Castro will defend Obama's economic record in keynote

CHARLOTTE, N.C. — Rising Democratic star Julian Castro will defend President Obama's economic record in his keynote address to the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday night.

Castro, the mayor of San Antonio, Texas, combines two of the Democrats' biggest priorities in his speech: defending one of the president's major electoral weaknesses and courting one of the election's most important voting blocs — Hispanics.

Castro will argue that federal spending leads to a thriving middle class.

“We all understand that freedom isn't free,” he will say, according to prepared remarks released by the convention staff. “What [Mitt] Romney and [Paul] Ryan don't understand is that neither is opportunity. We have to invest in it.”

In that argument lies what is perhaps the largest policy difference between the two parties in the upcoming election. Republicans argue that high taxes and excessive spending are stifling growth among job creators and damaging investor confidence, while Democrats say increasing taxes on the wealthy is justified to foster upward mobility among the lower and middle classes.

"It's a choice between a nation that slashes funding for our schools and guts Pell grants ... or a nation that invests more in education,” Castro will say. “It's a choice between a politician who rewards companies that ship American jobs overseas ... or a leader who brings jobs back home.”

The 37-year-old mayor of San Antonio, the nation’s seventh largest city, will also weave his personal narrative into his speech. Democrats have high hopes for the telegenic young mayor, and Castro will use the coveted speaking slot — which launched Barack Obama, then a  little-known state senator from Illinois, into the national spotlight eight years ago — to talk about his working-class upbringing.

Castro’s mother, Rosie Castro, is a single mother and longtime community activist who fought to end the city’s Anglos-only political dominance. He also has a twin brother, Joaquin, who is one minute younger, and a heavy favorite to become a congressman next year.

“My grandmother didn't live to see us begin our lives in public service,” Castro will say. “But she probably would've thought it extraordinary that just two generations after she arrived in San Antonio, one grandson would be the mayor and the other would be on his way — the good people of San Antonio willing — to the United States Congress! My family's story isn't special. What's special is the America that makes our story possible. Ours is a nation like no other — a place where great journeys can be made in a single generation ... no matter who you are or where you come from, the path is always forward.”

In addition to introducing a party favorite to voters, Democrats hope to get a boost among one of their key voting blocs, as Castro will be the first Hispanic to give a keynote address.

Hispanic voters went strongly for Obama in 2008, and while he continues to have a massive lead over Romney among Hispanics nationally, the president will need a strong turnout in 2012 to secure a second term in what will be a tightly contested race.

In his speech, Castro also will directly link the economic plans of Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan to those that led up to the 2008 financial meltdown, and will try to paint the Republican nominee as an out-of-touch aristocrat.

“Mitt Romney, quite simply, doesn't get it,” he will say. “A few months ago he visited a university in Ohio and gave the students there a little entrepreneurial advice. 'Start a business,' he said. But how? 'Borrow money if you have to from your parents,' he told them. Gee, why didn't I think of that?”

Castro will also remind Americans of the Republican vice presidential candidate’s controversial budget by saying he’s not sure if it it’s the Romney-Ryan ticket or the Ryan-Romney ticket.