more telling reasonableness and rationality. We must win this case on the merits. We must get the American Public to look past the glitter, beyond the showmanship to the reality, the hard substance of things. And well do it not so much with speeches that sound good as with speeches that are good and sound, not so much with speeches that will bring people to their feet as with speeches that will bring people to their senses. We must make [applause] we must make the American People hear our tale of two cities. We must convince them that we dont have to settle for two cities. That we can have one city, indivisible, shining for all of its people. Now [applause] we will have no chance to do that if what comes out of this convention is a babel of arguing voices. If thats whats heard throughout the campaign, dissident sounds from all sides, we will have no chance to tell our message. To succeed we will have to surrender some small parts of our individual interests, to build a platform that we can all stand on, at once, and comfortably, proudly singing out. [applause] we need we need a platform we can all agree to so that we can sing out the truth for the nation to hear, in chorus, its logic so clear and commanding that no slick madison avenue commercial, no amount of geniality, no martial music will be able to muffle the sound of the truth. And we democrats must unite. We democrats must unite so that the entire nation can unite, because surely the republicans wont bring this country together. Their policies divide the nation into the lucky and the leftout, into the royalty and the rabble. The republicans are willing to treat that division as victory. They would cut this nation in half, into those temporarily better off and those worse off than before, and they would call that division recovery. Now, we should not we should not be embarrassed or dismayed or chagrined if the process of unifying is difficult, even wrenching at times. Remember that, unlike any other party, we embrace men and women of every color, every creed, every orientation, every economic class. In our family are gathered everyone from the abject poor of essex county in new york, to the enlightened affluent of the gold coasts at both ends of the nation. And in between is the heart of our constituency the middle class, the people not rich enough to be worryfree, but not poor enough to be on welfare, welfare. [applause] the middle class those people who work for a living because they have to, not because some psychiatrist told them it was a convenient way to fill the interval between birth and eternity. [applause] white collar and blue collar. Young professionals. Men and women in Small Business desperate for the capital and contracts that they need to prove their worth. We speak for the minorities who have not yet entered the mainstream. We speak for ethnics who want to add their culture to the magnificent mosaic that is america. We speak [applause] we speak for women who are indignant that this nation refuses to etch into its governmental commandments the simple rule thou shalt not sin against equality, a rule so simple [applause] i was going to say and i perhaps dare not, but i will. Its a commandment so simple it can be spelled in three letters. E. R. A. [applause] we speak we speak for young people demanding an education and a future. We speak for Senior Citizens. We speak for Senior Citizens who are terrorized by the idea that their only security, their Social Security, is being threatened. We speak for millions of reasoning people fighting to preserve our environment from greed and from stupidity. [applause] and we speak for reasonable people who are fighting to preserve our very existence from a macho intransigence that refuses to make intelligent attempts to discuss the possibility of Nuclear Holocaust with our enemy. [applause] they refuse. They refuse, because they believe we can pile missiles so high that they will pierce the clouds and the sight of them will frighten our enemies into submission. Now were proud of this diversity as democrats. Were grateful for it. We dont have to manufacture it the way the republicans will next month in dallas, by propping up mannequin delegates on the convention floor. [applause] but we, while were proud of this diversity, we pay a price for it. The different people that we represent have different points of view. And sometimes they compete and even debate, and even argue. Thats what our primaries were all about. But now the primaries are over and it is time, when we pick our candidates and our platform here, to lock arms and move into this campaign together. [applause] if you need any more inspiration to put some small part of your own difference aside to create this consensus, then all you need to do is to reflect on what the republican policy of divide and cajole has done to this land since 1980. Now the president has asked the American People to judge him on whether or not hes fulfilled the promises he made four years ago. I believe, as democrats, we ought to accept that challenge. And just for a moment let us consider what he has said and what hes done. Inflation inflation is down since 1980, but not because of the supplyside miracle promised to us by the president. Inflation was reduced the oldfashioned way, with a recession, the worst sense 1932. 1932. Ce now how did we we could have brought inflation down that way. How did he do it . 55,000 bankruptcies, two years of massive unemployment, 200,000 farmers and ranchers forced off the land. More homeless more homeless than at any time since the Great Depression in 1932, more hungry, in this world of enormous affluence, the United States of america, more hungry, more poor, most of them women. And and he paid one other thing, a nearly 200 billion deficit threatening our future. Now, we must make the American People understand this deficit because they dont. The president s deficit is a direct and dramatic repudiation of his promise in 1980 to balance the budget by 1983. How large is it . The deficit is the largest in the history of the universe. It president carters last budget had a deficit less than one third of this deficit. It is a deficit that, according to the president s own fiscal adviser, may grow to as much 300 billion a year for as far as the eye can see. And, ladies and gentlemen, it is a debt so large that it is almost onehalf of the money we collect from the personal income tax each year goes just to pay the interest. It is a mortgage on our childrens future that can be paid only in pain and that could bring this nation to its knees. Now dont take my word for it im a democrat. Ask the republican Investment Bankers on wall street what they think the chances of this recovery being permanent are. [applause] you see, if theyre not too embarrassed to tell you the truth, theyll say that theyre appalled and frightened by the president s deficit. Ask them what they think of our economy, now that its been driven by the distorted value of the dollar back to its colonial condition. Now were exporting Agricultural Products and importing manufactured ones. Ask those republican Investment Bankers what they expect the rate of interest to be a year from now. And ask them if they dare tell you the truth youll learn from them what they predict for the inflation rate a year from now, because of the deficit. Now, how important is this question of the deficit . Think about it practically. What chance would the republican candidate have had in 1980 if he had told the American People that he intended to pay for his socalled economic recovery with bankruptcies, unemployment, more homeless, more hungry, and the largest Government Debt known to humankind . If he had told the voters in 1980 that truth, would American Voters have signed the loan certificate for him on election day . Of course not. That was an election won under false pretenses. It was won with smoke and mirrors and illusions. And thats the kind of recovery we have now as well. [applause] but what about Foreign Policy . They said that they would make us and the whole world safer. They say they have. By creating the largest Defense Budget in history, one that even they now admit is excessive by escalating to a frenzy the nuclear arms race, by incendiary rhetoric, by refusing to discuss peace with our enemies, by the loss of 279 Young Americans in lebanon in pursuit of a plan and a policy that no one can find or describe. [applause] we give money to latin american governments that murder nuns, and then we lie about it. [applause] we have been less than zealous in support of our only real friend it seems to me, in the middle east the one democracy there, our flesh and blood ally, the state of israel. [applause] our our policy our Foreign Policy drifts with no real direction, other than an hysterical commitment to an arms race that leads nowhere if were lucky. And if were not, it could lead us into bankruptcy or war. Of course we must have a strong defense. Of course democrats are for a strong defense. Of course democrats believe that there are times that we must stand and fight. And we have. Thousands of us have paid for freedom with our lives. But always when this country has been at its best our purposes were clear. Now theyre not. Now our allies are as confused as our enemies. Now we have no real commitment to our friends or to our ideals not to human rights, not to the refuseniks, not to sakharov, not to bishop tutu and the others struggling for freedom in south africa. [applause] we we have in the last few years spent more than we can afford. We have pounded our chests and made bold speeches. But we lost 279 Young Americans in lebanon and we live behind sand bags in washington. How can anyone say that we are safer, stronger, or better . [applause] that that is the republican record. That its disastrous quality is not more fully understood by the American People i can only attribute to the president s amiability and the failure by some to separate the salesman from the product. And now [applause] now its up to us. Now its up to you and to me to make the case to america. And to remind americans that if they are not happy with all that the president has done so far, they should consider how much worse it will be if he is left to his radical proclivities for another four years unrestrained. Unrestrained. [applause] now, if if july if july brings back Ann Gorsuch Burford , what can we expect of december . [applause] where would where would another four years take us . Where would four years more take us . How much larger will the deficit be . How much deeper the cuts in programs for the struggling middle class and the poor to limit that deficit . How high will the Interest Rates be . How much more acid rain killing our forests and fouling our lakes . And, ladies and gentlemen, please think of this the nation must think of this what kind of Supreme Court will we have . [applause] please. We we must ask ourselves what kind of court and country will be fashioned by the man who believes in having government mandate peoples religion and morality, the man who believes that trees pollute the environment, the man that believes that that the laws against discrimination against people go too far, a man who threatens Social Security and medicaid and help for the disabled. How high will we pile the missiles . How much deeper will the gulf be between us and our enemies . And, ladies and gentlemen, will four years more make meaner the spirit of the American People . This election will measure the record of the past four years. But more than that, it will answer the question of what kind of people we want to be. We democrats still have a dream. We still believe in this nations future. And this is our answer to the question. This is our credo. We believe in only the government we need, but we insist on all the government we need. [applause] we believe in a government that is characterized by fairness and reasonableness, a reasonableness that goes beyond labels, that doesnt distort or promise to do things that we know we cant do. We believe in a government Strong Enough to use words like love and compassion and smart enough to convert our noblest aspirations into practical realities. We believe in encouraging the talented, but we believe that while survival of the fittest may be a good working description of the process of evolution, a government of humans should elevate itself to a higher order. [applause] we our our government our government should be able to rise to the level where it can fill the gaps that are left by chance or by a wisdom we dont fully understand. We would rather have laws written by the patron of this great city, the man called the worlds most sincere democrat, st. Francis of assisi, than laws written by darwin. [applause] we believe we believe as democrats, that a society as blessed as ours, the most affluent democracy in the worlds history, one that can spend trillions on instruments of destruction, ought to be able to help the middle class in its struggle, ought to be able to find work for all who can do it, room at the table, shelter for the homeless, care for the elderly and infirm, and hope for the destitute. And we proclaim as loudly as we can the utter insanity of Nuclear Proliferation and the need for a nuclear freeze, if only to affirm the simple truth that peace is better than war because life is better than death. [applause] we believe in firm we believe in firm but fair law and order. We believe proudly in the union movement. We believe in a [applause] we believe we believe in privacy for people, openness by government. We believe in civil rights, and we believe in human rights. We believe in a single we believe in a single fundamental idea that describes better than most textbooks and any speech that i could write what a proper government should be. The idea of family, mutuality, the sharing of benefits and burdens for the good of all, feeling one anothers pain, sharing one anothers blessings reasonably, honestly, fairly, without respect to race, or sex, or geography, or political affiliation. We believe we must be the family of america, recognizing that at the heart of the matter we are bound one to another, that the problems of a retired School Teacher in duluth are our problems, that the future of the child that the future of the child in buffalo is our future, that the struggle of a disabled man in boston to survive and live decently is our struggle, that the hunger of a woman in little rock is our hunger, that the failure anywhere to provide what reasonably we might, to avoid pain, is our failure. Now for 50 years for 50 years we democrats created a Better Future for our children, using Traditional Democratic principles as a fixed beacon, giving us direction and purpose, but constantly innovating, adapting to new realities. Alphabet programs, trumans nato and the gi bill of rights, kennedys intelligent tax incentives and the alliance for progress, johnsons civil rights, carters human rights and the nearly miraculous camp david peace accord. Democrats did it. [applause] democrats did it and democrats can do it again. We can build a future that deals with our deficit. Remember this, that 50 years of progress under our principles never cost us what the last four years of stagnation have. [applause] and we can deal with the deficit intelligently, by shared sacrifice, with all parts of the nations family contributing, Building Partnerships with the private sector, providing a sound defense without depriving ourselves of what we need to feed our children and care for our people. We can have a future that provides for all the young of the present, by marrying common sense and compassion. We know we can, because we did it for nearly 50 years before 1980. And we can do it again, if we do not forget if we do not forget that this entire nation has profited by these progressive principles, that they helped lift up generations to the middle class and higher, that they gave us a chance to work, to go to college, to raise a family, to own a house, to be secure in our old age and, before that, to reach heights that our own parents would not have dared dream of. That struggle to live with dignity is the real story of the shining city. And its a story, ladies and gentlemen, that i didnt read in a book, or learn in a classroom. I saw it and lived it, like many of you. I watched a small man with thick calluses on both his hands work 15 and 16 hours a day. I saw him once literally bleed from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all i needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example. I learned about our kind of democracy from my father. And i learned about our obligation to each other from him and my mother. They asked only for a chance to work and to make the world better for their children. [applause] and they they asked to be protected in those moments when they would not be able to protect themselves. This nation and this nations government did that for them. And that they were able to build a family and live in dignity and see one of their children go from behind their Little Grocery store in south jamaica on the other side of the tracks where he was born, to occupy the highest seat, in the greatest state, in the greatest nation, in the only world we would know, is an ineffably beautiful tribute to the democratic process. And ladies and gentlemen, on january 20, 1985, it will happen again only on a much, much grander scale. We will have a new president of the United States. A democrat born not to the blood of kings but to the blood of pioneers and immigrants. And we will have americas first woman Vice President , the child of immigrants. [applause] and she she she will open with one magnificent stroke, a whole new frontier for the United States. Now, it will happen. It will happen if we make it happen, if you and i make it happen. And i ask you now, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, for the good of all of us, for the love of this great nation, for the family of america, for makeove of god, please this nation remember how futures are built. Thank you and god bless you. [applause] and richards was texas state treasurer when she spoke at the Democratic National convention in 1988 and later became governor of texas. Her first job after graduating Baylor University was teaching history at junior high school. She served on the local planning and Zoning Commission and was later elected to a county panel to set tax rates. She gave the keynote address in atlanta. Thank you. S thank you. Thank you. Thank you. , very much. Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. Buenas noches, mis amigos. Im delighted to be here with you this evening, because after listening to george bush all these years, i figured you needed to know what a real texas accent sounds like. [applause] twelve years ago Barbara Jordan, another texas woman [applause] barbara made the keynote address to this convention, and two women in 160 years is about par for the course. But if you give us a chance, we can perform. After all, Ginger Rogers did everything that fred astaire did. She just did it backwards and in high heels. [applause] i want to announce to this nation that in a little more than 100 days, the reagan, meese, dever, nofziger, poindexter, north, weinberger, lavelle,such, noriega, haig, bork, george bush era will be over. [applause] you know, tonight i feel a little like i did when i played basketball in the eighth grade. I thought i looked real cute in my uniform. And then i heard a boy yell from the bleachers, make that basket, bird legs. [laughter] and my greatest fear is that same guy is somewhere out there in the audience tonight, and hes going to cut me down to size, because where i grew up there really wasnt much tolerance for selfimportance, people who put on airs. I was born during the depression in a Little Community just outside waco, and i grew up listening to Franklin Roosevelt on the radio. [applause] well, it was back then that i came to understand the small truths and the hardships that bind neighbors together. Those were real people with real problems and they had real dreams about getting out of the depression. I can remember Summer Nights when wed put down what we called the baptist pallet, and we listened to the grownups talk. I can still hear the sound of the dominoes clicking on the marble slab my daddy had found for a tabletop. I can still hear the laughter of the men telling jokes you werent supposed to hear talkin about how big that old buck deer was, laughin about mama puttin clorox in the well when the frog fell in. They talked about war and washington and what this country needed. They talked straight talk. And it came from people who were living their lives as best they could. And thats what were going to do tonight. Were going to tell how the cow ate the cabbage. [applause] i got a letter last week from a young mother in lorena, texas, and i wanna read part of it to you. She writes, our worries go from pay day to pay day, just like millions of others. And we have two fairly decent incomes, but i worry how im going to pay the rising Car Insurance and food. I pray my kids dont have a growth spurt from august to december, so i dont have to buy new jeans. We buy clothes at the Budget Stores and we have them fray and fade and stretch in the first wash. We ponder and try to figure out how were going to pay for college and braces and tennis shoes. We dont take vacations and we dont go out to eat. Please dont think me ungrateful. We have jobs and a nice place to live, and were healthy. Were the people you see every day in the grocery stores, and we obey the laws. We pay our taxes. We fly our flags on holidays and we plod along trying to make it better for ourselves and our children and our parents. We arent vocal any more. I think maybe were too tired. I believe that People Like Us are forgotten in america. Well of course you believe youre forgotten, because you have been. [applause] this Republican Administration treats us as if we were pieces of a puzzle that cant fit together. Theyve tried to put us into compartments and separate us from each other. Their political theory is divide and conquer. Theyve suggested time and time again that what is of interest to one group of americans is not of interest to any one else. Weve been isolated. Weve been lumped into that sad phraseology called special interests. Theyve told farmers that they were selfish, that they would drive up food prices if they asked the government to intervene on behalf of the family farm, and we watched farms go on the Auction Block while we bought food from foreign countries. s wrong. T [applause] they told working mothers its all their fault their families are falling apart because they had to go to work to keep their kids in jeans and tennis shoes and college. And they are wrong. They told American Labor they were trying to ruin Free Enterprise by asking for 60 days notice of plant closings, and thats wrong. [applause] and they told the Auto Industry and the Steel Industry and the Timber Industry and the oil industry, companies being threatened by foreign products flooding this country, that youre protectionist if you think the government should enforce our trade laws. And that is wrong. When they belittle us for demanding clean air and clean water, for trying to save the oceans and the ozone layer, thats wrong. [applause] no wonder we feel isolated and confused. We want answers and their answer is that something is wrong with you. Well, nothings wrong with you. Nothings wrong with you that you cant fix in november. Weve been told weve been told that the interests of the south and the southwest are not the same interests as the north and the northeast. They pit one group against the other. Theyve divided this country and in our isolation we think government isnt going to help us, and were alone in our feelings. We feel forgotten. Well, the fact is that we are not an isolated piece of their puzzle. We are one nation. We are the United States of america. Leaders get what i dont want to remember. Leaders who dont forget what they dont want to remember. For eight years, george bush hasnt displayed the slightest interest in anything we care about. Now that he is after a job that he cant get appointed to [applause] he is like columbus discovering america. [laughter] he found childcare. [laughter] he found education. Poor george. [laughter] he cant help it. [laughter] he was born with a silver foot in his mouth. [laughter] [applause] no wonder no wonder we cant figure it out. Because the leadership of this nation is telling us one thing on tv and doing something entirely different. That they are fighting a war against terrorists. Then we find out that the white house is selling arms to the ayatollah. They tell us that they are fighting a war on drugs. Tv andople come on deaify that the cia and the and the fbi knew they were flying drugs into america all along. They are negotiating with a dictator who was shoveling cocaine into this country like crazy. I guess that is their Central American strategy. They tell us that employment rates are great. And that they are for equal opportunity. But we know it takes two paychecks to make ends meet today when it used to take one. The opportunity they are so proud of his lowwage deadend jobs. There is no major city in america where you cannot see homeless men sitting in parking that say ig signs will work for food. My friends, we really are at a crucial part in american history. Under this administration, we have devoted our resources into making this country a military colossus. Our economic lines of defense fall into disrepair. The death of this nation the debt of this nation is greater than it has ever been in our history. On lessht a world war than the republicans have built up in the last eight years. It is kind of like the brotherinlaw. Who drives a flashy new car but he is always borrowing money from you to make the payments. The thing they are proudest of is their stand on defense. We are committed to a Strong America and when our leaders say to us we need a new weapon system, our inclination is to say they must be right. When we pay billions for airplanes that wont fly, billions for tanks that wont fire and billions for systems that wont work, that old dog wont hunt. [laughter] [applause] you dont have to be from waco to know that when the pentagon makes people rich and doesnt make america strong, it is a bum deal. [applause] i am really glad that our young the depression and the great big war. I do regret that they missed the leaders i knew. Leaders who told us when things were tough and would have to sacrifice. That these difficulties might last for a while. They didnt tell us things were hard for us because we were different. Or isolated. Or special interest. Together andus they gave us a sense of national purpose. Security andsocial they told us they were setting up a system where we could pay our own money in and when the time came for our retirement, we can take the money out. Areas werehe rural told that we deserve to have electric lights and they were going to harness the energy that was necessary to give us electricity so my grandmother didnt have to carry the lamp around. They told us they were going to guarantee will be put our money in the bank the money was going to be there and it was going to be insured. They did not lie. [applause] i think of the saving graces of democrats is that we are candid. We Talk Straight talk. We tell people what we think. That tradition and those values dukakisay and michael from massachusetts. [applause] Michael Dukakis knows that this country is on the edge of a great new era. We are not afraid of change. For thoughtful, truth behind his column, there is an inpatients to unify this country and to get on with the future. His instincts are deeply american. They are tough. They are generous. You. Nally, i have to tell had a never met a man who more remarkable sense about what is really important in life. Then, there is my friend and my teacher for many years, senator lloyd benson. [applause] both as a be prouder texan and as a democrat, because lloyd benson understands america. From the barrio to the board room. He knows how to bring us together. By regions, by economics, and by example. He has already beaten george bush once. [applause] when it comes down to it, this election is a contest between those who are satisfied with what they have and those who know we can do better. That is what this election is really all about. Its about the American Dream. Those who want to keep it for knows itnd those who must be nurtured and passed along. [applause] i am a grandmother now. Have one nearly perfect granddaughter named lily. Grandbaby, ihat feel the continuity of life that unites us. Defines generation to generation. It ties us with each other. Sometimes, i spread the pallet out on the floor and we roll the ball back and forth. I think of all the families like mine. Like the ones who nurture children all across america. Lily, i know that it is within families that we learn both the need to respect individual she meant dignity and to Work Together for our common good within our families. Within our nation. It is the same. , i wonder if she will ever grasp the changes i have seen in my life. If she will ever believe there was a time when blacks could not drink from public water fountains. When hispanic children were punished for speaking spanish in the public schools. And women could not vote. [no audio] [applause] i want so much to tell lily how far we have come, you would not. You and i. As the ball rolls back and forth, i want to tell her how lucky she is. For all of our differences, we are still the greatest nation on this good earth. [applause] our strength lies in the men and day, who go to work every who struggled to balance their family and jobs. And who should never ever be forgotten. [applause] i just hope that like her grandparents and her great karen pence greatgrandparents before, the lily goes on to raise her kids with the promise that echoes in homes all across america. And thatan do better is what this election is all about. Thank you very much. [applause] [applause] cspan has covered every minute of every Political Convention since 1984. Manyideo library includes more hours of conventions. As the Democratic National convention is underway, watch more of the historical speeches on cspan. Org d c. This evening is the last night of the Democratic Convention where joe biden will accept his partys nomination. Leading up to our live coverage, watch speeches from prominent democrat politicians from previous conventions. Past Convention Speeches today at 6 p. M. Eastern. Next week, watch more archival speeches from the republican National Convention only on cspan, your unfiltered view of politics. Heres whats coming up on cspan. California governor gavin newsom and others talk about issues they are focused on in 2021 including police reform, climate change, and health care. Watch that live in just a few minutes. You can see it right here on cspan. Also, President Trump will be delivering remarks in pennsylvania. The hometown of joe biden. His remarks coincide with the final day of the 2020 National Convention. Watch the president life beginning at 3 p. M. Eastern also here on cspan, online at cspan. Org or listen live with the free cspan radio app. Heres a picture from milwaukee where the democrat National Convention is going on. Tonight is the final night with joe biden accepting his formal nomination. He will be accepting his nomination from here in wilmington, delaware. It means the world to me and my family and i will see one thursday. Thank you thank you thank you. Tonight is the last night of virtualic first ever credit National Convention. Watch our coverage tonight with joe bidens acceptance speech and speeches by Putin Buttigieg buttigieg, keisha lance bottoms. Watch our coverage of the Democratic National convention tonight at 9 p. M. Eastern, live streaming, and ondemand at cspan. Org. Or listen on the free span free cspan radio app. You today. S for u. S. District court judge has thrown out a lawsuit seeking to block the release of President Trumps tax records to the district attorney. A federal judge cleared the way for the federal top prosecutor to get donald trump tax returnees tech tax returns. Blocking an effort by his attorneys. President trumps attorneys immediately appealed the decision in a Second Circuit court of appeals. The ruling echoed his prior decision in the case. That was upheld by the u. S. Supreme court last month. You can read more about this development online. Bannon and three others were charged with fraud in connection to the we built the wall fundraising effort. The Washington Post writing today the prosecutor said mr. Bannon and other organizers claimed they would not take any compensation as part of the campaign. That was a lie. Bannontors allege steve received 1 million for property he controlled. Read more at Washington Post. Com. President trump commented on the arrest earlier today. What was your reaction to the indictment of steve bannon . I feel very badly. The havent been dealing with him for a long time. As most of the people in this room know. He was involved in our campaign. He worked for goldman sachs, he worked for a lot of companies. He was involved in our campaign. For a small part of the administration very early on. I havent been dealing with him at all. I know nothing about the project other than that i didnt like it. I said this is for government, this isnt for private people. It sounded to me like showboating and i think i let my opinion be strongly stated at the time. Maybe it was looking for funds. You will have to see what happens. I think it is a very sad thing for mr. Bannon. It is surprising, but this was something as you note just by reading social media and whatever it is and speaking to mike a
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