[Anyone] Wake up America!

[totem at laplaza.org]

   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.

Speech by Dennis Kucinich at the Democratic Convention