SPEAKER: All right.

Everyone got their snacks.

OK.

All right.

We're back for the
final two pieces

of this afternoon's symposium.

I get to introduce Larry
Jacobs, who's going

to moderate this next session.

Larry is responsible for this
symposium happening today,

so I'm really grateful to him.

Larry is the director of the
Center for the Study of Politics

and Governance.

He's also the Walter
and Joan Mondale

chair for political
science at the Humphrey

School of Public Affairs.

He's nationally
and internationally

known in political
science circles.

He's someone who many
of us, many of us

see regularly
commenting on politics

in Minnesota and the country.

And you should know that
this center and his team,

they design events, forums, and
leadership training programs

that bring people together
across the political spectrum

around the state and the region
for these kinds of discussions.

So I think we're lucky
here in Minnesota

to have a center
like this and to have

Larry Jacobs as director.

So give a warm welcome
to Larry Jacobs.

[APPLAUSE]

[LAUGHTER]

LARRY JACOBS: I want to start
out by thanking everyone

who has come to the--

and 12 years ago,
we got the idea

of starting an Institute
at the Humphrey School

that would be
focused on politics.

We do it from one
end to the other.

And, I couldn't be more pleased
with how things have turned out

and the fact that all
of you have come today

for this important conversation,
it's confirmation of that.

One of the things that
Paul Wellstone always

did when he went
to give a speech,

wherever it was, he would
go into the cafeteria,

he'd go into the kitchen, he'd
go to where the people who

were working in the event were,
and he'd shake their hands

and he'd thank them
for their work.

And so I want to
thank the people who

have worked this
event, built this event

like a house and
working on a Sunday.

And it's all the people--

[APPLAUSE]

It's all the people.

Ted Mann, it also
includes Myra Burnett,

who's out here somewhere,
and Lea Chittenden, who is

the magic maker for our center.

She is just brilliant,
and all the things

that are running on time and
the food that's available,

the tickets that were
available, that's Lea's magic.

So Lea Chittenden,
thank you very much.

[APPLAUSE]

It's my pleasure to invite
Congressman Keith Ellison, Fifth

District, who is
currently the Deputy

Chair of the Democratic
National Committee.

Please give a warm welcome--

Keith Ellison.

[APPLAUSE]

KEITH ELLISON: Hey, man,
we're ready to rock.

Right here.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

LARRY JACOBS: Thank
you for coming.

At the beginning of the day,
Karimo asked the question,

I think you posed to her, what
is this moment calling us to do?

KEITH ELLISON: This
moment is calling

us to get deeply involved
in our democracy.

I'm wearing a button.

It's not just a decoration.

It says rise and organize on it.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

You know Larry,
in 2014, only 36%

of Americans eligible
to vote voted.

In 2016, we saw dramatic drops
in critical states including

Michigan, Wisconsin, others.

And I fear that we are
allowing our democracy

to slip out of our hands.

And, of course, there's
voter suppression.

There's all kinds
of things like that.

But in addition to
that, there is a sense

that our activism
and our engagement,

and our democracy
doesn't yield a result,

doesn't change anything.

This is absolutely not true.

If we're going to do
anything in this moment,

it is to engage
neighbors, engage people

around the way we live together.

In other words, politics.

And so that's what I call--

I'm calling on folks
to call for right now.

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: It
strikes me, and I

think others, that the
most visible figure

in the Democratic Party is not a
member of the Democratic party--

Bernie Sanders.

KEITH ELLISON: Right.

LARRY JACOBS: And
our revolution,

which is carrying
on Bernie Sander's

work along with indivisible
and other groups,

are at war to some extent with
the Democratic Party, which

you are now helping to run.

So explain to us
what's going on here.

KEITH ELLISON: Well,
I'm trying to kick

the doors to the
Democratic Party wide open.

So they all can come in.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

We might have to
knock out a few walls

to get more folks to
be able to come in.

The Democratic Party right now
will be strengthened, edified,

and be more dynamic
and responsive,

if it can adapt itself
to the new reality, which

is that people desperately want
to have a country that works

for working people
of all colors,

and we've got to
accommodate that.

What's happening?

I think that it's a
classic situation where

folks who have been in part of
an institution for a long time

sometimes view newcomers as
upstarts and troublemakers.

And those people
don't quite understand

how we do things around here.

But the truth is, change
is always a little chaotic.

We have to get used
to a bit of chaos.

That's just a fact.

Because as people desperate to
establish health care for all,

increased livable wages, and
the whole list of things,

they're operating
out of desperation

because of the reality of
so many people's lives.

You can't tell somebody who
thinks the Democratic Party can

help them, as Trump is trying to
snatch their DACA status away,

that they need to be quiet
and sit in the corner

and wait their turn,
they're not going to.

And so what we need to do
is facilitate avenues in

and help empower people
who want to be part

of this great Democratic Party.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

LARRY JACOBS: Does that include
taking on incumbent Democrats?

And one of the cases
I'm thinking of

is Senator Manchin, who's an
incumbent in the state of West

Virginia, of course,
where Donald Trump won

by large double digits.

He's now being challenged
by progressive forces,

including our revolution, where
the head of revolution, Tina

Moore, said that the party
is dictatorial and tone deaf,

and that it's time to go
after Democrats who support

corporations and not people.

KEITH ELLISON: Let me tell you.

[APPLAUSE]

Larry, let me just say thank
you for going gloves off

on this conversation.

[LAUGHTER]

It is necessary.

The great James
Baldwin said, whatever

can be faced can be fixed.

So if we're just doing
a bunch of rug sweeping,

we're not going to get
where we have to go.

So let me just say this.

I've thought about
this issue a lot.

I am fully cognizant
and recognize

the dangers of what I'm about
to say, but I'm going to say it.

No elected official owns
the office that they're in.

[APPLAUSE]

Not one.

If anybody in this
audience ever voted for me,

you better make sure I
earn it every single time

my name appears on the ballot.

I'm talking about
Keith Ellison now.

Don't give me a pass, because
I did something 10 years ago

that you thought was OK.

Every time.

Step up and prove it.

And so what I'm saying sounds
I'm not against that person

challenging Senator Manchin.

I like Senator Manchin.

I think there's a lot he offers.

But I also think he's got to
remake his case every time he's

on the ballot.

And we all have to.

They're not our seats.

They don't belong to us.

They are a temporary
trust that we hold,

and we have to demonstrate
our value every single day.

And that's my position.

[APPLAUSE]

Now, let me just add.

You might think,
well, that this could

help increase the Republican
majority in the Senate.

Don't you know that we just
save health care by one vote.

Don't you know.

Don't you know.

Yeah, I know.

But I just think that the
best incumbent protection

is responsive representation.

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS:
There's, of course,

been a fiery debate
since the 2016 elections

within the Democratic Party.

And I'm not talking about
the debate over Donald Trump.

I'm talking about within
the Democratic Party.

And there's two
very strong views.

One is that the Democratic
Party lost in 2016.

Frankly, it's lost three
out of four election cycles,

when you look at the broader
field of hundreds or even 1,000

Democrats have lost.

The key issue there was
that the Democratic Party

lost its connection
to the working class.

And in this argument,
the attention

tends to be on the
white working class.

That's one argument.

The second argument is
that the Democratic Party

needs to be increasingly
responsive to the ascendant part

of the country, which are the
Rainbow Coalition of Hispanics

and other people of color and
Indigenous people of variety

of sexualities, that
this is the cause

of human rights in our time.

How do you reconcile those
two things at the same time?

KEITH ELLISON: You know what?

I don't know if I'm
charting out a third course,

but let me just give you
my straight answer on this.

The Democratic Party
has allowed itself

to become a
presidentially-focused party,

when it should be every
race from dogcatcher

to the White House.

[APPLAUSE]

Democratic Party
has allowed itself

to be a every
four-year party, when

it should be an everyday party.

The Democratic Party
has allowed itself

to become a battleground
state party as opposed

to a 50 state party.

[APPLAUSE]

And if we say,
look, we are going

to be in 50 states
in every zip code.

We're going to fight in
every race, every time,

and we are going to--

we're not going to get rid of
the TV part of the campaign.

But we are going to re-emphasize
the grassroots engagement

and organizing part of
the Democratic Party,

the relationship building
part of the party.

Then we don't have
to make choices

between the Rainbow Coalition
and white working class.

We can engage
everyone because it

doesn't matter whether we're
going to the inner city of North

Minneapolis or to Ely.

If we say we're
empowering powering you,

the grassroots activists,
then you may be of any color.

You may be of any sexuality.

I think the biggest problem
of the Democratic Party

is this that all
we're trying to do

is pass a set of policies that
will benefit the majority.

So basically, we're
asking the majority

to support policies
that help the majority.

But the Republicans
got a much tougher job.

They're trying to have a
majority of the people support

policies that help only the 1%.

And the reason that
we're losing is

because we think what we're
offering is self-evident,

because we're just trying
to ask the majority

to help the majority.

But the Republicans,
they're like,

look, man, in order to have
the majority support, just

the policies that only support
the wealthiest and most

privileged, you got to
work a little harder.

You got to spend a
little bit more money.

You've got to engage.

You got to fund stuff like
voter suppression and photo ID,

and you've got to
promote campaigns

that divide people
along race and religion,

and you've got to buy
yourself a TV station

that perpetuates
lies 24 hours a day.

I think the real
problem of Democrats

is that we've got to
embrace the fact that what

is self-evident to you may not
be self-evident to everybody,

and you've got to form solid
relationships with everybody.

We got to be a--

can I tell one quick story?

Very quick, Larry.

I'm sorry.

So there was this occasion.

And you some of
you all heard this

where Roosevelt had
passed on and he

was lying in his casket
and his funeral train

was going around the country.

And they had Bunting
on the train,

and crowds would come out
to pay their final respects

to the great president.

And one time, there was this
guy, and he was a working man.

And he was probably wearing bib
overalls and a flannel shirt.

And he was standing there, and
he was clearly visibly upset.

So this reporter comes
up to him and says, sir,

did you know
President Roosevelt?

I see you're upset.

He said, no, but he knew me.

He knew me when I was
in that soup line.

He knew me when
I was unemployed.

He knew me when I
was losing my farm.

He knew me.

The Democratic Party
has to turn itself

into the kind of institution
that Americans say, it knows us.

That's what we have to do.

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: So I wrote
a piece for the star

Tribune this summer
in which I interviewed

a whole variety of
people in the state

and focusing on Minneapolis,
where there's as you know,

quite vibrant politics.

KEITH ELLISON: Oh, yeah.

LARRY JACOBS: There's a
group of people who are,

I think of them as the
ultra progressives.

They've been
incredibly inventive,

and they've moved
the environment

in a progressive direction.

And I was surprised
by the vehemence

I heard from several
people about what

they described as the racism
in the Democratic Party.

Now, I talked to other
people in the DFL

who were not in
the metro area, who

talked the language of
realism about how you connect

with white miners in
the North or with people

in greater Minnesota
who are white

and frankly, not comfortable
with people of color.

How do you walk that line?

KEITH ELLISON: So here's another
one for you, another story.

Does anybody remember
the candidate,

the great Paul Wellstone
was fighting for

and was a state party
leader for in '88 or '84.

Jesse Jackson.

Jesse Jackson won the
state of Michigan.

Jesse Jackson won
[INAUDIBLE] County, Kentucky,

the poorest county
in the United States

at the time, all white county.

Look, if my political
involvement means anything,

what it means is that if
you try to represent people,

you can bust through these
issues of race, class,

and ethnicity.

We've got to be able
to break through it.

I can assure you one
thing that people will not

vote for a candidate
just because they

are of the same melanin content,
if their value system is not

the same.

There is a guy
named Steve Cohen.

He's white.

He represents Memphis,
Tennessee, which is 65% black.

There have been
candidates that have

challenged him and tried to
make race-based appeals to beat

Steve.

But they can't beat
Steve because Steve

is in your living room.

He is in your church.

He is at your funeral.

He is representing people.

And so what I want
to say to you is

that I think we're
making a mistake,

if we think you've got to
share a phenotype with someone

to catch to win their vote.

It's not really true.

What's the guy's name?

Duggan, Mayor Duggan of Detroit.

I grew up in Detroit.

Detroit, folks, is
Chocolate City for real.

It is.

Detroit's probably 85% black.

Mayor Duggan is white,
and he won in a sign--

what do you call it when
you sign the ballot to win?

A write in campaign.

What I'm telling you is so Obama
was the first state he ever wins

is Iowa, pretty white state.

And here's the thing.

People expect you to be
proud of who you are.

I've never had to downplay
or apologize the fact

that I'm Black.

All of my constituents
know I'm proud of who I am,

and I'm a Black man.

They expect me to be that.

But they.

But all they want
to know is that I

care about them and their
kids and their parents

and their schools and
the water they drink.

Paul Wellstone was
fabulously popular

in the Native American
community, the Black community,

and the Latino community because
he knew them and they know it.

That is how you win.

And so I say, if we are
operating on this thing, well,

if we lock ourselves
into some sort of idea

that color and culture are the
only determinants of voting,

we are objectively wrong.

And we're going to
perpetuate that wrong.

So some people say, oh, the
Democratic Party is racist.

Here's what I say to
folks who say that.

There might be some people
who have racial attitudes that

need to develop.

But mostly, what the Democratic
Party is, is who shows up.

That's what it is.

[APPLAUSE]

If you show up and people
aren't hospitable to you,

my thing is they should be.

We should be doing everything
we can to be hospitable,

welcoming, and inclusive.

But you may think,
oh, these people

aren't welcoming to me
because I'm Black or whatever.

It might just be that
you're new and they've

converted the Democratic Party
in their neck of the woods

into a club.

It might not even
be racial at all.

So keep fighting and understand
that you have a place here,

and you shouldn't give it up
for anybody just because they

didn't offer you a cup of
coffee and make you the chair.

No, I really mean that.

I really mean that.

I really mean that.

But here's my message
to the Democratic Party.

Understand how you might
appear to someone who is new.

Let me just say this, and I'm
sorry for going on so long.

Look, let me just tell you
this about African-Americans.

250 years of slavery, 100
hundred years of Jim Crow

segregation, legal by law.

And we've only had about
60 years of anything else.

If you tell us somebody doesn't
like you because of your race,

we are conditioned
to believe that,

because that is our experience.

So if you are a white
person running the party,

you need to have some
level of awareness

that if you treat this
person less than hospitably,

they might assume that it's
because you don't like them

because of their race.

And women have the
same experience.

Am I wrong?

[APPLAUSE]

And gay people do.

And immigrants do.

We're the ones as the party
leaders who've got to change.

We've got to make sure
that everybody knows they

are welcome, that we want them.

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: You,
of course, your

talking the language of
Ellison and Paul Wellstone

about building abroad.

KEITH ELLISON: I don't know
how to talk any other way.

LARRY JACOBS: But is
that particularly hard

at a time when we're
seeing anger, distrust

towards government, and
government out there, but even

towards each other.

The level of distrust of our
neighbors and other people

is also near a record.

We're seeing the rise of far
right wing extremist groups all

over Europe.

We're seeing white supremacists
marching in Charlottesville

and now in Florida.

In that environment,
how do you build

a cross-class
cross-race coalition

when there's so much
hatred and division?

KEITH ELLISON: In
some ways, Larry,

you are gifted with being in one
of the most important moments

in American history, because
you get to reach out to people,

and just reaching out to people
is the most radical thing

you can do.

Truly, it sounds soapy, but love
and connectedness and everybody

counts, everybody
matters is extremely

radical in this moment.

We have got to be creative about
how we build human solidarity

across all lines.

And this requires us to learn
something about our neighbor.

If you never knew anything
about the history of immigrants

from Laos or Thailand, who had
to go over the Mekong River

and just to be standing
in front of you

had to overcome the
most incredible odds.

If you don't know that,
then you might not

appreciate who this person is.

But if you are willing
to study your neighbor

and listen to your
neighbor, we can

do the most dramatic,
most amazing thing

in American history.

We can come together
as a people.

Larry, one thing
about our country

that we don't regard as
nearly as important enough is

that most countries
in this world

are, in fact, based
on religion or race.

Most countries are.

What makes you Japanese?

You are born Japanese.

You're ethnically Japanese.

You cook Japanese,
you live Japanese.

That makes you Japanese.

And if you don't look and sound
and do what Japanese folks do,

you are a foreigner.

Same thing in Norway,
same thing in France,

same thing all over the world.

But in America,
our Constitution,

what constitutes an American is
adherence to a set of values.

This is very important.

This is a step forward in
human evolution, I think.

And to say that we come from
every corner of the globe,

but we are all one because we
believe in liberty and justice

for--

AUDIENCE: All.

KEITH ELLISON: See,
all of you all knew it.

That is a radical thing, and
it is more important for you

to lift it up now than ever.

I used to think the
Pledge of Allegiance

was just something we
would drone on in school.

But then I actually
dissected the words.

One nation, indivisible, with
liberty and justice for--

AUDIENCE: All.

KEITH ELLISON: That is
Wellstonian right there, man.

This is good stuff.

And so don't you ever let the
right wing wrap themselves

in the flag.

In fact, they are
doing the antithesis

of what this nation is about.

Some of them don't believe--

[APPLAUSE]

Some of them saw the
First Amendment says,

Congress shall make no law
establishing a religion.

And Roy Moore wants to
establish a Christian theocracy.

And if you're a Christian,
don't take no comfort

because you got to be his kind.

I'm telling you,
we're the ones saying

that you get to seek your
faith, that you choose.

You can be Jewish.

Sorry about that.

I'm passionate about this stuff.

Yeah.

LARRY JACOBS: So that is a
compelling approach and one

that I know you, it's
heartfelt from you.

But I look at
Donald Trump, and I

think the guy's got
a genius about him.

And let me give you the most--

KEITH ELLISON: I agree.

LARRY JACOBS: Let me give
you the most recent example.

He comes out and he
slams football players

who are taking a knee.

And you can see pretty much
the progressive movement,

the Democratic Party immediately
flip into the opposition mode.

And yet, all the things that
you've just gone through,

Donald Trump's wrapping
himself in the flag.

He's wrapping himself
in the symbols of God

and the men and
women in the service.

How does the Democratic
Party and progressives

avoid, again and again
doing the same thing?

KEITH ELLISON: We have to
contend his notion here.

Think about with
everything you said,

which I agree he has done
that, how does a government

official, an elected
official who swears an oath

to uphold the Constitution,
tell another person that they're

a son of a bitch and should lose
their job because they engage

in a quiet, nonviolent protest
against police brutality?

[APPLAUSE]

You know who agrees with me?

You know who agrees
with what I just said?

Rush Limbaugh.

Read it.

Now, it's not the same as if the
owner goes to a football player

and says, this is
my team, I own it.

I pay your salary.

Bam.

That's one thing.

But a government official
says you ought to fire them,

and then starts threatening
the private sector

person, the owner,
with snatching

their license unless they
impose this restriction

on free expression.

Am I making sense here?

Look, we have got to contend.

It always used to
blow my mind when

I would be in caucus
with my fellow Democrats

because they'd say, well, if
we stand up for poor people,

then the Republicans
are going to say,

we're only about poor people.

I said, yeah, that's what
they're going to say.

What the heck are
we going to say?

Let's talk about what we're for.

And let's not
make-- they say, oh,

if we stand up for
transgender bathrooms,

then they're going to say, we're
just transgender bathrooms.

I'm going to say,
well, don't you

think everybody should be able
to go to relieve themselves?

We're for equal rights for all.

We could slam them with
the Pledge of Allegiance.

Why don't we do it?

Here's likes this.

Sure as day follows
night, the right wing

is going to have something
bad to say about you,

if you are a Democrat,
liberal, progressive, all that.

Get over the emotionality
of that they're

going to criticize you.

They are going to do it.

So the question is, what
are you going to say?

What's your comeback?

What is your message?

And I just want to
say this, I'm sorry.

Look, is John Kerry a coward?

Well, the Swift
boats said he was.

Was Michael Dukakis unconcerned
about public safety?

Well, Lee Atwater said he was.

Smear is their game plan.

I'm going to say it again.

Smear-- Say it with me.

Smear is their game plan.

If you act like
their-- oh, there's

something you can say or do
to have them not smear you.

You are operating
under an illusion.

They're coming.

And even if you
don't do nothing.

Is there ever been
in my mind, I can't

think of a cleaner
presidency than Obama.

[APPLAUSE]

And yet, they made it up.

Hillary Clinton-- look, all
y'all know I supported Bernie

in the primary and then
supported Hillary Clinton

in the general.

But I reject anyone who
says that she's corrupt.

[APPLAUSE]

I do not buy for a moment
that she's corrupt.

Look, you may not like the
fact that she gave speeches

at Goldman.

I might not like it
either, but it's legal.

And why is the first
time we're mad about it

is when the woman does it?

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

It's not corrupt, it's legal.

You can do it.

And so now, we're in the
question of, is it good?

Is it the right
thing to do or not?

Well, so that's a point of view.

LARRY JACOBS: But just
to pick up on that,

that wasn't just Donald
Trump, who said that.

KEITH ELLISON: Yeah.

LARRY JACOBS: Bernie
Sanders said that.

KEITH ELLISON: Yeah.

But Bernie Sanders said it
within the context of we're

both running for an office.

I would do it this way.

She does it that way.

Look, I've been in seven
different elections.

And if you don't want
somebody to highlight

the strengths of their record
and the weaknesses of yours,

you're in the wrong business.

There are things that are
within the guardrails.

And it is fair to say she
gave a speech at Goldman.

That's not something I would do.

By the same token, there
are people mad at Bernie

and saying that Bernie messed
up the election for Hillary

because he said that
are also quite wrong.

The fact-- is, I'm
like, do you really

believe that Donald Trump,
who said that Jeb was

called-- what did he call him?

Lying Jeb or low energy Jeb,
lying Ted, Little Marco.

Oh, and he's going to
spare Hillary Clinton.

Look, that's not
sensible in my view.

LARRY JACOBS: But
it's also the case

that when you look at the
key states of Michigan,

Pennsylvania, and
Wisconsin, there

were a substantial
number of Bernie voters

who didn't vote with the
Democrat, voted for Trump.

And there are some
evidence suggesting

that one of those
reasons is they

saw Hillary Clinton as corrupt.

KEITH ELLISON: But this goes
back to my essential point.

One of the things
that nobody can deny

is that Hillary Clinton
didn't show up in Wisconsin.

Now, I don't care how much
you love Hillary Clinton,

you can't excuse that.

You got to be present.

You have to be there.

You have to show up.

You have to listen
to those crowds.

You have to sit and
hear people's stories.

And you got to do.

And she did.

She was in Michigan, but she
thought it was a blue wall,

and it was going to be fine.

I can attest.

Who has read the book Shattered?

There's a book called Shattered
that some writers wrote

on the Hillary Clinton campaign.

And if you read the book,
one thing that comes through

is that they relied
heavily on data analytics.

They relied heavily
on television.

They relied heavily
on targeting.

And the general way
that they campaign

was that they did only
enough campaigning to ensure

that they won that state.

They didn't go heavy into
states that they thought

they didn't have to go into.

My thought is you should
campaign like your hair's

on fire in every state.

Now, you have to target.

You have to prioritize.

But here's the thing, Larry.

Do you know that in the
2016 presidential campaign,

95% of the visits and the
money were spent in 15 states?

So if you were red
or if you were blue,

you pretty much
didn't get a visit.

We didn't get no visit.

Trump did a visit at the
end, though, didn't he?

So look, there's a
lot of emotionality

to the last
presidential election.

Can we just agree that you
got to show up everywhere,

that we got to campaign
hard everywhere.

[APPLAUSE]

And I'll say this,
and then I'll shut up.

The real point--

I know this is going to sound
crazy, but think about it.

The election is not the
most important thing.

The most important thing
is building the connection

with the American person.

If you connect with
that American person

and if you are campaigning
because you believe

that they deserve
to have your time

and attention as a candidate,
and you do it all the time,

you will win their trust.

And the vote becomes easy.

But if you don't talk
to them or you only

talk to them during the
election, it's a transaction.

And then they're like, well,
what are you going to do for me?

The bottom line is
we have got to say,

the most important thing is
not just winning the election.

The most important thing is to
help people feel represented.

Remind yourselves of what I said
about Roosevelt. I'm striving.

We reached out to 50,000 people
in the fifth congressional

district this summer.

I'm not even on the ballot.

Why?

Because I want them to feel
this dude cares about us.

So we talked.

So we reached out
to 50,000 people.

We had 14 canvassers, and we
rocked it all summer long.

And it's like, well, you're
going to win, aren't you?

I'm like, this is not the point.

It's not the point whether
I'm going to win or not.

The point is, Miss
McGillicuddy wants

to tell us about her
Social Security being late,

and how come she
didn't get Cola?

And we're going to
use this campaign

to have that
conversation with her.

And then when we ask
her to vote for us,

she's going to be like, oh, who
else am I going to vote for?

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: As part of your
conversation running for the DNC

chair, you talked
about 100-day plan.

KEITH ELLISON: Yeah.

LARRY JACOBS: And the 100-day
plan was grassroots organizing.

It was the Wellstone way.

It was the Ellison way.

KEITH ELLISON:
The Wellstone way.

I didn't make this stuff up.

[LAUGHS]

LARRY JACOBS: And there are a
lot of folks around the country,

and I know you're
hearing from them.

And folks here who
I've been talking

to who are saying, where is it?

Where is the new
Democratic Party?

Keith Ellison is talking about
these connections with people.

I don't see it.

I've got a colleague
who's been going

through three states, two
counties in each state,

talking to people
in little towns.

And she said,
Republican parties,

they're Americans for progress,
supported by the Coke network.

They're there.

Guess who's missing?

So where is it?

Where is the new Democratic
Party you've been talking about?

KEITH ELLISON: I'm so
glad you talked to me.

Well, first of all, I don't
know if you got the news,

but I didn't win
the election for--

LARRY JACOBS: OK.

It's going to be like that then.

KEITH ELLISON: No, no, no.

But I do have influence
over what we're doing.

And let me just tell
you, raise your hand

if you heard something
called resistance summer.

I came up with that program,
Tom Perez backed it.

We talked to 1.1 million
people over the summer.

We did over 15,000
volunteer shifts.

We trained about
125 people in DC,

and spread them all over the
country to help organize people.

In my own district, we did a
heck of a lot of organizing.

We went to lower turnout places.

Even 1.1 million in a country
of 320 million is not enough.

But as I said before, we're
going from one model to another,

and I believe we are on our
way because let me tell you,

everybody knows that there were
some congressional seats we

tried to win, didn't quite get
where we wanted to go in those.

But did you also know
that for Tom Price's seat

in Georgia, Georgia six, he
won his seat by 30 points.

But we came within six.

Do you know that we won eight
elections over the summer

in state legislatures?

Three in New Hampshire, one
in Iowa, three in Oklahoma.

We just won Annette
Taddeo's seat

in Florida, which is a
deep red seat in Florida.

In all those places we had
a resistance summer program

operating.

So what you're seeing?

You're seeing the
cake half baked.

We are in the midst of this
reorganization process.

And I just got back
from Las Vegas,

where we had a
Democratic meeting.

And I'm telling you, from Perez
to me, to everybody on in there,

we are all set and
focused on organizing.

That is what we're doing.

That's the thing.

We literally changed
the mission of the DNC.

The DNC mission said
elect the president.

We said no.

Our mission is to elect
Democrats up and down

the ticket.

[APPLAUSE]

You said you got friends
who didn't see us

in some of these rural towns.

We will be there.

You and I will talk
next year this time.

And then we'll see how the
progress that we've made.

And I'm telling folks,
we got to be data-driven.

We got to collect data,
because if we don't, how

do we know whether
we're meeting our goals.

How do we know whether
we're making the marks?

And we can't be
afraid of evaluation.

But we have got to be out there.

And so I tell folks, they
ask me, what's the message?

I'm like, the message is knock
a door, build a relationship,

get to know somebody.

Have you organized your dorm?

Actually, presence is
part of the message.

And the message is
certainly more than words.

The message is more than words.

You understand what
I mean by that?

The message is relationship.

The message is the words.

And the message is
your follow through.

So for example, if I
said to you fire it up--

AUDIENCE: [INAUDIBLE]

KEITH ELLISON: They all know it.

Did you know that it was
because of grassroots engagement

that we even have that.

That was not some
focus group thing.

Barack Obama was on a cold,
wet, rainy, tough election

week in the very
beginning of the campaign.

And this older African-American
lady in North Carolina

said, come on to
this house and we're

going to go out and do
some political work.

And so he doesn't want to
go, but because he's tired

and the campaign is grueling,
but he shows up anyway.

And he's there.

And he's like, OK, here we are.

And she says, all 4' 10"
of her says, fire it up.

And he goes, yeah, I guess.

[LAUGHS]

I guess I'm fired up.

No, you fired up?

He goes, I am a little
bit more fired up

than I was a minute ago.

Are you fired up
and ready to go?

He says, yeah, I am
fired up and ready to go.

So that proves that
enthusiasm is contagious.

That's true.

Enthusiasm is contagious.

So is being depressing.

[LAUGHTER]

I think enthusiasm is
better for our purposes,

but the message is
more than the words.

It is presence.

It is engagement.

And if you're at
present, the words

will emerge from
the relationship.

You see what I'm saying?

Anyway.

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: There are a bunch
of questions on what you've

been talking about, so I'm
going to ask one of them

from our friends here with us.

We have to change the
national party level.

Is it even possible?

KEITH ELLISON: Absolutely, yes.

But since 2008, we've lost over
1,047 state legislative seats.

You're not going to
change it overnight.

And if the first time you
run into some trouble,

you quit, then you don't
have enough determination.

Did Roosevelt quit
the first time

he encountered that those
conservative elements

that he ran right
into when he started

trying to pass the new deal?

No, he didn't quit.

Did Martin Luther King quit?

No.

You know what?

Susan B. Anthony was
fined for the commission

of a criminal offense in 1870.

Do y'all know what it was?

She voted as a woman.

When the judge said, you
are hereby found guilty

and you get a $10
fine, and you can only

imagine what a $10 fine
would have been in 1870.

She said, I am not
paying your fine.

And then she went all over
the country talking about how

she wasn't paying the fine.

[LAUGHTER]

Her dream was to see
the 19th Amendment pass.

It didn't get passed until 1920.

She was long dead.

Don't tell me that you're
tired, that it's hard.

Of course, you love
this country or not?

What are you willing
to do for it?

That's the question.

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: There are
several questions here

about single-payer
health reform.

KEITH ELLISON: Yeah.

LARRY JACOBS: Is
this a game changer?

KEITH ELLISON: I think
it is a game changer.

Look, it's complicated.

Health care is complicated,
because there's

a lot of moving parts to it.

But look, we are the only
industrialized country

that does not have some form
of universal health care.

In the last month,
I was in Montreal.

And I was in Calgary.

These conservatives
down here might say, oh,

it's Canadian health care.

Well, hey, when
you ask Canadians,

is their health
care system perfect?

They say, no, it isn't.

They said, do you
want to switch?

They say, no, we don't.

[LAUGHTER]

What I'm telling you is that
it is what we should do.

It's far more cheap.

It's cheaper and efficient.

Look, we're like 37th in
health outcomes, and yet,

we pay the most by
far around the world.

We need a change.

I believe that we need
a Medicare for all.

[APPLAUSE]

But as I say that,
Larry, let me add this.

So Bernie drops a bill, and
people start attacking the bill.

One thing is for
absolutely certain,

even if we get the
health care system,

it'll be Bernie's concept.

And there will be
a lot of changes

that it gets through
before it ends up

getting all the way through
the legislative process.

People don't like that, but
it's just the way it is.

It's what happened with
the 1964 Civil Rights Act.

Did you know that sex
discrimination was originally--

Walter Mondale is here.

Sex discrimination was not
originally in the 64 bill.

Am I right about that,
Mr. Vice President?

It got put in there
along the way.

If anybody knows
that legislation

is a sausage making process, but
you still can get good outcomes

for people.

It is our Vice President
Walter Mondale.

[APPLAUSE]

He was there when
the Civil Rights

movement was being grinded out.

You want to talk about
tough conventions.

He was at the 1964
Democratic Convention.

He was in the very heart
of the transformation

from a segregated society to an
equality before the law society.

And let me tell
you, it was tough.

And we sit here today
in 2017, thinking, oh,

yeah, well, of course, the
Martin Luther King had a march

and then Johnson
signed the bill.

[LAUGHTER]

There was a lot more to it.

Particularly, I hope some
high school students are here

because you really need to know
how hard it is to take people

from one place to another.

When Hubert H. Humphrey
gave that speech in 1948,

we're going to walk out of the
dark shadows of states' rights

into the bright sunshine
of human rights.

The Democratic Party
used to have-- half of it

was like the racist party.

It's true.

There's no sense of denying it.

They walk out of the place,
set up the Dixiecrats,

and then 10 years later, walked
into the Republican Party.

That's what happened.

The Democratic Party
suffered a loss

for the sake of civil rights.

You know that.

I hope we know that.

And so, we are willing to pay
some prices for the right cause.

We're going to have to pay some
more prices for the right cause.

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: We're
running out of time.

And I've got two questions.

KEITH ELLISON: And
I'm talking too much.

Sorry about that.

LARRY JACOBS: This is your job.

I think people want to hear it.

When Donald Trump ran
for president and move

into the fall, his approval
ratings were awful.

They were record low as
a candidate, the worst.

Hilary's weren't anything
to write home about,

but his were record low.

And now as president, he has
record low approval ratings.

And I'm wondering if
you'd, like me, think

there are a lot of
Democrats who assume

this guy is going to be thrown
out of office in four years.

KEITH ELLISON:
Look, if you think

that Donald Trump is a one-term
president, you are wrong.

You are wrong.

It is critically
important that you

understand how easy it is for
him to win the next election.

It is going to take a Herculean,
massive effort to beat him.

And if you think it's
important to do that,

you need to figure out
how to get involved.

And as much as I love to
sit around the coffee table

and talk about message, that's
not going to cut the ice.

We got to get out and
talk to other Americans

and talk to them about what's
going on in their lives

and offer solutions that are the
way out, And tell them, look,

you think that Jose is
the one who took your job.

He didn't take your job.

The Nabisco company shut
down in your neighborhood

and opened up South
of the border.

And that's why you
don't have a job.

Not him.

We've got to have these
conversations because people

tend to operate on the basis of
what they see in front of them.

But people are good,
and they are smart.

All they need is some
caring person like you

to come into their life and
help them understand the bigger

picture.

It's not going to
happen on its own.

Democracy is not self-executing.

You have to do it.

And that's why--

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: We're out of time.

But I've got one
last question here.

You were referring to--
you were wondering if there

were high school students here.

KEITH ELLISON: Yeah.

LARRY JACOBS: We've got an
elementary school student here.

KEITH ELLISON: Elementary.

Let's give him a
hand, everybody.

[APPLAUSE]

By the way, if you're from
the elementary school,

wave your hands.

We want to see where you are.

Where's the elementary kids?

Hey, there they are.

There they are.

[APPLAUSE]

LARRY JACOBS: Ada,
who's six years old,

here's the question
she's got for you.

This is the last question.

KEITH ELLISON: Sure.

LARRY JACOBS: So
don't stumble on this.

How do you feel about your job?

KEITH ELLISON: I feel like
the luckiest guy in the world,

because I get to fight for
my neighbors every day,

and I need your help, Ada.

So you keep writing me letters.

We're going to get this thing
running really, really well,

and everybody's going to be
able to earn a good living,

and everybody's going to
be able to go to school

and get a good education
and go to the doctor,

and everybody's going to
be treated with fairness,

but only if we work
together, OK, Ada?

All right.

LARRY JACOBS: Congressman
Keith Ellison.

Thank you.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

SPEAKER: All right.

Wow.

I am fired up and ready to go.

We have a special guest
here from Massachusetts.

And to introduce her, I get to
introduce a really good friend

of mine, Pakou Hang.

I knew Pakou from the 2002
Wellstone senate race,

and she's been doing a
lot of things since then.

She's currently the executive
director and the co-founder

of the Hmong American Farmers
Association, a social justice

group that was created
to build community

wealth among Hmong American
farmers and their families.

In 2014, she was appointed to
the Mayor of Minneapolis Food

Council and a former member of
the Minnesota Pollution Control

Agency Citizens' Board.

So she's been working at the
intersection of food, community,

and justice for many years
since that time in 2002,

that I knew her.

So please give a warm
welcome to Pakou Hang.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

PAKOU HANG: Good
afternoon, friends,

and welcome to today's symposium
on the Democratic Party

at a crossroad, the Wellstone
way and economic populism.

It is my distinct
honor to introduce

our guest speaker, United
States Senator Elizabeth Warren.

[APPLAUSE]

So, like Jeff said,
my name is Pakou Hang.

And I am the executive director
of the Hmong American Farmers

Association.

But in 2002, I worked
as a community organizer

for the Wellstone
for Senate campaign.

And my job was to do outreach,
to educate and to get out

the vote in the Hmong
community, a community

that Paul Wellstone had an
especially unique relationship

with.

Maybe it was because we were
refugees like his father,

maybe it was because we were
farmers, like his son David,

or maybe we were short like him.

[LAUGHTER]

Paul used to joke that Hmong
people were the perfect height.

[LAUGHTER]

Often in traditional
campaigns, the field operation

sends out literature
pieces to educate voters

about the candidate.

But I knew that in
my own community,

many folks did not
read or write English,

nor did they read
and write Hmong,

because the Hmong language
didn't have a written language

until the 1950s.

But I did know that our elders
would often use cassette tapes

and recorders to record an
oral message to their relatives

back in Laos.

What if we use the same format
and had Paul Wellstone record

his stories on the
tapes, and then

distributed those tapes
to a laundry mat or soccer

matches where Hmong
people gathered?

Somehow I was able to
convince the campaign

to invest in these
cassette tapes,

but I needed Paul Wellstone
to record his life story.

So on a brisk Saturday
morning in late September,

I traveled to Paul
and Shiela's condo,

and I sat down with Paul
to do his recording.

But before we began,
Paul said to me, Pakou,

I want to talk to
you about something

that's really important.

In a few days, I'm
going to announce

that I'm voting against the
resolution that would grant

the president the power
to preemptively strike

against Saddam Hussein in Iraq.

I remember trying to stop
Paul from talking, saying,

Paul, I trust if you think
this is the right thing to do,

I'm totally behind you.

But Paul responded, no, Pakou.

It's going to be you and
the other organizers who

are going to take the
brunt of this decision.

So I really want to make
sure that you understand

why I'm voting the way I am.

And that was quintessentially
Paul Wellstone,

A kind of person
who took time out

in one of the
toughest Senate races

in the country to record a
message to non-English speaking

voters, someone who tried to
explain a controversial vote

to a lowly organizer,
and someone

who always stood up and
fought for the little fellows.

Paul Wellstone may
be gone, but the cry

to stand up and fight
for forgotten people

is loud and loud as ever.

And someone who has bravely
accepted that bullhorn

is US Senator Elizabeth Warren.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

Like Paul, Elizabeth
was shaped and molded

by the circumstances
she was born into

and the community
she grew up in.

Elizabeth is the youngest of
four born to Donald and Pauline

Herring.

Donald sold carpets
in Montgomery Ward.

And Pauline worked
for Sears Roebuck.

Elizabeth and her
three older brothers

grew up in Norman and then
Oklahoma City, Oklahoma,

where she won the Oklahoma State
debate championship, as well

as the Betty Crocker
Homemaker of Tomorrow Award.

[LAUGHTER]

Now, if this sounds
like an oxymoron,

it's not, because Elizabeth
has been honing and expanding

her debating skills to fight
on behalf of working families

and small businesses
for the past 30 years.

The fight began in
the early 1980s,

when she accepted a teaching
position at the University

of Texas, Austin School of Law.

There, she taught a
course on bankruptcy,

and she began asking
the question, who

were the people who were
filing for bankruptcy?

And how were they being treated
by the court system and policy

makers?

Those questions guided her
long career as a law professor

and made her stand out to
national leaders, which

led to her appointment
in 2008 as the chair

to the Congressional oversight
panel for the Troubled Assets

Relief Program,
also known as TARP.

In that role, Elizabeth helped
form the Consumer Financial

Protection Bureau,
which held Wall Street

banks and other
institutions accountable

and protected consumers from
financial tricks and trade

traps often hidden in
mortgages, credit cards,

and other financial products.

But Elizabeth's fight
would not end there.

In 2012, she ran for and won the
US Senate race in Massachusetts,

previously held by Ted Kennedy.

In her memoir, A
Fighting Chance,

Elizabeth recounts how she never
wanted to go into politics,

and her family and
her friends highly

discouraged her from getting
involved in the race.

But in August 2011,
she hadn't decided yet

if she was going to run.

But on one particularly
hot and muggy afternoon

in downtown New Bedford, she
held a listening session.

Elizabeth writes
that after she spoke,

an older, haggard looking
woman came up to her

and began telling Elizabeth
about her life story.

The older woman said she had
to walk two miles because she

did not have a car.

She did have two
master's degree,

but she could not find
work, and she was afraid,

given her age, that she
would never find work again.

She said to Elizabeth, I'm here
because I'm running out of hope.

I've read about you
for a long time.

And I'm here to
see you in person,

to tell you that I need you.

And I want you to fight for me.

I don't care how hard it gets.

I want to know if you are
going to fight for me.

And it was in that
clarifying moment

that Elizabeth Warren decided
that, yes, she would fight.

And yes, she would run.

And ever since then, not just
the people in Massachusetts,

but folks all around the
country have been beneficiaries

of Elizabeth's voice,
her conviction,

and her strength of heart.

Paul Wellstone once said, I need
10 more progressive senators

in the Senate, or just
one more Elizabeth Warren.

So here to talk to us about
the power of politics,

please join me in welcoming
United States Senator

Elizabeth Warren.

[APPLAUSE, CHEERS]

[CHATTER]

ELIZABETH WARREN: Oh, thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

That was a fabulous
introduction.

Thank you, Pakou.

That was great.

So, boy, this is someone
who really did her homework.

I thought the Betty Crocker
Homemaker Award or Betty Crocker

Homemaker of Tomorrow.

I was standing
back there thinking

about that, the little heart
shaped pin I got when I won

and it had a little
hearth on it.

I still have that
pin, and I like

to think that this is what
the homemaker of tomorrow

looks like.

There you go.

[APPLAUSE]

Why not?

Why not?

Yeah.

So it is great to be
here in Minneapolis.

I am delighted to be
here with all of you.

I think of this as it
is a gift to spend time

around people who knew
Paul Wellstone so very well

and who worked with him and who
were inspired by him, because it

means that all of us get a
chance to feel his energy again.

That's what being
here today is about.

I have a Wellstone
bumper sticker

that's still sitting on my
bookshelf in the United States

Senate, and I suspect
that a lot of you

are still hanging on to your--

yeah, I see people nodding
to the green buttons,

to the lawn signs.

I think we all miss him
more than ever today.

So I thought I would start by
talking to you a little bit

about how I got to know Paul.

It was back in the 1990s, and
we spent a lot of late nights

talking to each
other on the phone.

And that's the story.

[LAUGHTER]

So here's how I
unpack that story.

At the time, I was
teaching at Harvard.

And my husband,
Bruce, was teaching

at Penn in Philadelphia, and
so we commuted back and forth.

But on a lot of weeknights,
I was up in Cambridge,

and I just stay up at school.

It was just the dog and me,
and I'd stay up at the school

and work until 10:00
o'clock, or 11 o'clock, or 12

o'clock at night.

There's a lot you can get
done after everybody else has

gone home.

And so anyway, I'd be
sitting there at my desk.

And the phone would ring.

It'd be my office phone.

It would be about
11:15 at night.

And I'd pick it up, as I always
did, and say, Elizabeth Warren.

And the voice on the
other end would say, oh,

Elizabeth, what are you
doing working at this hour?

And I would say,
Senator, what are

you doing working at this hour?

And then we would both
laugh hysterically.

And it became our running joke.

It might not have
been very funny,

but it was our version of an
Abbott and Costello routine

because Paul called on a very
regular basis late at night,

because we were both digging
into the same question.

He is a senator,
me as a professor,

we were looking into
trying to figure out

what was going wrong with
working families in America,

and what we could do about it.

And one of the issues I
was studying in particular

was around bankruptcy.

At the time, more than a
million families a year

were going bankrupt.

More kids were
growing up in families

going bankrupt than kids
growing up in families

that were getting divorced.

Think about that.

And why was this happening?

How could so many
people find themselves

on the steps of the
bankruptcy courthouse?

And the truth was,
nobody really knew.

So I got together a
team of researchers

to try to collect some data,
and we tracked down people

all across the country who
had declared bankruptcy.

And we handed them
these one-page forms

and asked them to fill them out.

And on the front side,
people would give us

some basic information,
you know the kind.

Age, sex, marital
status, things like that.

And then we would ask
people to flip them over.

The back was blank.

And would they just
tell us what happened.

Just in your own words, write
down how you ended up here.

And it turned out that the
overwhelming majority of people

who were filing for
bankruptcy were just

ordinary, middle class people
with ordinary middle class

stories.

They had gotten jobs.

They'd gone to college, they had
married, they'd bought a house.

They'd had kids.

Pretty standard stuff
until something happened.

And nearly always the something
was one of three things--

a lost job, a divorce,
somebody got sick.

And suddenly a life that had
seemed so normal and so secure

just hurtled out of control.

And one thing that nearly all
of these people had in common

was that none of them, none of
them wanted to be in bankruptcy.

It's public.

It's humiliating.

People have to surrender
almost everything

they own, except the
clothes on their backs.

And it follows them around
for years and years,

haunting them every time.

They rent an apartment
or apply for a job.

So it's not like anyone
just woke up some morning

and said, feels like a
nice day to mosey on down

to the courthouse and
declare bankruptcy.

These people had been scratching
and clawing to hang on,

not to declare bankruptcy.

They'd taken on extra jobs.

They'd cashed in their 401(k)s
S they'd hit up their friends,

and their families,
and their neighbors.

They'd held garage
sales every weekend.

I cannot tell you how many times
a woman would describe that she

had sold her wedding ring to
try to get some extra dollars

to keep the electricity
on, to pay a bill.

But the thing that always got
people in the end, credit cards.

The big companies targeted
people who were already

in financial trouble.

People they knew would
never be able to repay.

And they did it with
a deadly combination.

Low, low teaser rates
described in big, big print,

and dangerous, dangerous
tricks and traps described

in tiny little fine print.

See, it doesn't matter how much
someone cuts back, they still

have to feed their family,
and they have to keep shoes

on the kid's feet.

And they got to keep gas in the
car so they can get to work.

So they start putting those
expenses on the credit card,

and they're going to pay it off.

Well, OK.

At least, they're going to start
paying a little bit of month

and a little bit of month, and a
little bit of month for as long

as they can.

And after a while the tricks
and the traps start to kick in.

And the interest rate
goes up to 25%, 36%, 47%.

And what happens to
the family in trouble?

They fall further and
further and further behind.

Not from Lamborghinis
and vacation homes,

not from big screen TVs,
and Air Jordans, no.

From diapers and dental bills,
from milk and school shoes,

from gas for the car
and the carburetor

that was busted last winter.

It was the debt.

And it was the debt
collection calls.

Once they fell behind,
the debt collectors

started calling all
day and all night.

One of the main times
they call between 3 and 6

in the afternoon.

Think about it.

That's when the
kids are home alone.

The 12-year-old, the
10-year-old, the eight-year-old,

when the kids would pick
up the phone and some voice

on the other end would say,
your mom owes us money.

And if she doesn't
pay us what she owes,

we're going to come and
take all your stuff.

And mamas and daddies
tried everything

to stop those phone calls.

They borrowed more money,
they held more garage sales.

They took on third jobs.

But eventually, it
would get so bad

that they would sit down and,
finally, look at the numbers.

And then that thing
that had been lurking

at the edge of their brain
for months would finally

click into place.

They would realize, I could
work for the rest of my life,

and I will never be able
to pay off this debt.

They were trapped and
bankruptcy was the only way out.

You guys see the Shawshank
Redemption, right?

Good movie.

Tim Robbins crawling through
500 yards of sewer pipe

to escape that prison
and that warden.

Well, that was the
reality of bankruptcy.

500 yards of sewer pipe,
just to wipe out the debts

and to stop the calls.

So in the late 1990s, the credit
card companies had a great idea.

They could boost
their profits, if they

could find a way to stop
the discharge in bankruptcy.

In other words, crawl through
as much sewer pipe as you want.

You will never get out of debt.

These companies have the
capacity to wait people out.

Maybe someday somebody
gets a raise at work,

and that can mean that the
company can pocket some of that.

Or maybe the company
will just package up

this debt with a whole bunch of
other debts, sell it for a dime,

and somebody else can start
the phone calls all over again.

Or maybe the company will make
so much money off the interest

that they don't actually
care if the principal ever

gets paid off.

But then the credit card
companies said, wait a minute,

we can make more money,
if we can stop people

from getting rid of this
debt in bankruptcy court.

It wasn't personal.

I want to be clear about this.

It wasn't personal.

Sure, it would be taking
hundreds of thousands

of people who were already
down on their knees

and giving them one
more kick in the teeth.

But hey, it was just business.

These companies
had all the money

in the world to make political
contributions, to hire PR gurus,

to get stories out,
to get op eds placed

in every newspaper
in the country,

and to hire lobbyists
to go pay calls

on every single Senator and
every single representative.

And they were smart.

Democratic lobbyists,
talked to the Democrats.

And Republican lobbyists
talked to the Republicans.

And they all had
the same message,

just make it harder
for families in trouble

to file for bankruptcy.

So that was the deal.

They had money, they had power.

And who was on the other side?

Who was there to fight
for a whole bunch

of broke, desperate families,
families, who didn't have money

and who sure didn't have power?

The answer-- Paul Wellstone.

That's who was there.

[APPLAUSE]

Now, eventually, Paul
was in good company.

Ted Kennedy, Dick
Durbin joined the fight.

But without Paul, there might
never have been a fight at all.

And we certainly wouldn't
have held the credit card

companies off for over
10 years, which is what

we managed to do in that fight.

And so when Paul would
call me late at night

and talk about
bankruptcy, it was partly

about trying to understand
the economics, and the issues,

and the data, and the
research we'd done.

We talked numbers.

We'd talk trend lines.

It's totally nerdy conversation.

You can imagine this.

We talk about
legislative strategies.

But eventually,
we'd wind up talking

about what was on the
backside of those forms.

We'd end up talking about the
stories, about the people.

And sometimes, sharing these
stories, we would laugh.

We'd read something like this.

The reason I'm in
bankruptcy is Harold Jones,

and he lives at 10 Elm Street.

And that jerk walked
out on me, leaving

me pregnant with three kids.

And he hasn't paid alimony.

And I hope you get his ass.

[LAUGHTER]

That was a woman who had not
lost her fighting spirit.

But sometimes the stories
were like a punch to the gut.

One man explained
the company I work

for was purchased by another.

My salary was
reduced by $60,000.

and at the time, I'd purchased
a home and my wife was pregnant.

Bankruptcy was the only answer.

From another woman, I
started a small dress shop.

My partner stole most of the
money I had put in the store

and left.

I had to close the shop.

And I could not pay the bills.

And then I got sick and
had to have surgery.

And then I had a car wreck.

The only answer was bankruptcy.

And one couple described
a medical problem

with our child and
her cancer problems.

They said their
daughter had died,

but they still had
the medical bills

that they couldn't possibly pay.

And what I remember about
those conversations with Paul

was how Paul took this
stuff so personally.

Like me, Paul was a professor
before he ran for office.

But if you look at
the fights he chose

to take on throughout
his career,

every fight was about people.

He saw students, and
farmers, and veterans,

and blue collar
working men and women,

who were being
overlooked because they

didn't have the money or the
power to influence Congress.

So he fought to make their
voices heard in Washington.

He saw people struggling with
mental illness who were trapped,

locked out of the care
they desperately needed.

And so he fought for parity.

A broken leg and a broken
mind both get the treatment

that they need.

[APPLAUSE]

He and Sheila saw survivors
of domestic assault

who felt like they'd
been shrunk down

to nothing by their attackers.

And so together, they
fought for the Violence

Against Women Act, real muscle
in investigating and prosecuting

violent crimes against women.

And when he looked at the
economy, he didn't see numbers.

He saw ordinary working people
feeling increasingly trapped,

increasingly squeezed,
increasingly powerless

as the playing field tilted
even further and further

in favor of the already
rich and powerful.

And so he fought for economic
justice, a real chance

for every American.

That's what Paul fought for.

[APPLAUSE]

This is why I think Paul
was such an inspiration.

Paul believed that each
and every one of us

is born with something
to offer, but he

knew that not everybody
is born with the power

to reach their potential.

So he practiced politics
that was fundamentally

about empowering people,
not just giving power

to people who had
none, but helping

them find it for themselves
and to grow it and to share it.

It's been over 20
years since Paul

and I first jumped
into the trenches

together in that
bankruptcy fight.

But you don't have to look hard
to see that working people are

still losing ground and feeling
even more powerless than ever

in a system that has become more
sharply rigged against them.

These people see
corporate profits and CEO

pay shoot through the
roof, while their own wages

haven't budged in decades.

Unions are under attack,
and workers are pressed

to give up more and more REITs.

Investment advisors
want to rip off retirees

to line their own pockets.

Employers reclassify workers so
they don't have to pay overtime.

It is everywhere around us.

Giant corporations build entire
business models on the fact

that they are so
big and so powerful

that they can do whatever
they want to customers

and never pay a price.

Sell personal information-- yes,
Equifax, we're looking at you.

Pollute the water they drink.

[APPLAUSE]

Juice up profits
by cheating people.

The question is, what
chance do folks have?

Pundits will tell you
that the Democratic

Party needs to do a
better job of messaging.

Messaging?

Really?

I think Paul Wellstone would say
that the Democratic Party needs

to do a better job of fighting.

That's what I think.

[APPLAUSE]

What millions of hard
working people need right now

is for someone to step up and
pick a fight on their behalf.

That's why we're here.

[APPLAUSE]

They need someone to take
on the corporations that

are nickel and diming, baiting
and switching, and outright

cheating our middle
class families.

They need someone
with enough heart

to give a damn that working
people are losing power

in our economy, and
enough political courage

to do whatever it
takes to get it back.

[APPLAUSE]

Paul had that heart.

Paul had that courage.

And that's why I'm not the only
Senator who considers him not

just a hero, but a role model.

You got a couple of
pretty terrific senators

here in Minnesota, Amy
Klobuchar and Al Franken.

[APPLAUSE]

And the truth is, while
Paul's voice would stand out

in any crowd, it
would be a lot less

lonely in today's Democratic
Party than it was 20 years ago.

We have come a long
way from the days

when many Democrats were afraid
to fight for working people.

We have come a long way.

And we are not going back.

[APPLAUSE]

Paul knew something else too.

He knew that as
Democrats, we have

to work together and
fight together and take

on each other's
fights as our own,

that we don't have the
luxury as Democrats to vote

each other off the island.

I may be passionate
about economic justice,

and you may be
just as passionate

about reproductive rights.

And the guy sitting next to
you might be just as passionate

about immigration reform.

But we have two
things in common.

The first is that we believe
in the dignity of every human

being.

That's part of what
makes us Democrats.

[APPLAUSE]

And the second is we know
that none of us, none of us

is powerful enough to win any
of these fights on our own.

We have got to
fight side by side.

[APPLAUSE]

In the wake of
this last election,

I've heard a lot of
people say that Democrats

need to decide whether we're
the party of the white working

class or the party of
Black Lives Matter.

Well, I'll tell you,
I believe that we

can care about a
dad who's worried

that his kid will have to move
away from their rural community

to find decent work.

And we can care about a mom
who's worried that her kid will

get shot during a traffic stop.

[APPLAUSE]

Because the way I see
it, these two parents

have something in common.

The game is rigged
against both of them.

[APPLAUSE]

It's rigged against
both of them,

and it's rigged
against their kids.

They both feel
powerless to ensure

that their kids will get the
fair shot that they deserve.

They both deserve
a Democratic Party

that will make their
fight our fight.

That's why we're here.

[APPLAUSE]

So I want to close
with this thought.

Wellstone action
trains people to run

and trains people to
win political campaigns.

And as someone who's up
for reelection in 2018,

let me just say,
please keep it up.

[APPLAUSE]

Get that training.

Everybody work.

But that's not all it does.

Wellstone action
also trains people

to win ballot initiatives and
bond measures and school board

races.

It trains people to organize on
campuses and to run union drives

and to engage in
their communities.

And the reason this
matters so much

is something that Paul
taught us a long time ago.

Paul's politics were
never about winning power.

It was always about
growing power.

And when we, as Democrats,
practice that kind of politics,

we don't have to argue
about how to portion out

some finite amount of energy.

Each time we engage, each time
we take on someone else's fight

and make it our own, it makes
us more ready for the fight

that comes next.

[APPLAUSE]

The way I think of this
is that kind of activism

isn't a battery
that gets drained.

It's a muscle that gets
stronger every time we use it.

[APPLAUSE]

Look, I know it isn't easy
right now, believe me.

I go to Washington every week.

I know it isn't easy right now.

But Paul used to
quote Marcia Timmel.

I'm so small, she said, and
the darkness is so great.

Paul's response, light a candle.

Yes, Democrats have
lost a lot of races.

Yes, Democrats are
in the minority.

But if you're feeling
small right now,

if you ever find
yourself looking

into the darkness around us
and asking, what can I do?

The answer is simple.

Light a candle.

Because every time
you show up at a town

meeting to speak
out about something

that's happening in your
community, we all get stronger.

Every time you help
workers form a union

or help an immigrant study
for her citizenship test,

or register someone to
vote, we all get stronger.

And every time you write
a letter to a Congressman

or show up at a
protest march, or knock

on doors for a candidate you
believe in, we all get stronger.

It doesn't matter
what issue we pick.

It doesn't matter whether
it's local or national.

It doesn't even matter
whether we win or lose.

Every time we fight to
empower the powerless,

they get stronger.

And we get stronger.

Stronger for the next
fight, and the next fight,

and the one after that.

So light a candle.

Share the flame.

Keep it burning.

And together, we will
illuminate a path going forward.

Not just for our party,
but for all of the people.

Thank you so much
for being here today.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Can I do this?

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Keep up the fight.

SPEAKER: Thank you.

Senator Warren,
that was fantastic.

To close us out in this
really exciting day,

I want to bring out my friend
Dave Wellstone for a few closing

comments.

DAVE WELLSTONE:
Thanks I know it's

been a great day and a long
day, so I'm going to keep

it real short and sweet.

I was thinking about this.

I'm happy to be here with
all my friends, old and new.

Three keys, I think
to the Wellstone way

that I wanted to give you,
growing up in that household.

One is, and Keith
mentioned it earlier,

when my dad was out
there talking to people,

he cared about what they said.

He listened to him.

He listened to them earnestly.

He heard what they said,
and they knew that.

They knew that he cared.

They knew that he was
there to really listen,

and they knew he was
going to be there,

then, to go fight for them.

Over time, as he
would go out and start

to talk to folks,
that listening,

that earnestness
would build trust.

And the next thing
that I think was

a key to what my dad did
was he built coalitions.

He was able to
put folks together

who didn't always
agree on issues,

but he was able to say
for the greater good,

let's figure out what we agree
upon and don't disagree upon

to go out and to win, so
that then we can govern.

And so being able to meet
people where they were at,

being able to say, even if
we don't agree on everything,

let's figure out what unites
us and doesn't divide us.

I think is one of the other
keys to the Wellstone way.

I heard Elizabeth Warren
talking about a fights.

And my dad was a big fighter.

And I remember him saying,
you can't win a fight

if you don't pick a fight.

[LAUGHTER]

And he figured out
what fights to pick.

He was a battler.

But I want to leave
you with this thought.

I think everybody who
leaves such a big legacy

like my dad, or at
least most people,

probably have that sort
of unsung hero with them.

And in the case of Senator
Paul Wellstone, my dad,

it was my mom, Sheila Wellstone.

[APPLAUSE]

My mom figured out
how to take issues

that she cared about that
cut across all lines,

cut across Republican, Democrat,
social, economic, race.

She worked on violence against
women and human trafficking.

She also worked on mental
health and addiction policy.

But I just wanted to
tell you, folks, I'm

just so proud to be here.

And I want to thank each
and every one of you

to take the day today to come.

That together, Paul and
Sheila, made this Wellstone way

that we're talking about.

Let's all go out
and in our own way

make a difference in our
community and in the world.

Thanks for coming today.

Appreciate it.

[APPLAUSE]