Democracy in Action photos-June 9, 2019 Iowa Democratic Party Hall of Fame Celebration Speeches: Sen. Elizabeth Warren

IDP Hall of Fame Celebration Speeches—Sen. Elizabeth Warren ... next >

Hello Iowa Democrats. Good to see you.

So It is a great honor to be standing on this stage, not something that in a million years I ever thought I would do. I've had ambitions, job ambitions, since I was in second grade I've known what I wanted to do. I wanted to be a public school teacher. Can we hear it for America's public schools?

It was a pretty rocky path for us. We didn't have any money. My daddy ended up as a janitor. I got to school, dropped out of school at 19 and got married. But I scratched my way back. I finished my four year diploma and I became a special needs teacher; I have lived the dream job.

Let me tell you about teachers. We understand the worth of every single human being. We understand about investing in the future. And we never give up.

Right now in America, there's a lot that's broken, there's a lot that's wrong, there's a lot that we need to fight back against. But I come to you today with a heart filled with optimism. And the reason is because I've been across Iowa, I've been across this country. And right now in America, there is a real hunger. There are people who are ready for big structural change in this country. They're ready for change., and I got a plan for that. In fact, I got a lot of plans. So let me just mention a few.

How about a wealth tax on the top one 10th of 1%. Make them pay two cents—they can afford it. And what can we do with that two cents?

We can cancel student loan debt for 43 million Americans.

We can provide universal child care and pre K for every one of our kids.

We can create 1.2 million new manufacturing jobs, rebuild an industrial base right here in America.

And on climate change, the truly existential threat bearing down upon us, I don't have just one plan, I got two plans to attack it head on, because we're gonna have to fight back.

And just one more that I want to mention. And that is Roe vs. Wade. I've got a practical plan to protect the rights guaranteed to women under Roe versus Wade, regardless of what the United States Supreme Court does.

Yeah there's a lot broken in this country, the corruption. You know, the first thing we could do is break the stranglehold of the NRA, that would fight back against corruption.

But everything I propose comes to one central question. Who does this government work for? Is it going to continue to work just for a thinner and thinner slice at the top? Or are we going to make this government work for the rest of America? I'm in this fight to make it work for the rest of America.

And I'm building a grassroots operation to make that happen. I've done 90 plus town halls. I've taken literally thousands of questions. I've been to 20 states and Puerto Rico. And yeah, we're coming up on our 30,000th selfie. That's how you build a grassroots movement. Because here's why, why do I have the time to do that? Because I'm not spending my time with high dollar donors and with corporate lobbyists, I'm spending my time with you. That's how we build a grassroots movement in America. One that will make a real difference. One where we can win up and down the ticket. One where we can win the White House. One where we can start to make real change come January 2021. Here's what I believe. We should dream big, fight hard and win. Thank you Iowa. Thank you. [chants: Warren, Warren]

DEMOCRACY IN ACTION TRANSCRIPT