Iowa Presidential Watch
Holding the Democrats accountable today, tomorrow...forever.

Kerry’s workers' bill of rights speech: (1/8/2004)

Kerry’s workers bill of rights

Here is John Kerry’s speech on his ‘workers bill of rights”:

I am here today to talk about how we can create an economy built on a foundation of people and products, not privileges and perks. As President, I'll cheer on and help America's entrepreneurs - whether they have a stand on the boardwalk or a seat in the boardroom. But we're going to hold all Americans to an equal standard of fairness and justice. And we're going to end the days when our government encourages big business to turn its back on America's workers. As President, I'll fight for a Workers Bill of Rights so that everyday Americans know their government is working for them.

You don't have to look far to find an example of what I'm talking about. Three weeks before Christmas, the 550 workers at the Jac Pac plant here in Manchester got an unwelcome gift in their mailbox: a pink slip. The plant was built in 1933 - at the depths of the Great Depression - and it was a symbol of opportunity for its workers as they struggled to build a better life for their families.

Some of the workers were immigrants - from Central Europe or Central Africa - and they worked alongside those whose families had been a part of the community for generations. They had a common goal: a paycheck their family could live on, a future they could depend on. But that hope died last month.

Tyson Foods bought the Jac Pac plant just a couple of years ago but now claims the plant is outdated - even while it has plans to strip the plant of its equipment and ship it off to other locations.

It sounds like the equipment will be given better care than the 550 employees being left behind. Tyson has no plans to give them any severance benefits or health care. They're getting left out in the cold. Tyson's slogan is: "It's what your family deserves." I'd like to ask them now: "Is this what your workers deserve? Is this what their families deserve?" Because I think that the working families of New Hampshire deserved better than to be left out in the cold three weeks before Christmas.

The company said it was just - quote - "one of those things." Maybe they should tell their former employees that not having health insurance anymore is just one of those things, or that telling your family you don't know how you'll support them next week is just one of those things. This isn't how we're supposed to do business in America. American corporations used to feel some sense of loyalty to their workers, their community, and their country. But too often that's gone today.

Then there's the example of Tyco. It used to be based in Exeter. Almost overnight, it was suddenly based in Bermuda. In a flash 400 million dollars a year in tax dollars disappeared into the Bermuda triangle. And Tyco also dropped 11,000 jobs. The Bush Administration responded by rewarding Tyco with $331 million in federal contracts.

Tyson. Tyco. It's wrong when companies turn their back on the country, their community, and their workers. If I'm elected President, we're going to scour the tax code and remove every single loophole that rewards Benedict Arnold corporations for moving profits and jobs overseas and turning their backs on their workers here at home.

I'm an entrepreneurial Democrat and I believe that creating jobs and growing business is good for America. Democrats can't love jobs and hate the people who create jobs. And the strength of our economy depends on accepted rules of the road and high standards that are shared by all. All over America, business leaders and the corporations live by these high standards. Later today, I'll be visiting one of those companies, Timberland right here in New Hampshire. This is a company that doesn't just see its surroundings as a place to do the work that builds profits, but a place to do the work that builds community. At Timberland, they call it "doing well and doing good": Paid time-off to do community service. Child care centers right here at work. Fair wages and decent benefits. Labor and environmental standards that are a model for the country. This is a company with deep loyalty to its workers and its communities. From constructing playgrounds to visiting the elderly, Timberland proves that big business can be good business for America.

That's why responsible corporate citizens like Timberland should not have their reputation dirtied by those business executives who double-deal and skim from the top. Business leaders who do what's right are hurt by the scandals of the last years. They have a stake in corporate fairness and honesty. Because they know - and we know - that its only if Americans can trust each other - enough to invest, enough to negotiate, enough to work hard - that our economy will be strong.

Its time we had an economy that's run not just by the values of our stocks but the values of our families; an economy where common courtesy and common sense counts for more than dollars and cents; an economy where we don't profit off trading bonds while trading away the bonds that hold our communities together.

I'm running for President because I believe its time we had an economy where every worker - from a small cubicle to the corner office - has the same rights. If I'm in the White House, no one - not matter how powerful and well-connected you are - will get government help to put private profit before the public good.

But that's exactly what's happening under George W. Bush. Today, big corporations and K Street lobbyists trip over themselves to fund the Bush-Cheney campaign. And it's no surprise. In the Bush Administration, you get what you pay for. And if you have the right connections and a fat bank account, you can afford the access to the inner circle and the Oval Office.

We need to end an Administration that lets companies like Halliburton ship their old boss to the White House and get special treatment while they ship American jobs overseas. We need to end an Administration that lets WorldCom bilks Iowa taxpayers out of their jobs and savings and then rewards them by letting them go without paying any taxes of their own. And we need to end an Administration where polluters who contribute to the Republican Party get invited to secret meetings in the White House where they're allowed to rewrite clean air and clean water laws.

It used to be that lobbyists and CEOs slipped in and out of the revolving door between government and corporate America. But in this Administration, they've kicked in the revolving door, torn down the wall between public service and private profit, and stampeded into positions of power. Today's cabinet members are yesterday's corporate board members, and former foreign lobbyists are put in charge of the very laws that export American companies and jobs.

Instead of equal rights for all, George Bush has given those with connections and campaign cash privileges and protections that are not available to anyone else - especially the hard-working middle class people in this country whose voices are being ignored.

If you're a corporation using loopholes to avoid paying taxes, if you're a big business sending jobs overseas, if you're a CEO giving yourself a bonus while your employees get the boot - with George Bush, you have a friend in the White House. But if I'm President, I'll have a simple message for the influence peddlers and polluters who call the Bush White House home: "Don't let the door hit you on your way out. We're coming in, and we're cleaning house."

I'm running for President to replace George Bush's Special Interest Bill of Privileges with a Workers' Bill of Rights that provides fairness and the opportunity to earn your way ahead to everyone willing to do their part.

When those who break the law or cut corners get special benefits while those who work hard and do what's right get the short end of the stick, it's not just our budget that is out of balance. It means our values are out of whack. And we need to send a clear message that we favor those who are doing the right thing over those who are doing wrong to their employees, their companies, or their country. So the Workers' Bill of Rights starts with a government that puts a fair break for workers and the community over a fast buck for corporations.

That means we need to protect everyday investors and the financial security of all Americans. From Enron to WorldCom to the mutual fund scandals that have shaken the trust and savings of Americans, a widespread creed of greed on Wall Street has been met by a look-the-other-way attitude in the Bush White House. President Bush's first SEC chairman was a Wall Street lobbyist who was forced to resign in a storm of public outrage over his lenient treatment of his former industry. And the Bush Administration has refused to fill more than half the securities enforcement positions charged with protecting investors. In effect, the message from the White House to the regulatory agencies, when it comes to protecting the small investor and consumers, is don't ask and don't tell.

Its time our government sent a different message. A clear warning to anyone who even attempts to line their own pockets by exploiting everyday investors. Today, mutual fund fraud lines the pockets of the few at the expense of the hard-earned savings of everyday American families. In a Kerry Administration, those days are over. We can't create jobs unless we restore investor confidence in the markets. And if I'm elected, everyday Americans and everyday investors will have a government that's on their side.

As President, I will create a new senior post in the White House - a Director of Family Economic Security - a Pocketbook Watchdog in the White House - as the focal point of tough action to guard working Americans' pensions and retirement, to protect their personal information from identify theft, to ensure fair lending and housing, and to help people to build wealth and savings over a lifetime. To fill this new position, I will appoint a powerful advocate whose job - morning, noon, and night - will be to look out for the everyday investors who are too often exploited to benefit a powerful few.

Workers should also have the right to share in the prosperity they've helped create. They may be celebrating their so-called recovery in the White House and on Wall Street, but it's not so rosy in places all over New Hampshire and across America. Yes, corporate profits are up 46 percent - a modern record. But at the same time, wage growth is up by three cents for every hour of work. Three cents. That's the slowest wage growth in 40 years. Yes, CEO pay at the top 100 companies pay was up by 14 percent in 2002 - but corporate American has eliminated 846,000 jobs since the recession supposedly ended. It seems unbelievable but our government gives corporations an unlimited tax allowance for CEO bonuses even if the executives have done nothing to deserve the money. When I'm President, we'll close that loophole too. We won't let privileged corporate execs make a bundle while they leave ordinary people holding the bag.

America has a problem when the workers who help build this economy are pocketing pennies while the few bragging about a recovery are bagging billions. America can do better than a Bush-league recovery; we can have a real recovery that reaches every American. And if I'm President, I pledge to you: I'll fight everyday, side by side with all of you.

Workers also have the right to an Administration that enforces our trade agreements. Too often our competitors don't play fair. I believe that with a level playing field, Americans can out compete foreign companies every day of the week and twice on Sunday. But as long as former foreign lobbyists are put in charge of the very laws that send American jobs overseas, America's jobs will be at risk. As President, I'll order an immediate review of our trade agreements to make sure our trading partners are living up to their obligations. I'll vigorously enforce our trade laws and fight for retraining programs to help displaced workers. I'll make sure all future agreements include strong and fully enforceable protections for labor and the environment. And I'll have a five year ban on lobbying so that government officials cannot cash in by peddling influence to foreign countries or companies.

Americans have the right to a tax system that favors working people instead of protecting wealthy contributors. As President, I will roll back George Bush's tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so we can invest in education and health care. I will end corporate welfare as we know it and tax giveaways to special interests. But here's what I won't do. I won't raise taxes on the middle class or cut basic benefits for children and older Americans. Hard working Americans have already had to deal with George Bush - and they don't need more pain. The last time I looked the problem wasn't that the middle class had too much money. So, I will fight for a tax cut that puts real money into the pockets of the hard working middle class. I'll do that because it's true to our principles as Democrats - and right for the American economy.

And our Workers' Bill of Rights includes things you won't find in an economic report. It's about a country that values neighborhoods and not just the NASDAQ. It's about a country where parents can make a living and still spend time with their children. It's about a country where we don't poison the air our children breathe in the quest for a fast buck.

Everywhere I go, I hear mothers and fathers talk about how hard it is these days to be good parents and good workers at the same time. So we have to honor the Family and Medical Leave Act - and expand it. And at long last, we have to make affordable health care a right, and not a privilege, in the United States of America. The first major bill I send to Congress in my first 100 days as President will be health care reform to cut costs and stop skyrocketing premiums, and cover all our people. Under my plan, Americans will see real savings of up to $1,000 on their health care bill. No one in this race will fight harder than I will to cover the uninsured and get to universal coverage, but I also think it's time someone in government stood up for the Americans who have health insurance but are getting killed when they try to pay for it. And I'm going to fight for them. I can tell you that Senators and Congressmen get great health care - and you pay for it. As President, I'm going to fight for a basic principle: your family's health is just as important as any politician's in Washington.

And it's time to demand and win a fair deal in the workplace. I have never seen a workplace as fundamentally unfair as it is today. I will stand up for safe workplaces and the right to organize; I support card check and I'm going to appoint a Secretary of Labor from the House of Labor. We still don't have fair pay for women - and I am running for President to make sure that an equal days pay for an equal days work is a reality and not just a slogan.

And just yesterday we found out that George Bush's Labor Department has drawn up a "how to" guide for big business to avoid paying their low-income workers the overtime pay they've earned. I'm going to continue to stand up against those that want to eliminate the 40-hour work week and the overtime pay that have protected workers from exploitation - and rewarded hard work - since the New Deal. American workers don't need lower pay, longer hours, and less of a say on the job. They deserve a President who will respect and reward their hard work and honest labor.

With George Bush in the White House, we have a "get mine and get out" ethic that glorifies the creed of greed. Polluters are given a free pass. Powerful corporations enjoy sweetheart deals at the expense of everyday Americans. Lobbyists write laws favoring the companies that pay their lavish bills. Failed CEOs get golden parachutes while their employees get pink slips. For the first time in this nation's history, the most privileged among us get enormous tax breaks during a time of war. And corporate executives bilk the retirement savings of ordinary investors.
All of this is wrong - but we can change it.

I'm running in 2004 to fight for Americans who need a President on their side. Unlike George Bush, I believe America's strength doesn't just come from captains of industry or corporate leaders on the cover of Fortune. I believe it flows from the dedication and productivity of millions whose lifestyles aren't rich or famous but who work hard and do what's right. They get up each morning, go to work, raise their children and pay their taxes. They don't ask for special favors or special recognition. They simply want fairness.

A salary that pays the bills. A health care system where a check-up doesn't empty the family checkbook. A workplace that's fair. A chance for their children to have a better life than their parents. A Workers' Bill of Rights instead of a Special Interest Bill of Privileges. That's not too much to ask for. And the American people have waited too long for someone to deliver. The time for waiting is over. I'm ready to get it done. And I ask you to join me in this fight.

Kerry’s stump speech: (1/6/2004)

Sen. John Kerry has moved his message onto the economy and is still hoping that he can get a bump out of Iowa into New Hampshire. He is spending his own money and fundraising is going poorly for his campaign. However, Kerry has honed his message and delivering his lines well. One of the things that he has accomplished is to relearn the usage of the English language. He no longer sounds like he is in debate on the Senate floor:

"America can do better than a Bush-league recovery -- we can have a real recovery that reaches every American," said Kerry.

With only two weeks left before Iowans go to vote, everywhere I go people are looking for someone who will stand on their side. I am running for President because I’m going to fight for you – and I am ready to get things done.

As the time for campaigning wraps up and the time for caucusing approaches, we’re out there on the trail morning, noon, and night. But a few weeks ago, we decided that even that wasn’t enough time to reach out. So we spent a full twenty-four hours straight visiting Iowans in the places they work – on factories and farms, in hospitals and day care centers.

When December turns to January and the caucus draws near, it sometimes seems that ears on politicians have become about as rare ears on corn. So I spent the day doing more listening than talking. No yelling, no pointing. No ranting or raving. I just listened.

What I heard wasn’t that surprising, but it was important. People told me about their struggle to make a decent living and to give their children the chance to live out their dreams.

I heard factory workers worry about jobs in Sioux City disappearing to Singapore – about their employers finding cheaper labor in Malaysia than Marshalltown.

I heard mothers and fathers talk about how hard it is these days to be good parents and good workers at the same time.

I heard farmers share their frustration that huge corporate hog lots that are squeezing family farms and shrinking the chance of everyday Iowans to make a living off the land.

I heard nurses talk about patients who battle HMOs for hospital visits, and women working two jobs tell me about their struggles to get by on a minimum wage.

These quiet struggles of everyday Americans are at the heart of what this campaign season should be all about. Too often, they’re drowned out by all the political shouting and spinning, but you don’t have to listen too carefully to hear them loud and clear. We should never forget that this election is not about the ads or the attacks, the polls or the pundits, or even about the nine of us running for President. It’s about all of you, and the opportunity – the responsibility – you have been given to replace George Bush with a President who will wake up every day ready to fight for you – and fight for what’s right. And with your help, that’s just what I’ll do as President of the United States.

But we’ve got competition in that fight. Today, big corporations and K Street lobbyists trip over themselves to fund the Bush-Cheney campaign. And it’s no surprise. In the Bush Administration, you get what you pay for. And if you have the right connections and a fat bank account, you can afford the access to the inner circle and the Oval Office. That’s wrong, and when I’m President, we’re going to let the American people back in.

We need to end an Administration that lets companies like Halliburton ship their old boss to the White House and get special treatment while they ship American jobs overseas. We need to end an Administration that lets WorldCom bilks Iowa taxpayers out of their jobs and savings and then rewards them by letting them go without paying any taxes of their own. And we need to end an Administration where polluters who contribute to the Republican Party get invited to secret meetings in the White House where they’re allowed to rewrite clean air and clean water laws.

It used to be that lobbyists and CEOs slipped in and out of the revolving door between government and corporate America. But in this Administration, they’ve kicked in the revolving door, torn down the wall between public service and private profit, and stampeded into positions of power all over the White House. Today’s cabinet members are yesterday’s corporate board members, and former foreign lobbyists are put in charge of the very laws that send American jobs overseas.

If you’re a lobbyist looking for a secret task force, you’re invited right in. But if you’re laid off and looking for unemployment benefits, they’ll make you cool your heels in the front hall.

And if you’re with big oil, big pharmaceuticals, or big HMOs, you’ll get a big time slot for your meeting. But if you’re a firefighter trying to get the equipment you need, they’ll tell you the calendar’s full.

In this White House, if you’re a corporate crony calling for another tax giveaway, they’ll put you right through. But if you’re a middle-class family calling for some tax fairness, you’ll have to leave a message.

I’m running for President because the American people are calling for help and it’s about time that someone in the White House picked up the phone. Because middle-class families have an agenda too and it’s about time someone in the White House held a special meeting for them. Because hardworking Americans who are building this economy want fairness and it’s about time someone in the White House cut them a deal. Here’s our message for the special interest lobbyists and crooked CEOs who call this White House home: Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. We’re coming in and we’re cleaning house.

That’s what this fight is all about. We’re fighting for a government that listens to the voices of every American, not just those with the connections and the campaign cash. Where the humble hopes of hardworking families are not smothered by the heavy hand of special interests. We’re fighting for an America where the decisions that shape our country’s future are made not in the smoky backrooms of K Street, but by citizen activists in the open air of Main Street communities all across our country. We’re fighting for a White House that’s not the site of a daily reunion by old buddies looking for new favors, but a place for the union of voices with nothing but one fancy word in their title: “American.” When I’m President, with your help, these are the fights we’re going to win.

I’m ready to wage this fight – and I’m ready to win this fight. I’ve been there for the tough fights – and I haven’t backed down. I’ve beaten them before – and I’m ready to do it again. I’ve been there when the doors are closed and the smooth lobbyists get down to business. But I’ve stood my ground and fought for what’s right. I took on corporate polluters when acid rain was threatening our children. I took on the big insurance companies to help make sure people could keep their health care when they moved from job to job. I led the fight to stop drilling in the Alaskan wilderness, and I’m fighting now to stop George Bush from letting special interests with special access rewrite the Clean Air Act. I’ve taken on the special interests and won.

And as President, I’m going to do it again. And I’m going to keep doing it until we’ve given everyday Americans the country they deserve. I’m going to stand up to the special interests and stand on the side of ordinary American families. And I won’t leave their side until the job is done.

It seems like every campaign season, we’re always talking about sharing prosperity and bringing back jobs and making health care affordable. And for hardworking Americans, it always seems like a better life is just beyond their reach.

Just when parents think they’ve put enough savings away for their kids’ college tuition, big corporations lobby Congress to eliminate their overtime pay.

Just when families think they can afford health care, insurance companies get to raise their premiums to a price that’s breaks their budget.

Just when children think it’s safe to breathe the air and drink the water where they live, corporate polluters get the green light to dump toxic waste in their neighborhood.

Bringing jobs and prosperity to America have been a core commitment of our party since the beginning, and we have stood up for affordable health care ever since Harry Truman first fought for it in the 1940s. But many times, powerful special interests have beat back our efforts at reform. Well this time, we’re gonna beat them.

And we’re going to start by changing the rules of the road in Washington. In my first 100 days, we will reinstate the five-year ban on lobbying so that government officials cannot cash in by peddling influence. And we’ll shine the light on the secret deals in Washington by requiring every meeting with a lobbyist or any special interest deal inserted into a bill by a lobbyist be made public. “We the people” is the first line of our Constitution. And when I’m President, the American people won’t be last in line in our country anymore.

And once we’ve changed the rules of the road, we can start putting America on the road to prosperity, good jobs, and health care that Americans can afford.

You deserve better than a special interest recovery. Last month, the headlines read “Bush Trumpets Economic Recovery,” but the only thing certain about that trumpet is that its sound is heard only by a privileged few.

They may be celebrating this so-called recovery in the White House and on Wall Street, but it’s not so rosy in places all over Iowa and across America. In an economy that grew at 8 percent last quarter, the average American got to bring home an extra three cents for every hour of work. Three cents. That’s the slowest wage growth in 40 years. America has a problem when the workers who help build this economy are pocketing pennies while the few bragging about a recovery are bagging billions.

America can do better than a Bush-league recovery – we can have a real recovery that reaches every American. And as President, we’ll fight together to get us there.

In my first 100 days as President, I will fight to repeal the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans so that we can invest in education and health care. And we will increase the minimum wage so that working families can make ends meet.

We’ll beat back the special interest job market. In this economy, corporate profits are up a record 46 percent. But George Bush has lost more jobs than any President since Herbert Hoover. I’m not satisfied with a job-loss recovery, and to put America back to work, we need to put George Bush and Dick Cheney out of work.

When I’m President, we will scour the tax code and close every single loophole for companies that take jobs offshore. We will reward companies that create jobs here in America with a new manufacturing jobs tax credit and by helping with health care costs. And we will give the American people the information they need so that they can choose to support American jobs staying on American soil. A quarter of a million call center jobs have been sent overseas in the past three years. That’s why today I’m announcing that if you’re doing business over the phone, you have a right to know if the company you’re calling is using American labor or sending the calls – and the jobs – overseas. You deserve to know whether your calls are answered by workers in Iowa or India. And when I’m President, you will.

It’s bad enough that companies are sending so many jobs overseas, but the last thing we need is to send government jobs overseas. Today, the jobs for taxpayer-funded government services in New Jersey are being filled by offshore labor. When I am President, I’ll make sure that if government contracts can be performed by American workers, then they’ll get the jobs.

If you need a reminder of what’s at stake in this election, consider this: Starting up the country of origin labeling program is going to be delayed for two years – in a vote that’s scheduled to occur on January 20th – the day after the Iowa Caucuses. It’s no surprise that the Iowa Cattlemen support country of origin labeling even though the National Cattlemen oppose it. And we need a President who will hear the voice of small farmers and everyday Iowans who know we need this important legislation – and need it now.

Finally, we need to beat back the special interest health care system. George Bush promised us action on health care when he ran for President. But every year he’s been in office, your premiums have risen by double digits. Every year he’s been in office, another million Americans have lost their health insurance. And this President hasn’t lifted a finger to help. Instead, he’s been fighting for the big insurance companies and HMOs that line his campaign coffers—the same ones that have caused so much of the hurt in the first place.

In my first 100 days as President, I’ll offer affordable health care for all Americans by cutting costs and stopping skyrocketing premiums. The average health care cost per person in Iowa is about $4,000. Under my plan, you’ll see real savings of up to $1,000 on that bill. No one in this race will fight harder than I will to cover the uninsured and get to universal coverage, but I also think it’s time someone in government stood up and fought for the Americans who have health insurance but are getting killed when they try to pay their bills. And I’m going to fight for them.

If you want to see a prime example of Republican’s working for powerful interests, just look at this latest Medicare bill. This bill is less about prescription drug benefits and more a prescription to benefit big drug companies. Right here in Iowa, the price of prescription drugs has risen by over 10% in one year! Not surprisingly, the big drug companies and HMO’s spent $139 million lobbying Congress and they’re going to get $139 billion in return. That’s not a bad investment. Say what you want about President Bush, its clear his powerful campaign contributors get what they pay for. But we’re getting left with the tab.

But drug companies aren’t ready to settle for making millions of off seniors in the free market – they’re also pulling every string they know of to stifle competition and create their own special interest market where it’s illegal to send back cheaper versions of the same exact drugs from Canada. American seniors would save millions a year on the very same prescriptions that Canadian seniors take, but big drug companies just won’t give them a break – and this President stand on their side. I’m going to stand on the side of seniors who need our help.

As your President, I will wake up every day ready to fight for those who cannot fight for themselves. That also means standing up for those who hardly ever have someone fighting for them. America’s poor and working poor – and Americans with disabilities. I think of my friend Max Cleland – an American hero who overcame these barriers. He left three limbs on the battlefield after serving his country bravely in Vietnam, but never stopped moving when he returned home to America. He moved obstacles that stood in his way, he moved people with his courage and strength, and with a lot of hard work, he eventually moved into the United States Senate. No one in America has done more than Iowa’s Tom Harkin to advance the cause of Americans with Disabilities. And when I am President, the voices of the disabled – and the whisper of all those to weak to shout – will reach the White House once more.

Today, as our campaign launches “Women’s Voices on the Trail,” I also want to say how grateful I am for the support of the many talented and accomplished women who will take their voices on the campaign trail in the coming weeks and months. Women know what it’s like to be shut out of this White House just as well as anyone. Their voices have been silenced and their choices threatened by an Administration that welcomes ring-wing special interests and extremist judges with open arms. It’s time those voices were heard once again.

The issues that were once consigned to a corner called “women’s issues,” need to be the concern of all of us. It’s time for an equal day’s pay for an equal day’s work to become a reality and not just a slogan. And whether it is choice or Title Nine or affirmative action – all Americans pay the price when progress is reversed. When I am President, women’s voices will not just travel on the campaign trail, they will sound openly from the workplace to the doctor’s office, echo in the White House, and ring proudly from positions within my Administration.

I’m running for President because I’m going to fight for Americans who need someone on their side. Unlike George Bush, I believe America’s strength doesn’t just come from captains of industry or corporate leaders on the cover of Fortune. I believe it flows from the dedication and productivity of millions whose lifestyles aren’t rich or famous but who work hard and do what’s right. They get up each morning, go to work, raise their children and pay their taxes. They don’t ask for special favors or special recognition. They simply want fairness.

A salary that pays the bills. A health care system where a check-up doesn’t empty the family checkbook. A workplace that’s fair. College tuition that’s affordable. And a chance for their children to have a better life than their parents. That’s not too much to ask for. And the American people have waited too long for someone to deliver. The time for waiting is over. I’m ready to get it done. And I ask you to join me in this fight.

Kerry’s foreign policy speech: (12/16/2003)

Or -- bash Dean, bash Bush

The following is Sen. John Kerry’s speech on foreign policy as it was prepared for delivery:

Shortly after he took office, Thomas Jefferson – America’s first chief diplomat – laid out the goals of American foreign policy: “We are pointing out the way to struggling nations who wish, like us, to emerge from their tyrannies.” For 225 years – and with gathering force during the course of the last century – these words have guided an America that has come to believe that the surest way to defend our people is to advance our ideals.

Saturday evening, halfway around the world, in a dark hole beneath a mud shack on a sheep farm, Jefferson’s promise was fulfilled again. Saddam Hussein was a totalitarian who waged a reign of terror against his people and repeatedly endangered the peace of the world. And no one can doubt that we are safer – and Iraq is better – because Saddam Hussein is now behind bars.

His capture is a great tribute to the skill and bravery of the U.S. Armed Forces, who showed Saturday as they do everyday what it means to have the greatest military in history – and why we must never retreat from having the strongest military in the world. This nation stands united with a single message for our troops: Job well done.

Saddam Hussein’s capture also represents a two-fold opportunity. For President Bush, it is still another chance to transform the situation in Iraq from an American occupation to a global coalition. And it is an opportunity for America to reclaim the best of our historic role overseas and to once again lead the world toward progress and freedom.

From the Battle of Belleau Wood to the Battle of the Bulge, from Korea to Kosovo, the story of the last century is of an America that accepted the heavy responsibility of its historic obligation – to serve as not just a beacon of hope, but to work with allies across the world to defend and extend the frontiers of freedom.

But today, we confront a dual danger – two major detours from the true path of American leadership. On one side is President Bush who has taken America off onto the road of unilateralism and ideological preemption. On the other side are those in my own party who threaten to take us down a road of confusion and retreat.

Iraq has been ground zero in that ideological tug of war, with difficult decisions that had to be made, and complicated issues of national security that had to be discussed with Americans honestly and responsibly.

When America needed leadership on Iraq, Howard Dean was all over the lot, with a lot of slogans and a lot less solutions. One moment he supported authorizing the use of force, the next he criticized those who did. He said Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction, then he said he’d figured out that he didn’t. He said he opposed the war all along, but less than a month before it began he said that if the U.N. wouldn’t enforce its own mandates, then ‘unilateralism is a regrettable, but unavoidable choice.’

And at other times, Governor Dean said that we should not go into Iraq unless the UN Security council gave us authorization. That is a fundamental misunderstanding of how a President protects the United States. I have said many times I believe that America should have worked to get international backing before going to war. Our diplomacy should have been as good as our soldiers. A true international coalition would have been better for our troops, better for our security, better for Iraq’s future. Perhaps it reflects inexperience, but for Howard Dean to permit a veto over when America can or cannot act not only becomes little more than a pretext for doing nothing – it cedes our security and presidential responsibility to defend America to someone else -- a profound danger for both our national security and global stability.

The Democratic Party has always been stronger than that. Woodrow Wilson led America in a fight for self-determination and against old empires. Franklin Roosevelt defended freedom from fascism. Harry Truman contained the expansion of communism and introduced the Marshall Plan. John F. Kennedy pledged a “long twilight struggle” to end the Cold War. Jimmy Carter renewed America’s commitment to human rights around the world. And from Haiti to Bosnia, Bill Clinton placed America’s might on the side of America’s values while he expanded our circle of allies at the same time. And none of them would ever have given others the power to prevent America from defending its interests or its ideals.

To follow the path that Howard Dean seems to prefer is to embrace a “Simon Says” foreign policy where America only moves if others move first. And that is just as wrong as George Bush’s policy of schoolyard taunts and cowboy swagger. Our job is to lead the world to a better place, to convince allies of mutual interest and global responsibilities.

We need a President who will not walk away from a dangerous world – and a President who will not walk alone by choice – but a President who will lead a new alliance of free nations to build a new era of security and peace. A President who will rally democratic countries to join in a lasting coalition to address the common ills of a new century – terrorism, loose nukes, and drug trafficking, environmental destruction and epidemic disease. And with your help, that’s the kind of President I will be.

I believe it was right to hold Saddam Hussein accountable for violating UN agreements. I believed then – and I believe now – authorizing force was the only way to get inspectors in, and the only way ultimately to enforce Saddam Hussein’s compliance with the mandate he had agreed to, knowing that as a last resort war could become the ultimate weapons inspections enforcement mechanism.

And I also believe that those who doubted whether Iraq or the world would be better off without Saddam Hussein, and those who believe we are not safer with his capture don’t have the judgment to be President – or the credibility to be elected President.

A year and a half ago, as this campaign was starting, I argued that for Democrats to win America's votes we must first convince the voters that we will keep America safe.

I believed then and I believe now that Americans deserve better than a false choice between force without diplomacy and diplomacy without force. To provide responsible leadership, we need to take the third path in foreign policy – a bold, progressive internationalism – backed by undoubted military might – that commits America to lead in the cause of human liberty and prosperity. If Democrats do not stand for making America safer, stronger, and more secure, we won’t win back the White House – and we won’t deserve to.

We need a President who can take us back to America’s rightful path in the world because President Bush has taken us so far off course. Whether it is failing to support a new Afghanistan or supporting a failed coup in Venezuela, whether it is pushing the world away on the Kyoto treaty or pushing the world into danger over North Korea, this Administration’s go-it-alone attitude has endangered our interests and enraged those who should be our friends.

Nowhere is that clearer than in Iraq. The Bush Administration has not just been unilateralist in war, but unilateralist in the ongoing guerilla struggle. And we have been paying too high a price – in dollars and the deaths of young Americans – to continue down this road. Let’s be clear: Our problems in Iraq have not been caused by one man – and simply capturing Saddam Hussein does not finally and fully clear the path to a peaceful and democratic outcome. This is a moment of opportunity, a turning point when the Administration can and should face the realities of how you gain international support in this effort. We cannot expect other nations to join us now if the Administration prohibits them from sharing the reconstruction because they opposed us previously. That not only defies common sense – it’s childish retribution which puts our troops at greater risk. It’s time we leave no doubt what we believe: Iraq belongs to the Iraqi people, not Halliburton and Bechtel.

The Administration’s reluctance to share power and responsibility is all the more stunning because it prevents them from investing Europe and Middle Eastern neighbors in their own self-interest not to have a failed state on their doorsteps and borders.

Saddam’s capture is a victory for the Iraqi people; they no longer need to fear the return of a brutal dictator who terrorized them for so long. But Saddam’s capture also represents a vital chance for the United States to build the coalition to win the peace that we should have built to win the war. To offer a real invitation to the rest of the world that says: “Join us. Share the burden of creating a peaceful and stable Iraq because your security depends on it too.”

The threat of Saddam himself is gone. But the threat of terror continues to reach from the streets of Baghdad and the Middle East to the streets of Asia, Europe, and America itself. We must not waste this opportunity to rebuild alliances, both in Iraq and against global terrorism.

We owe this kind of internationalism first of all to our troops. Today American soldiers in Iraq fear getting shot while getting a drink of water. They wonder whether the old station wagon driving toward their checkpoint will explode when it gets there. For their sake, we must put aside arrogance and swagger and enlist other countries to share the burden and the authority in Iraq so that we get the targets off the back of our soldiers. We need tools of diplomacy equal to the tools of war. Our forces are doing their job and doing their best. Now it’s time for America to have leaders that do the same.

With Saddam in custody, with others who did not join us in Iraq now celebrating that fact, we must reach out to the U.N. and our allies – and internationalize the reconstruction of Iraq. I hope that the President exercises that kind of leadership.

Unfortunately, on three different occasions, when he could have led in the past, he stubbornly refused to do so.

The first opportunity came last fall after Congress authorized the use of force. President Bush promised America he would “work with the UN Security Council to meet our common challenge.” Instead, he refused to give the inspectors time and rushed to war without our allies.

There was a second opportunity – after the Iraqi people pulled down Saddam Hussein’s statue in Baghdad. Again, the President could have worked with the United Nations to share the burden of rebuilding Iraq – to ensure that the Iraqi people would not see us as an occupying power. And again, the President chose to let America shoulder the burden alone.

Then this Fall, the President addressed the UN General Assembly. Other nations stood ready to stand with us – to provide troops and funds to stabilize Iraq. But instead of asking for their help, the President repeated the old formulas of his unilateralism, raising the risk for American soldiers and the bill to the American treasury.

Today, the risk is still too high and the bill is still too large. But today, we have also been given that rare fourth chance to set things right. We can return to the world, reject the idea of going it alone and hoarding all the power, and forge a shared response to the challenges of Iraq. No more snubbing allies, no more stonewalling the U.N., and no more sham coalitions. It’s time to win the peace, and it’s time to do it right.

So President Bush needs to take four immediate steps.

First, go back to the international community and to the United Nations and offer a real partnership in Iraq. We need a new Security Council resolution to give the United Nations authority in the rebuilding process and the development of a new Iraqi Constitution and government. Ambassador Bremer and the Coalition Provisional Authority should be sincerely thanked for their service – and replaced by a UN Special Representative in Iraq who will remove the stigma of foreign occupation from our presence there. The United States has ample power and influence to establish a working relationship which guarantees— indeed guides us to—an outcome which meets our goals and security needs.

Second, the UN authorization for international forces in Iraq is finally in place, but to expand participation we have to share responsibility, which the Administration still won’t do. We need to conduct real diplomacy with the goal of really getting boots on the ground.

As we internationalize the work in Iraq, we need to add 40,000 troops – the equivalent of two divisions – to the American military in order to meet our responsibilities elsewhere – especially in the urgent global war on terror. In my first 100 days as President, I will move to increase the size of our Armed Forces. Some may not like that. But today, in the face of grave challenges, our armed forces are spread too thin. Our troops in Iraq are paying the price for this everyday. There’s not enough troops in the ranks of our overall armed forces to bring home those troops that have been in Iraq for more than a year.

President Bush’s policies have overextended our military – and turned reserves into full-time soldiers. Iowa, with a population of less than three million people, is in the Top 10 states in the proportion of National Guard troops on active duty; more than 2,600 of Iowa's 9,500 Army and Air Guard soldiers have been activated. George Bush and Don Rumsfeld say we have enough troops. I think they’re putting politics and pride ahead of what is right for our soldiers, our reserves, and our security.

Third, we need a reasonable plan and a specific timetable for self-government, for transferring political power and the responsibility for reconstruction to the people of Iraq. That means completing the tasks of security and democracy in that country – not cutting and running in order to claim a false success for the sake of the 2004 election. The timing of events in Iraq should not be keyed to the timetable of the Bush re-election campaign. Genuinely engaging the Iraqi people in shaping new institutions is fundamental to the long-term cause of a stable, peaceful, and independent Iraq that contributes to the world instead of threatening it.

The actions we now take to try Saddam Hussein can advance that hope – or set it back. Justice must come to a brutal tyrant who has threatened the world and murdered hundreds of thousands of his own citizens.

But it must come through a new American partnership with the people of Iraq and of the international community. This is a unique time when we can show and not just speak the values of a free and just society to Iraqis, to the rest of the Arab world, and to our own people here at home. We can demonstrate in an unforgettable way that the rule of law includes rights that cannot be denied even to a despot. What a powerful signal that would be – a signal that would reverberate across the globe and even across generations.

So the question of how to structure the trial of Saddam Hussein is not just a legal issue; it is a test of our values and our intentions. Saddam Hussein committed heinous crimes against the Iraqi people and the international community, but we cannot try him in some kind of kangaroo court without due process of law. To do so would reinforce our image as an occupying power and set back the cause of a new beginning in Iraq. We need to work with the Iraqi leadership to create a path to true justice that is fair and credible – in their eyes, in the eyes of other Arab and Muslim people, and in the eyes of the international community.

After working with the Cambodian government and the United Nations for years to form the upcoming genocide tribunal in Cambodia, it is clear to me that we cannot and must not ignore the emotional and political stake the Iraqi people have in this issue. But as I saw in Cambodia, the international community also has a major stake in the quest for justice.

The Iraqi people should see the trial firsthand because that will prove once and for all that Saddam Hussein is gone. It was important that Nazi war criminals be tried in Germany, just as it will be important that those responsible for the Killing Fields be tried in Cambodia. Trying Saddam Hussein in Iraq will provide an essential sense of closure for the Iraqi people. And we and the world have a deep interest in showing the Iraqi people that a judicial process with transparency, fairness, and justice can provide accountability and a penalty that fits the crime.

That’s why I believe a mixed tribunal, in which international judges, prosecutors, and investigators work alongside Iraqis, is the best guarantee of a fair and valid process. While setting up a credible mixed tribunal in Iraq may be more difficult then going to an international tribunal in the Hague, I believe it will be more credible in the long term; it will give Iraqis a place and a stake in the process – and it will lead to a stronger judicial system in that country for years to come.

Fourth, as we establish the rule of law, we urgently need to rebuild a sense of basic order. Today lawlessness and chaos, rampant violence and property destruction, threaten Iraqis and undermine the creation of a civil society. The job properly belongs to the new Iraqi security forces. And the United States and the allies we enlist need to do a far better job of training them – and then transferring authority to them.

The Iraqi military battalion we just trained suffered a massive desertion when about half the troops left over inadequate pay. We need to get the planning right and stop making elementary mistakes. We need realistic support, equipment and pay. And we need to get this Iraqi Security force into shape to achieve early successes so that Iraqis can have confidence in their army and the troops can have confidence in themselves.

Iraqi police forces also need adequate training and mentoring. Here at home, a police officer has four to six months of training. We may not have that luxury in Iraq, but training must be sufficient – not just speedy. And the police forces too need real support, equipment and pay. Countries like Italy, France, and Spain have national police forces with a paramilitary capability. They could contribute by preparing and mentoring a similar Iraqi force.

But they won’t do it unless the Bush Administration changes course, renounces unilateralism, and turns a new page in Iraq and in all our international relations. We must lead, not order.

We should be prepared to act to protect our interest, but we must also be ready to listen to others.

So leadership is the issue – abroad and at home.

In a world shadowed by terrorism, Americans are asking. Who can best defend us? Who can meet the challenge of this dangerous time? In the next election, Democrats owe the American people more than anger; we owe them answers. To earn their trust, we must prove by our experience and our vision that our approach to national security and foreign policy is strong and credible – and the best way to defend our nation.

I am here to say that holding Saddam accountable was important, even if not always popular. I am here to say that doing nothing would have been the most dangerous path of all. But I am also here to say that the price of unilateralism in Iraq is too high, and Americans are paying it – in resources that could be used for health care, education, and our security here at home. We are paying that price in respect lost around the world – respect we need to win the war not just in one country, but the global war on terror. And most important, the price is paid in the lives of young Americans forced to shoulder the burden of this mission alone.

We must change a course of unilateralism and pre-emptive war that is radically wrong for America. Saddam’s capture offers even this Administration the chance to make change. And if we as Democrats are to change America, we cannot seek to replace the Bush unilateralism with confusion and retreat. Let’s bring in our allies, take the target off our troops, and let’s finally win the peace in Iraq. In a time of fear, in a uncertain world, let’s affirm that America’s security depends on our own strength, but also on our ideals, and on the will and wisdom to forge a new era of internationalism where this nation truly and proudly is, as Lincoln said, the “best hope of earth.”

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