JOE LIEBERMAN SPEECH ON BUILDING THE CLINTON LEGACY / RS 112 / 3:00 PM
[JOE LIEBERMAN SPEECH ON BUILDING THE CLINTON LEGACY / RS 112 / 3:00 PM]
[DOVER, NH USA]
[LIEBERMAN SPEECH ON BUILDING ON THE CLINTON LEGACY - DOVER, NH]
[DOVER, NH]
15:18:27 Good afternoon everyone..my name is Danny O'Neill (sic?) ...Lieberman started his career in 1963..marched to Washington..young incumbent named William J Clinton..he stood up to big insurance and pharma companies..invested in schools and held them accountable for results..smart incentives..gotten families to raise decent children in increasingly violent culture...always, always worked to protect the middle class..determined ot make America more prosperous peaceful..with great pleasure I intro
15:21:10 Lieberman walkup. Thank you..I like that music don't you.. thank you so much Danny O'Neill, thanks for your endorsement last week..he was one of the first to endorse Bill Clinton..bring the luck of the Irish and do same thing.. this is important day for me..first let me thank folks at the Elks lodge..I know what youve done..from helping children's hospital ..Elks created army of hope to help comfort families...love coming to an Elks Lodge, and I appreciate what the Elks have done for our communities and our country -- from helping children's hospitals to assisting the disabled to aiding the poor.
This past year, the Elks created the "Army of Hope" to help comfort the families whose loved ones are risking their lives for America overseas. I salute you for your service in that great cause. I chose to come to this particular lodge, one year to the day after I announced my own candidacy for President, for a special reason.
15:23:37 This is where Bill Clinton spoke in 1992 and turned a corner in his own campaign. He became the Comeback Kid. And he created the Comeback middle class. By applying new ideas. Building on mainstream Democratic values. And restoring faith in the American Dream.
And he created the Comeback middle class. By applying new ideas. Building on mainstream Democratic values. And restoring faith in the American Dream.
Bill Clinton started by putting his faith in you. He understood that the middle class -- the people who work hard, play by the rules, aspire to build a better life for their children -- is not a voting block. It is the bedrock of this nation. And that America can only be strong with a strong middle class.
15:24:32 That's one of the reasons I was the first Senator outside of the south to endorse him. I stood with him before he was the Comeback Kid. Back then, the middle class was taking a pounding. They felt deserted.
15:25:00 And right here at this Elks Club in 1992, Bill Clinton stood up and promised, "I'll be there for you -- until the last dog dies." He said he would honor your hard work, your personal responsibility, your commitment to faith and family and community. And that he would put the government back on your side. Twelve years and one Bush later, that's our challenge again today. And it's your choice.
15:26:06 The son has not just turned back the clock. He's turned his back on you. The middle class is in more pain and under more pressure than I have ever seen -- on jobs, on health care, on education and child care, on balancing the demands of work and home.
15:26:27 And what does George W. Bush do? He keeps turning his back on you -- until the last job dies. till when? lord knows...
15:26:44 Once more, we Democrats have an opportunity to help America and its hard-working families turn the corner. An opportunity to answer the historic calling of our party to grow and protect the middle class. if we are willing to lead.
15:27:02 To reject the politics of division and put away the failed policies of the past. If we are willing to bring the country together and move it forward. To use our anger to find the path of progress again. To build on Bill Clinton's legacy and put our country and our people first again.
15:27:35 George W. Bush has failed these tests in so many ways. I'm not going to take the time today to rattle them all off. I'm just going to tell you one story. It comes from Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill's recent revelations. It was November 2002 -- at a meeting of President Bush's economic council. The President's economic advisors were lobbying for a second round of huge tax cuts for people at the top of income.
According to O'Neill, the President asked, "Haven't we already given money to rich people? This second tax cut's gonna do it again." Then he added, "Shouldn't we be giving money to the middle?"
15:28:24 Then the ideologues stepped in at the meeting. Of course you don't want to give money to the middle, they said. Of course you want to give it to the top. Forget common-sense. Forget fairness. Forget the deficit that will be created. In fact, Vice President Cheney once told Secretary O'Neill, flatly, "Deficits don't matter."
15:29:02 And at that meeting what was Karl Rove's mantra in that meeting as he argued for more unaffordable tax cuts was three words: "Stick to principle." What was the principle? A principle of comforting the comfortable. Of ignoring the strain being felt by hardworking families here in New Hampshire and around the country. Of growing the debt and not the economy.
15:29:37 Stick to principle. And my friends, that's what I want to do, too. But my principles are dramatically different than theirs. They're the principles that Bill Clinton and I share with millions of other Democrats and have shared for decades.
15:29:50 The principle of hard work and rewarding work. Fighting for fundamental fairness. Valuing families with programs, not just platitudes. Demanding responsibility from all. Opening doors of opportunity for all. These are the principles I've fought for over the past 30 years. When, as a young man, I went to Mississippi in 1963 to fight for the right of African-Americans to vote.
15:30:22 In my lifetime, when, as my state's attorney general, I fought to hold corporate polluters and deadbeat dads accountable. When I worked President Bill Clinton throughout the 1990s to remake our party and our country. . . to reconnect it to the hopes and dreams of the middle class. . . and to rebuild the American people's confidence in the ability of the Democratic party to govern with fiscal responsibly -- and the ability of government to help them improve their own lives.
15:31:00 I have been involved in every major policy debate of the last 40 years, from protecting civil rights and the environment, to closing the deficit and incidentally battling Newt Gingrich's Contract with America. I've aired my views. I've gotten my share of boos -- even in this campaign. But I've stood by my beliefs.
15:31:32 (applause) Now, I'm not going to stand by and let the extremes of either side erase the progress we made. We worked too hard. We've come too far. Too much is at stake in this election. If you want to beat George Bush and are uneasy about Howard Dean or unsure about Wes Clark, I am your man. that's right..
15:32:14 My friends, I didn't just fall out of nowhere into this party or into this campaign. If the voters of New Hampshire want to know what I will do as President, they don't have to guess or rely on slick 30 second television ads. They can look at my record -- at 30 full years of experience -- and the ideas that I've put forward for a better and safer future that I have put forward over the last 12 months.
15:32:50 And that is why I am so confident that when they do, voters in New Hampshire will conclude that there is only one lifelong Democrat in this race who will build on Bill Clinton's legacy and take our party and country forward -- and that is Joe Lieberman.
15:33:06 I know how to get our country going and growing again. Building on the Clinton record, I'll bring a new generation of progressive ideas suited to the difficult and dangerous times in which we live.
15:33:32 President Clinton had a plan to turn the economy around - and he sure did accomplish it didn't he? I have a plan to create 10 million new jobs. One that leading economists say is best designed to create jobs and growth and increase incomes. Two to one over Wes Clark's plan. Eleven to one over Howard Dean's. I'll take those returns...
15:34:14 Pres Clinton argued for opening new markets at home and abroad. I do too. We must expand trade with our neighbors to create new jobs here at home -- and hold them accountable for obeying the agreements they sign. And at the very same time we need to fight poverty and underdevelopment in our midst -- by supporting and rewarding work, by strengthening families, and by fostering economic self-sufficiency. that's what it's all about...
15:35:13 Bill Clinton balanced the budget and led us to record surpluses. But thanks to the Bush tax cuts and big spending, America's right back in a huge hole. I have a realistic fiscal responsibility plan to bring down the deficit every year and balance the budget by the end of my second term. Save Social Security for future generations.
15:35:57 Bill Clinton stood for middle class tax cuts. I have a plan to reverse the Bush burden shift onto the backs of the middle class. I am the only one in this race who has proposed a new tax cut for 98 percent of Americans -- while making the big companies and the best off pay their share. That's what fairness demands and what families deserve.
15:36:43 Bill Clinton stood for middle class tax cuts. I have a plan to reverse the Bush burden shift onto the backs of the middle class. I am the only one in this race who has proposed a new tax cut for 98 percent of Americans -- while making the big companies and the best off pay their share. That's what fairness demands and what America's middle class families deserve.
15:36:55 Bill Clinton wanted to expand health care coverage. Today, with the middle class losing health insurance faster than anybody else, and getting hammered by huge premiums, I have a step-by-step plan to extend health insurance to at least 31 million Americans and make it affordable for the millions of other people who are being choked by higher costs. Cover every child at birth. Let small businesses buy into large health insurance pools so they can get the best quality plans for the lowest possible prices. I'm going to work with the market, not against it.
15:38:02 Now here's a new idea I'm real proud of ...Bill Clinton passed the Family and Medical Leave act to provide unpaid leave to workers when they need to be at home. But millions cannot afford to take it -- so I want to provide Paid Leave to mothers and fathers taking care of newborns and people dealing with personal illness or the illness of a loved one. that would be a major and historic event in american life
15:39:07 Bill Clinton said he would end welfare as we know it -- to end the cycle of dependency and help people work their way into the middle class. 7.7 M people benefited...I want to pass the next generation of welfare reform to help more people off the rolls, engage fathers more in the lives of their children, and expand the earned income tax credit so that work truly pays. Bill Clinton said that the era of big government is over -- and we lived by his credo, slowing the growth in government spending while making responsible investments.
15:40:01 George W. Bush has turned it all upside down -- don't make good investments and bloat the budget with bad ones. I'm going to reverse the Bush budget priorities -- cracking down on corporate welfare while fully funding school lunches and Americorps, and I'm going to put the cops that George Bush has put on the dole back on the beat to protect the law abiding citizens of the Amer community
15:40:36 President Clinton knew that in a knowledge-based economy, education is the passport to opportunity -- and he pushed our public schools to set higher standards and offer better choices. Unlike some in my party, I went to continue this education revolution -- by investing in reform, as George W. Bush has failed to do, and insisting on results.
15:41:05 And Bill Clinton believed that there was hope in the technologies of the future, and that American ingenuity could take us places we never imagined. I share that enduring sense of optimism. That's why on the first day I enter office, I will remove George Bush's regressive restrictions on stem cell research -- which are holding back the possibility of cures for millions who suffer from chronic and life-threatening diseases. idealistic dream..just like Kennedy man on the moom...And that's why I will create a new American Center for Cures, whose sole mission will be to translate the breathtaking research of today into the lifesaving cures of tomorrow...diabetes and other ..save 800B in healthcare costs..forget about man on mars..right here on earth
15:43:37 Friends, we cannot defeat George Bush unless we again unite all Democrats around a common purpose and under a set of common values. And unless we reach beyond Democrats to Independents and disgruntled Republicans. We know what works in America. We saw it over the course of eight years when Bill Clinton was President.
15:44:25 He rejected the idea that there was a government solution to every problem. And he rejected the brain-dead politics of left and right. He constantly searched for new ideas and common ground to move us forward. That is perhaps the greatest lesson we learned when Bill Clinton was President -- to never stop thinking about tomorrow.
15:45:01 Not to constantly re-fight the bitter battles of the Democratic party's past. Not to return to old assumptions or embrace old ideas for short term political gain. we have to look ahead, down the road -- chart the course, and get there.
15:45:30 We don't get there by only looking in the rear view mirror. We don't get there by listening so much to the ideologues and special interests as George W. Bush has done. We get there by putting America first in everything we do. By fighting for what's right. And working to grow the great American middle class. That's what I am doing in this campaign. And that's what I will do as President of the United States.
15:46:06 So my friends here at this historic Elks Lodge, I am asking for your support. 22 million new jobs were created under President Clinton. But he didn't do it alone -- he unleashed the potential of thousands of innovators and entrepreneurs to make it happen. Crime fell sharply under President Clinton - he didn't do it alone. Because he empowered communities to keep their streets safe.
Even the record government surplus -- that didn't happen just because of the leadership of a President. It happened because people made clear to their government that they were ready, eager, hungry for fiscal responsibility for a change.
15:47:05 I may not have the loudest voice in this race. But what I say has been is and will be as clear as a bell. I speak for the millions of Americans who want leadership that reflects the best values of the american middle class andrestores America's rightful place as an example to the world.
15:48:01 So stand with me. And I'll make this pledge. I'll stick with you. Every day. Every way. And every where. Until the last dog dies. Thank you and God bless you.
15:48:25 Lieberman walkout; chanting, gladhanding
15:50:43 end of tape