It was interesting, that grew up in New Hampshire, which is a mill town. He didnt have a clue which side of an ax to hold. [laughter] but leaving the wood pile a little higher resonates with me particularly today in these times we are in because the man that is occupying the white house wants nothing more than to ood pileat wouldw down. People ask me, what did you come out in endorse cory so early . So many answers come to mind. Is a great to be how he was an amazing mayor of a tough city, in the midst of one of the worst recessions the country has ever seen, and came out of it being successful . [applause] aboutit is going to be how he has shown such incredible leadership in the United States senate particularly being willing to sit down with folks on the other side to pass historic criminal Justice Reform in this country. [applause] thank you for that. Great ands about the that he has demonstrated after decades of ,ervice in new jersey politics something that is not easy for the faint of heart. Digit no, he and seated a mayor who was incumbent for 29 years, and was as corrupt as they come . If that is not resonating with you right now, i dont know what is. [applause] know, one of the biggest reasons i decided to endorse senator booker was because this election is about a hell of a lot more than just beating donald trump. It really is. This election is about who we are and who we aspire to be as americans. Think of anybody else but i would entrust that sacred duty to come in to lead us beyond this dark chapter of our history than my friend, my brother senator cory booker. ,[cheers and applause] sen. Booker thank you very much. Thank you very much. This is awesome. To sue and tom who opened their home for me and for all of us, that is extraordinary that you would create a space for the community to come together. Please give them a round of applause. [applause] i am going to out sue because you are a jersey girl, born in maplewood. And they know that sometimes i start sweating when i am talking, and they have a pool right here. [laughter] you guys heard from one of our mighty organizers here, and it is not easy to stand in front of crowds period. When i was a younger person, my biggest fear in life was being in front of crowds. But she just stood up and she not only talked about why she is endorsing and supporting me and working so hard, but she told her own truth. In a nation that still has failed in believing people when they come forward and tell their truth. And for her to take her pain and channel it into purpose, to stand up and understand that we need to listen to each other, understand each other and more important, we need to address the persistent injustices that exist. Would you please give her one more round of applause as well . [applause] sen. Booker where did david disappear to . There are two state senators i love, one is like silent bob, for crying out loud. Where is david . There he is. I want to thank david for coming forward and endorsing. We are the only campaign that has had state senators come forward and endorse, and that means extraordinary things to me. I want to thank them. We are guys that have women in our lives that are extraordinary, but we are not afraid to say we have a series man crush going on. [laughter] i just want to say, ke, are you here, but . John . She is over at the house with the kids . Creating a vegan meal for me when i get there tonight. Both of these guys have become friends. He has traveled. Iowa,as gone with me to it is extraordinary. When you endorse a man, you dont play around. I want to thank you for that, both of the state senators here, thank you. So you guys are in my roaming territory. Marianne, sorry about this, but i just want to say this is what we are going to do. I will tell you about why i am running, and then lets have at it. Lets have open questions with anyone that wants to have a conversation. You scanand that cameras are here, so not only are there are 20 people here, but there is at least 16 people watching at home. 60 including my mom. [applause] [laughter] mom, im running because i believe in us. I believe that we, at this point in our nations history, cannot fall into the trap of defining ourselves by what we are against. We cant define ourselves by what we are against. We must talk about what we are for and who we are for. We are running against somebody that wants to make this campaign all about him. I get frustrated and im going to vent a little bit. The numberone polling issue right now is that, i just want someone to defeat donald trump. And i want to tell you right now, i think we should have bigger aspirations than that. [applause] beating donald gets us out of the valley, but not to the mountaintop. I am like you, we all come from common ancestry, a common heritage and a common history. We all know this nation has been about values and principles. We have never been in our nations history free of demagoguery and hatemongers and fear mongers. Every generation has had that. What makes us unique, special as a country, we are not defined by that. We are defined by how we came together and overcame those things. Every generation think about it, mccarthyism, all the conflicts, there was an entire viable Political Party that rose up using the same rhetoric as this current president , and antiimmigration party called the knownothings. Back then, they were against the irish and the italians. And we overcame them. There is no monument to demagogues. There is no monument to hatemongers in our country. We overcame them by talking about who we are. Daily beat bull connor in birmingham by bringing bigger dogs and bigger fire horses and bigger fire hoses . No. Vercame that this is not a referendum on one guy in one office. It is a referendum on who we are and who we must be to each other. And we are all here, not because of the worst of our traditions, we are here because of the best, common sacrifice and common cause. People look at the lines that divided us like our race, religion, orientation, no, we are here because of the ties ties that bind us. Because people understood that we can elevate leaders who understand. You cant lead the people if you dont love the people. Patriotism is the love of country but you cant love your country unless you love your fellow countrymen and women. [applause] sen. Booker let me tell you. Dont get me wrong. I have people saying, he is this new age guy no. Love is not a sentiment, not a kumbaya feeling, love is sacrifice, love is, if your kids dont have a Great Public School to go to, my kids are less off. If your kids dont have great health care, my family is less off. We all have stories like this. [applause] this tradition. Let me tell you real quick 50 years ago this summer, my parents were trying to move into my favorite new state, they this is my second favorite new state [laughter] sen. Booker they tried to move into new jersey but every time they showed up in our north easternmost county, they would see a black family coming to these neighborhoods with Great Schools and they would make up a lie, this house was sold, this is pulled off the market. My parents were in distress. So my parents found a group of activists, diverse, mostly white folks who were patriots, who got together on weekends for their country and they said, im sorry, we are not a country of hate, we are not defined by the darkness, we are always defined by our light. And they set up a sting operation. I call it a conspiracy of love. They basically said, hey, go out and look at a house, if you are told it is sold, we will send in a white couple right behind you and pretend they are homebuyers. That is what happened. The volunteer white couples, the house i grew up in, my parents were told it was sold, the volunteer white couple came, and they were told the house was still for sale. They acted like they loved the house. Look at this molding, look at this bathroom. They put a bid on the house. The bid was accepted, papers were drawn up, the closing was set, and at the Realtors Office on the day of the closing, the white couple did not show up, my dad did. [applause] sen. Booker and a volunteer lawyer. And they walked in to confront the Real Estate Agent. This should be the end, but guess what, the Real Estate Agent was so upset, so angry, he punched my dads lawyer in the face. Ced the dog on my dad. You whentell i was growing up in this beautiful home, my dad would tell the story, the dog would get bigger. [laughter] eventually it was, i had to fight off a pack of wolves to get you this house, you better appreciate what you have got. [laughter] so after i went off to stanford, oxford, yale, my dad wasnt impressed, he said, this guy has more degrees in the month of july but she whitehot [laughter] i was fighting for peoples housing rights as a tenants rights lawyer. Because if people fought from a housing, i cant pay it back, but im got to pay it forward. [applause] that is not my story, this is americas story. We stand up for each other, lee invest in each other, we believe in each other, we are not like other countries, no common religion, we are not a theocracy. We didnt always dissent from the same family tree. We are not a monarchy. We believe in each other, founded on the ideal that we stand together and Work Together to put more indivisible into this one nation under god. We can do incredible things. [applause] every generation did that. 50 years ago, we were not only beating jim crow, but we put human beings on the moon. Im running for president because i believe in us and i believe our generation can defy gravity too, but that means standing up for each other. We still have a nation where we havent fully established through our laws what most americans believe, the health care is a right of american life. [applause] sen. Booker we are going backwards. Day and age, they believed if you worked in fulltime job, you shouldnt be in poverty. It here in newo hampshire with a 12 minimum wage, because right now you are below the poverty line. There is not a county in america that you could work a fulltime job at minimum wage and afford a twobedroom department. Not a county in america. This is why the issues i am running on are not just intricate policy plans. They just stand for common sense, right . That we treat each other with respect and dignity. We dont lock you up if you have a Mental Illness or addiction. We get you health care and help. That is why it is common sense. [applause] sen. Booker we call ourselves, we literally sing the song, home of the brave. But it is common sense to say, wait a minute, we have a crisis in america if 10 of our Homeless People are the brave, the veterans themselves. Thats why my policy starts with that idea, raising the minimum wage, massively expanding the earned income tax credit so that every person in this state, the early 150 million working americans would get a tax break. An understanding that in america, we have to see the struggles of each other. Most of you here know somebody who may be home right now taking care of someone with alzheimers, a special needs child, working around the clock. They dont qualify for the earned income tax credit now, but if i am president of the United States, they, too will get a credit from the government. [applause] it means, if you are born in this country, as a birthright, you should. The tax code right now prioritizes giving tax breaks to people with money to create more money. We should say is a birthright in america, that every child has an interest bearing savings account. [applause] my baby bonds bill would put 1000 into the account of every child, and based on the income of your parents you can get account000 into that and by the tammy r 18, the lowest income americans would have upwards of 50,000 to invest in college, buying a home, starting a business, to that the kinds of things build will show you, wealth and equality. Give everybody a foundation for success. Renters in america there is too many towns and where people are being priced out of where their families have lived for years. Tax credits would help them as well. If you are paying more than one third of your income on rent, you should get a break. I could go on, and i hope we get into policy here. But if you want to know why am running, it is this idea that we have to invest in each other again. We have to stand up for the common good and the common purpose, because our competitors are doing it. Look around the globe and you will see the cost of college in germany is 0. 4 of the median income, here in america it is between 50 and 60 . The cost in canada trudeau [laughter] sen. Booker that hair. [laughter] here in america it is between 50 and 60 . Our competitors know that, if you want to see the most valuable Natural Resource in a global, knowledgebased society, it is not oil or gas or coal, it is our children. [applause] we used to be the best educators on the planet but now other countries are outinvesting us. I stand for things that are just common sense. Other countries are doing it. We are the only industrial nation that doesnt have paid family leave, because other youtries understand, if want to raise great children, you have to prioritize them. Other countries have universal prenatal care. We lead industrial nations in infant mortality and Maternal Mortality because people dont get the health care they deserve. We are one of the nations that doesnt have universal preschool. We have to start thinking about what happens to us. Let me give you an obvious example but you can relate to. We have watched over the last decade china build 18,000 miles of highspeed rail. The busiest rail corridor in north america goes between new york and washington d c and runs about a halfmile slower than it did in 1960. You are still on commuter rails out of boston in this state. We used to understand the fight in this country was for common cause or common purpose. There is an old african saying that says, if you want to go fast, go along, but if you want to go far, go together. [applause] sen. Booker i want everybody here to think about if this is an election where you want to kick the tires and see the policy plans. Im listening to my colleagues. We all have ideas that are valuable. But this is a campaign that is not just about the head, it is about the heart, the spirit, the soul of our country. [applause] sen. Booker that is why i have to do some truth telling. If a candidate on the tells you what you want to hear, you are selling yourself. I want to be honest, i have a Different Campaign strategy. If you want somebody who is going to fight fire with fire, i me i ran a fire department, was not a good strategy. I was walking into an iowa town hall, i will never forget it, i was about to bound up on the excited, hundreds of people there. And this big guy me, a former tight end, former allamerican football player, and he puts his arm around me and goes, dude, i want you to punch donald trump in the face. [laughter] sen. Booker and i look at him thats a felony. [laughter] sen. Booker and i challenged him to the ground. I said, let me show you how we , at folks like donald trump guy that wants you to fight him on his terms, and his turf using his tactics. That is not how we win this election. Martin luther king said, what we have to reprint for the repent for in our generation is not the vitriolic words and violent actions of the bad people, it is the appalling silence and the inaction of good people. We are the good people. The majority of this country, dont lose faith in us. This is a referendum on us. This is a time where we cant just focus on one guy, because in communities like mine im the , only u. S. Senator that lives in a low Income Community below the poverty line. My Community Needs a lot more than just beating donald trump. With lead in our water, 3000 jurisdictions in america with children with more than twice the blood lead levels than flint, michigan. Worke on my block who fulltime jobs and still have to go to the bodega in my neighborhood and use foodstamp to feed their families. These are issues going on before donald trump. Seven people shot in my neighborhood just in the last two weeks. Boston just had a bloody stretch. These problems are not bigger than us. But i will tell you what gives it strength, it is not just a demagogue in washington, what gives us strength is that we are tearing ourselves apart as a country right now. There is a tribalism. Literally, if you look at the russians and their tactics and strategy, i see this in intelligence reports, they know to undermine our democracy is to divide us against each other. And this is why i am running for a Larger Movement than just one office and one person. I am running for the movement of our nation, to continue the cause of our country, to try to unite people and create a new american majority. That doesnt mean all democrats. A new american majority means we can reach out to independents and hell, even republicans. Get everybody on board that we can get because the work of our country, from Climate Change to the immigration crisis, these are problems that cannot be solved with one faction against the other. We need to unify into a bigger majority in this country and get back to common sense and common cause. This is a story that i want to end to come on that note. What i am all about, what motivates me, what excites me every day is that i get to come out and talk about who we are and the truth of our past and the promise of our future. And this is not a new story, it is the second half of the story already told you. I got to the senate and decided to do what a lot of senators do who have a high sense of self regard. [laughter] sen. Booker i decided to write a book. And if your name is booker, there is a lot of pressure. You have to understand that. [laughter] sen. Booker so i decided to go back and find activists like you all, who met on weekends, likely are, and fought for housing rights, a black Family Moving into the neighborhood and ahead the head of that group, the head council, sheousing was really easy to find. Because at 92 years old, she is still the head of the fair housing council. And now she doesnt represent a lot of black folks in our town, she represents samesex couples, she represents americans with disabilities who are still denied justice. She represents multiple couples. Because to her, justice has no color, no orientation, no religion. It is one justice, one nation. One love. And when i go talk to her, she confirms a lot of the fact that the story. Wolves,ot a pack of people. [laughter] i talked to her and she said, talk to the lawyer who organized