Bill Butcher, the owner and brewmaster at Alexandria’s Port City Brewing Company, put D.C.-area beer-making on a national stage last night when he got to address the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte, N.C.
Speaking in the 9 p.m. hour, Butcher spoke to a packed Time Warner Cable Arena about the Obama administration’s 2009 stimulus act and the crucial role that a Small Business Administration loan played in getting his brewery up and running.
In his two-minute speech, Butcher painted President Obama’s White House as one that is encouraging to small businesses like his own, playing up the role that government plays in fostering new enterprises.
And with the C-SPAN cameras catching at least one “Craftbrewers for Obama” sign in the crowd, Butcher tipped his hat to the White House’s own beer-making operation. “I know you’re not supposed to endorse the competition,” Butcher said,” but in this case, I’m going to make an exception.”
Transcript:
I know what you’re thinking and I’m sorry. I’m not here to give out free beer.
I don’t have time to pay much attention to politics because I’m too busy running my business. I think a lot of small business owners feel the same way. We don’t care about the daily back-and-forth of campaigns. We just want leaders in Washington who believe in us and make it a little easier for us to succeed. Our president is that kind of leader.
There were moments when my wife, Karen and I wondered if we’d ever get our business off the ground. I remember what it was like to go to bank after bank after bank, hearing “no.” We may not have ever gotten to “yes” if it wasn’t for President Obama and the SBA loan program that he started.
For these last four years I’ve had a president who’s on my side. He cut small business taxes 18 times. He kept middle-class taxes low, which meant more customers for my product. He knows that growing the middle class helps create jobs, and I know that if he gets a second term, entrepreneurs like me will have the best possible chance to succeed.
I hear President Obama has been brewing some beer in the White House lately. I know you’re not supposed to endorse the competition, but in this case, I’m going to make an exception.
Our president has fought for small-business owners, and now it’s time to fight for him.
