Speech for campaign rally at Los Angeles, CA, October 24, 1984.https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/vice_presidential_campaign_speeches_1984/1059/thumbnail.jp

Ferraro, Geraldine

English

Fordham University School of Law

Fordham Law SchoolFLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship and HistorySpeeches 1984 Vice-Presidential Campaign10-24-1984Los Angeles Rally SpeechGeraldine FerraroFollow this and additional works at: https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/vice_presidential_campaign_speeches_1984Part of the Law CommonsThis Book is brought to you for free and open access by the 1984 Vice-Presidential Campaign at FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship andHistory. It has been accepted for inclusion in Speeches by an authorized administrator of FLASH: The Fordham Law Archive of Scholarship andHistory. For more information, please contact tmelnick@law.fordham.edu.Recommended CitationFerraro, Geraldine, "Los Angeles Rally Speech" (1984). Speeches. 60.https://ir.lawnet.fordham.edu/vice_presidential_campaign_speeches_1984/60• LOS ANGELES CALIFORNIA ......................................... , ......................................... . WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 24 1984 ................................. J ........................................... 1 ................... . Thank you Ted, for that terrific introduction. On~:' of thE~ reasons I'm proud to be a Democrat is because our party has leaders of compassion and decency like Ted Kennedy. I also want to thank Mayor Bradley, who is a great Mayor, and who should be Governor today. This evening I've 9ot same 9aod news and some bad news. The bad news is on January 21st, California will have another unemployed actor on its hands. The goad news is we're going to win this election. Since this is, after all, the television capital of America, I'd like to conduct my own Neilsen rating survey right here. Did Pritz Mondale win that debate Sunday night? Did he show who's really in command? Are we goin9 send Walter Mondale ta the White Hause~ and Ronald Reagan back to the ranch this November? Los An9elf:·~s P. .. ~ . .9. ~ .. ... ?.. People do funny things in campaigns. And recently, Ronald Reagan did two of the most astounding things I ' ve ever seen. First, he took Harry Truman's pullman car out of a museum to try to recreate Truman's famous whistle-stop tour of 1948. That train stunt didn't fool anyone. Workers know th3t there's one person in this election who stands for Truman ' s ide : 3ls. And it's not Ronald Reagan. It's Wal t er Mondale. But think about it. What better symbol could Ronald Reagan give of his Administration: there he was, facing backwards, without a clue about who was at the control s , or in what direction he was going. The second thing Reagan did was when he said that fritz Mondale is appealing to •special interests.' I have to confess, he's got us there. Hungry children, widows on Social Security, the unemployed, kids who need education a n d de s er v e opportunity: we care deeply about these people, and we won ' t turn our backs on them. After all, we're Democrats, and we're proud to be But President Reagan was being toe modest. HP did r:' t tell you the other half of the story: Administration's concern for the truly needy in our society. Los Angeles t~ .. 9.~ ... J. When poor and homeless polluters can't find a place for their toxic waste, Ronald Reagan offers them your backyards. Ronald Reagan can't resist an appeal from defense contractors down on their luck. They ask him to spare a dime for a cup of coffee, and he gives them S7,000 for a coffee maker. There wasn't a dry eye in the White Hou s e when the forgotten wealthy asked for a hand - out. So Reagan dug deep into our pockets and came up with 750 billion dollars in tax relief. And he was so mvoed when they passed the plate for big oil that he kindly donated the whole Outer Continental Shelf. Let's talk sense. !·:!.;L!:;. s p e c i .J l i n t f:~ r e s t s :3 r ~:~ t h E' r i c h , t h e powerful, and the greedy. Our causes are working men and women, the elderly, victims of discrimination, and our c hildren. So if Ronald Reagan want s a debate over spe c ial ieests, we'll give it to him. if he tries to run from hi s record, we'll stop him. And if this election is decided on who's a captive to special interests who's speaking for America~ we ' ll win this e 1 ect i or1. Make no mi s take about it: we ' re in a fight f or the heart and soul of this country. L o s Ara 9 e 1 e s f.'.:~ . .3.~L. .. 4. And as Democrats, we're going to win that fight. Above all, we are fi9htin9 for two basic principles. First, equal opportunity. Equal opportunity has never been so near, nor discrimination so distant, as when Walter Mondale asked me to be his running mate. The night I was nominated was not just a personal victory fc> r nH?.. It was a moment for every woman, minority, and all who have been excluded from our society, to say together: do this, we can do anything. And the most important thing to do is reverse the policies of this Administration. In the last four years, it's became harder for average Americans to 90 on to college, because this Administration has cut student assistance. But it's even tougher if you're an inner city youngster. This Administration cut Head Start, Title I, and bi-lingual education. In the last four years, America's children have suffered from deep cuts in nutrition programs. But the suffering has been 9re.:itest fox' minority children, on<?. out of eVF!!X''/ fo1Jr of 1.ihom lives in poverty. Los An9elf:~s t~ .. 9.~ ..... ~i. Don't misunderstand me. Every American has a reason ta vote for Walter Mondale. But the awful truth is, blacks, Hispanics, women, and the disadvantaged have only themselves to blame if they stay home and let Ronald Reagan be President again. He has been against you for as long as Walter Mondale has b(:?en :for you. When Ronald Reagan was making moviesv Walter Mondale was making history in the fight for social justice. When Ronald Rea9an was hostin9 Death Valley Days, Walter Mondale was fighting to stop the arms race. When Ronald Reagan was the spokesman for General Electric, Walter Mondale was speaking out for the average American family. When Ronald Rea9an was speaking for Barry Goldwater and ri9ht-win9 Republicans, Walter Mondale was saying with Martin Luther ~~in9, Jr.,. "Americ:::ins should not bf.~ jud:·3E~d by the color o:f their skin, but by the content of their character." All throu9h his public career, Walter Mondale has stood up for civil rights and social justice. And if you want to continue that fi9ht, it's time to stand up and fight for Walter Mondale. This Administration is taking us backwards. gold standard for the economy, and the double standard for women. Los Angeles rAs~ .... h This Administration has reversed forty years of Republican support for the Equal Rights Amendment. When I take the oath of office for my second term as Vice President, I want ta swear to uphold a Constitution that includes the Equal Rights Amendment. And they don't realize that creating equal opportunity takes more than a photo opportunity. Recently, Mr. Reagan came here to congratulate our Olympic athletes, including many women. But back in Washin9ton, he sided with those who would discriminate against women in sports. I, too, congratulate our athletes. But I don't want to just pat women on the back as they cross the finish line. I want to outlaw discrimination and help them get to the starting block. Let me add, I'm not just speaking to women and minorities. You don't have to be a woman to be offended by discrimination. Most men are too. You don't have to be poor to hate poverty. You don't have to be black or Hispanic to loathe bigotry. All Americans should, and most Americans do. And you don't have to be a soldier to pray for peace. That's the most important issue in this campaign. L o s A r1 '3 E~ 1 f.~ s P-3 e 7 ........ 3 ........... . Mr. Reagan is the first President since Herbert Hoover not to meet with his Soviet counterpart. He is the first President since the dawn of the nuclear age not to negotiate an arms control agreement. When will this President understand that an arms race does not lead to superiority -- it leads only to an arms r::ice. And arms control leads to peace. Walter Mondale and I will do everything in our power ta negotiate a mutual, verifiable nuclear freeze. We will fight the spread of nuclear weapons on this earthy and we will work to keep the arms race out of space. Let's say, the sky is the limit. Let's say~ enough is enough. Let's have a President who will call on the Soviets to ne9otiate arms control on his first day in office, not on the first day of his re-election campaign. Not long ago, we celebrated the hundredth birthday of Eleanor Roosevelt. She once said <quote>, "You must do the thing you think you cannot do.' Let the Republicans say that when our products don't sell, it's the workers' fault. I say, if we just invest in educ~tion and new equipment, and give people the tools they need to do the job, American workers can outproduct, outcompete, and outsell any other worker on the face of the earth. Los Angeles ¥.'.:::!1 . .3.~ .. J~. Let others say that workers are lazy. In the height of the recession, this President told the unemployed to read the want .:ids. The pr6blem was~ the unemployed don't get all those foreign newspapers where their jobs are now being advertised. Let others say we cannot clean up toxic waste dumps. Remember, this is the Admini st ration that gave u s James Watt once and Anne Burford twice. I say we must not only clean up those dumps, we must make polluters pay for it. I..1::t 1 s h:,1•v•e .-::1n Administration that takes polluters to court not to lunch. Let others say we cannot keep faith with senior citizens. I say, Social Security is a contract and we 're not 9oin9 to let the Republicans lay a finger on it. Let others say discrimination cannot be stopped. I ~;::Jy with Martin Luthc~r ~(ing, Jr., <quote) "Injustic~~ ·,3ny~Jh(:~re is :,1 thr" f:-~::,1t. to justice everywhere.• In this Administration we face an :3dvers.3ry. But we have faced adversaries before and this one t a o we shall overcome. Let others say we cannot trust peop l e ta make choices about tt1eir own li\l(·?S. I say no President, ~nd especially not Ronald Reagan, should make those choices for me. Los An9eles tAS~ ... 2 I want a government that stays in public buildings and out of our homes, our churches, and our synagogues. I want the next Supreme Court to be chosen by Walter Mondale, and not Jerry Falwell. Let others say education is not a national priority. Ronald Rea9an's idea of helpin9 education is to launch a teacher into space. I say let's help students and teachers here on earth. Let others say there is no way to stop the nuclear arms I say we need a President with the courage to stand up to the Soviets, but also the wisdom to sit down with them and negotiate an end to the arms race. Let others say this election cannot be won. I say it can be. It must be. And with your help, it will be. THANK YOU FOR YOUR SUPPORT. THANK YOU fOR BEING HERE. THANK YOU VERY MUCH. (Is that enough thanks, Sasso?) -- END --

Los Angeles Rally Speech

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Los Angeles Rally Speech

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