00:00I love she brings up the cash now just for the record, I just want to go on record and I want to get closer to you and talk about one of the privileges that I've had over the last number of years being here with Joe Biden, coming back on different occasions over the course of the last 20 or 30 years that I've been in public office is being able to reach out to people all across this country.
00:23And as a consequence, we have built a pretty large database. And I just want to tell you, I want you to know your status. It was one email that generated $160,000 for the party.
00:40So that shows the status of the Democratic Party in South Carolina. That shows your status, your importance, and the importance people all over the country place on the work you do every single day.
00:58So I want you to know this. You matter, and people care all over the country. There was a reason President Biden was here for that primary about a year ago.
01:10It's because you matter, and you care. And it's a point of pride for me to have been there a year ago to make the case for him.
01:18It was also a point of privilege. Not so easy to be his chief surrogate the night of the debate. You may recall, you think you had a tough job.
01:30I say this with love in my heart. But love for my party. Love for my country. And I appreciate that you appreciate that as well, because you wouldn't be here today.
01:42By definition, you'd be home. Check out. I'm an hourly after all. You look to me and go, no, no. I want something better than a speech.
01:56And so I just want to express gratitude and appreciation, because we're here at a remarkable moment in our history.
02:03And I know that's rotten, cliche, but, you know, this has been alarming six months.
02:09You know, no one's going to play. You know, we're not here to do I told you so.
02:18You know, I imagine you have a few friends. And I told you so. This is what you expected.
02:24But in so many ways, we did tell people. But I got to say, coming from the most un-Trumped state in America,
02:34even we didn't expect and anticipate the shock and awe of the last six months.
02:40And I want to underscore that and highlight that. I had the privilege of being involved a moment ago.
02:45We were in Florence. And I shared that just yesterday was the sixth anniversary of something that's become more and more familiar all across this country.
02:53But you understand it intimately here in South Carolina, the South more broadly in North Carolina.
02:58The devastation, obviously, of this horrific experience and event we've had in Texas.
03:06Over the six months ago, yesterday, in the state of California, we had a winter wildfire.
03:14In the middle of winter.
03:15One of the most devastating wildfires in American history.
03:19One hundred mile-an-hour winds with fire attacks.
03:25Took out 18,000 structures.
03:27Thirty people's lives were lost.
03:29Community completely torn to sun.
03:31It was a six-month anniversary of something that should unite us as Americans.
03:36After all, we're all bound together by a webbing mutual.
03:41And we were there, a very solemn occasion.
03:44But also celebratory.
03:46Because it was the fastest debris removal in American history.
03:50Ninety-six percent substantially complete.
03:53Everybody roaming in the same direction.
03:55Recognizing we have to work together across our differences.
03:58And we were hoping, just expecting one, just a little, you know, a little tip of the hat from the President of the United States.
04:06Six-month anniversary, after all.
04:08And instead, we got nothing, untrue social.
04:13Kept checking.
04:16Maybe she did Twitter to check the X.
04:19Nothing.
04:19And right before our press conference, Mayor Bass, the Mayor of Los Angeles, said, I've got to go.
04:27I said, what's going on, Mayor?
04:28She goes, well, something's going on in MacArthur Park.
04:31MacArthur Park is this beautiful park downtown.
04:34Here downtown, Los Angeles.
04:36One of the most diverse cities, in the most diverse county, in the most diverse state, California, and our most diverse democracy in the United States of America.
04:48And Donald Trump, in order to celebrate the sixth anniversary, decided to send hundreds and hundreds of military troops into the park, into the playground, in the middle of the day, where kids this old had a summer camp.
05:05And the kids were taken away and hidden into the buildings, as they paraded around with American flags on horseback, in military garb, and machine guns, all masked.
05:18Now, one arrest was made.
05:21But what he was doing, he wanted to make a point.
05:25Cruelty is the point.
05:27Cruelty is the point.
05:28Cruelty is the point.
05:29So, yeah.
05:32That's the world we're living in.
05:34And you know it well.
05:36That's what motivates him.
05:38He's not the United States of America.
05:41He wants the divided states of America.
05:44You're not even American.
05:46You come from a place like California.
05:49You remember his response to the disaster in California?
05:53He blamed every single person.
05:57Not a people blamed Texas.
05:59The president of the United States of America.
06:05So I'm here with a state of mind that we need to be resolved at this moment.
06:11We cannot be complicit at this moment by being passive at this moment.
06:17We cannot sit back and be bystanders at this moment.
06:21We have got to step in.
06:23We have got to assert ourselves for being passive at this moment.
06:25We have got to say that we don't blame ourselves for being passive at this moment.
06:27We have got to see you.
06:38We have got to see you.
06:40When it was my first time, it came a few years back, where, frankly, I felt the Democratic Party had its back to the wall.
06:51I felt we were being a little ten.
06:54I felt we were on the receiving end of so much, and I'm wondering, why are we chasing this?
06:59Why am I chasing what Greg Abbott's saying, or this guy Ron DeSantis is saying?
07:04Why am I sitting here, in the United States of America, in 2022, reading about a major state like Florida, rewriting the history books, censoring historic facts, going so far as to take out the race of Rosa Parks, because it was perceived as too woke.
07:32The anti-woke clubs, which were nothing more than anti-black.
07:38That's all that was about.
07:40What's the whole point of DEI?
07:43The assault idea, ESG, CRT.
07:46Remember that?
07:47They were shape-shifting everything, and we, our party was on our CDN.
07:51We were playing defense.
07:53How the hell do we allow that to happen?
07:56I'm not naive.
07:58But I'm not naive.
08:02They were weaponizing Greeks.
08:04They were separated.
08:07They've got a whole network from there.
08:10And I'm not talking about Fox.
08:11I'm talking about Sinclair.
08:14Leonard Amish's local station, redundantly repeating the same storylines over and over and over and over and over and over and over again.
08:22You've got one American News.
08:25You've got Newsmax.
08:26Then you have Fox News.
08:29Lies.
08:30This and this representation.
08:32Do you think I'm lying?
08:33Take a look at what I did last week.
08:35I sued Fox News for getting news.
08:38Because it's all at stake.
08:51It's all at stake.
08:53One of the great parts of this community is, you know, you've got this extraordinary courthouse culture.
09:01I mean, that's all we've got left.
09:05I remember, I was taught when I was here, there were three co-equal branches of government.
09:10Right now, it appears.
09:19Well, we know one guy named Johnson is completely out of here.
09:23He has responsibility and role of advising, consent, and oversight.
09:27So all we've got left, maybe, is the courts, or, maybe more importantly, the court of public opinion.
09:35And maybe that's the, well, it is the point I want to emphasize.
09:40Well, I'll let you all go.
09:41You know, I'm old enough to remember Justice Brandeis.
09:45My father served as a member of the California Court of Appeals.
09:49He used to always quote Justice Brandeis.
09:51He said, in a democracy, in a democracy, the most important office is office of citizens.
09:59With all due respect, Mr. President, not the presidency.
10:03Not governors.
10:05Not mayors.
10:07Not even.
10:08We're supposed to bet.
10:09Members of our representative bodies in state legislature.
10:15It's office of citizens.
10:16But it's active, not a nerd, citizenship.
10:21You've got to step up and share your passion with action.
10:25Share your voice like the five million people did at the No Kings Rout.
10:29When people stood up and they stepped up and then took back.
10:35I'm here just to encourage you.
10:37For all the work you've done, and it's exhausting.
10:39And my gosh, I could have so many people.
10:41What have you all been through the last five, six years?
10:46I mean, most of your life?
10:51I'm serious.
10:52I mean, just the COVID alone.
11:02And I know it's hard.
11:04We don't want to open up those rooms.
11:05We don't even want to talk.
11:06We all want to just move on.
11:08But it's hard to move on.
11:09And a lot of folks have it.
11:13They feel more alone, more isolated, more disconnected.
11:17You went through that.
11:19All of you.
11:21That was traumatizing.
11:26But your strength is by definition, the muscle today.
11:31Because you wouldn't be here.
11:32Had it not been for your resilience.
11:36And it's that resilience that will get us through this moment.
11:40Don't give in to the cynicism.
11:42Don't give in to the fear.
11:43Don't give in to the anxiety.
11:44That's what Donald Trump wants.
11:46What shock and awe is about, is about 80 years.
11:49It's about 80 years.
11:50It's a passion in this moment.
11:52Don't let that happen.
11:54We sued him 26 times.
11:57We did a special session to prepare for that.
12:00And by the way, when I say the most done Trump state, Trump 1.0, we sued him 122 times.
12:07And here's the good news, Madam Chair.
12:11We won almost 90% of the lawsuit.
12:13Thank you for supporting these remarkable leaders.
12:25Thank you, remarkable leader, for being here and passing that torch.
12:30Because that's what it's about.
12:33Back to the origin story here.
12:36First hand, I shook.
12:38I got four kids.
12:39And I started in Florence today and kind of shook up because I saw a picture of two kids that were images of a sister, 12, 13 years old, with her 9-year-old sister.
12:59The bodies were found a few miles down from their camp, together, holding their hands, doing everything in their power to stay together.
13:14I got kids that age.
13:17I got daughters that age.
13:18I got sons.
13:20You do as well.
13:21Grands.
13:22It's what it's about.
13:24I mean, this is it.
13:26There's no do-over.
13:27And so my call to you is simple.
13:31You have the power to shape the future.
13:34The future is not just on the experience of the manifest decisions, not conditions, to determine our faith in the future.
13:40It's not what happens to us.
13:42It's how we respond to it.
13:46And our opportunity presents itself anew in 18 months.
13:52You have the power to end Donald Trump's presidency.
13:58Because the fact of the administration is, sure, he'll be fired and furious that he can find something.
14:12We'll have to deal with the tweets.
14:14We'll have to deal with the attacks and the bullying.
14:16But the legislative agenda is effectively over.
14:22Enough of 17 million people getting off to pick off.
14:26Enough of rural hospitals getting out.
14:28Enough of cutting food stamps and meals on wheels.
14:31Enough of tax breaks for people that don't need them.
14:35Enough of stacking a generation with more debt.
14:37You have that power in these midterms.
14:42So I want you to know how important you are.
14:46And I want to thank you for being here today.
14:49But most importantly, I want to thank you for everything you're doing tomorrow, next month, and next year
14:55as we take back that House of Representatives and we take back that power
15:01and we leverage this country, the United States of America.
