Excerpts (click here for the full text as prepared for delivery):
My name is Jared Polis. My great-grandparents were immigrants. I am Jewish. I am gay. I am a father. I am a son. I am an entrepreneur. I am a congressman from Colorado. I am always an optimist. But first and foremost, I am an American.And the America I believe in is the America Barack Obama believes in. It is the America you believe in. One where if you play by the rules and work hard, you can get ahead and succeed. One in which loving families of all forms are respected and celebrated as the backbone of society. One in which today’s divisions become tomorrow’s unity, in which we transcend partisan bickering and work together to forge a better future for ourselves and our families…
But ladies and gentlemen, now is our chance to tell the dividers no, tell the special interests and cynical Washington insiders no, tell the lobbyists and PACs no, and tell our fellow countrymen and women, gay and straight, Christians, Jews, Mormons, Muslims and nonbelievers, rich and poor, black and white, Latino and Asian, east and west, north and south; it is time to tell them yes, together we are stronger, together we are better, together we are America.
And that is why we must continue bringing America together. So tonight, I don’t just ask my fellow Americans to respect my relationship with my partner Marlon and my role as a father to our son. I also ask them to respect the Christian family concerned about decaying moral values and crass commercialism. I ask them to respect the difficult decision of a single mother to bring a child into this world, because of her heartfelt beliefs.
And it is why we must help that courageous woman have the support she needs after her child is born. We celebrate Americans of all backgrounds and beliefs, even Republicans, because this is their future, too. Republicans mocked our desire to heal the planet, but we will heal it for Republicans too, and we will create jobs for Republicans too.
Full story: Colorado’s Rep. Jared Polis Addresses Democratic National Convention
Way to go Polis!!
Tough night for comparisons tho. Castro & Michelle were SO fantastic. I thought MO did everything she needed to do.
Polis’s speech was the first one that NPR broadcast during its coverage – got the whole thing, too.
Loved the positive tone of the speech, and I think it’s something that Coloradoans should be proud that he delivered.
Of course, his speech was lost in the outstanding content that followed him on the evening’s schedule. From Stacy Linh to Lily Ledbetter to the bigger names on the stage last night, DNC2012 has so far been a shining example of the depth of Democratic talent.
That’s one of the most striking revelations this week for me. There are just lots of good, decent, smart, talented, attractive, grounded, ambitious, pragmatic young Dems out there (Jared included). And most seem quite progressive. Across the country, the next several election cycles should be fun to watch.
is right. Thank you Rep. Polis for insisting that Dems live up to their claim to being the party of the big tent, the party of real choice. We are not the party of abortion but the party of choice. We are not the party without family values but the party that respects all families and their values. We are not the party of the non-religious but the party that respects all religions and spiritual persuasions as well as the choice not to be religious or believe in a deity. We are the party that values all moms; single, married, work at home or work outside the home moms. We are the party for all Americans of all backgrounds, colors, natural born or immigrant, and all income levels.
And as for that courageous single mom who chooses to have her baby out of personal conviction, federal funding for Planned Parenthood goes entirely to helping her have access to the best reproductive health care and screenings for cancer and STDs so that she can be a healthy mother with a healthy child.
When Rs brag that they will cut funding to planned Parenthood they aren’t talking about cutting a penny that funds abortion. Federal funding for that is against the law. They are talking about cutting funding for all the health services Planned Parenthood provides for all women including that courageous single mom and which account for 93% of Planned Parenthood’s mission, including affordable, reliable birth control so women can plan their careers, space their pregnancies and so that families can decide on the number of children they believe they can best provide for.
Or families can make the choice to decline to limit the number of children they have if that suits their beliefs. We respect their beliefs, too.
This is what choice and big tent mean and the Democratic Party stand proud to really be the big tent party of choice and respect for all American family values.
The notion that subsidized contraception for poor women is paying for their “party”, particularly when these “parties” involve both genders, only one of which can get pregnant, is particularly odious.
It’s a perfect example of government empowering citizens to exercise personal responsibility.
Recent “like” from WLJ and now an “exactly” from Daft. Tough crowd. Better shut up before I say something stupid.