ACORN Transcripts

These are the transcripts from last Monday's presidential forum in Philadelphia.  Thanks to ACORN for providing them.  It's impossible to get every statement made by the speakers while live blogging so I appreciate receiving these to share with our readers.  I'll post them in the same order they spoke.

SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, D-N.Y.

CLINTON: Thank you. Whoa. Thank you all very, very much.

Pastor -- Pastor Johnson, I think we've got a revival going on here.

(LAUGHTER)

It is an honor to be here with all of you and to have this chance to say a few words.

First of all, let me say that this is the day the lord has made, and let us rejoice and be glad in it.

(APPLAUSE)

We are in a historic church (AUDIO GAP) and I am grateful to be here with my friends from ACORN.

Thank you for leading this meeting -- or this assembly -- to focus on the issues that are on the minds of people and to hold up the work that can be done when ACORN and like-minded folks work together.

I have followed ACORN ever since its days in Arkansas, when it used to be the Arkansas Community Organizations for Reform Now.

(APPLAUSE)

The first office of ACORN was down the block from the Arkansas governor's mansion.

(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS OFF-MIKE)

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And there is much that we can be proud of with all that you have done.

(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS OFF-MIKE)

CLINTON: And the last time I was with you was last summer, when you were fighting for the minimum wage increase in Ohio. And congratulations on your success there.

(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS OFF-MIKE)

(APPLAUSE)

MODERATOR: Excuse me, brother.

(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS OFF-MIKE)

Brother, brother, brother, brother -- excuse me, brother. My brother, you are in a house of prayer. Thank you.

Please escort this brother out. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

Let me -- hold on, beloved. If anybody stands up again, I'm going to ask for the police to escort you out.

(APPLAUSE)

This is, yes, a rally. But this is a house of God. And you must respect it as a house of God.

(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS OFF-MIKE)

Thank you so much.

CLINTON: You know, this is not only a house of God, but it is an historic house of God where Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was here at the groundbreaking and gave the very first sermon from this pulpit.

(APPLAUSE)

And I think that his words, as they always are, not only call us to service but encourage us to be drum majors for justice. And ACORN has been that kind of leader. And I thank Pat and all my friends in New York and all of you from around the country who believe in the American dream enough to organize and work to achieve it for those who would otherwise be left out.

You have seen injustice and you have not walked away from it. The fight to raise the minimum wage was finally successful after 10 long years.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, of course, it's been so long since we raised it we've got to turn around and start raising it again because it hasn't kept up with inflation.

(APPLAUSE)

And as Pat was saying, I got so frustrated with the Congress raising its own pay and not raising the minimum wage, I introduced legislation that says, "No more congressional pay raises until you raise the minimum wage."

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: You have been (AUDIO GAP) told that they are not citizens who can vote.

We need an electoral system that reflects the best values of American -- not one that reflects a narrow view of privilege that tries to prevent people from exercising their constitutional rights.

(APPLAUSE)

You have been champions for affordable housing and neighborhood redevelopment. And the fruits of your labor are visible in city after city across America.

CLINTON: There are now (AUDIO GAP) involved in this new effort to try to put a break on predatory lending and subprime mortgages that are ripping the American dream out of the grasp of hardworking people who deserve better than what they are receiving.

(APPLAUSE)

I have been privileged to work with ACORN for more years than I care to remember.

(LAUGHTER)

But it has been an honor for me to be your partner. And I will continue to do so.

But I'm here to remind us all how much elections do matter. You know, when people say it doesn't really matter; the parties are all the same; the people running for office are all the same, just think about the last 6 1/2 years.

(APPLAUSE)

There could not be a clearer lesson of the difference.

Now, no political party and no political candidate is perfect. That is not for us to be on this earth. But there are big differences, aren't there?

(APPLAUSE)

We have seen, in the last 6 1/2 years, the clock turned back on so much that mattered in people's lives.

You know, it wasn't that long ago that the economy was producing 22 million new jobs and more people were lifted out of poverty than at any time in our history.

(APPLAUSE)

The earned income tax credit was expanded, and the government actually cared about going out and finding people and helping them fill out the forms so they could get the earned income tax credit.

All of that has been left behind.

We had a government that cared about delivering services to our people, that was competent, that had the old-fashioned idea that we should appoint people to positions of responsibility who were qualified to do the jobs that we asked them to do.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: And then along came Katrina, and it just ripped the mask off of this administration, didn't it?

The president had to be given a DVD that showed the destruction in order to get his attention on what was going on in America.

When I went to visit those who had been evacuated from New Orleans, it was heartbreaking. And people came and went offering help, but ACORN came and didn't leave. ACORN throughout America has been an advocate for the victims of Katrina.

I spoke in New Orleans at Dillard University's commencement last month, and I said that it's a national embarrassment that we have 75,000 households still living in FEMA trailers. I visited some of those folks, visited a widow lady by the name of Helen Johnson, lived in the Broadmoor neighborhood of New Orleans. She'd lived in her house, she'd raised her children for, gosh, at least three decades if not nearly four. And she was still living in that trailer.

She'd been ripped off by contractors and nobody came to help her. She couldn't move back into her biggest asset, her dream, her home. So that trailer was parked right in the driveway. She invited me in.

How many of you have been inside one of those FEMA trailers? Well, if you haven't, you can imagine it. You know, maybe for a long weekend or, if worse came to worse, maybe for some weeks. But for nearly two years, with your government missing in action, a natural disaster was turned by government indifference and insensitivity and incompetence into a national disgrace.

CLINTON: And we must rebuild New Orleans, Louisiana, and the Gulf Coast. It is an American responsibility and when I am president it will be an American priority.

(APPLAUSE)

But why should we be surprised? To this current president too many Americans are invisible. I mean, they're not even seen. Those victims of Katrina, out of sight, out of mind. Children in crumbling schools with ceiling tiles falling, with mold forming, with no doors on the bathroom, with no books in the library, they're invisible, too.

Hardworking families, mother and father, or a single mom or a single dad, going off to work every day and their income doesn't get them out of poverty.

No person in America should work full-time and bring home a wage that leaves them below poverty in the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

But they're invisible, along with nearly 47 million uninsured Americans who go to the emergency room because it's their only doctor, who wait hours.

And we know that an uninsured person who finally goes to the hospital is twice as likely to do as an insured person.

And then we've got many millions more who've got insurance, they can show you the policy, except when they need it. And the doctor says here's what your family needs, here's what your son with that rare disease needs, here's what your daughter who had that car accident needs, and the insurance companies, "Just kidding. We're not paying for it."

CLINTON: And they get away with it, because people are invisible to this president.

Well, I can guarantee you this: They're not invisible to ACORN; they're not invisible to me; and they won't be invisible to the next president of the United States, either.

(APPLAUSE)

(AUDIENCE MEMBER SHOUTS OFF-MIKE)

CLINTON: Now, I believe our country is ready for change.

(APPLAUSE)

I believe that with your help...

AUDIENCE MEMBER: And your help...

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: That's right -- with your help and my help, we're going to bring about that change, because I'm ready to lead, and, ACORN, I want to you to be my partner.

Thank you so very much.

(APPLAUSE)

AUDIENCE MEMBER: That was great.

CLINTON: It takes a village.

MODERATOR: Now, we have a few questions that we want to ask the senator. We have a few people up here that's going to ask those questions.

All right, ACORN leaders are going to ask a few questions.

QUESTION: First of all, Senator Clinton, thank you so very, very much for coming here to be with us.

QUESTION: ACORN believes that our government, comprised of our elected officials, has a huge role to play in providing Americans with the security and support we need to pursue our dreams for our families and for our communities.

Government programs can help lift us out of poverty, can provide all Americans with a decent education, can rebuild our communities that we all have affordable housing, can ensure that we have real health care coverage and can provide security for our senior citizens.

Unfortunately, many of the programs that we depend on to do this have a patchwork quality. The earned income tax credit, food stamps, the children's health insurance program, Medicaid, (inaudible) -- these are just a few examples of critically important services that the government provides that millions of Americans are not enrolled in, many because they're not aware that they're eligible for these services.

ACORN educates our members and our community about the benefits that are available to them, and we ensure that all the people we run across and that we come into contact with that are eligible for these benefits are signed up for these services and are aware that they are eligible.

For the last three years, ACORN has been running ACORN benefit centers where we conduct door-to-door outreach on our own dime to sign people up for these services. I personally this year ran the Cleveland ACORN (inaudible) site, which provides free tax preparation to our members and to our community that ensures that tax refund in EITC dollars remain in our community and in the pockets of the people who earned them and most deserve them. Many ACORN centers across the country do the same.

But we feel that the government should play a role in ensuring that all Americans have access to these services. Our questions to you are -- there's two questions -- first, will you work with community groups like ACORN to create a federally funded program that reaches out to and enrolls all eligible Americans in the services they are entitled to?

And, more generally, what are your thoughts on how we can ensure that all eligible Americans can participate in the programs and services that government provides?

QUESTION: Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: Thank you very much.

And that's a really important question. And, number one, I will certainly work with ACORN to look for ways that we can create mechanisms that will get people either automatically enrolled or you cn reach out and effectively find people to get them enrolled.

And I just want to give you a little story. After 9/11 in New York, as Pat and the New Yorkers remember, it was such a horrible tragedy when we were attacked, and it was not only the terrible losses that people experienced when their loved ones died and the people who were injured, but thousands of people lost their jobs, they lost their records, they were totally without insurance, and they didn't know where to turn.

So I was able to work to get emergency Medicaid, which meant that people could be signed up immediately without having to run through all the hoops and go through all the bureaucracy, so that they could get the services they need.

It is cheaper to do it that way than employ a lot of people to put people through those hoops, over those hurdles, get them denied, make them come back, keep it going.

(APPLAUSE)

So, number one with health care, when we have universal health care, we won't need to go through all of this. Everybody will be eligible and enrolled.

(APPLAUSE)

And with a lot of the other programs that Julie mentioned, we can do a much better job. I know ACORN's been working with my husband through the Clinton Foundation to have an earned income tax credit outreach.

This is people's money. They deserve to have it.

CLINTON: And we should help them. The IRS work that you're doing to help people, the food stamps work.

I will certainly be your partner because I have long believed that, if you're entitled to these programs, you ought to be able to access them.

And we can't do that if we don't have a good outreach. And we need community groups like ACORN helping us do that.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: As a senior citizen, disabled vet, and predatory loan victim, I see too many corporations stealing too much of our money.

(APPLAUSE)

Predatory mortgage lenders, payday lenders, credit card companies, commercial tax preparation companies -- they are all preying on communities and sucking the assets out of our neighborhoods and dollars out of our pockets.

ACORN has played a leading role in fighting these abuses. Right now, we are leading a national campaign against the foreclosure crisis caused by predatory lenders and their Wall Street allies.

Over the past several years, we have led successful campaigns to pass laws outlawing predatory practices.

In fact, Minnesota, this year, ACORN -- Minnesota ACORN helped pass the strongest predatory lending bill in the country.

But we need a president and we need a federal government to step up. What will you do, as president, to stop these predatory practices?

Specifically, I heard you say that you wanted to pass federal legislation on predatory lending -- which is great; thank you, but I would like to see -- while allowing the states to pass even stronger legislation.

Will you appoint governors to the Federal Reserve and other bank regulators who put the protection of our neighborhoods and our assets first?

QUESTION: Will you support funding for foreclosure counseling programs like the successful program run by the ACORN Housing Corporation to help troubled borrowers facing foreclosure?

All of us, we need your help. Will you help us?

CLINTON: Yes, Paul, I will help you.

(APPLAUSE)

And I am committed to doing that. And I want to thank you for your service to our country, Paul. And unfortunately, who would believe that a lot of our soldiers who have served in Afghanistan and Iraq and our veterans are also invisible to this president? And so, I thank you. I thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

And let me just make three brief points, because this is a subject I could talk about for more hours than we have here.

Number one, we need federal legislation on predatory lending and subprime mortgages. We need to require counseling -- face-to-face counseling. We need plain language in these mortgage documents that doesn't confuse people.

(APPLAUSE)

We need to end the pre-payment penalties that penalize people who do the right thing.

And I think that if states want to go further, if it's appropriate, that should be at least an open possibility, because the states are filling a vacuum left by the federal government.

But if we got strong federal laws, a lot of states wouldn't have to address this, because the federal government would set the standards.

And with respect to the Federal Reserve, and the comptroller of the currency and all of the federal offices that regulate our economy, it is in the interest of our economy that they pay more attention to the vast majority of Americans, how we earn our money, how we acquire our assets, whether the rules are fair or not.

And I will certainly do everything I can to make sure people are appointed who have that experience and that sensitivity, because, finally, Paul raises a much larger question. You know, home ownership is part of the American dream, isn't it?

And so many people have been working so hard to be able to own that home.

CLINTON: But, unfortunately, oftentimes they are taken advantage of by unscrupulous lenders, and a lot of them have been put at risk. They have borrowed so much money against the equity of their home. They have adjustable rate mortgages that are coming due.

So it's not only that we need to pass laws, we do need to do the work that ACORN has been doing, which is to educate people and then to support people in making good decisions.

Because some of you may know that Chicago recently did an experiment to require face-to-face counseling. And what it meant was that a lot of people took a second look at whether they could afford the home and afford the mortgage. And the mortgage companies got so upset they tried to stop the counseling.

So we've got to change laws, we have to change attitudes, and we need solidarity to get both of that done. And I thank you very much.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Thank you. Good afternoon.

ACORN members strongly believe that all hardworking immigrants here in this country who contribute so much to our economy and society should have a path to citizenship -- and a path that is not filled with barriers and years of waiting.

ACORN members were in the forefront last year marching for immigrant rights, and this year we are running English-as-a-second- language and citizenship classes (inaudible) to help our members and neighbors to become a citizen of this great nation.

We know that the President Bush and the Congress just failed to act in this important issue. We have two questions for you, what you will do as the president of the United States.

One, for the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently in the country, what provisions will you support to assure that they can become citizens in our country as soon as possible and with as few barriers as possible?

Two, now the Senate have failed to pass the comprehensive immigrant reform, what steps you will take to get the process started again.

Thank you.

CLINTON: Thank you very much. And I was very disappointed...

(APPLAUSE)

... I was very disappointed when the Senate could not overcome the Republican filibuster, which blocked action on moving forward with comprehensive immigration reform that included a path to legalization for undocumented workers.

CLINTON: I think we need comprehensive immigration reform. We need to tighten security at our borders. We need to make it clear that employers cannot employ and exploit undocumented workers they way many of them do. We need to provide assistance to local communities like Philadelphia that are not setting immigration law but have to provide the money for education, health care and other services. And we need a path to legalization.

I hope that we're going to be able to revisit this legislation. I certainly have not given up. And when I am president, if we don't make progress while I'm a senator, I will certainly turn my attention to it.

But I want to make a broader point. I have been honored to travel around our country for 20 years. I've been in every state multiple times. I have been all over people's communities. I've been in homes, in places of worship and businesses. And I don't recall a level of rhetoric and demagoguery and anti-immigrant attacks that we have seen recently.

You know, back in the 1990s the economy was working for everybody. And so people didn't feel the need to lash out at somebody else. Now that we're not creating that many new jobs -- that although unemployment has remained low, it's remained low with people not getting increases in their incomes. The average family in America in the last six years has had a $1,300 drop in their income, while health care and energy costs and everything else has gone up.

So a lot of people have been vulnerable to these anti-immigrant attacks, because they're looking for an explanation as to why the economy is not working for them. And I think the explanation really goes back to Paul's point. It's not working for them because their government is no longer on the side of the average, hard-working American and we need to get that fixed in order to convince the people to give immigrants a chance to become citizens, to continue their hard work and their contributions.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Good afternoon. I love you, Baltimore City.

Most ACORN members live in cities. And for over 30 years, we have been a very powerful force in organizing to make our cities work for low and moderate-income families.

QUESTION: In the cities that have been booming, we've been fighting to ensure equitable development for all, including affordable housing, rather than massive gentrification.

In cities and neighborhoods that have been in decline, we are fighting for investment in our communities.

In all cities, we are campaigning to improve public schools.

We are convinced that America needs a massive federal commitment of resources to our cities, but a commitment that benefits all citizens, not just the wealthy.

I have a three-part question. What will you do, as president, to help rebuild our cities?

One, would you support a requirement for community impact statements as part of any expenditure of public funds, to ensure that investments in our cities provide equitable benefits to the vast majority of a city's residents.

Number two, what steps will you take (AUDIO GAP) smaller class sizes, and universal pre-K programs?

CLINTON: Well, those are great questions. And Baltimore's a great city. So I thank you for that.

All kids need great schools. That's a good sign.

(APPLAUSE)

Let me say that we need an urban agenda. Because what people seem to forget is that, if our cities are not working, nothing else works very well.

(APPLAUSE)

And you can't (AUDIO GAP) So when I talk about an urban agenda, it's really an American agenda.

CLINTON: It's aimed at the cities, just like when I talk about a rural agenda, it's really an American agenda that is aimed at the countryside.

So I adopted the Conference of Mayors 10-point agenda for our cities. It includes plans for affordable housing, because right now the current administration has cut the programs that were providing affordable housing in the cities, and failed to give resources to people looking for housing, whether it was the HOPE VI program or the Section 8 housing program, we need a new federal housing program.

I can't give you the specifics today, because I think we need a lot of input and I would welcome ACORN's input. What is it we can best do to generate more real housing and community development? And I mean not just housing set off by itself, but real communities, where there are stores, where you bring supermarkets back into urban areas that haven't seen a supermarket in decades.

(APPLAUSE)

So it's really community development.

And a lot of faith-based groups, Pastor, have been excellent in creating housing and finding ways to give people a better chance.

We have to look at the community impact. And, you know, if our cities are going to work, we can't turn them into, you know, kind of theme parks for the wealthy, where the only people who get to live in a city are people who are already privileged. We want a mix. We want diversity. We want the best of America. And i will certainly look at that.

And finally, with respect to education, I just came here from speaking to the National Education Association. And we need an education agenda that is going to work. And that has to start with universal pre-kindergarten for every four year old in America.

(APPLAUSE)

And I am committed to doing that.

Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

(AUDIO GAP)

QUESTION: By restoring it to half the average wage and then indexing it, as Senator Kennedy is proposing, will you support Healthy Family Act, which gives every working seven paid sick days per year to take care of their own health needs of those of their family members?

Will you support increasing their earned income tax credit, which puts money in the pocket of low-wage workers?

CLINTON: It's yes, yes, yes.

(LAUGHTER)

We're going to work to raise the incomes of Americans and get back to shared prosperity for everyone.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Senator, as you so succinctly stated, it's a real mess what happened in Katrina. And let's be clear, as you have been: The fault lies with the present administration.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: The Bush administration neglect of low and moderate- income families, of people of color, and of our cities has caused the problems that we see now.

Now, the government's response really hit home to ACORN because that's where over 9,000 families, ACORN families, lived in New Orleans, especially in the Ninth Ward.

I'm from Houston. And Katrina caused an evacuation like none other in the history of this country. And over 90,000 to 100,000 people at one time relocated to Houston.

ACORN has organized Katrina survivors. We gutted over 2,000 homes. ACORN stopped plans to bulldoze the lower ninth, and has begun the slow process...

(APPLAUSE)

... of rebuilding.

(APPLAUSE)

Many times, we've had to drag the federal government along with us. ACORN even had to sue FEMA in federal court. And we won.

(APPLAUSE)

So our question's to you, as president, would you support the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007, introduced by Senators Dodd and Landrieu, which would provide additional funding, including rental housing and public housing in the Gulf?

And second, more generally, what would you do as president to help rebuild New Orleans and the Gulf Coast?

CLINTON: Well, you know, I think it's important, first, to thank everyone from Houston who did a great job in taking in the evacuees...

(APPLAUSE)

... from New Orleans and Louisiana. It was wonderful what you did.

(APPLAUSE)

And secondly, to thank ACORN -- you know, if the Bush administration had hired ACORN to do the rebuilding and resettling...

(LAUGHTER)

... along the Gulf Coast, it would be done by now.

(APPLAUSE)

Instead the gave no-bid contracts to their cronies; the money disappeared; and nothing has really been shown for it.

(APPLAUSE)

CLINTON: I support the efforts of my good friend Senator Landrieu, Senator Dodd and others. We're all working together. Now that there's a Democratic majority, we're going to try to pass some things, although I've got to tell you that the Republicans and the president in the White House still are not enthusiastic about doing what we think needs to be done to help the people who were affected by Katrina.

I have a 10-point plan. It starts with putting one person in charge who is answerable to the president. FEMA worked when my husband was president because it had people who knew what they were doing.

(APPLAUSE)

And I'm sure there are some jobs where being the former president of the International Arabian Horse Association is a qualification, but doing emergency management for America is not one of them, apparently.

So we've got to get back to where FEMA works. We've got to have a commitment of federal dollars and help to rebuild the levees to protect New Orleans. We've got to get the infrastructure built.

It's kind of like a chicken-and-an-egg issue: If you don't have stores, you don't have fire departments, you don't have police departments, if you don't have hospitals, people are not going to come back. And people haven't come back, so the Bush administration said, "Well, we don't need to build the fire departments and the hospitals and everything else."

We need a president who actually wants to rebuild southern Louisiana and cares about the people who are down there.

(APPLAUSE)

I will be that president if you give me a chance.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Thank you.

Well, good afternoon, again.

CLINTON: Thank you.

QUESTION: Is protecting the right to vote. In the last presidential election, 70 million Americans sat on the sidelines and didn't vote. Our democratic process doesn't work when a third of American people aren't being heard on Election Day.

CLINTON: Right.

QUESTION: And that's really something, isn't it?

CLINTON: It is.

QUESTION: Unfortunately, there is an organized campaign in America to keep people from voting by getting states to pass laws that create barriers to voting and by attacking groups like ACORN who register voters in our communities.

Meanwhile, government is ignoring its responsibilities. Most states have abandoned their responsibilities to offer voter registration at public assistance offices, and the Justice Department isn't doing its job.

ACORN is working to change this. We are registering voters in our communities, more than 1.7 million people in the last two election cycles. We're conducting citizenship fairs, we're standing up to partisan political operatives who have attacked our voter registration efforts.

But to be successful we need your help. We have three questions.

One, will the Justice Department under your administration enforce the National Voter Registration Act and its requirements that states offer voter registration to public assistance clients?

Two, Senators Feinstein and Dodd have introduced the Ballot Integrity Act, a bill that will prevent states from restricting voter registration drives. Do you support this bill and other efforts to prevent states from restricting voter registration drives?

Third, there's a long history of false claims of voter fraud used against minority voters and organizations working with them. These false claims are used to justify restrictive new laws, harass organizations and intimidate voters. Will you work with ACORN to speak out about these false claims and how they damage our democracy?

CLINTON: Absolutely. This is another one of those issues that is so important for our country that ACORN has been a leader on. I will support every one of those initiatives.

I have legislation called the Count Every Vote Act that would begin to fix the incredible problems that we've seen in the last years in our voting system, where one precinct has 10 voting machines and the next precinct -- which just happens to be minority voters or young voters -- has two machines, where you've got voters intimidated, voters purged from rolls who deserve to be able to vote.

If we don't pay attention to our electoral system, we're not going to be able to maintain our democracy. It is that simple.

(APPLAUSE)

So I will do everything I can to protect our vote, to have a Justice Department that protects the right to vote and to reach out and convince every American it is in your interest vote because if you don't vote, somebody who's directly opposed to you and your interests will.

So I hope you will continue your effort to get everybody registered and everybody to vote.

Thank you all very, very much.

REP. DENNIS J. KUCINICH



REP. KUCINICH DELIVERS REMARKS AT A PRESIDENTIAL CANDIDATES
FORUM SPONSORED BY ACORN

JULY 2, 2007

SPEAKER: REP. DENNIS J. KUCINICH, D-OHIO

KUCINICH: The people united will never be defeated.

The people united will never be defeated.

The people united will never be defeated.

El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido.

El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido.

El pueblo unido jamas sera vencido.

Thank you. It's great to be here at ACORN.

(APPLAUSE)

The people united will never be defeated so, ACORN, let us unite to create in America an America which has a plan that provides health care for everyone: universal, single-payer, not-for-profit, Medicare for all.

It is time for America to unite and create...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... uninsured or they're uninsured...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... from $500 to $1,000 or more per month just to be able to be covered. But then just having insurance doesn't solve your problems because then you have to deal with...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... talk a moment about why.

I understand and you understand that there are candidates who are running for president of the United States who have said, yes, they think we should have universal health care but they want the government to subsidize the insurance companies.

Now, remember, the problem to begin with is that for-profit insurance companies are making money, not providing health care. How do they make money? Not providing health care.

(APPLAUSE)

KUCINICH: And so if they're making money not providing health care, then why would we want the government to subsidize them so they can continue to not provide health care and make more money by not providing health care? Hello?

(APPLAUSE)

I mean, it's time to get real on health care. And what that means is that we have to recognize that it's time to take the control that the private insurers have over our health care system -- take that control away. That's what Michael Moore's movie is about. It's about taking control back to the people.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, ACORN's about taking control back to the people. We believe the people united will never be defeated. The people of this country must unite around health care. We must unite around a not-for-profit system. We must unite in a way that tells Washington that we will achieve this, and I'm ready to lead that effort forward.

The people united are never defeated.

(APPLAUSE)

And I'm ready to lead forward an effort to change the direction of this country on education.

We understand that No Child Left Behind left many children behind and was never intended to be of help to so many of our children in the inner city, just trying to teach them how to take tests instead of giving them a chance to learn. We need a whole new approach to education.

(APPLAUSE)

We need to begin with our children and unite around a program that provides for universal pre-kindergarten. It's time that all of our children ages 3, 4 and 5 have a chance for an early start and a good beginning, where they learn reading and social skills and language and music and the arts, so that by the time they get to elementary school they love learning, they can't wait to go to school, they can't wait to grow and learn.

KUCINICH: We owe that to our children.

(APPLAUSE)

We owe to our children a chance not only to go from preschool to elementary and secondary schools that are fully funded, that have well-paid teachers and smaller classroom sizes, but we also owe our children a chance to go to college tuition-free. We have the money to do that, and I'm going to tell you where we're going to get it.

(APPLAUSE)

You know, the minute that I start talking like that in Washington people say, "How you gonna pay for it?"

(LAUGHTER)

You know, they never ask that about the war.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I know where that money is. I know where the money is.

I know that we need billions of dollars for universal pre- kindergarten and billions more for elementary and secondary education and billions more for college for our children. And we're going to get those billions more by a 15 percent cut in that bloated Pentagon budget which is going to $500 billion in 2008. There's $75 billion there. Let's take that money and turn it into education for our children.

The people united around education will never be defeated.

(APPLAUSE)

People say, "How can you do that, Dennis?"

We're already spending more than the rest of the world put together for the Pentagon. They're going to spend $500 billion next year just on the Pentagon. We'll spend between $1 trillion and $2 trillion on that war in Iraq, which I led the effort against five years ago.

(APPLAUSE)

KUCINICH: Now, you know, I mean, think about this now. You know, it's -- we need a president with 20/20 foresight. Now, it's easy to have 20/20 hindsight about this war, but 20/20 foresight means that you understand what truth is and you stand on truth.

Dr. King knew 40 years ago, when he looked at the conditions in Vietnam and the conditions in American cities, he said then that the war at that time was taking money away from and ruining the hopes of the people of two nations. He understood that. And this war in Iraq is ruining the hopes and the dreams of people of two nations, and we have to understand that.

(APPLAUSE)

This is why we have to take a new direction.

As president, I reject war as an instrument of policy. We have to show our way to the positive and work with people of other nations.

Now, it's easy to say now when we look at the situation in Iraq and say, "Well, it was wrong." But I'll tell you, I don't think that it's credible for anyone who wants to be president of the United States to claim, as some do, that they were tricked by George Bush.

(APPLAUSE)

Because if someone is going to be president of the United States, they can't be fooled by George Bush. They can't be twisted by the arm by a Dick Cheney. They can't be run into war by defense contractors. They can't be spun by the media. They have to be able to stand for truth.

And the truth is that war wasn't necessary.

(APPLAUSE)

The truth is, we went to war based on a lie. The truth is, we wasted the money (ph) of this country. The truth is, our soldiers died for a cause that wasn't honest. The truth is, a million innocent people in Iraq have lost their lives.

The truth is, we need a new direction in America, and (inaudible) the war, and we need to take that money and put it into education, take it and put it into housing...

(APPLAUSE)

... take it and put it into job creation...

(APPLAUSE)

... take it and put it into health care.

It's time for a new America.

(APPLAUSE)

KUCINICH: The people united will never be defeated.

(APPLAUSE)

So, ACORN, from that acorn a might oak will grow.

After 9/11, there were a number of mighty oak trees chopped down on the Capitol grounds. Oh, yes, I fought to save some of those oak trees.

There were 125 trees in an old growth forest right around the Capitol. They chopped them down because they were worried about the security of our country, they said.

Yes, they were worried about those weapons of mass destruction called oak trees, OK?

(LAUGHTER)

They were worried about -- they have a fear in Washington, cameras everywhere and guards everywhere. And it's all about security against weapons of mass destruction, which were never there in the first place.

Well, I've been to the American cities. I was a mayor of a city. I know what weapons of mass destruction look like.

Poverty is a weapon of mass destruction.

(APPLAUSE)

Poor health care is a weapon of mass destruction.

(APPLAUSE)

Poor education is a weapon of mass destruction.

(APPLAUSE)

Unemployment is a weapon of mass destruction.

(APPLAUSE)

Crime is a weapon of mass destruction.

(APPLAUSE)

We're going to take those weapons of mass destruction that we find in our neighborhoods, and we're going to get rid of those weapons. Because we're going to create an America of prosperity for all, of jobs for all, of health care for all, of hope for all, a great hopeful America.

(inaudible) the people united will never be defeated.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, I understand you have some questions.

MODERATOR: We thank you so very much for your real rousing statement here today.

I'll tell you, ACORN, that was a rousing statement.

We do have a few members here that want to ask you a few questions, and listen for your answer on why you should be the next president of the United States.

MODERATOR: And our first question comes from Julie Smith from Ohio. And she's going to ask you about maximum eligible participation.

QUESTION: Thank you.

It's nice to see you, Representative Kucinich. I'd like to wish you a very belated congratulations on your marriage to your lovely wife. Seeing you guys makes everyone happy around you.

(APPLAUSE)

KUCINICH: Thank you. Thank you very much.

QUESTION: OK.

And have you signed up to be an ACORN member yet?

(APPLAUSE)

We at ACORN believe that our government, as our elected representatives, has a huge role to play in providing Americans with the security and support we need to pursue our dreams for our families and for our communities.

Government programs can help lift Americans out of poverty, can provide all Americans with a decent education, can rebuild our communities so that we all have affordable housing, can ensure that we have real health care coverage and can provide security for our senior citizens.

Unfortunately, many of the programs we depend on for this have a patchwork quality. The earned income tax credit, food stamps, the children's health insurance program, Medicaid, LIHEAP -- those are all just a few examples of the many programs that are critically important and that are provided by our government for us and that millions of eligible Americans are not enrolled in. Many are not enrolled because they're not aware that they're eligible for these programs.

ACORN, as you knows, educates our members and our communities about the programs and benefits that are available to them. We actively work to ensure that these benefits are received by everyone we come in contact with.

I personally ran Cleveland's vita (ph) site this year, providing free tax preparation to our members and to our community, ensuring that their tax dollars and earned income tax credit stayed in their pockets, in their own pockets, in the pockets of our community.

QUESTION: ACORN centers throughout the country provide this service on our dollars.

We also, for the last three years, have been running ACORN benefit centers where we go door-to-door, in our neighborhoods, on our dollar -- our own dollar, again -- to...

(AUDIO GAP)

QUESTION: ... work with community groups like ACORN to create a federally-funded program that reaches out to and enrolls all eligible Americans in these programs?

And more generally, what are your thoughts on how we can assure that all eligible Americans participate in these programs and services?

KUCINICH: Thank you very much for the question.

The simple answer is yes. Now, let me explain why I know how important this maximum eligible participation is.

Let me tell you a little bit about myself and how I grew up.

I grew up in the city of Cleveland, the oldest of seven children. My parents never owned a home. For those of you who grew up in similar circumstances or maybe yourself and your...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... child you may have to move. If you have two children and you live in an apartment, you may have to move again.

And so we had seven children. And as the...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... lawsuits for something goods that didn't even work -- television, cars, things like that. And before you know it, you're finding yourself constantly on the move.

I mean, we lived in 21 different places by the time I was 17, included a couple cars.

So I can understand what it's like if you're on the move...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... door, knocking on the doors, taking an inventory, letting people know about the services.

KUCINICH: See, I was -- when I got into politics -- at age 20 I ran for city council and I came very close to getting elected to city council at age 20 -- I was only -- this was 40 years ago, OK? -- my first time I got elected to council I was 22. And what I did, I'd go door to door.

And I know the only way people knew what services were available often is if you tell them to their face. Because, let's face it, people have other things going on in their lives. They're worried about feeding the family. They're worried about paying the bills. They're worried about a roof over their head.

There's some fundamental concerns that people have, and they can't be thinking about, well, "Who's out there trying to help me?" because they're focused on trying to survive.

So if we're going to help encourage people to survive, we have to have the ability to go door to door.

Now, ACORN will play a vital role in a Kucinich administration because I'm going to turn on...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... we're going to change that and create a public benefit where ACORN is going to be the organization that can train everyone else, in addition to the work that you do, to get the word out door to door. Because this is about door to door, "These are the services, here we are for you, government actually can help."

But there's no way of helping if you don't know. And we're going to make sure people know. Maximum participation.

People are eligible. They need to know the programs exist. They will know that because I understand from a personal standpoint how important it is to reach out. We're going to reach out so we can help others reach up.

(APPLAUSE)

Did that answer the question?

QUESTION: Yes, it did.

KUCINICH: OK.

QUESTION: As a senior citizen, disabled vet and predatory lending victim, I see too many corporations stealing too much of our money.

QUESTION: I call these people bloodsuckers. And who are they but predatory lending, mortgage lenders, payday lenders, credit card companies and commercial tax preparation companies? They are all preying on our communities, sucking assets out of neighborhoods and dollars out of our pockets.

ACORN has played a role in fighting these abuses. Right now we are leading a national campaign against foreclosures caused by predatory lenders and their Wall Street buddies.

Over the past several years, we have led several successful campaigns to pass state laws outlawing predatory lending. In fact, Minnesota ACORN helped pass the strongest legislation in the United States this year.

But we need a president and we need a government to step up. Will you do as president -- what will you do as president to stop these predatory practices? And I have three questions to ask.

Will you support passage of federal legislation that outlaws predatory lending practices, while allowing states to pass even stronger ones?

Will you appoint governors to the Federal Reserve and other bank regulators to put protection on our neighborhoods and our assets first?

Will you support funding for foreclosure counseling programs like the successful program run by ACORN Housing Corporation to help troubled borrowers facing foreclosures?

We all need help. Will you help us?

KUCINICH: The answer -- you asked four questions.

Will I help? The first answer is yes, of course.

The second question relates to the laws with respect to predatory lending. Let me speak to that in this way.

In the United States Congress, I'm chairman of the Domestic Policy Subcommittee. We've held hearings on exactly what you're talking about, and we've worked with some of the ACORN organizations on this, on predatory lending.

Here's what I know about it.

I just told you about my own background. My parents never owned a home. But I understand that for people owning a home is this dream. It was a dream for us. My parents were never able to achieve that dream.

But for those for whom it's a dream, look at the system we have set up in this country. We have prime lenders who aren't making money available in the inner cities.

Now, you know, 30 years ago the Community Reinvestment Act passed and as ACORN organizers understand, that those financial institutions in the cities were supposed to make money available for mortgages, for small business, for economic development in the communities.

KUCINICH: But they never did that. They never did that.

What they did, essentially, was, we had a law, the Community Reinvestment Act, with little or no enforcement, as -- how do I know about this?

As mayor, I was the first mayor in America to use the community investment act in connection with the desire of a bank to change its branch allocation.

Because communities, when there is enforceability, have a lot of power. But there wasn't any enforceability.

So what happened, over a 30-year period?

Over a 30-year period, a lot of these lending institutions just vacated the inner city.

And what came in their place? Well, payday loans, right? And with prime loans gone, subprime lenders, these predatory lenders.

So what did they do? They became part of this corrupt system of people who made no-documentation loans. People didn't even have to establish they were credit-worthy. They were so desperate to get a home. If you could get one, "I'll sign on the bottom line; tell me all the details later; I've got my home."

Then people find out that their interest rates went through the roof, that they signed for something they couldn't pay. And before you know it, what little money they put in, they've lost the homes in foreclosure.

What we found out, in my committee's investigation, is this. And you already know it. There's an epidemic of foreclosures in the inner cities. And right now, it's affecting -- at least in Cleveland, people of color are losing their homes at a tremendous rate because of this predatory lending.

Now, what would a President Kucinich do about it? Let's start from the beginning.

First of all, I will issue an executive order that'll put a moratorium on foreclosures in this country.

(APPLAUSE)

I want you to hear this. That's number one.

Number two -- because let's face it. Wall Street is making billions of dollars on these subprime loans.

Now, you have people -- you know, they're all -- we're all friends, but people are raising a lot of money on Wall Street from some of the same interests that are booking these subprime loans as part of portfolios that are now going down in value.

So this is a system that is wrong from the beginning. So what we need to do -- we need to make sure that people have credit-worthiness for prime lending.

We need to stop the redlining that's been going on in America with respect to mortgages. We need to make more people eligible by ensuring they have jobs.

There's all these things that fit together. People have to have a job with a living wage. They need health care, where they can have some extra money and be able to pay a mortgage.

And we need a program that can subsidize lending for people in the inner cities, so people can have the dream of a home. That's part of it as well.

But we also need the Federal Reserve to be involved in enforcing these banks' rules that they should be following.

KUCINICH: The Federal Reserve has been looking the other way. Why? Because the Federal Reserve is essentially a private organization. They have nothing to do with the community.

(APPLAUSE)

Well, let me tell you ACORN, I'm looking at a restructuring of the role of the Federal Reserve, because they don't care about the cities. They only care about the private banking system. And if that private banking system isn't serving the people of this country, it's because the Federal Reserve isn't accountable to the people of this country.

Under a Kucinich administration, they will be accountable to the people of this country.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, people will say, "Well, how are you going to do that?" Yes, we should have appointments to the Board of Governors. There's no question about that. I can tell you, it will be that. But we're going to go one step further.

Now, let me tell you a story.

When I was mayor of Cleveland...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... the city's municipally owned electric system to a private utility, which the bank was an owner of, and which then would have given that private utility a monopoly.

Now, the public utility, MUNI Light in Cleveland, provided electricity to a third of the city at savings on electric bills anywhere from 20 to 30 percent. But this bank president was telling me that because he wanted the private utility to get a monopoly.

And so he was holding over my head loans that I hadn't even taken out as mayor, saying that if I didn't go along with the sale of the city's electric system, they were going to foreclose on the city's loans, put the city into default.

I was 31 years old when I was elected mayor, and so I had to make a decision that would determine the future of my city and my own political future.

KUCINICH: I had to decide whether I was going to capitulate to this bank -- which would be like, you know, handing the keys to the city over to them -- give a monopoly to this electric company, which would have caused utility rates to go up.

I was sitting in this room with this banker. And while he was talking, my thoughts were drifting a little bit. I was thinking back to my family when we lived on 10712 St. Clair above Martha's Delicatessen in Glenville, in Cleveland. And I was thinking of the time when my parents were sitting at a old metal table, counting the pennies so they could pay the utility bills. I was thinking about this. And I could hear those pennies drop -- click, click, click, click.

I'm in the room with the banker, but I'm thinking about back where my parents and what they had to deal with and how every penny meant something.

So this banker tells me, "Mayor, you've got to sell this publicly owned electric system, or we're not going to give you credit."

And I told the banker, I said, "Well, you know, there's something else going on in this city, Mr. Banker. And, frankly, I'm not going to sell."

And so what happened is, the city of Cleveland -- we saved an electric system, but the bank put the city into default.

That night, I gave a speech. And if you remember anything I said, I want you to remember the speech that I gave in 1978 in Cleveland, Ohio, at midnight on December 15th.

I talked about the story of Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego.

(APPLAUSE)

And I talked about how they were told -- they were told that, "You have to worship this idol of gold," King Nebuchadnezzar said that. "You must worship this idol of gold."

And Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego looked at each other and they said, "Well, we weren't raised to worship an idol of gold. We want another god to worship."

And King Nebuchadnezzar said, "Well, if you don't worship this idol of gold, we are going to throw you into this fiery furnace."

And Shadrach, Meschach and Abednego looked at each other and they said, "Wait a minute, we don't want to go into the fiery furnace, but we're not going to worship that idol of gold."

(APPLAUSE)

And so Nebuchadnezzar said, "You will worship the idol of gold." They said no. He put them in the fiery furnace and he waited.

(APPLAUSE)

KUCINICH: And he waited.

And Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego, they walked out of that fiery furnace, and Nebuchadnezzar got down on his knees and he understood there was a power higher than himself.

(APPLAUSE)

And I'm telling you, there is a power higher than that idol of gold. And that power is the power of the people.

(APPLAUSE)

And so we are going to make sure that the power of the people is put ahead of the power of those idols -- those false idols. We're going to make sure that the power of the people results in this: The government sending money into circulation to create jobs, to create a WPA where we create millions of jobs building bridges, water system, sewer system, living wage (inaudible), put the people back to work.

We're going to create a WGA, a Works Green Administration, put millions of people back to work rebuilding America's infrastructure and making it sustainable.

We're going to create an America where people know they don't have to worry about these predatory lenders anymore, because the government will be watching on their behalf. They'll put the government on the side of the people. No more worshiping the idol of gold.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Thank you. Thank you very much.

KUCINICH: Did I answer that?

QUESTION: Yes.

QUESTION: Hi. Good afternoon. How are you? OK. OK.

ACORN members strongly believe that all hardworking immigrants here in this country who contribute so much to our economy and society should have a path to citizenship. And a path is not filled with barriers and years of waiting.

QUESTION: ACORN members were in the forefront last year, marching for immigrant rights. And this year we are running English- as-a-second-language and citizenship classes (inaudible) to help our members and neighbors to becoming a citizen for this great nation.

We know that President Bush just failed to act on this important issue. We have two questions for you -- what you will do as the president of the United States.

One, for the 12 million undocumented immigrants currently in this country, what provision will you support to sure that they become citizens of our country as soon as possible and with as few barriers as possible?

Two, now the Senate failed to pass the comprehensive immigration reform, what steps will you take to get the process started again?

Thank you.

KUCINICH: Thank you very much.

Thank you.

Let me answer in two different ways.

Primero, somos todos miembros de la familia humana. Entonces, no hay ningun ser humano ilegal. There are no illegal human beings. We're all members of the same human family.

QUESTION: Thank you.

KUCINICH: And what that means is we all have rights.

Let's face it, at the core of this immigration debate is the exploitation of human beings. We know this. We know that a system of slave labor was created and people were making a lot of money off of those immigrants in a form of slave labor, and that's not acceptable.

KUCINICH: A hundred and four years ago -- 104 years ago in Philadelphia, just about 20 blocks from here, Mother Jones led a march of children to illustrate what was going on with respect to child labor in America at the time. And Mother Jones was a driving force in recognizing that child labor laws had to be passed in this country.

I intend to be a driving force not only in this campaign, but as president, in explaining to the American people how these 12 million immigrants made a contribution to this country. They contributed their hard work, their labor, their sweat and sometimes their blood to be able to try to make a living.

They were told that if they did that, they'd get paid in return and sometimes they weren't. They were told that there would be a place for them if they made that effort, and that place is being threatened.

They're being told now, despite working under conditions that were slave labor conditions at slave labor wages that, "We just don't need you anymore." It's "Go home where you came from," and they established a home here.

Well, they are not they; they are us. We are one. We have to remember that. We must start with that.

(APPLAUSE)

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

And when we understand that, then we can take those positions. Here's where it starts (AUDIO GAP) for decent wage.

Of course, labor laws need to be enforced. We understand that. Workplace safety laws need to be enforced. But let me tell you something else that needs to be done that no other candidate in this race will talk about. And that is we need to understand that when NAFTA passed, that's when people started to flood over the border, because in Mexico, people were told wages were going to go up, but wages went down.

The peso collapsed and people suddenly came across the border by the millions looking for opportunity, risking their lives in the desert.

KUCINICH: And what I know about NAFTA is this, that NAFTA was the lie that was sold to the American people, that there are grass growing in parking lots all across this country where they used to grow steel -- or make steel, where they used to make cars, they used to make washing machines, they used to bicycles, and now there's grass growing in parking lots.

I understand this. And what I intend to do in one of my first acts in office is to cancel NAFTA and the WTO and go back to trade conditioned on workers' right, human rights and environmental quality principles, where we negotiate a trade agreement with Mexico.

And we'll tell Mexico, "Mexico, you must give your workers the right to organize, the right to collective bargaining, the right to strike, the right to decent wages and benefits, the right to a safe workplace, the right to sue an employer if you're injured in an unsafe job, the right to participate in the political process."

We'll put those right into the trade agreements. We'll have prohibitions against child labor, slave labor, and prison labor. We'll put those into the trade agreement. And we'll have environmental quality principles put into the trade agreement.

See, we can use trade...

(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: We need to stand with the immigrants. We need to remember where we came from, because all of us come from there.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Good afternoon. I live in Baltimore city. Most ACORN members live in cities. And for over 30 years, we've been a really powerful force in advocating and organizing to make our cities work for low- to moderate-income families.

In cities that have been booming, we've been fighting to ensure equitable development for all, including affordable housing rather than massive gentrification. In cities and neighborhoods that have been in decline, we are fighting for investment in our community. In all cities, we are campaigning to improve public schools.

We are convinced that America needs a massive federal commitment of resources to our cities, but a commitment that benefits all citizens, not just the wealthy.

What will you do as president to help rebuild our cities? Specifically, I have three parts: One, would you support a requirement for community impact statements as part of any expenditure of public funds to ensure that investments in our cities provide equitable benefits to the vast majority of a city's residents?

Two, what steps will you take to expand production of affordable housing in our cities?

And, three, do you support greatly expanded federal funding for public schools in low- to moderate-income communities to support longer school days, smaller class sizes and universal pre-K programs?

KUCINICH: First of all, I want to begin by answering the last question.

Supreme Court decision last week -- we all know that the effects of discrimination have been going on in this country for hundreds of years. And our children still feel those effects. And we know that there are inequality of opportunities. That is a fact of life.

Now, maybe I had an advantage in understanding this, because I'm not a missionary to the cities. I'm someone who grew up in a city, and many of the neighborhoods that we lived in were neighborhoods of people of color where we were one of the only Caucasian families in a neighborhood of people of color, because that was the only place we could find affordable housing.

I understand some of the issues here in a way that maybe others wouldn't. And so it's been a great gift in my life.

And because I understand it, I know that we're in a situation where the Supreme Court made a ruling that really further limits the opportunities of children of color, and it's going to become urgent not only that we have a Justice Department that seeks to explore new ground, to seek a new ruling but Jesse Jackson, Jr. has this idea for a constitutional amendment that guarantees equality of educational opportunity. And if it takes that, we need to do that. I'm ready to go to the greatest degree.

But I'm also ready to do this: I understand that, you know, the government tells poor people, "Pull yourself up by your bootstraps." And then they steal your boots.

(LAUGHTER)

So here's the funding mechanism. Universal pre-kindergarten -- I talked about that -- paid for by a 15 percent reduction in the bloated Pentagon budget.

Elementary and Secondary Education Act, the focus is going to be on continuing what children get in preschool -- language arts, reading, social skills, help children and develop this love of learning. And then a college program where every child will be able to go to a public college or university tuition free for four years.

KUCINICH: OK, that's the basis. That's number one -- education.

(APPLAUSE)

And the money is there. We just have to change our budget priorities.

Now, the second thing is, you talked about housing. Affordable housing is one of the most serious needs, and the needs vary area by area because in Cleveland, we have relatively low-cost housing. But still, mortgages aren't available to poor people, so we have to look at the cycle, as I mentioned earlier. People have to have jobs. They have to have living wage jobs.

Here's how it all fits together. I talked about a program called -- about Franklin Roosevelt's program, called the WPA. He put millions of Americans back to work rebuilding...(AUDIO GAP)

KUCINICH: ... and give them jobs rebuilding streets, water systems, sewer systems, schools, libraries, universities, hospitals. We have all these public works, and we put people back to work with a living wage.

(APPLAUSE)

Then you match that so people have jobs. And then we have a health care for all program. It would take about three years to implement the program I'm talking about, a Medicare for all, so when everyone has a job, you have a way to make a living.

Everyone has health care. You don't have to worry about now having $10,000, $15,000 a year just for premiums, OK? You put that money in your pocket. Then you don't have to worry about a co-pay or deductible because there's no more of those, because for-profit health care is over. OK, now, that's where you begin the economic rebuilding of your cities.

Now, the rest of your questions, if I may, relate to community impact statements. Let me tell you, again, about what I did when I was mayor. When I was mayor, there had been a long history of Cleveland development money -- and I'm sure many of you know this -- where the city hall was like a service station for downtown development interests and all the money in the city went to build up downtown projects. And when the neighborhoods were looking, they couldn't get the money.

I put that on its head. I took the money and I put it out throughout the city, and we put new sidewalks in just about every area of the city. We build things in the neighborhoods. We're going to put the money in the neighborhoods. I intend to create -- here's two programs, and as a mayor, I'm the only one running for president who was a mayor.

I want you to follow this. I create -- you know, I use Community Development Block Grant funds to bring back our communities. We're going to have an enhanced Community Development Block Grant so that the neighborhoods that you represent will have the programs to be able to meet the needs that have been long unmet.

KUCINICH: I want to bring back general revenue sharing so cities will have the resources to be able to hire the employees they need to provide police and fire and health and waste protection -- or waste collection -- and all those things.

(APPLAUSE)

I mean, I understand this from a systems standpoint. So, yes, we need community impact, but a president who understands the cities is the real impact that will be felt in this country.

And, again, I'm not a missionary. I still live in the city. I live in a neighborhood of people of color. And I'm proud of it.

(APPLAUSE)

QUESTION: Thank you so much.

MODERATOR: So we'd like to thank the congressman for spending this afternoon with us and telling us why we should vote for him as president.

(APPLAUSE)

KUCINICH: Thank you.

MODERATOR: And we'd like to -- we'd like to say good luck on your campaign trail, and keep up the hard work. Thank you so much.

KUCINICH: Thank you.

And I would just like to close by saying this. That we have the power to lift up our country, we have the power to lift up our world with the power of the human spirit and the power of the human heart.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

We're together. Thank you very much.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

The people united will never be defeated. Join our campaign for the people, for the people.

(SPEAKING IN SPANISH)

Thank you. Kucinich.us. Join us. Help us organize.

(APPLAUSE)

FORMER SEN. JOHN EDWARDS



FORMER SEN. EDWARDS DELIVERS REMARKS AT A PRESIDENTIAL
CANDIDATES FORUM SPONSORED BY ACORN

JULY 2, 2007

SPEAKERS: FORMER SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, D-N.C.

MAUDE HURD, ACORN PRESIDENT

EDWARDS: Thank you all very much.

First of all, let me say a thank you to Maude and to all of you. I've had the privilege of getting to know Maude very well over the last few years. We have, as I heard during my introduction, she and I have been all over the country helping to -- helping in campaigns to help raise the minimum wage in America.

Many of you know this already, but it is central to both my campaign and my life, the cause of ending poverty in the United States of America, which I think is a huge moral issue facing our country, which is why we travel around the country and we're successful in the states where we work to get the minimum wage raised.

I was proud to be part of that effort; proud to work with ACORN in that effort; proud to be in Columbus, if I remember right...

HURD: Yes.

EDWARDS: ... speaking to the ACORN convention with all of you.

(APPLAUSE)

Let me say first -- oh, go on, you can clap to that.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

Let me say first on a personal note, my wife Elizabeth sends her love to all of you. She's doing great.

(APPLAUSE)

We have such important work to do in this country. When I talked about the work that Maude and I did on the minimum wage, you know, I'm glad to see that the Congress finally, after a decade, did something about the minimum wage.

But there's actually something that I want to announce today, which is, the progress is good, that's fine, but we have more progress to make. And when I'm president of the United States, we're going to raise the minimum wage to $9.50 an hour.

(APPLAUSE)

And we're going to index it, so that it can go up every year as wages go up in the United States every year, so we don't have to keep going back to the Congress and ask the Congress to continue to raise the minimum wage.

I have a very simple view about this. I think that anybody working full-time in the United States of America should not live in poverty, period.

And we can do something about this.

(APPLAUSE)

Now, some of you have heard me in the past talk about the two Americas -- remember that? The two Americas? We've still got two Americas. We've got one for the wealthy, and then we've got one for everybody else. Right? And what we want to do is we want to create one America, where everybody has a real chance. There are lots of things we need to do to accomplish this.

I have to be honest with you about something. I met with your board a few weeks ago. I was on the way over here looking through your agenda, seeing if there was anything I -- there's nothing I need to study, because your agenda's basically my agenda. And the things that I care about are the things that you care about.

But I want to say one thing to all of you who are out there active, organizing, working. Sometimes people say to me, they say, "ACORN, they get in your face, man."

(LAUGHTER)

And I say, "Good, I hope they keep getting in your face. I hope they keep speaking out. I hope they keep standing up with backbone and courage for people who need someone to speak for them."

(APPLAUSE)

Listen, the truth of the matter is, the poor, the disabled, the disenfranchised, the uninsured in this country -- if we don't speak for them, who's going to? We have to be the voice for the voiceless. We have a responsibility.

Besides what (inaudible) and I did, I'm proud of the fact that over the last few years I've been all over the country helping organize workers into unions. We've organized thousands of workers into unions.

I'm proud of the fact that we -- and I'm going to mention this again in a minute -- Elizabeth and I started a college program so that low-income kids could all go to college who wanted that chance to go.

I'm proud of the fact that I announced my presidential campaign from the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, because what's happened in New Orleans is a national embarrassment. And we have a responsibility to do something about that. But what are we going to do?

All right, we want to end poverty in America. Here are the things that I believe we need to do.

First, beyond raising the minimum wage -- and this is one of the few audiences that when I say this, you'll understand what it is I'm talking about -- we desperately need to expand the earned income tax credit to make it available to more people.

(APPLAUSE)

We need to strengthen and reform our laws that allow unions to organize in the work place so that workers have a voice.

(APPLAUSE)

One of the great anti-poverty movements in American history is the organized labor movement, and I have a really simple view about this. If you can join the Republican Party by signing your name to a card, any worker in America should be able to join a union by doing exactly the same thing.

(APPLAUSE)

That's equality. That's democracy in the work place.

We need to help low-income families be able to save. We ought to teach financial literacy. We ought to set up bank accounts for them. We ought to create an incentive to save -- which means we, America, the government should match what they save dollar for dollar so that we can help them create some assets that they otherwise don't have.

And -- you all may ask me about this later, but I'll mention it to begin with -- we need a national predatory lending law to crack down on predatory lenders (inaudible) the abuses that they're engaged in.

(APPLAUSE)

What about 45 million of our own people who have no health care coverage? You know, this is not OK in the United States of America.

Suppose we have real universal health care for every man, woman and child in America. We know half the bankruptcies in the country are the result of medical costs, medical expenses.

I'm proud of the fact that I was the first candidate and until now the only candidate to come out with a very specific, truly universal health care plan. I think we desperately need universal health care in the United States of America.

(APPLAUSE)

What about access to affordable housing? You all know very well we got folks waiting five, six, seven years to get their Section 8 housing voucher. We ought to have a million new Section 8 housing vouchers in America to reduce that waiting time, and we ought to use those vouchers to help break down some of the economic and racial barriers that still exist in America.

What about access to college? We have all these young people who want to go to college. Bush has taken billions of dollars out of the federal budget for kids to be able to go to college.

Here's my idea. It's called College for Everyone. Really very simple. We say to every young person in America: Graduate from high school, qualify to go to college, commit to work at least 10 hours a week your first year, we pay for your tuition and books. Very simple.

(APPLAUSE)

And just to show you that we're dead set in favor of this, Elizabeth and I actually started this in a low-income area of eastern North Carolina a couple of years ago. It's been hugely successful. Over 70 percent -- I think this is right -- over 70 percent of the kids in the area who have graduated from high school have signed up for it.

We don't give it to them. They ought to work for it. A little work never hurt anybody, right? A lot of us worked when we were in school -- ain't nothing wrong with that. But when they graduate from college, they don't have this crushing burden of debt that so many of our young people are faced with.

(APPLAUSE)

So it's not that we don't know what needs to be done -- a higher minimum wage, a living wage, expansion of the earned income tax rate, strengthening the right to organize, access to affordable housing, making sure that people are able to create some assets, cracking down on abusers, predators, payday lenders, creating an opportunity to go to college.

Listen, this is the cause of my life. Ending poverty in America is what my life is about.

Let me just say that to you very directly. I started a poverty center a few years ago at the University of North Carolina. This is not just a political issue for me. I have been all over this country, including right here in this city, in way over 100 places, going to community organizations, seeing what works. I've been in a lot of places in America with you and your representatives who are out there advocating. By the way, you should be very proud of the work your organization is doing in New Orleans -- very proud of it.

But I want to say to all of you, this is the cause of my life. It always will be. When we talk about these various policy ideas that all of us care so much about and that you all have worked so hard on -- and that in some cases I've been able to work with you on -- you know, it's a great thing to have policy ideas. It is. But we need a president of the United States who wakes up every single morning and in his gut cares deeply about this cause.

There are a lot of issues facing the president -- for example, ending this war in Iraq, which desperately needs to be done.

(APPLAUSE)

But we need a president who wakes up every morning, gnawing inside about ending poverty in America. You are looking at the candidate who has laid out a specific set of ideas and agenda to end poverty in America -- not to reduce it: to end it in the next 30 years, which I completely am convinced is achievable.

We need a president who'll go out on the White House lawn and say to America, to the entire country, that this is a huge moral cause for our country. It says something about the character of America, what we're willing to do about the issue of poverty. It says something about America what we're willing to do about 37 million of our own people who wake up every single day worried about feeding and clothing their children.

And I have to say to all of you -- and I mean this -- you know, Elizabeth and I had to make a decision a few months ago about what we're going to spend our lives doing. And we, like all of you -- we've all faced these kinds of challenges -- we're faced with some serious challenges in our own family, but these causes -- the plight of the poor, the disabled, the disenfranchised, all those who desperately need a voice in this country -- this is the cause of my life. It's the cause of Elizabeth's life. And I'm here to tell you as long as I'm alive and breathing, I will stand up for that cause.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you very much. It's a great privilege for me to be here with you.

HURD: Thank you.

Now our leaders are going to ask a few questions. And the first question will come from Julia Smith from Ohio ACORN, and she's going to ask about maximum eligibility participation.

SMITH: OK. Is that loud enough? I have a very soft voice. You already know that.

Senator Edwards, I wanted to just take a moment before I go to my question to thank you for not just talking the talk and for actually walking the walk. That's very appreciated.

(APPLAUSE)

So, onto my question. ACORN believes that our government -- that's our elected representatives -- has a huge role to play in providing Americans with the security and support we need to pursue our dreams for our families and our communities.

Government programs can help lift Americans out of poverty, can provide all Americans with a decent education, can rebuild our communities so that we all have affordable housing, can ensure that we have real health care coverage, and can provide security for our senior citizens.

Unfortunately, many of the programs currently in place to do this have a patchwork quality. The earned income tax credit, food stamps, the children's health insurance program, Medicaid, LIHEAP -- these are all a few examples of critically important services that the government provides and that millions of eligible Americans aren't participating in, mainly many because they're not aware that they're eligible for these programs.

As you know, ACORN educates our members and communities about the benefits that are available to them. We actively work to ensure that these benefits are received by every eligible person we come in contact with. I personally ran the Cleveland VITA site this year, making sure that tax refund and EITC dollars remained in the pockets of our members and in our communities. Tons of ACORN offices across the country do the same, and by doing this, we keep millions of dollars in our communities and not in paid tax preparers' pockets.

We feel that the government should play a larger role in ensuring that all eligible Americans have access to these services, so our questions to you are: Will you work with community groups like ACORN to create a federally funded program that reaches out to and enrolls all eligible Americans in the services they are entitled to?

I know you know this. ACORN on our own dollar goes door to door with our benefits center, making sure that people get these benefits, and we feel that that's something that the government should be helping us with. More generally, what are your thoughts on how we can ensure that all eligible Americans participate in the programs that they're entitled to?

EDWARDS: Thank you. Thank you for the question.

You know, it doesn't do any good to have an earned income tax credit if folks don't know about it. It doesn't do any good to have a children's health insurance program if families don't sign up for it. It doesn't do any good to have any of these things unless people are able to take advantage of them.

And I first of all will applaud ACORN for being aggressive and active in educating people about the availability of all these services.

Second, I have to say I myself have been involved over the last few years in education programs to make sure that families knew -- specifically in my case -- about the earned income tax credit, because as you know, there are many, many families that don't take advantage of the earned income tax credit, which could make a huge difference in their lives.

This responsibility -- education, education in financial education, financial literacy, knowing about the programs that are available for low-income families -- this should not just be the responsibility of community based organizations like ACORN. This is the responsibility of the president of the United States and the United States government.

(APPLAUSE)

And it does no good to have these services if people don't about them. So, first of all, bless ACORN for what it does, but I can tell you as president of the United States, I will commit myself to making sure that the government has both the resources and the personnel and the effort necessary to educate Americans about the services that are available to them, including all the ones that you just asked about.

SMITH: Thank you.

EDWARDS: You're welcome.

HURD: We have Paul, Senator, from Minnesota ACORN. He's going to ask about protecting our assets.

PAUL: As a senior citizen disabled vet and predatory lending victim, I see too many corporations stealing too much of our money -- predatory mortgage lenders, payday lenders, credit card companies, commercial tax preparation companies. They're all preying on our communities, sucking us inside of our neighborhoods and dollars out of our pockets.

ACORN has played, and you know, a leading role in fighting these abuses. Right now we are leading a national campaign against foreclosure crisis caused by predatory lenders and their Wall Street allies. Over the past several years, we have led successful campaigns to pass state laws outlawing predatory practices. North Carolina was the first one to pass one. But in Minnesota this year, Minnesota ACORN helped pass the strongest predatory bill in the nation.

But we need a president and we need a federal government to step up. What will you do as president to stop these predatory practices? Specifically, I want to ask you about passing federal legislation. You already answered that. Thank you very much.

Will you appoint governors to the Federal Reserve and other bank regulators who put the protection of our neighborhoods and our assets first? Will you support funding for foreclosure counseling programs like the successful programs run by ACORN Housing Corporation to help troubled borrowers facing foreclosure?

EDWARDS: Let me answer all those questions. I did say a few minutes ago, because it's part of what I normally talk about, that I think we need federal predatory lending laws, not just state laws, so that we don't just have Minnesota and North Carolina being responsible for lenders that work all over the country, as we all know -- but first, a national federal predatory lending law that stops the abuses that are occurring.

Second, I think that we need a new consumer commission beyond the existing regulatory structure, a new consumer commission whose responsibility it is to regulate and monitor all these lenders, to watch what they're doing, to look out for their abusive practices, to hold them accountable when they engage in abusive practices.

So I think not only should we provide support for grassroots and community organizations that are out there trying to monitor these activities, I think we also need a national commission whose sole responsibility it is to monitor the credit activity of these organizations that are making billions of dollars and in many cases preying on our most vulnerable families.

And then finally, the last thing is beyond counseling for families that are vulnerable to mortgage lenders, that are vulnerable to foreclosure, beyond that I think we need to go further than that. I think we actually need a national home fund to provide help and support for families who are in danger of losing their homes to these mortgage brokers who are foreclosing on their homes.

(APPLAUSE)

PAUL: Thank you very much.

HURD: Next we have Maria Blanco from New York ACORN, and she's going to ask a question about helping immigrants become citizens.

BLANCO: OK. ACORN strongly believes that all hard-working immigrants here in this country who contribute so much in our economy and society to have a path to citizenship. And that path is not filled with barriers and years of waiting.

ACORN members were in the first row last year, marching for immigrant rights, and this year we are running a program for ESL, English as a second language, and citizenship classes and fail to help our members and our neighbors to becoming a citizen for this great nation.

We know that the President Bush and the Congress just failed to act in this important issue. We have two questions for you -- what you will do as the president of the United States.

One, for the 12 million undocumented immigrants in this country, what provisions would you support to ensure that they becoming citizens of our country as soon as possible and with few barriers?

And second, now that the Senate has failed to pass the Congress and the comprehensive immigrant reform, what are steps you will take to get the process started again?

EDWARDS: Well, I can say thank you very much for the question. I think as president of the United States, I would have enormous responsibility to move this whole immigration reform issue forward. So it would be very early on, very high in my agenda. And the reason is I also think this is a moral issue. I think in America to have a first class group of citizens and a second-class group of laborers is un-American. That's not who we are.

(APPLAUSE)

And I think the provisions that were in the bill that died in the Senate in the United States Congress made the path to citizenship too difficult.

There are some things that made sense in it. Some of the security on the southern border I supported. Cracking down on employers engaged in abuses -- I supported that.

But for somebody who wants to earn American citizenship to have to pay up to $10,000 -- it's just not doable. It's prohibitive. To have to take 13 years to become an American citizen, to have to go back to the country that they came from -- the touchback provision -- that makes it much too difficult. I think we need a clear, achievable path to citizenship.

(APPLAUSE)

I do think paying a much smaller amount in a fine makes some sense. I think learning to speak English and us helping to make sure they can learn to speak English makes sense.

But if we still believe that we're a country of immigrants -- I still believe we're a country of immigrants -- and if in fact we want to give hope and opportunity to all those folks who are living here who want to become American citizens -- isn't that who America is? Isn't that what we're supposed to be about? We have to change our laws and give them that chance.

(APPLAUSE)

BLANCO: Thank you very much.

EDWARDS: You're welcome.

HURD: Sonja Merchant Jones from Maryland ACORN is going to ask you the next question. Her question will be about rebuilding American cities.

JONES: Good afternoon.

EDWARDS: Good afternoon.

JONES: I live in Baltimore city. Most ACORN members live in the cities, and for over 30 years we have been a powerful force, organizing and advocating in our cities to make our cities work for low to moderate income families. In cities that have been booming, we're fighting to ensure equitable development for all, including affordable housing rather than massive gentrification.

In cities and neighborhoods that have been in decline, we are fighting for investment in our communities. In all cities we are campaigning to improve schools. We are convinced that America needs a massive federal commitment of resources to our cities, but a commitment that benefits all citizens, not just the wealthy.

What will you do as president to help rebuild our cities specifically? And I have three parts to this question. Would you support a requirement for community impact statements as part of any expenditure of public funds to ensure that investments in our cities provide equitable benefits to the vast majority of a city's revenues?

Number two, what steps will you take to expand the production of affordable housing in cities?

Three, do you support greatly expanded federal funding for public schools in low to moderate income communities to support longer school days, smaller classroom sizes and universal pre-K programs?

EDWARDS: Stay there...

JONES: I will.

EDWARDS: ... make sure I remember all three of your questions.

Community impact statements was the first one, right?

JONES: Yes.

EDWARDS: We absolutely need community impact statements. I strongly support them. We need to be sure that the money that we're spending -- the government money that's being spent in our cities -- is in fact going to benefit all the residents of the city, not just a few, particularly given the challenge we face.

You know, I talk about two Americas. Well, in most of America's cities we have two cities -- two cities and two Americans -- and what we want to do is make sure that any national resources that are going to rebuild our cities gets spread in a way that's equitable and fair for all residents of the community. That's the value of the community impact statement.

The second was affordable housing...

JONES: Yes.

EDWARDS: Right?

JONES: To expand the production.

EDWARDS: To expand the production of affordable housing.

Well, I mentioned this earlier when I spoke. My belief is that America needs an alteration and a significant investment in the access to affordable housing. I mentioned that I am in favor of a million new Section 8 housing vouchers, but the problem is a million new Section 8 housing vouchers won't do us any good unless folks got a place to live. So that means we also have to commit ourselves to rebuilding and restocking our affordable housing supply, which includes our rental housing supply, not just houses that will be owned by the residents.

And the third?

JONES: And the third is, do you support greatly expanded federal funding for public schools in low to moderate-income communities?

EDWARDS: Yes. We have two public school systems in America, just as we have two health care systems, two Americas. We have one public school system for wealthy suburban areas, and we have a different public school system for inner cities.

(APPLAUSE)

And if we actually believe that in America every single child ought to have the same opportunity to a good education, which I strongly believe, then we need to do a whole variety of things, including the kind of funding for Title 1 to help level the playing field for our schools. I think we ought to give bonus pay, incentive pay to teachers who will come teach in poor areas in the inner city. I mean, let's give them a reason to come teach in these areas and get...

(APPLAUSE)

There is no excuse because a child lives in a poor section of the inner city, that that child should have just as good a schoolteacher as anywhere else in America, and if we believe that, we're going to have to put our resources behind it.

JONES: Thank you so much.

EDWARDS: Thank you.

HURD: Our next question comes to you from Dr. Brown from Pennsylvania ACORN, and she's going to ask you a question about improving income, wages and working conditions.

BROWN: I was going to ask you if you will support an increase in the minimum wage, but you beat me to it.

(APPLAUSE)

Thank you for your promise to increase the minimum wage. I have two more questions. Will you support the Health Family Act, which gives every worker seven paid sick days per year to take care of their own health needs or those of their family members? Will you support increase of the earned income tax credit, which puts money in the pocket of low wage workers?

EDWARDS: I've actually already answered the third one, too.

(LAUGHTER)

Yes, yes, I am strongly supportive of expansion of the earned income tax credit, the refundable tax credit for low-income families. And it should be made available to more workers. We should get rid of the marriage penalty in it. We should expand it particularly for the youth for availability and access of single workers. So, yes, I am totally in favor of the expansion of the earned income tax credit.

(APPLAUSE)

And in terms of sick (OFF-MIKE) working people, yes. The answer is yes.

(APPLAUSE)

BROWN: Thank you.

EDWARDS: You're welcome.

(UNKNOWN) You earlier mentioned that you and Elizabeth made your announcement in the Lower Ninth Ward of New Orleans, so we know about your commitment. Would you again say for us how your administration would differ from the Bush administration? Right now, the federal response of the Bush administration to Katrina was inadequate, inhuman and probably -- well, it was a terrible thing.

(OFF-MIKE) Illegal -- OK, thank you. If it wasn't illegal, it should have been.

The administration's neglect has hurt our community. ACORN has been fighting for the rebuilding of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast. ACORN has organized Katrina survivors (OFF-MIKE)

Support the Gulf Coast Housing Recovery Act of 2007, the one introduced by Senators Dodd and Landry...

(AUDIO GAP)

EDWARDS: ... announcing my presidential campaign from the Lower Ninth Ward. In addition to that -- months before that -- we took several hundred college kids to work in Upper Ninth Ward, St. Bernard's parish. Nothing has changed. I mean, it looks like it did after the hurricane. Except for the work done by organizations like yours, there has been very little change. And so I think we have a responsibility, a moral responsibility to help rebuild this great American city.

(AUDIO GAP)

EDWARDS: The first thing I would do is I will put a high level, very capable person in the White House in charge of New Orleans. And I'm going to have him coming to me every day, and I want to know what they did to rebuild New Orleans yesterday. And then the next day I want them to tell me what they did yesterday. And the next day I want them to tell me -- I don't want to hear what they're going to do. I want to know what they've done. I want to see change take place in New Orleans. I want to see people's lives restored. I want to see they have a place to live.

(APPLAUSE)

And in terms of the things that we need to do, how about instead of having New Orleans rebuilt by these big multi-national corporations like Halliburton, how about if we fill out the people of New Orleans to rebuild their own city? We give them a job, we give (inaudible) and give benefits, allow them to go to work and rebuild their own city. That, plus rebuilding the levies so that the city of New Orleans is safe...

(AUDIO GAP)

HURD: Our final question to you comes from Maxine Nelson from Arkansas is going to ask this question. It's about protecting the right to vote.

NELSON: (OFF-MIKE) there is an organized campaign in America to keep people from voting by getting states to pass laws that create barriers to voting and attacking groups like ACORN who register voters in our community.

(OFF-MIKE) who are standing up to partisan political (inaudible) who have attacked our voter registration efforts. But to be successful, we need your help. I have three questions.

One, will the Justice Department...

(AUDIO GAP)

NELSON: ... restricting voter registration drives. Do you support this bill and other efforts to prevent states from (inaudible) registration drives?

And third, there is a long history of false claims of voter fraud used against minority voters and the organizations working with them. These false claims are used to justify restrictive new laws, harass organizations and intimidate voters. Will you work with ACORN to speak out about how these false claims damage our democracy?

EDWARDS: Yes, I will. First of all, I will work with ACORN and other community based organizations who are out there engaged in making democracy work in the United States of America so that people are registered to vote, so that people are able to vote. By the way, you know, I talk about the two Americas? We also have two voting systems in America, depending on who's counting the votes.

(APPLAUSE)

So what I believe is that we have a responsibility to ensure that voter registration activities -- those who engage in those activities, including ACORN, are able to do their work in an open, honest and fair fashion, which is all that ACORN wants to do. It's why they've been successful in registering over a million voters, as you pointed out just a few minutes ago.

Now you also asked me about the National Voter Registration Act. Yes, I think it is enormously important to ensure that every single person who wants to vote, who wants to register to vote, gets that opportunity, that we don't have any sort of the suppression that we've seen going on in our system.

And can I just add -- if I can add to the question you asked. You didn't ask this question, but I'm going to say it anyway.

NELSON: OK.

EDWARDS: Can we get rid of these electronic black box voting machines...

(APPLAUSE)

... and actually have people vote on a paper ballot so that we know that the votes are in fact being counted? You know, we can help those who are disabled, to make sure that they get to vote, but we want to know that there's a way to determine whether somebody goes to the polls and votes, whether their vote in fact was counted.

And you asked me a third question. I've forgotten what it was. I may have answered it already.

NELSON: You might have. You answered a lot of them. Oh, just a minute -- about the voter fraud. You know, there have been accusations that ACORN and other organizations...

EDWARDS: Oh, right, right, right, right.

NELSON: ... especially in the minority communities.

EDWARDS: Yes. All of this is code word for trying to suppress voter turnout.

(APPLAUSE)

All it is is an effort to keep voters who are entitled to vote, who are completely legal and want to exercise their right to vote -- if we want to protect democracy in America and we want to actually make sure that democracy works, we need a president of the United States and a Justice Department that will stand up and fight for people's right to vote and make sure that their vote is not in fact being suppressed.

(APPLAUSE)

NELSON: Thank you.

EDWARDS: You're welcome.

(APPLAUSE)

HURD: Senator Edwards, we want to thank you. That was great, and we're delighted that you chose to spend this time with us. And we are certainly delighted that you decided to make this announcement about raising the minimum wage at this event. Thank you very much.

EDWARDS: (Inaudible)

HURD: Good luck. Let's give Senator Edwards another round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

END

COUNTRY: UNITED STATES (96%);

SUBJECT: C2008; EDWARDS; ACORN POLITICAL CANDIDATES (90%); PLATFORMS & ISSUES (90%); US PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS (90%); MINIMUM WAGE (89%); WAGES & SALARIES (89%); CONFERENCES & CONVENTIONS (78%); FULL TIME EMPLOYMENT (67%);

PERSON:  JOHN EDWARDS (97%);