Kal Penn's DNC Speech

Actor and political activist Kalpen Modi's full speech at the 2012 Democratic National Convention. Penn has spent President Obama's first term working in the White House and on his reelection campaign.

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[Off voice] Please welcome Kal Penn, actor and political activist.

[Applause and cheers, also interspersing the whole of Kal Penn's speech]

[Kal Penn] Hello! Thank you - thank you guys

Nice! See you're like that: thank you very much

I am honored to accept your nomination for president of the United States!

Wait, this is not my speech.

Prompter guy, can we pull up my speech, please?

This is awkward

So while we’re waiting:

I guess I should have a message,

a special message for those of you at home who have recently turned 18.

Good news. I can now legally register you to vote.

Now, I’ve worked on a lot of fun movies,

but my favorite job was having a boss who gave the order to take out bin Laden

and who’s cool with all of us getting gay-married.

So, thank you, invisible man in the chair, for that,

and for giving my friends access to affordable health insurance

and doubling funding for the Pell grants.

Now, I started volunteering for Barack Obama back in 2007.

But nothing compares to what I saw behind the scenes at the White House,

when I had the honor to serve for two years

as President Obama’s liaison to young Americans.

I saw how hard he fights for us.

And one of the most special days was a Saturday in 2012.

The Senate had repealed “don’t ask, don’t tell,”

so that anyone can serve the country they love, regardless of whom they love.

But that same day, the Dream Act was blocked.

That bill would give immigrant children

-who’ve never pledged allegiance to any flag but ours -

the chance to earn their citizenship. Simple. Important.

And I was in a small office on the second floor of the West Wing with eight other staffers

and we had worked our hearts out

and cared very deeply about what this would mean for other young people.

There wasn’t a dry eye in the room, tears of joy for the history that was made,

but also tears of sadness because some American dreams would still be deferred.

And about five minutes later, President Obama walked in, sleeves rolled up.

And he said to us, “This is not over. We’re gonna keep fighting. I’m gonna keep fighting.

I need young people to keep fighting.”

That’s why we’re here!

A few months later, President Obama fought to keep taxes

from going up on middle-class families.

Our Republican friends said, “Sure you can do that.”

But one of the things they were willing to trade

is a little item called the college tax credit,

which today is saving students up to $10,000 over four years of school.

Now, President Obama paid off his own student loans not too long ago.

So he remembers what that's like.

And he said that making it easier to go to college and get technical training

is exactly how we grow our economy and create jobs and out-compete the world.

So he stood firm. And that tuition tax credit is still there.

But here is the thing: if we don’t register, if we don’t vote, it won’t be.

I volunteered in Iowa in 2007 because, like you,

I had friends serving in Iraq, I had friends who were looking for jobs,

others who couldn’t go to the doctor because they couldn’t afford it.

I felt that had to change.

So I knocked on some doors.

I registered voters.

And I’m volunteering again

because my friend Matt got a job at a Detroit car company that still exists,

and Lauren can get the prescription that she needs.

I’m volunteering because Josiah is back from Iraq,

Chris is finishing college on the GI Bill,

and three weeks ago, my buddy Kevin’s boyfriend was able to

watch him graduate from Marine Corps training.

That’s change!

And we can’t turn back now.

So before I close

- and as I wonder which Twitter hash tags you’ll start using when I’m done talking,

hash tag #sexyface? -

I ask all of you young people to join me.

You don’t even have to put pants on.

Go to commit.barackobama.com and register right there.

And you know what? the oldies out there, you guys can do it too, OK?

Let’s keep fighting for a president who has never stopped fighting for us!

Go online.

Find your local campaign office.

Call your friends. Call some strangers. Volunteer.

That’s how we’re going to win this thing.

Now, I really, really enjoyed listening to Rahm’s speech.

But he’s a mayor now, so he can’t use four-letter words.

But I’m no mayor. So I’ve got one for you:

Vote.

Thank you very much.

(English captions based on the script in http://www.demconvention.com/pressrelease/2012-democratic-national-convention-remarks-as-prepared-for-delivery-by-kal-penn-actorproducer-former-associate-director-of-the-white-house-office-of-public-engagement/)