Good morning and thank you all for coming.
Today I announce my candidacy for United States Senator from the State of New York.
 | This is the culmination of a lifetime of commitment, advocacy and public service on behalf of New Yorkers - everyday New Yorkers who struggle to make ends meet, who worry about their jobs and car payments, |
30 years ago, I made a career choice to enter public service. That commitment has never wavered. There is a simple reason for that: no where does a person have a better opportunity to help strengthen our community, than in service to its citizens. I have long believe that the first order of government is the protection of its citizens, and that each of us has an obligation to be the voice of the voiceless, the alienated, the disenfranchised -the people who never thought they had a chance.
For the past 30 years, it has been my job - each and everyday to work for New Yorkers, to protect them and defend them. My candidacy is a continuation of that public service on behalf of all New Yorkers.
Now, I believe it is time to take the fight to the next level - its time for our voices to be heard in the United States Senate.
Throughout my career, serving the people of New York as a judge and a prosecutor, I have refused to follow the political agendas of either the extreme left or the extreme right. I have always put people's interests first, and I always will.
Because, to me, the fight is about what is right, what is fair and what is just. No one and no agenda trump that.
I decide issues, based upon the facts before me, and the core moral values I learned from my parents growing up in a small town in upstate New York, not on the basis of what politics dictate:
As such, I support making President Bush's tax cuts permanent -- but I also support the right of a woman to choose.
I support the President on the War on Terror. But I also believe that the assault weapons ban should not have been allowed to expire.
I believe in immigration - we are all the sons and daughters of immigrants who settled here in search of freedom -- but I also believe in the Patriot Act so we can better fight the war on terror.
Likewise, I believe that stem cell research is important to finding cures for diseases that have long plagued so many. I believe the restrictions imposed by President Bush were wrong and applaud Senator Frist for showing real leadership on this issue. But I also believe in the Unborn Victims of Violence Act, named after Laci and Connor Peterson - criminals must be made accountable for the whole of the havoc they wreak.
I am running for the Senate because New York deserves a Senator who will give her all to the people of New York for a full term - full time -- and not miss votes to campaign in the 2008 Presidential primaries. You can't run for two offices at the same time.
New York deserves a Senator who has New York's interests at heart - not the divided loyalties of one seeking to satisfy the needs of the people in Iowa, New Hampshire or Florida.
When Hillary first came to New York and said she wanted to be a New Yorker, she asked us to put out a welcome mat and New York did. But now she wants to use New York as a doormat to the White House. New York deserves better. If Hillary wants to be President, she should be honest with herself and her constituents -- and say so.
When Hillary Clinton first moved to our state, she went on a listening tour to learn about New York. She claimed she heard New Yorkers concerns. She made a lot of promises. Like the promise of tens of thousands of new jobs for upstate New York.
I wonder if she has forgotten what she heard on that tour. Even worse, forgotten about the promises she made to New Yorkers.
Hillary Clinton has shortchanged New York; she hasn't delivered and she will find out that the people of New York have not forgotten her empty promises.
But I am not Hillary Clinton.
I am a New Yorker through and through. I was born and grew up in Elmira, where my mom still lives. As a teenager, I worked in a dairy and was the first in my family to graduate from college. I went to college in Buffalo and law school in Albany, served as a county judge, and now I serve as the DA of Westchester, where I live and raise my family.
As DA, I have seen the problems innocent victims face and I've taken action to find solutions. I've battled to change our laws so we can protect battered women, abused children and the elderly; so that we can hold pedophiles accountable; mandate DNA testing for convicted criminals; fight public corruption and stop the too often deadly practice of underage drinking with its tragic consequences for our youth.
As District Attorney, I have battled to protect our families against gang violence, fraud, internet child pornography, pedophilia, drugs and identity theft.
I've aggressively prosecuted those who pollute our environment to ensure that our air and water are clean for our children for generations to come.
I have taken on the mob, prosecuted deadbeats who skip out on child support, headed one of the nation's first domestic violence and child abuse units, created high-tech crimes and environmental crimes bureaus and when people were targeted because of the color of their skin, their religion or ethnicity, I fought for hate crimes legislation to protect them.
I have fought to change laws in Albany to keep sexually violent predators off the streets and prevent them from moving from community to community in order to hide their past so they can abuse again. I believe every parent has a right to know who these pedophiles are and where they live.
Certainly, as a judge and a prosecutor, I have dedicated myself to insuring the safety and security of our citizens. But security is much more than protection against crime.
Security also means knowing you'll have the financial resources to take care of yourself and your loved ones in your golden years. Security means growing our communities economically to create long-term job stability. Security means having access to affordable medical care when you need it. And that kind of security will be my mission in Washington.
There are so many issues facing New York and our Nation that deserve a full discussion during the next 15 months, and I look forward to addressing them in greater detail in the weeks and months ahead. You will know where I stand on the issues, from making tax cuts permanent to guaranteeing our children the education they deserve by holding schools accountable for the job they are entrusted to do.
Like many New Yorkers, I am tired of the bickering that has tied our Nation's political system in knots. There are many good Republicans, as there are many good Democrats, and their voices must triumph over the extremists.
The United States Senate has seen increasing partisanship and polarization. Just a few months ago, the Senate was almost torn apart when Democrats used the right of filibuster indiscriminately to block too many of the President's judicial nominees and the Senate majority leader threatened the "nuclear option" to end all filibusters.
A group of fourteen Senators -- seven Democrats led by Joe Lieberman and seven Republicans led by John McCain -- fashioned a compromise whereby both parties would be reasonable and respectful of one another's rights. Hillary Clinton chose to remain with the partisan Democrats in the standoff against partisan Republicans. I would have joined the moderates as their fifteenth member. I pledge to you that as your Senator, I will not be part of the problem in the United States Senate. Instead, I will stand with those who work to craft solution.
Recently, Hillary Clinton decided to attack all Republicans by claiming we are "tearing down the blocks of democracy one by one by one."
Hillary Clinton may believe that all Republicans are cut from the same cloth but that's just a convenient excuse to avoid a real debate. In this race, Hillary Clinton will have to put away her litmus test and run against me on the merits.
I'm Republican red on fiscal policy with conservative beliefs on making tax cuts permanent, but I've got broad blue stripes on the social issues that don't change based on the office I am running for.
I pledge to run a campaign on the merits and will not stoop to negative character assassination of my opponent. I challenge her, and her surrogates, to do the same. I will campaign on the issues that define me and those issues that matter most to the people of New York. You will know where my opponent and I disagree and where we agree. For while we are from different political parties, no one candidate or party owns any issue and no party owns my vote on any issue.
As your Senator, I will be what I have always been: an outspoken advocate for those in need, a crusader against injustice and a believer in the American dream of a level playing field for all.
But mostly, I'm the one candidate running for Senator from New York who really wants to be Senator from New York.
And I'm going to win.
Thank you.
Source: jeaninepirro2006.com more at Jeanine Pirro or HILLARY CLINTON and New York Senate or republican and republicans
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