I finally got around to transcribing Howard Dean’s speech at the big DNC meeting in Chicago a couple weeks ago–at least the part I recorded. I’m not positive how much of it I got. I tried to double check against some video I found at YouTube (Part 1 and Part 2), but the videos play for a while and then cut off. In any event, you can find much of his speech transcribed here. Excerpt below the fold…
Katrina was a terrible tragedy, not just for New Orleans and Mississippi, not just for the people who died or still have not been able to move home. Katrina was a tragedy for America. Because one thing people believed throughout the world, throughout this country but throughout the world, whether they liked us or not, they believed that Americans could fix anything. And we believed that about ourselves. That if something really bad happens, call in the Americans, they’re the best organized people and the best managing people–they can fix anything. Something really bad happens, call in the Americans.
And what we experienced a year ago was not just the personal loss and tragedy to all of our lives, because so many of us knew people or had family in New Orleans or Mississippi. What we experienced was a tragedy. But seeing, unmasked, the incompetence, and failures, and indifference, of the president and the Republican majority, we need a new direction for America where no one is left behind! (Applause)
The American people are extraordinary people. What we saw was great acts of generosity, and courage and heroism, of people coming together and opening their hearts, reaching out to help one another. That reminds us that the American people will transcend the incompetence of our leaders. We need a new direction where we are as competent and fair and qualified and caring as the American people showed themselves to be a year ago. We can do better.
We will have a new direction of hope and opportunity in America, based on the idear that we are all in this together. Not just those in the Democratic party, not just those in urban America. We will reach out to those who disagree with us, we will reach out to Evangelical Christians, to rural Americans, we are all in this together. It is time to end the divisiveness.
Crossposted here
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2006/9/2/121819/4313
with a Subway Serenade update in the comments for anyone who’s interested.
I did a diary about his health issues recently, and just realized I hadn’t followed up on that.
Renee’, this is what the RNC came out with today. Take a gander and laugh till it hurts. hugs and thanks for all that you write. Now which do you think is better? I know, so do I. I love how Howard puts things. Thought you would get a kick out of the following……..hugs
In The News
For The Week Ending September 1, 2006…
In Pennsylvania With Rick Santorum! August 31, 2006
In Michigan With Mike Bouchard August 29, 2006
Harold Ford Should Check His Facts–And Stick To Them August 29, 2006
Greetings From Rocky Top! August 28, 2006
Arizona
Kyl Winning “Crossover Battle”
The latest Arizona Senate poll, conducted by the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University and Eight/KAET-TV, shows Senator Kyl’s lead stands at 10 points, 46% to 36%. “Poll director Dr. Bruce Merrill says, ‘Kyl is maintaining his lead over Pederson by winning the party crossover battle and by attracting socially conservative voters to his campaign. In the ‘crossover’ battle, 22 percent of all registered Democrats are supporting Kyl while only 11 percent of the Republicans are defecting to Pederson.'”
Maryland
Steele Takes The Lead On Border Security
Maryland may not share a border with another country, but that doesn’t mean preventing illegal immigration is of no concern to Marylanders. That’s why Republican Senate candidate Michael Steele “is bringing the national issue of border security home to Maryland in fundraising brochures for his U.S. Senate campaign and on the hustings. ‘We have to focus on what the American people want us to focus on,'” stated Steele. ‘”In their hearts and their minds, they want to see the Senate and House come together on a strategy that incorporates personnel, technology a nd other resources to secure the border. I think that is an important first step before you move into anything else in the debate on immigration,’ he said. ‘You have to start with the fundamental point that we have a porous border. Until you can control that, you can never deal successfully with the human element that is such an important part of what we need to face.'”
Minnesota
Kennedy’s Minnesota Roots
If one thing is for certain, it’s that Mark Kennedy has deep ties to Minnesota … and he never has to pay for a hotel when he’s traveling. The AP reports, “[w]ith six siblings scattered around the state, not to mention in-laws and scads of other family members, Kennedy likes to say that he’s never far from a place to stay the night. It’s one way for the three-term congressman to talk about one of his favorite campaign trail topics – his family’s deep Minnesota roots. We go back four ge nerations,’ Kennedy, a three-term congressman, said. ‘My wife’s family, too, four generations.’
[…]
“The Minnesota State Fair is a particularly potent place for Kennedy to talk about his Minnesota roots. As a teenager, Kennedy spent four straight fairs living on the fairgrounds while he participated in various 4H activities. That’s how he met his future wife, Debbie, a farm girl from the Moorhead area and another avid 4Her. ‘The Kennedys and 4H, that’s more than a casual connection,’ said Kennedy, whose high school-age son, Peter, is in a 4H band performing throughout the fair’s run this year.”
Missouri
Ethics Committee Finds Improper Reporting By McCaskill
The Missouri Ethics Commission has sent a letter castigating Democrat Senate candidate Claire McCaskill for failing to adequately report expenditures during her 2004 gubernatorial campaign. The AP reports, “[t]he Ethics Commission said McCaskill’s gubernatorial campaign committee and Carnahan’s secretary of state committee each failed to report expenses when they were incurred, rather than when they were paid. … Complaints about allegedly improper reporting by McCaskill, Carnahan and Attorney General Jay Nixon were filed in February by the Missouri Republican Party.” The Ethics Commission “cited five expenses totaling $12,885 that weren’t properly reported by McCaskill. … Referring to the reporting errors, Republican Party spokesman Paul Sloca said, ‘Missourians should be concerned that Claire McCaskill and Robin Carnahan would break the law.'”
Montana
Burns’ Busy Month
Senator Conrad Burns has welcomed quite a few high profile Republicans to Big Sky Country over the past few weeks. The Great Falls Tribune reports, Senate Majority Leader Bill “Frist, R-Tenn., was in Billings Monday and First Lady Laura Bush was scheduled to make a campaign stop for Burns on Wednesday afternoon at Gallatin Field in Belgrade.” And just “[l]ast week, North Carolina Sen. Elizabeth Dole was in Missoula and former vice presidential candidate Jack Kemp made appearances in Billings and Bozeman. The week before, Vice President Dick Cheney was at a Burns fundraiser in Whitefish. While in Montana, “Frist attended a short news conference during which a group of Billings physicians announced their support for Burns’ re-election. Medical researcher Dr. Howard Knapp said Burns has provided $27 million in funding for Billings-area hospitals and clinics over the past seven or eight years.”
New Jersey
Menendez Ethics Woes No Longer Stop At His Office Door
Senator Bob Menendez again finds himself firmly planted under an ethics cloud. Menendez is facing scrutiny for profiting from a rental property which he leased to a social-service organization–an organization which may have benefited from Menendez’s work in Congress. The [Bergen County] Record reports, “[t]he rental could run afoul of ethics rules if Menendez did not distance himself from official actions that might have affected the North Hudson corporation, said Craig Holman, campaign financ e lobbyist for the Washington watchdog group Public Citizen. ‘Where it turns into a conflict of interest is if a member of Congress does not recuse himself from matters involving the entity,’ Holman said. ‘Any officeholder anywhere is supposed to recuse himself from any matter that affects a business relationship. … It sounds quite conceivable that this could be a violation of House ethics rules.'”
Ohio
Brown’s Weak Record On National Security
There could not be more contrast between Senator Mike DeWine and his challenger Democrat Sherrod Brown on how to approach national security. During his two terms as a U.S. Senator, DeWine has “consistently voted for larger defense budgets, ardently supported a missile-defense system designed to shoot down a handful of rockets fired by a rogue state, and backed the advanced F-22 fighter,” while strongly supporting the need to fight the War on Terror. Sherrod Brown, on the other hand, from 1993 to 1999 “backed floor amendments that would have frozen or reduced U.S. intellig ence spending. … Brown’s real difficulty is explaining his votes to cut Clinton’s intelligence budgets. As late as 1999, after al-Qaida’s bombings of the U.S. embassies in Tanzania and Kenya, Brown voted to freeze U.S. intelligence spending at the previous year’s level. … Brown’s votes stand in sharp contrast to those of DeWine. In a 1997 interview with Knight-Ridder, DeWine warned that ‘Rogue states, the threat of nuclear proliferation, international terrorist groups crossing borders and more make the need for good intelligence greater than at any time in our history.'”
Washington
First Lady Visits Washington, Lauds McGavick
Senate candidate Mike McGavick welcomed First Lady Laura Bush to Washington State this week. Addressing a roomful of supporters, “Bush said McGavick would bring ‘civility and cooperation’ to the Senate from a stint as chief of staff to former Sen. Slade Gorton and a childhood spent in Seattle. His time as CEO of Safeco gave him ‘principles of efficiency and accountability’ that will translate well in Washington, D.C., Bush said. McGavick cares about young people and families, Bush said, and ‘will be a champion of the men and women of the United States m ilitary,’ a line that drew heavy applause. Before Bush’s speech, McGavick told the crowd he wanted to fight against the ‘mean-spirited politics that we see back East. Our campaign isn’t just a campaign for office,’ he said. ‘It’s a campaign to end this kind of behavior.'”
West Virginia
Raese Talks Taxes And Energy Independence At Annual Lincoln/Reagan Day Dinner
Republican Senate candidate John Raese has big plans for the U.S. Senate. The Huntington Herald-Dispatch reports from the annual Lincoln/Reagan Day dinner, that “[o]ne of the biggest issues he sees is the tax structure for West Virginia residents. ‘The fed and state take way too many of our taxes.’ Raese stated he “would also like to see the United States use more of its own resources for energy such as gas. ‘We are not being self-sufficient … We, as a nation, should be drilling in A laska. There is enough there for the state to use its share for 244 years.'”
Virginia
Allen Supports 2nd Ammendment
Virginia Senator George Allen visited Roanoke, Virginia, to highlight his support for gun rights. The Roanoke Times reports, “Allen came to the remote shooting range to tout the formation of a sportsmen organization that will promote his positions on gun rights and hunting-related issues. … Among other things, Allen reminded the crowd of his support for federal legislation protecting gun manufacturers from liability lawsuits and that he signed Virginia’s concealed-carry law into effect. … The sportsmen event was the fourth stop on a daylong swing for Allen that included visits to Craig County and the Virginia Veterans Care Center in Roanoke.”