Remarks at the 2016 Democratic National Convention - July 25, 2016

Hello and thank you for joining us in Philadelphia, The City of Brotherly and Sisterly Love! I am running for United States Senate here in Pennsylvania. I know that during these last few days you’ve seen that Pennsylvania is great, and it is great for the same reasons of America is great: hard work, timeless values, and the belief that we each must look out for each other.

I was raised here in Philadelphia. The ninth of ten kids in a big, loud Irish family. My grandparents were Irish immigrants. Now, my parents didn’t have college degrees –Dad walked the beat as a police officer, and Mom she worked as a restaurant hostess—but when we were growing up, none of that mattered. You see, we learned to love our God and our country. We learned that success is not a product of pedigree. Know if you want to succeed, you just have to give it your all every day, and then be willing to give back.

For my brothers, sisters, and me, that was the deal—but for so many families today, that deal is off the table. Why? Because today middle-class families aren’t making a dime in real terms more than they were two decades ago. But we know costs have been going through the roof. Here are the facts: we have the most productive economy in the world, but the benefits of that productivity all go to the top. Top executives used to make thirty times the average guy or gal: now it is over three hundred times. That’s wrong for our families, and that is wrong for America.

The truth is that fear and anxiety do reach far and wide across this great country. Hard-working people are feeling anxious and insecure, but we have a choice. Our choice is how do we respond? It’s this choice that’s on the ballot in November. Now we could respond with more scapegoating and fear mongering—that’s the tactic Donald Trump and my opponent Pat Toomey.

Blame the Mexicans. Blame the Muslims. Blame the government. Build a wall. For goodness sakes, The Donald even blamed the Pope! My dear mother, God rest her soul, would be turning over in her grave on that one. And you know what these guys also say, hand it over to Wall Street. Pat Toomey made his millions on Wall Street, and he’s still trying to sell us the same old trickle down. We’re not buying it. We know that trickle-down only benefits those who are already on the top. Trust the stock market with your hard-earned Social Security Pat Toomey says. Trust the Wheelers and Dealers with your saving, and you will be living large.

But you know what? We’ve seen this bad movie and all of its sequels many times before. The ending is always the same. Things work out for the big shots and everyone else – the average Joe and the average Jane—everyone else gets stiffed with the bill.

Now we also have a different choice. We can work together. We can expand opportunity. We can respect every single person in this country. We can build on the strength of our diversity and the diversity of our strengths.

You know, my brothers are heavy equipment operators, a printer, an x-ray certified welder, and we know a great country doesn’t just buy and consume stuff. A great country makes and builds stuff. And so as Democrats, we can, and we must, and we will work for good school and affordable college and job training that enables our families and our neighbors to make and build the economy of tomorrow.

This is the American way: work hard and get ahead. This is what I will fight for in the United States Senate, and this is what Hillary Clinton will fight for and deliver for us in the White House.

Thank you, and God bless America.