State House, Montpelier
June 28, 2005
Thank you for joining me today as I declare my candidacy for United States Congress.
I am running because I have seen first hand the damage the current Republican leadership of our government has done to our state and its citizens. I am entering this race to get our government working for Vermonters and all Americans.
The current Republican leadership has forgotten the purpose of government; it is to be of the people, for the people. Their goal, instead, is power, pure and simple.
That is why Speaker of the House Dennis Hastert landed in our state to raise money and recruit candidates. It is not because he wants to see the beauty of Lake Champlain or to visit our Guard families who have given so much to our country, or to hear what average citizens think of the Bush plan to privatizing social security.
He came up to do his job. That job was to find a candidate - any candidate - who would help him and Tom DeLay hold on to power.
And make no mistake: the first vote the next representative from Vermont will cast is for or against the leadership of Tom DeLay and Dennis Hastert.
You can't vote "maybe." You can't duck and mumble about being a mainstream Vermont Republican. Because in Washington, Tom DeLay is a mainstream Republican.
Vermont's next member of Congress will either be a part of the problem or a part of the solution. They will either tighten DeLay's grip on power or help solve the problems his leadership has created.
I will be a part of the solution.
Under DeLay's leadership, we have seen systematic dismantling of our environmental laws.
A rush to an ill-conceived war based on phony intelligence where those who raised doubts were belittled, where some of our most treasured allies were brushed aside, and where we squandered the good will of the world in the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks.
We have seen an unprecedented effort to pack our federal courts - where moderate jurists need not apply, and where the whole notion of checks and balances is ignored.
For those of us who believe deeply that cooperation and compromise are the key to making a democracy work, no one could have watched what has unfolded in this country over the last five years without the passionate belief that things in Washington must change.
Senator Leahy knows that. Senator Jeffords knows that. Congressman Sanders knows that. And I know that.
I believe there is another way.
And as Vermonters, we know we have a voice far larger than our geographic size.
I am running for Congress to bring Vermont's democratic traditions, our values, to Washington. We Vermonters have:
I am running for Congress because those values are in jeopardy. They belong in Washington, DC just as much as they do in Montpelier, Vermont.
As every member of Vermont's citizen legislature knows, the challenges we confront in Vermont are made worse by Republican leadership in Washington that has simply forgotten average Americans.
Vermont has struggled heroically to address the health care crisis, yet finds itself thwarted at every turn by federal policies.
Vermont has struggled heroically to balance its budgets and restrain spending, yet finds itself confronted with the impact of federal cuts in Medicaid, in housing, and in environmental protection, to name a few - because of reckless Republican leadership that gives tax cuts we can't afford to people who don't need them.
It's my faith in democracy - a conviction forged as a member of the Senate - that makes me believe that with bold leadership:
We Vermonters know the importance of keeping our own house in order, balancing our budgets, creating jobs, protecting the environment. But no matter how hard we work here in Vermont, our ultimate success is tied to electing new leadership in Washington.
It is all but impossible to control our own destiny when the Bush administration is leading Vermont and the nation in precisely the wrong direction--on the war, on the deficit, on the environment, on social security.
I am running for Congress to help change the direction of our country--so Vermonters can work to fulfill their dreams, without feeling like they are led by a White House that is out of touch, out of ideas, and after the next election...out of power.
I will bring to the United States Congress what I learned in the Vermont Senate: that government can work effectively when people seek common ground, not just controversy; when people work to achieve a common good, not partisan interests; and when people believe that it is an honor to serve; not a pathway to personal privilege.
It would my honor to serve the people of Vermont.
It will be my task, between now and November 2006, to earn that honor.
Thank you.