Dear Friend,
Remember this? "The British Government has learned that Saddam
Hussein recently sought significant quantities of uranium from Africa."
Those are George Bush's famous 16 words from his 2003 State of
the Union address, delivered less than two months before he sent troops into war
in Iraq.
They were false. Three years later Americans are still
demanding answers on the manipulation of intelligence by an administration eager
to start a war.
Americans have a lot of questions that went unanswered
tonight. When George Bush delivered his State of the Union address, he had a big
megaphone and the world's attention. He had the opportunity to regain some
degree of credibility with the American people -- more than half of whom
disapprove of his performance as president. But he failed to answer the real
questions ordinary Americans have about the state of our union:
When will we have a new strategy in Iraq that protects American
lives? Violence is increasing, not decreasing there and the mismanagement of
this war has cost the lives of Americans and billions of dollars in fraud. And
when will we secure our ports and chemical and nuclear plants, which remain
vulnerable?
When will the Republican Party put its responsibility to the
people before its greed and thirst for power? The Republican culture of
corruption in the executive and legislative branches has violated the law and
cost taxpayers billions.
When will President Bush and the Republican Congress wake up to
the economic crisis tens of millions of Americans face? Good jobs are leaving
this country, and many of the jobs that remain exploit working families by
denying them adequate benefits. Millionaires and corporations receive tax breaks
while Americans can't afford to save, and the gap between rich and poor
continues to widen to levels unseen since the 19th century.
When will we finally do something for the 46 million Americans
who lack health insurance? Many have had their lives ruined financially when the
worst happened, and many more no longer seek the care they need because they
cannot afford it.
When will we make serious strides towards energy independence? We
get a greater percentage of our oil from cartels and dictatorships now than we
did in 2000.
When will he take steps to further ensure retirement security for
every American? Growing old with dignity is a right, not a privilege, and
dismantling Social Security in favor of private accounts is the wrong direction
for our society.
If Bush and the Republicans would bother to answer these
questions, the answers would be simple. But they won't answer.
That's because the answer to each and every one is "Never."
Never as long as they control our government, never as long as they can execute
the same incompetent, dishonest and destructive government without paying a
price at the ballot box. The answer will be "never" until we grow the operation
and build the infrastructure to beat them.
Part of that means telling people clearly and unambiguously
what we stand for -- and I'll tell you right now:
Real security -- we will protect Americans at home by getting
serious about homeland security, and address the real threats abroad by
capturing or killing Osama bin Laden and focusing on actual (not imagined)
nuclear proliferation. We will be prepared for the threats of tomorrow, and we
will always tell the truth to our troops and the American people.
Honest leadership and open government -- we will end the criminal
Republican culture of corruption and restore a sense of responsibility to
elected office, and we will pass fundamental reforms that make government more
honest, open, and accountable to the American people than ever before.
Economic prosperity and educational excellence -- we will keep
good jobs from leaving and ensure that every job in America is a fair deal. We
will balance the budget, ensure that the tax code is simple and fair, and invest
in education to ensure that every American has an equal opportunity to succeed.
A health care system that works for everyone -- we will join
every other industrialized country by making sure everyone has access to
affordable health care. We will change a corrupt, inefficient system into one
that makes sure the world's wealthiest country is also the healthiest.
Energy independence -- we will reduce our reliance on foreign oil
by investing in cleaner and more efficient technology. We will treat energy
independence as what it is -- not only a conservation issue, but an economic and
national security issue.
Retirement security -- we will strengthen Social Security and
make sure that a retirement with dignity is the right and expectation of every
single American.
Tonight and tomorrow, Republicans will be out in full force,
spinning, distracting, distorting and dividing. But don't be fooled. You know
what you heard in Bush's speech -- and you know the reality.
When Republicans hurl insults and lies, we must be ready to
stand up and speak the truth in response -- and to make sure our friends and
neighbors are not afraid to do the same.
Please take the time to write a letter to the editor about
what's wrong with the Republican priorities -- and what we'll do to put America
on the right track:
http://www.democrats.org/sotu/rapidresponse
We cannot sit back and let them attack us. And we cannot sit
back and let them attack the values and ideals we hold dear.
That's why we are investing millions of dollars and countless
volunteer hours to build the Democratic Party everywhere. We're building a
year-round, 50-state party capable of winning elections for every level of
office.
Building our party everywhere isn't only about electing more
Democrats. It's about bringing people back into the political process and
ensuring that we have at least one political party representative of, and
responsible to, the people.
These are not short-term investments, and we are not there
yet. But we will only create lasting change if every single one of us takes
responsibility for speaking out and organizing in our local community.
Over the next ten months, that's exactly what we're going to
do.
Thank you.
Governor Howard Dean, M.D.