100,000 in St. Louis:
Pic from CNN
75,000 in Kansas City:
Some excerpts have been released of the speech Senator Obama will give today in Missouri in which he hits back at McCain's latest charge that Obama's tax cuts for the middle class amount to "welfare."
My opponent's been talking a lot about taxes in his campaign. But here's the truth Missouri – we are both offering tax cuts. The difference is who we're cutting taxes for.
It comes down to values – in America, do we simply value wealth, or do we value the work that creates it? For eight years, we've seen what happens when we put the extremely wealthy and well-connected ahead of working people. Now, John McCain thinks that the way to rebuild this economy is to double down on George Bush's policy of giving more and more tax breaks to those at the very top in the false hope that it will all trickle down. I think it's time to rebuild the middle class in this country, and that is the choice in this election.
Senator McCain wants to give the average Fortune 500 CEO a $700,000 tax cut but absolutely nothing at all to over 100 million Americans. I want to cut taxes – cut taxes – for 95 percent of all workers. And under my plan, if you make less than $250,000 a year – which includes 98 percent of small business owners – you won't see your taxes increase one single dime. Not your payroll taxes, not your income taxes, not your capital gains taxes – nothing. It' time to give the middle class a break, and that's what I'll do as President of the United States.
Lately, Senator McCain has been attacking my middle class tax cut. He actually said it goes to, "those who don't pay taxes," even though it only goes to working people who are already getting taxed on their paycheck. That's right, Missouri – John McCain is so out of touch with the struggles you are facing that he must be the first politician in history to call a tax cut for working people "welfare."
The only "welfare" in this campaign is John McCain's plan to give another $200 billion in tax cuts to the wealthiest corporations in America – including $4 billion in tax breaks to big oil companies that ran up record profits under George Bush. That's who John McCain is fighting for. But we can't afford four more years like the last eight. George Bush and John McCain are out of ideas, they are out of touch, and if you stand with me in 17 days they will be out of time.
We need new priorities in Washington. I think it's time to give a tax cut to the teachers and janitors who work in our schools; to the cops and firefighters who keep us safe; to the waitresses working double shifts, the nurses in the ER, and the plumbers fighting for their American Dream. These workers are the backbone of our country. They are the ones that Washington has forgotten. They're the ones I'll fight for. And while Senator McCain ignores the payroll taxes you pay to score a few political points, I'll put a tax cut into the pockets of working people so you can pay the bills, put away some savings, and pass on a brighter future to your children.
Exactly, John McCain isn't fighting for US, he's fighting for his friends on K-Street. If Joe the Plumber was an Obama supporter, McCain wouldn't be able to care less about him or his "struggles." I think a lot of people have been surprised by the strength of Senator Obama, and it's good to catch people off guard when the surprise is good.
While we wait for the rally to start, I think you all should check out this Frontlinespecial on the election. I skipped the McCain parts, but I actually ended up learning a lot more about Obama through watching it (and I thought I knew everything), they even have some video of the rallies he held while he was running for State office and while he was on Harvard's campus. It's really a great piece. While I was watching I just kept thinking "wow, he has not changed AT ALL." His message, delivery, mannerisms, all of it has stayed pretty constant. McCain can't even stay constant for one day.
You will be able to watch the speech live here once it starts:
and while we wait, here are some pics from yesterday's rally in Roanoake, VA:
and a short video from Roanoke with Obama talking about McCain's Healthcare plan:
Transcriptof video:
And that is especially true when it comes to health care. Senator McCain and I have real differences on this issue.
Senator McCain has been eager to share some details of his health care plan – but not all. Like those ads for prescription drugs, you have to read the fine print to learn the full story.
First, we found out that he wants to pay for his plan by taxing your health care benefits for the first time in history, just like George Bush. That was bad enough.
But the Wall Street Journal recently reported that it's actually worse than we thought. It turns out, Senator McCain would pay for part of his plan by making drastic cuts in Medicare –$882 billion worth. $882 billion in Medicare cuts to pay for an ill-conceived health care plan, even as Medicare already faces a looming shortfall.
Now, this should come as no surprise – it's entirely consistent with Senator McCain's record during his 26 years in Congress where, time and again, he's opposed Medicare. In fact, Senator McCain has voted against protecting Medicare 40 times. 40 times, he's failed to stand up for Medicare.
So what would Senator McCain's cuts mean for Medicare at a time when more and more Americans are relying on it?
It would mean a cut of more than 20 percent in Medicare benefits next year. If you count on Medicare, it would mean fewer places to get care, and less freedom to choose your own doctors. You'll pay more for your drugs, receive fewer services, and get lower quality care.
I don't think that's right. When you've worked hard your whole life, and paid into the system, and done everything right, you shouldn't have the carpet pulled out from under you when you least expect it and can least afford it. Health care shouldn't be some kind of either-or tradeoff where our seniors get left out in the cold.
I think every single American has a right to affordable accessible health care. We can strengthen Medicare by eliminating wasteful subsidies to big HMOs in Medicare, and making sure seniors can access home-based care, and letting Medicare negotiate with drug companies for better prices. That's the kind of change we need.
As always, tips, recs, and comments are welcome!
And don't forget to DONATE and/or VOLUNTEER!
And if you can vote early, do it! I voted yesterday here in Columbus, Ohio, and it didn't take long. Plus, for the paranoid among us, when you vote early in person here in Ohio, you fill out a paper ballot. I heard it's been busy, I just happened to pick a great time to go for avoiding lines according to the lady that directed me to my poll worker :o)
UPDATE #1: Yesterday Obama had a great line about McCain and college tuition that's really relevant:
And it means making a deal with every American who has the drive and the will but not the money to go to college. Senator McCain's top economic advisor actually said the other day that they have no plan to invest in college affordability because we can't have a giveaway to every special interest. Well I don't think the young people of America are a special interest – they are the future of this country. That's why I'll make this deal with you: if you commit to serving your community or your country, we will make sure you can afford your tuition. No ifs, ands or buts. You invest in America, America will invest in you, and together, we will move this country forward.
And THAT is why Obama is getting the youth vote.
UPDATE #2 I'll add photos as they come in! Politico and MSNBC estimate that the crowd was 100,000! Here's hoping that's not a typo! If that's true, St. Louis is now officially the most "Anti-American" area in America (sorry Oregon and Colorado). (as I write this update, a guy in the CNN feed just said "Photographing the President! Yeah, that's what I'm doing photographing the President", how awesome is that? I hope that guy is volunteering!)
Here's the only one I could find so far:
UPDATE #3: OMG! It really is over 100,000 people! Look at these pics! I am like shaking with excitement, and I wasn't even there! This is amazing!
The pics are rolling in now, I'll make a slideshow probably in the next 30 minutes or so. . .
UPDATE #4: Here's the slideshow, be sure to refresh once in a while, I'm hoping more pics of him shaking hands and more closeups of people with the crowd will come out soon, why they do I'll update the slideshow!
UPDATE #5: Here's video of him talking about the taxes (which is what this diary was originally about ~lol~ but hey, over 100,000 people is big news!)
UPDATE #6: Here's a good pic for your desktops (click for large image, warning, it's HUGE)
UPDATE #7: Finally updated the slideshow, check out the new pics! :o)
Let's hope for a huge crowd in Kansas City too! Hopefully I'll catch Claire's speech this time (I hear she handed Palin her ass on a platter).
UPDATE #8: Here's a vid from CNN (it's REALLY short, but you can get a feel for the crowd at the beginning):
h/t GlowNZ
UPDATE #9: Kansas City rally on LIVE now, watch the video above :o) or on www.barackobama.com/live
UPDATE #10: The Kansas City rally is over, I'll add pics when they come in. I think Obama needs to get more rest, he was fumbling and messing up his words a lot. We need him HEALTHY. So if someone from the campaign is reading this, make sure he's taking care of himself!
Also, there's a full video of his St. Louis Speech here. h/t Wilsonv who says:
If it takes you to the main page, choose the "Raw Video: Obama's Speech."
UPDATE #11: More video including an interview with Obama, a 17-minute Behind the scenes video, and the Preliminary speakers! Check it out, it's good stuff!h/t Ronald Singleterry
enjoy!
Still looking for a video of Claire McCaskill's speech earlier, if you find one and post it, I'll love you forever :o)
and don't forget to DONATE and/or VOLUNTEER!
And if you can VOTE EARLY, do it!
UPDATE #12: I had to change the title of the diary. Last week Obama went canvassing, today he went to his office and PHONEBANKED! How cool is that? Here are some photos:
Photos of the Kansas City Rally on their way!
And guess who finally got his SWEET POTATO PIE!
UPDATE #13: Obama was greeted by 75,000 people after phonebanking in Kansas City! Today was a great day in Missouri!!!!! Photos:
and don't forget to DONATE and/or VOLUNTEER!
And if you can VOTE EARLY, do it!