Senator Claire McCaskill at the Missouri State Democratic Convention in Columbia. Photo by Blue Girl.

Senator Claire McCaskill addressed the delegates at the Missouri State Democratic Convention in Columbia on Saturday, May 10th.

Senator McCaskill’s remarks:

[applause] Hello Democrats! [applause] All right! [applause] What a terrific, terrific welcome. [voice: “Give ’em hell!”] I am…I love that, someone yelled “Give ’em hell!” [voice: “Yeah.”] Yay! Harry would say, “We tell the truth, they only think it’s hell.” [laughter] You know, I am thrilled to be here today. I gotta tell you, it’s, I’ve got mixed emotions. You know, tomorrow is Mother’s Day and I’m going to share with you because you’re my family. [laughter] You really are my family. And, and, no, mother’s not here today. She said to tell you all, “Hello.” It’s embarrassing when I show up at these things because no one says, “Hi Claire. Hi Claire.” They all say, “Where’s your mother? Where’s your mother?” [laughter]…

…I’m not going to get a chance to stay and do what I love best. Which is hugging every one of you and telling you how blessed I am. And how much I appreciate you for giving me this opportunity to go out there to Washington to fight for you every single day. Thank you from the bottom of my heart. [cheers, applause]

I want to briefly talk to you about three things. Policies, priorities, and real people. Policies, priorities, and real people. And I want you to think back now to some dark days. And I’m going to tell you a story, and I wasn’t there, as you will tell when I tell you this story. You’ll know I wasn’t there. And I, I can’t say for sure this is what happened. But this is the way I imagine it. And it might actually be completely accurate.

The dark days were in November and December of 2004. And Governor-elect Matt Blunt sat in a room. He sat in a room and he was surrounded by his team. He was surrounded by his advisors. And those advisors told him, “We have a budget problem.” And he said, “Well, I want to know the numbers.” And they said, “Well, you know, we’ve got this Medicaid program that is, takes a lot of money.” And he said, “Well what are the numbers?” And no one in the room said, “Well, shouldn’t we talk about something other than the numbers?” Nobody said that. I’m imagining that it was about the numbers. And as the words came out of his mouth, “Cut Medicaid,” there was no one in the room talking about real people. There was no one in the room that said, “Should we talk about priorities?” There was no one in the room that felt the fear that that single mom, getting on the bus to go to work for slightly more than minimum wage, felt that day in January when she realized if anything happened to her she could not get health care and no one would be there to make sure that her young children got taken to the neighbor’s house every morning before she got on that bus to go to work. No one in that room talked about the real people that it would hurt. No one spoke up for them. It was about the numbers.

Now, when that happened, there then came a day that there were surpluses. Now imagine what that room would have been like if other people had been in office when there were surpluses. Would someone have said, “Hey, isn’t it time to restore those cuts? Isn’t it time to take care of more people? Isn’t it time to make a valuable investment that gives us six to seven hundred million dollars in Federal money every year that now is going to other states to help with their health care?” Oh, no. As they bragged about their surpluses no one in the room thought of real people.

Now, what about Sarah Steelman?  What about Kenny Hulshof? Silent co-conspirators. Did they say a word? Did Kenny Hulshof stand up and say, “Wait a minute, wait a minute, this doesn’t make any sense. You’re giving away all this Federal money that we can’t get back? You’re robbing Peter to pay Paul?” Did Kenny Hulshof stand up and speak for real people? How ’bout Sarah Steelman? Did we hear anything from her? [voices: “No!”] It was awfully quiet, wasn’t it?

We’re talking about priorities that matter. Now, how about their friend, the president? [laughter] Well, as our federal budget started hemorrhaging and we began running to China for our money – nope, take this with you as you go back out in the streets – we’re going to China for two billion dollars a week guys. We’re running to China when we need to have equilibrium around the world and we need to have power to leverage we’re going to China as our banker. And we’re borrowing two billion dollars a week. This week, next week, the following week as long as George Bush and John McSame as Bush is around [laughter] we will go every week [applause], two billion dollars a week from China. [applause] And what are we doing with that two billion dollars a week? We’re taking care of Baghdad. We are taking care of Baghdad. [voice: “I love you Claire.”] I love you back. [laughter] We are taking care of Baghdad while we wear out our army. We are taking care of Baghdad while we diminish our alliances around the world. We take care of Baghdad in a time that all of this has got us pinned down and it’s not made us one bit safer. [voice: “All right!”, applause]

Are we going in debt to build our roads and bridges? No. Are we going into debt to fund No Child Left Behind? [voices: “No.”] Are we going in debt to get our kids in college? [voices: “No.”] These are real priorities that effect real people.

Elections make a huge difference you guys. And now what I want to do, is I want to tell you, this campaign is not about Jay Nixon, and it’s not about Barrack Obama, and it’s not about Hillary Clinton. I’ll tell you what this election is about. It’s about that single mom that on that day she heard that no one in the room spoke up for her. It’s about her. It’s about making sure that there’s somebody in the room that is speaking for her. That’s what this election is about. [applause]

And I would like to close with not now an imaginary story, but with a real story. And I think when I finish this story you guys will understand why I’m telling it. This is all true. Less than a mile and a half from here was where I lived beginning in the fourth grade. My parents moved to Columbia and I lived right over here down the road and I went to Russell Boulevard School. [voice: “Yay!”] There you go, there’s somebody from Russell Boulevard. [laughter] My sister and I were very close in age, my older sister. And I remember distinctly one morning when I was in the fourth grade and she was in the sixth grade, we hadn’t lived here very long, and we walked to school together. And that morning she discovered before we left for school that I had in fact ridden her bike. [laughter] This was a felony according to my sister. [laughter] I was in serious trouble. She punched me. I was mad. We walked to school, I tripped her. She fell down. If you walk Russell School on Rollins, all of you that are around here you know there’s this really deep hill you go down. Well, I tripped her on the down way of the hill. [laughter] So she’d roll a little further. [laughter] We fought all the way to school that day. And it so happened that day that we had a school assembly and my sister had a part in the school assembly and she got to speak to the whole school. And later that afternoon we had recess. And this really obnoxious girl in my class came up to me said, “You know, I think your sister is ugly and bossy.” And, for the first time in grade school, and maybe one of the few times in my educational career, I reacted in a way that was not appropriate. [laughter] When this girl called my sister ugly and bossy, this same sister I tripped and made fall on the way to school that morning, I reached out and pulled her hair as hard as I could pull it. [laughter, applause] Now, why am I telling that story today? I think you guys know.

We are busy right now fighti
ng for what we believe in, in our party. And we respect each other because we really do have two terrific candidates for president of the United States. [applause] And even though there have been days that somebody on this side felt like tripping somebody on this side, and even though there are days that somebody on this side felt like punching somebody in the arm on this side, when it comes time, and we’re on that playground I want everybody to reach out and yank that hair just as hard as they can. [laughter, applause] Because we are family. We are family. We are family. [applause, cheers] We are family.

And as we come together, and as we realize that all of the passion and emotion we feel for our candidates is not as important as that single mom. It’s not as important as those kids who could go to college. It’s not as important as those guys coming home that deserve good mental health care. It’s not as important as all those other things that we are fighting for. As we allow our passions to subside, and as we come together and join hands as family we’ve got to fight as hard as we’ve ever fought. And we’ve got to work harder than we’ve ever, ever worked…for what we believe in. The policies and priorities that will make our nation strong, will allow the middle class to not be so scared anymore, it will stop the polar ice caps from melting, that will allow us to be able to afford to drive our cars, that will clean up our environment, that will make us safe around the world, that will make us proud to be Americans again. Go out and fight as hard as you can. God bless you and God bless America. [applause] Thank you guys. [applause]

Congressman William “Lacy” Clay speaking to the assembled delegates at the convention in Columbia

Congressman William “Lacy” Clay addressed the delegates at the Missouri State Democratic Convention in Columbia on Saturday, May 10th.

Congressman Clay’s remarks:

….All across this nation the American people are just fed up and they’re tired, tired of a president who is out of touch. And there’s no way that the voters are going to elect a person that wants to serve a third term for George Bush. [applause, shouts]

John McCain represents that one thing. And he knows it, we know it. He wants to be the third term for President Bush and we’re not going to let that happen. [applause] You know [applause]…the voters are ready to elect, elect a new governor in this state and a new legislative majority that fights for working families instead of punishing them. You know, Jay Nixon will be a great governor [voices: “Yeah.”] and I want to commend him for standing up to defend the voting rights of over 240,000 Missourians across this state who are in danger of being disenfranchised by Republicans. That is shameful what they’re doing. And in this new push to pass a photo ID bill to suppress turnout – in a statement issued yesterday by Attorney General Nixon, the next governor of this state [laugher], here’s what he said, “The right to vote is the cornerstone of our Democracy. Over the years millions of Americans have made the ultimate sacrifice to earn and defend voting rights. As elected leaders we should work to increase voting and participation in the Democratic process, not create new unnecessary roadblocks.” Well, let me commend Mr. Nixon for standing up for the voting rights of over 240,000 Missourians. Jay is absolutely right. And I stand shoulder to shoulder with him in this fight. And I hope that every Democratic member of the Missouri Senate will stand up next week and stop this assault on our voting rights. [shouts, applause]

And I know this state. You know, I, I’ve been in elected office for twenty five years now, spent seventeen years in Jefferson City. I’ve been to almost every county in the state. And our voters are too smart and have way too much common sense to be distracted by the trivial nonsense that the Republicans are going to try on us this fall. You know, we’re, we are not going to get distracted by nonsensical trivial issues like lapel pins [voices: “Yeah.”], and former preachers, and race and gender, or whether someone has an unusual name. No, not this time. Because, the stakes are too high. This election is a once in a generation transformational moment. For the first time we are having an honest national discussion about facing the realities of race in America and our great Democratic victory in 2008 will knock down the walls of division that prevent us from becoming one united American family. And that is what this election is really about. That’s what we’re fighting for in oh eight.

And you know it’s no accident that this election comes on the fortieth anniversary of 1968. And it has deep roots, when you think about it. I think it’s especially appropriate that we’re gathering for our state convention today at the half way point between, at one of the saddest moments in our country’s history. We are standing between two of the saddest anniversaries in our history. And that is, forty years ago, we just lost two great voices for justice. One of them was Dr. King on April the 4th and on June 5th we lost Bobby Kennedy. And they were the great moral voices of a generation. They were the prophets that helped define the values of our party.

And when Dr. King spoke out against the twin evils of racism and another unjust and needless war, he said this, “I refuse to accept the view that mankind is so tragically bound to the starless midnight of racism and war, that the bright daybreak of peace and brotherhood can never become a reality. I believe that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word.”

And when a reporter asked Senator Kennedy to define what Democrats needed to do win, Bobby Kennedy said this, “The Democratic Party has never been invested with power on the basis of a program which promises to keep things as they were. We have won when we pledge to meet the new challenges of each succeeding year. We have triumphed, not in spite of controversy, but because of it. Not because we avoid problems, but because we face them. We have won, not because we bent and diluted our principles, but we still adhere to the ideals which represent the most noble and generous portion of the American spirit.”

You know, imagine that. A national campaign that challenges the American people to do the hard thing. The campaign that tells them the truth. A campaign that calls on their strength, their courage, their decency, and their faith. A campaign that is true to what is best in the American Spirit.

Democrats, are you ready to a part of history? [shouts, applause] Are you ready to break every voter registration and turnout record in this state? Are you ready? [shouts, applause] Are you ready to turn Missouri blue? [shouts, applause] Let’s go to work. We are the party of Jefferson and Jackson, of Roosevelt and Kennedy, and most especially we Missouri Democrats are the party of Harry Truman. [shouts, applause]

During the 1948 campaign Harry Truman was asked why the Republicans were so out of touch and he said this, “They stand four square for the American home, but not for housing. They are strong for labor, but they are stronger for restricting labor’s rights. They favor minimum wage, the smaller the minimum, the better. [laughter] They think modern medical care hospitals are fine, but only for the people that can afford them.”

So today, the echoes of those great Democratic leaders are with us and we still stand on their shoulders. And we are ready to fight to make this country work again for everyone. [voice: “The buck stops here!”] That’s right. [laughter]…

…When this primary process is over the entire congressional Democrats, congressional delegation will be together…

…We all stand together for winning the White House and winning this state back turning it blue. [applause]…