All across the country today, Democrats voted to break down barriers so we can all rise together. I am so delighted to be here with you in Florida. I congratulate Senator Sanders on his strong showing and campaigning, and I'm grateful to all of you who voted for me. To the volunteers and organizers, I know you've worked your hearts out. And to all of my friends, many of a lifetime who travelled to all the states, to tell people about the candidate they knew. And to tell people about the hundreds of thousands of people who went to HillaryClinton.com to give what they could, many under $100 dollars. Now this campaign moves forward to the Crescent City, to the Motor City and beyond. We're going to work for every vote, and we will need all of you to keep volunteering and contributing, doing everything you can. Talking to your friends and neighbors. Because this country belongs to all of us, not just those at the top. Not just to people who look one way, worship one way, or even think one way. America prospers when we all prosper. America is strong when we're all strong. And we know we've got work to do. But that work is not to make America great again, American never stopped being great. We have to make America whole. We have to fill in what has been hollowed out. You know, we have to make strong the broken places, re-stitch the bonds of trust and respect across our country. Now it might be unusual, as I've said before, for a presidential candidate to say this, but I'm going to keep saying it. I believe what we need in America today is more love and kindness. Because you know what? It works. Instead of building walls, were going to break down barriers, and build ladders of opportunity and empowerment. So every American can live up to his or her potential. Because then and only then, can American live up to its full potential too. Now it's clear tonight that the stakes in this election have never been higher. And the rhetoric we're hearing on the other side, has never been lower. Trying to divide America between "us" and "them" is wrong, and we're not going to let it work. You know, whether we like it or not, we're all in this together my friends. And we all have to do our part. But unfortunately, too many of those with the wealth and the most power in this country today seem to have forgotten that basic truth about America. You know yesterday I was at the Old South Meeting House in Boston where nearly 2 and a half centuries ago, American patriots organized the original Tea Party. And I had to wonder what they would make of corporations that seemed to have absolutely no loyalty to the country that gave them so much. What would they say about student loan companies that overcharge young people struggling to get out of debt? Even young men and women serving our country in the military. Or corporations that ship their headquarters overseas, to avoid paying their fair share of taxes. Like Johnson Controls and auto parts companies from Wisconsin, that all of us, we taxpayers, helped to bail out, with the auto rescue back in 2008, now they're turning their back on America. Now I'm not interested in condemning whole categories of people or businesses, I'm just interested in making things right. So let there be no doubt. If you cheat your employees, exploit consumers, pollute our environment, or rip off the taxpayers, were going to hold you accountable. But, if you do the right thing, if you invest in your workers, and in America's future, then we'll stand with you. We all need to work together. To break down the barriers that are holding back our families, and our country. Because the middle class needs a raise. And good jobs, jobs that pay enough for a family to live on and maybe put a little away for retirement. Jobs that provide dignity and a bright future. That's why we have to invest in manufacturing, and infrastructure and small business, and clean energy. Enough clean energy to power every home in America. Don't let anybody tell you we can't make things in America anymore, because we can, we are, and we will. Together we can break down the barriers that face working class families across America. Especially in struggling rust belt communities and small Appalachian towns that have hollowed out by lost jobs, and lost hope. Families who for generations kept our lights on, and our factories running. Together we can break down barriers for our kids, so they get the education they need and deserve. Every child in America should have a great school and a great teacher, no matter what zip code they live in. Together we can break down barriers for women, and finally guarantee income equal pay for equal work. And we can break down barriers for families who've seen too many black children harassed, humiliated and even killed. We can break down barriers for voters in North Carolina who've been systematically disenfranchised and disempowered. We can break down barriers for hard working immigrants everywhere who are too often exploited and intimidated. We have to defend all of our rights. Workers' rights, and women's rights, civil rights, and voting rights, LGBT rights, and rights for people with disabilities. That starts by standing with President Obama when he nominates a strong, progressive justice to the Supreme Court. I know too many Americans have lost faith in our future, we hear it in the voices of parents who don't know how they're going to give their kids the opportunities they deserve. We see it in the eyes of working men and women, who don't expect anything to come easy, but wonder why it has to be quite so hard. Like many of you, I find strength and purpose in the values I learned from my family and my faith. They gave me simple words to live by, do all the good you can, for all the people you can, for as long as you can. That is why, I believe deeply that if we resist the forces trying to drive us apart, we can come together to make this country work for everyone, the struggling, the striving and the successful. If we all do our part, we can restore our common faith in our common future. That's the spirit powering this campaign. It comes from the young janitor in Arkansas who stopped buying junk food, and put off buying a haircut so he could contribute to it. It comes from the disabled combat veteran in Nebraska that sent in 10 dollars, in 70 years of his life he had never donated to a political campaign, until now. You can join us too. Please, go to HillaryClinton.com, make a donation, text JOIN to 47246 and let me leave you with a story that has inspired so many of us. By now we all know what happened in Flint, Michigan don't we? How a cities children were poisoned by toxic water because their governor wanted to save a little money. But there's another story in Flint, it's a story of a community who has been knocked down, but refused to be knocked out. It is hundreds of union plumbers from across the country, to help install new water fixtures. Its students raising funds for water deliveries and showing up to distribute supplies. It's the United Auto Workers and General Motors, donating millions of dollars to help. And when I visited Flint, a few weeks ago, I went to the house of prayer, Missionary Baptist Church, the congregation locked arms and sang, we've come too far from where we started from. They're not about to quit now, we know there are many other Flint's out there, communities that are hurting and need help. But we've come too far in this country to let us turn back. We're going to build on the progress that we've made. We've saved the auto industry thanks to President Obama, now we've got to create new jobs and industries of the future. We've now insured 90% of Americans thanks to President Obama, now we need to finish the job and get to 100%. We have come too far to stop now. We've got to keep going, keep working, keep breaking down those barriers and imagine what we can build together when each and every American has the chance to live up to his or her own God-given potential. Thank you all so very much, thank you.
Neither the Catt Center nor Iowa State University is affiliated with any individual in the Archives or any political party. Inclusion in the Archives is not an endorsement by the center or the university.