Proud Laredo native, University of Texas graduate and President of College Democrats of America Alejandra Salinas made a strong pitch at the Democratic National Convention for why young voters need to support President Barack Obama. Here's the video:
Alejandra hit the nail on the head in her speech: "Some people say young people aren't excited about this election; that it isn't about us. But the decisions made over the next four years will affect us more than anyone." Young voters need to get back to the polls to support Barack Obama, and we should be eager to do it because of the support Obama has given us.
Healthcare: Insured 3.1 million more young Americans through Obamacare, allowed people to stay on parents' plan to age 26, ended insurance companies' discrimination against people with pre-existing conditions
Education Access: Doubled Pell Grants, reformed student loans, created a path to student debt forgiveness, expanded the GI Bill
Economy and Jobs: 30 straight months of added jobs, 4.6 million new jobs created since he took office
Financial Reform: Signed a law protecting young people from abusive practices of the credit card industry, created Consumer Finance Protection Bureau to prevent worse abuses of big banks
LGBT Rights: Repeated Don't Ask Don't Tell, signed a Hate Crimes Protection Act, first sitting President to publicly support same-sex marriage
Women's Rights and Health: Signed Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act to end sex-based pay discrimination, expanded women's access to birth control and preventative care, supports abortion rights, and supports Planned Parenthood
Clean Energy: Doubled fuel efficiency standards, doubled wind and solar energy sources, invested in 15,000 clean energy projects that provided 225,000 jobs
Immigration: President Obama supports the DREAM Act and has already stopped deportations of DREAM-eligible students.
Meanwhile, Mitt Romney wants to shut down Planned Parenthood, opposes marriage equality and the DREAM Act, and wants to return to the robber-baron era of letting fat-cat corporatists rule the country while young people can't afford to get an education or pursue our dreams. Mitt Romney is out of touch with our generation's inclusive, open-minded cultural attitudes, and will do serious harm to our economic and educational opportunities.
Mitt Romney has called young Americans a "lost generation." Now, it's time for us young voters to tell Mitt Romney to get lost. Make sure you're registered to vote at your current address, so you can vote for President Barack Obama this November. Go to GottaRegister.com and get it done NOW. The future you save will be your own.
Want to learn more? Check out the gorgeous Young Americans for Obama website. Meanwhile, the full text of Alejandra's speech below the jump.
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Remarks as Prepared for Delivery by Alejandra Salinas, President of College Democrats of America
Buenas noches, democratas!
My name is Alejandra Salinas, a native of Laredo, a proud, recent graduate of the University of Texas, and on my way to law school at Boston College.
Four years ago, on campuses all across the country, young people rose up to change the course of American history. In record numbers, we came together and finally elected a president who understands our struggles, shares our dreams and believes in our future.
Some people say young people aren't excited about this election; that it isn't about us. But the decisions made over the next four years will affect us more than anyone. And on November 6th, we're going to send Barack Obama back to the White House!
Because of the president's Affordable Care Act, 3.1 million young Americans who were previously uninsured can stay on their parents' health insurance. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan want to repeal health reform and take that coverage away.
President Obama doubled funding for Pell Grants. Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan would cut scholarships that are so critical to creating opportunities for those that need them most.
This president, on so many issues-immigration, LGBT rights, women's health -has proven that he cares about all of us, and that he'll keep on expanding opportunity. As a young, LGBT Latina, it seems to me that Mitt Romney only cares about an elite few.
Mitt Romney recently called my generation a "lost generation." He's wrong. We know exactly where we're going: forward, not backward. We're going to register voters, knock on doors, turn out the vote-and on November 6th, re-elect our true champion, President Barack Obama!
