Dave Eberhart, NewsMax.com
Thursday, Jan. 13, 2005

Kennedy offered little contrition for the loss and offered the same old liberal shibboleths: more abortion rights, more gay rights, more payroll taxes, more pacifism in the wake of terror.

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For sure, Sen. Edward M. Kennedy's most celebrated oratory came during the 1980 Democratic National Convention with what has come to be known as his “the dream will never die” speech.

That was the year, of course, when Kennedy failed to wrest the presidential nomination from incumbent Jimmy Carter.

Kennedy, who is preparing to run for a ninth senate term in 2006, and who was the main political backer behind John Kerry during the 2004 election, used his signature “dream” word no less than 16 times during a spirited luncheon speech at the National Press Club.

This time the occasion was spawned by the failure of his fellow senator from Massachusetts to wrest the presidency from incumbent George W. Bush.

In the Press Club’s packed Ballroom, Kennedy launched his “Democratic Blueprint for America's Future,” a detailing of some of the priorities he believes the party should work toward now that the smoke has cleared from Election 2004.

Sounding like a stump speech for a higher office than his reelection bid to the Senate, Kennedy quickly went to the order on the defeat of the Democrats – not only in the White House race but in both houses of Congress.

“Defeat has a thousand causes,” Kennedy opined, styling the Bush victory as, at its very best, a “modest, miniature mandate.”

With no criticism of Kerry, Kennedy only reminded his listeners that values, or perceived values played a role in the GOP victory. “Values … Americans need to hear more - not less - about our values.”

Failure to get the Democratic message of its values across to voters in the future will result in further crises in the party, Kennedy concluded. “We will loose again and deserve to loose.”

The answer, said Kennedy – communicate a “progressive vision for America of opportunity, fairness and tolerance … This is the essence of the American Dream.

“We have kept that Dream alive – and we will not fail to do so now,” Kennedy exclaimed with energy.

But all was not sugar plums dancing through heads, as Kennedy soberly admitted, “Obviously we must deal with Iraq … I feel that John Kerry could have worked with the world and brought our troops home with honor.”

Instead, Kennedy charged, Iraq is “George Bush’s Vietnam. He turned away from pursuing Osama bin Laden and bogged us down in a quagmire.”

Kennedy drew an analogy with what FDR said in 1945: “We cannot live alone at peace.”

“If only President Bush could heed those words,” he lamented.

The Massachusetts lawmaker then proceeded through a number of issues – with a special emphasis on education. He charged that our national education strategy was being fueled by a “tin cup budget.” His vision is to earmark federal college funding to every eighth grader who has worked hard and shown the aptitude for higher education.

“We must throw the money changers out of the Temple of Education,” Kennedy blasted. “We must have a Renaissance in math and science,” he added.

Building steam and pace from the flickering prompter screens, he shared his notions for a broadband Internet available to all Americans, enhanced mass transit and serious attention to the issue of global warming. “The Environmental Protection Agency must not be the Environmental Pollution Agency.”

Returning to the ubiquitous dream theme, Kennedy suggested that the American Dream surely included being able to spend more time with the family and the pursuit of worthwhile volunteerism.

He also repeated a common Kerry stump point – reward companies via tax incentives for creating new jobs domestically and providing new benefits to employees.

“And raise the federal minimum wage!” he exclaimed.

Fix Social Security: Raise Taxes!

Sen. Kennedy remarked that President Bush was the first president in history to even suggest far-reaching tampering with the sacred cow of social security, including cuts in social security benefits. “We must oppose this … the American dream will become a nightmare for our senior citizens and a bonanza for Wall Street.”

When asked by NewsMax what his recommended fix for the failing system was, Kennedy explained simply that raising the payroll tax would plug the hole in the system as the baby boomers matured to retirement age.

“It’s not the ‘boomers’ causing the crisis in social security, it’s George Bush and the Republican party,” Kennedy concluded.

Kennedy also touted his “Medicare for all” proposal, phased in by age groups – the neediest coming aboard first. On the same subject he said he wanted his party to attack the some $400 billion in administrative costs that has been bearing down on the nation’s health care system.

The answer, according to Kennedy: Get rid of the redundant paperwork and digitize the wealth of patient information, like so much of the rest of the world has been doing with such success.

When asked about the singular success of new Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., and what message it bore for future tactics of the party, Kennedy embarrassingly stumbled over the politician’s name, calling him Osama bin Laden. Quickly recovering, Kennedy admitted, “He rang the bell in Illinois.”

Kennedy also suggested that he might send a copy of his speech to Obama, “hoping that he agrees with me on most of this.”

When pressed about new Bush appointees Roberto Gonzales and Condoleezza Rice, AG and Sec. of State, respectively, Kennedy noted that under questioning “Gonzalez left a lot to be desired. On the whole issue of torture – what exactly was his role?”

As to Rice, Kennedy noted that there have not as yet been any hearings on her appointment but that there were “issues about what she represented to the American people in the lead-up to the Iraq war.”

On other political fronts, Kennedy reaffirmed his position that with abortion, “we are dealing with a personal and private reproductive decision.” He said he supported civil unions with equal rights for gays.

“I have full confidence that we will renew our Democratic party,” Kennedy said. “By summoning courage and determination, the battles ahead will yield our greatest victories.”

Kennedy left to a standing ovation from the “impartial” press corps.

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