Enron Economics----Dean's Houston Speech

[slinkerwink]

Enron Economics

The following are the remarks of Democratic presidential candidate Governor Howard Dean, M.D., as prepared for delivery today in Houston, Texas:

THE PROMISE OF AMERICA

Throughout our history, the American people have faced crucial moments of decision. At these moments, it fell upon the people to decide what kind of country America would be.

These decisions weren't just determined by words -- they were backed up by actions.

Through the American Revolution, the abolitionist movement, the labor movement, the civil rights and women's rights movements, America has changed when the people have changed it.

I started this campaign for the presidency with the simple notion that America can be better. I had virtually no staff and no money, but I wanted to talk about health care. I wanted to talk about early childhood development. And I wanted to talk about fiscal responsibility and the importance of balancing the budget.

I offered people a campaign in which they could participate, and they have done so -- beyond anything we imagined. This campaign no longer is mine; it belongs to the people who are building it.

They are revitalizing the political process. Through self-organized Dean Corps events, volunteers are donating to food banks and clothing drives, volunteering at shelters, and cleaning up public spaces. They're connecting with one another and with their communities.

And they have given us a great gift in this campaign: By participating with small donations that have grown into a powerful force, they have freed us from being beholden to any of the special interests. Through their participation they are doing something Washington hasn't done -- enacting real campaign finance reform.

No one thought it was possible. But this is how change begins in America -- it rises from the ground up.

In this campaign, we have begun to see what generations before us realized -- restoration starts with participation, and action is power.

But in the course of this campaign, we have also learned far more of the problems and challenges our nation faces.

I have traveled across this country, and met with Americans from all walks of life.

I have spoken with mothers working two jobs to make ends meet, forced to choose between earning the money to provide for their children and spending the time to raise them.

I have spoken with families who can't understand why, when the president passed a 3 trillion dollar tax cut, their property taxes are higher than ever and their kids go to school in crowded classrooms with fewer school days.

I have spoken with American families who were going deeper in debt to stay above water, taking out one more mortgage and hoping for the best.

I have spoken with people who worked for one company their entire lives, only to lose their pension because of the recklessness of their corporate bosses.

And I have spoken to parents with sons and daughters in the military as our leaders were deciding the fate of their children with hardly any debate on the wisdom and necessity of the invasion of Iraq.

And many parents of our troops are wondering what kind of country their children will come home to, or if they will come home at all.

Over and over, I heard the same questions:

If our country is so rich, why am I barely getting by? If our country is so strong, why are we being made to feel so afraid? If our country is so powerful, why do I feel so powerless?

more can be found at this link:http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=10578&JServSessionIdr003=7xm7d5b0z1.app194a&news_iv_ctrl=1301


"While the flame may no longer be bright, the light will shine forever" In memory of Charlie Dean, brother of Gov. Dean

[slinkerwink]

1. :kick:

:kick:

[Closer]

2. Word, too, is that

Sheila Jackson Lee will endorse him today at the event :bounce:


Oh, and thanks for posting Charlie's pic!! We'll be seeing more of this story, that's for sure.

[slinkerwink]

5. yeah, I'm hoping to read an announcement from that on the Dean blog...

*crosses fingers*

[Rose Siding]

3. I laughed, I cried, I sent money

I hope this will be recorded. I'd like to see it spoken.

[Closer]

4. Party Line

It will be broadcast by CSPAN later... Either tonight or tomorrow I believe. Check out the blog for more info.


This really IS a great speech. Probably his best.

[slinkerwink]

6. I think it might be at 12:50AM EST

:hi:

[quaker bill]

7. excellent

as usual

[AP]

8. My take on this speech:

This speech is a little light on the "how", which is OK, I guess. It is just a stump speech.

But I'm gonna tell you all something. This speech is basically a list of things that are wrong with America, and I agree with all of them.

However, I'm not sure if I agree with Dean on how they need to be fixed, so I was looking throught the speech for the "hows". There's nothing there.

This is important to me, because I read his education plan last week, and, to me, it reads more like a Wall St investors profit protection plan, than a plan for helping students and society (because it encourages more borrowing, requires you to have a job to benfit from it, and makes sure that you make your interest payments to the banks).

So, I'd really like to see some more solid "hows" from Dean. The most Dean says in this speach is "we'll do it with you" or something like that. Well, that's great. But I want to know the policies he'll persue, thank you.

I also think he's misrepresents FDR when he says: "Franklin Delano Roosevelt said, "People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made." Today Roosevelt might say that those who hunger and have no work are the stuff of which terrorists are made."

FDR was saying that a poor, scared, hungry population is more likely to turn to a fascist dictactor to represent them. That's how the Germans ended up with Hitler. And that's what the Republicans (including Bush's grandfather) were hoping would result in the election of fascist Republicans in the US. FDR said that to explain what was going on in America, as much as anywhere else in the world.

Dean misses the point. His interpretation is that the poor and hungry will produce from amongst the poor and hungry terrorists. I get that that's true too. But it's such a twisting of the point that FDR was making. Since FDR was actually talking about demogogues who exploit fear and anger, which is one of the criticisms of Dean's campaign, it's interesting that he would turn this into a comment not about representatvie government, but of participatory anarchy. But maybe that is the point of Dean's campaign. "It's all about you."

[slinkerwink]

9. This is a speech that is intended to represents hope for America

[madfloridian]

10. AP he has covered a lot of what you mention. He can't do it in one speech

http://www.deanforamerica.com/site/News2?page=NewsArticle&id=9923

Here is a page with many segments on creating and sustaining jobs. Just be sure you are holding all the candidates to this high level. I will search and see if they have come out with more than this. I have not paid attention, I have been too busy defending.

[AP]

12. But you'd still expect a major speech to include a few "hows"

This speech is all about what's wrong with America. He says he's going to fix it be empowering you. But never really elaborates on what he expects anyone to do.

He needs a plan and the plan has to fit his message.

Like I said, I don't think his education plan fits his message very well, and it makes me wonder what some of his other plans are. It's got to be more than simply "you are the solution."

[madfloridian]

11. AP this thread was about Dean's brother. You did not have to do this.

:(

[AP]

13. I read the speech and didn't see that it was about Dean's brother.

I'll read it again.

Edit: Nope. Nothing about his brother in it.