Excerpts- …Now that we have changed the world, it’s time to change America… I have news for the forces of greed and the defenders of the status quo: Your time has come and gone. Its time for a change in America… This election is about putting power back in your hands and putting the government back on your side… He (my opponent) won’t streamline the federal government and change the way it works, cut 100,000 bureaucrats and put 100,000 new police officers on the streets of American cities, but I will… He (my opponent) won’t break the stranglehold the special interests have on our elections and the lobbyists have on our government, but I will… He (my opponent) won’t give mothers and fathers the simple chance to take some time off from work when a baby is born or a parent is sick, but I will… We’re losing our farms at a rapid rate, and he has no commitment to keep family farms in the family, but I do… He’s (my opponent) talked a lot about drugs, but he hasn’t helped people on the front line to wage that war on drugs and crime. But I will… He (my opponent) won’t take the lead in protecting the environment and creating new jobs in environmental technologies for the 21st century, but I will… What is the vision… An America with millions of new jobs and dozens of new industries, moving confidently toward the 21st century… An America that says to entrepreneurs and businesspeople: We will give you more incentives and more opportunity than ever before to develop the skills of your workers and to create American jobs and American wealth in the new global economy… We'll say: Everybody can borrow the money to go to college. But you must do your part. You must pay it back from your paychecks or, better yet, by going back home and serving your communities… Just think of it. Think of it. Millions of energetic young men and women serving their country by policing the streets or teaching the children or caring for the sick; or working with the elderly and people with disabilities; or helping young people to stay off drugs and out of gangs, giving us all a sense of new hope and limitless possibilities… An America in which health care is a right, not a privilege, in which we say to all of our people: “Your government has the courage finally to take on the health care profiteers and make health care affordable for every family.” But, you must do your part -- preventive care, prenatal care, childhood immunization, saving lives, saving money, saving families from heartbreak… An America in which middle-class incomes, not middle-class taxes, are going up… An America where we end welfare as we know it. We will say to those on welfare: You will have and you deserve the opportunity through training and education, through child care and medical coverage, to liberate yourself. But then, when you can, you must work, because welfare should be a second chance, not a way of life… An America that will not coddle tyrants, from Baghdad to Beijing… An America that champions the cause of freedom and democracy from Eastern Europe to Southern Africa -- and in our own hemisphere, in Haiti and Cuba… I think I will go read the last 5 or six presidential political party acceptance speeches and look for the same old basic promises of "change, healthcare for all, training for all, lower taxes, breaking the special interests and taking care of tyrants.
I didn't link it (easily googled) But those were excerpts from Bill Clinton's acceptance speech at the Dem convention 1992. I'm going to look up GW's speech also.
He did. Not so much, but Obama sure is. And with TJ's help, he'll raise more money from regular people which will make the lobbyists less influential. He did. He tried. He did. he did. It's a good vision and had been the essential American vision for much of the 20th Century. Then came W. who wrecked it all. Please do and let us know how those were kept. It might be enlightening going into this election.
rhester - do not pass go...do not collect $200...go immediately to barnes and noble and buy "Jesus for President."
Very interesting exercise! I'm not a Clinton fan, but he did better than I would have expected with these particular promises. (1) I think that was accomplished, or nearly, 1992-2000 (2) Healthy business climate. I don't know if we created more incentives in that time period. SBIR funding increased -- I do know that. (3) Again, pretty close to on target. Clinton restored a lot of the college funding streams removed by Reagan. (4) & (5) Not close. (6) Complete success, from 1992-2000 (7) FAIL (8) To me, he lived up to this. He did not "coddle tyrants." Just because he didn't go play cowboy doesn't mean he coddled anyone (other than Monica). (9) Yeah, whatever "champion" means. If you read that as "I will go kick ass in countries that don't have elected politicians," then he did not do it. If he stood up for democracies, via policy and embargoes, etc, then yeah, he was more good than bad, IMHO.
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Those God posters used for right wing propaganda boil my blood. It's beyond me how christians who vote right wing allow the party to deceive them and their faith. Maybe these christians are not familiar with the fact that jesus served the poor, and that his entire teachings were based on seeking justice for the oppressed. The right wing serves the wealthy, and they poke fun at those who work with the the people in the community. What a bunch of douchebags. This is from Luke 18:18. It's one of the many missing books in the republican's bible. Rich Dood: Good Master, what shall I do to inherit eternal life? liberal commie pig with a cool beard : Why callest thou me good? none is good, save one, that is, God. Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Honour thy father and thy mother? Rich dood: All these have I kept from my youth up. liberal commie pig with a cool beard: Yet lackest thou one thing, sell all that thou hast, and distribute unto the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven and come, follow me. Rich dood: {sighs in disbelief} Liberal commie pig with a cool beard: How hardly shall they that have riches enter into the kingdom of God!
Right on brother! Jesus was hippie. If your damn post in front of me hadn't been so uplifting, I would have just posted: SOSNDMF. Jon Stewart is the 21st. Century's pamphleteer. A hugely important segment of the fourth estate. Where there is smart ass humor there is fire. Smart ass humor circumvents controlled media.
the daily show, for the past 2 weeks, has been ON FIRE. no joke. From yesterdays McCain clip to the hypocrisy of the right wing media the night before, <embed FlashVars='videoId=184086' src='http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed> to one of my favorite quotes from this election (at 4:10): <embed FlashVars='videoId=179254' src='http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed> "As opposed to Rebuplicans, who everyone knows love America, they just hate half the people living in it!" That line made me fall out of my seat. killer.
And heres the clip that already been posted, but better quality of mccain/bush speech- awesome. (the exact scene starts at around 4:25) <embed FlashVars='videoId=184111' src='http://www.thedailyshow.com/sitewide/video_player/view/default/swf.jhtml' quality='high' bgcolor='#cccccc' width='332' height='316' name='comedy_central_player' align='middle' allowScriptAccess='always' allownetworking='external' type='application/x-shockwave-flash' pluginspage='http://www.macromedia.com/go/getflashplayer'></embed>
yeah i get it. GOP is evil. DEMOCRATS are good. Half of the country is evil or stupid because they vote GOP. i'm sorry but you're being as black and white as the right-wingers who think all DEMS are "liberal commie pigs".
Langal it is just just equal tactics. There has historically been a pretty active religious based, liberal movement in this country. Northwesterners, Minnesota etc. have a strong tradition in pacifism and a lot of the opposition to The Viet Nam war was from the Catholic clergy. Huey Long was a Baptist inspired populist that delivered an influential, national message. Martin Luther King was a preacher. The message of Jesus in the bible is tolerence, cooperation and the good will of men.... Populism. Though Barack keeps his religion toned down to the minimum election level, he does speak with the cadence of an enthusiastic preacher. The tone itself is a religious cue. Inquisitions are sometime required to topple tyrants, it's almost the only way you take back the moral authority without the risk of anarchy. And make no mistake, a Permanent Republican Majority Plot where truth, civil liberties and the checks and balances of governmental branches are casualties is a tyranny against the people. Maybe not prosecutable exactly, but certainly deserving of extreme means to combat it. Politics, baby.
This is what I fear...this is what the fear of God looks like to me as someone living in the most affluent nation in the history of nations. This is the consistent theme of the Bible...that God is with the poor. The message of consumerism and capitalism-at-all-costs will fail in the face of God, I promise you. To the extent the United States is the ambassador of that message, it too will fail. To be saved by Christ isn't merely to echo some words of "I BELIEVE" at an altar call. It's not merely mental assent and fire insurance. To be saved by Christ is to find yourself being transformed to resemble more the one who would rather wash his disciples' feet than be served...who would rather reject the call to worldly power that his disciples and others wanted him to pursue...who rejected nationalism and racism and affirmed that ALL OF HUMANITY is created in God's image....and to ultimately be willing to suffer and give one's very life for others; even for those who persecute him. Luke 16:19-26 There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man's table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores. The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. In hell, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, 'Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.' But Abraham replied, 'Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been fixed, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.'" Matthew 25:31-45 [Jesus said]Then the King will say to those on his right, 'Come, you who are blessed by my Father; take your inheritance, the kingdom prepared for you since the creation of the world. For I was hungry and you gave me something to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me something to drink, I was a stranger and you invited me in, I needed clothes and you clothed me, I was sick and you looked after me, I was in prison and you came to visit me.' Then the righteous will answer him, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you something to drink? When did we see you a stranger and invite you in, or needing clothes and clothe you? When did we see you sick or in prison and go to visit you?' The King will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me.' Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.' Ezekiel 16:3, 49-50 This is what the Sovereign LORD says to Jerusalem: 'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy. They were haughty and did detestable things before me. Therefore I did away with them as you have seen. James 1:27 Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
