Amy Klobuchar Speaks at New Hampshire Democratic Convention: “I am Tired of a Whiner in the White House”
MANCHESTER, NH — Today, Senator Amy Klobuchar shared her optimistic economic and justice agenda with more than 1,200 delegates at the New Hampshire Democratic Convention in Manchester. Senator Klobuchar criticized President Trump for governing from chaos — engaging in vanity trade wars, alienating our allies, coddling dictators — and called for unifying the country to win big in 2020.
“As the Ojibwe say, great leaders make decisions not only for this generation, but for seven generations from now. Democrats, we have a president that can't even keep his decision seven minutes from now,” said Senator Amy Klobuchar. “Someone who gloats about the economy and then when things go wrong, try to blame everyone from the head of the Federal Reserve, to the city of Baltimore—truly, Barack Obama, and guess what? The entire country of Denmark. That's hard to do! I, for one, am tired of a whiner in the White House.
“At a time when Donald Trump wakes up every morning trying to divide us, using immigrants as political pawns, belittling people who don't agree with him, destroying our democracy with dark money and voter suppression, and allowing a foreign country to make mincemeat of our democracy, we need a candidate for president who understands that what unites us as a country is greater than what divides us, that has a track record of winning Democrats and Independents and moderate Republicans in every place, in every race, every time. New Hampshire Democrats, I don't want to be the president for half of America, I want to be the president for all of America.”
Watch Senator Klobuchar’s Full Remarks Here:
Read Senator Klobuchar’s Full Remarks Here:
It is so great to be back with all of you in a state that I love with a Democratic Party that knows how to win. You proved it in 2018 when you turned the New Hampshire legislature blue and won big with Annie and Chris and helped us turn the United States House of Representatives back into the people's house.
You know, my State of Minnesota and New Hampshire have a few things in common. We both love sweaters. We both love our lakes and our forests. We both have voters who have been ahead of their time when it comes to electing not one, but two women to the United States Senate. Thank you for giving us my two good friends, Jeannie and Maggie and I know thanks to you and the strength of Jeanne Shaheen, Corey Lewandowski will never sit behind a desk in the United States Senate.
But the similarities don't stop there. We both have states with interesting and particular geographic names. And yes, I can say Winnipesaukee, Concord, and Berlin. New Hampshire has the longest candy counter in the world. I saw it in Littleton, and Minnesota has the largest ball of twine. You have the wonderful Seacoast Science Center that I visited last week, and we have the only museum devoted entirely to Spam or as or as we call it, the Guggen-ham. But we share something else, which is what I want to start with today. And that is the strong culture of independent voters. It is strong. And if you don't believe me about Minnesota, I have three words for you: Governor Jesse Ventura.
Friends, nationally, just as you did in electing Jeannie and Maggie and your congressional members, we need to bring these voters with us in 2020. Because as Democrats in this presidential race, we don't just want to win. We want to win big. We have to win the presidency, yes, but to do the big things that we need to do when it comes to climate and healthcare and gun safety, we also need to win the US Senate and send Mitch McConnell packing. At a time when Donald Trump wakes up every morning trying to divide us, using immigrants as political pawns, belittling people who don't agree with him, destroying our democracy with dark money and voter suppression, and allowing a foreign country to make mincemeat of our democracy, we need a candidate for president who understands that what unites us as a country is greater than what divides us, that has a track record of winning Democrats and Independents and moderate Republicans in every place, in every race, every time. New Hampshire Democrats, I don't want to be the president for half of America. I want to be the president for all of America.
We can ignite our Democrats to vote like never before and bring back those Independent voters. And yes, even some moderate Republicans across this nation with an optimistic economic and justice agenda for this country. One that says “No, Mr. President, there aren’t two sides after Charlottesville,” when one side is the Ku Klux Klan. There is only one side and that is the American side. That is it, that is all. One that says we are not going to tolerate a government where tax cuts go to the wealthy and the middle class is left picking up the crumbs. That's because we believe that if millionaires can refinance their yachts, students should be able to refinance their student loans and afford college. We believe that big pharma and big oil and the NRA don't own Washington. Not with all their lobbyists they don't. The citizens of this country own Washington. We, as America, believe in science and in facing the existential threat of our time— the climate crisis. That's why on day one as president, I will sign us back into that International Climate Change Agreement. And on day two, I will bring back those clean power rules. On day three, I will bring back to the gas mileage standards, and you don't need Congress to do it. And on day four, five and six, I will introduce sweeping legislation to bring down greenhouse gases and solve this climate crisis. And on day seven, on day seven, you're supposed to rest, but I don't think I will.
You know what else we believe in America, New Hampshire Democrats? We believe in a country where the extraordinary courage of ordinary people like that mom that shielded her baby in El Paso, like those police officers that showed up in one minute in Dayton. We believe that the courage of those ordinary people must be matched in a place of extraordinary power and that is Washington, DC. When I am president, we will pass the assault weapons ban. We will. And the magazine limitations. And next week, when we get back to Washington, we will call out Mitch McConnell to get those votes and background checks and on my bill to close the boyfriend loophole.
And here's something else. As one America, we believe that instead of engaging in vanity trade wars, and adding debt, and giving tax breaks to big oil, and alienating our allies, and coddling dictators, we should be a country that makes things and invent things and exports to the world. A country that promotes and unleashes both ideas that lead to shared economic prosperity and ideals as the world's beacon of democracy that other countries can look up to. Because, as the Ojibwe say, great leaders make decisions not only for this generation, but for seven generations from now. Democrats, we have a president that can't even keep his decision seven minutes from now. Someone who gloats about the economy and then when things go wrong, try to blame everyone from the head of the Federal Reserve, to the city of Baltimore—truly, Barack Obama, and guess what? The entire country of Denmark. I, for one— that's hard to do! I, for one, am tired of a whiner in the White House.
Donald Trump's idea of diplomacy is waking up before the sun comes up and sending out a tweet in his bathrobe, extolling the virtues of Kim Jong Un and then before the sun goes down, going after Denmark and Greenland. As I said a few weeks ago, what's the difference between Donald Trump and Greenland? Greenland is not for sale. And as your president, Democrats, I will pledge that I will never have my vice president stay in a resort I own. Oh, that's right. I don't own a resort.
Contrast this: New Hampshire, it's a place that has led. You have led with a brave history of military service and diplomacy. You are the home of Bretton Woods. You lead with great colleges and teachers and an understanding that we talked about yesterday at Manchester Community College, that in America, there are many paths to success. You believe that democracy matters, a state of beautiful covered bridges that believes, like I do, in bridging the river of our divides. That's why I announced my candidacy in the middle of that blizzard, in the middle of an island, in the middle of the Mississippi River. Let's bridge the river of our divides when it comes to rural and urban by acknowledging that both rural and urban areas need better housing and need better health care, need mental health help, need opioid treatment.
Let's do this together. Let's bridge our digital divide. As president, I will connect every household to high speed internet by 2022. I figure if they did it in Iceland, they can do it in New Hampshire. Let's close the transportation divide by investing in infrastructure and yes, getting commuter rail to Manchester and beyond. Let's close that democracy divide by taking on discrimination, restoring the Voting Rights Act, and passing a constitutional amendment to overturn Citizens United. And let’s, Democrats, close the opportunity and economic divide by getting rid of Betsy DeVos and enacting my proposal to end child poverty in a generation.
I stand before you today as a granddaughter of an iron ore miner, as a daughter of a union teacher and a newspaperman, as the first woman elected to the US Senate from the state of Minnesota and a candidate for president of the United States. That is what this country is about, that no matter where you come from or who you know, or who you love that you can make it in the United States of America. New Hampshire Democrats, we are on a march together that started the day after the inauguration. The day after that 6000 women signed up to run for office. On day one hundred, we had the March for Science. “What do we want? Science! When do we want it? After peer review!” We stood up against their repeal of the Affordable Care Act and now we head into 2020. You are the welders that have shortened that arc, that have made that march. You have risen up to take up the mantle of our democracy. This is how we win. I ask for your support. We will lead this ticket to victory. Thank you!
