Monday, September 15, 2008

Wall Street Melts Down, Palin Melts Hearts in Golden Colorado

I hope you have a chance to watch this incredible transcript and video of Sarah Palin on the Wall Street Meltdown, first “dude” and taxing the rich. It should send a shutter through most voters, in a way that would wake some people up to the serious nature of her vice presidency, and what it might mean at this critical moment in America’s economic history. Barack Obama finally gets around to mentioning that it a came about because of the Republicans “economic philosophy, you know, the same one their candidate for president John McCain wants to put on steroids. Washington Post:

Sarah Palin, in her usual folksy language calling the crowd “guys and gals”, she addressed the excited throng of a few thousand saying that the country’s economic problems need some “shaking up and some fixin’.” “It’s taking a toll on our economy and that means people’s life savings.’’ She blamed the government and Wall Street for today’s financial turmoil, “Guys and gals, our regulatory system is outdated and needs a complete overhaul. Washington has ignored this. Washington has been asleep at the switch and ineffective and management on Wall Street has not run these institutions responsibly and has put companies and markets at risk,” Palin told the cheering crowd, “They place their own interests first instead of their employees and the shareholders who actually own these companies.” “We are going to reform the way Wall Street does business and stop multi-million dollar payouts and golden parachutes to CEOs who break the public trust.”

Palin hit Barack Obama during her speech saying he will raise taxes, “Our opponent wants to raise income taxes and raise payroll tax and raise investment income taxes and raise business taxes and raise the death tax.” The crowd screamed her name and held signs that read, “Read my Lipstick and “Working Moms for Palin.”

There were protestors outside of the event, one with a sign that read “The Antichrist Wears Lipstick.” But, it seemed as though only one lone protestor came inside the event–she screamed “Liar!” and “You don’t have the experience!” throughout the speech.

Barack Obama responded this way: "The challenges facing our financial system today are more evidence that too many folks in Washington and on Wall Street weren't minding the store. Eight years of policies that have shredded consumer protections, loosened oversight and regulation, and encouraged outsized bonuses to CEOs while ignoring middle-class Americans have brought us to the most serious financial crisis since the Great Depression. "

I certainly don't fault Senator McCain for these problems, but I do fault the economic philosophy he subscribes to. It's a philosophy we've had for the last eight years -- one that says we should give more and more to those with the most and hope that prosperity trickles down to everyone else.

It's a philosophy that says even common-sense regulations are unnecessary and unwise, and one that says we should just stick our heads in the sand and ignore economic problems until they spiral into crises. "Well now, instead of prosperity trickling down, the pain has trickled up -- from the struggles of hardworking Americans on Main Street to the largest firms of Wall Street. "This country can't afford another four years of this failed philosophy.

For years, I have consistently called for modernizing the rules of the road to suit a 21st century market -- rules that would protect American investors and consumers. And I've called for policies that grow our economy and our middle class together. That is the change I am calling for in this campaign, and that is the change I will bring as President."

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