Howard Dean's speech declaring his candidacy --long but great!

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 5:37am

I just thought I should post this. After you read it, you can see why I am supporting Dean. Vote the Bush-reight out of office!!
Dean for America!!


Today I announce that I am running for President of the United States of America. I speak not only for my candidacy. I speak for a new American century and a new generation of Americans -- both young people and the young at heart. We seek the great restoration of American values and the restoration of our nation's traditional purpose in the world.
This is a campaign to unite and empower people everywhere.

It is a call to every American, regardless of party, to join together in common purpose and for the common good to save and restore all that it means to be an American.

Over a year ago I began to travel the country in the usual way one does when seeking the Presidency.

I believed that, by running for President, I could raise the issues of health care for every American and the need to focus on early childhood development. I wanted to bring those issues to the forefront of the national debate. And I wanted to balance the budget to bring financial stability and jobs back to America.

Most importantly, I have wanted my party to stand up for what we believe in again.

But something changed along the way as I listened to Americans around this country. On my first trip to Iowa I heard people speak of a profound fear and distrust of multi-national corporations. From New Hampshire to Texas I met Americans doubting the words of our leaders and our government in Washington. Every where I go people are asking fundamental questions: Who can we trust? Is the media reporting the truth? What is happening to our country?

The Americans I have met love their country. They believe deeply in its promise, our values and our principles. But they know something is wrong and they want to take action. They want to do something to right our path. But they feel Washington isn't listening. And as individuals, they lack the power to change the course those in Washington have put us on.

What they know is that somehow 7 trillion dollars of our country's wealth disappeared. Nearly 1 in 10 retired people have had to return to the workforce because they have lost their pensions. Young people are returning to live at home after graduating because they cannot find work.
Companies are leaving the country to avoid paying taxes, or to avoid paying people livable wages. And corporations are doing this with the support of the government and a political process in Washington that they rent -- if not own.

This was the fear that James Madison and Thomas Jefferson spoke of -- the fear that economic power would one day try to seize political power.

Theodore Roosevelt said it best, "Every special interest is entitled to justice full, fair and complete....but not one is entitled to a vote in Congress, to a voice on the bench or to representation in any public office."

Today, our nation is in crisis. At home, this crisis manifests itself in this President's destruction of the idea of community. This President pushes forward an agenda and policies which divide us. He advocates economic polices which beggar the middle class and raise property taxes so that income taxes may be cut for those who ran Enron.

He divides us by race by using the word quota, which appeals to the worst in us by instilling fear that people of color might take our jobs or our places in the nation's best universities. Even the most conservative Supreme Court since the Dred Scott decision did not completely agree with the President's attack on diversity and community that includes all Americans.

He divides us by gender by attacking a woman's right to make her own health care decisions. And even by attacking young women's right to have the same athletic opportunities that young men do. He divides us by sexual orientation by supporting senators who have slandered gay Americans, and he appeals once again to the worst instincts within us, instead of that which is good in all Americans.

The tax cuts that are the radicals' weapon are not about tax cuts for working people. They are not even about tax cuts for millionaires. Instead, the tax cuts are designed to destroy Social Security, Medicare, our public schools and our public services through starvation and privatization.
Our President and too many in Washington are giving away our future so that we pass to our children not a flickering flame of freedom but the chain of insurmountable debt.

No parent would do this and America must not do this.

And so for me the long journey of a Presidential campaign has begun with the people I have met affecting me far more than any affect I may have had on them. And because of that, the reasons why I seek the Presidency have changed.

This campaign is about more than issue differences on health care, tax cuts, national security, jobs, the environment and our economy. It is about something as important as our children. It's about who we are as Americans.

Here are the words of John Winthrop: "We shall be as one. We must delight in each other, make other's conditions our own; rejoice together, mourn together, labor and suffer together, always living before our eyes our Commission and Community in our work."

It is that ideal, the ideal of the American community, that we seek to restore.

An America where it is not enough for me to want health care for my family but the obligation, and responsibility of every one of us as American citizens to insure that each one of us has health care for our families.

An America where it is not enough for me to want good public schools and a better life for my children but an obligation, and a responsibility as citizens to insure that every child in America may go to a good public school and have the opportunity of a better life.

An America where it is not enough to protect my rights under the law but where it is a duty and an obligation for each of us as Americans to make sure every American is equal under the law.

An America where it is not enough to proclaim the words freedom, self-government, and democracy, but where it is a duty and a responsibility to participate together in common purpose with the sacrifice required of each of us to give those words meaning.

If September 11, 2001 taught America anything it is that we are stronger when we are beholden to each other as a national community, and weaker when we act only as individuals. That tragedy gave us an enormous opportunity to focus not only on our common peril, but also on our common dreams. The peril remains, but the dreams must be resurrected -- and they will be in a new American century.
President Kennedy challenged us to "pass the torch to a new generation of Americans." And so, we must issue that challenge again.

So too must we restore the deepest belief of our people that each generation has a responsibility to pass to our children a nation and a world that is better and stronger than the one that was passed to us.

As we experience the crisis of community at home, we are witnessing the effort to repudiate 225 years of American consensus on what our nation's place should be in the world.

Since the time of Thomas Paine and John Adams, our founders implored that we were not to be the new Rome. We are not to conquer and suppress other nations to submit to our will. We were to inspire them.

The idea of America using its power solely for its own ends is not consistent with the idealistic moral force the world has known for over two centuries.

We must rejoin the world community. America is far stronger as the moral and military leader of the world than we will ever be by relying solely on military power. We destroyed repressive communist regimes without firing a shot, not simply by having a strong military, but because we had a better ideal to show the world.

Every American President must and will take up arms in the defense of our nation. It is a solemn oath that cannot -- and will not -- be compromised.

But there is a fundamental difference between the defense of our nation and the doctrine of preemptive war espoused by this administration. The President's group of narrow-minded ideological advisors are undermining our nation's greatness in the world. They have embraced a form of unilateralism that is even more dangerous than isolationism.

This administration has shown disdain for allies, treaties, and international organizations alike.

In doing so they would throw aside our nation's role as the inspirational leader of the world the beacon of hope and justice in the interests of humankind. And instead, they would present our face to the world as a dominant power prepared to push aside any nation with which we do not agree.

Our foreign and military policies must be about America leading the world, not America against the world.
So how did we come to this point?

How is it that our leaders have abandoned our communities and repudiated our idealism and principles?

When confronted with a dedicated band of right wing ideologues, too many Americans have stopped participating, stopped voting, and stopped believing that they can change America.

And we in politics have not given our people a reason to vote or a reason to participate. We have slavishly spewed sound bites, copying each other while saying little. We raise millions of dollars and each year make lofty promises, while every year the struggles of ordinary Americans increase and fewer Americans vote. Our politicians, many of them good people, have been paralyzed by their fear of losing office. Our leaders have developed a vocabulary which has become meaningless to the American people.

There is no greater example of this than a self-described conservative Republican president who creates the greatest deficits in history of America. Or a President who boasts of a Clear Skies Initiative which allows far more pollution into our air. Or a President who co-opts from an advocacy organization the phrase "No Child Left Behind," while paying for irresponsible tax cuts by cutting children's health care.

Martin Luther King, Jr. said, "Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter."

The history of our nation is clear: At every turn when there has been an imbalance of power, the truth questioned, or our beliefs and values distorted, the change required to restore our nation has always come from the bottom up from our people.

And so, while the President raises $4 million more tonight to maintain his agenda, we will not be silent.

He calls his biggest fundraisers Rangers and Pioneers.

But today, we stand together with thousands in Burlington, Vermont and tens of thousands more, standing with us right now in every state in this nation. And we call ourselves, simply, Americans.

And we stand today in common purpose to take our country back.

I am a doctor and I was proud to be Governor of Vermont:
- where we balanced our budgets

- where we made sure that nearly every child in our state had health care coverage

- where we are stewards of our land and natural resources

- where, on the first Tuesday of March every year, Vermonters gather to make decisions on matters vital to our communities

- where we hold these truths to be self evident: that all are created equal and are endowed with the inalienable rights of life, liberty and pursuit of happiness

And, where we, like all Americans, love our country and want to see her flag stand for freedom and justice for all. That flag is not the property of the either party, it belongs to all of us. It is from this place that the rest of the journey of this campaign continues. We will ask the American people to participate again in our common future. I ask all Americans, regardless of party, to meet with me across the nation to come together in common cause to forge a new American century. Help us in this quest to return greatness, and return high moral purpose to the United States of America.

We are the great grassroots campaign of the modern era, built from mouse pads, shoe leather and hope.

Like MoveOn.org we seek to build a community of millions and strengthen the voice of the people.

And like the founders of our republic, we seek change.

The great lie spoken by politicians on platforms like this is the cry of "elect me and I will solve all your problems."

The truth is the future of our nation rests in your hands, and not in mine.

Abraham Lincoln said that government of the people, by the people and for the people shall not perish from this earth.

But this President has forgotten ordinary people.

You have the power to reclaim our nation's destiny.
You have the power to rid Washington of the politics of money.

You have the power to make right as important as might.

You have the power to give Americans a reason to vote again.

You have the power to restore our nation to fiscal sanity and bring jobs back to our people.

You have the power to fulfill Harry Truman's dream and bring health insurance to every American.

You have the power to give us a foreign policy consistent with American values again.

You have the power to take back the Democratic Party.

You have the power to take our country back.

And we have the power to take the White House back in 2004.

June 23, 2003

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 6:19am

Dean is Mc Govern Redeux & will suffer the same fate

Should Mr Dean get in, hold on to your wallet boys & girls. Mr Dean sometimes suffers from selective amnesia. If he previously put his foot in his mouth by saying something, he very conviently does not remember saying it when asked at a future date.

Mr Dean never met a spending program he did not like. He rails on about the deficit & than backs one of the biggest social spending programs in history (Prescription Drugs For Seniors). This bill would pay for drugs for seniors no matter what their income. When Donald Trump turned 65 , we would pay for his drugs. Should we help seniors who truly cannot pay, yes . Should we just spend massively because it feels good, no. Who will pay for this. We will as Mr Dean makes no bones he wants to raise taxes. The last candidate (Walter Mondale) who said that got soundly trounced
Next time you want to help seniors buy drugs go remember the little old ladies who drop money on their daily bus trips to atlantic city or the old guys at OTB.They have money for this but need help buying their drugs

Secretly Hillary (stand by your man) Clinton wants him to get the nomination & lose badly as she wants a clear field for 2008. I would not support her for a myriad of reasons. I have no qualms voting for a woman president or a minority president but a vote for Dean or Hillary would make Mayor Mike Bloomberg's & Governor George Pataki's tax increases pale by comparison. I know the originator of this post & others would welcome this push toward cradle to grave , the government needs to do everything for me approach but count me out. I work to hard for my money to fork it over in massive amounts to the government.


The Democrats best choice is Lieberman although he flipped flopped during 2000 campaign on many occasions. The rest of the democratic gang that could not shoot straight is DOA & some like Kerry actually make you fall asleep if you watch long enough.

Updated On: 6/24/03 at 06:19 AM

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 7:01am

OK, I will be nice about this........ but didn't a certain individual who replied to my original post on this thread and shall remain nameless say that I am bitter, aggressive, heterophobic, etc person who starts stuff with him when he is clearly right and every opinion of mine is wrong and then went on to say that he and I should ignore each other and that he would not respnd to any of my threads/posts, THEN turn around and intentionally reply to a thread/post that I began???? Or am I just completely losing it??

[loretta]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 7:39am

Broadwayguy2,

If I might interject here... your support of Howard Dean is all very well and good except for one glaringly obvious point. You have never had to endure the man as Governor of your state for twelve long, grueling, awful years as I and countless other Vermonters have. We have seen so many vital programs cut, so many increases in useless spending (most notably his "Champlain Flyer" that wasted millions of our tax dollars while not alleviating any of the congestion on the road he set out to help). I am neither heterophobic or homophobic - people are people and they can do whatever they darn well want so long as they injure no one in their pursuits... but I can not help but wonder if your views would be less favorable toward Dean if he wasn't such a staunch supporter of gay rights and for legalizing gay marriage. Perhaps your chosen candidate should have more than one thing going for him to win such ardent support from you?
Just a thought.

[broadwayguy2]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 7:46am

loretta,
Maybe if you had to endure years and years of people treating you like a second class person or like you had a dirty secret and had politicians saying that they want your support, but won't even TRY to give you equal rights, you would like the guy that comes along and stands up and says that you are an equal human being and citizen and deserve to be treated as such and says he will, and has proven that he will, fight to help you take steps toward those equal rights.
dean may noy be the best in every department, no one is, but he is one of the best democratic candidates so far and he is sure as hell a lot better than what we have in the White House now... who is also there when he shouldn't be.

[Butch2]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 8:19am

Mr. Roxy wrote: "If he previously put his foot in his mouth by saying something, he very conviently does not remember saying it when asked at a future date."

Look who's talking.

[Unknown User]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 12:26pm

Did you guys see the article of him in New York magazine? I framed it GO HOWARD DEAN!

[bongoboy]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 1:16pm

last5yrs...what issue was that article in???
thanks!!!

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/24/03 at 8:00pm

To Loretta

I agree with you 100 % . To vote for a candidate just because of 1 issue does not strike me as to sound politically. You have suffered with this man for 12 years & you do not want to see him do to the country what he did to your state. My question is that why wasn't he voted out of office after 4 or 8 years ?

This man will never be President. Not many people want 50 to 60 % of their salary going to taxes. Add to that, whatever the government gets involved in something they generally muck itup. These folks are the same people who brought you the $ 600 toilet seats & $ 50 screwdrivers. A Socialist state like what Dean proposes does not work wherever it is tried.

He would weaken the ongoing war on terrorism. Living in NYC, # 1 city on the terrorists hit parade, I want whatever needs to be done to happen. I & thousands walked across the Queensboro bridge on 9/11. We saw the smoke from the WTC wreckage & wondered if the bridge we were walking on would be bombed next. Once you live through that, you want your government to do whatever is needed to insure it does not happen again. Unless you have actually experienced this, you cannot imagine the feelings you experience.

Updated On: 6/24/03 at 08:00 PM

[loretta]

Posted: 6/25/03 at 7:38am

broadwayguy2,

I can not know what you suffered and still suffer by your being gay. I am sorry that you feel like a second class citizen. I do not however feel that voting Howard Dean into office as President will correct any of the wrong that is being done to you or your friends. Howard passed the Civil Union law, that is true - but he never went any further with it and cowered in a corner when asked about it. He is not a man that stands behind his decisions. He is too flighty - like a child on the playground. Quickly growing tired of whatever he has begun and abandoning it in favor of something new. I suggest that you find another Democrat that is in favor of same sex rights and vote for them... it would better suit the country in so many ways.
Mr. Roxy, Dean was never voted into office at the onset of his governorship. Our previous Governor, Richard Snelling, passed away while in office and Howard stepped in. The reason he wasn't voted out is I believe a two-fold reason. On one hand, this state is largly averse to change. We stick with what is familiar in more cases than not. Secondly, students are allowed to vote. A whole other kettle of fish I hate to open. It is my opinion as a citizen of a geographical area that houses 4 colleges in less than 10 miles - students tend to take over an area. They certainly should be allowed to vote, don't get me wrong... but when it is a "local" election they should only be allowed to vote in the state to which they are a resident. Most are temporary citizens of the state in which they recieve their education but whoever they help vote into office is there long after they are not. It is a lose, lose proposition.
In conclusion, I think that America deserves much better than Dean and I hope a more worthy candidate shows themselves soon. A woman perhaps?

[Mr Roxy]

Posted: 6/25/03 at 8:23pm

If a woman runs & I can support most of what she stands for, she has my vote. Any qualified woman has my vote

[Butch2]

Posted: 6/25/03 at 10:41pm

There seem to be few such things you can support.