What Democrats Should Fight For: Ted Kennedy 1995

[dmr]

I had to smile when it dawned on me that I was hearing a strong and rumbling Boston voice instead of my own while reading this speech. :)

This post is about the Democratic principles I hold dear. About how I worry the GOP & teabaggers will win even further with their faux-populist stances and lying rhetoric; while the DLC triangulates us into irrelevancy, acquiescing to the money-men, either outright or through lobbyist-written loopholes.

I hope you'll follow the link and read the whole speech. Boy, how I miss this man.

http://www.populist.com/kennedy.dems.html
What Democrats Should Fight For
Principle is the Best Politics

Address of Senator Edward Kennedy at the National Press Club, Washington, D.C.,
January 11, 1995.

I come here as a Democrat. I reject such qualifiers as New Democrat or Old Democrat or Neo-Democrat. I am committed to the enduring principles of the Democratic Party, and I am proud of its great tradition of service to the people who are the heart and strength of this nation -- working families and the middle class.

- snip -

The caricatures of us by the other side will be ineffective -- as long as we vigorously oppose them and expose them, instead of sheepishly acquiescing in them. If Democrats run for cover, if we become pale carbon copies of the opposition and try to act like Republicans, we will lose -- and deserve to lose. As I have said on other occasions, Democrats must be more than warmed-over Republicans. The last thing this country needs is two Republican parties.

If we fall for our opponents' tactics, if we listen to those who tell us to abandon health reform, or slash student loans and children's programs, or engage in a bidding war to see who can be the most anti-government or the most laissez-faire, we will have only ourselves to blame. As Democrats, we can win, but only if we stand for something.

The election last November was not a ratification of Republican solutions. By the narrowest of margins, they gained control of Congress. But less than 40 percent of eligible voters turned out on election day, and only slightly more than half of those -- about 20 percent -- cast ballots for Republicans. Some mandate!

- snip -

We are, without apology, the party that believes in assisting the poor and the disabled and the disadvantaged -- but not to the detriment of the hard-working middle class, which is justifiably frustrated and angry. They feel left out and left behind, because they know they are losing ground. They see the wealthiest Americans becoming wealthier. They see the poorest Americans being taken care of by society's safety net -- which their tax dollars have put in place.

Americans are angry, and rightly so. Rapid economic change and surging global competition have made many jobs and people less secure. The vast majority of Americans are working harder and making less. Yet fair reward for work has always been essential to their hope of creating better lives for their families and their children.

As Democrats, we must address that anger and frustration. But the answer is not to create larger problems by dismantling the safety net, leaving the poor to fend for themselves. Such a result is not only inhumane, it is wrong and destructive to our country, our communities, and our values.

Nor is the solution to give more tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, in the hope that something will trickle down to the middle class. This country was founded on equal opportunity for all, not unequal opportunity for some.

Instead, we must be more responsive and give a greater helping hand to working families and the middle class. In this central battle for their minds and hearts, heritage and history are on our side. Recall the great victorious battles of the past -- for Social Security and Medicare, for the minimum wage and the rights of workers, for civil rights and equal rights, for protection of the environment, for a Head Start for every child and the education of all children regardless of their parents' income, for family and medical leave, for opportunity for women and a womanUs right to choose. By any standard, these were extraordinary achievements. And all of them were won because they were sought and fought for by members of the Democratic Party.

Let us not forget that many of these measures, which the American people now accept as part of our way of life, were opposed at the time by the majority of Republicans in Congress. Democrats bled -- and suffered lasting battle scars for these victories. But there are few if any Republicans who would refight them or repeal them now.

These historic victories strengthened families, strengthened communities, and brought Americans together. They reflect the fundamental dedication of the Democratic Party to a sense of progress that embraces all Americans. Our achievements remind us of our roots, inspire us to fight harder now, and give us a credibility and a vision that history denies Republicans in fighting for the future.

Surely, the challenges we face in the 1990's are no greater than those we faced in other years. People want government to be more responsive to their problems and more effective in resolving them. I'm talking about basic things that make a difference in people's lives. A strong growing economy. A clear commitment to keep the current recovery going, and to keep the deficit heading down. Good jobs and decent wages where hard work pays off in rising standards of living, not falling farther behind. Safe streets and neighborhoods. Schools that give students a good education. Child care and health care that are accessible and affordable to all. Rekindling the sense of community and patriotism, of shared values and individual responsibility, of service to others -- to neighborhoods and the nation alike.

These ideals are, have always been, and must continue to be our Democratic priorities. And we made more progress on them in the last two years than most voters ever knew on election day.

But there is no profit in endlessly regretting the denial of credit to President Clinton and the Democratic Party for a remarkable record of achievement.

One reason for the lack of credit is that the President and the Democratic Congress took on an almost unprecedented array of tough challenges, and did not win every battle. Another reason is that we live in a period of vast economic and social transformation, in which the politics of fear is easily marshaled to overrun the politics of hope.

- more at link above -

I've printed out copies to snail-mail to the president and my Senators (my rep is an obstructionist).

[still_one]

1. There is nothing to suggest that anything will change /nt