As prepared for delivery.
On behalf of the Democratic Leadership Council, I am pleased to announce that we are holding our 2005 National Conversation here in Columbus, at the Renaissance Hotel, on July 25. I am especially pleased to be joined here today by a distinguished group of Ohio Democrats, including:
- Columbus' great mayor, and a longtime friend of the DLC, Michael Coleman, who will serve as host and honorary chairman for this event;
- Also from here in Columbus, Franklin County Commissioner Paula Brooks, City Councilwoman Maryellen O'Shaughnessy, and Columbus School Board Member Andrew Ginther;
- And finally, another longtime friend of the DLC, State Senator Eric Fingerhut from Cuyahoga County.
The National Conversation is the DLC's annual meeting, but it's much more than that. It's the premier event for the national network of New Democrat elected officials that we've been working to build over the years -- a network of rising political stars who will shape the future of their cities and states -- the future of our party -- and ultimately, the future of our country.
We expect several hundred of these leaders -- statewide elected officials, legislators, mayors, and city and county officials -- to join us in Columbus, from virtually every state, blue, red, or purple. These are the leaders who are working to solve the everyday challenges of our people far from the noisy but often empty political warfare in Washington.
We've sometimes called the DLC the problem-solving wing of the Democratic Party, and at this National Conversation we intend to focus on two particular problems: first, the broad range of challenges to our country's future that are being largely ignored by the current management of the federal government in Washington; and second, our party's need for a clear message and agenda that connects with the values and aspirations of the great American middle class, and that supplies the truly national leadership so many Americans crave.
The program for the Conversation will revolve around four topics that address our country's, and our party's, most urgent needs:
- How to make America safe in a dangerous world.
- How to build a true opportunity society that restores the historic American promise of upward mobility for every single American.
- How to stand up for the core values of responsibility and family at a time of unparalleled challenges for parents and communities.
- How to reform a political system that is broken and corrupt.
These large themes of security, opportunity, responsibility, and reform represent, in my view, not only the four biggest challenges facing America, but the four areas in which Democrats must clearly provide credible and innovative leadership if we want to become America's governing party again. And we expect the Conversation will provide a unique opportunity for an honest discussion of these themes among a broad array of elected officials who believe good government is the best politics.
Aside from the "headliner" events the National Conversation will, as always, feature a broad array of intensive workshops on particular policy areas, and a host of opportunities for elected officials to trade good ideas and valuable experiences, and help build this national network.
We've chosen Columbus as the site for this National Conversation in no small part because it is, as the last election showed, the capital of the pivotal political battleground state of Ohio. Moreover, Ohio is a quintessentially American place, with a rich array of big and medium sized cities, old and new suburbs, stable Main Street towns, and rural areas that range from Appalachia to the great Midwestern farm belt. And to be blunt about it, we think it's appropriate to come together in Ohio because this is the kind of state where Democrats have been regularly losing statewide contests, and need to start winning if we are going to become a majority party nationally. I'm sure all my friends on the platform here today are determined to end the undeserved Republican ascendancy in Ohio next year and in 2008, and we aim to make this National Conversation a similar turning point for our party across this country.
The final reason we are holding this conversation in Columbus is standing next to me. Mayor Mike Coleman has been an active New Democrat for well over a decade. He has been chairman of the DLC's Local Elected Officials Network over the last two years, and was also named one of the DLC's "100 Elected Officials To Watch." We know he will take every opportunity during the Conversation to showcase his city and the aggressive agenda he has undertaken to bring it new jobs, a high standard of living, and better education.
