The J-J Speech
Governor Warner delivered the following remarks at Saturday night’s Jefferson-Jackson dinner in Richmond before a sold-out crowd of 6,000 Virginia Democrats. He was introduced by his wife, Lisa Collis.
Thank you, Lisa. I can understand why now you wouldn’t let me read that introduction. Thank you for your love and support and the fact that on this one you gave me the green pass. And thank you, Virginia Democrats!I look around this room, and, Boy, all I can say is … we have come a long way. And a special thanks to all of you sitting up in those stands who are making this a record Jefferson/Jackson Dinner. See a lot of us remember when it wasn’t this way. I remember our Jefferson-Jackson Dinner in 2001. There were no Democrats in statewide office in Virginia. The legislature was two-to-one against us. And the press said the best days for Virginia Democrats were in the past.
But, we in 2001, working together, we defied the cynics and the skeptics … and we took back the Governor’s Mansion! In 2005, we built on that streak by electing our great Governor, my friend, Tim Kaine! And wasn’t it sweet…wasn’t it sweet that in 2006, we sent Jim Webb to Washington … and turned the U.S. Senate blue! And in the last three state elections, we’ve picked up members in the House of Delegates! And just this past year, in 2007, we, Virginia Democrats took back control of the State Senate – to give Governor Kaine the partners he needs!
Now an awful lot of folks deserve thanks for that, but i do want to single out one person Amy Reeger, who’s been our Party’s executive director. And say thank you, Amy, for a job well done.
You know, from the statehouse to the courthouse, Virginia Democrats have shown we know how to win. We’ve shown we know how to lead. And yes, we’ve shown we know how to govern!
Yes, we have come a long way… but we have further to go to lift up our Commonwealth and to change this country. And that’s why I’m asking for your help to elect me to be the next United States Senator from the Commonwealth of Virginia.
While we celebrate our Party’s successes tonight, allow me to take a moment to pay tribute to actually someone who is not of our Party – but who always puts Virginia and our country first – Senator John Warner.
I am proud to call him my friend. He has served our country and Commonwealth and our country with distinction. Senator Warner deserves our appreciation for his service
Now, as Lisa mentioned, I know that “Senator” is not the only job in Washington that I’ve considered applying for …
As I look around the room, I see friends who encouraged me to “kick the tires” on a potential run for national office.
And let me say this: Boy, do I respect the incredible effort made both by Senator Obama and Senator Clinton.
Both of them have energized our Party … and brought-in a host of new folks to get involved in this process. And we salute them both. Let me… Lisa shared a personal story, so I’ll share one as well. The night before the New Hampshire primary, when maybe I could have been out knocking on doors in snowy Manchester or Nashua, I was instead taking my youngest daughter and two of her best friends … to a Hannah Montana concert.
If that didn’t earn a spot in fatherhood heaven, I’m not sure what will!
Friends, even as we recognize and celebrate the resurgence of Virginia Democrats tonight, we recognize there is more work to be done.
And we know what’s really important to Virginians and to Americans is not the three-word-slogans that begin with the word “no”, and sound bites said during a campaign. It’s what you actually do once you’ve been hired.
I am running for the United States Senate to take to Washington the same kind of practical, results-oriented leadership we’ve had here in Virginia.
We all know elections are about choices. And those choices have real consequences in people’s lives.
While George Bush has taken our country in the wrong direction, we in Virginia under Democratic Leadership have taken the commonwealth in the right direction.
Give me a moment! Give me a moment and let’s compare George Bush’s Washington with our record here in Virginia.
At a time when Washington was running-up record deficits, Virginia was named “best managed state” in America.
When millions of American jobs went overseas – and Washington really wasn’t working for the hard working families across our country – Virginia was named by Forbes magazine the best place for business in the United States.
While President Bush was fighting efforts to expand children’s health insurance, and my predecessor (and probable opponent) was calling SCHIP “an affront” to his political philosophy – you know, we instead there is going to be a different way, and we’re going to improve our program.
To me, it’s a no-brainer: it seems, that if you send a child who goes to school healthy he or she is going to learn better is better prepared to learn.
So we took, we took the program we inherited that had only signed up 7% of kids. Literately, Virginia was sending tens of millions of dollars back to the federal government because we didn’t sign up eligible children. Instead we turned that around. We signed-up nearly 98-percent of eligible kids, an additional 138,000 children now have health insurance!
In Washington, while the Bush Administration allowed “No Child Left Behind” to become the poster child for bureaucracy run amok, we here in Virginia we realized recognized that a quality education is the key to a quality job in a competitive economy. Let’s look at the results: In 2005, recognized as having the largest increase in math SAT scores in the country… We dramatically also increased the number of students – especially African-American and Hispanic students – taking Advanced Placement tests. We said in Virginia we’ll put a new emphasis on career and technical education. We said – “Here in Virginia, we will place as much value in students who choose to be plumbers or electricians as those who choose to be doctors or lawyers.” And the results? We had a statewide high school graduation rate north of 94-percent. In 2007, Education Week said [if you were a child born in America today, what state would you want to be born in? In terms of a lifetime chances of success? The Commonwealth of Virginia was selected number one.
And as we compare again as Washington under this Bush presidency watched while small towns across America saw factories close and young people leave, here in Virginia we said we could do better.
You see, I have always believed in this information age that that kid in Grundy or Martinsville or Culpepper should not have to leave their hometown not everyone needs to move to Northern Virginia or Hampton Rhodes to find a world class job. So what did we do? We added 700 miles of high-speed Internet capacity – the largest rural broadband deployment in the nation. There are a lot of things I’m proud of during my tenure as governor, but nothing makes me more proud than those 700 world class IT Jobs in Russell County that are starting to remake Southwest and Southside Virginia. That’s their future.
At a time when Washington is continuing to run up the debts be paid by our children and grandchildren, we took a different approach here in Virginia. We insisted on common-sense, business-like reforms in how government operates.
And when Virginia’s best-in-the-nation, Triple-A bond rating was at risk, we had an honest discussion with the people of Virginia about our financial situation. We reached out – and we worked with people across the state and across the aisle to fix our state’s finances.
You see, I believe a true fiscal conservative is someone who pays his bills and does not pass-on his debts to the next guy.
My friends, we’ve built a solid record of leadership here in Virginia – and that’s the kind of leadership we need in Washington!
So tonight, I stand before you once again as a job applicant. Why? Because, like you, I know our country is at a critical crossroads. This is a defining moment in our history.
Why? Because, like you, I know, like you know, our country is at a critical crossroads. Folks will look back and say this is a defining moment in our history.
We face enormous challenges. From the war, to our economy, to our ability to compete – to the very nature and of America’s role in the world.
The next President of the United States is here with us tonight. And he … or she … will give us an opportunity for a fresh start.
Come January 2009, we once again have a chance to get it right!
Come January 2009, I want us not only to be proud to be Americans – but proud once again of where our country is headed.
Let me tell you what I hope we can accomplish … if we work together to get it right.
In January of 2009, we can start to bring transformative to our national energy policy.
Let me tell you what I mean. Our energy policy right now consists of borrowing money from China – to buy oil from countries around the world – that don’t like us. And with some of the dollars we send to the Middle East, I think it’s fair to say we may be the first country in history that’s funding both sides of a war. We must take a fresh approach. We must invest in renewable energy, and we must eliminate our dependence on foreign oil. We can do that! That is our destiny.
By making these new investments, we can create millions of new jobs world class jobs here in America. We can make our nation more secure.
And if we take-on the threat of climate change, we can reassert America’s moral standing in the world.
You know what? If we do it right, we might even save the planet along the way.
We can get it right.
Beginning in January of 2009, we can finally fix health care. Not only is it morally wrong that 47 million to 50 million Americans don’t even have access to healthcare in this country. It is wrong that we pay twice as much per person as our competitors around the world – and we certainly don’t get twice as good a value. With new leadership, we can fix health care.
It’s crazy to me that, in 2008, we have not brought the transformative power of information technology and real transparency to our health care system to both lower costs and improve quality.
We need to bring down the price of prescription drugs. Americans should no longer pay the research and development cost for drugs for the rest of the world.
We must make sure every American has access to affordable, universal health care coverage– and that that coverage will have to include a major emphasize We can get it right in this country.
And, come January 2009, we need to start to bring our brave troops home from Iraq … because that’s the only way to put real pressure on the Iraqis to step-up and take more responsibility for their country.
And I don’t know about you, I don’t know about you but I’m sick and tired of politicians who say they salute the troops – but refuse to provide the money and resources to care for our wounded veterans when they come home!
We also need to recognize the struggle against those who want to attack us and our way of life This struggle will not only require America’s military power, but also reestablishing America’s moral leadership in the world.
And we have the opportunity… We can get it right.
Come January 2009, America needs to be back on the economic offense – because I can assure you that India and China are not competing for second place. In this 21st century economy, we need more than just an economic stimulus plan. We need a long-term competitiveness plan.
We must have the best educated, most innovative and most entrepreneurial work force in America…in the world. And that means investment in education. It means “Leave No Child Behind” needs to become a reality, and not just political rhetoric.
We need to be the world capital of innovation and new ideas – and we need to work so that those new ideas, and the jobs they create are right here in the United States of America so we can keep the jobs it creates right here at home.
We can’t be on the economic offense when we’re 15th in the world in broadband deployment – when we’re relying on a second-rate rail system – or when we’re sitting in traffic. Now I know, and while it’s not very “sexy,” we need a fresh approach to investing in America’s infrastructure.
Come January 2009, we have a chance to get it right. You know and I know that Americans are ready to do their part.
And come January 2009, we will have leaders in Washington who will trust enough in the character of the American people, in our character enough to ask us to step-up and do our part.
As you many of you have heard me say again and again, as we confront these challenges in the 21st century it’s not about “left versus right”- or “red versus blue.” It’s really not even about “Democrat versus Republican.”
It’s really about “the future versus the past.” This is our time. Our time to move forward, together.
That’s what we’ve done in Virginia. And that’s the kind of U.S. Senator I’ll be with your help come this November.
I thank you for what you’ve done – but more importantly, I thank you for what you will do as we take back our nation.
Bless you, Bless our Commonwealth of Virginia, and God Bless these United States!
Thank you all!
Come January 2009, we have a chance to get it right.
Americans are ready to do their part. And come January 2009, we will have leaders in Washington who will trust in the character of the American people enough to ask us to step-up and do our part.
As you have heard me say again and again, it’s not about “left versus right”- or “red versus blue.” It’s not even about “Democrat versus Republican.”
It’s really about “the future versus the past.”
This is our time.
Our time to move forward, together.
That’s what we’ve done in Virginia.
And that’s the kind of U.S. Senator I intend to be in Washington!
I thank you for what you’ve done – but more importantly, I thank you for what you will do to help us get it right.
May God continue to bless our Commonwealth and our nation.
Good night!
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