Yes, we lost a tough one tonight, but I'm so proud of all of you here. you knew it was going to be a tough one, and you knew it was a likely longshot, but you never quit, you never gave in.
When the campaign needed cash, you dug down, even when there wasn't much to dig into. When the campaign needed volunteers, you were right on the front line, knocking on doors and making calls. When the campaign needed inspiration, you were there each and every day with great diaries, one after another, and even better commentary. I was truly proud to be a part of it.
We may have lost tonight, and yes, we may have been hit hard, and yes, it's painful, but we certainly aren't knocked out by any stretch of the imagination. As someone once remarked: "We have just begun to fight.
There will be many more battles in the future. Right now we need to pick ourselves up and get ready to come out punching. We need to tell our leaders that we need decisive leadership and real action on all the issues that matter. No, let me rephrase, we need to demand this of our leaders and representatives.
I, for one, don't want to see any more Scott Browns elected. And, I, for one, don't want to see this nations future held hostage by the likes of a Scott Brown. If this means we have to reduce a filibuster to 55 votes or lees, then let's do it.
I don't think we should care if we get accused of changing the rules in the middle of the game, because if we don't take decisive action to advance our agenda, the alternative will be to watch them pick us off one by one and once again render us powerless. We can't allow that to happen. We worked to hard for our victories to let them slip away.
We need to let them know that we haven't lost our hopes, and will never stop demanding the changes that we won in so many hard fought battles from 2006 to 2008. No, they aren't going to rob us of our time, and our future.
In the last 2 weeks, you all showed them how hard you could fight and as someone once said, they ain't seen nothing yet.
Somewhere up in Heaven, I'm sure Teddy Kennedy is very disappointed tonight, but if I know Teddy, he is, right now, saying that we should not despair, that we should never despair. He always had a vision of a better America. He always believed that one day this nation would be a better place to be part of, and he never gave up that fight.
Tonight I am entirely certain Ted Kennedy is telling us without hesitation that:
The Work Goes On, The Cause Endures, The Hope Still Lives, and the Dream Shall Never Die.
I am sorry sir that we let your seat slip away tonight, but I promise you, we will get it back, and we will always keep your dream alive.