Top 10 Reasons I'm Proud to Be a Democrat

by: Clem Guttata

Fri Apr 27, 2007 at 08:37:25 AM EDT

Statements you won't hear from Republican presidential candidates not named Ron Paul: highlights from the the April 26, 2007 Democratic presidential debate in S.C. (transcript)

"This war is a disaster. We must end this war. This is what I would do if were president today. I would withdraw all of our troops, including residual troops, by the end of this calendar year."

#9 - FORMER SEN. MIKE GRAVEL, D-ALASKA

"Well, first off, understand that this war was lost the day that George Bush invaded Iraq on a fraudulent basis. Understand that."
"I got to tell you, I'm president of the United States, there will be no preemptive wars with nuclear devices. To my mind, it's immoral, and it's been immoral for the last 50 years as part of American foreign policy."

#8 - REP. DENNIS J. KUCINICH, D-OHIO

"I think it's important that we move away from global warming and global warring. And the connection is oil. We're in Iraq for oil. We're looking at attacking Iran for oil. And until we change our international policies, which quit using war as an instrument of policy and change our energy policies we will continue to repeat this sorry cycle."

#7 - SEN. CHRISTOPHER J. DODD, D-CONN.

"I don't think the stakes have ever been higher for us as a country. We're more vulnerable today. We're far less secure. We're more isolated in the world as a result of this policy. This is a failed policy."

#6 - SEN. BARACK OBAMA, D-ILL.

"In terms of how we've been running this campaign, we have seen that I have not taken money from federal registered lobbyists. We are not taking money from PACs. What we are doing is organizing ordinary people to do extraordinary things all across the country."

#5 - SEN. JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., D-DEL.

"We have to jettison this notion of preemption as a doctrine, and we have to jettison the notion of regime change. Replace it with prevention; open our ears and talk, before things become crises.

And, two, we have to move in the direction of making sure that we deal with the one thing that no one's talking about, and that is conduct change, not regime change.

Think of the folly of what this administration has acted on. It has said, "By the way, give up your weapons, the very thing that's us from attacking you. And once you give them up, then we're going to take you out."

That's the logic of this administration. That's why we've lost respect all over the world."

#4 - FORMER SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, D-N.C., on Universal Health Care

"My plan would require employers to cover all their employees or pay into a fund that covers the cracks in the health care system -- mental health parity, which others have spoken about; chronic care; preventative care; long-term care; subsidized health care costs.

Give people a choice, including a government choice; no pre- existing conditions -- banned as a matter of law. And the law actually requires that every single American be covered."

#3 - SEN. HILLARY RODHAM CLINTON, D-N.Y.

"You know, this is all part, though, of how this administration and corporate America today don't see middle class and working Americans. They are invisible. They don't understand that if you're a family that can't get health care, you are really hurting.

But to the corporate elite and to the administration in the White House, you're invisible. If you can't afford college, you're invisible.

So I think we need to get both public sector and private sector leadership to start stepping up and being responsible and taking care of people."

#2 - FORMER SEN. JOHN EDWARDS, D-N.C.

"Also, on the issue of climate change, we ought to cap carbon emissions in the United States. We ought to invest in clean alternative sources of energy. We ought to invest in carbon sequestration technology, in cold technology. A billion dollars, at least, into making sure we build the most fuel efficient vehicles on the planet.

We ought to ask Americans to patriotic about something other than war. To be willing to conserve."

and, the #1 Reason I'm Proud to Be a Democrat:

#1: From SEN. BARACK OBAMA, D-ILL., with a huge shout-out to Rep. Nancy Pelosi, Sen. Harry Reid, the Democratic Party members in the House and Senate, and Democrats everywhere:

"But, look, we are one vote away -- we are one signature away or 16 votes away from ending this war. One signature away. Now, if the president is not going to sign the bill that has been sent to him, then what we have to do is gather up 16 votes in order to override his veto."