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Keynote address to the Tennessee Democratic Party's 2002 campaign kick-off, page 2
GORE: And I want you with me! You need to join it!
Whether I will do so - - whether or not I will do so as a candidate in 2004 - -
(CHEERS AND SHOUTS OF “YES!”)
GORE: - - I don’t know yet. I don’t know that yet. But as I said in that concession speech, December thirteenth a year ago, no matter where my future lies, I will fight for the principles that are important to our country’s future.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: And I will never stop that fight. And I want you to get involved and stay involved and never stop. Our Democracy depends on it.
So let’s talk about a few issues.
(SHOUTS OF “YEAH!”)
GORE: First of all, first of all it is now clear that our nation’s present economic policy is simply not working.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: Especially not for the people who depend on it most.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: I’m concerned about the economy. I was the first one laid off last November.
(LAUGHTER)
GORE: It’s not funny!
(LAUGHTER)
GORE: You know, an awful lot more have been laid off since then and that’s certainly not funny. And the policies, as I said, are not working. Now most of you know very well how I felt about last year’s tax cut and I don’t need to rehash that debate here. But I will say this: if anyone here is in the market for a ‘never been used’ lockbox, see me after the event.
(LAUGHTER AND PROLONGED APPLAUSE)
GORE: Listen - - after all of the hard work that went into eliminating our nation’s deficit and building up the strongest American economy in our history, the truth is America’s economic house is no longer in order.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: The policies are heading in the wrong direction. Not so long ago our economy was very strong because we made the right decisions. It took a lot of hard work. Some Democrats sacrificed their seats in Congress to make the right decisions - - decisions that reflected our values. I’ll say this: whatever anybody wants to say, I believe Bill Clinton and I did a good job on the U.S. economy.
(CHEERS AND PROLONGED APPLAUSE)
GORE: And our policies reflected your values. But now our economy is back in recession, an unbelievable four trillion dollars in projected surpluses have disappeared in a single year. Public investments in priorities like job training and school construction and health care are once again being slashed.
I believe we need a government that lives within its means, invests in the American people, and supports tax cuts for the people who need tax cuts.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: Tax cuts that are fair. What we don’t need is a government whose budget is based on inaccurate assumptions and whose priorities provide special favors for the few over the many. If we continue going down that path, we won’t be able to honor the promises we’ve made to our nation’s seniors or invest in the future of our nation’s children. We must keep those promises, we must invest in our children, so we have to change the economic policy. So it’s up to you to make sure in this election year that we have some checks and balances and elect Democrats to the House and the Senate and the Governor’s offices.
(PROLONGED APPLAUSE)
GORE: I am especially concerned about what is now being done that harms our environment - -
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: - - in the communities where we live, in the world in which we live. They’re rolling back standards. Protections against pollution are being weakened; for example, to allow more smog - - even as the very latest studies tighten the linkage between air pollution and the huge prevalence of asthma among America’s children. They’re trying to open up some of the most beautiful and pristine wilderness areas of Alaska, in ANWR, for oil drilling.
(BOOS)
GORE: Six month’s supply, twenty years down the road. You’re seeing some drilling under the Great Lakes and folks in that area are very concerned about that.
(BOOS)
GORE: And, our beloved country, the U.S., once the world’s leader in rallying the world to fight against the impending catastrophe of global warming has now served notice that this present government will no longer be a part of the world’s effort to try to solve this problem. And they’re doing that in our name. But the majority of the American people do not agree with that policy. I need your help to make those points loudly and clearly.
(PROLONGED APPLAUSE)
GORE: Too much is at stake. And after all, when you talk about the environment and global warming, you’re really talking about energy also. And the vast majority of Americans have long known that one of the best ways to secure our nation’s future is by coming up with alternatives to continuing the burning of all this Middle Eastern oil in obsolete engines and boilers and technologies that ought to be on the dust bin of history.
(PROLONGED APPLAUSE)
GORE: We need substitutes and alternatives and conservation. And we need leadership to provide it. These kids are going to face a future that is shaped by those decisions.
(PROLONGED APPLAUSE CONTINUES)
GORE: But whether the issue is economic policy, or environmental policy, or health care, or education, or civil rights, or equal rights - - whatever the policy, in order for us to make sure that our country goes in the right direction, we have to take on a threshold challenge first. It is time that we have at long last meaningful and real campaign finance reform.
(PROLONGED APPLAUSE)
GORE: That’s the key to passing good legislation and changing policies.
You know, I said back during the campaign of 2000 that if I won the very first bill that I signed into law would be the McCain/Feingold campaign finance reform bill. And recent events have made it clear that it’s needed now more than ever before.
(PROLONGED APPLAUSE)
GORE: I’ll say again tonight: we need campaign finance reform to stop the ever growing, alarming examples of too much influence by Big Money in Washington, D.C.
(PROLONGED APPLAUSE CONTINUES)
GORE: The American people want campaign finance reform and the special interests don’t want campaign finance reform. I’ll tell you also - - to our members of Congress in the Democratic delegation in Tennessee and we should - - I’ll say this - - we should be thankful to all of the 218 members of the House of Representatives, Democrats and Republicans who had the guts to sign the so-called ‘discharge petition’ guaranteeing that there will be a vote on campaign finance reform.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: Let’s hold the Congress’ feet to the fire on this.
If you care about these issues, if you care about the economy, if you believe as I do that campaign finance reform is crucial, if you care about the environment, then I ask you to join me in making sure that we elect the right Democratic candidates in this election year of 2002.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: Don’t get ahead of yourselves. The focus should be on 2002. Too much is at stake. The Constitution says that one of the principle guarantees of our liberties is the system of checks and balances that our founders put into place. That means that if you are concerned that the present administration might go too far - - I think they already have - -
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: - - but if you’re concerned that they might go too far, then the single best thing you can do is not wait and think about 2004 - - elect Democrats in 2002 to hold them in check and balance.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: That is why today I am forming ‘Leadership ‘02’, to help elect Democrats and to train young activists in the skills of Democracy. We had a training session last summer. We’re going to do more, and more still.
(APPLAUSE)
GORE: Now my friends, let me just give you one example of why this is so important. I’ve talked about our economic problems at the national level. Last time I checked we had some pretty serious economic problems right here in our home state of Tennessee. We need to elect a Democratic governor in Tennessee in November of this year!
(PROLONGED APPLAUSE)
GORE: We need to elect a Democrat to the fourth Congressional district! I need your help to fight for the right causes and candidates! Let’s win this November! God bless you and thank you!" - - President Al Gore, February 2, 2002
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