Last week was the annual dinner of the Central Brooklyn Independent Democrats. CBID is one of the most progressive, most reform-minded clubs in NYC, or anywhere, for that matter. Their annual dinner is well attended by many key politicians, from County Committee members to District Leaders to judges...all the way up to Senator Chuck Schumer.
The club, unlike many clubs, is very open and transparent, and often video tape speeches given. NYC Comptroller, in his video below, even comments on how every time he comes to CBID, it is recorded.
I present these videos to show you WHY I am a Democrat. These folk are preaching to the choir, and, in the words of State Senator Eric Adams, sometimes we need choir practice. I present these videos to show all Democrats what they should be saying every day, very publicly. I append some other speeches that I consider particularly inspiring. I hope you are inspired as well.
NYC COMPTROLLER JOHN LIU AT CBID DINNER: (thanks to Raul Rothblatt)
My family and I have gotten to know John Liu pretty well over the last couple of years. In fact I think I was officially the first person to endorse him for Comptroller. Let me also say I support him for NYC mayor if/when he runs. He is brilliant (Ph.D. in mathematical physics or some such), competent (as a banker, progressive city councilman, and now as Comptroller). And he is never afraid to answer hard questions.
Here he is addressing NYC issues:
And a few days before the CBID dinner, John Liu was speaking to a CWA rally on April 4th to talk about unions and working class issues:
SENATOR CHUCK SCHUMER AT CBID DINNER: (thanks to Raul Rothblatt)
Talking about the budget bill, what we got and what we didn't get:
And while we're at it, let's not forget Chuck's fellow Senator from New York, Kristen Gillibrand, and her recent speech nailing the Republican war on women:
Rep. Anthony Weiner speaking at CBID 04-10-11: (thanks to Raul Rothblatt)
His version of Chuck's speech about what's up in Washington:
State Senator Eric Adams at CBID Awards Ceremony 4-10-11: I know Eric Adams has gotten involved in a bit of a mess recently, but man the guy can give a good speech and I sure wish EVERY Democrat was saying this stuff: (thanks to Raul Rothblatt)
Preaching to the choir about what it means to be a Democrat:
And an even better speech by Eric Adams is his now famous speech supporting Marriage Equality in New York:
And I should note that Eric Adams' colleague, Senator Diane Savino, gave an even more hearfelt speech in favor of Marriage Equality:
To those who forget why we are Democrats, look to these speeches, made publicly and openly. In my book, this is how real Democrats sound. And no one inspires me more than a real Democrat speaking out like a read Democrat. And I just hope more are inspired to speak out on key progressive issues like union rights, marriage equality, civil rights, human rights, etc. etc.