growth. also, i'm very old-fashioned. i think the stock market is a pretty good predictor of business. the stock market slumped badly when the fed tightened a year ago. softened.h, business now, the markets come back, the s&p 500 is up about 21% year to date. i think that is predicting much stronger business conditions for the next year or so. i've got to get an overcoat and gloves. thank. -- thank you. ♪ >> contenders for the 2020 democratic presidential nomination will speak here at the iowa democratic party's annual liberty and justice celebration dinner in the state capital of des moines. ♪

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♪ ["sweet caroline" by neil

diamond plays] ♪

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>> good evening and welcome to the 2019 liberty and justice celebration hosted by the iowa democratic party. guests, dinner is now served. ♪

♪ >> the 2019 liberty and justice celebration will begin in five minutes. please silence your cell phones and make your way to your seats.

don't forget to join the conversation on social media by using our #lj19. ♪

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♪ ♪ >> please rise and remain standing as we honor america with the presentation of our colors. please welcome to the stage members of the iowa democratic

party's veterans caucus. >> iowa democrats, to sing our national anthem, please welcome -- [cheering] o say can you see by the dawn's early light hailed proudly we

last gleamingt's whose broad stripes and bright stars perilous fight watched ramparts we were so gallantly streaming the rockets' red glare thethe bombs bursting in air gave proof through the night that our flag was still there o, say does that star-spangled banner yet wave o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave! ♪

[cheering] [applause] >> [crowd chanting "u.s.a.!"] [crowd chanting] [general chatter]

>> please be seated. invocation, please welcome reverend abraham fun chess -- funchess. me for a moment of prayer. god of heaven and earth, suite holy spirit, today, we thank you for your love for us. tremendousu for this

gathering, this historic celebration. thank you that your love is poured into every intricate aspect of creation and released to live within our hearts here on this side of the purple heroes of eternity. we come together as your children, brothers and sisters sisters of all hues and stripes, of all variety of difference, to lift you high over our lives. thank you that your love can bring great change, hope, and life to all. in the words of st. francis of a make me ansis, instrument of your peace, where there is hatred, let me sow love, where there is injury, pardon, where there is doubt, faith, where there is despair, hope, where there is darkness, light, where there is sadness, joy. granted that i may not so much

seek to be consoled as to console, to be understood as to understand, and to be loved as to love. for it is in pardoning that we are pardoned and it is in dying to the self that we are born for unstoppable life. in the name of love, amen. [applause] thank you. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ >> iowa democrats, get on your feet and welcome to the stage your chairman, troy price! ♪

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>> good evening, iowa democrats! [loud cheering] it is my honor and it is my pleasure to welcome you to the iowa democratic party's 2019 liberty and justice celebration. i wish you could be down here tonight to see what i can see. you know, it was only three had one of thewe most devastating elections in our party's history. [loud booing] at that time, people said that our party was dead, but we are here tonight, 13,000 people saying the iowa democratic party

is not going anywhere. [cheers and applause] before we begin, i want to acknowledge a few people who are here with us this evening. we are so fortunate in this party to have so many amazing, outstanding volunteer leaders who work hard every day to build our party. our county chairs, district chairs, our state central committee members, including our vice chairs who are doing the hard work every day to build our party. --ase join me every day please join me in thanking them for all their hard work. [applause] tonight on there shoulders of those who came before us. people like congressman neal smith, former attorney general bonnie campbell, former lieutenant governor sally

, theson and patty judge father of the [applause] thank you for the work you have done to build our party. joinedalso honored to be by outstanding leaders from across this country working hard to build our party. eight state party chairs in the room, the head of young democrats of america, several members of congress, and tom perez. please give them a hearty iowa welcome. and we are joined by a number of

great, outstanding officials and legislators, as well as those hoping to join their ranks, working hard out there to live our values and enact our values, so join me in thanking them for all the hard work they do. [applause] thank the i want to outstanding staff here at the iowa event to center, the outstanding staff of the iowa democratic party, now organized under the teamsters. [applause] mr. price: i want to thank all of them for making this event possible. a moment toto take acknowledge someone who will not be here this evening. dropped outo'rourke of the race this afternoon. i want to say thank you to

o'rourke for what you brought to this conversation. [applause] i want to thank all of his supporters who worked so hard behind the cause. moment oftake a personal privilege to thank my parents you are here this evening. as well as my long-suffering husband eric, who has to put up with way too much to allow me to do this job. finally, i want to thank all of you for being here. dinnerw, it was at this one year ago that we talked about the promise of our party. we ask all of you to believe in this party and believe in iowa. we ask you to believe in the farmers of pottawattamie county,

who toil until their hands ache. we ask you to believe in the nurses and home health personnel who stay up late to take care of those around us. thek you to believe in schoolteachers of cedar rapids, and the little he coaches who give everything they have got for our kids. and we ask you to believe in the veterans of waterloo and the first responders in devonport, who we honor for their service. we ask you to believe in students, seniors, factory workers, and freelancers. we asked you to believe in all iowans, in iowa, and you did. because of you, we help change this state. historyof you, we made

by reelecting -- and giving him a little help along the way. iowae first two women from to ever hold such a position. [applause] you gave our the statehouse by electing our new state auditor. [applause] we won victories up and down the ballot because you refuse to give up, so thank you all for the work that you have done. now it could have been easy, it could have been easy the day after the election for us to sit back and say that was pretty good. we will just take the rest of the year off. that is not what we do.

that is not who i would democrats are. we hired organizers earlier. we started to reach out to communities whose voices are not heard in our party. we started building out our infrastructure. i am proud to say that work is paying off. you can see it all across the state, in communities large and small. in the work of people like robin stone, the chair of the delaware county democrats. [applause] mr. price: who has over the time of her tenure increased her meetings to over 100 in a rural county. she is battling cancer and could not be with us here tonight, but i know all of us are praying for her speedy recovery, for her to get better, and we look forward to campaigning with her again soon. [applause] you see it in places like fairfield, where on the day

of the tournament watching iowa overflow state, and crowd came out for training because the second district knows we have to hold onto his seat. you see it. you see it in southwest iowa where democrats from 10 counties have come together to create the southwest iowa democrats, not just out there recruiting candidates, knocking doors, living our values, going out once a month to help those affected by devastating floods that have affected the western part of our state. you see them in places like o'brien county, where i was in august come away they had their first fundraiser in years, and more than 75 people showed up and came there because they were united in the same belief that we, the party, can and must do better to win up and down the ballot. all of these democrats, all of these democrats, and so many

more have stepped up because they know what is at stake with the selection. they don't want to sit on the sidelines. they want to take charge. the want to have a say in future of our state and our country. to my friends, i am here tell you tonight that our party is not just back, our party is back and stronger than ever. [applause] mr. price: i am proud to be an iowa democrat. when i look at this outstanding field of presidential candidates , i am even more proud. in a few minutes, you will hear from the candidates. over the last few months they have traveled our state and have been here multiple times. they have come to see what makes the state so special. ors not just the t-shirts the fried food at the iowa state

fair, they come back because they know that iowans know and believe in good old-fashioned organizing. and when we organize together, we went together -- win together. [applause] and so, here in iowa, we are not afraid of a little hard work, and that is a good thing, because we have a lot of work to do. for all of us here tonight planning to caucus, there are so many more we know not planning to do so. work,ee may be busy with staying up late to send their kids to college or pick grandma's medical bills. isy may be looking at what coming out of this white house, coming out of the republicans in congress and the state houses, saying, what is the point? my first ask for you this evening, folks, is go and talk

to your friends and neighbors about our party, our candidates, our caucuses, and the issues that affect their lives. make sure you give them a reason to come out and have their voice heard, because if they say they are tired of billionaires getting tax breaks and the farmers getting the shaft, you need to tell them it is the democratic party fighting for good jobs and putting dignity and food on everybody's table. [applause] they aren't sick and tired of drug companies robbing us blind, or quite frankly, if they are just plain sick, tell them it is the democratic party that is fighting for quality affordable health care for every single person in this country. that is an absolute human right. [applause] are angry if they that our teachers are being disrespected and our classrooms don't have enough money, you can tell them it is the democratic party that is

trying to show our teachers the respect they deserve and make sure every kid has the chance to reach their god-given potential. [applause] mr. price: if they are fed up with the unionbusting by republicans in the statehouse, tell them it is the democratic party fighting to support collective bargaining rights, fighting for workers rights, and to make sure every single worker's voice is heard in their workplace. [applause] youprice: if someone tells that they are tired of parts of this state being underwater for nine months and they don't understand why the weather is getting crazier, you can tell them it is the democratic party that believes in science and the democratic party that will fight climate change with every single thing we have got to. [applause] mr. price: you can tell him that we are the party that stands

with planned parenthood and we don't believe politicians should ever get in the way that a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. you can tell them that we are the party that is selecting record numbers of women, record numbers of peoples of color, people with disabilities, electing lgbtqi islands, because believes, because we our officials should look like iowa and like america. [applause] him that: you can tell democrats don't demonize refugees, we welcome them, because midwestern hospitality, midwestern hospitality and american values are not just for the few people who look a certain way, pray over certain way, they are for everyone. [applause] you can them that the

democratic party is the party that believes our best days are ahead, not behind us. you can talk to him all day. you can talk to him all day about what our party stands for, but ultimately it comes down to this, democrats stand not for the chosen few, but we stand for everyone, and that is what this election comes down to. tonight isecond ask that after you talk to your friends and neighbors, every single person in this room needs to make sure they are getting involved. you don't have to wait too long. days therer short are critical municipal and school board elections. i need everyone here to get out and vote. that, we need you to get involved in these caucuses,

not just to show up, but actively involved. if you have not made up your mind yet, you need to ask the candidates hard questions, talk to him about what you believe, what the values are of yourself and your state, and once you make a decision, i want you to go out and fight like hell, make those calls, knock those doors, and when we wake up on february 4 when the primary has moved to the great state of new we must come together as one. we must come together as democrats united, laser focused on rejecting the politics of fear and division we see coming out of the republican party and united to try to make sure we usher in the new era for our state and our country. democrats, time iowa

and we are all in this together. so if we go out there not those doors, make those phone calls, do the hard work, we will be able to change the state, take back the iowa legislature and make sure that we have the next speaker of the house on the next majority leader of the iowa senate. [applause] mr. price: i don't know about you, but i think it is time we have a fighter for working americans again in the united states senate, so let's send joni ernst to an early retirement and elect a democrat that will carry on tom harkin's legacy. [applause] sure wee: let us make keep fighting for all americans. that is why we must reelect candidates and sweep all four

congressional districts by winning the senate and sending steve king out on his rear end. [applause] let'sice: and let's, and put this question to rest once and for all. iowa is not a red state. state,, in fact, a blue so let's defeat donald trump and send him back to russia. buttime is up, everyone, our time is just beginning. iowans are counting on us. america is counting on us. the world is counting on us. roll up your sleeves and get to work as only iowans can. never stop, never quit, and remember when the iowa democratic party gets going, there is nothing in the world that can stop us. thank you all so much. ♪

>> i want to welcome the folks out there hard at work, our great statewide and federal candidates, tom miller for attorney general. ♪ >> state treasurer, mike fitzgerald. auditor, rob sand. the representatives of the first district, abby finkenauer. the representative from the --ond district, david the representative from the third district, cindy asby. your next speaker of the house, bob prichard. your next senate majority

leader, janet peterson. welcome our good friend running in the second district. friend who good would defeat steve king. and let's welcome the folks .orking to defeat joni ernst let's hear it for our outstanding officials. ♪ >> ♪ we are all in this together ♪ ♪

♪ >> thank you.

>> thank you. >> good job. >> thank you. >> not much. on most on. almost done. speaker, ourr next next speaker has been on the front lines fighting to bring democratic values to washington and to make a one term president. [applause] who hase: he is someone worked closely with his party, and tom perez has invested more money in the iowa democratic party in the last cycle than any time in history. he has been a good friend to our state, to me, and it is my honor and pleasure to introduce to you the chairman of the dnc, tom perez.

tom perez, please welcome dnc chairman, tom perez. [applause] ♪ >> can we give it up one more time? troy price. thank you, troy. mr. perez: thank you to the entire democratic party team.

it is honored to be at your liberty and justice dinner. it is an even bigger honor to be in a room full of committed democrats. [applause] mentorsz: including two of mine. this gentleman right here, mr. mentor, tomnator, harkin. can you please stand up one more time? [applause] mr. perez: thank you. please give it up for your former governor, my former mentor?colleague, and thank you, governor. [applause] again, a big shout

out to your congressional delegation. thank you so much. storming to victory because you knocked on doors. friend.u to my good thank you for your service, congressman. where did he go? thank you for everything you have done and best of luck. you don't know what the word retirement is. you will be knocking on doors every single day for democrats. thank you. the one-year is mark from the most in orton election of our lifetime, or to put it differently, one year until the weekend, ok? one year until the weekend. until the100 days most successful caucus in the history of the great state of iowa.

[applause] mr. perez: we are proud to be with you, to be part of it. ,e are organizing everywhere investing everywhere. and we are here for one reason, because we are democrats coming each and every one of us, one family, one team, one family, one team, and we have one year to defeat the worst president in the history of our country. [applause] folks, it: and the f is important to remember that you are not here just because you love your candidate, but you love your nation as well. and we want to take it back, and we will take it back. and there are three things we know for sure coming into tonight. an amazing we have deep bench of remarkable candidates.

let's give it up for all of them. [applause] game.rez: they have got they have got talent. their values are our values. number two, there will be one and only one nominee, folks. one person will make it to the mountaintop. can we give a special round of applause to beto o'rourke, who ran a spirited campaign? [applause] mr. perez: he wears his passion on his sleeve. thank you for stepping up. thank you for everything you have done and everything you fight for. so number two, that was number two. number three, folks, no matter who makes it to the mountaintop, we will come together and support them. we will come together and support him or her. that is what we are focused on,

folks, you 19 the party and building the best possible team to take on donald trump, because we know something, our unity is our greatest strength, and frankly, it is donald trump's worst fear. [applause] i have asked every single candidate to support our i amual nominee, and confident they will campaign with enthusiasm, because you know what, folks? every candidate you will hear from tonight, every candidate running for president understands this election is not about him, it is about our democracy. it is about something bigger. they understand that. we are training organizers across the country so our nominee, whoever he or she is --

i love saying that -- no matter who he or she is, because we are the most diverse field in american history -- we are training that army of organizers so they are ready to go. a bank ofveloped resumes for staffers, for campaigns, so our nominee will have the best and brightest pool of talent. we launched the democratic unity fund with my former boss, starting matt, a guy named barack obama. anyone else miss barack obama? [applause] continue: and we will to run a fair and transparent primary process, and we have put the grassroots front and center in the primary process. that is how barack obama won in 2008 and 2012, and that is how we will win in 2020. is ay the way, iowa

battleground state. to the bank. and you know, folks, because of the incredible surge of grassroots energy, we see an incredible surge in engagement. of blue,ven't heard all the emails asking you to donate in the candidates, that is -- blue. they reported their biggest hour of mobile giving in the third quarter of this year took place during the second hour of the september primary debate. that was their biggest hour. in other words, our candidates are inspiring voters. they had more unique donors in in 2019017 in 2018 -- then in 2017 and 18 combine. i know we will rally around our nominee.

why is that? because we all share the same values. that is what unites us. as democrats, we know america is at its best when we show kindness and compassion, not cruelty and -- i had the privilege of attending the funeral service last friday of elijah cummings, a fellow er -- can we give it up for elijah cummings? [applause] you know, as barack obama said during his stirring eulogy, there is nothing weak about compassion and kindness. we should always remember that. as folks, in a field incredible and deep as our field, you may not see your first choice when the nominations, but i'm here to

tell you something folks, the second, third, fourth, fifth, sixth, seventh, 17 to choice, ll of a lots a he better than donald trump, every single candidate, folks. further, i betp you could walk down the middle of 5th avenue and find a stranger and that person would be better than donald trump. [applause] you,erez: and i will tell you know, donald trump is not only the most dangerous president in american history, he is a symptom, folks, remember that. he is a symptom of a republican in moral decay. the party of lincoln is dead. it has been replaced by the party of trump, and joni ernst, and steve king. , vote.s, don't boo

you know. ladyolks, i love the first , when they code low, we go hi. when they code low, we go vote. when they go lower, we get our friends to vote. and that is how we win. and joni ernst sees the handwriting on the wall. she admitted she is worried that democrats will unseat her next year. she is one of the most unpopular and its in the country, is no secret why, just look at her record. she told voters in a campaign ad in 2014 that she was going to come to washington and go after the big spenders. well what did she do? to voted to give tax cuts big corporations that added billions of dollars to our deficit. she has gone after health care with preconditions.

she has stood by i delete appalling silence as america's farmers go through a once-in-a-lifetime crisis, exacerbated by this presidents reckless policies. this president is chronically infecting everything he touches, and he makes it worse. she is a trump puppet, plain and simple. when i was labor secretary, first friday of the month, we would report unemployment. the first friday of january, 2021, we will report the unemployment of journey ernst. -- thatwhat we will do joni ernst. that is what we will do. [applause] mr. perez: and then there is steve king. yeah. disgrace, not only to iowa, but america. thathis is a man who said

white supremacy wasn't offensive . this is a man who downplayed rape and insist and advocated for a complete ban on a woman's right to an abortion, a complete ban. this is a man, this is a man who calls immigrants dirt. , my parentsing weren't dirt. mr. king, dreamers aren't dirt. no human being is dirt, mr. king. [applause] corporal joséce gutierrez is not dirt. he was an immigrant from guatemala, came to this country, undocumented, got his status adjusted, enlisted in the u.s. army because he loves this country, enlisted as an illegal immigrant, made the ultimate

sacrifice, the first fatality in the most recent war in iraq, got his citizenship posthumously. he is not dirt, mr. king. [applause] know, it -- it -- i tell you, it is no coincidence that, you know, steve king shares the same name as one of america's most famous horror novelists, because he is one hell of a nightmare. stephen king wrote a book about an evil clown. i think steve king is that evil clown. and you know, unfortunately the nightmare that republicans like steve king create aren't fiction. they are very, very real, and they are danger to the people of iowa and to the people across

america, and all across this country the republican party is pushing an agenda that attacks women, that attacks communities of color, that attacks our farmers. they are attacking health care and retirement security. they are destroying our environment and leaving farmers to pick up the pieces, and at every single turn, this president has broken his promises. look what he promised to do in iowa. he promised to help farmers. he has given more ethanol waivers to big oil. that is not helping farmers. that is slapping him in the face. mr. president, actions speak louder than words, and your actions show you are no friend of american farmers, no friend to workers, and no friend to the american people. mr. president, canada is our friend. russia is not. a pell grantas

kid. i used to work on the back of a truck to make money in college. i know garbage when i see it. this administration is one big dumpster fire, my friends. one big dumpster fire. and so it is time for democratic leadership, nothing less than the fate of our democracy is at stake, and in these critical moments for our country, the american people have always looked to the democratic party to solve our problems and move our nation forward. democrats have always been dreamers and doers. we are the party that dreamed of a new deal, that seniors could retire with dignity, workers could form a union, and people would have social security. we dreamed of putting a man on the moon, and we did it. we believed in the automobile industry, and we saved it. thank you, barack obama.

thank you, democrats. no thanks to republicans. we inherited a great recession, and we ended it. that is what happens when you put democrats in charge, because we put our values into action. democrats are fighting to combat climate change, protect a woman's right to choose, to ensure that the secretary of education believes in public education. [applause] mr. perez: we are fighting for civil rights, democratic rights, labor rights, voting rights, our sisterss and with disabilities, you are all part of the american family. democrats are fighting for an america that works for everyone, not just the few at the top. we have your back, every single one of us, every single candidate running in this primary has your back, and every

single candidate would make an excellent president, and that is why i am so excited. so, folks, as i close, i used to work for ted kennedy. i will always be a permanent member of the kennedy extended ,amily, and at times like this i am reminded of something his brother bobby said over half a withry ago to farmworkers, cesar chavez at his side, bobby kennedy told the workers in the height of the civil rights movement that they stood at a defining moment in history, a moment that he called a pointed difficulty in danger that would ultimately determine our country's fate and our future. he said and i quote, "when your children and grandchildren take their place in america, you will

say, i did this. you will say, i marched. you will say, i thought. fought." ofks, we are at that point difficulty in danger. this is what my mother and father would say a where are you moment. you will be asking a few years from now, what did you do? because of the energy in this room and leadership of our candidates, i am proud to say that you will be able to say, i did this. i was there. i defeated donald trump. i helped elect a majority united states senate. expand nancy pelosi's majority in the house. he took back statehouses across that the country. we have more secretaries of

state, more state auditors. that is what we did, but we have to do it together. let's seize the moment together, let's make this the most successful and energetic caucus in state history in battleground iowa, where we win in november. let's unify. if you want to learn more, text unify to 43367 so we can join this fight together. thank you. let's go forward. ♪ >> ♪ we are all in this together ♪ ♪

we are all in this together ♪ ♪ [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪

announcer: please welcome to the stage, mayor pete buttigieg. ♪ mayor buttigieg: thank you. ♪

thank you.gieg: ♪ mayor buttigieg: thank you, iowa . ♪ mayor buttigieg: thank you so much. ♪ [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: thank you. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: thank you, iowa . thank you, iowa democratic party . thank you, fellow democrats. [cheers and applause]

the first time: i came to this state was as a volunteer to knock on doors for a presidential candidate, a young man with a funny name. and we knew the stakes were high , the stakes are colossal now. afford four cannot more years of donald trump. we will not recognize it if he gets reelected. we know what is at stake. will donow that he everything he can to hold onto power, but if you nominate me, his playbook will not work at

this time around. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: see, i don't get helicoptered into a golf course with my name on it while pretending to care about the working class. i don't even golf. that wasund in a chevy built in ohio by the very same workers this president has let down. and i don't go to work in an office in washington, d.c. my office is six hours that way down i-80. window, i see the

outlines of our ethanol plant, which is why i understand the measure of this president's betrayal of american farmers, and i know how to talk about it. don't asked to throw myself a military parade to see what a convoy looks like. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: because i was driving one around afghanistan a time heround the was taking season seven of "the apprentice." but i did not just come here to in the era of donald trump, i am here to launch the era that must come next. [cheers and applause]

mayor buttigieg: because in order to win, and in order to lot morewill take a than the political warfare we have come to accept from washington, d.c. have a divider- in-chief. i am offering you a white house on the news and can feel her blood pressure go down a little bit instead of through the roof. mayor buttigieg: i am asking you to picture that first day the sun comes up in this country and donald trump is no longer president of the united states. [cheers and applause] a happyttigieg: thought, for sure, and as to the

cast, corruption, tantrums and tweets, but what comes next? the sun will come up over a country even more divided and torn up over politics than we are today, with crises that still require urgent action, a 14-year-old will be waiting for action, who wrote me to tell me she has written out a will because she is afraid her next day at school might be her last, a 12-year-old will be waiting for action, who asked me about health care, not because she is a young policy both, but because she has juvenile diabetes and is afraid her parents will lose their coverage. i am running to be the president who will stand amid the rubble, pick up the pieces of our divided nation, and lead us towards real action to do right by americans who have waited far too long. [cheers and applause]

mayor buttigieg: i am ready to gather up an american majority that is hungry for change, that is done with the division, and i have seen that hunger across the country, places you might not expect. in shenandoah, iowa, where a young man from a farm family said what role agriculture would play in ending climate change. i have seen it in granger, indiana was a diner filled up with conservative republicans protesting the deportation of a neighbor they knew to be a good man. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: and i will be seeing it in a few weeks on the morning of thanksgiving day, because in 2019 in michigan, you cannot stop a man from going er hunting.

we are ready to build this majority, a majority ready to deliver the most progressive reform to health care in 50 years, medicare for all who wanted, honoring your decision over whether and when you want it. [cheers and applause] a majority,ieg: even in the red states, to do something about gun violence, to do something about climate change. dignity of every american, to tackle systemic racism wherever we find it until your race has no bearing on your health, wealth, life inspect and expectancy and relationship

with law enforcement. the people are ready to get this done, to stand with our teachers. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: to let people of faith know that in our white house, you don't have to shake your head and ask yourself, what happened to, i was hungry and you fed me. i was a stranger and you welcomed me. for whatever you did to the least of these, you did for me. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: i will not waiver from my commitment to our values or back down from the boldness of our ideas, but i also will not tire from the effort to include everyone in the future we are trying to build. progresses, moderates, and republicans of conscious -- conscience ready for change, the time has come. [cheers and applause]

we will fightg: when we must fight, but i will never allow us to get so wrapped up in the fighting that we start to think fighting is the point. the point is what lies on the others of the fight. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: and what lies on the others that fight is the experienceamerican defined not by exclusion, but by the longing. that is what we are here to deliver. and talking about hope and belonging, if it sounds this,stic for a time like call it optimistic, but do not call it naïve, because i

believe these things not based on my age, but my experience. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: iowa, i have seen in a war zone americans who have nothing in common besides the flags on our childers, trusting -- our shoulders, trusting each other with our lives. i have seen in the ruins of factories, my city answer those who said we were a dying community by rising up together to build a better future. i have seen what america can do, and so have you. after all, you are looking at someone who as a young man growing up wondered if something deep inside of him meant he would forever be an outsider, would never wear the uniform,

never be accepted, never know love, and now you are looking at that same young man, a veteran, asking, happily married, for your vote for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] mayor buttigieg: that is why i believe in this country. iowans, i am asking for you to caucus for me on february 3 because i know what the presidency is for, because we know the purpose of the presidency is not the glorification of the president, it is the unification of the american people. that is why we have the office. [chanting]

[applause] , iowa, aregieg: so you ready to bring this country together? are you ready to turn the page to a new era together? then let has make history together, and we will have a lot to celebrate in november of next year, and we will know where to go from there. thank you, iowa. thank you, democrats. thank you so much. [cheers and applause] ♪

[cheers and applause]

♪ announcer: put your hands together for vice president joe biden. ♪ vice president biden: thank you, thank you, thank you. hello, iowa democrats.

but me get right to it. you all know this election is more important than anyone you have voted in, no matter what your age. -- the verycause character of america is on the ballot next november, the very character of the country, and donald trump is a genuine threat, a man lacking in the character we need. hate onlyfolks, hate, hides, it never leads. this is a man who has employed it in a way that gives that oxygen, and it comes out from under the rocks, pollutes everything. this is a man who started his campaign based on hate and division, dividing people in ways that we have not been divided before.

embraced man who has tyrants and dictators, a man who has looked at people like kim jong-un as well as vladimir putin and embraced him. this is a man poked his finger in the eyes of our allies. there are a couple of things i learned the last couple of weeks. number one is that vladimir putin doesn't want me to be president. [applause] vice president biden: and number two, donald trump doesn't want me to be the nominee. [applause] vice president biden: spent a lot of money to make sure i am not. i am flattered. i am flattered. folks, look, we have got to, we have got to beat this man. it is not enough, it is not enough that we just beat him, we have got to beat him soundly, so

everyone knows we are not going back to a time when another president like him can hold that office, and we must beat him. and i will beat him like a drum if i am your nominee, and he knows it. he knows it. look, you all know that saidis a man who as i gives hate a little oxygen and it comes up from the rocks, but he is breathing nothing but oxygen into hate. look what happened. look what happened in charlottesville from the people coming out of the woods and fields carrying torches, hate -- division, led by people and someone was killed. when i was asked to comment on that -- he was asked to comment

on that, what did he say? he said there were very fine people on both sides. no president, no president in american history has ever said that, including andrew johnson before the civil war. look, folks, i learned something early on for my family, my mom and my dad, they said, joey is and nobody is better than you, but everyone is your equal. mr. biden: folks, think about it. they can about how we are treating people. think about how he has treated people. look, my dad used to say, it is all about dignity. your dignity. i said, after charlottesville, that we are in a battle for the sole of america. we are.

we are in a battle for the sole of america. and folks, if you doubt it, think about it. -- the middle-class is under siege. of america,e soul the middle-class the middle-class built america and unions built the middle-class. [applause] folks, how can a parent maintain their dignity when they look at a child with a pre-existing condition, and tell them they cannot afford to get insurance for them? how can a parent and in their dignity, and have a child or husband or wife who is terminally ill, and the insurance company can come along and say, sorry, you have run out

of coverage. die in peace. on your own. parent, how can a parent have their dignity? that is why we have to build upon the affordable care act, not abandon it. [applause] that is why we have to provide a public option. that is why we have to make sure everyone has access. ladies and gentlemen, we can do this. we can do it quickly. without taxing the middle class. we can make sure that the 160 million people who have health insurance they like can keep it if they want to end if not, they can buy in to a medicare-like ladies and gentlemen, that will not take four years or five years or 10 years to happen. it will happen immediately. immediately. [applause]

folks, and there would be no increase in taxes for the middle class. none. none. none. how can a parent maintain their dignity looking at their talented child who has real opportunities to go on to school , and have to look at them and say, like many people to the saw, at the practice able, sorry, honey, we cannot bar the money. we cannot figure out how to get you there. week there is nothing we can do. i'm just sorry. that is why we have to change -e way my wife, jill, is with me. she has an expression she teaches full-time. she has an expression, any country that can out educate us can beat us. 12 years of education is no longer enough to make it in them in a class. that is what we have to triple the amount of money we spent for title i schools. paying teachers $60,000. making sure every child can go to preschool.

making sure community colleges free. making sure those who have debt, college debt, if they volunteer, if they gauge and public service, their debt can be forgiven. gentlemen, that is what we can do. it is within our power. -- if they engage in the public service. that the quintessential issue facing america is climate change and they are doing nothing about it. how can we walk into a situation where, today, children went to school today, learning how to duck and cover because they may get shot in school. hey, honey, how are you? they may get shot in school. soul in aa troubled country. we have to go out and take on the nra and beat them. and i am the only one who has beaten them nationally. if you make me or nominee, i

will beat them again i have beaten them twice and i will be them again. assault rifles. there are no room for them in america. they should be outlawed, as i did once. in addition to that, magazines holding 40 or 50 or 60 or hundred bullets, god almighty, what rationale can there be for that. system.a sick ladies and gentlemen, when you talk about climate change, the first thing i will do as your president is rejoined that paris climate accord which i helped put together. [applause] i will invite within the first hundred days, the 173 nations at ourined that organization and up the ante on them to make sure they keep it. i will make sure that we put in place the climate change plan, and by the way, they make up 85% of the problem. we make up 50%. what we will do under my have net zeroill

emissions by 2050. i lock in centers that cannot be changed this decade. standards that cannot be changed this decade. [applause] ladies and sheldon, how can he talk about not restoring the -- ladies and gentlemen, how can we talk about restoring the soul of america we do not do that? name should a firefighter, school teacher, nurse, pay at a tax rate higher than a bond trader at millions of bucks? its wrong. under my proposal, i promise you, we will begin to reward work not wealth. we are going to change fundamentally the tactics. [applause] ladies and gentlemen. where thea situation next president of the united states is going to face a avided nation as well as

world in chaos. and it is going to require a president on day one who can unite the country, who has experience being able to put together major initiatives to bring the country together. in some of my colleagues say that is naive. well i have done it. that has been my whole career. and i promise you i know how to do it. and i will do it again. [applause] let me tell you, if you cannot bring the country together, we are in real, real trouble. ladies and gentlemen, think about it. the next president is going to be commander-in-chief of the world in disarray. there's going to be no time for on-the-job training. you had better come of the day you are sworn in, be able to command the world stage, knowing that our allies know you know

what you're doing and are with them and will keep your word. and your enemies know that you are for real and you will keep your word. [applause] folks, look, the united states of america is so much better prepared to own that when he first century than any nation in the world. we are the wealthiest country in the world. productive -ost workers are three times as productive as workers in asia. every major change that is taken place coming out of a great research university, and there are more than the united states and the rest of the world combined. so what are we doing? i'm so tired of democrats republicans walking around their head down asking what are we going to do.

the first thing we have to do is get rid of donald trump, get about office. once we do that, the road is clear forcing them get change. significantt sport range. the road iso that, clear for significant change. remembering who we are. this is the united states of america paired we have never, never, never failed to compost what we set our minds to once we have decided what we're going to do. it is time to decide. it is time to move. [applause] folks, here's the deal. the only thing that stands in the way this donald trump. the only thing. and the reason is putting so much money with his henchmen running as against me in a is because he knows

that i will beat him and beat him like a drum. i promise you. man, get and gentle up. remember who we are. ands take this country back begin to lead the world again. thank you, thank you. thank you, iowa. ♪

[applause] >> please welcome andrew yang. ♪ >>

mr. yang: thank, iowa. thank you so much. you, yang gang. iowa, campaigning in because this is one of the only places in the entire country where democracy still works. as it is intended. you know this, but i do not know if you realize just how much power is in this room tonight.

[cheers and applause] mr. yang: i did the math, iowa. you know how many californians 1000f you is worth? californians each. when i look around this arena tonight i do not just see 14,000 i went, i see 40 million californians. -- i do not just see 14,000 iowans, i see 14 million californians. it is a privilege to be back here and address you all. i am a presidential candidate, yes, i'm also a parent and dad. how many of you are parents? elyn is here tonight we have two young boys. parents havehat

had and we are afraid to express. our kids are not all right. they are not all right because we have left them a future far darker than allies that we have led as their parents -- far darker then the lives we have led as their parents. many thing in me as a business guy. seven yearslast i've been a nonprofit guy. i started a nonprofit called venture for america that helped create thousands of jobs in cities like detroit, cleveland, st. louis, baltimore. and during the seven years, i saw millions of young people who are not starting families, little businesses, because they cannot pay their bills. i some villains of young people who were buried under a mountain of debt and trapped in their parents basements. levels ofcord high anxiety, stress, depression, mental illness, avon suicides and drug overdoses, to the point that our country's life expectancy has declined for three years in a row.

the first time in a hundred years that has happened. a few turned on cable news today, why would you think donald trump is our president. go ahead and shout something out. racism, facebook, hillary clinton, emails, all mixed together. but i believe many of you know differently. i am a numbers guy. and the reason donald trump is our president, the reason he won points, isby eight that we blasted away 40,000 manufacturing jobs here in iowa. and use all of those towns go from blue to red. as it happened. and that did not just happen here in our. we did it in michigan, ohio, pennsylvania, wisconsin, missouri. all of the swing states donald trump needed to win. we blasted away 4 million manufacturing jobs. and unfortunately we are not stopping there, iowa.

how many of you have seen stores close where you work at live here in the state? raise her hand. -- raise your hands. itare the stores closing? is a one-word accident -- it is a one-word answer. amazon. how much should amazon pay in federal taxes last year? that is your math, iowa. $20 out, zero back. the most common job in your state is retail clerk. making between nine and $10 per hour. when her store closes, what is her next move going to be. i'm a numbers guy, but you do not need the numbers. you do is look around your communities. you see it when you walk into the cvs and the grocery store and you see the self-service kiosk. you see our neighbors kids addicted to drugs. wereee the headlines google and uber are working on toxic and dry themselves.

that cang on trucks drive themselves. more of us are feeling left behind. experts are calling this economic transformation, this. , the fourth industrial revolution. what is the last time you heard a politician even breathe the words, fourth industrial evolution? just now, right? and i am barely a politician. [applause] these are the problems that gonzalo trump elected and this is what you must solve. this is how you must use your power. -- these are the problems that got donald trump elected and this is what you must solve. how is a man you never heard of a month ago speaking after joe biden and before elizabeth warren? how to demand you never heard of before raise $10 million last quarter, in increments of $30 each? so my fans are almost as cheap as bernie's? is because i know what the true nature of the

problems are, and how we can solve them. it is up to you to take these solutions to the rest of the country, to present a new way forward as fast as possible. the new way forward, what is the vision? if you heard any about my campaign, you've heard that there is an asian man running for president he wants he of everyone $1000 per month. the first time you heard that it sound like a gimmick, to get to be true, but this is not my idea and it is not a new idea. thomas payne for -- thomas paine was for it in our founding, partly thinking for part in the 1960's. the u.s. house of representatives passed a twice 1971. and 11 years later one state passed a dividend where everyone gets a check. and what state is that? alaska.

it? ow does alaska pay for oil. and what is that oil of it when data.st century? raise your hand if you got the data check in the mail appeared weighted the data checks go? they went to facebook, amazon, --gle and the 20 billion are 20 between dollar tech companies that are paying zero taxes. think about what these checks would mean in the hands of you and your friends and neighbors print lower stress levels, few are grits with your spouse, being able to retire with dignity -- fewer arguments with your spouse. not having to choose between car repairs and new close your kids. it is not about the money but what it means to us. i have been giving a thousand dollars to families around the country for couple of months now peered direct amended. one of them is here tonight. who lives and iowa falls. --ls,lives in iowa

who lives in iowa falls with his mom who is recovering from cancer. after he took care of some bills he bought a guitar and was playing shows for the first time in years. for jodey in new hampshire with car repairs to visit her daughter for malory in florida, it was going back to school at the age of 68. this is what the freedom dividend would mean for us and rely. this is a vision you can make visionousy -- this is a you can make a reality, iowa. it is in your power alone. [cheers and applause] my first move was not run for president of the united states, because i'm not insane. obamaed in the administration peered i went to washington, d.c.. i said what are we going to do to help our citizens understand

that it is not immigrants cause these problems. is technology and an economy that's pushing more and more of us to the side. the folks in washington, d.c., had very little to offer. one give me guidance that led me here. he said, andrew, you are in the wrong town. no one in washington, d.c. will touch this peered fundamentally, this is not a town of leaders but a town of followers. the only way we will do anything is if you are to create a wave in the rest of the country and bring the wave crashing down on our heads. that is why i am with you tonight, iowa. [cheers and applause] i am with you tonight because you must be that wave. running for president because i fantasize about being president. presidentng for because, like so many of you in this room, i'm a parent. and i am a patriot print i have seen the future that lies ahead for our children, and it is not something i'm willing to accept.

know whatyou actually the future holds, if you look up. you sought happened to your farms and then your factories. now it is in mean streets. soon it will hit your highways. it is up to you and you alone to turn the tide. that helps the wave us rewrite the rules of the 21st century economy to work for us, to work for you, the people of this country. you must be the wave that helps give the entire nation a new way forward. and gives me and millions of parents around the country, the ability to look our children in the eyes and say, with truth, in our hearts, your country loves you peered your country values you. and you are going to be all right. , iowa.ou very much

let's make history. let's move the country forward together in 2020, and when this all think i love iowa. i love it here. [applause] thank you. ♪

♪ [crowd clapping] >> please welcome senator elizabeth warren. ♪

]orkin' 9 to 5... ♪ sen. warren: hello, iowa! [cheers and applause]

ok.. warren: ok. [chanting] sen. warren: ok. ok. iowa. i am here to talk about something that people across iowa and across america know down deep in their bones. our democracy has been hijacked. by the rich and powerful. they make it work for themselves, and they leave everyone else behind. we see it every time a corporate executive threatens to cut pay and move jobs overseas. we see it every time an insurance company won't give people, denies people, and denies access to the doctor that

people trust. we see it when a criminal justice system tears apart black and brown families. and the list goes on. people crushed by student loan debt. people crushed by student loan debt. we see it over and over. when a gun industry on sensible vote legislation that could save the lives of our children. industry when an oil --tinues to drill and close and calls the shots in washington. that is corruption plain and simple. and we need to be willing to call it out for what it is. [applause] if we are going to make the big

challenges of our time, it is going to take big structural change. that starts with you, i will. you, iowa.arts with areknow, a lot of people afraid of big structural change. afraid, because they are already rich and powerful. .nd they may lose influence afraid, because they have built lives sucking up to those who are rich and powerful. afraid, because they see in america where they will not be able to make the changes they need. afraid, because they are either too cynical or too downtrodden. to believe that change is possible. well, not me. i believe in change.

and i know that we can get it done. [applause] and why do in no we can get it i know wed why do can get it done? because i have done it. i want to tell you a story about a toaster. when i was a young mom, toaster set houses on fire. really. those little toaster ovens, did not have a shutoff switch. so you could put in the bread, hear the baby cry, leave the room, and come back and your toast would literally be in flames. sometimes along with the kitchen curtains and the kitchen cabinets as well. then, a federal agency stepped in. and said, enough. you cannot sell toasters in america that could have a one in five chance of burning down your house. done.

no more toaster fires. 2000's, the early mortgage is in this country had gotten so complicated and so dangerous, they had a one in five chance of costing a family there home. becauseuse of fire, but of foreclosure. time, thetime, this federal government was not on the side of the families. it was deep in the pocket of the big banks. in fact so deep in the pocket of the big banks, that they permitted millions of those mortgages to be sold, and they crash our economy. that was 2008. crashed our economy. so i had an idea the idea was that consumer agency that would protect people.

[applause] that would protect people when they got mortgages or credit same or payday loans, the way that other consumer agencies had protected people they bought toasters. i went tothe dlp rate washington and i tried to talk to everybody -- here is the deal. i want to washington and i talked to every i could. they told me two things. almost everybody said the same two things. first, that is a great idea. you can make a real difference. that is structural change yes. and the second thing, was due not even try. -- don't even try. the big banks, big money, they will fight you. the republicans will fight you. a bunch of the democrats will fight you. you will never get this done. i get it. big structural change is hard.

but it was the right thing to do. so we took on wall street. we took on the big money. won.e and that little consumer agency has no force the big banks to return more than 12 billion dollars directly to people they cheated. [applause] we know how to make government work for the people. so what did i learn from this fight? notwithstanding what the bleeders will tell you, what big gag or big banking or willrming -- big pharma tell you, that if you're going to be the challenges of our time, we need big ideas. [applause]

big ideas. inspire people and get them out to caucus and get them out to vote. [applause] big ideas. to be the lifeblood about party. -- to be the lifeblood of our party. and show the world who and what democrats will fight for. [applause] big ideas. the senate and put mitch mcconnell out of a job. [cheers and applause] we need big ideas.

and here's the creek apart. we need -- here is the critical part. we need to be willing to fight for them. it is easy to give up on the big idea. but when we give up on big ideas, we give up on the people whose lives would be touched by those ideas. [applause] people are already in a fight. people who are struggling to pay their medical bills are already in a fight. crushed byare so student loan debt, are already in a fight. who are denied the chance to vote, or stopped by the police because of the color of their skin, are already in a

fight. and those fights are all our fights. look, anyone who comes on the stage and it does not understand that we are already in a fight, is not the person who is going to win that fight. [cheers and applause] anyone who comes on the stage, and tells you they can make change, about a fight, is not going to win that fight. [applause]

sen. warren: and anyone who comes on the stage and tells you to dream small, and give up early, is not going to lead our party to victory. [applause] this is a time of crisis. washingtonundits, insiders, even some people in our own party, do not want to admit it. somethink that running vague campaign that nobles around the edges, -- that nibbles around the edges is

somehow safe. but if the most we can promise is business as usual after donald trump, then democrats will lose. we win when we offer solutions big enough to touch the problems that are in people's lives. not and complacency does win elections. hope and courage wins elections. [applause] i am not running some consultants driven campaign with some vague ideas that are designed not to offend anyone. i am running a campaign based on a lifetime of fighting for working families.

campaign from the heart. 2020 is our time in history. win theour time to fight for a green in new deal and save this planet. [cheers and applause] time to win this , and for medicare for all save our people. 2020 is our time to win the ,ight for a two cent wealth tax and invest in a whole generation. [applause]

2020 is our time in history, our hard,o dream big, fight and win. [cheers and applause] thank you. thank you. thank you. ♪

[cheers and applause] >> put your hands together for senator, harris. harris.or kamala

♪ sen. harris: good evening, iowa! [applause] we all know why we are here. we are here because this is a moment. this is a moment where we have to be prepared, to fight for the best of our country. this is the moment where we need to fight for this country we love, for the rule of law, for

our system of justice. and for our very democracy. [applause] so we are all here to fight. we are all here to fight. we are all here to fight to end that national nightmare called donald trump. [cheers and applause] and to win, democrats, to win. about anything other than looking at the future. it cannot be about looking at yesterday and we need to be focused on tomorrow. to win. we are going to have to fight against those who have been trying to push hate and division among us and have americans turn on each other. to win, we're going to have to

fight for what i know in my heart and in my sole to be true soul to be true, which is in the beauty and diversity of who we are as a nation. all, we all have so much more in common than what separates us. and to win, we are going to need a nominee on that stage, with donald trump, who has the ability to go toe to donald trump in iowa you are looking at her. [applause]

so i have spent my career as a prosecutor. i heavily had one client in my entire life, and that has been the people. unlike other people, unlike others, i have never represented a corporation. i have never represented a special interest. career fighting for the people. in fact the first i walked into a courtroom i spoke five words. , harris, for the people. harris, for the people. [cheers and applause] and those words, for the people,

capture our system of justice. there are two points when we say for the people. one, in our system of justice we have rightly said that a harm against anyone is a harm against everyone. that no one should ever be made to fight alone. and for the people, when i stood there, and when i stand here today, also means all of the people. regardless of race, regardless of gender, regardless of sexual orientation. party withof the which they are registered to vote. regardless of the language your grandmother speaks. it means all the people.

[cheers and applause] and it was for the people that a large part of my early career was fighting against. those who had harmed women and children. was about saying that those who had survived got safety without judgment. [applause] for the people. when i was elected district attorney of san francisco, saying that the war on drugs was an abject failure. so i created national models about what it means to give jobs to people who are arrested for drugs. for the people. when i was the attorney general, of california, running the second largest department of justice in the united states, second only to the united states department of justice. the biggestaking on

banks in the united states, who had engaged in predatory lending practices, and bringing back to the homeowners of my state, $20 billion. [applause] people, as the united states senator, it meant taking on jeff sessions. [applause] taking on bill barr. [applause] taking on brett kavanaugh. [cheers and applause] and, iowa, i stand here before you today, for the people. fully prepared to defeat donald trump. [cheers and applause]

and that is why i am running. for the people. [chanting] sen. harris: and i will say that in the name of the people, i believe in 2020, justice is on the ballot. [cheers and applause] justice is on the ballot. when, in america, there is a father, who is holding down two jobs, try to figure out how to get through the end of the month , and pay more taxes than the richest 400 families in america, economic justice is on the ballot. so i am running for president to

pass the largest middle-class tax cut we have had in history. and you want to know how we are going to pay for it? on day one? we're going to repeal that tax bill the benefits that top 1% and the biggest corporations in america. when, in america, there is a mother, who is in a parking lot of a hospital, afraid to walk to the sliding glass doors to get into the emergency room with her child, because she knows that she -- if she walks to the sliding glass doors she will be out of pocket a $4000 deductible , health care is on the ballot. justice is on the ballot. so i am running for president. to make sure there is medicare for all. not medicare for some. to care for all. to bring down costs. and to ensure that you also get

toys. because i heard from folks that said,,, do not take away my opportunity to have a private plan so you will get a private plan or public land depending on your dashboard public plan, depend on your choice. -- you will get a private plan or a public plan depending on your choice. we have teachers in iowa holding down two or three jobs to get through the end of the month. education justice is on the ballot. [applause] so i'm running for president to put into place what will be the first in history, federal investment in closing the teacher pay gap. here in iowa thou be 12,000 tuna dollars per year. -- lb $12,000 per year. america, their women being attacked for their constitutional rights to make decisions about their own

bodies, reproductive justice is on the ballot. [applause] so i am running to ensure every woman will have her legal and constitutional right, and not these out of date republican legislators telling people what to do with their bodies. [applause] when children in america, regardless of who their parents voted for for president, are afraid to go to school, because they are afraid they may get shot, they are afraid they will be a gunman roaming the hallways of their school, justice for children is on the ballot. [cheers and applause] so i am running for president. executive action if necessary per debt implement what people who have failed to have courage have not done, which is take on the gun lobby in washington, d.c..

outi want to give a shout to beto o'rourke. because the other courage he had the courage to say look, you cannot walk around talking about gun safety but you do not have the courage to figure out how you're going to take 5 million assault weapons off the streets of america. justice is on the ballot. fight andime that we this is a fight that is about all of us. because yes, a harm against anyone of us is a harm against all of us. .ere's the bottom line i do believe that when we overcome these injustices, we will unlock the promise of

america and the potential for the american people. that this iseve what we want and need. and this is the america. that is the america that i see. that is the america i believe in. that is the america i know us to be. and that is why i am running for president of the united states. me and caucus with me in, lists -- and caucus with me in kamala's corner. thank you! [applause] ♪

♪ yer.lease welcome tom ste

mr. steyer: hello, iowa! this is the biggest gathering of democrats in 2019. and it is going to be the biggest gathering of democrats until the democratic convention next spring. pretty amazing. and let me say this. hearre getting a chance to a lot of great plans and policies from some real democratic leaders.

remember thatall everybody here today -- that everybody you hear today is more honest, coherent and patriotic than the criminal resides in the white house. [cheers and applause] everybody. and i know that the people appear on the states are all pointing toward that were third, 2020. because that is the caucus day. februaryinting toward 3, 2020. but for me the big day is when my aunt betsy is going to turn 100 and iowa city. that has to be my big day. so i know these policies are great. and i think everybody in this room and everyone on the stage shares the same values. we know that we need to change. we know that we need a huge win.

we know that we too turn the page. but we are not going to get to do that unless we rank the corporate struggle hold that is controlling our government. stranglehold that is controlling our government and corporations have bought our government in washington, d.c.. and all the great plans, for us to get them done, we're going to have to break that corporate struggle hold. that is why i am running for president. i know that to break it we are going to have to tell the truth, and we are going to have to take real strong old action. strong, bold, action. let me tell you about someone who did that in iowa. rose was living in iowa falls, iowa. she is 90 years old. she watched donald trump get elected with horror. she was scared, she was upset. and she was worried about the

future for her grandchildren. what i started the need to impeach campaign, mary rose immediately signed up. but she is 90 years old. she cannot go door-to-door. and she cannot make a series of phone calls. she wroted she do? over 1000 cards to other holdcans, asking them to the most corrupt president in american history accountable. [cheers and applause] fraudhat mr. trump is a and failure and criminal. so when people said to us, it is not politically smart to push impeachment, i am with mary. it is not a question of what is,, convenience. it is a question of what is right. action, what america

needs, what democrats need, truth and action p we are talking about turnout paired we are talking about grassroots. taught -- i started one of the biggest grassroots organizations, nextgen america. we have knocked on tens of millions of doors with our partners in the labor movement and organize young people in america including iowa. we did the largest youth voter mobilization american history. we were in the congressional first and third in iowa. we more than doubled the turnout of young people in those districts. and aped to elect cindy bby. truth and action. truth and action is how america has solved our biggest challenges. at home and

we have a huge challenge in front of us in the shape of climate change. i said i would make it my number one priority. mind, weno doubt in my need to address it on a real-time basis, on an emergency basis, if we are going to handle it. a decade longover history on winning the country on climate change. i have taken on the oil companies at the ballot and beat them. i pushed clean energy at the ballot and won. and with my partners in the labor movement, we have protected and created hundreds of thousands of clean energy jobs across this country. addition, especially when the harm is pointed at the most vulnerable communities in this country, low income communities,

black and brown communities where pollution is centered, i have worked to hold elected officials accountable to make sure those communities are not picked on. truth and action. if we are going to break the corporate stranglehold on our government, that is what is going to take -- it's going to take him a bold action. i'm talking about term limits for congress and the senate, 12 years. there was talk about making the congress making look more like america. you want to make the congress look more like america? how about term limits? congress is not supposed to be a lifetime appointment. and if you want the strongest argument for term limits that i know, it is the six words mitch mcconnell, lindsey graham, chuck grassley. you want to get rid of them? term limits. let me say this, too.

we don't have a failed society. we don't have a failed society. we have the most successful society in the history of this planet. we have a failed government. if we can get back the government of, by, and for the people and control the climate the beste are in position of any people in the history of the planet. we are going to get everything. we are going to get a right to an equal vote for every american. we are going to get a right to clean air and clean water. nobody poisons us for profit. we are going to get a right to we live in -- to a living wage, because one job should always be enough. we are going to get a right to

quality education, because schools should never be for sale. and we are going to get a right to get health care as a right for every american, because companies should never be able care.tate our so, we are actually looking at the best position we can be in. but i want to talk a second about how i got on this stage. i started a company by myself, one person in a room, no employees, a room with no windows, and i built a pretty big company. i took it pledge to give the bulk of my assets while i'm alive to good causes. i walked away from that company, and i have spent the rest of my life building coalitions of americans to take on unchecked corporate power and to push for broader democracy. strange, youseem may wonder, why does that make sense? i will tell you why it makes

sense if you know my family. because my mom was a teacher from minnesota, and she ended up teaching in the new york public schools and in the brooklyn house of detention. my dad was the first generation in his family to go to college. grandfather was a plumber. my father was so grateful for the opportunity this country fromhim, that he walked his law practice, into the navy in world war ii, and prosecuted the nazis and in brandenburg. -- in martinsburg. -- in germany. actions speak louder than words. mom said that to me every day of my life, actions speak louder than words. so when people told me nobody beats the oil companies, they are too rich, too powerful, you will never win, we went ahead

and won. i delivered on that promise. -- thaty said that too the tobacco companies have one, we beat the tobacco companies, i delivered on that promise. and when people said in teaching the president is a liberal type string is never goingt to happen, you are ridiculous, look at where we are now. i delivered on that promise. so, let me say this. if you support me, there are three things i promise you. i will tell the truth, i will take bold action, and i will deliver on the promise. so iowa, best day of the year for democrats is today, we are going to have a huge victory come next fall. let's all do it together, thank

you very much. ♪ ♪ >> please welcome senator bernie sanders.

♪ sen. sanders: good evening, iowa democrats. let me congratulate troy and the iowa democratic party returning to congressional seats -- for turning two congressional seats blue and 2018. that is no small feat.

the iowa democratic party is on the move, and i look forward to working with you to make sure it is the vitally important battleground fate we take back iowa in the general election and defeat trump, and defeat him badly. and i will do everything possible to make that happen, and i am very happy to announce tonight a $20,000 donation from my campaign to the iowa democratic party. [cheers and applause] tonight, all of us, no matter what candidate we are supporting, are in agreement that we must the feet the most -- defeat the most dangerous president in the history of our country. a man who is a pathological

liar, a man who is running the most corrupt administration in the history of our country, a man who does not understand the role of law, or our constitution, and a man who will soon be impeached. [cheers and applause] sen. sanders: now, that is what we'll agree on -- we all agree on. but as friends, and we are friends, let us acknowledge that we have some disagreements. thehe end of the day, democratic party of iowa, vermont, and of every state in the country have got to make a fundamental decision. the status quo politics which has enabled a

wealthiest -- the wealthiest people in our country, the largest corporations and their lobbyists, to have extraordinary influence over the economic and political likes of this country? no is the right answer. now, that is where the republican party is and has always been, but as democrats, it seems to me that we must trot -- chart a very different path. in a time of massive income and wealth inequality, the democratic party must become the party of the working class of this country. not a super pac, not a corporate interests, not of their

lobbyists'. in that regard, i am very proud to tell you that our campaign has received more campaign contributions from more people than any candidate in the politicsf presidential up until this point in a campaign. and i want to take this opportunity to thank the teachers, the waitresses, the low-paid employees, the amazon workers, and other members of the working class who have supported our campaign so strongly. and now, i want to take a moment to quote to you one of the great political leaders of the last century. in 1936, in a famous campaign speech, franklin delano

roosevelt said the following as he reflected on his first term hadffice, and i quote, "we to struggle with the old enemies of peace, business and financial monopoly, speculation, reckless banking, class antagonism, sectionalism, war they had begun- to consider the government of the united states as a mere appendage to their own affairs. government with organized money is just as dangerous as government by organized mob. never before in all our history have these forces been so united against one candidate as they stand today, they are unanimous

in their infamy, and i welcome their hatred." [cheers and applause] true inders: what was 1936 is perhaps even more true today. own moreee people wealth than the bottom half of america, when in the last 30 years, the top 1% have seen a $21 trillion increase in their wealth, and when many of the largest most profitable corporations in america do not pay a nickel in federal income taxes. iw, -- now, i understand that nobody likes to be hated. not me, not you, not anyone. but the truth is, that real change never takes place without struggle.

[cheers and applause] having, ass: without roosevelt told us, the courage to take on a corporate elite whose greed and corruption is destroying the middle class of this country. you, i am, i say to fortunate enough to accept the nomination of our party in milwaukee. that convention will not be funded by corporate interests or their lobbyists. that convention and our victory over donald trump will be funded by millions of americans who are sick and tired of status quo politics. [cheers and applause] but in order to defeat trump and generate the

voter turnout that we need, we tod an agenda that speaks the pain of so many of our working families. let me quote -- in that regard, let me quote another historical figure, nelson mandela. and this is what mandela said, a profound statement, he said, and always seems impossible until it is done. it always seems impossible until it is done." now, the establishment and the money interests always tell us that real change is impossible. well, let me respectfully disagree. care is a, health human right, not a privilege. [cheers and applause]

pass,anders: and we will whether the insurance companies like it or not, medicare for all. [cheers and applause] end sanders: we will starvation wages in america, raise the minimum wage to a living wage, $15 an hour. easier for workers to join unions. every person in our country, regardless of income, is education, a quality which is why we will have -k, significantly funding public schools.

make public colleges and universities tuition free, and cancel all student debt in america. [cheers and applause] sen. sanders: and when it comes to whether or not we save our planet, that is not a debatable issue. on the greed of the fossil fuel industry. we will transform our energy system away from fossil fuels, to energy efficiency and sustainable energy, and yes, we will pass a green new deal. [cheers and applause] together, we will reform a broken and racist

criminal justice system. we will end the war on drugs. we will legalize marijuana. [cheers and applause] sen. sanders: and expunge the records of those who are arrested -- were arrested for possession of marijuana. together, we will lend a broken broken will end a immigration system, both the comprehensive immigration reforms, and passport citizenship to the millions of undocumented immigrants. codify roee will versus wade into law. [cheers and applause] sen. sanders: and make certain that it is the women of this the right toave control their own bodies, not politicians. [cheers and applause]

and together, we will stand up to the nra. we will not be intimidated by the nra. and i want to thank my good friend, beto o'rourke. [cheers and applause] sen. sanders: for helping to lead the effort to end the horrific level of gun violence we see in this country. [cheers and applause] sen. sanders: brothers, brothers and sisters, good policy is good politics. now is the time to stand with the working families of our country and end the outrageous level of greed and corruption we see from the corporate elite. create ae time to political movement and a

government that works for all of andnot just super pacs the 1%. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] ♪ the people ♪ ♪ power to the people. ♪ power to the people. ♪ power to the people. ♪ power to the people.

♪ >> please welcome state auditor, roxanne's -- rob sands. mr. sands: good evening, iowa democrats. first things first, there's a lot of people here working tonight. can we get a round of applause for the staff that are keeping safe --and giving us

keeping us safe? we also have to give a round of who has to our chair, been working on this thing for a long time. thank all of you. stand up if you knocked the doors in the 2018 elections. [cheers and applause] mr. sands: stand up if you made phone calls in the 2018 election. i know andy did. stand up if you voted in the 2018 election. get up. i know mary did. me say to everybody standing up in this room, thank you. i love my new job. thank you for your help. we are having a lot of fun in

the state auditor's office. and because of all of you, for the first time in 36 years in iowa, we meet the statewide incumbent republican in the state auditor's race. w, i'm not really supposed to do this, but, i'm going to make an endorsement right now. i have something important to say. i have heard a lot about what we need to do in 2020. to be totally honest, there is only one answer when you want to be donald trump in 2020. -- beat donald trump in 2020. riendship2020. so, do you guys follow me on twitter?

tweet something out right now, because we are really going to endorse and support friendship 2020. head over to my twitter and sign up for friendship 2020. working on a camping for anybody, including anyone who has dropped out, we want you to come out and participate. to -- we are going to smash the park. we are going to have fun and do it on teams, where the people on your team are not on your campaign. you're going to be working with in other campaigns, you know why, because unity is key to working the recent 2020. am i right?

am i right? there is one other thing i want to do appear tonight. i have to tell you, i feel sorry for you. because they sent the state auditor out for comedic relief. the auditor is going to tell you jokes. are you prepared? there is only going to be some jokes. are you ready for this? we are going to do the bucket pass, ladies and gentlemen. why? because again, what is the key to beating donald trump in november 2020? unity. and what does unity require? resources, money. we need your help to be trump

and 2020. -- in 2020. every table has a bucket on it, it should get passed around in the table, and everybody should not many -- should put money in that bucket. we have a lot of -- i want you to take a bucket captain, pick a bucket captain. my dad is videotaping me. mom, you want to be the bucket captain? are you bucket captain? prichard? captain?ucket you are a leader. i don't know where it is going, i just know it is going towards victory, right? bucket, pass it around, then we have a handful of folks walking around.

we have a lifelong democrat bringing around a giant bucket. back there, i didn't know he was going to be here doing this, but i'm glad i recognized him. we have got josh and olivia. i like the work you're doing, keep it up. up can fill those buckets until they are overflowing. thank you, olivia. the bucket captain who has the bucket, who is it over here, jerry? ok?s see some action, i monitoring the activity. -- i'm monitoring the activity. we need to get those buckets passed around. we are doing that to help support every candidate in 2020.

whenere is any reason why he to do this, let me tell you a story about a guy named steve richardson. you're going to get to know him a little bit right now. 2018, let's say , maybe a month shy of election day. publicly. go speak and you know what? i love jasper county, i was ired, i didn't want to do it, didn't want to go to just work on but then i thought about what was going on. no other statewide candidate was ready to go to jasper county. no one else was able to make it. and i thought, you know what? we got six weeks to go until election day, even though i want

to have this night off and stay at home with my wife and our two little boys, i can stay home with my wife and two little boys after election day, right? aboutmore concerned then going to jesper can and maybe saying something that got one doorknocking, or somebody involved to make more phone calls. so i went out to jasper county and told everybody in jasper county, i love you guys. want to be here tonight, but i'm out here because we have six weeks until this thing. when you're thinking about this tonight -- ok. all right. keep it up. here's the thing, it involves sacrifice, right? whatever you are putting into that bucket is a sacrifice for

you. as i went to jasper county and talked to the folks out there, i said i don't want to be here, but i need to be here right now. i can hang out with my kids six weeks from now. i asked everybody in jasper county, but i want you to do if you have the opportunity is to think that you are watching your favorite show on netflix -- can you watch it six weeks after election day? you can go golfing six weeks after election day. right now is the only time you can actually take to do something and make an impact, right? the next day, steve fredrickson quit his job. yeah. boo. that guy, for the next six

weeks, volunteered full-time every single day. did nothing else but knock doors and make calls until election day, because you are right, the only thing that matters right now for the next six weeks is actually making those phone calls, actually knocking those doors. i can get a job in six weeks when i am done. i can probably go back to where i was employed before. so as this bucket is getting passed around, think about that. here's the other thing you need to do. 24372ed to text "iowa" to 5. who would like to see iowa democrats raise 25. those dollars -- $25,000 tonight? iowaneed to text the word in order to make a donation. --you can do that, we could

look at that going, we are already at $15,000, ladies and gentlemen. 5ave you texted iowa to 24372 yet? mr. mccoy, it's been done. paxton did it. who hasn't? anyone brave enough to admit they have not texted in a donation yet? have you not texted in a donation? eric, are you doing it right now? eric is doing it right now. there we go, we did it! we also have another important owan in the crowd tonight. let's recognize krista gill stacked for just a second. thank you very much. have a good night, iowa

democrats. enjoy the rest of the show. ♪ >> from the third congressional district, congresswoman sidney axne.me -- cindy ♪ >> ♪ hit me with your best shot

why don't you hit me with your best shot hit me with your best shot fire away ♪ ♪ [applause] rep. axne: hello, iowa democrats. how's everybody doing tonight? we are thrilled to be here in this theater in the round, second,ting the first, and third district of the great state of iowa out at the united states house of representatives. [cheers and applause] axne: i have walked on the

stage three times, first as a candidate for the primary, second as your nominee for iowa's third congressional district, and now is a congresswoman from the great district right here in iowa, 16 counties in the southwest corner of the state. [cheers and applause] axne: and i am thrilled to andere with my colleagues my history making sister. [cheers and applause] rep. axne: thank you all for helping. , wei'll tell you one thing are sad to see dave leaving at the end of this term, so we are going to send we a heart out to

, and jd shelton, where are you? [cheers and applause] we are out everything a day to make sure iowa has a voice in the united states congress, making sure that people no longer see us as a flyover state. they understand the value we bring not only to this country, single person here with our agriculture, manufacturing, and service industries, and we are ensuring we are their voice for the hard-working families in this state. we are fighting day and night to make sure we put more money back in the pockets of hard-working iowa families by raising the minimum wage, making sure we closed the pay gap with equal absolutelyen, and lowering the cost of prescription drugs by fighting

back against big pharma and holding government accountable to make sure we lower the cost of medicine for everybody in medicare. we want to help our older owans have a dignified retirement. we are out there every day making sure hard-working people build a better life, that we lower the cost of prescription drugs, that we ensure every single person in this country has opportunity. that's why we passed the equality act for our lgbtq friends. hrt's why we fought for -1 to make sure every voter in this country has a voice, and democracy out of their hands and back in the hands of the people of this country. we could not have done it, and i know i could not have done it with all of your help.

you don't flip a seat in the southwest corner of iowa without a lodge of doorknocking and a heck of a lot of phone calls. because of all of you, we flipped a seat that nobody thought we could win. but we got into it again, folks. we've got another big goal ahead of us in this election. i am just out here to make sure that you guys understand that it is so important to hold the house. we've got to make sure that speaker pelosi continues to hold the gavel so that in this country, we stand up for everybody, not just the wealthiest among us. not just large corporations. but hard-working people, union members, our older iowans, and our kids. we are out there every single day, helping to make sure people's lives are better. and we are helping with issues like climate change by passing

multiple bills, the 100% clean air act. we are moving forward toward making sure this country has a clean environment and we protect it for our children for years to come. i ask for all your support and to continue what you are doing to make sure i go back to flip districte four and send steve king packing. [cheers and applause] rep. axne: for the incredible state of iowa, let's win this in 2020. [cheers and applause] >> hello, iowa democrats. oh my goodness. to look around this room tonight and see

friends who have been in this for decades, and new friends who are just joining us now. every single person continues to be important, and i've got to tell you, earlier today, as we speeches,ng all these i was looking around this room, as i am now, before everybody had to go to the restroom. i was looking and thinking, my god, 2014 was not long ago. 2014 was the night that i entered public service, but was tough night for iowa democrats. , alost a u.s. senate seat u.s. house seat, and we did not take back the statehouse. i remember looking up -- getting up and looking at my friend in

dubuque who had worked for decades, our labor leaders, our veterans, our public school iowaers who fought for an that gave me an opportunity to be a state representative and now stand here today as your u.s. congresswoman from iowa's first congressional district. [cheers and applause] rep. finkenauer: we were knocked down that day. it was a hard day. but i made a comment on that stage, the night i won that house seat, and i promised we were going to get back up. iowa and iowaly democrats have not just gotten backup. we know we have more work to do. i have to tell you, it has been an interesting 10 months in the

u.s. house, joining ne, and there ax are moments where i will walk going tohe capitol, a committee hearing, and i will look around me and see folks that i know don't believe i iowan thate, that an grew up as a six-year-old who would wear her dad's old work t-shirts to bed at night as pajamas, with tiny holes all over them from the spark of his welding torch, belongs in congress. but you prove them wrong. you see those values we grew up with in iowa as standing up for our neighbors, of caring about just plain being

kind to each other. values you sent me with to washington, and those are the values we must keep in that u.s. house. through the iowa house, the u.s. senate, and the white house. there are plenty of reasons sometimes that folks will lose hope. the attack coming out of the white house from that statehouse, whether it is going after our friends in labor, going after public education, going after climate, you name it. the attacks have been strong, but we have not given up hope, because we can't. there is one person i've got to tell you that keeps me going every day. some of you may know her, and this is really important. she is the county chair of the , robine county democrats

. some of you may know her story. i get to call her a friend. robin is fighting for her life, but every day she continues to fight for iowans bang in her ' health care.wans that is the spirit we need in our state. we cannot give up. i can tell you, after the energy of tonight, we have so much work left to do, but so much more hope than we have ever had before. you have my word, that with you we will keep up this fight, because iowa is my home. and this is our country. we have a heck of a lot more work to do. thank you.

[cheers and applause] >> thanks, abby. we ready to get a democrat elected president? [cheers] before i get to that though, i have to do something i do at every one of these events. the first person i have to thank is my wonderful wife, carrie. she's got a pink top. thank you. -- hon.h i want to thank tom perez for coming in. he has done a fantastic job. and tory price has really been through some tough times. give to roy price another big round of applause. certainly, i want to thank

former senator tom harkin and former congressman neal smith as well. thanks to those three who have been so fantastic, and they continue to help us democrats the state of iowa, so thank them please, too, if you would. veterans' group come up here to bring the flags up, but i think we ought to take a second just to recognize anyone here who is in the military, anyone here who was in the military in the past, anyone here who was a veteran. would you please stand up so we can thank you for your service to this country? we would not be here tonight if it were not for these folks. i'm serious, we would not be here. thank you so much.

and, as parents of two marine children, we know what the families go through too. please give a round of applause for the family of our veterans and those who serve in the military. [applause] rep. loebsack: i just want to thank all of you for helping me. virtually nobody thought i would win. but i did, and now i am serving my seventh term. so many people in this room have been so helpful to me, whether you're in my district or not. it did not make a difference. we are all from iowa. thank you for all that fantastic help. planned to go past 12 years, but donald trump got elected president. it would have been really easy to walk away at that point because donald trump got elected.

but because he got elected president, i thought i needed to run for another term of office so that i would be in office doing everything i can to prevent the damage that this guy has done to this country and make sure he is only a one term president. that's why i ran against him -- that's why i ran again, folks. now i've got about 14 months left, and i'm going to do everything i can to continue to build up my record of helping the people of my district. help onontinue to education and rural affairs. rural broadband is as central to our country's economic development, health care, ems, everything. i am going to keep working on those issues as much as i can.

but in the meantime, and i don't have to be calling you folks anymore to help me, in the meantime, i'm going to ask for some extra time, i hope, to help get reelected. i am going to do everything i can to get steve king out. we've got to do it. 2016, whenway, in steve king was opposed to putting harriet tubman on the $20 bill, i was asked what i thought about that. my response was simple. steve king, with his racist remarks, is an embarrassment to the state of iowa. it's time to get him the heck out of there. it is time for him to go. [cheers and applause] loebsack: the only way we can take back the seventh is if

we take back iowa. we have a lot of great candidates. no matter who our nominee is, we've got to make sure that we take that seat back. we can't let her take that seat again. no way, folks. , rita hart was already mentioned. when i decided not to do this, rita put my mind eddie's. i knew that stepping down from a district trump won at one .4% would be tough for democrats, but when rita stepped up, i knew she was the right person. rita grew up in northern iowa on a dairy farm. rita taught english for more than 20 years, for all you teachers in the audience.

senaterved in the iowa and won two elections in a district that is very similar to the entire district, which means that she is going to be a great candidates in that electoral sense. and rita ran for lieutenant governor and got darn close last time. and rita is a farmer. she's got everything. and best of all, she's a fantastic listener. i support rita wholeheartedly. i hope you will do the same thing. i don't want just two house members from iowa who are women. i want three, and i want rita hart to take my place. thanks again, everybody. thanks for coming out tonight. thanks to all these great candidates running for president , because every one of these people is way better than the person we have in there now, no question about that. so whoever comes out of iowa

with the lead, that's going to determine what happens in the rest of the country, folks. so whoever it is you are supporting, get out there and do all the things you have to do. that's going to help everyone else up and down the ticket. thanks for everything. [cheers and applause] ♪

♪ >> please welcome to the stage senator michael bennet. ♪ sen. bennet: hello, iowa. you are a patient group of people. i didn't know how patient.

i want to thank you for allowing us to impose on you. i want to particularly thank you for the kindness you have shown me and my family as we have traveled the state of iowa. i want to thank my friend tom harkin, my chairman. thank you for your leadership. and thank you for your friendship. [applause] sen. bennet: i have been in the years.for 10 it is hard to believe it has been a decade. but tonight, i want to talk to you not as a senator, but as the only superintendent of schools who has ever run for president of the united states. [cheers and applause] kidsbennet: i work for the in the denver public schools before i went to the senate. it is a school district that's got a billion dollar budget,

about three times the size of a certain municipality in the state of indiana. i'm just saying. has 95,000 children in it, most of whom live in poverty, most of whom are kids of color, and it is their parents who are here -- and if their parents were here tonight, what they would tell you is that they are killing themselves at work. and no matter what they do, they can't get their kids out of poverty. it reminded me a lot of the town hall meetings i have had for the last 10 years in iowa and in new come and, where people say, michael, we are working really hard, but we can't afford houses. we can't afford health care. we can't afford higher education. we can't afford early childhood education.

that's why i'm running for president, to restore opportunity to the american people. that's what we have to do. when i was deciding to run for president -- i'm not much of a celebrity as some other people, and i'm not as well-known, but i went home to talk to my kids and my wife, susan, and i asked, what do you think? should i run for president? my 15-year-old said yes because she saw it as a way of keeping me away from her and out of the house. i don't know what's going on there tonight. my 20-year-old daughter said to me, you should run, dad, because if you run and you tell the truth and you lose, no one can fault you for it. i said that's good, caroline, because there is no other reason for me to run but to tell the truth, and i don't think there's any other way for me to win.

about a monthppy or two ago, when i was able to take the headline of "the des moines register" and show , michaelthe headline bennet tells truth into his campaign. that's what i'm trying to do, because it is too important. that's why i want to tell you tonight, iowa, that our kids do not have the time for us to spend the next 10 years fighting a losing battle for medicaid for all, and that's not because it's a big idea. it's because there are better ideas. , from theome perspective of the kids i used to work for. we can make sure that everybody in this country who works hard, 40 hours a week, can actually raise a family in this country because they are paid a decent

wage. [cheers and applause] from the standpoint of the kids i used to work for in the denver public schools, we could end childhood poverty. i have a plan with sherrod brown from ohio that would reverse the trump tax cuts, reduce childhood poverty in one year by 40%, and kids living in iowa, colorado, and america. for medicare parole, we could cut childhood poverty by 40%. that sounds like a big idea to me. here's another idea. we could make our schools engines of opportunity again in the united states of america. and we could do that not by promising free college, but by

delivering free preschool to every kid in america who needs it. let me tell you something, that's every kid in america. [cheers and applause] about thet: and one 70% of kids who graduate from high school and don't go to college? we could fix high school so that when they leave, they wage, note minimum wage. that would transform the lives of million emmett -- millions of americans in our economy. [crowd booing] [cheers and applause] -- [cheers and applause] sen bennet: we can create universal health care in three years with what i have fighting -- have been fighting for since we passed the affordable care act. it gives everybody in the country the choice of a public option or private insurance if they want it, reduce health cost by getting drug costed down, and we could do it as i said in three years. and we need to address private -- climate change. but it is not enough to be urgent about it.

that is not enough. we need a solution that will last a generation. acceptt is why you can't the politics in washington where michael bennet puts his private plane into years. and then we put it in for two years and they rip it out. that is how politics in washington works today. that is not good enough for the american people. having good intentions is not enough. we have to win. and we have to win again and again and again. so our kids can inherit a planet that can be sustained. [cheers and applause] sen bennet: and to do that, iowa, to do that, we have to fix our broken politics. we have to take the money out of politics and put people back into politics. and i'm telling you, if you elect me president, i will lead an effort and every one of the

50 states to overturn citizens united and engage the next generation of americans in our democracy, which is what we need to do. [cheers and applause] sen bennet: this might sound really hard. but it is no harder than anything other americans have done. i tell kids when they come to washington, d.c., they have a tendency to think it was all just there. the capital was there, the white house was there, the supreme court was there. none of it was just there. 230 years ago, it was just an idea. that is all it was. didfounders of this country two incredible things in their generation. they led a successful revolution against the colonial power, that had never happened before. they wrote a constitution that was ratified by the people, that

would live under that constitution, that has never happened before. but they did something terrible as well. they perpetrated human slavery. and wewhat's important to remems it took other americans to end slavery in this country. frederick douglass, i tell them about him, born a slave in the united states of america, and because of his leadership and what he did, he saw human slavery and in this country in his generation. and you know what? i think that frederick douglass is much a founder as the people who wrote the constitution. that's what i believe. that's what i believe, iowa. [cheers and applause] sen bennet: and i believe the women that fought for my daughters to have the right to vote our founders just like the people who wrote the constitution. that's what i believe, iowa.

and that's what i think of all of you. that's your job as citizens in this republic. you are founders of the republic. it is that elevated a sense of what you are responsibility is. and when you have a president who does not believe in the rule of law, who does not believe in the separation of powers, who does not believe in the independence of the judiciary, who doesn't believe in the freedom of the press, who doesn't believe in our democracy, you have a job to do! you may not have asked for it, but you know what your job is? it is to save this democracy for the next generation of americans. that is what you are being asked to do, iowa. that is what you are being asked to do. [cheers and applause] sen bennet: and i know you won't shirk that responsibility. we can't, can live up to the example our parents and grandparents left for us.

i'm not scared of donald trump, iowa. and i don't think you are either. [cheers and applause] i've worked the hardest job you can have in america, being a superintendent. by the way, we should pay them what they deserve as professionals. [cheers and applause] sen bennet: but i know what to do with a schoolyard bully like donald trump. and i need your help. i need your help, iowa to help you. i need you to help push me in a position to help me win this race because i know i have the experience and temperament and intend to be donald trump. -- i am the only person in this race who has won two national races in a swing state and i know how to do it. i know how to win colorado and

iowa and maine and arizona, to get us a majority in the senate, and to get us the white house as well. but i can't do it without you. so i'm asking for your help tonight. if you want a president who gives a damn about your kids, join my campaign. if you want somebody who is going to fight for an economy that works for every american, join my campaign. if you want somebody who is going to fight for our democracy and to reestablish our alliances around the world, join my campaign. iowa, if you want somebody who will tell you the truth, even when it is hard to do it, join my campaign. you againthank all of for the opportunity to be here tonight, for the kindness you have shown, susan, caroline, an ann, and we look forward to seeing you on caucus night because more surprising things have happened in than this,

iowa. can assure you that. let's go do our work as founders, thanks for having me today. it's great to see all of you. thank you, iowa. [cheers and applause] ♪

castro.tary julian

♪ mr. castro: good evening, iowa! [cheers and applause] mr. castro: first of all, a huge thek you to all of leadership of the iowa democratic party who your gray congressman, to all the local and state elected officials who are here, and to all our great iowa democrats that are going to help win back the senate in 2020. it is great to be here in des moines with you. 2021, at 12:01

p.m., we are going to have a democratic president, a democratic house, and a democratic senate. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: the question for us what kind ofis america are we going to become? there will be life after donald trump. but what is that going to look like? what kind of america are we fighting for? the next president has the responsibility of trying to heal this nation, trying to bring it together. i want to talk to you tonight about the america we can build in the year to come. -- years to come.

i hope you all have been joining in this campaign, you have noticed that this campaign has marched to the beat of its own drummer. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: we have been a little bit different from all the other campaigns. we have not been the same. we have been speaking up for the most for noble folks in this country. streetsleeping on the and in storm drainage tunnels in las vegas, for the victims of police brutality. a woman named arlotta swain in the milwaukee, iowa who has lived in her trailer home for 40 years and got a notice a few months ago that her rent was going up by more than 60%, because some private equity group walked up the trailer park

-- bought up the trailer park. we have been fighting for those often left out, cast aside, marginalized, because somewhere weng the way in our country, forgot to talk about the poor. to talk about the most vulnerable. we are great at talking about the middle class and we need to fight for the middle class and i'm fighting for the middle class. but we also need to fight for the poor, and those who have the least. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: those who suffer the most. that is what this campaign has been doing. and that's not an accident. like many of you, i have lived in american dream story. i grew up with my mother and my grandmother and my brother on the west side of san antonio. my grandmother had come to the united states as an or friend when she was seven years old.

she worked as a maid and a babysitter her whole life because she never finished elementary school. she raised my mom as a single parent and my mom raised my brother and me as a single parent as well. my brother and i are proud products of the public school of texas. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: and just to think that only two generations after my grandmother got here, a lot of -- like i'm sure a lot of your relatives did, wherever they came from with hardly anything, one of her grandsons, my brother joaquin, represents the 20th congressional district, the neighborhood she moved to in san antonio, and the other one is here asking for your vote for president of the united states of america. [cheers and applause] that is what america has been, what it can be, what

we have to be. i'm running for president because i believe that every single american should have the opportunity to live out their dreams. and i want to make sure that we build an america where that's possible. that we fight for in america where your child can get a great education, because we invest in universal pre-k for three and four-year-olds. when i was mayor of san antonio, we took to the voters a ballot initiative that expanded high-quality pre-k for four-year-olds and we got it done. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: i want to make sure we can approve k-12 education by paying teachers what they deserve. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: reducing class sizes, and making sure that special-needs children can get the education they need at their school. too often times, the parents of

special-needs children feel like they have to be lawyers to argue for the bureaucracy that makes it hard for their child to get that education. and i want to ensure that every single american can get a good higher education, with tuition free public state university, community colleges, and job training and certification programs. [cheers and applause] the grandmother i grew up with, she had type 2 diabetes. like a lot of diabetics, her condition got worse and worse until right before she passed toy, in early 1996, she had have one of her feet amputated. which is not uncommon for severe diabetics. but that whole time, my grandmother had medicare. i want to strengthen medicare for the people who are on it and make sure that it is available to every single american who wants it.

[cheers and applause] mr. castro: and that if somebody has a strong private health insurance plan, they should be able to hold onto that. that we can do both of those things. we can also end the distinction between physical health care and mental health care and invest in mental health care. [cheers and applause] we should never allow to profit -- the profit of big insurance companies to determine who gets care or medication. there's no reason that insulin should talk cost -- should cost 10 times as much in the united states as it does in canada. [cheers and applause] i want to make sure that in this country, no matter who you are, that you are innocent until proven guilty because we reimagine our justice system, we invest in public defenders.

we reform our cash bail system. we legalize marijuana and invest in diversion programs to keep more of our young people out of the criminal justice system in the first place. work to give people an effective second chance in life that they have -- once they have been incarcerated. [cheers and applause] and work to make sure we are a fairer nation, that you cannot be discriminated against because of your sexual orientation or your gender identity. [cheers and applause] whenastro: i'm proud that i worked at barack obama's secretary, we extended protection to the lgbtq community. i want to make sure we have no second-class citizens in the united states of america. and that women get equal pay for equal work. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: that we protect a

woman's right to get an abortion in this country as it is under assault. and that no matter who you are, if you work hard in this country, that you can prosper. rewardsa tax code that people who have to work for a living, and not only amazon a big corporations and wealthy individuals, every american. [cheers and applause] i remember what it was like growing up in a household where we worried about being able to pay the rent on the first of the month. and have the electricity turned off sometimes. i remember watching as my mother lost her hair, when she was about 38 years old and my brother and i were 11, and they didn't know what the reason was. finally, the doctors told her it was stressed.

there are a lot of families that are stressed out right now. we need to make sure america works for working families in the years ahead. [cheers and applause] meansstro: that also investing in affordable housing. it means unleashing a clean energy economy by tackling the climate, not only the crisis, but also it is an opportunity to create jobs. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: it also means harnessing the wonderful potential of immigrants in this country. i have a totally different vision of immigration from this president. [cheers and applause] believero: i believe, i that we don't have to give into cruelty, that we can have border security but treat people with compassion and common sense. no more kids in cages, no more separating families, no more

playing games for people who are seeking a better role -- a better life, we can have a different positive better vision. a more humane way of doing immigration. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: i don't want to make america anything again. i don't want to go backwards. i want to go forwards. i want to make this country better than it has ever been in the years to come. with one exception. i want to restore some integrity and decency in the oval office because it has been missing. and we can do that. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: i got elected to city council in san antonio when i was 26 years old. job atwas 27, i quit my the law firm i was working at as a young lawyer, so that i could devote -- could vote on an

environmental deal that i thought was bad for our environment in san antonio. i could my job and i did the right thing to stand up for the constituents i represented. we can have clean government again in this country. one that is based on the hopes and dreams and wishes of the people, and not the powerful, nothing lobbyists, nothing special interest. we can reform citizens united. we can reform redistricting and vote -- suppress of the suppression of the vote. [cheers and applause] believe thatnd i after these last two and a half years, that america is ready for a change. america is ready for a new direction. and i can just imagine inauguration day.

somebody asked me, what's the first thing you would do if you were elected president? [cheers and applause] mr. castro: and i told them, the first thing i would do is i would find an executive order recommitting the united states to the paris climate accord so that we lead again on sustainability. [cheers and applause] but, my favorite moment would actually calm a little earlier in the day when it is traditional for the incoming president to usher out the outgoing president. moment on the white house lawn? when we will be getting ready to say goodbye to donald trump and melania trump and they will be getting ready to go back to new york or mar-a-lago. or somewhere.

the helicopter will be there with the door open, all of the white house staff is getting ready to leave, lined up on the lawn. right before he walks away, right before he leaves, i'm going to tell him, adios. adios. [cheers and applause] mr. castro: thank you, iowa. toare counting on you help us take back the senate and create a better america in the years to come. we are going to go from division to unity. instead of the past, the future. from dishonesty to integrity. the kind a president that we can all be proud of. thank you very much. [cheers and applause] ♪

[crowd chanting] [cheers and applause] welcome senator amy

klobuchar. ♪ sen. klobuchar: wow! thank you, iowa!

it is so, so wonderful to be back here with so many friends. thank you! [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: thank you to my good friends ruth and tom harkin and tom and kristi, it is great to see you. as you all know, i can cio from my porch. from my porch. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: and we are going to win big in this state in november. build a blueto world around iowa and ohio, although states that donald won in the 16. iowa, ohio, michigan, wisconsin, and pennsylvania. we are going to build that blue wall of democrats and we are going to make donald trump pay for it. [cheers and applause] we have beenr: so

on a long journey together. and i bet you will remember where you were on election night in 2016. i do. i was in minnesota. late at night, i got a text from , and that text said "mom, what should we do now?" she was at hilary's party in new york, she was in college and i had forgotten she was there. what should we do now? i wrote back, this mom guilt text really fast and it said, the subway is still running, you need to go home. it's very sad, and remember you have class tomorrow. mom, i mean our country. that is when it hit me. and that is something i will never forget. and i told her than what i tell you now.

is that our country, we have been through wars, financial crisis, and we have always come out on the others. but that question she asked still echoes in my mind and in your mind every single day. what should we do now? because democrats, if we answer it with a shrug of our shoulders or with apathy, if we just turn down the tv and put a blanket over our heads, then we don't win. action,e answer it with we win. that is what we need to do. [cheers and applause] and this journey endedl of us, it did not that night. it actually began the day after the inauguration, when millions and millions of people including here in des moines marched across this country. you remember that. and the next day, when 6000

women signed up to run for office, that happened. [cheers and applause] you klobuchar: and then think of it, where we marched with our union brothers and sisters, and we marched with immigrants, and we stood up for those kids in parkland and those moms who demanded action. tries --donald trump tried to repeal the affordable care act, when he tried to kick off kids from their health insurance, we didn't just sit down. we stood up and we won. that is what happened and that is what we did. [cheers and applause] now, whatchar: happened through all that, we got abby and cindy. you did this. elected to the u.s. house of representatives. you did that. i think that is a viking horn. you are going to pick softball the packer fans -- piss off all

the packer fans. we got abby and cindy elected to the u.s. house of representatives. and you turn to the house of representatives into the people's house again. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: you did that. as you gave us nancy pelosi the speaker of that has. me that aeople tell iman can't beat donald trump, tell them, nancy pelosi does it every single day. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: and if you think we can't win in the midwest, iowa democrats, i have four words for you.

former governor scott walker. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: so, we still househis guy in the white and every single morning he wakes up and tries to divide us. he sends out tweets going after immigrants, he goes after people of color, he belittles people that don't agree with him, and he allows a foreign country to make mincemeat of our democracy. and every day, our path gets clearer. i believe that we need someone that has this ticket that understands that what unites us as a party is so much bigger than what divides us. that understands that we have to bring in our fired up democratic base, but we also have to bring in independents, and even a few moderate republicans. if we want to dream big, that is what we are going to have to do. that is what we are going to have to do, my friends. i'm someone that has passed over

100 bills as a lead democrat in that gridlock of washington, d.c. i have won every race, every place, every time, in the reddest of red congressional districts. and i am someone that believes that we need a president that is not a president for half of america, but is a president for all of america. [cheers and applause] now, we have got this president that would rather lie than leave. that's what he does, he's running the country like a game show. and if you have noticed out he has put his business interest in front of the interest of our country, that is what he does. he sides with pirates over innocence. he sides with dictators over our allies. i can tell you one thing.

when i'm president, i will bring sanity back to our foreign policies. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: and something else. something else i promise you, i will never, ever host a gathering of international leaders at one of my resorts. [laughter] sen. klobuchar: oh that's right, i don't own a resort. but what i do own is this, i own an optimistic economic injustice agenda for this country. what does that mean? it means that after notlottesville, there were to sides when one side is the ku klux klan. there is only one side, and that is the american side. what that means is this multimillionaire -- if this multimillionaire can refinance their yachts, then students should be able to refinance their loans. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: and to the nra and to big pharma, no, you do not own america.

when i'm president, they will not own me. citizens own washington, d.c. and what this means is that we will take on the existential crisis of our time, climate change. and i will get us back into the international climate change agreement on day one. day two, bring back mclean power standard. the gase, bring back mileage standard. and then introduce sweeping legislation and get that done in one year. that is what we have to do, democrats. [cheers and applause] there is an old saying, and it is this, great leaders make decisions, not for this generation but for generations from now. we have a president that cannot keep his decisions seven minutes from now.

so i want you to imagine what it will be like to have a candidate on the debate stage that can literally look at this guy and say "you know what, the midwest is not flyover country, i live here." thei will not be treating workers and the farmers of this country like poker chips in one of your bankrupt casinos because they are my friends and my neighbors. and i will have plans that i can pay for, and deadlines that i can meet that are grounded in reality. you may go to mar-a-lago and tell your rich friends that they just got a whole lot richer. you know where i will go? i will go to our neighborhood and bring them and safety legislation. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: i will go to our small towns and bring them rural broadband and make sure everyone

understands that health care is not -- i will go to our hospitality workers and our food service workers and tell them yes, you deserve an increase in the minimum wage and childcare. and i will go to our military decency and the respect born in the allegiance to the united states flag. that is what this is about. but to do this, we not just change our politics, no, we have to change the tone in our politics. and that is what i will do. i ask you this, if you want to get ak-47's out of the hands of domestic abusers, we can't adjust win, we have to win big. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: if you, my friends, want to pass a constitutional amendment to

overturn citizens united, we can't adjust win, we have to win big. [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: and if you want to get rid of the privatization of medicaid in iowa, we can just win, we have to win big! [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: my background is different than donald trump's. and i think that's a good thing. i don't come from money. of a come from the grit february storm in the middle of minnesota. [cheers and applause] was klobuchar: my grandpa an iron ore miner who worked 1500 feet underground. he saved money in a coffee can to send my dad to college. my dad, he was a newspaperman. my mom, a union teacher who taught second grade until she was 70 years old. as the firste you

woman elected to the u.s. senate from the state of minnesota, and a candidate for president of the united states, and that is because we live in a country of shared dreams, we live in a country that no matter where you come from or who you know, that you can make it in the united states of america. that is our country. and i am running for you. i am running for every parent who has a kid who needs prescription drugs, i am running for every worker who needs respect for their work, and i am running for every farmer, student, builder, framer, i am running for you! [cheers and applause] sen. klobuchar: so i ask you to to sign up with me, and we will not only win because we know that our work doesn't end on election day. our work begins on inauguration

day. so let's just not when iowa, let's win big! [cheers and applause] ♪

[cheers and applause] welcome to the stage, senator cory booker.

♪ sen. booker: hello, iowa! hello, iowa! [cheers and applause] sen. booker: hello, iowa. hello, iowa! it was 10 years ago this very month that i was having a

conversation in a hospital room with my hero and someone who was like a father to me. it was the last conversation i would ever have with him because 10 years ago, he died. he was my hero, a man named frank hunch and. he was a legend in new jersey. he was one of the greatest tenant leaders that has ever led. he led the longest tent strike and heat -- rent strike and he won. 10 years ago, when he was dying in a hospital room, i was there in the conversation has shaped me. you see, in the 1990's, i met frank at the -- as a grad and i was helping him to take on -- i will never forget one meeting in a basement of the projects where people were together in that meeting, we were fighting to get that. no heat and other hot water. the meeting went on and on. i'll never forget that after it,

i was walking out with him, and i made a snarky comment. i talked about how long the meeting was. he stopped and looked at me with his kind and gentle eyes and said "cory, this is not just about repairing the buildings, it is about repairing dignity. it's about understanding power and our strength in tearing down that, that comes from the strength we have together." [cheers and applause] sen. booker: frank got me into politics. helps me push to run for city council. i became mayor. when he became blind, i will never forget every time i would see him to take in grocery shopping or whatever, i would say, it's cory. he would say, i see you became our greeting. when i walked in that hospital room in his last hours when they told me it would not be long, and i walked over to his

bedside, i said frank, icu. they told me he could not speak but he forced out those words. i see you. i held him and kissed his forehead and told him how much he meet -- means to me. care about those things, because for him, life was not about celebrity, it was out significance. it was not about popularity, it purpose. if he was here today, he would tell you life is not about how many people show up for you when you are dead, but how many people you show up for when you are alive. [cheers and applause] sen. booker: let me tell you, city inwas a mayor of a a recession which meant the city leave athad to bedsides the last thing i said to him was frank, i love you. the last thing he said to me was forcing out the word,i love you.

tonight, i want you to think about his last words to me. i seeyou, i love you, you, i love you. frank knew that the power in this country comes from those who are often overlooked, often ,gnored, the power of people icu, i love you, it is powerful enough to tear down a slumlord. i see you, i love you. his understanding that we together, that is what has overcome i see you, i love you. i will tell you right now in the selection, there are those people who think it is naive to think that this election is most support at lyons about our values. about our ideals. i tell you, that is where our

strength comes from. that is where our power is. it is our connection to each other, our ability to pull together coalition and unify around our highest ideals. [cheers and applause] how we have this is always accomplished it in this nation. i hear the pendants talk about who is pulling the best or who has most money or who can best deliver a shot against another democrat on the stage. we know, iowa, that the poles of our party who is leading in the polls, has never gone on from our party to be -- the president of the united states. it is not about how much money a person has or how much you tear down another democrat. this is going to be decided by who can best pull us to our common asked deletions. who can fire us to be the truth of who we are, who don't abandon our values during trials, we

double down on them. [cheers and applause] election, thisis election, democrats have told you how much they don't like donald trump. but democrats, this election will not be defined by what we are against, but by what we are for. [cheers and applause] as. booker: this election, much as the difference in policy are between fellow democrats, what is between us and the person in office, and this is a moral moment in america. we as democrats have to pull this whole country to higher aspirations. the president tries to divide us, the answer for democrats should not be defeat republicans. the calling of this party must be to unite americans again. a common cause. a common purpose. [cheers and applause]

because that is how we do big things in america. it is how we have always done them. by creating bigger and larger movement. borne from an iowa grandmother who worshiped right here in des moines at caribbean baptist. born before women had the right to vote, and what she taught me further women's rights movement is that we create a broader coalition to secure suffrage. now come in america, we need a theyent i again, because are attacking planned parenthood, they are attacking roe v. wade. i'm running for president because we need a large american movement for women's rights again. equa pay for equal work. it took a movement in america, and my grandmother -- grandfather would tell me it took a larger movement to secure workers rights.

you know what? workers rights are under assault again in america. we need a broader coalition, a new american movement to ensure people can retire with dignity. that we have a living wage. my father and mother told me it was a civil rights movement that ensures that i would one day have the chance to be the first descendent of a slave to be in the white house which was built by slaves. but this is a movement we need again. and a time in america where they are assaulting civil rights and voting rights, with gerrymandering and money in politics. we need a new american movement to make sure we end the incarceration, to secure voting rights, and extend civil rights to lgbtq americans. [cheers and applause] sen. booker: this is what we want, democrats will say things

like well, you know democrats are in the polls, the number one thing americans want -- democrats want is someone who can be donald trump. they don't know us. democrats, beating donald trump is the floor, it is not the ceiling. beating donald trump gets us out of the valley, it does not get us on top. [cheers and applause] sen. booker: we are a nation that has always aspired to turn our common pain into common purpose. we are a nation that understands from the founding of our nation, the world's oldest constitution starts without a word, we. we the people. my parents generation, they marched together and joined together, understood that it began with we shall overcome. nation, how we

ensure that we unite a country that every day a president who engages in moral vandalism is trying to tear apart the way we aspire, not just to beat him, but go to the mountaintops. the way our ancestors did. moon,r was kennedy to the or king appointed to the mountaintops, we joined together and said we will rise. [cheers and applause] sen. booker: we have seen hate before. we have seen bigotry before. but whether it is trying to beat aunt -- or stonewall beat us back on the bridge, we did not turn against each other. we unified together and said "we will rise." i'm running for president for you to fire -- for those who call us -- we need all democrats together

to call this country to stand together, to work together, to live together. it is time now that we call for those broader coalitions, that we call to the heart and aspirations of this country, because if i am your nominee, i will inspire, engage, and ignite this nation like no other nominee can. if youbelieve like i do, want to join a movement, go to corybooker.com. because it is time that we all stay together, in. . a course of conviction we will rise -- in a course of conviction. we will rise for workers rights, for public education, and school for all kids. we will rise to deal with the challenge of climate change. we will rise to make sure that we in america are a nation for liberty and justice for all.

we are not defined by donald trump. we are defined by the love between us, and when they tried to demean and degrade, when they tried to survive with hate, we bring love. remember the words of that great torican poet, my angelou, use her phrase that we all know "he may try to write us down in history, but is with -- with his sinister lies, he may try to trot our nation in the dirt, but still, like dust, we will rise." i love you, let us join together. join with me, we will rise together. we will rise together. iowa, i see you. i love you. i see you. i love you. together, we will rise! [cheers and applause]

♪

>> your hands together for a former congressman -- put your hands together for former congressman, john delaney. [cheers and applause] ♪

mr. delaney: good evening, iowa. what a great night. thank you for all you do. thank you for coming out. thank you for having me. it's been a great night. so, since 1990, our country has citizens.5 million america has shrunk by 3 million people. but you know that here in iowa, don't you? years, in the big urban counties in our country, we have created 100,000 new businesses. which is terrific.

but in the rural counties, we have lost 20,000 businesses. but you know that here in iowa. country, 80% of the money that was invested in in 50mpanies was invested counties in the united states of america out of 3000 counties. but you know that here in iowa. you see it across your state. opportunity is literally being stripped from rural america. and it is hurting the citizens in those communities and it has destabilized our democracy. make no mistake about it, that is one of the main reasons donald trump is in the white house right now. and that is something i'm

committed to changing as your president. i will reverse every one of those trends, but i need your help to do it. so let me tell you a story about opportunity. on augusttory starts 1, 1923. 16 ships steamed into new york harbor, delivering 15,000 immigrants to our shores. every one of them coming to america for a better life. every one of them coming to america for opportunity. one of the immigrants on one of those ships was a little boy, and he was coming here with his seven brothers and sisters and his mother. but the day did not go well for him.

they let his brothers and sisters into the country. they let his mom into the country. but they stopped him. they separated him from his family. they detained him. they sent him to a facility, and they scheduled his deportation. and the reason they did that to this little boy is because he had one arm. back then in our country, we didn't let people in who had a disability. there was no tom harkin's fighting for those people back then. [cheers and applause] mr. delaney: but the little boy's family got him an appeal a month later. and the appeal was held in the great hall of ellis island. but there was a very little hope. because the rules were clear. intoope actually walked

the great hallway. by the -- in the form of a judge who also had but one arm. and that one arm to judge looked at the one arm to boy and said, i'm going to let you in, but i want you to make something of your life. and he did. that boy was my grandfather. and he did -- [cheers and applause] mr. delaney: and he spent 50 years working in a factory doing what immigrants and workers have always done, they did back then, and they are doing today. they built this country. just like my other grandfather did. who built ships in the docs in new jersey, until he fell off one of them and broke his back. or just like my dad did.

a 60 year member of the international brotherhood of workers. which is a terrific union, by the way. [cheers and applause] mt. delaney: really good care of us growing up. he taught me a valuable political lesson, one i have never forgotten. the only one i need to know. he said if you care about workers, you vote for the democrats. [applause] is delaney: it's true, it pretty simple. i grew up in a time when america worked. when america was about opportunities. it wasn't about birthright, it wasn't about being born in the right city or going to the right school, it was about opportunity. this country has given me

amazing opportunity. to get a great education, to be the first in my family to go to college. businesses -- two businesses, creating thousands of jobs and getting an award from the obama administration for our work in disadvantaged communities. republicans try to run against us on jobs in the can do that on me. this country has given me the opportunity to serve my country, and most importantly, to be happily married to an amazing woman for 30 years, and have four daughters. but my story is much harder today. that is the point, it is just much harder. will people in our country be the first generation of americans that will not do better than their parents.

the first generation ever. i want you to think about that, iowa. -- ise in that situation that situation more acute than in rural america. but you have to show up to know that. and it democrats have not been showing up in rural america, but i have. i've been to everyone of your 99 counties. every one of them. toured floodd -- damage in pacific junction, i talked about the bernie income tax credit, i talked about climate change, and i went to storm likes to see how immigrants are rebuilding a town. as i have traveled around your state, i have seen so many small towns that are shrinking and aging, putting huge pressure on public education and health

care. this is one of the central challenges we face as a nation. turnse unless we actually around huge parts of our country , millions of people are going to continue to suffer, and we will never be able to build the kind of governing majority we stuffo get all of the done we have heard about tonight. i will do that as your president. i'm going to launch the largest infrastructure program in the history of this country, $2 trillion. [applause] mr. delaney: we used to spend 5% of our economy on infrastructure, now we spend 2%. china spends 8%. rebuildget that up and communities and have a disproportionate allocation to rural america. i will fix the broken health care system in this country by supporting rural health care.

folks are calling for a public option. that doesn't go nearly far enough to solve our problem. we need universal health care. we need a health care system where every american gets health care as a basic human right. but we've got to be smart about how we do it. the storm lake times just wrote that my universal health care system is the best way to get there, and in particular will help rural america. we have to settle our climate change strategy in our heartland. not only with sustainable agricultural practices, but by investing in the greatest research and development project in this country since nasa to come up with the innovation we need to combat climate change and locate it in rural america. we need to make sure our tax policy works for workers, not

just the rich and corporations. we should be doubling the earned income tax credit. and we need universal pre-k in early childhood education in rural communities. this is an unrivaled agenda, and for --ed academic demo unrivaled economic agenda. we have to end this trade work, which i will do as president, i will get us back into the transpacific partnership, which was president obama's signature second term initiative. trump inda will beat rural iowa. if you beat trump in rural iowa, you know what the result will be on election night. we will run up a huge majority in this country. that's how we have to think about these challenges. but this is where i need your help.

this race has become nationalized very early. playsle iowa historically, the important role you play, particularly your rural communities come in has a voice in what the parties agenda agenda is.'s it is not being heard. rural iowa is not central and our debate and this is where i need your help. is for me, and you need to send a message that rural iowa matters. that he heartland matters. you will send a message that you will fight for your communities and there should be dignity in jobs and opportunity in every community in this country. you will send a message everywhere that this is how we build a governing coalition. if you do that for me, i promise i will never forget the lessons you taught me in my travels.

i will never forget that judge who let my grandfather into this country and the lesson in shared humanity that has to guide everything we do. that unionr forget that helped support my family and paid for half of my college tuition. and i will never forget what my dad told me, that the democratic party stands for workers. i will never forget the lessons i learned in business, creating jobs everywhere. and i tell you what i will never forget, i will never forget what i have learned in rural iowa. in coffee shops and living rooms and small towns. hearing about the dignity of these communities, what you have done for this country, how important you are to this country and how you have been left behind. by policies that don't create opportunities in your community. i will never forget that.

so caucus for me and send a message that these issues matter and that we are one country and that together we can do anything. together we can go back to the words that john f. kennedy uttered in 1958 where he said we the republican answer or the democratic answer, we should seek the right answer. [applause] mr. delaney: the right answer for the united states of america is for the democratic party to lead, and to put forth a president who wants to bring leadership to this nation, wants to unify this terribly divided vision for how a we create opportunity for americans everywhere, no matter the condition of your birth, no matter the geography of your birth. we can do this, but we have to

do it together. caucus for me and send a message that rural iowa matters, that the heartland matters, and i promise you, i will never forget. thank you for having me, god bless you all. and thank you for the welcome you have given me across the last two years. thank you. [cheers and applause] ♪

♪ >> please welcome to the stage, .enator cory booker

♪ ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome to the stage, governor steve bullock. bullock. [cheers and applause] ♪ gov. bullock: hello, iowa! thank you for staying for the keynote speaker! just getting into this race about five and a half

months ago, i have put some miles on these boots. 15 trips across america's heartland. at a grainh farmers veterans. to our so where my great weight grandparents settled, to where they are not going to settle for trump again. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: 89 stops from mount pleasant to mason city. i have listened to you, i have learned from you, and we have if we bridge divides, we can make this economy and washington work for iowans and how together we can boot donald trump out of office.

[cheers and applause] i may be the underdog in this race, but as a child who grew up in a single-parent household paycheck-to-paycheck, as an took on general who citizens united and a governor who took on the koch brothers, as a democrat from montana, boy howdy, i have been in underdog before. this election demands more than squeaking by with a narrow victory. we need a nominee strong enough to boot him all the way back to trump tower, to defeat trump's ism and let the world know that the america it has trusted and relied upon and admired, that that america is back.

[cheers and applause] gov. bullock: trump took iowa by andst 10 points montana by a little over 20. that same night on that same ballot, i was reelected by over 4%. a quarter of my voters voted for donald trump. running only candidate who won in a trump state. i'm going to tell you a secret, that is why you all stayed butte i'm going to share my tried and true recipe for winning where other democrats do not. it's not that complicated. you have to show up. we cannot write off parts of this country because it is tough or because the party says it is a waste of time. it's more than just showing up. it is listening, it is

understanding, it is respecting perspectives that are different than ours. almost one third of your counties voted obama twice and then trump. you are left with republican legislators and a republican governor that cuts education and health care and that's workers rights and women's rights. the is about taking back white house and your statehouse. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: that path to victory does not go just through the coasts and urban areas. i refuse to see the vote in deral and small tame -- to ce the vote in rural and small-town america to a new york conman with orange hair and a gold toilet.

iowans, you get it. candidates love you to death for 94 more days. then bye-bye, we are gone. we need somebody at the top of the ticket who can help all the way up and down the ballot, and i can do so. showed up, listening, understanding, that's how we win back the places we lost and how we give donald trump the boot. [cheering and applause] gov. bullock: we've got to be able to connect with people who wear boots, not just wing tips. the democrats, we have to be the party that fights for everyone, that never leaves working families behind. ofognize the majority

americans have not had a pay increase in 60 years, 40 years and real terms. beenars of workers have replaced by contract workers and temporary workers. union membership is half of what it was in the 1940's. two thirds of the folks in this country don't have a college is not and this economy always working for them. we need to make working people know that we are waking up every single morning and fighting to make their lives better. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: and that farmer getting hit by trump's trade war , that teacher working a second insulin,to afford her they cannot wait for revolution. their problems are in the here and now and they are not asking for everything free. all they want is a fair shot and

their fair share. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: as a former union labor lawyer, as someone who knows that blue-collar families live and work in places that aren't always blue on the election map, that's how we get back working folks and families and retirees in iowa and across the midwest, and that's how we give trump the boot. [cheers and applause] are bullock: finally, boots made for working, not just giving speeches. it will take hard work to break the divide in this country. it will take hard work to bridge the divide in washington, d.c. you know what? what isn't take on holding us back in so many ways, the influence of money in the

system, if we don't work hard on that every day, everything else you just heard about over the last 27 speeches will just be talk. violence,ange, gun income inequality, health care system. if we are going to tackle those, we have to tackle dark money. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: i don't know about you, but me, you, most of america are tired of d.c. politicians pretending that press releases and talking are a substitute for doing. it is time to do. finding dark money has been the fight of my career and the challenge of our time, and we can win this fight. brothers, ie koch band dark money from our elections and montana, and if we

can kick the koch brothers out of montana, he can kick them out of iowa, out of washington, everywhere in this country. that is how we take back our democracy and give trump the boot. clear, winning ons not mean compromise progressive values. i am a pro-choice progressive democrat that wants reelection nn a red state -- that woi reelection in a red state. don't tell me we can't win back the places he lost. -- we lost. don't tell me places like iowa and montana and wisconsin and pennsylvania are any less important to the democratic party than california and massachusetts.

[cheers and applause] gov. bullock: don't tell me we can't turn out our base and bring back those obama trump voters. what, weou know democrats may have differences on some of the details, but we stand for shared values. it doesn't matter if you wear boots, wingtips, birkenstocks, yourow it takes more than bootstraps to make it in america. it takes community, it takes courage, it takes coming together in common purpose to make sure everyone has a fair shot. and when we show up, when we fight for our values, we are going to give trump the boot. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: when we fight for voting rights, civil rights, and equal rights for all americans,

we are going to give trump the boot. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: when we stand with our union brothers and sisters and for every workers rights to collectively bargain, we are going to give trump the boot. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: when we protect a women's right to make her own health care decisions, we are going to give trump the boot. [cheers and applause] gov. bullock: and when we recognize that the climate crisis is a climate opportunity for good jobs without leaving communities behind, we are going to give trump the boot. when we take on rudy giuliani, lindsey graham, joni ernst and all of that corruption in washington, d.c., we are going to give trump the boot.

to beat donald , top, to bridge divides make our economy in washington, d.c. work for all of us, and i ask you to stand with me, i ask you to caucus with me, because together, together we can boot trump. thank you so much, iowa. thank you for the good night. [cheers and applause] ♪

♪ >> please welcome back to the stage your chairman. applause]d ♪

>> good morning, iowa democrats. i am kidding, i am kidding. lwill keep my remarks to a ean 45 minutes. on behalf of our party, i want to thank you again for being here. i want to thank the candidates for being here. i think you saw tonight the energy in this party and excitement behind our candidates and the drive that will make sure democrats win. thank you all again for being here in thank you what for -- thank you for what you're doing in your communities and for this party, and let's go out here and when this thing. -- and win this thing. ♪

>> that concludes our live coverage of the iowa democratic party [indiscernible] more from campaign 2020 tomorrow when joe biden will open his newest campaign office in des moines, iowa up you'd he is expected to be joined by his wife, dr. jill biden, at the event. watch live coverage beginning saturday at 11:45 eastern here c-span.org,nline at or listen live on the free c-span radio app. ♪ >> campaign 2020. watch our live coverage of the presidential candidates on the campaign trail and make up your own mind. c-span's campaign 2020, your unfiltered view of politics. at c-span.org, we are making

it easier for you to watch c-span's coverage of the impeachment inquiry into the administration's response. if you miss any of our live coverage, go to our impeachment inquiry page at c-span.org/impeachment for video on demand. from thedded a tally associated press showing where each house democrat stands on the impeachment inquiry against president trump you'd follow the impeachment inquiry on our website at c-span.org/impeachment, it is your fast and easy way to watch c-span's unfiltered coverage anytime. this week on "newsmakers," congressman mike johnson, a republican of louisiana. take for being with us. rep. johnson: thank you for having me. host: we also have scott long, who covers capitol hill with the hiew