Israel Addresses Democratic Convention; Blasts GOP

appeared on the national stage Wednesday, making a forceful case to re-elect President Obama in the November election.

In a speech delivered from the podium of the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C. Wednesday evening, the blamed Congressional Republicans for abandoning the middle class.

"President Obama will bet on America's middle class," said Israel, D-Dix Hills, in his six-minute speech. "We will protect that dream. That's the choice in this election." 

Israel ticked off the Democratic litany of bills opposed by many Congressional Republicans, including the Lilly Ledbetter Fair Pay Act, which would provide women equal pay for equal work. He spoke of federal legislation that provided long-term health care for first responders at Ground Zero.

"Paul Ryan and 160 Republicans, they voted no!" Israel said, to jeers from the partisan crowd.

Israel said Romney-Ryan Republicans are working for: "tax breaks for big corporations sending jobs overseas."

"Instead of reauthorizing the 'Violence Against Women Act,' they tried to redefine rape," Israel said. "Instead of standing up for small businesses, they spent their time trying to shut down Planned Parenthood."

Israel, like many Democrats speaking during the early portion of Wednesday night's program, hammered away at Romney and Ryan.

"Here's their economic plan: If you're a millionaire, you win the lottery," Israel said. "If you're a senior, you lose your Medicare guarantee.

"They've had two years to put the middle class first. Time's up. Folks, we're not going to convince them. We have to replace them."

Israel spoke about the Long Island he grew up in, where farm fields grew into suburbs and factories that employed tens of thousands.

"Faced with war, that generation turned farmland into factories and became the backbone of America's middle class," he said. "They crossed oceans, stormed beaches, liberated Europe, raced to the Pacific, won the war. And when they got home, they looked at the moon across the vast expanse of space and said, 'We can go there too.' And they went."

Israel was one of the scores of Democratic speakers, highlighted by former President Bill Clinton, scheduled for Wednesday. Israel is opposed by Republican Steve Labate in the November election.