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Dennis Kucinich: "Wake up America"

by: Dennis Kucinich, Democratic Convention Speech

    It's Election Day 2008. We Democrats are giving America a wake-up call. Wake up, America. In 2001, the oil companies, the war contractors and the neo-con artists seized the economy and have added 4 trillion dollars of unproductive spending to the national debt. We now pay four times more for defense, three times more for gasoline and home heating oil and twice what we paid for health care.

    Millions of Americans have lost their jobs, their homes, their health care, their pensions. Trillions of dollars for an unnecessary war paid with borrowed money. Tens of billions of dollars in cash and weapons disappeared into thin air, at the cost of the lives of our troops and innocent Iraqis, while all the president's oilmen are maneuvering to grab Iraq's oil.

    Borrowed money to bomb bridges in Iraq, Afghanistan and Pakistan. No money to rebuild bridges in America. Money to start a hot war with Iran. Now we have another cold war with Russia, while the American economy has become a game of Russian roulette.

    If there was an Olympics for misleading, mismanaging and misappropriating, this administration would take the gold. World records for violations of national and international laws. They want another four-year term to continue to alienate our allies, spend our children's inheritance and hollow out our economy.

    We can't afford another Republican administration. Wake up, America. The insurance companies took over health care. Wake up, America. The pharmaceutical companies took over drug pricing.

    Wake up, America. The speculators took over Wall Street. Wake up, America. They want to take your Social Security. Wake up, America. Multinational corporations took over our trade policies, factories are closing, good paying jobs lost.

    Wake up, America. We went into Iraq for oil. The oil companies want more. War against Iran will mean $10-a-gallon gasoline. The oil administration wants to drill more, into your wallet. Wake up, America. Weapons contractors want more. An Iran war will cost 5 to 10 trillion dollars.

    This administration can tap our phones. They can't tap our creative spirit. They can open our mail. They can't open economic opportunities. They can track our every move. They lost track of the economy while the cost of food, gasoline and electricity skyrockets. They skillfully played our post-9/11 fears and allowed the few to profit at the expense of the many. Every day we get the color orange, while the oil companies, the insurance companies, the speculators, the war contractors get the color green.

    Wake up, America. This is not a call for you to take a new direction from right to left. This is a call for you to go from down to up. Up with the rights of workers. Up with wages. Up with fair trade. Up with creating millions of good paying jobs, rebuilding our bridges, ports and water systems. Up with creating millions of sustainable energy jobs to lower the cost of energy, lower carbon emissions and protect the environment.

    Up with health care for all. Up with education for all. Up with home ownership. Up with guaranteed retirement benefits. Up with peace. Up with prosperity. Up with the Democratic Party. Up with Obama-Biden.

    Wake up, America. Wake up, America. Wake up, America.

  

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Comments

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dennis k has, again,(like he

dennis k has, again,(like he always has!) spoken for real, true Americans and those ideas and values we (once, maybe again??) hold dear. There still may be some hope left, esp if we can get rid of the two-headed (Dem/Rep)monster of complicit facilitators in Congress-we must do it thru them, forget the Pres/SC- Tough row, but, it could be done over time; public election financing with the" re-regulation" i.e. fulfilling of brdcast lic. requirements of media when using OUR airwaves. Obama ain't no liberal; the "center" has moved far-right and he's barely to the left of that. Pandering to "clean coal", Israel, anti-Iran hawks, caving in to telecoms and the illegal runaway "Justice" dept and this criminal, murderous admin....Sigh

I just wish Kucinich didn't

I just wish Kucinich didn't always sound like he was talking down to you from a pulpit. I think he makes great points, but his points usually just sound like whiny complaints...like a crazy guy on a corner screaming about armageddon. Maybe if he let us know he was more interested in inspiring people to make the changes necessary to fix the problems he outlined above, more people would have backed him. I'm glad he's backing Obama though.

Dennis is saying it like it

Dennis is saying it like it is and the crowd loved it. Please accentuate the positive and pass along this speech and Dennis's message, "Wake up, America!" Hey, we gotta be the ones who tell Obama and Biden what we want and expect. We have to take our power back. It is not going to be easy but it isn't going to happen if McCain and more Republican thugs are in control the next four years. Wake up, America -- We have to work with what we have, even as we demand more.

In a nation of three hundred

In a nation of three hundred million plus, it must be possible to find a hundred Kuciniches. With them, we could change the world. Without them, with the wusses we are stuck with, we're just an audience to our own insignificance.

Andrew, you just don't get

Andrew, you just don't get it ! Anyone and everyone who believes in real values (such as health care, no war, rebuilding our country - ad infinitum ) NEEDS Dennis Kucinich.: he is the heart and soul of the Democratic party. If Dennis leaves the party(and after the way he was treated in the primaries, he should have left…), I leave and I'll vote Nader (or McKinney) AGAIN. I'm only voting for Obama as a matter of faith - hoping that his organiser roots will trump his current day corporate ties. Dennis being there, and talking from his pulpit makes it palatable for me to vote Democratic. If Dennis leaves the Democratic Party the party loses its' conscience.Dennis (for OBVIOUS reasons) doesn't get any corporate money and he has remained 100%faithful to his values ever since fighting the Ohio Electric Co; FOR THE PEOPLE of Cleveland in the early 1980s. . As far as sticking to basic Democratic (and democratic…) values, he is the most unimpeachable force in the party since George McGovern. Unfortunately for you to hear the message he has to speak(yell! ! !) fromthe pulpit so that YOU might finally hear him. He wouldn't have to yell if you could HEAR ! What do tou think his "WAKE UP AMERICA!"theme means ?¿?¿? AMEN Dennis Kucinich ! ! !

Wake up Dennis Kucinich, you

Wake up Dennis Kucinich, you are a loner in the Dem. Party and Obama and Biden have NOTHING in common with you!

This is the man that should

This is the man that should lead this country out of it's troubles. I will vote for Obama, but this is the man I WANT for my president. He may well be the only person in the country that I truly respect.

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH. should have

ARGHHHHHHHHHHH. should have nominated this guy instead. and the governor of Montana. best speeches hands-down. that montana dude was so funny, and kucinich, as always, is so freaking right and so unbelievably honest. even the geekiness of his puns is inspiring. he definitely woke the crowd up.

Andrew, You don't get it, do

Andrew, You don't get it, do you. Kucinich is not whining! He is telling you that we have allowed our country to be taken over by Wall Street, the neocons and the religious right. He's telling guys like you to wake up to this. His message is a call to arms, because these forces are huge and powerful and will not give up their control without a fight. Reaganomics has made a small number of us very rich. They have used their wealth to buy influence and reshape government policy in their favor, so they can become even richer and more powerful. In the end even the rich will suffer, because a top-heavy socio-economic structure either collapses (re 1929) or resorts to tyranny in order to survive.

Poster Joel Rosenblum, you

Poster Joel Rosenblum, you said, "Wake up Dennis Kucinich, you are a loner in the Dem. Party and Obama and Biden have NOTHING in common with you!" Let me help explain your remark.It'$ called the American Israel Public Affair$ Committee (AIPAC) the American lobbying group that advocate$ what it believes is pro-Israel policie$ to OUR government. THANKFULLY Dennis Kucinich is NOT influenced by this or other power / money / warmongering group, as nearly every other Representative, Senator, and elected official the works on K St! I am delighted you call him a loner, Mr.loser Rosenblum!

Dear Mr. Kucinich... given

Dear Mr. Kucinich... given the state of Canadian Opposition Parties' leaderships... Would you consider moving to Canada?? Please? we need you & you'll get a LOT more respect & support up here. honest. "Harper 'loath' to co-operate with ethics commissioner on election scandal"; "Mulroney-Schreiber investigation puts Harper in conflict of interest"; "CBC News In Depth: Security and Prosperity Partnership"; "Harper May Force a Canadian Election Within Weeks (Update2)"; "Snap election all but certain: Harper"; "Foreign Policy In Focus | Mexicans Say: Integrate This!". "SPP WATCH: Integrate This! is about challenging the Security & Prosperity Partnership of North America (SPP), an executive-level pact between the governments and corporate sectors of Canada, the United States & Mexico, which has never been debated publicly or voted on in any of the three countries. There are over 300 initiatives in the SPP aimed at harmonizing North American policies on food, drugs, security, immigration, manufacturing, the environment & public health. As well as regular SPP updates, the site is full of reports, interviews & multimedia presentations critical of what's often called the "deep integration" of North America. News updates will be posted here regularly & archived into the seven categories. The site is updated regularly so visit often, or sign up for regular updates: http://www.canadians.org/integratethis " Please?? We're screwed up here... *sigh* trouble is, nobody has really noticed, yet. Everybody seems to think that 'becoming American' will bring about an age of 'Security & Prosperity'... why? because they've been heavily propagandized into believing that privatization is the key to "Americans got it good..."... & that includes, you guessed it, PRIVATIZED HEALTHCARE. who leads THAT charge? Doctors, American corporate healthcare & insurance & BigPharma... somehow, nobody has noticed what's happening 'down South'... or what the "SPP" REALLY MEANS... ┄ BlueBerry Pick'n can be found @ ThisCanadian.com

Great Dennis, except what

Great Dennis, except what the hell does any of that have to do with Obama? Not a damned thing. The Democrats are a fraud. They are the party of bait and switch. Kucinich is their leading misleader. "Progressive Democrats of America" my ass. This was never anything but an assault on the Green Party, to try and siphon off their supporters into a go-nowhere Democrat subsidiary. The men in charge are corporatists, which are fascists by definition, if you go back to Mussolini and his understanding of government. Their main task is "manufacturing consent," which means feeding you a bunch of baloney so you'll show up on election day. Enjoy the baloney. Take the red pill: http://crimesofthestate.blogspot.com/

I need to play this video

I need to play this video everyday. Dennis gets me fired up and hopeful. He reminds me why I support the Democratic party and their goals. If Obama needs a "opening act" for his rallies, Dennis is his guy!

I don't have C-Span and was

I don't have C-Span and was watching on my public broadcasting station. They did not air Kucinich's speech, they cut to some commentary so I'm so glad I got to see his speech here. Probably the most information pact speech in the bunch and I bet most people in the country didn't get to see it. THAT IS WHY AMERICANS are so uninformed, they don't get to listen to the Kucinichs in government, THANKS TO THE COWARDLY AND MONEY GRABBING MASS MEDIA. WE NEED TO SUPPORT DENNIS KUCINICH AND I'VE ALREADY SEND A LITTLE MONEY TO HIS CAMPAIGN SO THAT HE CAN REMAIN A SENATOR. The Neo-Cons are doing everything they can to get him out of the Senate. OBAMA, OBAMA, OBAMA/BIDEN CAN!!

Dennis! Keep speaking truth

Dennis! Keep speaking truth to power. You are one of the few reasons not to give up on the Dem. party.

Dennis Kucinich is for

Dennis Kucinich is for ending the war. He's for universal health care. He's for sustainable energy. He's the only Dem who ran for president that was progressive. So why is he for Obama? Obama isn't for any of those things. I understand he doesn't want the Republicans to win, but I respected him for holding out on his endorsement until Obama met certain criteria. I feel that he's sold out a little. Sold out with style, but sold out none the less.

He may not attract many

He may not attract many votes in a national election, but Dennis Kucinich is the only speaker at the Dem Convention so far who has had the cojones to tell the truth forcefully and bell the neocon Republican Party cat. We desperately need more courageous leaders like Kucinich, but it is by no means certain that we deserve them. Wake up America ? Maybe, but given the polling data, it's not likely, since it seems our other courageous leader has the wrong skin color.

What a shame that Dennis

What a shame that Dennis Kucinich is not our president. His policies are far and away superior to those advocated by Clinton and Obama - both of have taken in the range of $4 to $5 million from the insurance companies, and hence are supporting "insurance company" health care plans, the very thing we now have which is driving hundreds of people into bankruptcy. Also, unlike Obama, Dennis is opposed to the death penalty, and as noted had a fit when the Supreme Court ruled against the death penalty for a child rapist, stating that only those who commit murder can be subject to the death penalty. The Supreme Court should be criticized, too, because it's members - 3 or 4 of them Catholic, ok'd lethal injections instead of saying - enough is enough - let's join the other developed countries of the world and end tis barbaric practice. EmilyA

You are my hero Dennis. You

You are my hero Dennis. You are the most important person in our Congress.

I'm PROUD of Kucinich! He's

I'm PROUD of Kucinich! He's one of the few people saying what really needs to be said. But the people in this country aren't actually sleeping. They're more like comatose and scared as rabbits of our rapidly rising fascist government. With more people like Kucinich we might be able to correct the horrible tailspin this country has been in. Yes... I know... the bulk of politicians ARE lowlife creeps and thieves, but it is still imperative that we knock out the current republican regime over everything else! At this point they (and their cohorts in crime) are firmly entrenched throughout our government. If they remain in power it will only allow the continued raping and pillaging of America until we're nothing more than a starving, third world dictatorship. What a pity... so many guns in America, yet so few people know what they're for - or how to properly use them!

Our government didn't become

Our government didn't become bought and paid for overnight. And one man isn't going to be able to clean it up. I like Dennis K. He's a good guy, a well meaning man, and one of the few truthful voices we hear coming out of the cesspool of prostitutes that Washington, D. C. has become. But the change is going to have to come from the American people. One man can't do it all. Finding decent people who will not take lobby money is essential. If a man or woman can be bought--we don't need that person in our government. There was a time when people served in Washington, D. C.--not as people who used politics as a career, but persons who wanted to give this nation a few years of their time. We talk of a person "needing experience" in all government affairs, but the truth is, the longer one stays in Washington, D. C., the more they learn about how to feather their own nest. Change must come from us. We must find candidates that we can vote for as Independents, and not as Democrats or Republicans. Those two parties are now hand in hand in ruining this country. The USA is on the slippery slope to bankruptcy, thanks to the reckless disregard Congress, the President, and the Vice President have for the rest of us. Sparta was a war nation, and it fell because all its resources went toward war and conquest. We're bigger than Sparta, and falling faster.

Dennis has the fire that the

Dennis has the fire that the rest of the entire democratic party needs to find. Great speech Dennis! He is the only congressperson who truly represents my views and I know many more people feel the same way. America needs to catch up with Dennis Kucinich.

Denis is the man, however

Denis is the man, however I'm voting green the dems had their chance when we gave them back congress but they didn't to anything so see ya. Denis needs to wake up and get fudge out of the DP, they are nothing but corporate cronies just like the republicans.

A friend just sent me this

A friend just sent me this link so I could see Dennis Kucinich's speech that I missed. I hadn't heard him speak in a long time. What a speech! Such fire and truth telling! And what a shame America is not only sleeping, they're drugged out..... on the inane, dumbing down, emotion preying, corporate profit driven news media that supplies them with their fix every day. And ironically, our addiction to media as the avenue for organizing, instead of the corner pub or neighborhood barber shop, prevents us from building the communities we need to bring the changes Dennis calls for.