Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) raised spirits as his speech, given to wild cheers and shouts of “Go! Dennis!” lifted participants out of their seats at the Democratic National Convention on Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2008.
Dennis rocked!
Now there is a great leader in action!
Transcript:
Hello fellow Democrats! Are you ready for November?
(This one’s for you, Stephanie.)
Fellow Democrats, lets go to Election Day … its Election Day, 2008.
And we Democrats are giving America a wake-up call.
Wake up, America!
In 2001, the oil companies, the war contractors and the neo con-artists seized the economy and added 4 trillion dollars of unproductive spending to the national debt. We now pay four times more for defense, three times more for gasoline and home heating oil, and twice what we paid for health care.
Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, their health care, their pensions. Trillions of dollars for an unnecessary war paid for with borrowed money.
Tens of billions of dollars in cash and weapons disappeared into thin air, at the cost of the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis, while all the president's oilmen are maneuvering to grab Iraq's oil.
Borrowed money to bomb bridges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan—no money to rebuild bridges in America.
Money to start a hot war with Iran—now we have another cold war with Russia,
And the American economy has become a game of Russian roulette.
Now, if there were an Olympics for misleading, mismanaging and misappropriating, this administration would take the gold!
World records for violations of national and international laws.
They want another four-year term to continue to alienate our allies, spend our children's inheritance, and hollow out the economy. We cannot afford another Republican administration.
Wake up, America!
The insurance companies took over health care.
Wake up, America!
The pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing.
Wake up, America!
The speculators took over Wall Street!
Wake up, America!
They want your Social Security.
Wake up, America.
Multinational corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs are being lost.
Wake up, America!
We went into Iraq for oil. The oil companies want more! War against Iran will mean $10-a-gallon gasoline.
The oil administration, they want to drill more, into your wallet.
Wake up, America!
Those war contractors want more. An Iran war will cost $5-10 trillion.
Now, this administration can tap our phones—but they can't tap our creative spirit.
They can open our mail, but they can't open economic opportunities.
They can track our every move, but they lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline and electricity skyrockets.
Now, they have skillfully played our post-9/11 fears, and they’ve allowed the few to profit at the expense of the many.
Every day we get the color orange—while the oil companies, the insurance companies, the speculators, the war contractors—get the color green.
Wake up, America!
Now, this is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left.
This is call for you to go from down to up!
Up with the rights of workers!
Up with wages!
Up with fair trade!
Up with creating millions of good paying jobs, rebuilding our bridges, our water systems, our sewer systems, our ports.
Up with creating millions of sustainable energy jobs to lower the cost of energy, lower carbon emission, and protect the environment!
Up with health care for all!
Up with education for all!
Up with home ownership!
Up with guaranteed retirement benefits!
Up with peace!
Up with prosperity!
Up with the Democratic Party!
Up with Obama-Biden!
Wake up, America! Wake up, America! Wake up, America!
