Yes I voted for Bush in 2004. And to quote Trent Reznor, "I pushed a button and elected him to office and uh - He pushed the button and dropped the bomb." I regret it. Tremendously. Not that my voting for him made a difference in the election overall, but I feel remorse none-the-less. In fact I would go as far as to say that Bush and this administration has turned me away from the Republican Party entirely. Yes it is true. I considered registering as an independent voter but in the end I felt that was not a good route to take because it wouldn't allow me to vote, republican or democrat, in the primaries. Thus I registered as a Democrat. There I said it. I'm "out of the closet" so to speak. And you know what, while I don't agree with 100% of the views the Democrat Party endorses I can say that I'm pretty proud of it...
On to the video above. The whole point of this posting is to share this video. Now normally this video alone would not be enough to encourage me to post it. The real impetus is seeing a headline in the news like this one: The US White House has rejected subpoenas for documents relating to the case of federal prosecutors sacked last year, citing executive privilege. What the hell?! They think they can just decide they are above the law?! Man, even thinking about this as I'm typing makes me furious!! What happened to the little concept we were taught in school called "checks and balances" that was supposed to do exactly what its name implies? And there you have it folks... an administration that feels it's above the law. I want change and I'm not going to get it keeping my feelings to myself. If we can impeach a president for lying about having oral sex with a White House intern why aren't we trying to impeach a president that entered us into a war under false pretenses that is killing hundreds of thousands of people?! I've read a lot about Barack Obama and he impresses me. I know he is only human and that if he were to make it into office he will certainly make mistakes, but it seems like the worst of his wouldn't amount to the least of Bush's mistakes. Below are a few excerpts from the speech in the video above...
"We cannot settle for a second Gilded Age in America. And yet we find ourselves once more in the midst of a new economy where more wealth is in danger of falling into fewer hands; where the average CEO now earns more in one day than an average worker earns in an entire year; where Americans are struggling like never before to pay their medical bills, or their kids' tuition, or high gas prices, all while the profits of the drug and insurance and oil industries have never been higher."
"In the last six years, our leaders have thrown open the doors of Congress and the White House to an army of Washington lobbyists who have turned our government into a game only they can afford to play - a game played on a field that's no longer level, but rigged to always favor their own narrow agendas."
"Americans of every background and belief are hungry for a new kind of politics - a people's politics that reconnects them with their government; one that offers not just a vote at the ballot box, but a voice in Washington and an assurance that the leaders we send there will hear it. The people I've met across this country don't just want reform for reform's sake, they want reform that will help pay their doctor's bills, or ensure that their tax dollars are spent wisely, or put us on the path to energy independence. They want real reform and they're tired of the lobbyists standing in the way."
"I know that in every campaign, politicians make promises about cleaning up Washington. And most times, you end up disappointed when it doesn't happen. So it's easy to become cynical - to believe that change isn't possible; that the odds are too great; that this year is bound to be no different from the last. But I also know what I've seen and what I've done. I know that for me, reform isn't just the rhetoric of a campaign; it's been a cause of my career."
"We need to clean up both ends of Pennsylvania Avenue. I believe that the responsibility for a people's politics begins with the person who sits in the Oval Office. That is why on my very first day as President, I will launch the most sweeping ethics reform in history to make the White House the people's house and send the Washington lobbyists back to K Street."
"When I am President, I will make it absolutely clear that working in an Obama Administration is not about serving your former employer, your future employer, or your bank account - it's about serving your country, and that's what comes first. When you walk into my administration, you will not be able to work on regulations or contracts directly related to your former employer for two years. And when you leave, you will not be able to lobby the Administration throughout the remainder of my term in office."
"A lot of people have told me this is pretty tough, but I refuse to accept the Washington logic that you cannot find thousands of talented, patriotic Americans willing to devote a few years to their country without the promise of a lucrative lobbying job after they're done."
"In our democracy, the price of access and influence should be nothing more than your voice and your vote. That should be enough for health care reform. That should be enough for a real energy policy. That should be enough to ensure that our government is still the defender of fairness and opportunity for every American."
"It's time to get to work once more for our common country. It's time we had a politics that reflected that commitment. And it's time we had a President who can get it done. I look forward to being that President, and working with all of you to make this America happen. "
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