Common Dreams: Progressive Caucus "REAL" State of the Union

[PhilipShore]

Progressive Caucus "REAL" State of the Union
Common Dreams (press release)

http://www.commondreams.org/news2006/0131-16.htm

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
JANUARY 31, 2006
5:07 PM


CONTACT: Congresswoman Lynn Woolsey
Susannah Cernojevich [phone]

Progressive Caucus "REAL" State of the Union


WASHINGTON - January 31 - U.S. Representatives Lynn Woolsey (D-Petaluma), Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), Today, U.S. Representatives Woolsey (D-Petaluma) and Barbara Lee (D-Oakland), Co-Chairs of the 62-Member Congressional Progressive Caucus (CPC) presented an alternative, inclusive, and uplifting vision for the United States of America. The announcement, which came on the morning of the president's State of the Union address, was followed by two in-depth panel discussions in which CPC members discussed how to move the country in a new direction. The panels covered issues ranging from how to bring our troops home from Iraq and ending the Republican culture of corruption and cronyism to healthcare reform, rebuilding New Orleans and the Gulf Coast and achieving broad-based economic growth.

The following are Congresswoman Woolsey's words as written for today's Congressional Progressive Caucus alternative State of the Union press conference on Capitol Hill:

"Good morning. I want to thank Katrina vanden Heuvel and The Nation for their progressive leadership over the years...and for giving us a forum to present our ideas. Thank you, John Cavanagh, and the Institute of Policy Studies for joining us today.

And thank you to my co-Chair Barbara Lee and the other 60 outstanding members of the Progressive Caucus. We are here today to offer what we believe to be the "real" State of the Union.

We are here to challenge the President, to insist that he offer an agenda of fairness and inclusion...to demand that he address the problems a majority of Americans want their government to solve.

This is something we in the Progressive Caucus have been doing all year long, in fact. We have taken on the White House and the Republican majority on issue after issue - Iraq, taxes, the budget, the PATRIOT Act, Katrina, corruption and more.

Where others have been cautious, we have been bold and outspoken. Where others have been afraid to say "the emperor has no clothes," we have been honest enough to shout that if the hopes of Americans, rather than their fears, are the clothes of a Presidency...this President is truly naked!

I'll give you just one example. Four and a half years ago, the PATRIOT Act was rammed through Congress with barely any deliberation and only 67 dissenting votes.

Today, in part because of the objections we've raised and the pressure we've applied, there's an open, balanced debate about whether it makes sense to undermine freedom in the name of freedom. Because we've been unapologetic and faithful to our conscience, our agenda is squarely in the American mainstream. If the President wants to regain public support, he could do no better than to emulate the 4 pillars of our Progressive Promise.

A majority of Americans now believe the Iraq war wasn't worth fighting...and that the President deliberately misled us into this war. Mr. President, by announcing tonight that you'll bring the troops home... you could join us on the right side of history and the right side of public opinion.

The President and his Party have failed every test of competent, compassionate, honest government. They have sent more than 2,200 Americans to their deaths on a mission that has done nothing to make the United States and its people safer. They dithered and delayed while a major American city drowned. They believe in fiscal restraint only for the powerless and for the vulnerable...while the privileged and the powerful help themselves to lavish tax breaks.

They have made a mockery of the principle of checks and balances, by insisting that the President can unilaterally choose to ignore the laws he finds inconvenient...the ones that say you need probable cause to tap the phones of American citizens. They have put our government up for sale to the highest bidder. They have turned government of, by and for the people into government of by and for Jack Abramoff.

We, the men and women of the Progressive Caucus, have an altogether different vision, one that reflects the values of the American people. And we'll be listening tonight, to see if the President is truly ready to make the changes Americans are clamoring for.

Enough of the special interest agenda that caters to the wealthy and the comfortable. Enough of the secretive attempts to build an imperial presidency that's accountable to no one. Work with us Mr. President.

Join us in the pursuit of economic justice -- universal health coverage, fair trade, a higher minimum wage and guaranteed Social Security benefits. Join us, Mr. President, in preserving the civil rights and civil liberties that define America. Join us in promoting global peace and security. Not by preemptively invading other nations ...but by working with allies and multilateral organizations to intercept terrorists, stop the spread of nuclear weapons, and combat HIV/AIDS and other deadly diseases. And join us in a renewed commitment to protecting our environment.

Most urgently, we need bold steps that reduce our dependence on imported oil, promoting conservation and renewables and allowing us to achieve energy independence. No weapon system or military campaign could do more for our national security.

We believe Americans deserve a government at least as fair and as honest as they are. Over the last several years, they have received anything but. The President has a chance tonight to begin regaining public trust, to put his stumbling presidency on firmer ground.

We're willing to give him a chance. But if he is committed to more of the same, we will hold him to account. We will continue in our role as watchdogs that don't hesitate to bark. And we will continue to offer an alternative vision, one that is consistent with our most cherished American values.

[OKNancy]

1. Press releases are allowed, but we still need a link

Thanks