One of the great Fall political events is the annual Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa. On Sunday morning we drove the almost two hundred fifty miles to the Balloon Field in Indianola to listen to Democratic Party and other like-minded luminaries address a large crowd of Iowa Democrats at the outdoor venue. The weather wasn't too cooperative, ranging from a persistent drizzle to a steady downpour. Never mind - we brought our rain gear, old shoes, and large umbrellas. The big tent covering the dining area (and venue for speeches) also helped keep us relatively dry.
The featured speakers, in addition to Senator Tom Harkin (D) of Iowa, were Paul Begala - Democratic Party strategist and senior staffer for President Bill Clinton - and Senator Bernie Sanders (I) of Vermont. They fired up the audience of over five hundred under the big tent.
Senator Sanders (I) spoke at length:
...Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont): ...What I'm going to tell you this afternoon in many ways is what you already know better than I do. And that is that this is a pivotal moment in the history of the United States of America. [voice: "Amen."] It's [applause], it's a pivotal moment because of the work that so many people have done for so many years, so many struggles that have taken place, so many sacrifices by our veterans and others to make this country a great and Democratic country, a country which has been the envy of the entire world. [applause] And now there are forces afoot who want to roll back every victory that has been won by working people over the last eighty years. They, they have a belief that what America is supposed to be about is that every person is in it alone. And you saw a glimpse of it just the other day at the Republican debate. Somebody asked one of the candidates, well, what happens if somebody doesn't have health insurance and that person becomes terribly ill? What happens to that person? And the answer was, well, too bad, guess he has to die. [voices: "No."] That is not our belief. [applause] [voice: "Thank you."] What our belief is is that we are a nation, historically and today, which understand that when one child goes hungry, when one senior cannot afford the prescription drugs that she needs, that all of us are in it together to make sure that we address those needs. [applause]...
...I mentioned before that the middle class is collapsing. I mentioned before, as you all know, that poverty is increasing. I want to say a word about poverty. Poverty is not something we talk a whole lot about in this country. And mostly it's because, you know, at the political level poor people don't make major campaign contributions, you know, many poor people don't even vote. But I want to tell you something, about poverty. When we think about poverty we think, well poverty's a bad thing, people live in inadequate housing, they don't have a good car, maybe they don't go to the movies on Saturday night. We just did, on Tom's committee, the health committee, we just did a hearing last week. And you know what we discovered, what doctors told us? If you are in the lower twenty percent of income earners you will die six and a half years earlier than if you are in the top twenty percent. In other words, poverty in America is a death sentence. And as a nation we should profoundly embarrassed that in America we have, by far, the highest rate of childhood poverty of any major country on earth. Twenty-one percent of our kids. That is something that has got to end. [applause] Instead of investing in the wars [applause] let's invest in our children and make them the best educated and the healthiest kids in the world. [applause] [cheers]...
Previously at Show Me Progress:
The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa (photos)
And the full transcript of Senator Sanders' speech:
The 2011 Harkin Steak Fry in Indianola, Iowa: Senator Bernie Sanders (I)