BOSTON, July 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The following are remarks by Mark Brewer, Vice Chair, Democratic National Committee, Democratic National Convention, Monday, July 26, 2004:

I'm here to represent all of our state parties, but I'm especially proud of my own Michigan Democratic party. We meet together with America standing at a crossroads. Never has America had more to gain or more to lose. The contrast between the two parties and the two candidates could not be more dramatic, the consequences for the future never more important. The institution that will determine the battle for the heart, the soul, and the future of America is the Democratic Party.

As president of the Association of State Democratic Chairs, I come before you to report that the state democratic parties across the nation are strong, well-trained, and eager for battle.

Just ask Scott Maddox, state chair in Florida, or Amy Burks in Alabama. Ask Denny Pharrel from New York, or Art Torres from California. Every state chair can tell you that Democrats are ready to steer this country back on the right course towards affordable health care and better education; towards global security and a growing middle class.

We are a party of substance, not symbolism. We are a party of action, not rhetoric. And we are a party with a record of achievement in these and so many other areas. We have a great challenge ahead of us: an America stagnated by record deficits and lost jobs; an America that has squandered its respect abroad; an America that is still not safe from terrorism.

But we have overcome challenges before. This Democratic Party, just a few short years ago, created the longest economic expansion in history, an economic record of sustained and responsible growth for all the nations on earth. And now it is time for us to renew those values of hope and opportunity. It is time for us to restore America's strength and revive our role as a leader in the world.

My fellow delegates, we are the foot soldiers of this great battle, which will unfold in 169,000 precincts throughout our great democracy, and in our hands rests the future of progressive, tolerant, and responsive government in America.

This is an awesome duty for us, but in the words of a son of Massachusetts, President John Fitzgerald Kennedy; we do not shrink from this responsibility; we welcome it.

Thank you.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

CONTACT:  Peggy Wilhide of the Democratic National Convention Committee,
+1-617-366-3100

Web site:  http://www.dems2004.org/