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VP Kamala Harris Accepts Democratic Nomination for POTUS  Outlining ‘A New Way Forward,’ An Opportunity Agenda ‘For the People’ & Defense of Freedom, Democracy

In a stirring, pitch-perfect speech accepting the Democratic Party’s nomination for President, Vice President Kamala Harris prosecuted the case for her election, listing her credentials, outlining her “Opportunity Agenda”, her plans to bring the nation forward, and building to a powerful crescendo in declaring her defense of national security and America’s role as leader of the Free World defending freedom and democracy not only for every American, but for freedom-seeking people around the world.

Along the way, she listed why Donald Trump and the Republicans, with their chaos and Project 2025 blueprint to strip Americans of freedom, and Trump’s denigration of the nation and US military, his promise of retribution and weaponizing Justice and the military, and his kowtowing to the despots, tyrants and autocrats he hopes to emulate, was wholy unqualified to ever occupy the Oval Office ever again.

“It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith: to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth — the privilege and pride of being an American,” Harris declared.

Here is a highlighted transcript of her historic speech: – Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention after delivering her speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president. She would be the first Black South Asian woman U.S. president © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com via MSNBC.


      THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good evening!  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)
 
     AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!
 
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  California.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)
 
Good evening, everyone.  Good evening.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  Good evening.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)
 
Oh, my goodness.  (Applause.)
 
Good evening, everyone.  Good evening.  Go- — (laughs).  (Applause.)  Good evening.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
AUDIENCE:  Kamala!  Kamala!  Kamala!
 
THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Good evening.  (Applause.)
 
Thank you.  Thank you.  Thank — thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you, everyone.  Thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
     AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!
 
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all. 
 
     AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!
 
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Thank you all.  (Applause.)
 
Okay, we’ve got to get to some business.  We’ve got to get to some business.
 
     Okay.  Thank you all.  (Applause.)  Okay.  (Laughs.)  Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you.  (Applause.)  Thank you, thank you.  Please.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
     Please.  Thank you so very much.  Thank you, everyone.  Thank you, everyone.  Thank you.  (Applause.)
 
     Okay, let’s get to business.  Let’s get to business.  All right.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)
 
So, let me start by thanking my most incredible husband, Doug — (applause) — for being an incredible partner to me, an incredible father to Cole and Ella.  And happy anniversary, Dougie.  (Laughs.)  (Applause.)  I love you so very much.
 
To our president, Joe Biden — (applause) — when I think about the path that we have traveled together, Joe, I am filled with gratitude.  Your record is extraordinary, as history will show, and your character is inspiring.  And Doug and I love you and Jill and are forever thankful to you both.  (Applause.)
 
And to Coach Tim Walz — (applause) — you are going to be an incredible vice president.   (Applause.) 
 
And to the delegates and everyone who has put your faith in our campaign, your support is humbling. 
 
So, America, the path that led me here in recent weeks was no doubt unexpected, but I’m no stranger to unlikely journeys.
 
So, my mother, our mother, Shyamala Harris, had one of her own.  And I miss her every day and especially right now.  And I know she’s looking down smiling.  (Applause.)  I know that.
 
So, my mother was 19 when she crossed the world alone, traveling from India to California with an unshakable dream to be the scientist who would cure breast cancer.  (Applause.) 
 
When she finished school, she was supposed to return home to a traditional arranged marriage, but as fate would have it, she met my father, Donald Harris, a student from Jamaica.  (Applause.)  They — they fell in love and got married, and that act of self-determination made my sister Maya and me.  (Applause.)
 
Growing up, we moved a lot.  I will always remember that big Mayflower truck packed with all our belongings, ready to go to Illinois; to Wisconsin — (applause); and wherever our parents’ jobs took us. 
 
My early memories of our parents together are very joyful ones: a home filled with laughter and music — Aretha, Coltrane, and Miles.  At the park, my mother would say, “Stay close.”  But my father would say, as he smiled, “Run, Kamala, run.  Don’t be afraid.  Don’t let anything stop you.”  (Applause.)  From my earliest years, he taught me to be fearless.
 
But the harmony between my parents did not last.  When I was in elementary school, they split up, and it was mostly my mother who raised us. 
 
Before she could finally afford to buy a home, she rented a small apartment in the East Bay.  In the bay — (applause) — in the Bay, you either live in the Hills or the Flatlands.  We lived in the Flats, a beautiful working-class neighborhood of firefighters, nurses, and construction workers — (applause) — all who tended their lawns with pride. 
 
My mother, she worked long hours.  And like many working parents, she leaned on a trusted circle to help raise us: Mrs.  Shelton, who ran the daycare below us and became a second mother; Uncle Sherman; Aunt Mary; Uncle Freddy; Auntie Kris.  None of them family by blood and all of them family by love.  (Applause.) 
 
Family who taught us how to make gumbo, how to play chess — and sometimes even let us win.  Family who loved us, believed in us, and told us we could be anything and do anything.  (Applause.)
 
They instilled in us the values they personified: community, faith, and the importance of treating others as you would want to be treated — with kindness, respect, and compassion.  (Applause.)
 
My mother was a brilliant, five-foot-tall brown woman with an accent.  (Applause.)  And as the eldest child — as the eldest child, I saw how the world would sometimes treat her.  But my mother never lost her cool.  She was tough, courageous, a trailblazer in the fight for women’s health.  And she taught Maya and me a lesson that Michelle mentioned the other night.  She taught us to never complain about injustice, but do something about it.  Do something about it.  (Applause.)  That was my mother. 
 
And she taught us — and she always — she also taught us — and she also taught us “and never do anything half-assed.”  (Applause.)  And that is a direct quote — (laughs) — a direct quote.
 
I grew up immersed in the ideals of the Civil Rights Movement.  My parents had met at a civil rights gathering.  And they made sure that we learned about civil rights leaders, including the lawyers, like Thurgood Marshall and C- — Constance Baker Motley — those who battled in the courtroom to make real the promise of America. 
 
So, at a young age, I decided I wanted to do that work.  I wanted to be a lawyer.  And when it came time to choose the type of law I would pursue, I reflected on a pivotal moment in my life. 
 
You see, when I was in high school, I started to notice something about my best friend, Wanda.  She was sad at school, and there were times she didn’t want to go home. 
 
So, one day, I asked if everything was all right, and she confided in me that she was being sexually abused by her stepfather.  And I immediately told her she had to come stay with us, and she did.  (Applause.) 
 
This is one of the reasons I became a prosecutor — to protect people like Wanda — because I believe everyone has a right to safety, to dignity, and to justice.  (Applause.)
 
As a prosecutor, when I had a case, I charged it not in the name of the victim but in the name of the people for a simple reason: In our system of justice, a harm against any one of us is a harm against all of us.  (Applause.)
 
And I would often explain this to console survivors of crime, to remind them no one should be made to fight alone.  We are all in this together.  (Applause.) 
 
And every day in the courtroom, I stood proudly before a judge and I said five words: “Kamala Harris, for the people.”  (Applause.) 
 
And to be clear — and to be clear, my entire career, I’ve only had one client: the people.  (Applause.) 
 
And so, on behalf of the people; on behalf of every American, regardless of party, race, gender, or the language your grandmother speaks; on behalf of my mother and everyone who has ever set out on their own unlikely journey; on behalf of Americans like the people I grew up with — people who work hard, chase their dreams, and look out for one another; on behalf of everyone whose story could only be written in the greatest nation on Earth, I accept your nomination to be president of the United States of America.  (Applause.)

     And with this election — and — (laughs) — and with this election, our nation — our nation, with this election, has a precious, fleeting opportunity to move past the bitterness, cynicism, and divisive battles of the past; a chance to chart a new way forward — (applause) — not — not as members of any one party or faction but as Americans.  (Applause.)

     And let me say, I know there are people of various political views watching tonight, and I want you to know I promise to be a president for all Americans.  (Applause.)  You can always trust me to put country above party and self; to hold sacred America’s fundamental principles, from the rule of law to free and fair elections to the peaceful transfer of power.  (Applause.)


     I will be a president who unites us around our highest aspirations.  A president who leads and listens; who is realistic, practical, and has common sense; and always fights for the American people.  (Applause.)

     From the courthouse to the White House, that has been my life’s work.  (Applause.)

     As a young courtroom prosecutor in Oakland, California — (applause) — I stood up for women and children against predators who abused them. 

     As attorney general of California, I took on the big banks — (applause) — delivered $20 billion for middle-class families who faced foreclosure and helped pass a homeowner bill of rights, one of the first of its kind in the nation.  (Applause.)


     I stood up for veterans and students being scammed by big for-profit colleges — (applause) — for workers who were being cheated out of their wages, the wages they were due — (applause) — for seniors facing elder abuse. 

     I fought against the cartels who traffic in guns and drugs and human beings — (applause) — who threaten the security of our border and the safety of our communities. 

     And I will tell you, these fights were not easy and neither were the elections that put me in those offices. 

     We were underestimated at practically every turn, but we never gave up, because the future is always worth fighting for.  (Applause.)  And that’s the fight we are in right now: a fight for America’s future.  (Applause.)

     Fellow Americans, this election is not only the most important of our lives, it is one of the most important in the life of our nation.  (Applause.)

Vice President Kamala Harris at the Democratic National Convention delivers her speech accepting the Democratic nomination for president. “It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith: to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth — the privilege and pride of being an American,” Harris declared. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com via MSNBC.


     In many ways, Donald Trump is an unserious man.  (Laughter.)  But the consequences — but the consequences of putting Donald Trump back in the White House are extremely serious.  (Applause.)

     Consider — consider not only the chaos and calamity when he was in office but also the gravity of what has happened since he lost the last election.
     Donald Trump tried to throw away your votes.  When he failed, he sent an armed mob to the United States Capitol, where they assaulted law enforcement officers. 
 
     When politicians in his own party begged him to call off the mob and send help, he did the opposite.  He fanned the flames. 
 
     And now, for an entirely different set of crimes, he was found guilty of fraud by a jury of everyday Americans — (applause) — and separately — and separately found liable for committing sexual abuse.

     And consider — consider what he intends to do if we give him power again.  Consider his explicit intent to set free violent extremists who assaulted those law enforcement officers at the Capitol; his explicit intent to jail journalists, political opponents, and anyone he sees as the enemy; his explicit intent to deploy our active-duty military against our own citizens. 

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Consider — consider the power he will have, especially after the United States Supreme Court just ruled that he would be immune from criminal prosecution.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Just imagine Donald Trump with no guardrails.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And how he would use the immense powers of the presidency of the United States not to improve your life, not to strengthen our national security, but to serve the only client he has ever had: himself.  (Applause.)

     And we know — and we know what a second Trump term would look like.  It’s all laid out in Project 2025, written by his closest advisers.  And its sum total is to pull our country back to the past.  But, America —

     AUDIENCE:  We are not going back!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — we are not going back.  (Applause.) 
     We are not going back.  We are not going back.
 
     AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  We are not going back to when Donald Trump tried to cut Social Security and Medicare. 

     We are not going back to when he tried to get rid of the Affordable Care Act, when insurance companies could deny people with preexisting conditions. 

     We are not going to let him eliminate the Department of Education that funds our public schools.  (Applause.)

     We are not going to let him end programs like Head Start that provide preschool and childcare for our children.  (Applause.)

     America, we are not going back.

     AUDIENCE:  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!  We’re not going back!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And we are charting — and we are charting a new way forward — (applause) — forward to a future with a strong and growing middle class, because we know a strong middle class has always been critical to America’s success.  And building that middle class will be a defining goal of my presidency.  (Applause.)

     And I’ll tell you, this is personal for me.  The middle class is where I come from.  My mother kept a strict budget.  We lived within our means, yet we wanted for little.  And she expected us to make the most of the opportunities that were available to us and to be grateful for them, because, as she taught us, opportunity is not available to everyone. 

     That’s why we will create what I call an opportunity economy — an opportunity economy where everyone has the chance to compete and a chance to succeed — (applause) — whether you live in a rural area, small town, or big city.

     And as president, I will bring together labor and workers — (applause) — and small-business owners and entrepreneurs and American companies to create jobs, to grow our economy, and to lower the cost of everyday needs like health care and housing and groceries. 

     We will provide access to capital for small-business owners and entrepreneurs and founders.  (Applause.)  And we will end America’s housing shortage — (applause) — and protect Social Security and Medicare.  (Applause.)

     Now compare that to Donald Trump, because I think everyone here knows he doesn’t actually fight for the middle class.  Not — he doesn’t actually fight for the middle class.  Instead, he fights for himself and his billionaire friends.  And he will give them another round of tax breaks that will add —
    
     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  — up to $5 trillion to the national debt.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And all the while, he intends to enact what in effect is a national sales tax — call it a “Trump tax” — that would raise prices on middle-class families by almost $4,000 a year.
    
     AUDIENCE:  Booo –
     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, instead of a Trump tax hike, we will pass a middle-class tax cut that will benefit more than 100 million Americans.  (Applause.)

     Friends, I believe America cannot truly be prosperous unless Americans are fully able to make their own decisions about their own lives, especially on matters of heart and home.  (Applause.)  But tonight, in America, too many women are not able to make those decisions.

     And let’s be clear about how we got here.  Donald Trump handpicked members of the United States Supreme Court to take away reproductive freedom.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  And now he brags about it.  In his words, quote, “I did it, and I’m proud to have done it.”  End quote.

     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, I’ll tell you, over the past two years, I’ve traveled across our country, and women have told me their stories.  Husbands and fathers have shared theirs.

     Stories of women miscarrying in a parking lot, developing sepsis, losing the ability to ever again have children, all because doctors are afraid they may go to jail for caring for their patients.  Couples just trying to grow their family, cut off in the middle of IVF treatments.  Children who have survived sexual assault potentially being forced to carry a pregnancy to term. 
 
     This is what’s happening in our country because of Donald Trump.  And understand, he is not done.  As a part of his agenda, he and his allies would limit access to birth control, ban medication abortion, and enact a nationwide abortion ban, with or without Congress.
 
     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     And get this.  Get this.  He plans to create a national anti-abortion coordinator and force states to report on women’s miscarriages and abortions. 
 
     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Simply put, they are out of their minds.  (Applause.)

And one must ask — one must ask: Why exactly is it that they don’t trust women?  Well, we trust women.  We trust women.  (Applause.)

     And when Congress passes a bill to restore reproductive freedom, as president of the United States, I will proudly sign it into law.  (Applause.)

In this election, many other fundamental freedoms are at stake: the freedom to live safe from gun violence in our schools, communities, and places of worship; the freedom to love who you love openly and with pride — (applause); the freedom to breathe clean air and drink clean water and live free from the pollution that fuels the climate crisis — (applause); and the freedom that unlocks all the others, the freedom to vote.  (Applause.)
 
     With this election, we finally have the opportunity to pass the John Lewis Voting Rights Act and the Freedom to Vote Act.  (Applause.)

     And let me be clear.  And let me be clear.  After decades in law enforcement, I know the importance of safety and security, especially at our border. 

     Last year, Joe and I brought together Democrats and conservative Republicans to write the strongest border bill in decades.  The Border Patrol endorsed it.  But Donald Trump believes a border deal would hurt his campaign, so he ordered his allies in Congress to kill the deal.
 
     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Well, I refuse to play politics with our security, and here is my pledge to you.  As president, I will bring back the bipartisan border security bill that he killed, and I will sign it into law.  (Applause.)

     I know — I know we can live up to our proud heritage as a nation of immigrants and reform our broken immigration system.  (Applause.)

     We can create an earned pathway to citizenship and secure our border.  (Applause.)

And, America, we must also be steadfast in advancing our security and values abroad. 
 
     As vice president, I have confronted threats to our security, negotiated with foreign leaders, strengthened our alliances, and engaged with our brave troops overseas.  (Applause.)
 
     As commander in chief, I will ensure America always has the strongest, most lethal fighting force in the world.  (Applause.)  And I will fulfill our sacred obligation to care for our troops and their families, and I will always honor and never disparage their service and their sacrifice.  (Applause.)
 
     AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  I will make sure that we lead the world into the future on space and artificial intelligence; that America, not China, wins the competition for the 21st century; and that we strengthen, not abdicate, our global leadership. 
 
     Trump, on the other hand, threatened to abandon NATO.  He encouraged Putin to invade our allies.  Said Russia could, quote, “do whatever the hell they want.”
 
     AUDIENCE:  Booo —

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  Five days before Russia attacked Ukraine, I met with President Zelenskyy to warn him about Russia’s plan to invade.  I helped mobilize a global response — over 50 countries — to defend against Putin’s aggression.  (Applause.)  And as president, I will stand strong with Ukraine and our NATO Allies.  (Applause.)

     With respect to the war in Gaza, President Biden and I are working around the clock, because now is the time to get a hostage deal and a ceasefire deal done.  (Applause.)

     And let me be clear.  And let me be clear.  I will always stand up for Israel’s right to defend itself — (applause) — and I will always ensure Israel has the ability to defend itself, because the people of Israel must never again face the horror that a terrorist organization called Hamas caused on October 7 — (applause) — including unspeakable sexual violence and the massacre of young people at a music festival.
 
     At the same time, what has happened in Gaza over the past 10 months is devastating.  So many innocent lives lost.  (Applause.)  Desperate, hungry people fleeing for safety, over and over again.  The scale of suffering is heartbreaking.
 
     President Biden and I are working to end this war, such that Israel is secure, the hostages are released, the suffering in Gaza ends, and the Palestinian people can realize their right to dignity, security, freedom, and self-determination.  (Applause.)
 
     And know this: I will never hesitate to take whatever action is necessary to defend our forces and our interests against Iran and Iran-backed terrorists.  I will not cozy up to tyrants and dictators like Kim Jong Un, who are rooting for Trump — who are rooting for Trump.  (Applause.)
 
     Because, you know, they know — they know he is easy to manipulate with flattery and favors.  They know Trump won’t hold autocrats accountable because he wants to be an autocrat himself.  (Applause.)
 
     And as president, I will never waver in defense of America’s security and ideals, because in the enduring struggle between democracy and tyranny, I know where I stand and I know where the United States belongs.  (Applause.)

     AUDIENCE:  USA!  USA!  USA!

     THE VICE PRESIDENT:  So, fellow Americans — fellow Americans, I — I love our country with all my heart.  (Applause.) 

     Everywhere I go — everywhere I go, in everyone I meet, I see a nation that is ready to move forward, ready for the next step in the incredible journey that is America.
 
     I see an America where we hold fast to the fearless belief that built our nation and inspired the world — that here, in this country, anything is possible; that nothing is out of reach.  An America where we care for one another, look out for one another, and recognize that we have so much more in common than what separates us.  (Applause.)  That none of us — none of us has to fail for all of us to succeed.  (Applause.)  And that in unity, there is strength. 
 
     You know, our opponents in this race are out there every day denigrating America, talking about how terrible everything is.  Well, my mother had another lesson she used to teach: Never let anyone tell you who you are; you show them who you are.  (Applause.)
 
     America, let us show each other and the world who we are and what we stand for: freedom, opportunity, compassion, dignity, fairness, and endless possibilities.  (Applause.)
 
     We are the heirs to the greatest democracy in the history of the world.  And on behalf of our children and our grandchildren and all those who sacrificed so dearly for our freedom and liberty, we must be worthy of this moment.
 
     It is now our turn to do what generations before us have done, guided by optimism and faith: to fight for this country we love, to fight for the ideals we cherish, and to uphold the awesome responsibility that comes with the greatest privilege on Earth — the privilege and pride of being an American.  (Applause.)
 
     So, let’s get out there, let’s fight for it.  Let’s get out there, let’s vote for it.  And together, let us write the next great chapter in the most extraordinary story ever told.  (Applause.)

     Thank you.  God bless you.  And may God bless the United States of America.  Thank you all.  (Applause.)

Biden-Harris 2020, Civil Rights, Coronavirus Pandemic, Criminal Justice, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Donald Trump, Election 2020, Joe Biden, Justice Agenda, News & Photo Features

Biden: ‘I want a safe America… Donald Trump looks at this violence and sees a political lifeline’

Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic candidate for president, spoke out against violence that has erupted out of peaceful protests against racial injustice and police brutality, which Donald Trump has stoked, inflamed, ignited seeing violence as the deflection to rising angst over his failure to contain COVID-19, which is killing 1,000 people a day, or improve the economic hardship most Americans are experiencing because of the public health crisis: “Ask yourself: Do I look to you like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?” Biden said.“I want a safe America – safe from COVID, safe from crime and looting, safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops. And let’s be crystal clear: Safe from four more years of Donald Trump.” © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic candidate for president, spoke out against violence that has erupted out of peaceful protests against racial injustice and police brutality, which Donald Trump has stoked, inflamed, ignited seeing violence as the deflection to rising angst over his failure to contain COVID-19, which is killing 1,000 people a day, or improve the economic hardship most Americans are experiencing because of the public health crisis.

“Ask yourself: Do I look to you like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?” Biden said.
 
“I want a safe America – safe from COVID, safe from crime and looting, safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops.
 
“And let’s be crystal clear: Safe from four more years of Donald Trump.
 
“I look at this violence and I see lives and communities and the dreams of small businesses being destroyed and the opportunity for real progress on the issues of race and police reform and justice being put to the test.
 
“Donald Trump looks at this violence and sees a political lifeline.”

These  are Biden’s remarks, highlighted, delivered in Pittsburgh on Monday, August 31:

In the early days of World War II, Franklin Roosevelt told the country, “The news is going to get worse and worse before it gets better and better, and the American people deserve to have it straight from the shoulder.”
 
Straight from the shoulder: The job of a President is to tell the truth. To be candid. To face facts. To lead, not to incite. That’s why I am speaking to you today. The incumbent President is incapable of telling us the truth. Incapable of facing facts. Incapable of healing.
 
He doesn’t want to shed light. He wants to generate heat. He’s stoking violence in our cities. That is the tragic fact of the matter about this perilous hour in our nation. And now – we must stand against violence – in every form it takes.
The violence we’ve seen again and again and again of unwarranted police shootings and excessive force.
 
Seven bullets in the back of Jacob Blake. A knee on the neck of George Floyd. The killing of Breonna Taylor – in her own apartment.
 
The violence of extremists and opportunists – right-wing militias, white supremacists, vigilantes – who infiltrate protests carrying weapons of war, hoping to wreak havoc, and to derail any hope and support for progress.
 
The senseless violence of looting and burning and destruction of property.
 
I want to be clear about this: Rioting is not protesting. Looting is not protesting. Setting fires is not protesting.
 
None of this is protesting – it’s lawlessness – plain and simple.
 
And those who do it should be prosecuted. Violence will not bring change, only destruction. It’s wrong in every way. It divides instead of unites.
 
Destroying businesses only hurts hard working families that serve the community. It makes things worse, not better.
 
It is not what Dr. King or John Lewis taught. It must end.
 
The fires are burning – and we have a president who fans the flames rather than fighting them.
 
But we must not burn. We must build.
 
This president long ago forfeited any moral leadership in this country. He can’t stop the violence – because for years he has fomented it.
 
He may believe mouthing the words law and order makes him strong, but his failure to call on his own supporters to stop acting as an armed militia in this country shows you how weak he is.
 
Does anyone believe there will be less violence in America if Donald Trump is reelected?
 
We need justice in America. And we need safety in America.
 
We are facing multiple crises – crises that, under Donald Trump, keep multiplying.
 
COVID.
 
Economic devastation.
 
Unwarranted police violence.
 
Emboldened white nationalists.
 
A reckoning on race.
 
Declining faith in a bright American future.
 
The common thread?
 
An incumbent president who makes things worse, not better.
 
An incumbent president who sows chaos rather than providing order.
 
An incumbent president who fails in the basic duty of the job: to advance the truths that all of us are born with a right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
 
That’s right: all of us.
 
The moms and dads in Scranton where I grew up – who have worked and scrapped for everything they’ve ever gotten in life.
 
The auto worker in Michigan – who still makes the best car in the world.
 
The single mom in Ohio working three jobs just to stay afloat – who will do anything for her child.
 
The retired veteran in Florida who gave everything he had to this country – and now just wants us to honor the promises we made to him.
 
The Lord and Taylor salesperson who just lost their job – the store closing after 194 years in business.
 
The nurses and doctors in Wisconsin who have seen so much sickness and so much death the past six months they wonder how much more they can take, but still they muster up the courage to take care of their patients in this pandemic and risk their lives.
 
The researcher in Minnesota who woke up this morning determined to find a breakthrough in treating cancer – who will do the same thing tomorrow and the day after and the day after – because she will never give up.
 
White, Black, Latino, Asian-American, Native American. Everybody.
 
I’m in this campaign for you, no matter your color, no matter your Zip Code. No matter your politics.

When I think about the presidency, I don’t think about myself.
 
This isn’t about my brand.
 
This is about you.
 
We can do better.
 
We must do better.
 
And I promise this: We will do better.
 
The road back begins now, in this campaign. You know me. You know my heart, and you know my story, my family’s story.
 
Ask yourself: Do I look to you like a radical socialist with a soft spot for rioters? Really?
 
I want a safe America – safe from COVID, safe from crime and looting, safe from racially motivated violence, safe from bad cops.
 
And let’s be crystal clear: Safe from four more years of Donald Trump.
 
I look at this violence and I see lives and communities and the dreams of small businesses being destroyed and the opportunity for real progress on the issues of race and police reform and justice being put to the test.
 
Donald Trump looks at this violence and sees a political lifeline.
 
Having failed to protect this nation from a virus that has killed more than 180,000 Americans, Trump posts all cap tweets screaming Law and Order to save his campaign.
 
One of his closest political advisors in the White House doesn’t even bother to speak in code. She just comes out and says it: “The more chaos…and violence…the better it is” for Trump’s reelection.
 
Think about that.
 
This is a sitting President of the United States. He’s supposed to be protecting this country. But instead he’s rooting for chaos and violence.
 
The simple truth is Donald Trump failed to protect America. So now, he’s trying to scare America.
 
Since Donald Trump and Mike Pence can’t run on their record that has seen more American deaths to a virus than this nation suffered in every war since Korea combined…
 
Since they can’t run on their economy that has seen more people lose their jobs than at any time since the Great Depression…
 
Since they can’t run on the simple proposition of sending our children safely back to school…
 
And since they have no agenda or vision for a second term Trump and Pence are running on this:
 
“You won’t be safe in Joe Biden’s America”.
 
And what’s their proof? The violence you’re seeing in Donald Trump’s America.
 
These are not images from some imagined “Joe Biden’s America” in the future.
 
These are images from Donald Trump’s America today.
 
He keeps telling you if only he was president it wouldn’t happen.
 
He keeps telling us if he was president you would feel safe.
 
Well – he is president. And it is happening. And you don’t.
 
And it’s getting worse. And we know why. Because Donald Trump adds fuel to every fire.
 
Because he refuses to even acknowledge there is a racial justice problem in America.
 
Because he won’t stand up to any form of violence.
 
He’s got no problem with the right-wing militias and white supremacists and vigilantes with assault weapons – often better armed than the police, often in the middle of the violence – at these protests.
 
And because tens of millions of Americans simply don’t trust this president to respect their rights, to hear their concerns, or to protect them.
 
It doesn’t have to be this way.
 
When President Obama and I were in the White House, and had to defend federal property,
you didn’t see us whipping up fears around the deployment of secret federal troops.
 
We just did our job. And the federal property was protected.
 
When President Obama and I were in office, we didn’t look at cities as Democratic- or Republican-run. These are American cities.
 
But Trump doesn’t see himself as a president for all of America.
 
Frankly, I believe if I were president today, the country would be safer and we would be seeing less violence. And here’s why.
 
I have said we must address the issue of racial injustice. I have personally spoken to George Floyd’s family and Jacob Blake’s family. I know their pain, I know the justice they seek. They have told us none of this violence respects or honors George or Jacob.
 
I believe I can bring those fighting for racial justice to the table. I have worked with the police in this country for over forty years. I know most cops are good and decent people. I know the risk they take every day with their lives. And I am confident I can bring the police to the table.
 
I would make sure every mayor and governor had the support they needed from the federal government – but I wouldn’t be looking to use the United States military against our own people.
 
If I were president, my language would be less divisive. I would be looking to lower the temperature in the country – not raise it. And I would be looking to unite the nation.
 
But, look, if Donald Trump wants to ask the question: Who will keep you safer as President? Let’s answer it.
 
First, some simple facts.
 
When I was Vice President, violent crime fell 15% in this country. We did it without chaos and disorder. And yes we did it with Democrats as mayors of most big cities in this country.
 
The murder rate is up 26% in cities across the nation this year under Donald Trump.
 
Do you feel really safer under Trump?
 
COVID has taken more lives this year than any outbreak in more than 100 years. More than 180,000 lives in just six months. An average of 1,000 people dying every day in the month of August.
 
Do you feel really safer under Trump?
 
Mr. Trump – you want to talk about fear? Do you know what people are afraid of in America?
 
They’re afraid they’re going to get COVID. They’re afraid they’re going to get sick and die. And that in no small part is because of you.
 
We are now on track for more than 200,000 deaths in this country due to COVID.
 
More than 100,000 seniors have lost their life to the virus. More cops have died from COVID this year than have been killed on patrol. Nearly one in six small businesses is closed in this country today.
 
Do you really feel safer under Trump?
 
What about Trump’s plan to destroy the Affordable Care Act – and with it the protections for pre-existing conditions. That impacts more than 100 million Americans.
 
Does that make you feel safer?
 
Or how about Trump’s plan to defund Social Security.
 
The Social Security Administration’s chief actuary just released a report saying if a plan like the one Trump is proposing goes into effect, the Social Security Trust Fund would be, quote, “permanently depleted by the middle of calendar year 2023, with no ability to pay benefits thereafter.” To put it plainly, Social Security would be wiped out.
 
Feel safer now?
 
And the fear that reigns under this president doesn’t stop at our shores.
 
The Kremlin has put bounties on the heads of American soldiers.
 
And instead of telling Vladimir Putin that there will be a heavy price to pay if they dare touch an American soldier – this president doesn’t even bring up the subject in a phone call.
 
Russian forces just attacked American troops in Syria, injuring our service members. The president didn’t say a word. He didn’t lift a finger.
 
Never before has an American president played such a subservient role to a Russian leader.
 
It’s not only dangerous – it’s an embarrassment.
 
Not even America’s troops can feel safer under Trump.
 
Donald Trump’s role as a bystander in his own presidency extends to the economic pain being felt by millions of Americans.
 
He said this weekend, “You better vote for me or you are going to have the greatest depression you’ve ever seen.”
 
Does he not see the tens of millions who had to file for unemployment this year? The folks who won’t be able to make next month’s rent? The folks who lost wages while the cost of food staples rose dramatically?
 
Barack Obama and I stopped a depression in 2009. We took a bad economy and turned it around.
 
Donald Trump took a good economy and drove it into the ditch. Through his failure to get COVID under control, his failure to pull together the leaders in Congress, his failure to deliver real relief for working people — has made our country’s economic situation so much worse than it had to be.
 
When we talk about safety, and security, we should also talk about the basic security of being able to look your kid in the eye and tell them everything is going to be okay. We won’t lose our home. We’ll be able to put food on the table.
 
I’ve laid out an agenda for economic recovery that will restore a sense of security for working families. And we won’t just build things back the way they were before. We’re going to build back better.
 
With good-paying jobs building our nation’s roads, bridges, solar arrays and windmills. With investments in our health care and child care workers so they get the pay and dignity they deserve, while easing the financial burdens for millions of families. With a clean energy strategy that has a place for the energy workers right here in western Pennsylvania. I’m not for banning fracking. Let’s say that again. I’m not for banning fracking – no matter how many times Donald Trump lies about me.
 
The future. That’s what this is all about.
 
We all hear Donald Trump’s self-centered rants and riffs, but the voice America should hear is Julia Jackson’s – the mother of Jacob Blake.
 
Hers is a voice of courage and character and wisdom.
 
In looking at the damage that had been done in her city she said, “the violence and destruction” didn’t “reflect my son or my family.”
 
These are the words of a mother whose son had just been shot seven times in front of his children. Badly injured. Paralyzed, perhaps permanently.
 
And even as she seeks justice for her son – she is pleading for an end to the violence – and for this nation to heal.
 
She said she was praying for her son. She said she was praying for all police officers. She said she had already been praying for America, even before her son was shot.
 
She asked us all to examine our hearts – citizens, elected officials, the police – all of us.
 
And then she said this, “We need healing.”
 
More than anything, that is what we need to do as a nation:
We need to heal.
 
The current president wants you to live in fear. He advertises himself as a figure of order.
 
He isn’t. He is not part of the solution. He is part of the problem. The biggest part.
 
A problem that I, as President, will give my all to resolve.
 
I will deal with the virus. I will deal with the economic crisis. I will work to bring equity and opportunity to all.
 
We have arrived at the moment in this campaign that we all knew we would get to. The moment when Donald Trump would be so desperate, he would do anything to hold on to power.
 
Donald Trump has been a toxic presence in our nation for four years.
 
Poisoning how we talk to one another. Poisoning how we treat one another. Poisoning the values this nation has always held dear. Poisoning to our democracy.
 
Now – in just a little over 60 days – we have a decision to make:
 
Will we rid ourselves of this toxin? Or will we make it a permanent part of our national character?
 
As Americans we believe in Honesty and Decency. Treating everyone with dignity and respect. Giving everyone a fair shot. Leaving no one behind. Giving hate no safe harbor. Demonizing no one. Being part of something bigger than ourselves.
 
Donald Trump doesn’t believe in any of that.
 
America is an idea.
 
It is the most powerful idea in the history of the world – and it beats in the hearts of the people of this country:
 
All men and women are created equal – and they deserve to be treated equally.
 
Trump has sought to remake this nation in his image – selfish, angry, dark, divisive.
 
That is not who we are.
 
At her best, America has always been – and if I have anything to do with it – always will be a generous, confident, optimistic nation.
 
Donald Trump is determined to instill fear in America – that is what his entire campaign for presidency has come down to.
 
Fear.
 
But I believe Americans are stronger than that.
 
I believe we will be guided by the words of Pope John Paul II. Words drawn from Scripture: “Be not afraid”.
 
Fear never builds the future. Hope does. And building the future is what America does.
 
In fact, it’s what we do best.
 
This is the United States of America. And there is nothing we haven’t been able to do, when we’ve done it together.
 
Thank you. May God bless you. And may God protect our troops.

Biden-Harris 2020, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Donald Trump, Election 2020, News & Photo Features

Kamala Harris: ‘Donald Trump has failed at the most basic and important job of a President: he failed to protect the American people’

Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for Vice President, delivered a speech in Washington DC drawing the contrast between Trump’s failure and what Joe Biden brings to the office of President. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Just before Donald Trump gives his Republican National Convention speech from the White House, in violation of “norms” and law that prohibits using government facilities for politics, when it is widely anticipated that Trump will smear Joe Biden with lies, Senator Kamala Harris, the Democratic candidate for Vice President, delivered a speech in Washington DC drawing the contrast between Trump’s failure and what Joe Biden brings to the office of President. Here is a highlighted transcript:

On this eve of the 57th March on Washington, I will speak about the recent events in Kenosha, Wisconsin. The wildfires raging across the California coast to the Rocky Mountains. The storm which is working its way through Texas, Louisiana and the Gulf Coast. 

And most of all—about who we are as a country.

We are a nation that, at its best, loves, protects, and helps our fellow Americans. 

Today, we see pain, hurt, and destruction in the ashes of wildfires and the damage of Hurricane Laura. 

We encourage everyone to continue following guidance from your local authorities to stay safe.

And Joe and I pledge to be there for those whose lives have been turned upside down. 

Those who will need help from neighbors, strangers, and our government to make it through, to build back, to restore your lives and your communities. 

We also see pain, hurt, and destruction in the aftermath of yet another Black man shot by police. 

Jacob Blake, shot 7 times in the back in broad daylight in front of his 3 young sons. 7 times… in the back… in broad daylight… in front of his 3 sons.

As Vice President Biden put it, the shots fired at Mr. Blake pierced the soul of our nation.  

It’s sickening to watch. It’s all too familiar. And it must end.

Thankfully, he is alive today. But he is fighting for his life and shouldn’t have to be.

My heart goes out to the Blake family, as they endure an ordeal that is tragically common in our country. 

Joe and I spoke with them yesterday. They are an amazing group of people with extraordinary courage. 

Even in their pain and grief, even as they seek justice for their son—they spoke about the need to end the violence and heal our nation.

I’ve had conversations like this with far too many mothers and fathers—but you will see and hear no one with more courage, more character, and more moral clarity.

People are rightfully angry and exhausted. And after the murders of Breonna, George, Ahmaud, and so many others, it’s no wonder people are taking to the streets. And I support them. 
 
We must always defend peaceful protest—and peaceful protestors. 
 
We should not confuse them with those looting and committing acts of violence, including, the shooter who was arrested for murder.
 
And make no mistake, we will not let these vigilantes and extremists derail the path to justice. 
 
Here’s my promise to those mothers and fathers, and all who stand with them: 

In a Biden-Harris Administration, you will have a seat at the table—in the Halls of Congress, and in the White House. 

We all grew up reciting the pledge of allegiance, but now, we must give real meaning to its words.

One nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. 

Justice. Let’s talk about that. Because the reality is that the life of a Black person in America has never been treated as fully human—and we have yet to fulfill that promise of equal justice under law.

We will only achieve that when we finally come together to pass meaningful police reform and broader criminal justice reform, and acknowledge, yes acknowledge, and address systemic racism.

We will only come closer to achieving that when we finally come together. 

We have come a long way in our country towards building a more perfect Union, and the time is now—right now—to take the next step forward.

And even as we experience this reckoning with racial injustice, we must also confront another crisis: 

The pandemic that has torn apart so many lives.

The numbers that define this crisis are staggering. 

We cannot look the other way or allow ourselves to become numb to them.

Nearly 6 million confirmed cases of the coronavirus.

180,000 lives lost.

More than 50 million claims for unemployment this year alone.

We need to see—and we need to hear—what’s happening in our country.

The quiet desperation that has taken over so many lives in America.

The family packing into their car at 5 in the morning—hoping the local food bank still has something left when they get to the front of the line. 

The 50-year old store manager who’s been laid off—and knows he can’t pay the rent on the 1st of the month.

The mothers and fathers stretched to the breaking point—working from home while helping their kids with online classes—just trying to hold it all together. 

The small business owners—economic engines of our communities—who are shutting their doors every day. 

The nurse getting ready for her afternoon shift—who has seen so much suffering and death in recent months—and wonders how much more she can bear to witness.

The family grieving the loss of their grandmother who has been in a nursing home—who they couldn’t even visit over the last three months of her life.

The alarming and disproportionate rate at which Black, Latino, and Indigenous families are contracting and dying of COVID-19.

That is the reality of America right now. A reality completely absent from this week’s Republican National Convention. 

Because unlike the Democratic convention, which was clear-eyed about the challenges we are facing and how we will tackle them…

The Republican convention is designed for one purpose—to soothe Donald Trump’s ego.  To make him feel good.
 
But here’s the thing, he’s the President of the United States. And it’s not Supposed to be about him.

It’s supposed to be about the health, and the safety, and the well-being of the American people. 

And on that measure, Donald Trump has failed.

You see, at its most basic level, Donald Trump doesn’t understand the presidency.

He thinks it’s all about him. Well, it’s not. It’s about you. It’s about all of us. The People.

As a lawyer and advocate, when I would rise to speak in a courtroom, I’d say the following words:

Kamala Harris for the people.

And that is why I stand here today—to speak for the people.

Because we know the truth.

Donald Trump has failed at the most basic and important job of a President of the United States.
 
He failed to protect the American people. Plain and simple.

Trump showed what we, in the legal profession, would call a reckless disregard for the well-being of the American people. 

A reckless disregard for the danger a pandemic would pose to American lives. For the devastation it would do to our economy. For the damage it would do to communities of color who have been subjected to structural racism for generations. 

For the chaos that would upend our daily lives… make it impossible for many of our kids to go to school… make it impossible to live normally and with certainty.

He never appreciated that a President swears an oath before God and country to protect America against threats  seen and unseen.

It’s his duty. It’s his obligation to protect us. 

And yet, he has failed. Miserably.

Here’s the thing,  Donald Trump’s incompetence is nothing new. 

That has always been on full display. But in January of this year, it became deadly.

That’s when the threat of a virus that would endanger the world first emerged.

Trump dismissed the threat. Joe Biden, sounded the alarm.
 
It would be the beginning of a pattern that persists to this day.

Trump telling us not to worry, that the virus will, quote, “disappear,” that a quote, “miracle” is coming.
 
Joe Biden, saying we need a plan, a national strategy, a President who is willing to lead, willing to be a role model for our nation. For our children.

Trump still doesn’t have a plan.

Joe Biden, released his first plan in March. 

Here’s what you have to understand about the nature of a pandemic.

It’s relentless. You can’t stop it with a tweet. You can’t create a distraction and hope it’ll go away. It doesn’t go away. By its nature, a pandemic is unforgiving.

If you get it wrong at the beginning, the consequences are catastrophic. It’s very hard to catch up. You don’t get a second chance at getting it right.

Well, President Trump got it wrong in the beginning.

And then, he got it wrong again… and again.

And the consequences have been catastrophic.
 
And here’s why Trump has been so unwilling and unable to deal with this crisis:
 
First, he was fixated on the stock market over fixing the problem. 

He tweeted about it consistently during this period. 

He was convinced that if his administration focused on this virus, it would hurt the market and hurt his chances of being reelected.

That mattered more to him than saving American lives.

Second, right at the moment that we needed Donald Trump to be tough on the Chinese government, he caved. 

On January 24th, he praised the transparency of the Chinese government. 

He said, quote, “China has been working hard to contain the coronavirus. The United States greatly appreciates their efforts and transparency. It will all work out well.” 

But they weren’t being transparent. They blocked public health inspectors from the CDC, from getting the access and information they needed to protect American lives. 

Donald Trump stood idly by. And folks, it was a deadly decision. 

Instead of rising to meet the most difficult moment of his presidency, Donald Trump froze. He was scared. He was petty and vindictive.

On a call with governors across the country on March 16th, he told them it wasn’t his job to get personal protective equipment to frontline workers. 

He said, quote: “Respirators, ventilators, all of the equipment, try getting it yourselves.” Unquote. 

On that day…we had about 5,000 cases as a nation. 

Today… we have nearly 6 million. 

Even now—some eight months into this crisis—Donald Trump still won’t take responsibility. He still won’t act.

The tragedy in all of this is… it didn’t have to be this bad.
 
Just look around. It’s not like this in the rest of the world.

All we needed was a competent president—one who was willing to listen, willing to lead, take responsibility, have a plan, do their job.

Joe Biden will be that president.

He’s got a national strategy.

He’s more than ready to lead.

Every month since March as this pandemic has unfolded, Joe Biden has updated the steps he would take to save American lives. And he’s done it based on what every scientist, every expert, every economist, said we should be doing. 

As President, Joe Biden will put a plan into effect on day one.

Develop and deploy rapid tests with immediate results.

Make sure testing, treatments, and ultimately, a vaccine reach all Americans, including communities of color, who have historically been left behind.

Manufacture the medical supplies and protective equipment we need.

And make them right here—in America, so we’re never again at the mercy of China and other foreign countries to protect our own people.

Joe and I will make sure our schools have all the resources they need—to be open, safe, and effective.

Put politics aside—and not silence the experts—so the public gets the information they need and deserve.

And put in place a nationwide mask Mandate—in Joe’s words, it’s not a burden  to protect each other.

Because he knows we’re all in this together.

Donald Trump says there’s nothing he could have done to prevent all this death.

Here’s the truth: 

Barack Obama and Joe Biden had a program called PREDICT that tracked emerging diseases in places like China. I’m going to repeat that. The program tracked emerging diseases in places like China. Trump cut it. 

They dedicated a team on the National Security Council to global health security and biodefense. Donald Trump eliminated it. 

They implemented standards for nursing homes to improve infection control. Trump is erasing them. 

Before the virus hit, Trump made our country vulnerable. After it was struck, he failed to do what was necessary. 

As it continues, he’s making it worse every day.

Just this week, the Social Security Administration said a cut to Social Security like the one Trump is proposing would end disability benefits within one year and end All benefits within 3 years. 

Let me be as clear as possible, if Donald Trump’s extreme proposal goes into effect, the checks that America’s seniors rely on to pay your bills,  to buy your medicine—to live—will stop coming. 

The very people who have suffered so greatly in this crisis. 

It’s unthinkable.

And in the middle of a health crisis made worse by his own actions, Donald Trump is in court right now trying to throw out the entire Affordable Care Act, including the protections it provides for people with pre-existing conditions.

That means, if you are fortunate enough to survive COVID-19, insurers could deny you coverage for treating any long-term effects.

Now President Trump, won’t tell you any of this at the Republican convention tonight. 

And we all know he’s not changing. 

The president he has been—is the president he will be. 

But we have a chance to right these wrongs and put America on a better path forward.

One where the leaders we elect listen to the experts and follow the best medical guidance to keep us and our families healthy and safe.

One where we take meaningful action against systems and traditions of oppression.

One where we stop fanning the flames of hate and division, and treat one another with the respect and dignity that each one of us deserves. 

As Joe Biden said in his acceptance speech, we have a choice between the light and the dark. 

I believe America will choose the light.

Thank you.

Biden-Harris 2020, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Donald Trump, Election 2020, News & Photo Features, Presidential Campaign 2020, Womens Rights

On Women’s Equality Day, Biden Draws Contrast to Trump Failure: ‘Now, it is up to us to carry forward the banner of equality’

Vice President Joe Biden, Democratic candidate for president, with running mate Senator Kamala Harris. On Women’s Equality Day, Biden is drawing strong contrast with Trump on policies he would propose to benefit women, including equal pay and health care (c) Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

In stark contrast to the hate-filled propaganda fest of the Republican National Convention, Vice President Joe Biden, the Democratic nominee for president, has continued to address the important issues and unprecedented crises the nation is facing, some age-old, and others more immediate. Women’s Rights and the inequity in pay has lifelong and generational implications for women and families. On Women’s Equality Day, Biden, who sponsored the Violence Against Women Act and named Kamala Harris, his vice president, issued this statement and fact sheet drawing the contrast between Trump’s failures on women’s issues and how Biden would work for American women:

Today, on Women’s Equality Day, Jill and I join with all Americans in celebrating the long line of women who have reached out through history as fearless, ambitious trailblazers to deliver a better future for America’s daughters. From the suffragists, to the labor organizers, to the women who continue to lead the fight for the Equal Rights Amendment, and from the glass-ceiling breakers to the women in every workplace who have to fight twice as hard just to prove their basic dignity every single day, American women have pushed this country forward, one step at a time.
 
There can be no half measures when it comes to equality. That’s why we must keep working.100 years ago today, the final paperwork was signed, officially proclaiming the ratification of the 19th Amendment to our Constitution–and of the right of women to vote in the United States of America. It was a culmination of decades of struggle to achieve a Constitutional amendment on women’s suffrage, and a true milestone for our nation. But it was also only the beginning of a long, still unfinished march toward full equality for all women, especially for women of color who were still not guaranteed their right to vote until the passage of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, and even longer for Latinas and Native American women.
 
Now, it is up to us to carry forward the banner of equality for the next generation–to build on the legacy of Shirley Chisholm and Geraldine Ferraro and Hillary Clinton to elect Kamala Harris as our next Vice President; to fully deliver on the promise of equal pay for equal work; to ensure women’s access to health care, eliminate health disparities, and protect women’s ability to make their own health care choices; and to end the scourge of violence against women.
 
It starts by voting this November. It starts by exercising that sacred American right, which so many have marched and suffered to secure.
 
We can do this. We can finally live up to our highest ideals–that all men, and women, are created equal. We can ensure that little girls and boys alike, of every race and background, know that in America, there is no limit on how high their dreams and their talents can carry them.

FACT SHEET:
Trump Has Failed American Women

President Trump’s mismanagement of the pandemic has wiped out years of jobs gains for women, launching us into a she-cession with millions of women unemployed and worried about whether they will be able to feed their families and return to work. The pandemic has disproportionately impacted women of color and young women, with 1 in 7 Black women and Latina women and 1 in 5 young women unemployed and many women forced to work fewer hours than they need or would like. Even before the pandemic, President Trump has relentlessly worked against women’s interests. He has:
 
Persistently tried to rip away health care benefits and protections for millions of women. In the middle of a pandemic, Trump is asking the U.S. Supreme Court to strike down Obamacare, which would allow insurers to deny women coverage because of pregnancy or pre-existing conditions like cancer or diabetes, choose not to cover maternity care, stop young adults under 26 from staying on their parents’ plan, charge co-pays for recommended preventive services including contraception and mammograms, and charge women higher premiums just for being women — a practice which cost women $1 billion more than men annually. And, he has prevented organizations like Planned Parenthood from receiving Title X federal family planning funds.
 
Rolled back protections from discrimination and harassment in the workplace. Trump revoked the Obama-Biden Administration’s Fair Pay and Safe Workplaces executive order, which required that federal contractors comply with labor, wage and hour, family and medical leave, safety and health, civil rights, and other laws. He said women would make the same as men if they “do as good a job,” defended employers who pay mothers less than men and called pregnancy an “inconvenience” for employers, and has taken steps backwards on closing the gender pay gap. The Obama-Biden Administration required medium and large employers to collect and disclose compensation information by race, gender, and ethnicity to the federal government so it had better insight into pay disparities and could better target enforcement. The Trump Administration only continued to collect this data at the order of a federal court, and has announced its intent to stop collecting pay data for future years.
 
Made college campuses less safe for women by shaming and silencing survivors of sexual assault. The Trump Administration’s Education Department — led by Betsy Devos — has rolled back Obama-Biden policies and given colleges a green light to ignore sexual violence and strip survivors of their civil rights under Title IX. Trump and DeVos have let colleges off the hook for protecting students by permitting them to choose to investigate only more extreme acts of violence and harassment and requiring them to investigate in a way that dissuades survivors from coming forward.
 
Disbanded the White House Council on Women and Girls. The Obama-Biden Administration created the White House Council on Women and Girls to make sure the federal government was doing its best to tackle issues like equal pay, paid family leave, and poverty in an effective manner. The Trump Administration then disbanded it and put nothing in its place.
 

Highlights: How Joe Will Work For American Women 

Women, and particularly women of color, have never had a fair shot to get ahead in this country. When Joe Biden and Kamala Harris build our country back better after this economic crisis — a crisis worsened by President Trump’s failure to get the virus under control — they will ensure we get closer to full inclusion of and equality for women. Highlights of Joe’s plans include:
 
Ensure women’s issues remain at the forefront of policy efforts. Biden will create a White House Council on Gender Equality, chaired by a senior member of the White House tasked solely with guiding and coordinating government policy that impacts women and girls, such as economic policy, health care, racial justice, gender-based violence, and foreign policy.
 
Improve women’s economic security. Joe will create millions of good paying jobs, pass the Paycheck Fairness Act and take other steps to achieve equal pay, take on workplace discrimination and harassment, and support women entrepreneurs.
 
Expand women’s access to health care. Joe stood with President Obama to pass Obamacare, which gave millions of women access to better, more affordable health care. Joe will protect and build on Obamacare to expand access and lower costs, including by offering all women the choice of a new public option. He’ll reduce the unacceptably high maternal mortality rate, which disproportionately affects Black and Native women, and he’ll ensure all women have access to the full scope of health care — including reproductive health care.
 
Help women navigate work and families. Joe has taken care of aging parents, and he’s been a single parent — he knows how hard it is to raise a family. As President, he will provide universal access to high quality preschool for all 3- and 4-year-olds and ensure no low-income or middle class family with children under age 5 has to pay more than 7% of their income for child care. He will also enact legislation to provide 12 weeks paid family and medical leave, and require employers to provide up to seven days of paid sick, family, and safe leave.
 
Expand access to higher education and relieve student debt. Women, and primarily Black women, hold two-thirds of the nation’s student debt. Joe will provide access to community college without debt, make public colleges and universities tuition-free for families earning under $125,000, invest over $70 billion in HBCUs and Minority Serving Institutions, and double Pell. He’ll also strengthen Public Service Loan Forgiveness and forgive undergraduate tuition-related federal student debt from public colleges for people earning up to $125,000.
 
End violence against women. A driving force in Joe’s career has been fighting back against abuses of power. It motivated him to author the Violence Against Women Act of 1994. Joe will keep getting things done for survivors of gender-based violence, starting by reauthorizing VAWA, keeping guns out of the hands of abusers, and expanding the safety net for survivors.
 
Dismantle systemic racism affecting women of color. Joe will be unflinching in confronting systemic racism, including by investing in trauma-informed prevention and treatment programs and services as alternatives to girls – disproportionately girls of color – being placed in detention.

Biden-Harris 2020, Democratic National Convention 2020, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Joe Biden, News & Photo Features, Presidential Campaign 2020

Joe Biden Delivers Speech of his Life in Accepting Democratic Nomination for President: ‘This is a battle that we, together, will win. I promise you.’

Joe Biden accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president with the speech of his long and storied career, with the passion of his commitment to public service and the good of the nation. Known for being both a man who works toward consensus while keeping true to his values and conscience, he demonstrated the forcefulness and strength he would bring to the presidency, starting off right out of the gate with a forceful indictment of Donald Trump, and his pledge, in a nutshell, to restore “the soul of the nation” and America’s Promise. © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Joe Biden accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination for president with the speech of his long and storied career, with the passion of his commitment to public service and the good of the nation. Known for being both a man who works toward consensus while keeping true to his values and conscience, he demonstrated the forcefulness and strength he would bring to the presidency, starting off right out of the gate with a forceful indictment of Donald Trump, and his pledge, in a nutshell, to restore “the soul of the nation”. On the fourth and last night of the Democratic National Convention, themed “America’s Promise,” he declared, “The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division. Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us not the worst. I will be an ally of the light not of the darkness. It’s time for us, for We the People, to come together.”

He set out how he was the leader the nation needs now as the nation simultaneously is under assault from four crises: the worst public health crisis in a century; the greatest economic collapse since the Great Depression; a racial reckoning of proportion not seen since the 1960s; and the existential crisis to the nation and planet posed by climate change. “It’s all on the ballot. The choice could not be more clear.”

Here is a highlighted transcript of  the remarks by Vice President Joe Biden, now the Democratic candidate for president:

Good evening.

Ella Baker, a giant of the civil rights movement, left us with this wisdom: Give people light and they will find a way.

Give people light.

Those are words for our time.

The current president has cloaked America in darkness for much too long. Too much anger. Too much fear. Too much division.

Here and now, I give you my word: If you entrust me with the presidency, I will draw on the best of us not the worst. I will be an ally of the light not of the darkness. 

It’s time for us, for We the People, to come together.

For make no mistake. United we can, and will, overcome this season of darkness in America. We will choose hope over fear, facts over fiction, fairness over privilege.

I am a proud Democrat and I will be proud to carry the banner of our party into the general election. So, it is with great honor and humility that I accept this nomination for President of the United States of America.

But while I will be a Democratic candidate, I will be an American president. I will work as hard for those who didn’t support me as I will for those who did.

That’s the job of a president. To represent all of us, not just our base or our party. This is not a partisan moment. This must be an American moment.

It’s a moment that calls for hope and light and love. Hope for our futures, light to see our way forward, and love for one another. 

America isn’t just a collection of clashing interests of Red States or Blue States.

We’re so much bigger than that. 

We’re so much better than that.

Nearly a century ago, Franklin Roosevelt pledged a New Deal in a time of massive unemployment, uncertainty, and fear. 

Stricken by disease, stricken by a virus, FDR insisted that he would recover and prevail and he believed America could as well.

And he did.

And so can we.

This campaign isn’t just about winning votes. 

It’s about winning the heart, and yes, the soul of America.

Winning it for the generous among us, not the selfish. Winning it for the workers who keep this country going, not just the privileged few at the top. Winning it for those communities who have known the injustice of the “knee on the neck”.  For all the young people who have known only an America of rising inequity and shrinking opportunity. 

They deserve to experience America’s promise in full.

No generation ever knows what history will ask of it. All we can ever know is whether we’ll be ready when that moment arrives.

And now history has delivered us to one of the most difficult moments America has ever faced.

Four historic crises. All at the same time. A perfect storm.

The worst pandemic in over 100 years. The worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

The most compelling call for racial justice since the 60’s. And the undeniable realities and accelerating threats of climate change.

So, the question for us is simple: Are we ready?

I believe we are. 

We must be. 

All elections are important. But we know in our bones this one is more consequential. 

America is at an inflection point. A time of real peril, but of extraordinary possibilities.

We can choose the path of becoming angrier, less hopeful, and more divided.

A path of shadow and suspicion.

Or we can choose a different path, and together, take this chance to heal, to be reborn, to unite. A path of hope and light.

This is a life-changing election that will determine America’s future for a very long time.

Character is on the ballot. Compassion is on the ballot. Decency, science, democracy.

They are all on the ballot.

Who we are as a nation. What we stand for. And, most importantly, who we want to be.

That’s all on the ballot. 

And the choice could not be clearer.

No rhetoric is needed.

Just judge this president on the facts.

5 million Americans infected with COVID-19.

More than 170,000 Americans have died.

By far the worst performance of any nation on Earth.

More than 50 million people have filed for unemployment this year.

More than 10 million people are going to lose their health insurance this year.

Nearly one in 6 small businesses have closed this year.

If this president is re-elected we know what will happen.

Cases and deaths will remain far too high. 

More mom and pop businesses will close their doors for good. 

Working families will struggle to get by, and yet, the wealthiest one percent will get tens of billions of dollars in new tax breaks.

And the assault on the Affordable Care Act will continue until its destroyed, taking insurance away from more than 20 million people – including more than 15 million people on Medicaid – and getting rid of the protections that President Obama and I passed for people who suffer from a pre-existing condition.

And speaking of President Obama, a man I was honored to serve alongside for 8 years as Vice President. Let me take this moment to say something we don’t say nearly enough.

Thank you, Mr. President. You were a great president. A president our children could – and did – look up to.

No one will say that about the current occupant of the office. 

What we know about this president is if he’s given four more years he will be what he’s been the last four years.

A president who takes no responsibility, refuses to lead, blames others, cozies up to dictators, and fans the flames of hate and division.

He will wake up every day believing the job is all about him. Never about you.

Is that the America you want for you, your family, your children? 

I see a different America.

One that is generous and strong. 

Selfless and humble. 

It’s an America we can rebuild together.

As president, the first step I will take will be to get control of the virus that’s ruined so many lives. 

Because I understand something this president doesn’t. 

We will never get our economy back on track, we will never get our kids safely back to school, we will never have our lives back, until we deal with this virus.

The tragedy of where we are today is it didn’t have to be this bad. 

Just look around. 

It’s not this bad in Canada. Or Europe. Or Japan. Or almost anywhere else in the world.

The President keeps telling us the virus is going to disappear. He keeps waiting for a miracle. Well, I have news for him, no miracle is coming.

We lead the world in confirmed cases. We lead the world in deaths.

Our economy is in tatters, with Black, Latino, Asian American, and Native American communities bearing the brunt of it.

And after all this time, the president still does not have a plan.

Well, I do. 

If I’m president on day one we’ll implement the national strategy I’ve been laying out since March. 

We’ll develop and deploy rapid tests with results available immediately.

We’ll make the medical supplies and protective equipment our country needs. And we’ll make them here in America. So we will never again be at the mercy of China and other foreign countries in order to protect our own people.

We’ll make sure our schools have the resources they need to be open, safe, and effective. 

We’ll put the politics aside and take the muzzle off our experts so the public gets the information they need and deserve. The honest, unvarnished truth. They can deal with that. 

We’ll have a national mandate to wear a mask-not as a burden, but to protect each other.

It’s a patriotic duty.

In short, I will do what we should have done from the very beginning. 

Our current president has failed in his most basic duty to this nation. 

He failed to protect us.

He failed to protect America.

And, my fellow Americans, that is unforgivable. 

As president, I will make you this promise: I will protect America. I will defend us from every attack. Seen. And unseen. Always. Without exception. Every time.

Look, I understand it’s hard to have hope right now. 

On this summer night, let me take a moment to speak to those of you who have lost the most.

I know how it feels to lose someone you love. I know that deep black hole that opens up in your chest. That you feel your whole being is sucked into it. I know how mean and cruel and unfair life can be sometimes. 

But I’ve learned two things. 

First, your loved ones may have left this Earth but they never leave your heart.  They will always be with you. 

And second, I found the best way through pain and loss and grief is to find purpose. 

As God’s children each of us have a purpose in our lives. 

And we have a great purpose as a nation: To open the doors of opportunity to all Americans. To save our democracy. To be a light to the world once again.

To finally live up to and make real the words written in the sacred documents that founded this nation that all men and women are created equal. Endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights. Among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

You know, my Dad was an honorable, decent man.

He got knocked down a few times pretty hard, but always got up.

He worked hard and built a great middle-class life for our family.

He used to say, “Joey, I don’t expect the government to solve my problems, but I expect it to understand them.”

And then he would say: “Joey, a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It’s about your dignity. It’s about respect. It’s about your place in your community. It’s about looking your kids in the eye and say, honey, it’s going to be okay.”

I’ve never forgotten those lessons. 

That’s why my economic plan is all about jobs, dignity, respect, and community.  Together, we can, and we will, rebuild our economy. And when we do, we’ll not only build it back, we’ll build it back better.

With modern roads, bridges, highways, broadband, ports and airports as a new foundation for economic growth. With pipes that transport clean water to every community. With 5 million new manufacturing and technology jobs so the future is made in America. 

With a health care system that lowers premiums, deductibles, and drug prices by building on the Affordable Care Act he’s trying to rip away.

With an education system that trains our people for the best jobs of the 21st century, where cost doesn’t prevent young people from going to college, and student debt doesn’t crush them when they get out. 

With child care and elder care that make it possible for parents to go to work and for the elderly to stay in their homes with dignity. With an immigration system that powers our economy and reflects our values. With newly empowered labor unions. With equal pay for women. With rising wages you can raise a family on. Yes, we’re going to do more than praise our essential workers. We’re finally going to pay them.

We can, and we will, deal with climate change. It’s not only a crisis, it’s an enormous opportunity. An opportunity for America to lead the world in clean energy and create millions of new good-paying jobs in the process.

And we can pay for these investments by ending loopholes and the president’s $1.3 trillion tax giveaway to the wealthiest 1 percent and the biggest, most profitable corporations, some of which pay no tax at all.

Because we don’t need a tax code that rewards wealth more than it rewards work. I’m not looking to punish anyone. Far from it. But it’s long past time the wealthiest people and the biggest corporations in this country paid their fair share. 

For our seniors, Social Security is a sacred obligation, a sacred promise made. The current president is threatening to break that promise. He’s proposing to eliminate the tax that pays for almost half of Social Security without any way of making up for that lost revenue.

I will not let it happen. If I’m your president, we’re going to protect Social Security and Medicare. You have my word.

One of the most powerful voices we hear in the country today is from our young people. They’re speaking to the inequity and injustice that has grown up in America. Economic injustice. Racial injustice. Environmental injustice. 

I hear their voices and if you listen, you can hear them too. And whether it’s the existential threat posed by climate change, the daily fear of being gunned down in school, or the inability to get started in their first job — it will be the work of the next president to restore the promise of America to everyone. 

Vice President Joe Biden, now the Democratic candidate for president, and Senator Kamala Harris, now the Democratic candidate for vice president, at the celebration in Wilmington, Delaware that followed the close of the Democratic National Convention with a distinctly unconventional victory pose  © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features

I won’t have to do it alone. Because I will have a great Vice President at my side. Senator Kamala Harris. She is a powerful voice for this nation. Her story is the American story. She knows about all the obstacles thrown in the way of so many in our country. Women, Black women, Black Americans, South Asian Americans, immigrants, the left-out and left-behind.  

But she’s overcome every obstacle she’s ever faced. No one’s been tougher on the big banks or the gun lobby. No one’s been tougher in calling out this current administration for its extremism, its failure to follow the law, and its failure to simply tell the truth.

Kamala and I both draw strength from our families. For Kamala, it’s Doug and their families.

For me, it’s Jill and ours. 

No man deserves one great love in his life. But I’ve known two. After losing my first wife in a car accident, Jill came into my life and put our family back together. 

She’s an educator. A mom. A military Mom. And an unstoppable force. If she puts her mind to it, just get out of the way. Because she’s going to get it done. She was a great Second Lady and she will make a great First Lady for this nation, she loves this country so much. 

And I will have the strength that can only come from family. Hunter, Ashley and all our grandchildren, my brothers, my sister. They give me courage and lift me up. 

And while he is no longer with us, Beau inspires me every day. 

Beau served our nation in uniform. A decorated Iraq war veteran.

So I take very personally the profound responsibility of serving as Commander in Chief.

I will be a president who will stand with our allies and friends. I will make it clear to our adversaries the days of cozying up to dictators are over. 

Under President Biden, America will not turn a blind eye to Russian bounties on the heads of American soldiers. Nor will I put up with foreign interference in our most sacred democratic exercise – voting.

I will stand always for our values of human rights and dignity. And I will work in common purpose for a more secure, peaceful, and prosperous world.

History has thrust one more urgent task on us. Will we be the generation that finally wipes the stain of racism from our national character?

I believe we’re up to it.

I believe we’re ready.

Just a week ago yesterday was the third anniversary of the events in Charlottesville.

Remember seeing those neo-Nazis and Klansmen and white supremacists coming out of the fields with lighted torches?  Veins bulging? Spewing the same anti-Semitic bile heard across Europe in the ’30s?

Remember the violent clash that ensued between those spreading hate and those with the courage to stand against it?  

Remember what the president said? 

There were quote, “very fine people on both sides.”

It was a wake-up call for us as a country.

And for me, a call to action. At that moment, I knew I’d have to run. My father taught us that silence was complicity. And I could not remain silent or complicit.

At the time, I said we were in a battle for the soul of this nation. 

And we are.

One of the most important conversations I’ve had this entire campaign is with someone who is too young to vote.

I met with six-year old Gianna Floyd, a day before her Daddy George Floyd was laid to rest.

She is incredibly brave. 

I’ll never forget.

When I leaned down to speak with her, she looked into my eyes and said “Daddy, changed the world.”

Her words burrowed deep into my heart.

Maybe George Floyd’s murder was the breaking point.

Maybe John Lewis’ passing the inspiration.

However it has come to be, America is ready to in John’s words, to lay down “the heavy burdens of hate at last” and to do the hard work of rooting out our systemic racism.

BidenHarris2020 supporters enjoy fireworks show in the parking lot of the Wilmington, Delaware convention center, that followed Joe Biden’s speech accepting the Democratic Nomination for president, all keeping COVID-19 protocols © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features

America’s history tells us that it has been in our darkest moments that we’ve made our greatest progress. That we’ve found the light. And in this dark moment, I believe we are poised to make great progress again. That we can find the light once more.

I have always believed you can define America in one word: Possibilities. 

That in America, everyone, and I mean everyone, should be given the opportunity to go as far as their dreams and God-given ability will take them.

We can never lose that. In times as challenging as these, I believe there is only one way forward. As a united America. United in our pursuit of a more perfect Union. United in our dreams of a better future for us and for our children. United in our determination to make the coming years bright. 

Are we ready?

I believe we are. 

This is a great nation. 

And we are a good and decent people.

This is the United States of America. 

And there has never been anything we’ve been unable to accomplish when we’ve done it together.

The Irish poet Seamus Heaney once wrote:

“History says,

Don’t hope on this side of the grave,

But then, once in a lifetime

The longed-for tidal wave

Of justice can rise up,

And hope and history rhyme”

This is our moment to make hope and history rhyme. 

With passion and purpose, let us begin – you and I together, one nation, under God – united in our love for America and united in our love for each other. 

For love is more powerful than hate. 

Hope is more powerful than fear. 

Light is more powerful than dark.  

This is our moment.

This is our mission. 

May history be able to say that the end of this chapter of American darkness began here tonight as love and hope and light joined in the battle for the soul of the nation.

And this is a battle that we, together, will win. 

I promise you.

Thank you.

And may God bless you.

And may God protect our troops. 

Biden-Harris 2020, Democratic National Convention 2020, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Joe Biden, Military, Military Issues, National Security, News & Photo Features

Tammy Duckworth Tells DNC: ‘As President, Joe Biden would never let tyrants manipulate him like a puppet’

Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, speaking to the Democratic National Convention, offered some of the most damning accusations against the incumbent Donald Trump, calling him “Coward-in-Chief who won’t stand up to Vladamir Putin, read his daily intelligence briefings or even publicly admonish adversaries for reportedly putting bounties on our troops’ heads.” She said, “As President, Joe Biden would never let tyrants manipulate him like a puppet. He would never pervert our military to stroke his own ego. He would never turn his back on our troops or threaten them against Americans peacefully exercising their Constitutional rights. Joe Biden would stand up for what’s right… stand tall for our troops… and stand strong against our enemies. Because unlike Trump, Joe Biden has common decency.” © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Senator Tammy Duckworth of Illinois, who lost both legs when the helicopter she was piloting was shot down in Iraq, addressed the Democratic National Convention on Joe Biden’s longtime and genuine support for active military, their families, and veterans, both because he lived the experience and because he brings a genuine compassion, dignity, integrity to leadership. She offered some of the most damning accusations against the incumbent Donald Trump, calling him “Coward-in-Chief who won’t stand up to Vladamir Putin, read his daily intelligence briefings or even publicly admonish adversaries for reportedly putting bounties on our troops’ heads.

“As President, Joe Biden would never let tyrants manipulate him like a puppet.
He would never pervert our military to stroke his own ego. He would never turn his back on our troops or threaten them against Americans peacefully exercising their Constitutional rights. Joe Biden would stand up for what’s right… stand tall for our troops… and stand strong against our enemies. Because unlike Trump, Joe Biden has common decency.”
 
Here are Senator Duckworth’s highlighted remarks:

Good evening. I’m Tammy Duckworth.

When I first enlisted in the Army, I was eager to serve my country… yet anxious whether I’d be able to earn my way into the ranks.

But I earned my wings and later commanded my own air assault unit, learning that serving—and leading—in the military is both a privilege and a sacrifice. 

To be a commander, you must always put your Troops first—because one day, you may order them to sacrifice everything for our great nation.

To do that, leaders must command their Troops’ respect—and be worthy of their pledge to protect and defend our Constitution, no matter the cost. 

But military service doesn’t just take sacrifice from those in uniform—it’s required from their families, too.

My husband Bryan was the one who rushed to Walter Reed after I was wounded in Iraq. 

He was the one holding my hand, waiting for me to wake up… 

…when I finally did, he was my rock, getting me through those hours…  weeks… months of unspeakable pain and unending surgeries. 

He was my anchor as I relearned to walk, helping me through every step… every stumble.  

Our military spouses hold their families together… praying for their loved one’s safety wherever they’re deployed, serving as caregivers to our disabled servicemembers, then picking up the pieces and starting again whenever the next tour… or the next war… arises.

Joe Biden understands these sacrifices, because he’s made them himself. 

When his son Beau deployed to Iraq, his burden was also shouldered by his family. 

Joe knows the fear military families live with because he’s felt that dread of never knowing if your deployed loved one is safe. 

He understands their bravery because he had to muster that same strength every hour of every day Beau was overseas.

That’s the kind of leader our servicemembers deserve: one who understands the risks they face and who would actually protect them by doing his job as Commander-in-Chief.

Instead they have a Coward-in-Chief who won’t stand up to Vladamir Putin, read his daily intelligence briefings or even publicly admonish adversaries for reportedly putting bounties on our troops’ heads.

As President, Joe Biden would never let tyrants manipulate him like a puppet.

He would never pervert our military to stroke his own ego.

He would never turn his back on our troops or threaten them against Americans peacefully exercising their Constitutional rights.

Joe Biden would stand up for what’s right… stand tall for our troops… and stand strong against our enemies.

Because unlike Trump, Joe Biden has common decency. 

He has common sense.

He can command… from both experience and from strength.

Donald Trump doesn’t deserve to call himself Commander-in-Chief for another four minutes—let alone another four years.

Our troops deserve better.

Our country deserves better.

If you agree, text “MORE” to 3-0-3-3-0 to elect Joe Biden: a leader who actually cares enough about America to lead.

Biden-Harris 2020, Democratic National Convention 2020, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Joe Biden, News & Photo Features

Joe Biden to Accept Democratic Nomination for President in DNC Final Night Themed ‘America’s Promise’

On this final night of the Democratic National Convention, Joe Biden delivers his acceptance speech and shows how as president, he will help all Americans realize “America’s Promise.” © Karen Rubin/news/photos-features.com

MILWAUKEE—The Democratic National Convention Committee (DNCC) today previewed the official program for the final night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, which will take place Thursday, August 20 from 9:00-11:00 PM Eastern.

The theme of Thursday’s program is “America’s Promise.” The measure of a president is the same as the measure of a person: What principles guide them? How do they handle adversity? Being president doesn’t change who you are—it reveals who you are. Joe Biden is a good man who believes in the promise of America, and as president, he will deliver on that promise for all.

A former public defender, a leading senator, and two-term vice president, Joe Biden is one of the most experienced candidates to ever seek the presidency. Throughout his career, he has been tested by historic recessions, global conflicts, pandemics, divisive politics, and the never-ending quest for justice and fairness in America. Every step of the way, he has risen to the moment with steady and effective leadership. When he gets knocked down, he gets back up. 

Joe Biden is a leader who believes in America’s Promise—and believes in delivering on that promise for all of us. 

Tonight features Americans sharing where they hope to be this time next year, elected officials standing up for the right to vote, including Senator Cory Booker, California Governor Gavin Newsom,  Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, 2016 candidate Pete Buttigieg, Senators Tammy Baldwin, Tammy Duckworth, and Chris Coons, and the highlight of the evening, Vice President Joe Biden officially accepting the Democratic nomination for president.

As has been featured every night of the convention, between speeches segments, ordinary Americans across country will share their story and the hope they have in electing Joe Biden President and Kamala Harris Vice President.

Highlights from tonight’s program include:

THE PROMISE OF AMERICA

“This Time Next Year”
A collection of everyday Americans and prominent leaders share where they want to be this time next year—when Joe Biden is president. 

Remarks
Andrew Yang
American businessman

Introduction
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
American actress

Pledge of Allegiance
Cedric Richmond, Jr.
Son of The Honorable Cedric Richmond, Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, Louisiana

National Anthem
The Chicks
Natalie Maines, Martie Erwin Maguire, and Emily Strayer

Invocation
Sister Simone Campbell
American Roman Catholic Religious Sister

Remarks
The Honorable Chris Coons
United States Senator, Delaware

Remarks
The Honorable Keisha Lance Bottoms
Mayor of Atlanta, Georgia

A Tribute to John Lewis
Directed by Dawn Porter

Performance
John Legend
American singer-songwriter
Common
American rapper, actor, and writer

Remarks
Jon Meacham
American writer and author

Remarks
The Honorable Deb Halaand
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives, New Mexico

Remarks
The Honorable Alex Padilla
California Secretary of State
The Honorable Jocelyn Benson
Michigan Secretary of State

Remarks
The Honorable Cory Booker
United States Senator, New Jersey

“You Built America”: A Conversation on the Economy with Vice President Biden
Joe Biden listens to, and engages with, union workers around how to build an economy that rewards work.

Remarks
Dr. Vivek Murthy
Former Surgeon General of the United States

Remarks
The Honorable Tammy Baldwin
United States Senator, Wisconsin

The Biden Plan: Military Families
A video that focuses on Joe Biden and Dr. Jill Biden’s deep commitment to military families.

Remarks
The Honorable Tammy Duckworth
United States Senator, Illinois

A Tribute to Beau Biden
A video that focuses on the remarkable life and career of Beau Biden.

Remarks
The Honorable Pete Buttigieg
Former Mayor of South Bend, Indiana

“United We Stand”
Joe Biden through the eyes of those who ran against him in 2020—featuring Senator Cory Booker, Former Mayor Pete Buttigieg, Senator Amy Klobuchar, Former Congressman Beto O’Rourke, Senator Bernie Sanders, Senator Elizabeth Warren, and Andrew Yang.

Remarks
The Honorable Michael Bloomberg
Former Mayor of New York City, New York

The Biden Grandchildren
A video focused on Joe Biden’s family—and in particular his grandchildren, and their close bond.

Remarks
The Biden Children
Ashley Biden and Hunter Biden tell us about their father. 

Biden Introduction 
The story of Joe Biden’s life, up to this moment—from his parents, to his upbringing, to his greatest challenges, to his biggest successes, to the type of leader, father, husband, and person that he is.

Remarks
The Honorable Joe Biden
2020 Democratic Nominee for President of the United States
Former Vice President of the United States

How to Watch the 2020 Democratic National Convention

Viewers will have more than a dozen options for watching the 2020 Democratic National Convention, ensuring that this year’s convention will reach viewers where they are, however they prefer to watch, all across the nation. 

With an unprecedented number of ways to tune in, this year’s convention will engage voters in new, innovative ways and unite the country around our shared values. The convention will take place over four nights from August 17-20, 2020. Convention programming will air live from 9:00-11:00 PM Eastern each night.

The official live stream for the 2020 Democratic National Convention will be hosted on DemConvention.com, where viewers can also find the full convention schedule, a digital toolkit to get involved, more resources for viewers, delegates and the media and additional plans and details. 

In addition, the DNC is organizing watch parties all over the country, hosted with prominent leaders, as well as drive-in watch parties, like drive in movie theater where you watch on big screens – in Wisconsin, New Hampshire, Iowa, Pennsylvania, Virginia, and Delaware.

The convention will air from 9 p.m. to 11 p.m. Eastern time every day, Monday through Thursday. There are a variety of ways to watch:

  • The official livestream will be here. It will also be available on YouTube, Facebook, Twitter and Twitch.
  • C-SPAN, CNN, MSNBC and PBS will cover the full two hours each night. ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox News will carry the convention from 10 p.m. to 11 p.m. each night. 
  • The New York Times will stream the full convention every day, accompanied by chat-based live analysis from reporters and real-time highlights from the speeches.
  • Streams will be available on Apple TV, Roku and Amazon Fire TV by searching “Democratic National Convention” or “2020 DNC,” and on Amazon Prime Video by searching “DNC.”
  • The convention will air on AT&T U-verse (channels 212 and 1212) and AT&T DirectTV (channel 201). It will also air on Comcast Xfinity Flex and Comcast X1 (say “DNC” into your voice remote).
  • You can watch on a PlayStation 4 or PSVR through the Littlstar app.
  • If you have an Alexa device, you can say “Alexa, play the Democratic National Convention.”

Then, after the Convention, tune into a star-studded after-party happening on Thursday, August 20, at 11:00pm ET.

Hosted by Emmy Award-winning host, producer, and author, Andy Cohen, the event will be dropping into the homes of A-list celebrities and activists across the country for several segments, and the after party will be headlined by a never-before seen set for a special musical performance by Grammy Award-winning artist, record producer and DJ Diplo, one of the most dynamic forces in music today.

Other big names attending the after party include Alyssa Milano, Aubrey Plaza, Cat and Nicole Ehrlich Cora, Jaime Camil, Jason George, Elena Delle Donne, Keith Powell, Liza Koshy, Neil Casey, Michelle Kwan, and Zooey Deschanel.

This will be carried on the official livestream following the convention on all social platforms across the Biden campaign, DNC, and DNCC including official Facebook, Youtube, Twitter accounts, joebiden.com, and Twitch. 

Democratic National Convention 2020, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Election 2020, News & Photo Features

Kamala Harris, Accepting Democratic Nomination for Vice President Tells DNC ‘Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose’

Senator Kamala Harris of California formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination as Vice President in remarks delivered Wilmington, Delaware’s convention center, on the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, in which she introduced herself to a national audience and made the argument for election of Joe Biden as President over the failed, corrupt incumbent who through his incompetence and self-dealing, has caused the loss of lives and livelihoods © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Senator Kamala Harris of California formally accepted the Democratic Party’s nomination as Vice President in remarks on the third night of the 2020 Democratic National Convention, in which she introduced herself to a national audience and made the argument for election of Joe Biden as President over the failed, corrupt incumbent who through his incompetence and self-dealing, has caused the loss of lives and livelihoods:

“Right now, we have a president who turns our tragedies into political weapons. 

“Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose. 

“Joe will bring us together to build an economy that doesn’t leave anyone behind. Where a good-paying job is the floor, not the ceiling. 

“Joe will bring us together to end this pandemic and make sure that we are prepared for the next one.

“Joe will bring us together to squarely face and dismantle racial injustice, furthering the work of generations.”

Here are her highlighted remarks, delivered in the convention hall in Wilmington, Delaware.

Greetings America.

It is truly an honor to be speaking with you.

That I am here tonight is a testament to the dedication of generations before me. Women and men who believed so fiercely in the promise of equality, liberty, and justice for all.

This week marks the 100th anniversary of the passage of the 19th amendment. And we celebrate the women who fought for that right.

Yet so many of the Black women who helped secure that victory were still prohibited from voting, long after its ratification.

But they were undeterred. 

Without fanfare or recognition, they organized, testified, rallied, marched, and fought—not just for their vote, but for a seat at the table. These women and the generations that followed worked to make democracy and opportunity real in the lives of all of us who followed.

They paved the way for the trailblazing leadership of Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.

And these women inspired us to pick up the torch, and fight on.

Women like Mary Church Terrell and Mary McCleod Bethune. Fannie Lou Hamer and Diane Nash. Constance Baker Motley and Shirley Chisholm.

We’re not often taught their stories. But as Americans, we all stand on their shoulders.

There’s another woman, whose name isn’t known, whose story isn’t shared. Another woman whose shoulders I stand on. And that’s my mother—Shyamala Gopalan Harris.

She came here from India at age 19 to pursue her dream of curing cancer. At the University of California Berkeley, she met my father, Donald Harris—who had come from Jamaica to study economics.

They fell in love in that most American way—while marching together for justice in the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

In the streets of Oakland and Berkeley, I got a stroller’s-eye view of people getting into what the great John Lewis called “good trouble.”

When I was 5, my parents split and my mother raised us mostly on her own. Like so many mothers, she worked around the clock to make it work—packing lunches before we woke up— and paying bills after we went to bed. Helping us with homework at the kitchen table—and shuttling us to church for choir practice.

She made it look easy, though I know it never was.

My mother instilled in my sister, Maya, and me the values that would chart the course of our lives.

She raised us to be proud, strong Black women. And she raised us to know and be proud of our Indian heritage.

She taught us to put family first—the family you’re born into and the family you choose.

Family, is my husband Doug, who I met on a blind date set up by my best friend. Family is our beautiful children, Cole and Ella, who as you just heard, call me Momala. Family is my sister. Family is my best friend, my nieces and my godchildren. Family is my uncles, my aunts—my chitthis. Family is Mrs. Shelton—my second mother who lived two doors down and helped raise me. Family is my beloved Alpha Kappa Alpha…our Divine 9…and my HBCU brothers and sisters. Family is the friends I turned to when my mother—the most important person in my life—passed away from cancer.

And even as she taught us to keep our family at the center of our world, she also pushed us to see a world beyond ourselves.

She taught us to be conscious and compassionate about the struggles of all people. To believe public service is a noble cause and the fight for justice is a shared responsibility.

That led me to become a lawyer, a District Attorney, Attorney General, and a United States Senator.

And at every step of the way, I’ve been guided by the words I spoke from the first time I stood in a courtroom: Kamala Harris, For the People.

I’ve fought for children, and survivors of sexual assault. I’ve fought against transnational gangs. I took on the biggest banks, and helped take down one of the biggest for-profit colleges.

I know a predator when I see one.

My mother taught me that service to others gives life purpose and meaning. And oh, how I wish she were here tonight but I know she’s looking down on me from above. I keep thinking about that 25-year-old Indian woman—all of five feet tall—who gave birth to me at Kaiser Hospital in Oakland, California.

On that day, she probably could have never imagined that I would be standing before you now speaking these words: I accept your nomination for Vice President of the United States of America.

I do so, committed to the values she taught me. To the Word that teaches me to walk by faith, and not by sight. And to a vision passed on through generations of Americans—one that Joe Biden shares. A vision of our nation as a Beloved Community—where all are welcome, no matter what we look like, where we come from, or who we love.

A country where we may not agree on every detail, but we are united by the fundamental belief that every human being is of infinite worth, deserving of compassion, dignity and respect.

A country where we look out for one another, where we rise and fall as one, where we face our challenges, and celebrate our triumphs—together.

Today… that country feels distant.

Donald Trump’s failure of leadership has cost lives and livelihoods. 

If you’re a parent struggling with your child’s remote learning, or you’re a teacher struggling on the other side of that screen, you know that what we’re doing right now isn’t working.

And we are a nation that’s grieving. Grieving the loss of life, the loss of jobs, the loss of opportunities, the loss of normalcy. And yes, the loss of certainty.

And while this virus touches us all, let’s be honest, it is not an equal opportunity offender. Black, Latino and Indigenous people are suffering and dying disproportionately.

This is not a coincidence. It is the effect of structural racism. 

Of inequities in education and technology, health care and housing, job security and transportation.

The injustice in reproductive and maternal health care. In the excessive use of force by police. And in our broader criminal justice system.

This virus has no eyes, and yet it knows exactly how we see each other—and how we treat each other.

And let’s be clear—there is no vaccine for racism. We’ve gotta do the work.

For George Floyd. For Breonna Taylor. For the lives of too many others to name. For our children. For all of us.

We’ve gotta do the work to fulfill that promise of equal justice under law. Because, none of us are free…until all of us are free…

We’re at an inflection point. 

The constant chaos leaves us adrift. The incompetence makes us feel afraid. The callousness makes us feel alone.

It’s a lot. 

And here’s the thing: We can do better and deserve so much more. 

We must elect a president who will bring something different, something better, and do the important work. A president who will bring all of us together—Black, White, Latino, Asian, Indigenous—to achieve the future we collectively want.

We must elect Joe Biden. 

I knew Joe as Vice President. I knew Joe on the campaign trail. But I first got to know Joe as the father of my friend.

Joe’s son, Beau, and I served as Attorneys General of our states, Delaware and California. During the Great Recession, we spoke on the phone nearly every day, working together to win back billions of dollars for homeowners from the big banks that foreclosed on people’s homes.

And Beau and I would talk about his family.

How, as a single father, Joe would spend 4 hours every day riding the train back and forth from Wilmington to Washington. Beau and Hunter got to have breakfast every morning with their dad. They went to sleep every night with the sound of his voice reading bedtime stories. And while they endured an unspeakable loss, these two little boys Always knew that they were deeply, unconditionally loved.

And what also moved me about Joe is the work he did, as he went back and forth. This is the leader who wrote the Violence Against Women Act—and enacted the Assault Weapons Ban. Who, as Vice President, implemented The Recovery Act, which brought our country back from The Great Recession. He championed The Affordable Care Act, protecting millions of Americans with pre-existing conditions. Who spent decades promoting American values and interests around the world, standing up with our allies and standing up to our adversaries.

Right now, we have a president who turns our tragedies into political weapons. 

Joe will be a president who turns our challenges into purpose. 

Joe will bring us together to build an economy that doesn’t leave anyone behind. Where a good-paying job is the floor, not the ceiling. 

Joe will bring us together to end this pandemic and make sure that we are prepared for the next one.

Joe will bring us together to squarely face and dismantle racial injustice, furthering the work of
generations.

Joe and I believe that we can build that Beloved Community, one that is strong and decent, just and kind. One in which we all can see ourselves.

That’s the vision that our parents and grandparents fought for. The vision that made my own life possible. The vision that makes the American promise—for all its complexities and imperfections—a promise worth fighting for.

Make no mistake, the road ahead will not be not easy. We will stumble. We may fall short. But I pledge to you that we will act boldly and deal with our challenges honestly. We will speak truths. And we will act with the same faith in you that we ask you to place in us.

We believe that our country—all of us, will stand together for a better future. We already are.

We see it in the doctors, the nurses, the home health care workers and the frontline workers who are risking their lives to save people they’ve never met.

We see it in the teachers and truck drivers, the factory workers and farmers, the postal workers and the Poll workers, all putting their own safety on the line to help us get through this pandemic.

And we see it in so many of you who are working, not just to get us through our current crises, but to somewhere better.

There’s something happening, all across the country. 

It’s not about Joe or me. 

It’s about you.

It’s about us. People of all ages and colors and creeds who are, yes, taking to the streets, and also persuading our family members, rallying our friends, organizing our neighbors, and getting out the vote.

And we’ve shown that, when we vote, we expand access to health care, expand access to the ballot box, and ensure that more working families can make a decent living.

I’m inspired by a new generation of leadership. You are pushing us to realize the ideals of our nation, pushing us to live the values we share: decency and fairness, justice and love.

You are the patriots who remind us that to love our country is to fight for the ideals of our country.

In this election, we have a chance to change the course of history. We’re all in this fight.

You, me, and Joe—together.

What an awesome responsibility. What an awesome privilege. 

So, let’s fight with conviction. Let’s fight with hope. Let’s fight with confidence in ourselves, and a commitment to each other. To the America we know is possible. The America, we love.

Years from now, this moment will have passed. And our children and our grandchildren will look in our eyes and ask us: Where were you when the stakes were so high?

They will ask us, what was it like?

And we will tell them. We will tell them, not just how we felt. 

We will tell them what we did. 

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. 

Biden-Harris 2020, Democratic National Convention 2020, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Election 2020, Joe Biden, News & Photo Features

Barack Obama Tells DNC 2020: ‘Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy. Vote’

President Barack Obama’s speech to the 2020 Democratic National Convention in an uncharacteristically offensive speech in which he chastised the inadequacy of Donald Trump. “Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you’re going to get involved and vote.” © Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

President Barack Obama’s speech to the 2020 Democratic National Convention was extraordinary not because of its clarity, thoughtfulness, intelligence, honesty and message so perfectly targeted, but because it was uncharacteristically aggressive in taking on forthrightly the incompetence, inadequacy, and corruption of Donald Trump and sounding the alarm that voting is crucial this November, with nothing short of protecting democracy at stake.

“For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.

“Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe…

“… this president and those in power – those who benefit from keeping things the way they are – they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win. That’s how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life, and the lives of the people you love. That’s how the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well-connected, how our health systems will let more people fall through the cracks. That’s how a democracy withers, until it’s no democracy at all.

“We can’t let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you’re going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too. Do what Americans have done for over two centuries when faced with even tougher times than this – all those quiet heroes who found the courage to keep marching, keep pushing in the face of hardship and injustice.”

Here is Barack Obama’s speech, highlighted:

Good evening, everybody. As you’ve seen by now, this isn’t a normal convention. It’s not a normal time. So tonight, I want to talk as plainly as I can about the stakes in this election. Because what we do these next 76 days will echo through generations to come.

I’m in Philadelphia, where our Constitution was drafted and signed. It wasn’t a perfect document. It allowed for the inhumanity of slavery and failed to guarantee women – and even men who didn’t own property – the right to participate in the political process. But embedded in this document was a North Star that would guide future generations; a system of representative government – a democracy – through which we could better realize our highest ideals. Through civil war and bitter struggles, we improved this Constitution to include the voices of those who’d once been left out. And gradually, we made this country more just, more equal, and more free.

The one Constitutional office elected by all of the people is the presidency. So at minimum, we should expect a president to feel a sense of responsibility for the safety and welfare of all 330 million of us – regardless of what we look like, how we worship, who we love, how much money we have – or who we voted for.

But we should also expect a president to be the custodian of this democracy. We should expect that regardless of ego, ambition, or political beliefs, the president will preserve, protect, and defend the freedoms and ideals that so many Americans marched for and went to jail for; fought for and died for.

I have sat in the Oval Office with both of the men who are running for president. I never expected that my successor would embrace my vision or continue my policies. I did hope, for the sake of our country, that Donald Trump might show some interest in taking the job seriously; that he might come to feel the weight of the office and discover some reverence for the democracy that had been placed in his care.

But he never did. For close to four years now, he’s shown no interest in putting in the work; no interest in finding common ground; no interest in using the awesome power of his office to help anyone but himself and his friends; no interest in treating the presidency as anything but one more reality show that he can use to get the attention he craves.

Donald Trump hasn’t grown into the job because he can’t. And the consequences of that failure are severe.170,000 Americans dead. Millions of jobs gone while those at the top take in more than ever. Our worst impulses unleashed, our proud reputation around the world badly diminished, and our democratic institutions threatened like never before.

Now, I know that in times as polarized as these, most of you have already made up your mind. But maybe you’re still not sure which candidate you’ll vote for – or whether you’ll vote at all. Maybe you’re tired of the direction we’re headed, but you can’t see a better path yet, or you just don’t know enough about the person who wants to lead us there.

So let me tell you about my friend Joe Biden.

Twelve years ago, when I began my search for a vice president, I didn’t know I’d end up finding a brother. Joe and I came from different places and different generations. But what I quickly came to admire about him is his resilience, born of too much struggle; his empathy, born of too much grief. Joe’s a man who learned – early on – to treat every person he meets with respect and dignity, living by the words his parents taught him: “No one’s better than you, Joe, but you’re better than nobody.”

That empathy, that decency, the belief that everybody counts – that’s who Joe is.

When he talks with someone who’s lost her job, Joe remembers the night his father sat him down to say that he’d lost his.

When Joe listens to a parent who’s trying to hold it all together right now, he does it as the single dad who took the train back to Wilmington each and every night so he could tuck his kids into bed. 

When he meets with military families who’ve lost their hero, he does it as a kindred spirit; the parent of an American soldier; somebody whose faith has endured the hardest loss there is.

For eight years, Joe was the last one in the room whenever I faced a big decision. He made me a better president – and he’s got the character and the experience to make us a better country.

And in my friend Kamala Harris, he’s chosen an ideal partner who’s more than prepared for the job; someone who knows what it’s like to overcome barriers and who’s made a career fighting to help others live out their own American dream.

Along with the experience needed to get things done, Joe and Kamala have concrete policies that will turn their vision of a better, fairer, stronger country into reality.

They’ll get this pandemic under control, like Joe did when he helped me manage H1N1 and prevent an Ebola outbreak from reaching our shores.

They’ll expand health care to more Americans, like Joe and I did ten years ago when he helped craft the Affordable Care Act and nail down the votes to make it the law.

They’ll rescue the economy, like Joe helped me do after the Great Recession. I asked him to manage the Recovery Act, which jumpstarted the longest stretch of job growth in history. And he sees this moment now not as a chance to get back to where we were, but to make long-overdue changes so that our economy actually makes life a little easier for everybody – whether it’s the waitress trying to raise a kid on her own, or the shift worker always on the edge of getting laid off, or the student figuring out how to pay for next semester’s classes.

Joe and Kamala will restore our standing in the world – and as we’ve learned from this pandemic, that matters. Joe knows the world, and the world knows him. He knows that our true strength comes from setting an example the world wants to follow. A nation that stands with democracy, not dictators. A nation that can inspire and mobilize others to overcome threats like climate change, terrorism, poverty, and disease.

But more than anything, what I know about Joe and Kamala is that they actually care about every American. And they care deeply about this democracy.

They believe that in a democracy, the right to vote is sacred, and we should be making it easier for people to cast their ballot, not harder.

They believe that no one – including the president – is above the law, and that no public official – including the president – should use their office to enrich themselves or their supporters.

They understand that in this democracy, the Commander-in-Chief doesn’t use the men and women of our military, who are willing to risk everything to protect our nation, as political props to deploy against peaceful protesters on our own soil. They understand that political opponents aren’t “un-American” just because they disagree with you; that a free press isn’t the “enemy” but the way we hold officials accountable; that our ability to work together to solve big problems like a pandemic depends on a fidelity to facts and science and logic and not just making stuff up.

None of this should be controversial. These shouldn’t be Republican principles or Democratic principles. They’re American principles. But at this moment, this president and those who enable him, have shown they don’t believe in these things.

Tonight, I am asking you to believe in Joe and Kamala’s ability to lead this country out of these dark times and build it back better. But here’s the thing: no single American can fix this country alone. Not even a president. Democracy was never meant to be transactional – you give me your vote; I make everything better. It requires an active and informed citizenry. So I am also asking you to believe in your own ability – to embrace your own responsibility as citizens – to make sure that the basic tenets of our democracy endure.

Because that’s what at stake right now. Our democracy.

Look, I understand why many Americans are down on government. The way the rules have been set up and abused in Congress make it easy for special interests to stop progress. Believe me, I know. I understand why a white factory worker who’s seen his wages cut or his job shipped overseas might feel like the government no longer looks out for him, and why a Black mother might feel like it never looked out for her at all. I understand why a new immigrant might look around this country and wonder whether there’s still a place for him here; why a young person might look at politics right now, the circus of it all, the meanness and the lies and crazy conspiracy theories and think, what’s the point?

Well, here’s the point: this president and those in power – those who benefit from keeping things the way they are – they are counting on your cynicism. They know they can’t win you over with their policies. So they’re hoping to make it as hard as possible for you to vote, and to convince you that your vote doesn’t matter. That’s how they win. That’s how they get to keep making decisions that affect your life, and the lives of the people you love. That’s how the economy will keep getting skewed to the wealthy and well-connected, how our health systems will let more people fall through the cracks. That’s how a democracy withers, until it’s no democracy at all.

We can’t let that happen. Do not let them take away your power. Don’t let them take away your democracy. Make a plan right now for how you’re going to get involved and vote. Do it as early as you can and tell your family and friends how they can vote too. Do what Americans have done for over two centuries when faced with even tougher times than this – all those quiet heroes who found the courage to keep marching, keep pushing in the face of hardship and injustice.

Last month, we lost a giant of American democracy in John Lewis. Some years ago, I sat down with John and the few remaining leaders of the early Civil Rights Movement. One of them told me he never imagined he’d walk into the White House and see a president who looked like his grandson. Then he told me that he’d looked it up, and it turned out that on the very day that I was born, he was marching into a jail cell, trying to end Jim Crow segregation in the South.

What we do echoes through the generations.

Whatever our backgrounds, we’re all the children of Americans who fought the good fight. Great grandparents working in firetraps and sweatshops without rights or representation. Farmers losing their dreams to dust. Irish and Italians and Asians and Latinos told to go back where they came from. Jews and Catholics, Muslims and Sikhs, made to feel suspect for the way they worshipped. Black Americans chained and whipped and hanged. Spit on for trying to sit at lunch counters. Beaten for trying to vote.

If anyone had a right to believe that this democracy did not work, and could not work, it was those Americans. Our ancestors. They were on the receiving end of a democracy that had fallen short all their lives. They knew how far the daily reality of America strayed from the myth. And yet, instead of giving up, they joined together and said somehow, some way, we are going to make this work. We are going to bring those words, in our founding documents, to life.

I’ve seen that same spirit rising these past few years. Folks of every age and background who packed city centers and airports and rural roads so that families wouldn’t be separated. So that another classroom wouldn’t get shot up. So that our kids won’t grow up on an uninhabitable planet. Americans of all races joining together to declare, in the face of injustice and brutality at the hands of the state, that Black Lives Matter, no more, but no less, so that no child in this country feels the continuing sting of racism.

To the young people who led us this summer, telling us we need to be better – in so many ways, you are this country’s dreams fulfilled. Earlier generations had to be persuaded that everyone has equal worth. For you, it’s a given – a conviction. And what I want you to know is that for all its messiness and frustrations, your system of self-government can be harnessed to help you realize those convictions.

You can give our democracy new meaning. You can take it to a better place. You’re the missing ingredient – the ones who will decide whether or not America becomes the country that fully lives up to its creed.

That work will continue long after this election. But any chance of success depends entirely on the outcome of this election. This administration has shown it will tear our democracy down if that’s what it takes to win. So we have to get busy building it up – by pouring all our effort into these 76 days, and by voting like never before – for Joe and Kamala, and candidates up and down the ticket, so that we leave no doubt about what this country we love stands for – today and for all our days to come.

Stay safe. God bless. 

Biden-Harris 2020, Democratic National Convention 2020, Democratic Party, Democrats 2020, Election 2020, News & Photo Features

Hillary Clinton to DNC2020: ‘No Matter What, Vote’

Historic nomination of Hillary Rodham Clinton for President by Democratic party, at Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia, July 2016. Despite winning the popular vote by 3 million, and making 65 million cracks in the glass ceiling, Donald Trump eked out victory in the Electoral College with as few as two votes per precinct in a battleground state. Clinton’s message to the Democratic National Convention in 2020: “No matter what, vote. And convince everyone you know to vote.” (c) Karen Rubin/news-photos-features.com

Former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton knows a thing or two about the importance that every vote counts. The first woman to run for president on a major party ticket, she racked up 65 million votes (that’s 65 million cracks in the glass ceiling), more votes than any white male candidate before her. But despite winning an unprecedented 3 million more votes than Donald Trump, he managed to snatch victory through the Electoral College with just 77,000 votes spread across three battleground states.

“This can’t be another woulda-coulda-shoulda election. If you’re voting by mail, request your ballot now, and send it back as soon as you can. If you vote in person, do it early. Bring a friend and wear a mask. Become a poll worker. Most of all, no matter what, vote. And convince everyone you know to vote.”

Here are her highlighted remarks to the 2020 Democratic National Convention was a call to action:

Good evening.

After the last election, I said, “We owe Donald Trump an open mind and the chance to lead.” I really meant it. Every president deserves that. And Trump walked into the Oval Office with so much set up for him: A strong economy. Plans for managing crises—like a pandemic.

Yes, we Democrats would have disagreed with him on many, many things. But if he had put his own interests and ego aside—if he could have seen the humanity in a child ripped from her parents at the border or a protester calling for justice or a family whose home was destroyed by a wildfire who happened to live in a blue state—if he had even tried to govern well and lead us all—he might have proved us wrong. And that would have been a good thing, for America and the world.

I wish Donald Trump had been a better president. Because America needs a better president than this.

America needs a president who shows the same compassion, determination, and leadership in the White House that we see in our communities. Throughout this crisis, Americans have kept going—checking on neighbors, showing up to jobs at grocery stores and nursing homes. Because it still takes a village.

We need leaders equal to this moment. We need Joe Biden and Kamala Harris.

Everyone has a story about Joe’s thoughtfulness and empathy. I remember him calling after my mother, Dorothy, died. We talked about being raised by strong, no-nonsense women. When I walked with him through the house where he grew up in Scranton, he remembered every detail—about the house, the neighborhood, the people who lived there, and the values they shared. There is no better testament to Joe’s character than his family—including his wife, Dr. Jill Biden, who has said she will keep her teaching job as First Lady. That’s outstanding.

And boy, did Joe, pick the right partner in Kamala Harris—another daughter of an extraordinary mother. Kamala is relentless in the pursuit of justice, and uncommonly kind. When her press secretary Tyrone Gayle, a remarkable young man who had also worked on my campaign, was dying of cancer, she dropped everything to be with him in his final moments. Because that’s who she is.

I know a thing or two about the slings and arrows coming her way. Kamala can handle them all.

This is the team to pull our nation back from the brink and build back better. But they can’t do it
without all of us.

For four years, people have said to me, “I didn’t realize how dangerous he was.” “I wish I could go back and do it over.” “I should have voted.” This can’t be another woulda-coulda-shoulda election. If you’re voting by mail, request your ballot now, and send it back as soon as you can. If you vote in person, do it early. Bring a friend and wear a mask. Become a poll worker.

Most of all, no matter what, vote. And convince everyone you know to vote.

Remember in 2016 when Trump asked: “What do you have to lose?” Well, now we know: our health, our jobs, even our lives. Our leadership in the world and, yes, our post office. As Michelle Obama and Bernie Sanders warned us on Monday: If Trump is re-elected, it will get even worse. My friends, we need unity now more than ever.

But let’s set our sights higher than getting one man out of the White House. Let’s vote for the jobs Joe will create, and for emergency relief that lifts small businesses and hardworking people. Because it’s wrong that the wealthiest Americans got $400 billion richer during the pandemic while 40 million people lost their jobs.

Vote for parents struggling to balance their child’s education and their safety. And for health care workers fighting COVID-19 with no help from the White House. Vote for paid family leave and health care for everyone. Vote to protect Social Security, Medicare, reproductive rights, and our planet.

Vote for DREAMers and their families. For law enforcement that serves and respects communities of color. Vote for justice for George Floyd, Breonna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery, because Black Lives Matter.

Vote to make sure we—not a foreign adversary—choose our president.

Vote for the America we saw in the roll call last night: diverse, compassionate, full of energy and hope. Vote like our lives and livelihoods are on the line, because they are.

Remember: Joe and Kamala can win 3 million more votes and still lose. Take. It. From. Me. We need numbers so overwhelming Trump can’t sneak or steal his way to victory. So text VOTE to 30330 and let’s go win.

One hundred years ago yesterday, the 19th Amendment was ratified. It took seven decades of suffragists marching, picketing, and going to jail to push us closer to that more perfect union. Fifty-five years ago, John Lewis marched and bled in Selma because that work was unfinished.

Tonight I am thinking of the girls and boys who see themselves in America’s future because of Kamala Harris—a Black woman, the daughter of Jamaican and Indian immigrants, and our nominee for Vice President of the United States. This is our country’s story: breaking down barriers and expanding the circle of possibility.

So to all the young people: Don’t give up on America. Despite our flaws and problems, we have come so far. And we can still be a more just and equal country, full of opportunities previous generations could never have imagined.

There’s a lot of heartbreak in America right now—and the truth is, many things were broken before the pandemic. But, as the saying goes, the world breaks everyone at one point or another, and afterward, many are stronger in the broken places. Joe Biden knows how to heal, because he’s done it himself.

So come November, we will be strong together. We will heal together. We will redeem the soul and promise of this country together. We will elect Joe Biden and Kamala Harris—together.