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I spent this weekend in El Paso at the 2024 Texas Democratic Convention, and it was a breath of fresh air just to be around Texas Democrats. The excitement, the passion, the values, the pride, and the unyielding commitment were on full display. It felt so good to be home.
When I was invited to speak at this year’s convention, there was no doubt in my mind what I wanted to say. I wanted to offer a love letter to what it means to be a Texan, and specifically, the Texas Democrats who have guided my path in life and continue to do so.
The original speech I wrote was a bit long, and after a kind and very reasonable request from convention staff, I trimmed a few minutes off it, but I want to include here the text that I had to cut, so the remarks that are italicized indicate they were in the original speech but not what folks saw at the convention.
I implore folks to support Texas Democrats this year. I’ve rarely seen such energy as I saw this weekend. Folks are putting in the work, and it shows. I am optimistic about November.
Please consider donating to Texas Democrats right here, Annie’s List (supporting women candidates) right here, and Find Out PAC, a project started by the legendary Gina Ortiz Jones to beat extremist Republicans on the Texas Supreme Court, right here.
I’m including the video of the speech below for those who’d like to watch it, and below that will be the full text of my remarks:
FULL REMARKS (italicized text in original speech but not during delivery):
My name is Charlotte Clymer, my pronouns are she/her, and I am proud to be from the Great State of Texas.
I currently live in our nation’s capital, and often, when I meet someone for the first time and they ask where I’m from and I tell them, they’ll have a look of sympathy on their face and say something like: “Oh, I’m sorry. That sounds terrible.” And they mean it.
And when that happens, I respond that I’m actually very proud to be from Texas. I love Texas.
And the sympathetic look on their face will vanish and, in its place, will be confusion and incredulity.
They’ll say to me: “But Charlotte, you’re a Democrat. You’re pro-choice. You support abortion access. You’re a trans woman. How can you be proud to be from Texas?”
And I realize, in that moment, they truly don’t get it. So, I gotta tell them.
I tell them that I am from the home of Barbara Jordan, and that during the Watergate scandal, when Americans felt so alarmed and uncertain about our country’s leadership, the conscience of our nation was a Black queer woman from Texas.
I tell them that I’m from the home of Gov. Ann Richards and that long before these extremist male politicians were so threatened by women controlling their own destiny, Gov. Richards was making it look easy, backwards and in high heels.
I tell them that I am from the home of Wendy Davis and Molly Cook and Julian Castro and Joaquin Castro and Gina Ortiz Jones and Molly Ivins. I’m from the home of Celia Israel and Beto O’Rourke and Gene Wu and Monique Alcala and Becca DeFelice.
I tell that them that if they listen to Willie Nelson and Beyoncé and Selena, they are listening to Texas music.
I tell them that when they watch Simone Biles dominate the Paris Olympics this summer, they are watching a Texas woman do that.
I tell them that I’m from the home of Sheila Jackson Lee and Sylvia Garcia and Lizzie Fletcher and Greg Casar. I’m from the home of Veronica Escobar and Al Green and Marc Veasey and Vicente Gonzalez and Lloyd Doggett.
I tell them that I am from the home of Jasmine Crockett.
I tell them that I am from the home of Sarah Weddington and Cecile Richards and Ilyse Hogue and Kate Cox and millions of Texas women who refuse to be told what they can and cannot do with their own health care.
These women terrify the leadership of the Republican Party for a very simple reason: because they know what every Texan knows, regardless of party or ideology or religion or race: they know that there is nothing as powerful as a Texas woman with a plan.
I’m from the home of Colin Allred, the son of a single mother and public school teacher, who will be the next senator from the great State of Texas. And it’s not because he has embodied a high standard of excellence his entire life (although he has). I’s not because he’s a beloved and respected Member of Congress (although he is). It’s because Texans know, deep down, that Colin Allred is not the kind of man who’s gonna fly off to Cancun in the middle of a natural disaster.
I’m from the home of Dr. Kristin Hook. She’s a former public school teacher and scientist and labor organizer. And when she saw that Chip Roy might be reelected by default, despite his obstruction, despite his irresponsibility, despite his lack of care and attention to the needs of working-class families, she thought to herself: “I can do better than this.” She is now the Democratic nominee for the 21st congressional district of Texas. And folks, she’s gonna win.
I’m from the home of Lauren Ashley Simmons, a brilliant union organizer and mom who showed up to her local school board meeting in the face of a cowardly and cynical effort by Greg Abbott to take over her children’s school district. She looked at the absolute nonsense occurring in front of her and thought: “You know what, I can do better than this.” She came to that meeting as a concerned parent and left as a leader ready to change things. She is now the Democratic nominee for Texas House District 146. And folks, she’s gonna win.
I tell folks that I am from the home of nearly 400,000 Texas public school teachers and professional support staff who are overworked and underpaid and under-resourced and yet still come to schools every day ready to fight for the future of every young person. Did you what I said? Every young person, regardless of their religion or their race or their economic background or whether or not they are transgender.
I tell folks that no matter what I accomplish in this lifetime, every bit of success I have ever achieved would not be possible without my Texas public school education and the teachers who never gave up on me.
And I have a message for transgender and nonbinary youth in Texas: you are loved, you are important, you deserve happiness and authenticity, and we will never stop fighting for you.
And I tell them that I come from the home of Carolyn Wilson. That’s my grandmother. I know what it means to be a Texan because of my grandmother. She taught me that being a Texan means community. It means helping your neighbor. It means lending a hand to the most vulnerable. Being a Texan means no one gets left behind.
My grandmother is an atheist, but when I became a Christian at 19, she didn’t hesitate to show up to my baptism and tell me that she’s proud of me. When I enlisted in the Army, my grandmother wrote me at basic training every week with encouragement, challenging me to reach a higher standard. When I came out as a trans woman, my grandmother told me how proud she is to have me as her granddaughter.
The leadership of the Republican Party lives in fear of people like my grandmother because she is closer to the love and grace and empathy of God than they care to understand.
They live in fear of meeting a reasonable adult who disagrees with them and defies being put in a box. I’m a progressive, pro-choice trans woman, and I am a Christian military veteran from Texas. They can’t stand me because I make it impossible for them to place me in a box. I make it harder for them to divide people and pit Americans against each other.
And I’m a Democrat because the Democratic Party has no time for that. Texas Democrats have no time for that. There are working class families to support, homeless veterans to house, minimum wage workers to be helped, gun reform to be achieved, health care to be expanded, children to be fed and educated, civil rights to advance, democracy to be defended, and a country, a proud country, to believe in.
Folks, I wanna be very clear about this: we’re gonna win in November. President Biden and Vice President Harris will be reelected, Colin Allred will be in the Senate, and we will take back the House.
And Texas Democrats are going to lead the way.
God bless America. God bless Texas.
Thank you.
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