Kerry on C-Span 2 n/t

[sandnsea]

[kerrygoddess]

1. Press Release

"President Bush's meeting today with Saudi Crown Prince Abdullah is a stark reminder of our country's dangerous dependence on foreign oil, and how much that dependence threatens our national security.

"America is growing more - not less - dependant on foreign oil, and our dependence on foreign oil is shortchanging our goals in the war on terror. Even if oil miraculously drops to $30 a barrel, over the next 25 years the U.S. will send over 3 trillion American dollars out of the country, much of it to regimes that don't share our values. In the past Hamas received almost half of its funding from Saudi Arabia. We know al Qaeda has relied on prominent Saudis for financing. And Saudi Arabia sponsors clerics who promote the ideology of terror.

"We can no longer allow America's dependence on foreign oil to compromise our energy security. Instead, we must invest in inventing new ways to power our cars and our economy. I'll put my faith in American science and ingenuity any day before I depend on Saudi Arabia.

"The administration's energy policy works for Saudi Arabia, it works for big oil and gas companies, but it doesn't work for the American people. The president's energy bill, by his own admission, does nothing to lower gas prices; will increase oil imports by 85% by 2025; and 95% of the tax benefits in the package - over $8 billion - go directly into the pockets of big oil and gas companies.

"Jawboning OPEC nations to increase production is short-term solution to a long-running problem. We need to invest in America's energy future - not Saudi Arabia's - and the only way to do that is to reduce our dependence on foreign oil."

[sandnsea]

2. Good speech

That was the best part, the national security aspect. He said something to the affect that we shouldn't be reduced to oil beggars. That would be a good frame, I think. Lots of other good stuff too. Our entanglement with countries like Saudi Arabia for oil are exactly the kinds of entanglements Washington warned against. He also pointed out the different places our troops are deployed to protect oil pipelines. Columbia, Georgia, Caspian Sea and Africa. And that our Navy is protecting tanker routes in the Indian Ocean, S China Sea and the Pacific. Good points. And wrapped it up saying we had to liberate our children from the stranglehold of fossil fuels.

[emulatorloo]

5. If only Kerry could have projected footage of Bush & Saudi Prince

tiptoing hand and hand through the flowers.

[whometense]

3. Durbin kicking ass right now

on c-span2. Great speech!!!

[ginnyinWI]

4. Durbin is a wonderful speaker too! n/t

[TayTay]

6. Wow! 3rd floor speech in a week

How long was the speech? Sounds like it was another good one. I wish Kerry could have shown the Bush and Saudi Prince nearly kiss pic as well.

Wow! What has the Senator been putting on his cornflakes lately. He's had a lot of energy and has been everywhere. I want some of that.

[JI7]

7. i really wish there was a website which would put up all of these speeches

[sandnsea]

9. We have some of them

I'll see if we can't get them all in one place.

[FreedomAngel82]

15. That would be nice

I'd like that if there could be a site we could go to and few speeches on things like this.

[LittleClarkie]

10. I love him when he's pissed off

Yeah baby. Go go!

[TayTay]

8. Just saw some of it on repeat

C-Span said they are repeating it at 11:40 pm (EST) this evening. It runs about 20 minutes, so you can either catch or tape it, if you want.

This is so great. The Idiot King makes kissy face with the Saudi Royals and Kerry comes on and gives a sane and rational speech about energy policy. (And he doesn't even have to hold their hands. Or kiss them. Hmmmm, ahm, nevermind.) I love this.

Tomorrow, Sen. Kerry can continue his winning streak by giving some great commentary in that farce of a SSI hearing. (Oh please do. That hearing is a joke.) I'm so proud of my greatly esteemed Senator. He is doing great.

Oh, and by the way, anyone going to see him speak in either Minneapolis, Seattle or somewhere in Louisiana early next week?

[ginnyinWI]

11. what I like is

the way he seems to coordinate every * move with a move of his own.

Saudi Prince---Floor speech on energy and oil

Bush advocates Bolton----Floor speech with guns a-blazin' last Thurs.

etc etc!

[politicasista]

12. Some people at another board were saying that he stumbled and was wooden

that he stumbled and was wooden throughout the whole speech. Was it an empty chamber?

[ginnyinWI]

13. I couldn't tell who was there

Yes, he was just reading it, and he wasn't so polished today. So what,I say: he's up there saying what needs to be said.

[ginnyinWI]

14. it's going to be on Cspan 2 in about 10 minutes

I'm going to tape it.

[sandnsea]

21. Some people need to get a clue

Sorry, some people really do. That was a very good speech. Some people don't realize it isn't every day that we have a Senator of the caliber of John Kerry saying that our military is deployed around the world to protect oil. Or that our gasoline money is going to support terrorists. Or that the Saudi's have turned our country into oil beggars. I think some people on "another board" have no clue what happened today.

[whometense]

16. Owe you one, TayTay!

I just logged on here in time to see your note and catch the last 10 minutes or so. Fine speech, though I love it best when he goes off script a bit - sounds so much more heartfelt.

So I think they should make videos of these speeches available on his Senate website. There's a spot in the press area for archiving audio and video. Want to help start a campaign to get them put up there?

[politicasista]

17. He kept looking into the camera

which was a good thing. I know lots of peeps were wishing he had done that during the campaign. Nice speech.

[whometense]

18. Probably watch him WAY too closely,

but he seemed a little po'd too (just like a lot of us today.) I especially noticed it when he yielded the floor after the speech was finished.

It must be so stressful being in the Senate right now. I wonder how much arguing is going on within the dem caucus? Over the filibuster compromise? I can't imagine Kerry is happy with accepting any of those ten judges.

But then again, maybe I'm just watching too closely and reading into things...

[wisteria]

19. Actually, I sensed some anger when he yielded also.

I thought it was just me.

[whometense]

20. Thanks! Well, there's two of us,

so maybe I'm not crazy, after all. He looked disgusted and angry to me. No idea what about, though.

[TayTay]

22. I thought he was a little off his game today

And he looked a bit tired. (Maybe from arguing elsewhere?) The speech was technically good, but his delivery was a bit perfunctory. (There were moments in it that he obvisouly liked more than others.)

Still, so what. Get out there, make the news cycles, keep plugging away. That's a good thing. Besides, it still beats any pic of * making kissy face with the Saudis. :puke:

[whometense]

23. Oh man.

How is it all those gay-baiting redneck types out there can stomach those pictures?? I'm waiting for the explanation of that one.

I guess we have our consensus on Kerry's speech yesterday. The GD folks would undoubtedly prefer to see the fire-breathing Kerry every day, ignoring the fact that firebreathing loses its effect if it's the everyday mode.

Of course, there's basically nothing he can do, short of a complete personality change, that would lose my support. I suspect the converse is true of the GD nitpickers. Nothing he can do would win their support, but they like to slam him for sport anyway.

[TayTay]

24. Agreed

And it was still a good speech. Just not a fire-breater. As you so rightly said, they all acn't be or they would lose their meaning.

And he was quoted all over the papers, which might be the point. I did a quick spot-check on the news today and Kerry made over 25 stories as a 'counter-point' to what * did yesterday. Not bad.

[whometense]

25. That's really great.

I wished c-span would have re-run last week's speech as well, but this one was a good one, he said all the right things, and I'm very happy to hear it got coverage.

[karynnj]

26. Also they are SENATE speeches

He is more likely to get some bipartisan support if he simply (as he did) makes a good case for his solution. In fact, the Republican who followed him, while calling him on supposedly not quoting Bush in context listed somethings he would work with Kerry on.

Making this a fire-breathing speech might make it harder for him to be involved in bipartisan work on this issue - which he talked about a lot in the campaign and afterwords. I sometimes think some of the partisans on both sides prefer to fight rather than do things that will help people. Those on the left will never understand when Kerry works with OUR ENEMIES.

[whometense]

27. excellent point.

Senate speeches do not equal campaign speeches. Nor should they (imagine how annoying THAT would be!)

[whometense]

28. Eureka -

possible reason for yesterday's bad mood, via Steve Clemons, courtesy of the Nelson Report:

Bolton gossip. . .comity on Senate Foreign Relations is a potential casualty of the "war" so far. Note the ill-feelings generated Friday when Republican staff wouldn't let Democratic staff sit in on the "debrief" of former Amb to Seoul Tom Hubbard, despite the Dem's role in bringing Hubbard forward to contradict claims that he "cleared" a controversial Bolton speech on N. Korea.

A meeting late yesterday was aimed at restoring cooperation, and we've not heard if it was black or white smoke which flowed out the window.

[TayTay]

29. Well, Condiliar did issue a statement to State

not to cooperate with the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. This is just so sad. And Lincoln Chafee is seriously waffling again. And who the hell knows what's going on with Voinovich. This thing just goes back and forth. I still think there is a very good chance that Bolton will not get out of committee, but it all depends on what happens next week when the Senate is on Spring Break. (I very much doubt their Spring Break is anything like college Spring Break, but I could be mistaken LOL!)

I think you're right. I was feeling Bolton pissy by osmosis.