IF YOU BELIEVE...

By Eric Carl Bauman

Remarks prepared for delivery at the 2003 LA County Democratic Party JFK Awards - by Eric C. Bauman, LACDP Chair

Remarks prepared for delivery at the 2003 JFK Awards - by Eric C. Bauman, LACDP Chair

Welcome to the 2003 JFK "Profiles in Courage" Awards. On behalf of the officers and members of the Los Angeles County Democratic Party, I want to thank you for making tonight's event a tremendous success.

We Democrats face tough times today, here in California and across the nation. The Republicans have seized control of the White House, the Congress and even our Statehouse. Each day they impose policies that hurt those most in need + the poor, the elderly, and the disabled. Their policies deny fairness and critical benefits to working families, and they seek to overturn years of progress made by Democrats. From the environment to healthcare to civil rights and workers rights, they are eroding the basic protections our government provides to us.

Many have said the Democratic Party is in a state of crisis. We know what George W. Bush and his cronies will do if their power is left unchecked. They will transform our nation into a place where only "the haves" can succeed and where "the have-nots" are forgotten and ignored. Where the rich have everything and the poor have nothing. Where the American dream may only be dreamed by a select few.

But as President John F. Kennedy said, "When written in Chinese, the word "crisis" is composed of two characters. One represents danger, and the other represents opportunity."

In this crisis, opportunity abounds, but only we grab hold of it and make it reality. If we Democrats unite in a loud strong voice, as a powerful force for all people, with fearless disregard for the ranting, deception and threats of our opponents, we will regain the mantle of leadership necessary to allow us to ensure fairness, justice and equality for every American. But we can only succeed if we meet the challenge of the moment and seize this rare opportunity.

Look around you in this room, We are doctors and janitors, security guards and business owners, teachers and nurses, donors and activists + of every age, color, ethnicity, gender, and sexual orientation + making a profound statement, that we Democrats can rise to the challenge, work through our differences and unite to form an unstoppable and unbeatable force for victory.

Here with us tonight are two-dozen security guards. They work hard each and every day to keep us safe and protect our property. They are engaged in an effort to organize, to gain better wages and training. And we want to let them know that we Democrats are with them in their struggle. That we will work with them to help bridge the gap, to ensure they have a brighter future.

And to our brothers and sisters of the UFCW out on the picket lines, we want you to know that we stand in solidarity with you, demanding that workers health care benefits not be reduced or eliminated just to give already-wealthy stockholders an even better dividend check.

Now let me take just a second to point out the difference between Democratic Leadership and autocratic right-wing Republican rule.

Under Democratic leadership in California:

We expanded access to healthcare for all

Mandated employers with more than 50 workers provide insurance for their workers Provided health insurance to one million children

Enacted a patient's bill of rights to protect consumers from HMOs

Became the first state in the nation to enact safe staffing standards for hospital nurses

Provided new and improved health and social benefits for seniors and the disabled

Improved wages and working conditions for homecare and nursing home workers

Increased the minimum wage

Strengthened the prevailing wage

Enhanced the right of workers to organize Improved farm workers ability to negotiate a contract

Improved unemployment benefits and workers compensation

Protected and enhanced a woman's right to choose

Enacted the most comprehensive domestic partners laws in the country

Protected and preserved our environment

Enacted laws to protect immigrants and treat them with dignity

And by the way, the man who signed all those great advances into law is standing in the back of the room: please give Governor Gray Davis and huge round of applause.

In just one month under Republican leadership in Sacramento:

They have proposed limiting access to the healthy families program and creating a waiting list for children with no healthcare.

They have proposed slashing Medi-Cal for the poor.

They have proposed creating a waiting list for the AIDS Drug Assistance Program.

They have proposed limiting access to services for the developmentally disabled.

They have proposed eliminating homecare for seniors and the disabled.

They have proposed privatizing state services.

They have proposed reducing benefits for workers injured on the job.

They have changed the climate from one that respected working people's needs to one that seems only to care about corporations and business owners.

They have proposed reducing funding for education and loosening the financial protections our schools receive under proposition 98.

You all know what is going on in Washington. We have gone from peace, prosperity and progress under President Clinton, to war, joblessness and divisiveness under the current regime.

Bush and his cronies have wiped out Bill Clinton's surplus and turned it into the largest deficit in history. We have gone from the lowest unemployment rates ever to the loss of three million jobs. Medicare is being turned over to the drug companies and insurers, our environment is being plundered and workers rights are being diminished every day.

Since Bush claimed, "mission accomplished" in Iraq, hundreds of our soldiers have been killed and maimed and political unrest abounds, yet the war goes on.

And never in the history of our nation have we seen such distortion of the truth, such secrecy and such deception, as that of this administration.

But we can't just sit back and let them destroy our country and our state. We have an obligation to ourselves, our children and to those who most depend most on us.

When John F. Kennedy challenged us to "Ask Not..." he was challenging us to a higher calling. To do the best we can, to use our gifts and talents to benefit those in need.

If you believe no child should be without healthcare and a high quality, free, public education,

If you believe working men and women deserve a living wage, respect, the right to organize, and yes a drivers license,

If you believe Medicare and social security should be kept out of the hands of greedy HMOs and Wall Street brokers,

If you believe the air we breathe and the water we drink should be clean, clear and free of pesticides and chemicals,

If you believe every disabled person should have opportunity to live to his or her fullest level of independence and have a chance to succeed,

If you believe two people who love each, no matter the gender, should have the same rights, responsibilities and protections,

If you believe our men and women in uniform should protect us against foreign invaders, not promote the business interests of Haliburton and Bechtel,

If you believe every one of us, young or old, white or black, rich or poor, immigrant or Native American, straight or gay, should have a fair shot at the "American Dream,"

If you believe tomorrow can be better than today,

Then we must stand tall and united, fight for our values, work through our differences, and collectively we can take back our country and our state.

I urge you to join with me tonight, and commit yourselves to the tough battles that lie ahead in 2004. If we allow ourselves to become one, then tomorrow will be better than today.

By gathering together here tonight we've taken the first step. We are making a profound statement, that we Democrats will rise to the challenge, and unite to form an unstoppable and unbeatable force for victory in 2004.

Thank you for being part of this important moment. Thank you and good night.