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Sep 02, 2008

VIDEO: Chairman Van Hollen Addresses the Democratic National Convention

DCCC Chairman Chris Van Hollen addressed the Democratic National Convention to speak about our chance "to realize the change we need by electing Barack Obama and Joe Biden and expanding our Democratic Majority in Congress."

Watch:

Watch Chairman Van Hollen introduce our Democratic Candidates for Change >>

Chairman Van Hollen's full speech below:

This election, the American people face a choice. And the choice is this: Will we continue down the dead-end path of lost opportunities that has marked the last eight years of George Bush? Or will we seize the awesome possibilities of this new century to deliver the change we need and build a brighter, more prosperous and more peaceful future? That is our choice. And our decision will have consequences for our economy, for our schools and for our health. Consequences that will be felt for years to come all over America and in places far from our shores.

I know this first hand. My father served in the Navy and then went on to become a United States Foreign Service officer, proudly representing America in places like Turkey and India and Pakistan, where I was born. I learned a lot about the world as a child in those places, but I also learned a lot about America.

One memory of those years stands out. It was in the early 1970s, and I had just turned 14. One day, I traveled with my parents to a tiny remote village in Sri Lanka. There, I walked into a family's small hut and as my eyes adjusted to the light, I noticed, hanging on the wall, a portrait of President John F. Kennedy. It was 10 years after he had been in the White House and half a world away from our country, but for these villagers it represented the America that had sent Peace Corps volunteers to help them. It represented the America they looked to as a land of opportunity and as a force for good and justice around the world. That portrait of our president represented an America that was a beacon of hope.

Today because of the policies of George Bush, John McCain and their Republican allies in Congress, that beacon has dimmed, not only for the world, but for many Americans. Here at home the American dream of good-paying jobs, of affordable health care, of a college education often seems just that: just a dream. Abroad, America's image has been tarnished, our alliances weakened, and Osama bin Laden is still at large. The American people cannot afford more of the same.

This election, we have a chance to relight the beacon for the world, to restore the dream for Americans, to realize the change we need by electing Barack Obama and Joe Biden and expanding our Democratic majority in congress. We can do this.

We started in 2006, when the American people voted for change, for a new direction. And the Democratic Congress has delivered: landmark lobbying reform, a pay raise for troops and tax relief for their families, a new GI Bill with free college education for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, the first increase in the minimum wage in a decade, the first expansion of family and medical leave in 15 years, the first improvement in fuel efficiency standards in 32 years, the largest college aid expansion in 64 years, the largest veterans' health care funding in the history of the Veterans Administration.

And in each of these victories, we had an ally in the Senate: Barack Obama. But in too many other areas, we've been blocked by George Bush, John McCain and their Republican allies in Congress. When it came to stopping giveaways to Big Oil, to exploring the life-saving science of stem cells, to offering health care to 10 million American children, to responsibly ending the war in Iraq, the American people's pleas for change have been ignored by a Republican leadership that has made theirs the party of no, veto and the status quo.

So, now we have to finish the job. But President Barack Obama won't be able to do it alone. For the change we need, we not only need to elect Barack Obama as our next president, we need to give him a robust Democratic majority in Congress. Working together, we will bring affordable health care to every American. We will give a tax cut to help millions of hard-working families. We will free our nation from Middle East oil. We will rededicate this nation to confronting the real threats America faces in the world.

The wave for change that began in 2006 continues to grow. Already this year, we've won special elections in districts no one thought we'd win: in Illinois, Louisiana and Mississippi. Now we take our campaign to whole country, with more than 50 terrific Democratic candidates for change.

And we're honored to have some of them with us tonight: from New Jersey's 3rd District, a fighter for the middle class, state Sen. John Adler; from Illinois' 11th, an independent fighter with a track record of creating new jobs in her district, state Sen. Debbie Halverson; leading an incredible grass-roots campaign across Florida's 25th, Joe Garcia; from New Mexico's 3rd district, a dedicated community leader, Ben Ray Lujan; a proven leader and the beloved mayor of Hialeah running in Florida's 21st, Raul Martinez; from Florida's 13th District, a bank teller who worked her way up, a pioneering businesswoman and community leader, Christine Jennings; and bringing independent leadership that Minnesotans of the 3rd District are seeking, a patriot who served in Iraq as a U.S. Marine, Ashwin Madia.

These are just a few of the 50 outstanding candidates for change that are running across the country from Alabama to Alaska, from New York to New Mexico, and right here in the great state of Colorado. We must succeed, because if we make the right choice this election, it will mean a new direction for America and the world for years to come.

It will mean that one day, decades from now, another young boy will go into a home in a remote village in a faraway part of the world, and there, hanging on the wall, will be the portrait of another American president, a president we elected in 2008, a president who again made America a beacon of hope in the world, a president who restored the American dream at home, rebuilding our economy, our schools, our confidence. A president who lit the torch and inspired a new generation to believe again — a president named Barack Obama.