This morning, the Democratic radio address is being delivered by Jerry McNerney (CA-11)!! Bush might talk about Saddam's execution, but McNerney's talking about the agenda of the 110th Congress. Of course, they wouldn’t just let him say what came to mind. Others were involved in writing the words, but he’ll be saying them - and introducing himself to the nation. For one thing, the Dems are announcing "Thumbs down" on troop escalation in Iraq.
UPDATE: Here's a link for the audio version of the address UPDATE #2 below the fold.
UPDATE #2: There was another radio address today, the Hispanic Weekly Radio Address, delivered by Congressman-(re-)elect Ciro Rodriguez (TX-23), who prevailed over Henry Bonilla in a runoff earlier this month. I hadn't known about separate Spanish-language addresses, but Rodriguez has had a helluva year, courtesy of the ongoing fallout from Tom Delay's mid-decade meddling in Texas re-districting. It's great to see Ciro getting this kind of attention, too. A link to the text, translated to English. Haven't run across an audio link (which would be in Spanish).
This story's supposed to be embargoed until after the speech. But since the full text is already posted on Yahoo!, the cat's out of the bag, so no harm in posting here, half an hour before showtime. If you'd like to hear the voice, C-SPAN's a good bet for always carrying these.
"I share the concern of my Democratic colleagues that President Bush may use his same failed logic to increase our troop strength in Iraq by up to 30,000 soldiers. The incoming chairman of the House Armed Services Committee, Ike Skelton, has said that an increase in troops at best won't change a thing, and at worst could exacerbate the situation even further in Iraq.
McNerney’s a good choice to toss out a few snippets of energy policy sound bite:
"Our heavy dependence on foreign oil is putting our economy, our climate, and our national security at great risk. We are actually funding the very terrorists around the world who are trying to harm us. It's our patriotic duty as citizens of this great nation to end our dependence on imported oil. Democrats will quickly and significantly reduce our consumption of foreign oil while creating jobs, prosperity, and a healthy environment with a new energy technology, including renewable energy and bio-fuels.
"Most of the technologies needed to reshape our energy future are already at hand; what has been lacking is the political will to develop and expand their use. Democrats have a vision of creating a new energy economy using good old-fashioned American ingenuity to achieve energy independence. New American jobs and a bright future will be the dividend.
And then, there’s the announcement that grown-ups are going to be in charge:
"As our first responsibility in fulfilling the mandate of this critical election, House Democrats will restore integrity and civility in Washington in order to earn the public trust.
"We will ban gifts from lobbyists and lobbyist-funded travel, prohibit the use of corporate jets, and shut down the revolving door between Capitol Hill and K Street Lobbyists. We will restore the House tradition of allowing a reasonable 15-minute voting period to prevent extended votes, and we will require that Congress put away the credit card and operate under a pay-as-you- go common sense budget rules. We will hold Members of Congress accountable to the people who voted them into office, not lobbyists and special interests.
Way to go, Jerry! It follows the President’s Saturday radio address. The president’s at 8am PDT Saturday morning, and McNerney just a few minutes later. Which is to say: In less than half an hour now.
Everyone who sent money, knocked on doors, made phone calls, and so on can all be proud. Without everyone's efforts, this might not be happening today. Good job, everyone!