The following is the text of the speech by Steve Beren in Yakima, Washington on May 27, 2006 at the Washington State GOP Convention. To view a video (approximately four minutes), CLICK HERE and drag to the 46:00 mark.
I’m Steve Beren, and I am proud to be your
candidate for Congress against Jim McDermott. I am asking each of you for your
support.
McDermott is one of the worst members of
congress. Ineffective, unethical, a far left extremist. And now he’s gotten
himself into legal trouble. He’s more vulnerable than ever, and that gives us
great opportunities to do things with this campaign that have never been done
before.
I am the perfect candidate to run against
McDermott. I am a former Democrat. I switched to the Republican Party at age
52, just like Ronald Reagan.
The 7th CD is now majority Democratic, but one day
it will be a majority Republican district. But in order for that to happen,
we’ve got to take a lot of CURRENT Democrats, and turn them into FORMER
Democrats (like me).
My race is a local campaign, but it also is a
national campaign. Jim McDermott is practically a poster child for the extremes
of the Democratic Party. He’s the one who leaves “under God” out of the Pledge
of Allegiance. We are going to hold his feet to the fire; we are going to hold
the national Democratic Party accountable for his extremism; and we are going to
make him a lightning rod and flashpoint for fundraising not just in Seattle, but throughout the country.
I am presenting strong conservative Republican
values and issues to the entire electorate.
We are “one team, with one mission.” My campaign
platform represents that mission: we are for lower taxes, tough border security,
and victory in the war on terrorism.
I support our troops in Iraq. They are today’s “band of
brothers.” I support them and I support their mission. Their mission is our
mission.
But Jim McDermott has called our troops in
Iraq
“a continued irritant.”
Actually it is McDermott who is an irritant to the state of Washington. If ever a congressman should
pursue an “exit strategy,” it’s Jim McDermott.
I am asking each of you to give me your support
and your money. My business card is a campaign envelope. And my business is
running for congress against Jim McDermott. Your money will get me on radio and
TV, and I will represent your ideas, your concerns, your interests, your issues,
your dreams.
I make this pledge to you: my campaign will help
strengthen the Republican Party and will increase Republican turnout. With your
support, I will help change the political atmosphere in the
Pacific Northwest
. Thank you, and God Bless
America
.
DONATE TO BEREN FOR
CONGRESS!
To Donate Online, CLICK HERE
To Donate by U.S. mail, make checks to Beren for Congress and
send to:
Beren for Congress
1916 Pike Place #12667
Seattle, WA 98101 |
