The Honorable Charles E. Schumer
Democratic National Convention
Wednesday, August 27, 2008
Remarks as Prepared for Delivery

Sixty-nine days from now, the journey that was launched in Springfield, Illinois, and continues here today will culminate with millions of Americans coming out to elect Barack Obama our next president. And with President Obama leading the way, in 2009 we will take the next step on that path to reverse the disastrous course that George Bush, John McCain and their friends in Washington have set for this country.

But Barack Obama cannot do it alone. Without a strong Democratic majority in the Senate, his ambitious agenda will be thwarted by the defenders of the status quo whose goals can be boiled down to a single word: no.

Without a large Democratic majority, President Obama might even have to pare back the breadth and strength of what he proposes. We know what John McCain and his friends in the Senate will do, because we've seen it far too many times in the last two years. Ninety-two times, they filibustered important legislation to change the direction of this country.

When the American people demanded change in Iraq, John McCain and his friends said no. When you demanded legislation to lower the price of gas, John McCain and his friends said no. When you demanded middle-class tax relief, John McCain and his friends said no. When Barack Obama wins in November, John McCain will go back to the Senate, and he and his friends will go back to saying no, no, no, to the change our country needs.

Can we stop them? You know the answer: yes we can. But to do it, we need your help. The opportunity is too great and the stakes too high to allow President Obama's agenda to be blocked by the special interests and their allies in the Senate. So of course we must elect Barack Obama president, but when we do, we also must elect many more Democrats to the Senate so that we can help Barack Obama lead America on a new course.

There are 17 states where we have a good chance to beat Republicans. Many are states where for decades Democrats have struggled, but now have a chance to win. This is, ladies and gentleman, a once in a generation opportunity. So help us win in Virginia, Alaska, Colorado, New Mexico and New Hampshire where our candidates are ahead today. Help us win in Minnesota, Mississippi, Maine, Oregon, Kentucky and North Carolina, where our candidates are locked today in neck-and-neck races. Help us win in Georgia, Kansas, Texas, Oklahoma, Nebraska and Idaho, where no one ever thought our candidates would run strong races-but they are.

Go to the web site of the Democratic Senate Campaign Committee at (link...) and sign up today. Every day, a new secretive 527 or 501 front group fueled by millions of undisclosed dollars emerges from the shadows to attack our candidates, and we need your help now. The special interests and the defenders of the status quo have shown they will go to any length to stop us from changing Washington. And we need you to help us answer their attacks.

We can and we must elect a stronger Democratic majority to the Senate to overcome the obstructionism that threatens Barack Obama's agenda, and with your support, we will.

So join us and our great group of candidates, and help us elect a Senate that will work with President Barack Obama every day for the change this country needs.