There's a battle beginning in Congress over civil rights. Those in favor of gay rights are attempting what might become the last legislative battle they ever have to fight. Those against gay rights are attempting to legalize discrimination against gay people -- married gay people in particular. Both are reactions to the Supreme Court ruling that gay marriage is a civil right for everyone in America, of course. And, because of the timing, both issues will likely resonate in the presidential nomination contests currently underway.

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Yes, it's true. This past weekend, I joined 11,000 other people in Phoenix to "feel the Bern," as the supporters of Bernie Sanders would put it. Sanders held a rally in the city immediately after the Netroots Nation conference concluded, which made it pretty easy for me to attend (and take a few photos). Netroots routinely draws a crowd of around 3,000, so even if everyone from the conference went to the Bernie rally (actually, not everyone did), the conference crowd could only roughly have been about a quarter of the people there to see Bernie. The rest were locals from a very red state. All there to feel the Bern, as it were.

All photographs © Chris Weigant 2015

This applied to both young and old. Since I got there a bit early, I was able to circulate among the people streaming in to see Sanders. I saw a child working on his own "Feel The Bern!" sign, and talked to a woman who told me Sanders was only the second "real" politician she had ever been excited about (the first being Eugene McCarthy).

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It's time once again to take a look at the vastness of the Republican field of candidates for president. The last time I devoted an article to the Republican primary race was back in May, so like it or not, the time has come again.

Of course, while several candidates have made formal announcements since then, in my previous column I was assuming most of them would run anyway, so the list was already 14 people long. As of today, the total stands at 16 formally-declared candidates, with one more (Jim Gilmore) waiting in the wings to make his announcement. But since no polls are currently even including Gilmore, we're going to ignore him for the time being.

This leaves us with the 14 previous candidates and two additions -- one at the very top of the polling and one at the very bottom. George Pataki isn't exactly riding a wave of support since he announced, but Donald Trump certainly has captured the base's attention. Trump went from nowhere to sitting on the very top of the polls -- the most recent poll (all data is from Real Clear Politics) has him at a whopping 24 percent -- much higher than any other Republican has managed for the entire race.

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This is going to be a column about Netroots Nation, who showed up and who didn't, and what happened that got everyone talking. But before we get to all of that, I'm going to go off on a tangent and tell a personal story. Hey, it's my first day back, and things are still a bit foggy, so you'll have to bear with me for a bit.

If I had to slap a headline on my travels to and from the Netroots conference in Phoenix, I'd have to use: "Disaster Follows In My Wake." I was coming from Northern California, and I drove a new route (for me) across the desert. Part of it included driving on a very short stretch of Interstate 15, near San Bernardino. Then I hooked up with I-10 and took it all the way across the Arizona border and into Phoenix. Before I got home, a wildfire actually burned up cars and semis on that stretch of I-15, and a bridge collapsed on I-10 near the border, taking out a major Interstate until they can rebuild the entire bridge. While I was there, it rained in Phoenix, in the Valley of the Sun -- a hard enough thunderstorm to be called a "monsoon" by the locals. Coming back (luckily, we took a different route to get back), we got rained on in the middle of the Mojave Desert. Now, I've been rained on before in Death Valley, but that was something like two minutes of a few tiny drops. This was a whole different story. It was pouring cats and dogs when we drove through Barstow, and going down the mountain pass into Tehachapi it rained so hard the freeway slowed to about 40 miles per hour. In July. I have no idea what to make of all this, but had to toss out my own personal travel story before addressing the convention itself, because as you can see it wasn't exactly a boring trip.

As for the Netroots Nation convention itself, the most notable thing was that two Democratic candidates for president showed up, and three did not. Bernie Sanders and Martin O'Malley were both on hand to court Lefties, but I had to wonder where Hillary Clinton was. Lincoln Chafee seems to barely be running, so it's easy to see why he might not have had the cash on hand for a plane ticket. Jim Webb seems to only be courting Southern white voters, so he may have made a conscious decision to snub Netroots. But Hillary's absence was indeed notable.

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[This is a continuing series of candidate speech transcripts from all the Democratic presidential campaigns, which will be running all week long. Please see the introduction to this series for more information.]

Bernie Sanders

https://berniesanders.com/

Bernie Sanders Announcement Speech

Waterfront Park, Burlington, Vermont
5/20/15

Thank you all very much for being here and for all the support that you have given me over the years: as the mayor of this great city, as Vermont's only congressman and now as a U.S. senator. Thanks also to my longtime friends and fellow Vermonters Bill McKibben, Brenda Torpey, Donna Bailey, Mike O'Day and Ben and Jerry for all that you do -- and for your very generous remarks. Thanks also to Jenny Nelson for moderating this event and for your leadership in Vermont agriculture.

I also want to thank my family: My wife Jane, my brother Larry, my children Levi, Heather, Carina and Dave for their love and support, and my seven beautiful grandchildren -- Sonny, Cole, Ryleigh, Grayson, Ella, Tess and Dylan who provide so much joy in my life.

Today, here in our small state -- a state that has led the nation in so many ways -- I am proud to announce my candidacy for president of the United States of America.

Today, with your support and the support of millions of people throughout this country, we begin a political revolution to transform our country economically, politically, socially and environmentally.

Today, we stand here and say loudly and clearly that: "Enough is enough. This great nation and its government belong to all of the people, and not to a handful of billionaires, their Super-PACs and their lobbyists."

Brothers and sisters: Now is not the time for thinking small. Now is not the time for the same-old/same-old establishment politics and stale inside-the-Beltway ideas.

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[This is a continuing series of candidate speech transcripts from all the Democratic presidential campaigns, which will be running all week long. Please see the introduction to this series for more information.]

Hillary Clinton

https://www.hillaryclinton.com/

Introduction to Roundtable Discussion

Rancho High School, North Las Vegas, Nevada
5/5/15

It is wonderful to be back in Nevada and at Rancho. I am delighted to be joined by a number of young people who are going to talk with me, and all of you, about their lives and their stories, particularly immigration. I want to acknowledge my friend and Congresswoman Dina Titus for being here, thank you. And it is Cinco De Mayo, so it's an especially appropriate day to be having this conversation.

I want to begin by thanking everyone at Rancho High School for hosting us today. I am looking forward to hearing from each of our panel participants. I have wonderful memories from my time here in Nevada. I have gone door to door meeting with families not far from this school. I've met with a lot of culinary workers and other workers who keep the economy going strong. I accompanied a registered nurse on her 12-hour shift at St. Rose Dominican Hospital and then was very pleased to go back to her home and have dinner with her kids.

I know how hard hit Nevadans were by the Great Recession. This state in particular suffered some very tough blows. There was a much higher than average foreclosure rate, for example. A lot of people lost their jobs or their hours were cut dramatically, which made it more difficult for them to continue to make a good living.

We now see that this state is coming back from these tough economic times. Families have found a lot of different ways to make it work for them. We also saw people once again starting businesses, thinking about sending their kids to college, maybe doing some of those home repairs, maybe putting a little aside for retirement. But we're not yet back on our feet.

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[This is a continuing series of candidate speech transcripts from all the Democratic presidential campaigns, which will be running all week long. Please see the introduction to this series for more information.]

Lincoln Chafee

http://www.chafee2016.com/

Lincoln Chafee Announcement Speech

George Mason University, Fairfax, Virginia
6/4/15

Good afternoon;

Thank you for inviting me. Mixing foreign policy and politics is an invitation I couldn't pass up! It's a pleasure to be here at George Mason University -- which is named for one of the many great contributors to the best form of government on Earth.

As prescribed by our Constitution, which George Mason helped write, we will be electing a new President in 2016. I enjoy challenges and certainly we have many facing America.

Today I am formally entering the race for the Democratic nomination for President.

If we as leaders show good judgment and make good decisions, we can fix much of what is ailing us.

We must deliberately and carefully extricate ourselves from expensive wars. Just think about how better this money could be spent.

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[This is a continuing series of candidate speech transcripts from all the Democratic presidential campaigns, which will be running all week long. Please see the introduction to this series for more information.]

Martin O'Malley

https://martinomalley.com/

Governor O'Malley Announces For President

Baltimore, Maryland
5/30/15

My fellow Americans:

I want to talk with you today about The American Dream we share -- its powerful history, its current condition, and most importantly, its urgent need for rebuilding.

Our nation was founded on two self-evident truths: That all of us are created equal. And that we are endowed by our Creator with the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

With these words, the American dream began. No fine print. No expiration date. All of us are included. Women and men. Black and white people. Irish Americans, Asian Americans, Latino Americans, Native Americans. Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Americans. Young and old. Rich and poor. Workers and business owners. Gay, lesbian, transgender and straight Americans. Every person is important, each of us is needed.

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[This is the first of a continuing series of candidate speech transcripts from all the Democratic presidential campaigns, which will be running all week long. Please see the introduction to this series for more information.]

Jim Webb

https://www.webb2016.com/

Speech to the International Association of Firefighters

Washington, D.C.
3/10/15

I would like to thank my good friend Harold Schaitberger, who as you know began his firefighting career in Fairfax, Virginia, for his kind invitation to join you today.

It's been a while since I've spoken to your group but I think I can safely say that I am still the only person ever elected to statewide office in Virginia with a union card, two Purple Hearts, and three tattoos.

It is good to be back with friends.

On a wall in my house to this day is a photo that was on the front page of the Washington Post on November 10, 2006 -- the morning after we were declared the winner in one of the toughest Senate races in the country, defeating an entrenched incumbent and bringing a Democratic majority to the United States Senate. The photo was taken at a massive, spontaneous rally in the Arlington Courthouse Square. My wife Hong stands on one side of me, Senator Chuck Schumer is on the other, and in that one shot, standing behind me and around me, are five firefighters, holding up signs that said "Firefighters for Webb." You helped me get there. We worked hard together after I got there. And I have to say, honestly, that you are the only group that ever out-hustled Chuck Schumer to get into the middle of a picture.

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[Update: Here are links to the speeches, in the order that they ran in:]

Jim Webb

Martin O'Malley

Lincoln Chafee

Hillary Clinton

Bernie Sanders

For the next few days, we're going to present the full text of speeches given by Democratic candidates for president. We did this back in 2007, and we still feel it's an important thing to do.

You can read my original thoughts on why I felt this sort of thing was a public service, from back then, if you'd like (I go into the reasons more extensively than I'm going to today). In a nutshell, this is a throwback to an earlier age. Long ago, when presidential candidates gave speeches, the local and national media would just print the text of the entire speech. That fell by the wayside quite a while ago, obviously. But what campaign journalism has morphed into is nothing more than "horserace" articles (Who's up? Who's down?) and chasing "gotcha" scoops and gaffes from the candidates.

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