The stories behind my remarks at the NH Democratic Party convention

On Saturday I had the opportunity to take the stage and welcome 4,200 New Hampshire Democrats and independent voters to the state’s largest-ever Democratic Party convention — and I did it by asking the room to dedicate the day not to those at the podium, but to the people we serve outside the arena walls.

A few friends have asked for a copy of the remarks, or the stories behind them — so here they are, prepared for delivery, and annotated with notes like this that tell the backstory (click on the note symbol when you see it in the right-hand column to read deeper).

Good morning New Hampshire Democrats!

Is anyone here ready for 2016?

You are about to hear from 12 great New Hampshire leaders and five incredible guests.

But our purpose today is not about the people who will stand at this podium.

We are here because of the homeless vet who slept last night in the park just down the street. That’s why we are here.

We are here for the waitress in Keene, 10 months sober, spending her Saturday morning counseling others about life without heroin and wondering how we can do more together to stop the tide.

We are here today for the five year old in Concord with bright eyes, and piercing questions, who is starting school this year without access to full day public kindergarten, like still is the case in half the towns in our state.

We’re here for the single mom who is studying to finish college, hanging out at the laundry mat in Rochester all day with her two kids and a stack of books, working her heart out to make a better life for her family.

We’re here for the entrepreneur at Alphaloft. who loves our great economy and amazing quality of life but wonders why we aren’t already building commuter rail from Boston so he can grow his company more quickly.

We’re here for Ashley, a 22 year old from Langdon who had never written an elected official in her life, but emailed me a month ago and asked what in the world three Republican men on the Executive Council were doing shutting off the funding she depends on for her annual exam and birth control at the Claremont Planned Parenthood.

And today we are here for the college freshman who set out for Plymouth just a few weeks ago, full of excitement and fear and wonder, who doesn’t know yet that she’s going to risk running out of loans before she gets to the finish line, and graduate tens of thousands of dollars deep in credit card debt.

Unless.

Unless we FIGHT for her.

Unless we stand up and give each of them our voice.

Unless we make this day, their day. Unless we make 2016, their year.

This is why we are Democrats. We include. We stand up. We lift up. We progress. We chart a path for a brighter future, one where every citizen and every child in every town has the opportunity to fulfill their god-given potential — and we work together to create it.

That’s what we did when we extended health care to 41,000 of our fellow citizens when we expanded Medicaid last summer, and why we will not let Bill O’Brien take it away from them next year.

That’s what we did when we restored funding for birth control and cancer screenings at New Hampshire Planned Parenthood health centers just a few years ago, and it’s how we will once again restore the care that Chris Sununu yanked away this summer, even if it takes an election to do it.

It’s why we stood with Market Basket workers, and Fairpoint workers, and why we will never turn our backs on the firefighters and cops and teachers who are our strength.

So let’s do what we do best as a party — let’s dedicate this day to the people outside these walls, not those standing at the front of the room.

Let’s pledge to them that we will fight for debt-free college.

For a future accelerated by commuter rail and brightened by solar panels, and supported by the thousands of good new jobs that come with both.

For access to full-day public kindergarten, more affordable child care and better family and sick leave rules that work for both businesses and workers. And finally, for a fair New Hampshire minimum wage.

Let’s fight for a future where we keep taxes low on New Hampshire’s hardworking families by ending the unfair loopholes and special tax giveaways to the wealthiest and biggest corporations.

We can do this. 2016 is coming.

So, let me end by asking you a simple question: Are you ready to go all-in and stand up for a brighter future for ALL the people of New Hampshire?

Well, let’s get to work.