Remarks of Senator Barack Obama—as prepared for delivery
La Crosse, Wisconsin
Wednesday, October 1st, 2008
We meet here at a time of great uncertainty. Our economy is in crisis. The dreams of so many Americans are at risk. And the American people are waiting for leadership from Washington.
Instead of writing bullet points that make perfect crisp sound bites, how about saying something that has real meaning to it? As example...The dreams of so many Americans are in perile because of Wall Street greed, coupled with a failure at every level of goverment to protect lower and middleclass Americans from unfair competition from abroad, and unchecked illegal immigration at home. Let us as a nation really get to the root of our problems, pull the ugly baby out from under the carpet and have a serious, frank and honest discussion with our candidates. Not deliberately picking on Obama here, will probably vote for him in November, and sure I could just as easily find the same or more egregious concerns and complaints if reviewing a John McCain stump speech. On Monday, over the course of a few hours, the failure to pass the economic rescue plan in the House led to the single largest decline of the stock market in two decades. Over one trillion dollars of wealth was lost by the time the markets closed. And it wasn’t just the wealth of a few CEOs or Wall Street executives. The 401Ks and retirement accounts that millions count on for their family’s future are now smaller. The state pension funds of teachers and government employees lost billions upon billions of dollars. Hardworking Americans who invested their nest egg to watch it grow are now watching it disappear.
First, do not appreciate Obama trying to rename the Wall Street Bailout to make it more palatable to the masses. The $700 Billion dollar bailout of Wall Street does not become the Economic Rescue Plan because you change its name and add a window dressing change of increading FDIC caps to a quarter of a million dollars...tell us Mr. Obama how many Americans actually have $250,000 in their bank account(s)? This raising of the coverage is SMOKE AND MIRRORS. Yes, our 401 K's and state pension plans have lost money, but lets talk about how Congress over decades has robbed the Social Security Fund blind...how about we bail that out by having Uncle Sam REPAY ALL THOSE IOU's.But while the decline of the stock market is devastating, the consequences of the credit crisis that caused it will be even worse if we do not act and act immediately.
Call me nuts, but how is borrowing even more money, putting our nation, and thus we the taxpayers further into debt going to SOLVE THE PROBLEM? The layoffs are not going to stop, the equity in our homes is not going to come back because you give $700 Billion dollars of our money to Wall Street because they misused all of their own money. You want to reinstill confidence in the American Economy, do something real for Main Street...as example, how about waving the rules on our 401K's that preclude us from accessing our funds until we are 59 and a half, how about waving taxes and penalties on withdraws from those accounts if said funds are used to pay off our debts. How about putting a 12 percent cap on credit card interest across the board instead of allowing these companies to play the part of the hairy knuckled loan shark.
Because of the housing crisis, we are now in a very dangerous situation where financial institutions across this country are afraid to lend money. If all that meant was the failure of a few big banks on Wall Street, it would be one thing.
Here is a FACT...the crime and unethical behaviors of Wall Street have wiped out the equity many of us had in our homes, resulting in the very real fact that we can't even afford any more to borrow off of that equity. For $1.2 Trillion dollars the Federal Treasure could bail out 20 million homeowners by issuing them $60,000 checks for their lost equity, thus bringing us on Main Street closer to being whole from a financial crisis not of our own making.
But that’s not what it means. What it means is that if we do not act, it will be harder for you to get a mortgage for your home or the loans you need to buy a car or send your children to college. What it means is that businesses won’t be able to get the loans they need to open new factories, or hire more workers, or make payroll for the workers they have. Thousands of businesses could close. Millions of jobs could be lost. A long and painful recession could follow.
Obama, YOU and TV PUNDITS are lying! Bailing out Wall Street IS NOT GOING TO MAKE IT EASIER for us to get loans. Our credit has been, and will continue to be tightened with or without this bailout. Our ability to get a loan depends on our ability to earn a living combined with our net assets verse debt ratio. If our 401K's are devastated, if our home equity is gone, we have no real calateral, and without that calateral, we are not going to be successful in our attempts to get a line of credit.Let me be perfectly clear. The fact that we are in this mess is an outrage. It’s an outrage because we did not get here by accident. This was not a normal part of the business cycle. This was not the actions of a few bad apples.
Again, this small paragraph is nothing more than fluff, a GREAT SOUNDBITE designed and written for the six o'clock news. Why not lead with the truth that this problemm exists because Wall Street and Washington, DC have been raping America's lower and middle class for almost three decades now!
This financial crisis is a direct result of the greed and irresponsibility that has dominated Washington and Wall Street for years. It’s the result of speculators who gamed the system, regulators who looked the other way, and lobbyists who bought their way into our government. It’s the result of an economic philosophy that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else; a philosophy that views even the most common-sense regulations as unwise and unnecessary. And this crisis is the final verdict on this failed philosophy – a philosophy that we cannot afford to continue.
Lobbyist had a FEEDING FRENZY in Washington, DC last week, and the bill that went before the House, and the Bill going to the Senate show that FACT. There is NOTHING OF MERIT for the lower and middleclass in this bill. You want to stick something in this bill to make it more palatable to the Average American? How about sticking in a one line sentence making E-verify MANDATORY for every small business, company and corporation in America. How about a one line sentence that puts a hold on all work visas for a period of five years. How about a sentence providing the necessary money to A) comnplete the border fence with Mexico, and fund sweeping work place raids across America. How about waving for a period of time the penalties and taxes on 401K withdraws, and while you are at it, make it illegal for employers to keep us from having access to our funds unless we quit our jobs.But while there is plenty of blame to go around and many in Washington and on Wall Street who deserve it, all of us now have a responsibility to solve this crisis because it affects the financial well-being of every single American. There will be time to punish those who set this fire, but now is the moment for us to come together and put the fire out.
ALL OF US have a responsibility to solve it...tell us Mr. Obama what we on Main Street can do to solve this problem? We cannot sweep Lobbyist out of Washington by changing the laws that let then infest the capital. We cannot enforce the laws already on the books that would penalize, even imprison those in management that are hiring illegal aliens by the MILLIONS. As you once said, those abilities are above my pay grade.I know that many of you are feeling anxiety right now – about your jobs, about your homes, about your life savings. But I also know this – I know that we can steer ourselves out of this crisis. Because that’s who we are. Because this is the United States of America. This is a nation that has faced down war and depression; great challenges and great threats. And at each and every moment, we have risen to meet these challenges – not as Democrats, not as Republicans, but as Americans. With resolve. With confidence. With that fundamental belief that here in America, our destiny is not written for us, but by us. That’s who we are, and that’s the country we need to be right now.
All you need is the waving flag flying behind you, a group of back up singers softly singing, "My Country Tis of Thee, Sweet Land of Liberty". GIVE US A BREAK, stop with the platitudes. Here is a clue...PAY DOWN THE DEBT, BITCH SLAP CHINA UPSIDE THE HEAD, take away it's favored nation status, and put huge tariffs on their goods until they PLAY FAIR. Deport those here illegally, eliminate all federal funding to communities that act as Safe Havens for illegal aliens, and imprison all those who hire illegal aliens, or aide and abet them in staying here illegally. That would be a start.
This is not just a Wall Street crisis – it’s an American crisis, and it’s the American economy that needs this rescue plan. I understand why people would be skeptical when this President asks for a blank check to solve a problem. I’ve spent most of my time in Washington being skeptical of this Administration, and this time was no different. That’s why over a week ago, I demanded that this plan include specific proposals to protect the American taxpayer – protections that the Administration eventually agreed to, as well as Democrats and Republicans in Congress.
Where are those PROTECTIONS FOR MAIN STREET...I have read it, and more than once. There are no protections for us, there is no changing of the bankrupcy rules so that a judge could protect our family homes! There is no GUARANTEE that those in foreclosure will have their mortgages reworked...there's a single line that ENCOURAGES lending institution to at least think about it.First, I said we needed an independent board to provide oversight and accountability for how and where this money is spent at every step of the way.
The supposedly INDEPENDENT BOARD is not independent, not without a Pro Wall Street BIAS! The law as written keeps the same FOXES in charge of guarding the hen house.
Second, I said that we cannot help banks on Wall Street without helping the millions of innocent homeowners who are struggling to stay in their homes. They deserve a plan too.
YOU SAID IT, but is it IN THE BILL? NO
Third, I said that I would not allow this plan to become a welfare program for the Wall Street executives whose greed and irresponsibility got us into this mess.
YOU SAID IT, but there is NO REAL LIMIT on Golden Parachutes...there are so many loopholes in the law that even I could drive a semi truck through them to a multi million dollar pay out.
And finally, I said that if American taxpayers are financing this solution, then you should be treated like investors – you should get every penny of your tax dollars back once this economy recovers.
HMMM...if I invested $700 Billion I would EXPECT TO TURN A PROFIT. Tell me Mr. Obama why the word STOCK was replaced with the word WARRANT in the bill. You are a smart man, a Harvard Graduate, so I am sure you are astute enough to know why this was done.
This last part is important, because it’s been the most misunderstood and poorly communicated part of this plan. This is not a plan to just hand over $700 billion of your money to a few banks. If this is managed correctly, we will hopefully get most or all of our money back, or possibly even turn a profit on the government’s investment – every penny of which will go directly back to you, the investor.
I've read the law, have a fair idea of the value on those investments the government is going to purchase...you and Washington are trying to play a SHELL GAME with Main Street. If I borrow $700 Billion to buy depressed assets, and eventually sell said investments for $800 Billion I have not turned a $100 Billion dollar profit...lets factor in A) the cost too taxpayers of running this new asset management program, and B) lets factor in the on going interest on $700 Billion dollars. Even at 4 percent interest we are talking a yearly interest on debt of $2.8 Billion dollars.The rescue plan now includes those four principles. It also includes a proposal I made yesterday morning to expand federal deposit insurance for families and small businesses across America who have invested their money in our banks. This will boost small businesses, make our banking system more secure, and help restore confidence by reassuring families that their money is safe.
OBAMA, stop trying to blow smoke up the ass of Main Street citizens. I did not graduate from Harvard (cannot afford college), but I can put two and two together and come up with four, and this bill does not add up to four. The things you are claiming are in the bill ARE NOT. Sure, they might appear to be there, but they are not...there are empty bags filled with unenforcable promises.Even with all these taxpayer protections, this plan is not perfect. Democrats and Republicans in Congress have legitimate concerns about it. I know many Americans share those concerns. But it is clear that this is what we must do right now to prevent a crisis from turning into a catastrophe. That’s why I’ve been reaching out to leaders in both parties to do whatever I can to help pass this plan. That’s why I’ll be flying back to Washington today to cast my vote to safeguard the American economy. And to the Democrats and Republicans who have opposed this plan, I say – step up to the plate and do what’s right for the country, because the time to act is now.
I agree, lets do what is RIGHT FOR AMERICA, not Wall Street, and not politicians who are owned by Corporate Interests. Take this Wall Street Bailout Bill and toss it in the garbage, and instead come to the floor with a Main Street Economic Revitalization Bill...that WILL RESTORE CONFIDENCE, that will solve our problems. Include in that bill a roll back OF ALL GEORGE BUSH TAX CUTS TO THE UBER RICH, and include in a bill an elimination of the Social Security income cap until such time as our Social Security Fund has been repaid every cent stolen from it.I know many Americans are wondering what happens next. Passing this bill will not be the end of our work to strengthen our economy – it’s just the beginning of a long, hard road ahead. So let me tell you exactly how I’ll move forward as President.
TRUST YOU AND WASHINGTON? Yet again, let you and WASHINGTON put Corporate America first, while giving us some empty promise that our HELPING HAND is coming at some point further down the line...we have been watching that point pushed further and further down the road now for 30 years Mr. Obama.From the moment I take office, my top priority will be to do everything I can to make sure that your tax dollars are protected. I will demand a full review of this financial rescue plan to make sure that it is working for you. If you – the American taxpayer – are not getting your money back, then we will change how this program is being managed. If need be, we will send new legislation to Congress to make sure that taxpayers are protected in line with the principles that I have put forward. You should expect nothing less from Washington.
With ALL DUE RESPECT Mr. Obama, I know enough about Washington politics to know an EMPTY PROMISE when I hear it.If we do have losses, I’ve proposed a Financial Stability Fee on the financial services industry so Wall Street foots the bill – not the American taxpayer. And as I modernize the financial system to create new rules of the road to prevent another crisis, we will continue this fee to build up a reserve so that if this happens again, it will be the money contributed by banks that’s put at risk.
HERE IS A WAKE UP CALL Mr. Obama...Wall Street will not pay that tab...any government imposed Financial Stability Fee imposed on Wall Street will simply be passed along to the small Main Street investors as a cost of doing business...in short, we are the ones that will get STIFFED.
This will only work if there is real enforcement and real accountability. And that starts with presidential leadership. So let me be very clear: when I am President, financial institutions will do their part and pay their share, and American taxpayers will never again have to put their money on the line to pay for the greed and irresponsibility of Wall Street. That’s a pledge that I’ll make to you today, and it’s one that I’ll keep as President of the United States.
Curious here...are we going to get the kind of REAL ENFORCEMENT AND ACCOUNTABILITY that has 25 million Illegal Aliens and their 4 million Anchor Babies living in our communities, depressing our wages, and bankrupting our Emergency Rooms? Are we going to get the kind of ENFORCEMENT that looks the other way while the National Chamber of Commerce lobbies The Hill for AMNESTY, and a LIBERAL GUEST WORKER PROGRAM?
Accountability must start with this rescue plan, but it cannot end there. Across Wisconsin – and across the country – families are sitting down at the kitchen table and making hard choices. You’re planning for your future in tough times. You’re squeezing just a little bit more out of next month’s paycheck so you can pay next month’s bills. It’s time for Washington to do the same.
OH MY GAWD...lets get out the violins and cry a river of FAKE TEARS for the cameras here. First, drag out a new line, that one is GETTING OLD. Secondly, you have NO CLUE WHAT WE ARE GOING THROUGH, and McCain with his 13 homes has even less of an idea of what we are going through.We cannot mortgage our children’s future on a mountain of debt. It’s time to put an end to the run-away spending and the record deficits – it’s not how you would run your family budget, and it must not be how Washington handles your tax dollars. It’s time to return to the fiscal responsibility and pay as you go budgeting that we had in the 1990s. Many in Congress have been fighting for these commonsense principles, and I will be a President who supports them and makes sure they succeed. That’s why I’m not going to stand here and simply tell you what I’m going to spend – I’m going to start by telling you how we’re going to save when I am President.
Let's increase and build our economy by eliminating from the work force illegal aliens who have depressed honest citizens wages by over $230 BILLION DOLLARS A YEAR. Lets pump over $130 billion dollars back into our American Economy by sending back home the 25 Million Illegals who are here in America, and who are sending back to Mexico $130 Billion dollars a year in remittances. Lets build our economy by passing a LIVING WAGE LAW...it is criminal to have a minimum wage of $6.55 per hour.
I will go through the entire federal budget, page by page, line by line, and eliminate the programs that don’t work and aren’t needed. We should start by ending a war in Iraq that is costing us $10 billion a month while the Iraqi government sits on a $79 billion surplus. We should stop sending $15 billion a year in overpayments to insurance companies for Medicare, and go after tens of billions of dollars in Medicare and Medicaid fraud. We need to stop sending three billion a year to banks that provide student loans the government could provide for less. And we can end the hundreds of millions a year in subsidies to agribusiness that can survive just fine without your tax dollars, and use some of the money to help struggling family farmers. That’s what I’ll do as President.
Let's really STOP THE PORK Mr. Obama...we can start with dismantling OPIC (Overseas Private Investment Corporation), thus ending the frequent practice of using our tax dollars too help build infrastructure in foreign coutries, including of all places CHINA! Let's eliminate Political Risk Insurance...we as taxpayers resent our tax dollars being used to protect Corporate America's investments should the politics on the ground in a foreign country change. Let's end the BAILOUT OF THE NUCLEAR INDUSTRY, and do away with the Price Anderson Act that removes the industries liability should an accident occur at a failing nuclear facility such as Indian Point just 24 miles up the Hudson from Manhattan.And we can’t stop there. We lose $100 billion every year because corporations set up mailboxes offshore so they can avoid paying a dime of taxes in America. In the Senate, I worked across the aisle to crack down on these schemes. And as President, I will shut down those offshore tax havens and all those corporate loopholes once and for all. You shouldn’t have to pay higher taxes because some big corporation cut corners to avoid paying theirs. All of us have a responsibility to pay our fair share. That’s accountability. And that’s what we’ll have when I’m President.
Again, great rhetoric, but neither you or John McCain has shown any real desire to help those of us living on Main Street, and a cursory glance at donors list filed with the FEC show both of you are into the pockets of BIG BUSINESS.As for the programs we do need, I will make them work better and cost less. I will create a High-Performance Team of experts that evaluates every agency and every office based on how well they’re serving the American taxpayer. I will save billions of dollars by cutting private contractors and improving management and oversight of the hundreds of billions of dollars our government spends on contracts. And I will finally end the abuse of no-bid contracts once and for all – the days of sweetheart deals for Halliburton will be over when I’m in the White House.
BLAH BLAH, Chicken in every pot, BLAH BLAH BLAH, end to corruption, etc. etc. and ect, more hyperbole as the crowd goes into a FRENZY! As the song goes Mr. Obama, "we have heard these handfuls of worn out social promises."Make no mistake: we need to end an era in Washington where accountability has been absent, oversight has been overlooked, and your tax dollars have been turned over to wealthy CEOs and well-connected corporations. You need leadership that you can trust to work for you – not for the special interests who have had their thumb on the scale. And together, we will tell the Washington lobbyists that their days of setting the agenda are over. They have not funded this campaign, they won’t work in my White House, and they won’t drown out the voices of the American people when I’m President.
Release your list of ADVISORS! Prove to us you mean business, and dismise from your campaign ANY ONE THAT HAS A TIE (direct or indirect) to K Street.Now, people have asked whether the size of this rescue plan, together with the weakening economy, means that the next President will have to scale back his agenda and some of his proposals. The answer is yes and no. With less money flowing into the Treasury, some useful programs or policies that I’ve proposed on the campaign trail may need to be delayed.
GOD, you are such a politician! Yes, no, delayed...is that like being a little bit pregnant? You talk about CHANGE...start with yourself Mr. Obama...come right out and TELL US THE HARD BITTER TRUTH, have a fire side chat with Americans on Wall Street.But there are certain investments in our future that we cannot delay precisely because our economy is in turmoil. You can always put off giving your house a new paint job or renovating your kitchen, but when your roof is crumbling or your heater goes, you realize that these are long-term investments you need to make right away.
Sounds good...problem is, you have not laid out anything concrete, and what you have laid out is the same old agenda driven by the UBER Rich and K Street Robber Barons. You promise GREEN JOBS...here is a suggestion...a National Plan to put solar on every home in America, thus preserving BASE LOAD ENERGY for industry needs, while eliminating the need to put TRILLIONS OF OUR TAX DOLLARS into the FAILED NUCLEAR INDUSTRY.
The same is true of our economy. We cannot wait to help Americans keep up with rising costs and shrinking paychecks by giving our workers a middle-class tax cut. We cannot wait to relieve the burden of crushing health care costs. We cannot wait to create millions of new jobs by rebuilding our roads and our bridges and investing in the renewable sources of energy that will stop us from sending $700 billion a year to tyrants and dictators for their oil. And we cannot wait to educate the next generation of Americans with the skills and knowledge they need to compete with any workers, anywhere in the world. Those are the priorities we cannot delay.
You should add to that list the fact that we cannot put off passing a law that creates for every AMERICAN CITIZEN a Living Wage.As soon as we pass this rescue plan, we need to move with the same sense of urgency to rescue families on Main Street who are struggling to pay their bills and keep their jobs. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again: we need to pass an economic stimulus plan that will help folks cope with rising food and gas prices, save one million jobs by rebuilding our schools and roads, and help states and cities avoid budget cuts and tax increases. A plan that would extend expiring unemployment benefits for those Americans who’ve lost their jobs and cannot find new ones.
Get a clue...Economic Stimulus packages are putting a bandaid on a bleeding artery. We need and Emergency National Economic Renewal Bill, we need to cut all needless spending, end all corporate welfare, while at the time taking on whatever debt is required to REBUILD AMERICA's MANUFACTURING INFRASTRUCTURE, returning us again to the top of the heap when it comes to manufacturing and exporting to the world the finest products that hard working Americans can produce. We need to stop importing CHEAP TALENT and instead spend the money necessary to educate HOME GROWN TALENT to fill our high tech jobs.
Beyond this stimulus, we need an economic agenda to restore opportunity for Americans and prosperity to America. So that we’re not borrowing debt from China and buying oil from Saudi Arabia. So that the jobs of the future don’t go to better-educated workers in India and the cars of the future aren’t made in Japan. So that we can leave a legacy of greater opportunity to our children and their children. That is how we will emerge from this crisis stronger and more prosperous than we were before, and that is what I will do as President of the United States.
Sounds good, but where is the prospectus? Spell it out for us, instead of talking in platitudes.
I will begin by reforming our tax code so that it doesn’t reward the lobbyists who wrote it, but the American workers and small businesses who deserve it. I will eliminate capital gains taxes for small businesses and start-ups, so that we can grow our economy and create the high-wage, high-tech jobs of tomorrow.
While you are REWRITING THESE LAWS, change the definistion of SMALL BUSINESS...a small business, a Main Street business DOES NOT HAVE 500 EMPLOYEES!I will cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95% of all workers and their families. And if you make less than $250,000 a year, you will not see your taxes increase one single dime – because in an economy like this, the last thing we should do is raise taxes on the middle-class.
Here is a CLUE...screw your tax cuts...lets increase taxes until we pay off our debt. I resent the fact that I pay taxes up through April every year just to pay off the interest on debts held by China and other foreign lands.I will reform our health care system to relieve families, businesses, and the entire economy from the crushing cost of health care by investing in new technology and preventative care. If you have health care, my plan will lower your premiums. If you don’t, you’ll be able to get the same kind of coverage that members of Congress give themselves. And I will stop insurance companies from discriminating against those who are sick and need care the most.
Let's make sure that these health reforms DO NOT GIVE ILLEGAL ALIENS access to our Health Care System, eliminates their ability to use our Emergency Rooms as their personal care physician...fact of the matter is simple...at least one third of those UNINSURED here in America ARE ILLEGAL ALIENS.To create new jobs, I’ll invest in rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure – our roads, schools, and bridges. We’ll rebuild our outdated electricity grid and build new broadband lines to connect America. And I’ll create the jobs of the future by transforming our energy economy. We’ll tap our natural gas reserves, invest in clean coal, and find ways to safely harness nuclear power. I’ll help our auto companies re-tool so that the fuel-efficient cars of the future are built right here the United States. I’ll make it easier for the American people to afford these new cars. And I’ll invest 150 billion dollars over the next decade in affordable, renewable sources of energy – wind power and solar power and the next generation of biofuels; an investment that will lead to new industries and five million new jobs that pay well and can’t ever be outsourced
You BLEW IT...Nuclear has been being BAILED OUT for over 50 years. Nuclear is asking for trillions in LOAN GUARANTEES, and GNEP will cost American Taxpayers at least $1.5 TRILLION dollars, and is fundamentally flawed...fact, none of the commercial reactors now operating in America, and none of the proposed new reactors the industry want to build CAN USE THE FUEL THAT WOULD BE CREATED through GNEP's unproved technology. Further, GNEP would make AMERICA the DUMPING GROUND for almost the entire world's SPENT FUEL NUCLEAR WASTE STREAMS!And if I am President, I will meet our moral obligation to provide every child a world-class education, because it will take nothing less to compete in the global economy. I’ll invest in early childhood education. I’ll recruit an army of new teachers, and pay them higher salaries and give them more support. But in exchange, I will ask for higher standards and more accountability. And we will keep our promise to every young American – if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford a college education.
You support the DREAM ACT Mr. Obama that foists the cost of educating illegal aliens of school age off on the American Taxpayer. The time has come to deny illegal aliens AND THEIR CHILDREN access to our educational system except on a PAY AS YOU GO TUITION BASIS.
Finally, I will modernize our outdated financial regulations and put in the place the common-sense rules of the road I’ve been calling for since March – rules that will keep our market free, fair, and honest; rules that will make sure Wall Street can never get away with the stunts that caused this crisis again.
You have been in the Senate now for how long, yet have only been calling for a changing of the rules since the CRISIS BEGAN?These are the changes and reforms that we need. Bottom-up growth that will create opportunity for every American. Investments in the technology and innovation that will restore prosperity and lead to new jobs and a new economy for the 21st century. Common-sense regulations for our financial system that will prevent a crisis like this from ever happening again.
As long as you are hung up on selling America on the Hydrogen (nuclear driven) economy, your plan and America are doomed to failure.
I won’t pretend this will be easy or come without cost. We will all need to sacrifice and we will all need to pull our weight because now more than ever, we are all in this together. What this crisis has taught us is that at the end of the day, there is no real separation between Main Street and Wall Street. There is only the road we’re traveling on as Americans – and we will rise or fall on that journey as one nation; as one people.
SHARED BURDEN...John McCain and his wife have 13 houses! Almost every member of both the House and Senate are millionairs many times over. Our elected officials in Washington, DC have never met a pay raise for themselves they did not like...tell us Mr. Obama how you and every other elected officials are going to share in this SHARED SACRIFICE for a better tomorrow?This country and the dream it represents are being tested in a way that we haven’t seen in nearly a century. And future generations will judge ours by how we respond to this test. Will they say that this was a time when America lost its way and its purpose? When we allowed our own petty differences and broken politics to plunge this country into a dark and painful recession?
HELLO, we here on Main Street ARE ALREADY IN A RECESSION, and a great deal of the reason for that is ILLEGAL ALIENS, and a raping of America by Wall Street, Corporate America, the National Chamber of Commerce, and our own government.
Or will they say that this was another one of those moments when America overcame? When we battled back from adversity by recognizing that common stake that we have in each other’s success?
You tell us Mr. Obama...the ball is NOT IN OUR COURT, it is in your court, in Wall Street's court, in the Natonal Chamber of Commerce's court.
This is one of those moments. I realize you’re cynical and fed up with politics. I understand that you’re disappointed and even angry with your leaders. You have every right to be. But despite all of this, I ask you to believe – believe in this country and your ability to change it. I ask you what has been asked of the American people in times of trial and turmoil throughout history – what was asked at the beginning of the greatest financial crisis this nation ever endured. In his first fireside chat, Franklin Roosevelt told his fellow Americans that “..there is an element in the readjustment of our financial system more important than currency, more important than gold, and that is the confidence of the people themselves. Confidence and courage are the essentials of success in carrying out our plan. Let us unite in banishing fear. Together, we cannot fail.”
Tell that to the Sheet Rocker who has lost his $18 per hour sheet rocking job t an illegal alien willing to work under the table for $100 a day. Tell that to the Wal Mart employee working for slave wages of $6.55 per hour. Tell that to the American child that is not being properly educated because our teachers are having to spend to much of their time teaching people who should not be here, who do not speak our language, who are stealing our AMERICAN DREAM. Yes, I/we are angry, and we are tired of these bullshit speeches, tired of the rhetoric...we want CONCRETE ideas spelled out in Black and White. What is your position on Illegal Aliens? Where do you stand on punishing companies that hire illegal aliens? Where do you stand on a living wage, something the National Chamber of Commerce has opposed FOR DECADES.
America, together, we cannot fail. Not now. Not when we have a crisis to solve and an economy to save. Not when there are so many Americans without jobs and without homes. Not when there are families who can’t afford to see a doctor, or send their child to college, or pay their bills at the end of the month. Not when there is a generation that is counting on us to give them the same opportunities and the same chances that we had for ourselves.
Not to be a cynic...saving America for the next generation is all well and fine, but what about THIS GENERATION? What about the 75 million baby boomers who have sweated blood for America, who have paid into the Social Security System for decades, have given their all for the RED, WHITE and BLUE...what about US, what about our generation, and our supposed Golden Years? The mismangement of our nation has robbed us of our American Dream, yet none of you in Washington have said anything about saving America FOR US, instead asking us to sacrifice for those who will follow in our footsteps.We can do this. Americans have done this before. Some of us had grandparents or parents that said maybe I can't go to college but my child can; maybe I can't have my own business but my child can. I may have to rent, but maybe my children will have a home they can call their own. I may not have a lot of money but maybe my child will run for Senate. I might live in a small village but maybe someday my son can be president of the United States of America.
With all DUE RESPECT, this is the same crock of SHIT that Kennedy, Lyndon Johnson and Nixon spewed forth to my parents. Now you want to trot it out again, ask us to JUST BE PATIENT, skip our turn so that the next generation MIGHT have theirs?
Now it falls to us. Together, we cannot fail. And I need you to make it happen. If you want the next four years looking just like the last eight, then I am not your candidate. But if you want real change - if you want an economy that rewards work, and that works for Main Street and Wall Street; if you want tax relief for the middle class and millions of new jobs; if you want health care you can afford and education that helps your kids compete; then I ask you to knock on some doors, make some calls, talk to your neighbors, and give me your vote on November 4th. And if you do, I promise you - we will win Wisconsin, we will win this election, and we will change America together. Thank you La Crosse, God bless you, and may God bless America.
YEAH YEAH YEAH...close with a nice STRONG SALES PITCH. You want to show you are about change Mr. Obama...create a Cabinet Position for the Middle Class, fill that seat on your cabinet with an ORDINARY AVERAGE PERSON who lives the Main Street Life. In short, give us a REAL VOICE in your administration.
