Ann Richards Keynote DNC Speech in '88. Still totally applies today-scary

[LibraLiz1973]

How frightening is it that she could well have given this speech last week?? It still holds true.
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http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/annrichards1988dnc.htm

This Republican Administration treats us as if we were pieces of a puzzle that can’t fit together. They've tried to put us into compartments and separate us from each other. Their political theory is “divide and conquer.” They’ve suggested time and time again that what is of interest to one group of Americans is not of interest to any one else. We’ve been isolated. We’ve been lumped into that sad phraseology called “special interests.” They’ve told farmers that they were selfish, that they would drive up food prices if they asked the government to intervene on behalf of the family farm, and we watched farms go on the auction block while we bought food from foreign countries. Well, that’s wrong!

.....When they belittle us for demanding clean air and clean water for trying to save the oceans and the ozone layer, that’s wrong.

No wonder we feel isolated and confused. We want answers and their answer is that "something is wrong with you." Well nothing's wrong with you. Nothing’s wrong with you that you can’t fix in November!

.... They've divided this country and in our isolation we think government isn’t gonna help us, and we're alone in our feelings. We feel forgotten. Well, the fact is that we are not an isolated piece of their puzzle. We are one nation. We are the United States of America.


..... We Democrats believe that social security is a pact that can not be broken.



....No wonder we can’t figure it out. Because the leadership of this nation is telling us one thing on TV and doing something entirely different. They tell us -- They tell us that they're fighting a war against terrorists.....


....The debt of this nation is greater than it has ever been in our history. We fought a world war on less debt than the Republicans have built up in the last eight years. You know, it’s kind of like that brother-in-law who drives a flashy new car, but he’s always borrowing money from you to make the payments.

... but let’s take what they are most proudest of -- that is their stand of defense. We Democrats are committed to a strong America, and, quite frankly, when our leaders say to us, "We need a new weapons system," our inclination is to say, “Well, they must be right.” But when we pay billions for planes that won’t fly, billions for tanks that won’t fire, and billions for systems that won’t work, "that old dog won’t hunt." And you don’t have to be from Waco to know that when the Pentagon makes crooks rich and doesn’t make America strong, that it’s a bum deal.

Now I’m going to tell you, I'm really glad that our young people missed the Depression and missed the great Big War. But I do regret that they missed the leaders that I knew, leaders who told us when things were tough, and that we’d have to sacrifice, and that these difficulties might last for a while. They didn’t tell us things were hard for us because we were different, or isolated, or special interests. They brought us together and they gave us a sense of national purpose. They gave us Social Security and they told us they were setting up a system where we could pay our own money in, and when the time came for our retirement we could take the money out. People in the rural areas were told that we deserved to have electric lights, and they were gonna harness the energy that was necessary to give us electricity so my grandmamma didn’t have to carry that old coal oil lamp around. And they told us that they were gonna guarant when we put our money in the bank, that the money was going to be there, and it was going to be insured. They did not lie to us.

And I think one of the saving graces of Democrats is that we are candid. We talk straight talk. We tell people what we think....

[BrklynLiberal]

1. That speech is probably when the Bush family started plotting their

revenge on her...
The "poor George was born with a sliver shoe in his mouth" line probably got Dimson and his evil Mama all pissed off.

Ann Richards was worth her weight in gold when it came to sharp tongued, funny wisecracks. She was right up there with Molly Ivins. Two of the funniest Texas women ever born.

[Frustratedlady]

2. Can you imagine Ann and Molly in a routine together?

I am not familiar with George's run for governor, but I'll bet Ann took more than a few barbs along the way. (No pun intended.)

She was a classic we'll never see again.

[BrklynLiberal]

3. One of their prime weapons was implying that she was gay.

She was divorced by then, and being the progressive that she was, she had no qualms about hiring gays into her administration.

The Rove/Bush Machine had no qualms about using that info to create the rumor that Richards was a lesbian, and then leave the rest up to the rumor mongers in Texas.
That was just the beginning of BushCo's dirty tricks repertoire that they would perfect during the Presidential campaigns of the next few years.

[Frustratedlady]

6. Ah, yes! I do remember hearing about that.

That crew is a piece of work, isn't it?

[Mayberry Machiavelli]

4. Silver FOOT in his mouth, I believe. I still think the best line was that

shrub was "born on third base, and thinks he hit a triple!"

[BrklynLiberal]

5. oops. You are absolutley right. It was silver FOOT in his mouth!!!

[Inyerface]

8. The only mistake she made was apologizing (The Jerk)

They really went after her following her comment that shrub
was "a jerk" during the governor's race.  Her
mistake was apologizing for the remark - she was (and still
is) right!

[LibraLiz1973]

7. we are candid. We talk straight talk. We tell people what we think

I would say that quote pretty much summed Ann up.
She will definately be missed