IDP Hall of Fame Celebration Speeches—Gov. Steve Bullock ... next >
Thanks so much Troy. And thanks for not changing the rules this week for who gets to be on this stage. Look, you're all here, you've listened to 37 speeches, We're here for a unifying reason, for the sake of our nation, for the sake of our nation's standing in the world, and for the sake of the America that we pass on to our kids and grandkids, we're here to make sure that Donald Trump is a one term president.

It's more than just beating him though. It's rejecting the behavior he's normalizing. Lies and misstatements dividing us by race, by gender by geography, Twitter tirades and temper tantrums. We now expect more out of our preschoolers than we do the President of the United States.

This election is about rejecting crony capitalism. A trillion dollars in stock buybacks in '18 sure as hell didn't go to you and me. Thanks to the Trump tax cuts, the crew cleaning up after this event will pay more in taxes last year than companies like Amazon and Chevron.

Our effort is about making every American know that our economy and our democracy will work for them. No matter who you are, where you came from, how much money your family has, you have a fair shot at that American dream.

But first, we've got to win 2016. In 2016 I was the only Democrat in the country to win a statewide reelect in a state where Trump won. He took Montana by 20 points; I won by four. 25 to 30% of my voters voted for Donald Trump. The path to victory isn't just through the coasts. It includes places that we lost last election. Think about it, almost a third of your counties voted for Obama twice, then Trump. This is about the White House and your state house. And If we can't fire up Democrats, and win back places that we lost in '16 we may as well fold up that great big tent right now.

And this election, it's more than about winning; it's making Washington, DC work for us. This post Citizens United world, where money will speech, corporations have the same rights as people. Until we address the fact that the rules are now written for those who have the biggest checkbooks, we're not going to solve any of the problems you've heard about in this last 17 speeches.

Look, I get that people talk about the problem of money in our elections. But DC's become a place where talking have often been replaced and not doing. This is the fight of our time. It's been the fight of my career. When I was Attorney General, I not only organized the states against Citizens United, but then when Washington and every other state said there's nothing that we could do, I brought the first challenge all the way up to the U.S. Supreme Court against that case.

You know, I'm not the only Attorney General in the room. Your legendary AG Tom Miller is here with us today. I'm honored to have his endorsement. For your service and your support, thank you, Tom.

After The Supreme Court struck down Montana's corporate spending ban as Governor I worked with that Republican legislature to pass one of the most progressive campaign disclosure laws in the country. It said full disclosure of all spending 90 days out from election. Never forget my reelect in 2016. Mailers from the Koch brothers just coming in time and time again, but on day 90 it stopped. And if we can stop the Koch brothers in Montana, we can stop them in Iowa, we can stop them all across this country.

And I haven't stopped there. We are the only state that requires every company seeking state contracts to disclose every single way they're trying to influence our elections.

I'm the only one in this field holding the Trump administration accountable in court for trying to turn our elections into dark money auctions.

This election is about beating Donald Trump, winning back places we lost, but also giving people a reason to vote for us, not just against him. It's also about making our economy and our democracy work for all of us, so that every American has a fair shot at that American dream.

There are 239 days between now and the Iowa caucus. Help me make every single one of those days count. Thanks so much. I look forward to earning your support. And these are the reasons why I'm running for president. Thanks so much.


DEMOCRACY IN ACTION TRANSCRIPT

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