Updated: added video
URL to this post: http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/wake-up-america-by-dennis-kucinich-dnc-speech/
by Dennis Kucinich
Aug 26, 2008
2008 Democratic National Convention Committee
It’s Election Day 2008. 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 have 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 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, while the American economy has become a game of Russian roulette.
If there was 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 our economy.
We can’t 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 to take your Social Security. Wake up, America. Multinational corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs 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 wants to drill more, into your wallet. Wake up, America. Weapons contractors want more. An Iran war will cost 5 to 10 trillion dollars.
This administration can tap our phones. They can’t tap our creative spirit. They can open our mail. They can’t open economic opportunities. They can track our every move. They lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline and electricity skyrockets. They skillfully played our post-9/11 fears and 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. 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, ports and water systems. Up with creating millions of sustainable energy jobs to lower the cost of energy, lower carbon emissions 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.
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http://dandelionsalad.wordpress.com/2008/08/26/wake-up-america-by-dennis-kucinich-dnc-speech/
Note: replaced video May 10, 2010
Kucinich: Wake up, America
August 28, 2008 — August 26, 2008 CSPAN
Dennis Kucinich “WAKE UP AMERICA!!!” Dems Convention 2008
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see
Kucinich sets the record straight on O’Reilly
Dennis Kucinich reports from the convention
Politics of Avoidance by Ralph Nader
Revolution in the high street By William Bowles
12 Topics Democrats Will Duck At Convention by Ralph Nader
Pick Your Candidate – Take the Survey (updated)
New survey: Glassbooth.org – Presidential Candidates and You
Should You Be President? Take the Survey + Select a Candidate: President
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Filed under: Anti-war, Dandelion Salad News or Politics, Dandelion Salad Posts News Politics and-or Videos 2, Dandelion Salad Videos, Dennis Kucinich, Iraq, Kucinich-Dennis J., Politics Tagged: | DNC - Denver CO, Kucinich-Dennis, The Economy Sucks and or Collapse
[...] Wake Up, America! by Dennis Kucinich (DNC speech; vid) [...]
[...] Wake Up, America! by Dennis Kucinich (DNC speech; vid) [...]
[...] Dennis Kucinich recently delivered a very inspiring speech to the Democratic convention called Wake Up America. [...]
[...] Wake Up, America! by Dennis Kucinich (DNC speech; vid) [...]
[...] Wake Up, America! by Dennis Kucinich (DNC speech; vid) [...]
[...] Wake Up, America! by Dennis Kucinich (DNC speech; vid) [...]
bfreedom, good point. Hopefully a lot of people who didn’t see it live on TV are seeing on this and others’ blogs.
Gary, yes we can thank corporate media for that.
bfreedom, it never ceases to amaze me how many ordinary working people choose to vote against their own interests. They fall for all the slick ads, and vote for personalities not leaders. I posted a few different quizzes to take to choose a candidate during the primary season and Kucinich always did very well in those quizzes based on issues.
Pick Your Candidate – Take the Survey (updated)
New survey: Glassbooth.org – Presidential Candidates and You
Should You Be President? Take the Survey + Select a Candidate: President
I think it’s also important to note is that the pool coverage (the crowd shots distributed to the networks) is very skewed. I just focuses in on an empty section of the crowd, but it’s obvious by the cheers in the crowd that the room was filled with people.
Don’t fall for the framing here.
They didn’t get to see or hear him enough for his message to get through to the masses. You can thank the media for that.
“I do wonder if we deserve the govt we get by…”
Well said.
Hi Gary, Kucinich was fired up. The thing that bothers me the most is that so many people agree with what he has to say yet they still didn’t vote for him in the primaries. I do wonder if we deserve the govt we get by not taking the responsibility of knowing who we are voting for and voting for the lesser of two evils. Sad.
“Kucinich should’ve been the nominee.” guess who else said that? Columnists on LewRockwell.com.
His fiery speech also surprised me. “Kooch” is usually a little more reserved. It was a GREAT speech!!
Well stated. I’d like to see Dennis and his wife attending some of the peace rallies/protests. Personally, I think he should run as an Independent but he remains a Democrat.
Faculty tend to keep an eye out for “teachable moments,” and this is one such, since it’s an occasion to look up the terms “risible” and “non-sequitur.”
Make no mistake: Kucinich’s sentiments are admirable right up until the very end when he somehow concludes that Vichy-style collaborators are the vehicle for some measure of sanity and social justice.
Kucinich speaks when the DNC lets him and is silenced when the DNC wants him out of the debates. His function is to establish legitimacy with lefties so that they don’t vote Green Party (against whom the Democrats fight with an energy that they never bring against their bipartisan Republican buddies, by the way).
Up with peace, yes. Now where are those peace protestors, Dennis?
Laura, thanks for the link. I’m more of an Elvis Costello person than Elvis Presley, though.
Nothing more American than Elvis after a speech like that
(youtube.com/watch?v=5_CqVwVmwcs&feature=related)
[...] Wake Up, America! by Dennis Kucinich (DNC speech; vid) [...]
Wake up Dennis Kucinich. Nothing done by the Bush Regime could have been accomplished if it weren’t the fhe complicity of the Democrats.
Wake Up Dennis Kucinich if you actually believe that the Democrats will change anything!
Wake Up Dennis Kucinich: Where is the election reform the Democrats promised.
Wake Up Dennis Kucinich, Democrats were elected in 2006 to get us out of Iraq!
Wake Up Dennis Kucinich–
The Democrats are still funding the war.
Wake Up Dennis Kucinich and get the hell out of the Democratic (a misnomer if there was ever one) Party.
Just added it. It actually gave me goosebumps. That doesn’t happen very often either. Very powerful speech. Kucinich should have been the nominee.
Will there be a video? The M$M didn’t show it, or even mention it.
[...] Wake Up, America! by Dennis Kucinich (DNC speech) [...]