Damn! I didn't realize how TRULY GREAT Ann Richards was.

[Armstead]

Like most of us I always liked Ann Richards.

But after watching her 1988 speech at the Democratic Convention on CSpan tonite, I was blown away.

She was more than feisty and funny. It was perhaps one of the best speeches I have ever heard in my life.

In that speech, she said EXACTLY what all Democrats should be saying. THAT'S how we will take back the country.

She laid out the fundamental differences between Democrats/liberals/porogressives and GOP/CONservative/Fascists.

All of the issues boiled down to their essence. No holds barred. No waffling. No equivocation.

If you haven't seen that speech, try to catch it on CSPAN in reruns or from thgeir website. And then get everyone you know to watch it. I promise you it'll be worth it.

Here's an excerpt. The link is one post down.:
(Mods I assume this is public domain)


....This Republican Administration treats us as if we were pieces of a puzzle that can’t fit together. They've tried to put us into compartments and separate us from each other. Their political theory is “divide and conquer.” They’ve suggested time and time again that what is of interest to one group of Americans is not of interest to any one else. We’ve been isolated. We’ve been lumped into that sad phraseology called “special interests.” They’ve told farmers that they were selfish, that they would drive up food prices if they asked the government to intervene on behalf of the family farm, and we watched farms go on the auction block while we bought food from foreign countries. Well, that’s wrong!

They told working mothers it’s all their fault -- their families are falling apart because they had to go to work to keep their kids in jeans and tennis shoes and college. And they’re wrong!! They told American labor they were trying to ruin free enterprise by asking for 60 days’ notice of plant closings, and that’s wrong. And they told the auto industry and the steel industry and the timber industry and the oil industry, companies being threatened by foreign products flooding this country, that you’re "protectionist" if you think the government should enforce our trade laws. And that is wrong. When they belittle us for demanding clean air and clean water for trying to save the oceans and the ozone layer, that’s wrong.

No wonder we feel isolated and confused. We want answers and their answer is that "something is wrong with you." Well nothing's wrong with you. Nothing’s wrong with you that you can’t fix in November!

We’ve been told -- We’ve been told that the interests of the South and the Southwest are not the same interests as the North and the Northeast. They pit one group against the other. They've divided this country and in our isolation we think government isn’t gonna help us, and we're alone in our feelings. We feel forgotten. Well, the fact is that we are not an isolated piece of their puzzle. We are one nation. We are the United States of America.

Now we Democrats believe that America is still the county of fair play, that we can come out of a small town or a poor neighborhood and have the same chance as anyone else; and it doesn’t matter whether we are black or Hispanic or disabled or a women . We believe that America is a country where small business owners must succeed, because they are the bedrock, backbone of our economy.

We believe that our kids deserve good daycare and public schools. We believe our kids deserve public schools where students can learn and teachers can teach. And we wanna believe that our parents will have a good retirement and that we will too. We Democrats believe that social security is a pact that can not be broken.

We wanna believe that we can live out our lives without the terrible fear that an illness is going to bankrupt us and our children. We Democrats believe that America can overcome any problem, including the dreaded disease called AIDS. We believe that America is still a country where there is more to life than just a constant struggle for money. And we believe that America must have leaders who show us that our struggles amount to something and contribute to something larger -- leaders who want us to be all that we can be.....

More

[Armstead]

1. Link to video and text

Here's a link to a video and text of that speech.

http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speeches/annrichards1988dnc.htm

[Cleita]

3. She was good for Texas and instead became another

road kill under the BushCo wheels of destruction.

[Armstead]

6. ....along with 300 million other Americans

The one depressing thing about that speech is that it was 18 years ago, and is still as true as it was then.

[bigluckyfeet]

2. Ann Was a Real Democrat

We will miss you ann.God Bless!

[texanwitch]

4. Ann was great.

I am in Austin today to pay my respects and say goodbye.

Ann was Texas and the Democratic Party, she said what needed to be said.

Now we in Texas have to work hard to get Chris Bell as Governor, that would be a great send off for Ann.

We are now the poorer for Ann having to leave us.

[bigbrother05]

12. Were there too

Don't want to overdo it, but here is a link to a post with some pictures if you're interested.

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x2159022

[Johnny Noshoes]

5. She sure was great.

We need a candidate in '08 who isn't focus grouped, poll tested, blow dried and airbrushed into nothing more than a bad caricature of a candidate. Just stand up and speak the DAMN TRUTH. Hit the bastards hard right in the gut and keep doing it until they fall down for the count. If you're going to fight for the highest office in the land then DAMMIT fight for it like you want it, fight for the American people, hell at this point fight for the PLANET.

[Warpy]

9. Whoever the candidate is, he needs to FIRE all those lobbyists

turned campaign handlers his first day. Really. I'm sure he can find better people to schedule travel and events without all the baggage of GSR sessions with morons, trying to package the campaign so it won't offend Repugs (who desperately need offending) and generally making him so bland nobody in his or her right mind would bother making the effort to vote FOR him.

I would rather see somebody blunder, show off his warts, and sound like a Democrat than face another campaign season of GOP smears and attacks and Democratic wimpiness and supine passivity.

At least the warts will get him on TV.

[datadiva]

7. Ann Richards, my hero

I recorded it on my DVR. I think she was the most patriotic and compassionate person I have ever seen. She inspired women everywhere. I went back to school and got an education because of her passion. I will miss her.

[Armstead]

8. Copies of that speech ought to be sent out far and wide

IMO she laid out the exact formula for curing this country's ills.

[gully]

10. I hope they'll replay portions at the convention this year?

We need Ann Richards voice today as much as ever. :(

[Armstead]

11. ...we need it more than ever

[sendero]

13. Exactly..

... all the Texas bashers can kiss my ass! :)

[Just Me]

14. May her spirit grace us all with her presence.

She is strength and love and human potential, incarnate and now, within us.

Her amazing grace, is permanent, ingrained in my soul.

Love to you, Dear Ann, forever.

[dsc]

15. That was nothing short of an amazing speech

I didn't appreciate it at the time as any more than a series of funny stories but it really was way, way more that that. She laid out the case against Reagan and Bush exquisitly. Thanks for bringing this here.

[Armstead]

16. and the case against Bush Jr.

[XOKCowboy]

17. Gotta kick this

I'm missin' Ann Richards tonight.

[MagickMuffin]

18. Kicking for Ann

Ann was a champion to so many people. She was truly a beacon shining her brilliant light to illuminate the dark underbelly of the Mad king George and Mad king Boy George. She knew how they like to operate in the darkness. She wasn't afraid to shine that light to focus our attention on these mobsters. She knew all about their anti-compassion to others less fortunate.

She tried to help the public schools in Texas with the Robinhood Plan, a plan that taxed the richest school districts so the less fortunate school districts could compete with the richest districts. Instead of the wealthy embracing this program they bitch and moaned about how unfair it was to ask them to part ways with their money. Of course Mad king Boy George and Fearless Dick were living in Dallas at the time, and we all know how they HATE to part with their money.

Ann you will be missed but never Forgotten!

[Armstead]

19. Monday morning kick

The page linked to the speech above is a permanent one.