MDP Convention Remarks of Senator Carl Levin

Michigan Democratic Party Convention
Saturday, August 28, 2010

Hello fellow Democrats!

Hello to the members of the party that fights for jobs and working families. The party of Main Street. The party of tolerance and inclusion. The party of environmental protection.

We are not active in politics because we seek power or to enrich ourselves and our friends. We are in politics because we believe we can make life better for the people. We believe in a government that does what it can to ensure every American can pursue what we all want: a decent living, a comfortable home in a secure neighborhood, good schools and a better future for our children. And not since the 1930s has our nation been more in need of our party's philosophy.

Our nation is hurting. We are in a slow, fitful recovery from the worst economic crisis most of us have ever experienced - a crisis that was especially cruel to our state, a crisis left by the Bush administration for us to clean up. We face many challenges at home, from high unemployment to ever-higher health care costs, to the need for clean energy sources, to large budget deficits far into the future. Abroad, we are engaged in two wars, wars in which incredibly brave and capable men and women are sacrificing so much.

A new Democratic administration and new, larger Democratic majorities in Congress came into office in January of 2009 determined to take these challenges head-on. And we did so. We passed an economic recovery plan that saved millions of jobs and helped keep a deep recession from becoming a second Great Depression. We provided tax incentives for companies to hire unemployed workers, and ensured that the safety net, including unemployment compensation, would be extended for those still searching for work.

We did more. We passed legislation to make the health insurance most of us already have more secure and affordable. That same legislation took a major and decades-overdue step toward universal health care - shame on us for not doing that long before. We cut taxes - yes, cut taxes! - for 95 percent of the country. And Michigan Democrats, we extended a lifeline to our domestic auto industry, a lifeline that has helped put carmakers and their suppliers back on a path to innovation and growth, a path that leads to producing the most advanced, efficient automobiles on the planet, right here in Michigan.

The American economy has now gained manufacturing jobs for the last seven months in a row. Gained jobs! In his years in office, even during what we were told were good times, President Bush's policies led to the loss of more than 4.5 million manufacturing jobs.

There's more. We reformed Wall Street, so that we will not again have to bail out big banks whose risky bets and conflicts of interest led to the crisis that decimated our economy. And we took on the credit card companies, so that now they can't hammer unsuspecting consumers with outrageous fees or sky-rocketing interest-rate hikes.

We promised the American people we would do these things, and we have done them. But come this fall, when we once again ask Americans to cast their votes for us, we should not ask them to vote for us because of those accomplishments. Our nation is hurting, and our people are not interested, understandably, in hearing us talk about what we've been able to do, even in the face of repeated Republican filibusters in the Senate. We should not expect them to be.

I don't mention these accomplishments because I think they will convince the voters to side with us this fall. I mention them because of how they contrast our philosophy with the philosophy of our opponents. Elections are about the future. And a future under Republican rule would be so bleak that we must work tirelessly between now and Election Day to prevent it.

I'll give the Republicans credit for this much. They leave no doubt about what they'd do if they regain control of Congress. The congressman in charge of their House election campaigns went on "Meet the Press" a while back and said "we need to go back to the exact same agenda" that Republicans pursued under George W. Bush. So not only do the Republicans say no to progress, but they would return our nation to the same utterly failed policies that led to economic crisis.

President Obama has it right: If we hand the keys to the government back to the Republicans, they'll steer us right back into the ditch they put us in. So the question this fall is straightforward: Do you want to keep America moving forward? Or do you want to turn around and go back into the deep the ditch we're beginning to climb out of?

Give Republicans the keys again, and they'll give the wealthiest among us tax breaks they don't need, leaving working families without the support they need. We can't give them back the keys.

Democrats put the cop back on Wall Street and we'll make sure that cop stays on the beat. Give Republicans the keys, and they'll have the same bankers go right back to padding their pocketbooks while Main Street suffers. We cannot give them back the keys.

Democrats will stand firm against health insurance companies, defending the new law that stops them from eliminating or limiting your health coverage on a whim. Give Republicans the keys, and they'll put insurance companies back in control of our families' health care. We can't give them the keys.

Democrats will preserve and defend Medicare and Social Security, ensuring that those programs protect seniors not just today, but for generations to come. The top Republican on the House Budget Committee says we should privatize Medicare and Social Security. We are not going to give them back the keys.

And we have the candidates for Congress who will highlight the contrast between what Democrats are fighting for and where the Republicans would take us.

You helped Gary Peters and Mark Schauer win tough races two years ago against Republican incumbents. The Republicans are coming after them. Gary and Mark need and deserve our 1,000 percent support.

Bart Stupak and Carolyn Kilpatrick have been great friends to working families. We salute them for their great records. We just can't let Republicans take the Stupak seat. Northern Michigan and the Upper Peninsula need Gary McDowell in Washington. We all do. And we're going to keep a Democratic seat right here in the 13th District with Hansen Clark.

We've got a great opportunity to pick up more seats in Congress. The Republican Party's incumbents are now chained to the far right and its out-of-touch views like an anchor, and that's going to leave Republicans with a sinking feeling.

Finally a word about the governor's race. This is the last convention where I will be able to tell you what a privilege it is to work with Gov. Jennifer Granholm. She has served with strength and courage and grace through some incredibly tough times. Many of the things she has done, with John Cherry at her side, for this state - her hard work on education and on preparing Michigan for the economy of the 21st century - will become more and more apparent in the years to come as the benefits of her vision unfold. She deserves the great salute she'll receive at this convention.

If we want to protect our progress, we need to send Virg Bernero from the mayor's office in Lansing down the block to the governor's office. Virg has shown that the Democratic philosophy of focusing on middle-class families can bring job growth and fiscal stability to his city. He's shown tenacity and grit as a tireless voice for the domestic auto industry, not just in Michigan but nationally. And his choice of Southfield's fine mayor, Brenda Lawrence, will add more grass roots strength to our ticket.

So the question will be clear in November. Do we keep moving forward with government on the side of working families? Or back to the past, back to ideas that proved so disastrous during the Bush years? Our nation is still hurting. We cannot let the Republicans add to the pain of a hurting nation with ideas that have already done so much harm. Michigan can't afford to hand the keys back to Republicans. The nation can't afford it. We're not going to let that happen, because with our shoulders to the wheel, we can beat back the Republicans and their failed ideas, and keep climbing upward to a nation committed to greater opportunity for all our people.