maybe, maybe, mr. president, if you visited some more places; appalachia. went to maybe if you went to lackawanna where steelworkers wonder why we subsidize foreign steel. [applause] maybe, mr. president, if you stopped in at a shelter in chicago and spoke to the homeless there; maybe, mr. president, if you asked a woman who had been denied the help she needed to feed her children because you said you needed the money for a tax break for a millionaire or for a missile we couldn't afford to use. missilee couldn't afford to use.

[applause] maybe -- maybe, mr. president. but i'm afraid not. because the truth is, ladies and gentlemen, that this is how we were warned it would be. president reagan told us from the very beginning that he believed in a kind of social darwinism. survival of the fittest. "government can't do everything," we were told, so it should settle for taking care of the strong and hope that

economic ambition and charity will do the rest. make the rich richer, and what falls from the table will be enough for the middle class and those who are trying desperately to work their way into the middle class. you know, the republicans called it "trickle-down" when hoover tried it. now they call it "supply side. but it's the same shining city for those relative few who are lucky enough to live in its good neighborhoods. but for the people who are excluded, for the people who are locked out, all they can do is stare from a distance at that city's glimmering towers. it's an old story. it's as old as our history. the difference between democrats and republicans has always been measured in courage and confidence.

[applause] the republicans believe that the wagon train will not make it to the frontier unless some of the old, some of the young, some of the weak are left behind by the side of the trail. "the strong" -- "the strong," they tell us, "will inherit the land." we democrats believe in something else. we democrats believe that we can make it all the way with the whole family intact, and we have more than once. ever since franklin roosevelt lifted himself from his wheelchair to lift this nation from its knees -- wagon train after wagon train -- to new frontiers of education, housing, peace; the whole family aboard,

constantly reaching out to extend and enlarge that family; lifting them up into the wagon on the way; blacks and hispanics, and people of every ethnic group, and native americans -- all those struggling to build their families and claim some small share of america. for nearly 50 years we carried them all to new levels of comfort, and security, and dignity, even affluence. and remember this, some of us in this room today are here only because this nation had that kind of confidence. and it would be wrong to forget that. so, here we are at this convention to remind ourselves where we come from and to claim

the future for ourselves and for our children. today our great democratic party, which has saved this nation from depression, from fascism, from racism, from corruption, is called upon to do it again -- this time to save the nation from confusion and division, from the threat of eventual fiscal disaster, and most of all from the fear of a nuclear holocaust. [applause] that's not going to be easy. mo udall is exactly right -- it won't be easy. and in order to succeed, we must answer our opponent's polished and appealing rhetoric with a more telling reasonableness and

rationality. we must win this case on the merits. we must get the american public to look past the glitter, beyond the showmanship to the reality, the hard substance of things. and we'll do it not so much with speeches that sound good as with speeches that are good and sound; not so much with speeches that will bring people to their feet as with speeches that will bring people to their senses. we must make -- we must make the american people hear our "tale of two cities. " we must convince them that we don't have to settle for two cities, that we can have one city, indivisible, shining for all of its people. now, we will have no chance to do that if what comes out of this convention is a babel of arguing voices. if that's what's heard throughout the campaign, dissident sounds from all sides, we will have no chance to tell

our message. to succeed we will have to surrender some small parts of our individual interests, to build a platform that we can all stand on, at once, and comfortably -- proudly singing out. we need -- we need a platform we can all agree to so that we can sing out the truth for the nation to hear, in chorus, its logic so clear and commanding that no slick madison avenue commercial, no amount of geniality, no martial music will be able to muffle the sound of the truth. and we democrats must unite. we democrats must unite so that the entire nation can unite, because surely the republicans won't bring this country together. their policies divide the nation into the lucky and the left-out,

into the royalty and the rabble. the republicans are willing to treat that division as victory. they would cut this nation in half, into those temporarily better off and those worse off than before, and they would call that division recovery. now, we should not -- we should not be embarrassed or dismayed or chagrined if the process of unifying is difficult, even wrenching at times. remember that, unlike any other party, we embrace men and women of every color, every creed, every orientation, every economic class. in our family are gathered everyone from the abject poor of essex county in new york, to the enlightened affluent of the gold

coasts at both ends of the nation. and in between is the heart of our constituency -- the middle class, the people not rich enough to be worry-free, but not poor enough to be on welfare; the middle class -- those people who work for a living because they have to, not because some psychiatrist told them it was a convenient way to fill the interval between birth and eternity. white collar and blue collar. young professionals. men and women in small business desperate for the capital and contracts that they need to prove their worth. we speak for the minorities who have not yet entered the mainstream.

we speak for ethnics who want to add their culture to the magnificent mosaic that is america. we speak -- we speak for women who are indignant that this nation refuses to etch into its governmental commandments the simple rule "thou shalt not sin against equality," a rule so simple -- [applause]

i was going to say, and i perhaps dare not but i will. it's a commandment so simple it can be spelled in three letters: e.r.a. [applause] we speak -- we speak for young people demanding an education and a future. we speak for senior citizens. we speak for senior citizens who are terrorized by the idea that their only security, their social security, is being threatened.

we speak for millions of reasoning people fighting to preserve our environment from greed and from stupidity. [applause] and we speak for reasonable people who are fighting to preserve our very existence from a macho intransigence that refuses to make intelligent attempts to discuss the possibility of nuclear holocaust with our enemy. they refuse. they refuse, because they believe we can pile missiles so high that they will pierce the clouds and the sight of them will frighten our enemies into submission. now we're proud of this

diversity as democrats. we're grateful for it. we don't have to manufacture it the way the republicans will next month in dallas, by propping up mannequin delegates on the convention floor. but we, while we're proud of this diversity, we pay a price for it. the different people that we represent have different points of view. and sometimes they compete and even debate, and even argue. that's what our primaries were all about. but now the primaries are over and it is time, when we pick our candidates and our platform here, to lock arms and move into this campaign together. [applause] if you need any more inspiration to put some small part of your own difference aside to create

this consensus, then all you need to do is to reflect on what the republican policy of divide and cajole has done to this land since 1980. now the president has asked the american people to judge him on whether or not he's fulfilled the promises he made four years ago. i believe, as democrats, we ought to accept that challenge. and just for a moment let us consider what he has said and what he's done. inflation -- inflation is down since 1980, but not because of the supply-side miracle promised to us by the president. inflation was reduced the old-fashioned way: with a recession, the worst since 1932. now how did we -- we could have brought inflation down that way. how did he do it? 55,000 bankruptcies; two years

of massive unemployment; 200,000 farmers and ranchers forced off the land; more homeless -- more homeless than at any time since the great depression in 1932; more hungry, in this world of enormous affluence, the united states of america, more hungry; more poor, most of them women. and -- and he paid one other thing, a nearly 200 billion dollar deficit threatening our future. now, we must make the american people understand this deficit because they don't. the president's deficit is a direct and dramatic repudiation of his promise in 1980 to balance the budget by 1983. how large is it? the deficit is the largest in the history of the universe.

it -- president carter's last budget had a deficit less than one-third of this deficit. it is a deficit that, according to the president's own fiscal adviser, may grow to as much 300 billion dollars a year for "as far as the eye can see." and, ladies and gentlemen, it is a debt so large -- that is almost one-half of the money we collect from the personal income tax each year goes just to pay the interest. it is a mortgage on our children's future that can be paid only in pain and that could bring this nation to its knees. now don't take my word for it -- i'm a democrat. ask the republican investment bankers on wall street what they think the chances of this recovery being permanent are.

you see, if they're not too embarrassed to tell you the truth, they'll say that they're appalled and frightened by the president's deficit. ask them what they think of our economy, now that it's been driven by the distorted value of the dollar back to its colonial condition. now we're exporting agricultural products and importing manufactured ones. ask those republican investment bankers what they expect the rate of interest to be a year from now. and ask them -- if they dare tell you the truth -- you'll learn from them, what they predict for the inflation rate a year from now, because of the deficit. now, how important is this question of the deficit. think about it practically: what chance would the republican candidate have had in 1980 if he

had told the american people that he intended to pay for his so-called economic recovery with bankruptcies, unemployment, more homeless, more hungry, and the largest government debt known to humankind? if he had told the voters in 1980 that truth, would american voters have signed the loan certificate for him on election day? of course not! that was an election won under false pretenses. it was won with smoke and mirrors and illusions. and that's the kind of recovery we have now as well. [applause] but what about foreign policy?

they said that they would make us and the whole world safer. they say they have. by creating the largest defense budget in history, one that even they now admit is excessive -- by escalating to a frenzy the nuclear arms race; by incendiary rhetoric; by refusing to discuss peace with our enemies; by the loss of 279 young americans in lebanon in pursuit of a plan and a policy that no one can find or describe. we give money to latin american governments that murder nuns, and then we lie about it.

[applause] we have been less than zealous in support of our only real friend -- it seems to me, in the middle east -- the one democracy there, our flesh and blood ally, the state of israel. our -- our policy -- our foreign policy drifts with no real direction, other than an hysterical commitment to an arms race that leads nowhere -- if we're lucky. and if we're not, it could lead us into bankruptcy or war. of course we must have a strong defense! of course democrats are for a strong defense.

of course democrats believe that there are times that we must stand and fight. and we have. thousands of us have paid for freedom with our lives. but always -- when this country has been at its best -- our purposes were clear. now they're not. now our allies are as confused as our enemies. now we have no real commitment to our friends or to our ideals -- not to human rights, not to the refuseniks, not to sakharov, not to bishop tutu and the others struggling for freedom in south africa. [applause] we have in the last few years

spent more than we can afford. we have pounded our chests and made bold speeches. but we lost 279 young americans in lebanon and we live behind sand bags in washington. how can anyone say that we are safer, stronger, or better? that -- that is the republican record. that its disastrous quality is not more fully understood by the american people i can only attribute to the president's amiability and the failure by some to separate the salesman from the product. [applause] and, now -- now -- now it's up to us.

now it's up to you and to me to make the case to america. and to remind americans that if they are not happy with all that the president has done so far, they should consider how much worse it will be if he is left to his radical proclivities for another four years unrestrained. unrestrained. [applause] now, if -- if july -- if july brings back ann gorsuch burford -- what can we expect of december?

where would -- where would another four years take us? where would four years more take us? how much larger will the deficit be? how much deeper the cuts in programs for the struggling middle class and the poor to limit that deficit? how high will the interest rates be? how much more acid rain killing our forests and fouling our lakes? and, ladies and gentlemen, please think of this -- the nation must think of this: what kind of supreme court will we have? [applause]

please. we -- we must ask ourselves what kind of court and country will be fashioned by the man who believes in having government mandate people's religion and morality; the man who believes that trees pollute the environment; the man that believes that -- that the laws against discrimination against people go too far; a man who threatens social security and medicaid and help for the disabled. how high will we pile the missiles? how much deeper will the gulf be between us and our enemies? and, ladies and gentlemen, will four years more make meaner the spirit of the american people?

this election will measure the record of the past four years. but more than that, it will answer the question of what kind of people we want to be. we democrats still have a dream. we still believe in this nation's future. and this is our answer to the question. this is our credo: we believe in only the government we need, but we insist on all the government we need. [applause] we believe in a government that is characterized by fairness and reasonableness, a reasonableness that goes beyond labels, that doesn't distort or promise to do things that we know we can't do. we believe in a government strong enough to use words like "love" and "compassion" and smart enough to convert our noblest aspirations into practical realities.

we believe in encouraging the talented, but we believe that while survival of the fittest may be a good working description of the process of evolution, a government of humans should elevate itself to a higher order. [applause] we -- our -- our government -- our government should be able to rise to the level where it can fill the gaps that are left by chance or by a wisdom we don't fully understand. we would rather have laws written by the patron of this great city, the man called the "world's most sincere democrat," st. francis of assisi, than laws written by darwin. we believe -- we believe as democrats, that a society as blessed as ours, the most affluent democracy in the

world's history, one that can spend trillions on instruments of destruction, ought to be able to help the middle class in its struggle, ought to be able to find work for all who can do it, room at the table, shelter for the homeless, care for the elderly and infirm, and hope for the destitute. and we proclaim as loudly as we can the utter insanity of nuclear proliferation and the need for a nuclear freeze, if only to affirm the simple truth that peace is better than war because life is better than death. [applause]

we believe in firm -- we believe in firm but fair law and order. we believe proudly in the union movement. [applause] we believe -- we believe in privacy for people, openness by government. we believe in civil rights, and we believe in human rights. we believe in a single -- we believe in a single fundamental idea that describes better than most textbooks and any speech that i could write what a proper government should be: the idea of family, mutuality, the sharing of benefits and burdens for the good of all, feeling one another's pain, sharing one another's blessings -- reasonably, honestly, fairly, without respect to race, or sex,

or geography, or political affiliation. we believe we must be the family of america, recognizing that at the heart of the matter we are bound one to another, that the problems of a retired school teacher in duluth are our problems; that the future of the child -- that the future of the child in buffalo is our future; that the struggle of a disabled man in boston to survive and live decently is our struggle; that the hunger of a woman in little rock is our hunger; that the failure anywhere to provide what reasonably we might, to avoid pain, is our failure. now for 50 years -- for 50 years we democrats created a better future for our children, using traditional democratic principles as a fixed beacon, giving us direction and purpose, but constantly innovating, adapting to new realities: roosevelt's alphabet programs;

truman'snato and the gi bill of rights; kennedy's intelligent tax incentives and the alliance for progress; johnson's civil rights; carter's human rights and the nearly miraculous camp david peace accord. democrats did it -- democrats did it and democrats can do it again. we can build a future that deals with our deficit. remember this, that 50 years of progress under our principles never cost us what the last four years of stagnation have. and we can deal with the deficit intelligently, by shared sacrifice, with all parts of the nation's family contributing, building partnerships with the private sector, providing a sound defense without depriving ourselves of what we need to feed our children and care for our people. we can have a future that

provides for all the young of the present, by marrying common sense and compassion. we know we can, because we did it for nearly 50 years before 1980. and we can do it again, if we do not forget -- if we do not forget that this entire nation has profited by these progressive principles; that they helped lift up generations to the middle class and higher; that they gave us a chance to work, to go to college, to raise a family, to own a house, to be secure in our old age and, before that, to reach heights that our own parents would not have dared dream of. that struggle to live with dignity is the real story of the shining city. and it's a story, ladies and gentlemen, that i didn't read in a book, or learn in a classroom. i saw it and lived it, like many of you. i watched a small man with thick calluses on both his hands work 15 and 16 hours a day. i saw him once literally bleed

from the bottoms of his feet, a man who came here uneducated, alone, unable to speak the language, who taught me all i needed to know about faith and hard work by the simple eloquence of his example. i learned about our kind of democracy from my father. and i learned about our obligation to each other from him and from my mother. they asked only for a chance to work and to make the world better for their children, and they -- they asked to be protected in those moments when they would not be able to protect themselves.

this nation and this nation's government did that for them. and that they were able to build a family and live in dignity and see one of their children go from behind their little grocery store in south jamaica on the other side of the tracks where he was born, to occupy the highest seat, in the greatest state, in the greatest nation, in the only world we would know, is an ineffably beautiful tribute to the democratic process. and -- and ladies and gentlemen, on january 20, 1985, it will happen again -- only on a much, much grander scale. we will have a new president of the united states, a democrat born not to the blood of kings but to the blood of pioneers and

immigrants. and we will have america's first woman vice president, the child of immigrants, and she -- she -- she will open with one magnificent stroke, a whole new frontier for the united states. now, it will happen. it will happen if we make it happen; if you and i make it happen. and i ask you now, ladies and gentlemen, brothers and sisters, for the good of all of us, for the love of this great nation, for the family of america, for the love of god. please, make this nation

remember how futures are built. thank you, and god bless you. [applause] >> sera brady died in april the after that shooting, sarah brady forme a prominent advocate gun control. in 1993, president bill clinton signed the brady handgun violence prevention act. sarah brady spoke at the bill signing ceremony. this is happen our. -- half an hour.

sarah brady: since that grim day in 1981, the bradys have been an inspiration to all americans. the physicaly, courage of jim brady has been an example for us all never to give up. and sarah have raised a wonderful son, scott, who will celebrate his 15th birthday in december. today, -- together, they have fought back, and they have never given up. but not just content with that, since 1987, they have tried to to guns in america in a way that should be an example for us now and for the future. there were bleak days, there were days when sarah had to go it alone, when she would appear on courthouse depth by herself

with no entourage, fighting for the brady bill, and together, they never gave up. they are an example for all americans that we can make a difference, that one person, that one family can make a difference in violence in america, and this day is a culmination of just a remarkable example of american heroism. but the most important thing, on the day the brady bill passed, sarah was asked, what are you going to do now? and sarah said, i'm going to and we are going to get the ban on assault weapons past. [applause]

jim and sarah and scott are an example to all americans that we can end the violence that is tearing us apart, that as a family, as individuals, each of us can and will make a difference. sarah brady. [applause]

, since we have been fortunate enough to have her in washington, she has been right along with us. it's a special day for us all. i don't think it ever occur to me that i would be this emotional until i walked in and looked at the faces here, and the memories that come back over these past seven years, every phase i look at brings back a different memory. want to thank a lot of people here and i'm going to try to do it as quickly as possible. everybody here has helped, and each of you in your own way reflects many others across the country. , i want to say to have an administration, an attorney general, a president we

knew would sign this will is of the utmost importance. i would like to draw attention also to another president who we feel very close to, president ronald reagan, who supported it and came out for the brady bill and made it a badge of honor for republicans. [applause] and brought this bill into the arena where it was not a partisan issue. i would like to thank the men by theen who have hundreds of thousands come to washington to fight for this over the years, marched for us, been in press conferences, and more than anything out, day in and day out give their lives for all of us. [applause]

to our bill sponsors, , and ouran schumer and all the members of congress who had the guts to speak out early and support us all along the way. sometimes it was an easy, and i know one of the earliest ones was the senator from texas. in texas, that was so easy -- that wasn't so easy in those days. and of course he was on the president's cabinet. so all who supported us, my thanks. control, the board and

staff are phenomenal. over the years, the have worked their heart out. i want to talk a little bit about the victims around the country who have suffered and suffered terribly, and who have gotten involved in this movement. is aw today for them special day and we thank them for what they have done. for everyone who has gotten involved, i don't know how to say that this is all part of everything a large team did together. in particularan now i want to talk about, and that is a gentleman by the name of pete shields, who was my predecessor. it was he who made this movement what it is. before anyone else got involved after losing his son to gunfire, he quit his job, came to washington and decided to work for this noble cause.

was chairman of handgun control when i joined, and he was until the year before his death, until he passed away last winter. , a great bit that and histude to pete family. [applause] i only have one or two other words i want to say. our critics have said that the brady bill is only symbolic. i think there is some symbolism in the brady bill.

is symbolic of teamwork of people from all over this nation working together to pass something that the people wanted . thatnk it is symbolic members of congress could stand up to a large lobby. i think it is symbolic of a lot of things, but i don't want anyone to feel that that is all it is. the brady bill is not just symbolism. it will begin to make a difference. it will begin to save lives. we read in the post this morning that in four states alone, over 50,000 people were stopped in the last four years from getting weapons illegally, or over-the-counter. it will help. and to tell you a little bit on , whatonal level of how has helped her, i want to introduce a very special young woman.

her name is melanie music. i met her several years ago when so many have come to washington to help us, she came to tell her story and to plead. and her story is one of many in the past, and one of many in the future, who we hope will be saved by the brady bill. and now i would like to introduce to you a very special young woman, melanie music. [applause] >> i would like to start by thanking jim and sarah brady for the many years they have taken out better lives for such a worthy cause. they have done it because it is something they believe so strongly in and that they know what they want. and to thank president clinton

for his leadership role and taking a stand in urging the congress, if you will send it to me, i will sign it. and i thank him for his leadership in that. i am an ordinary citizen, i'm not an activist and i'm not in the political arena, but i decided i had to get involved because of something that happened in my life. 24, 1990, 2 police officers came to where i was working and informed me that my husband had been shot and killed in a foodng lunch court in a mall in atlanta. the man who killed my husband had just been released from a mental institution the day before. awaiting. perio didd turn him from buying a gun in atlanta. however, he went to a neighboring county and bought the gun that killed my husband. the brady bill could have saved my husband's life, if there had just been a waiting period and a background check. is importantiod

for two reasons. it allows a person to cool off from what ever is bothering them at the time and allows information to get in the system so that when they do that background check, it is accurate. the information on the men who did the shooting was not written up until the day after he did the shooting, the day after he killed my husband. i cannot bring my husband back, but i do know the brady bill will save other people's lives, people i love and care for, my friends and family. it can save their lives. i know from my own experience that the brady bill will help stop people from losing members of their families to senseless violence. it will work. but the fight isn't over. there are people in congress who want to weaken the brady bill,

to have the provision lowered from five to three years regardless if there is an instant background check or not. we need to stay involved and stay active and keep the pressure on our members of congress and let them know how important an issue this is. the brady bill is not the solution to the problem, but is multiple step in the problem oriented society that we have. we need rational, practical legislation to reduce violence in our country. not only because the president is signing the brady bill, but because it shows that the system works. it shows that average people can make a difference. thank you. [applause]

sarah brady: thank you, melanie. and now someone who has been my inspiration for 12 years -- well, a lot longer, really. [laughter] >> this is a very important day for me and for sarah, and for all of those who work so hard to see the brady bill become law. but it is even a more important day for america and for america's children. 12 years ago, my life was changed forever by a disturbed young man with the gun. time, i had not thought much about gun control or the need for gun control. maybe if i had, i wouldn't be wheels.th these damn

but sarah led the charge, and i followed in her footsteps, because i know is 10 the damage that guns can do. it is that knowledge that i had tried to share with lawmakers, with voters, and with children. believe young people that a gone is the answer to their problems. i can tell them it is not. i can tell them about the pain and the frustration. i hope that they will listen. today, we know that someone was listening, after nearly seven years the brady bill is about to become the brady law. clinton,, president for your commitment to seeing this day realized. what we are witnessing today is more than a bill signing. it is the end of unchecked madness, and the commencement of

a heartfelt crusade for a safer and saner country. [applause]

sarah brady: i think i have heard these words said before, but i never thought in my tire -- entire life i would have the opportunity to say them, but i have the distinct honor to introduce the president of the united states. [applause] and i just want to say again to him, thank you for making this possible. [applause] president clinton: thank you very much, sarah and jim. general reno, mr. vice

president, muses music, thank you for your wonderful remarks. there were two members of congress who inadvertently were not introduced but i want to recognize them because they played a major role in this. one of our democratic leaders in the house, steny hoyer and senator herb kohl from wisconsin, who also sponsored the bill to make it illegal for minors to possess handguns, and i thank you for that, sir. senator metzenbaum, congressman schumer, senator mitchell and others who gave birth to this great effort, to all the law enforcement representatives, the withnors, mayors, folks handgun control who are here, to the families whose lives would have been changed for the better if the brady bill had been law, kathys music, my friend

and her children lindsay and christopher who lost a husband and father that would be here today if the brady bill had been law. i'm honored to have all of you here in the white house. i also want to say a special word of thanks to the members of congress who were out there early on this. when there was some considerable attached risk either to it or thought to be attached. the brady bill was first introduced almost seven years ohioy the congressman from on february 4, 1987. i cannot resist saying a special word of thanks to the members who come from difficult districts who voted for this bill. my good friend and congressman inhony who lost a tough race

1992, and part of the reason was that he voted for the brady bill and the nra came after him in an unusual election. he said to me on the way in here , if it cost my seat, it was worth it. [applause] bill clinton: everything that should be said about this has already been said by people whose lives were more profoundly imbued with this issue than mine , but there are some things we need to think about as we learn from this endeavor and look ahead to what still needs to be done. since jim and sarah began mr. sayed, more than 150,000 men and crusade,began this

more than 150,000 people from all walks of life have been killed or wounded, 100 50,000 people who should have been here to share christmas with us. through a fight that really never should have had to occur. because still, when people are confronted with issues of clear, common sense, and overwhelming we aree, too often prevented from doing what we know we ought to do by our collective fears, whatever they may be. the brady bill has finally law because grassroots america changed its mind and decided that congress could not

leave here without doing something about this. sarah were able to light that spark that swept across the people of this country improved again that democracy can work. america when this battle. -- won this battle. americans are finally fed up with the violence that cuts down other citizens by gunfire every 20 minutes. we know this bill will make a difference. as sarah said, the washington just 55nted out that people have been denied the right to buy a gun in 49 states since 1959. -- i metgun years ago who had escaped from a mental hospital. .e pulled out the old form

12 hours later, six people were dead and my friend is not over it today. don't tell me this bill won't make a difference. that is not true. [applause] bill clinton: but we all know there is more to be done. the crime bill not only adds 100,000 new police officers who, properly trained and deployed, will lower the crime rate by preventing crime, not just by catching criminals. adds a ban on several --ault weapons, long-overdue [applause] on handgun ownership and restriction on possession of , theuns by minors

beginning of the reform of our federal firearm licensing system, and an effort to make our schools safer. this is a good beginning, and there will be more to be done after that. but i ask you to think about what this means and what we can all do to keep this going. we cannot stop here. proud of what others are doing. i improve out of the work that reverend jesse jackson has been doing going back to the streets and talking to the kids, telling them to stop shooting each other, cutting each other up, to turn away from violence. i am proud of a former gang member who has turned his life aound and now coordinates program called gang alternative programs in norwalk, california, telling gang members they have to take personal responsibility for their actions and turn away from violence.

william moore who organized parents and other clergy in philadelphia to provide safety core doors for kids going to an from school. 160,000 children stay home every day because they are scared to go to school -- in this country. all the police officers on the street who have record confidence in their neighborhoods, becoming involved .n ways beyond the call of duty people like an officer in boston who took a tough session -- section of east boston and transformed it from a neighborhood of fear to one where elderly people now feel safe sitting on benches again. we can do this, but only if we do it together. i ask you to think about this. where half a state the folks have hunting and fishing licenses. i can still remember the first day when i was a little boy out in the country putting a can on

a fence post and shooting at 22 at it. still remember the first time i pulled the trigger on a shotgun because i was too little to hold a 12 gauge. this is a big part of the culture in america, the people have taken that culture -- we just started deer season. i lived in a place where we closed schools and plants on the first day of deer season because nobody was going to show up anyway. deer season.ed we have taken this important part of the lives of millions of americans and turned it into an instrument of maintaining matt dennis. madness. it is crazy.

what i let anybody change that life in america? not on your life. has that get anything to do with the brady bill or assault weapons, or whether the police have to go out on the street confronting teenagers who are better armed stand they are? of course not. this is the beginning of something wonderful in this country if we have learned to separate out all the stuff we have been hearing all these years, trying to make the american people afraid that somehow their quality of life is going to be undermined by doing stuff that people of common sense and good will would clearly want to do. every law enforcement official in america telling us to do it. so, i plead with all of you , when you leave here, to be invigorated by this. jim andhilarated by

sarah brady who have come at here and pushed us to do better. takeach of you in turn your opportunity not to let people ever again in this use a legitimate part of our american heritage in a way that blinds us to our obligation to the present and the future. if we have broken that, then there is nothing we cannot do. when i go and sign this bill in a minute, it will be step one to taking our streets back, taking our children back, reclaiming our families and our future. thank you. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, please be seated during the bill signing.

[applause] >> former senator fred thompson died this year the age of 73. he worked as minority counsel at the watergate hearings, had a successful career as an actor, then ran for president in 2008. here is one of his campaign appearances from the presidential run at the midwest republican leadership conference. this is half an hour. ence.

this is half an hour. >> i would submit that the gentleman you are about to hear from has the demeanor of a gentleman, the courage of a warrior, the intellect of a scholar. he also has the vision, the leadership, and the bearing to be the next president of the united states, fred thompson. [applause] fred thompson: thank you very much. thank you so much. thank you very much. i appreciate it. thank you. thank you very much.

thank you for that warm you are andd who what you're doing. i can't tell you how happy i am to be year. steve, i wish i could claim a little credit for anything you have done, my friend. i can't tell you how much that introduction means to me. at just tell me one thing, when pat leahy is making a bad face, how can you tell? [laughter] [applause] fred thompson: i'm sure that will be taken in the spirit in which it is given. you so much. you have meant so much to this state and this country. i want to thank all the s here thised guest evening.

i run into folks from indiana everywhere i go that's important to my life. david mcintosh has been a great friend and a graded visor. him and his wife being here means a whole lot to me. i want to tell you that. i want to mention my old friend and colleague dan coats. , after he left the senate, one of the most wasrding things i got to do after president bush called me up and asked me to help then prepare foroberts the supreme court of the united states. dan coats helped judge alito. i can guess he feels the way i do, that it's one of the most and port we've done in our

to put two judges on the supreme court who decide cases and not causes. they will be good, solid, conservative justices, i am convinced, for the duration. we just need another one or two. [applause] you know, the last time i was , i was so impressive that a scant 10 years later i got invited back. [laughter] here.elighted to be my wife sends her regards. she is a depaul grad, and for depawose to paul folks -- folks, she is home tonight with , and sends hery best regards. i am happy to be here with people who have their priorities straight.

that has not always been the case in my career. i remember when i gave my first speech on the floor of the united states senate. i was excited and talking about congress having the same laws as everybody else, which was a butl law even back then, with senator grassley, we took it on and got it done. i made my first speech. of course, there wasn't hardly anybody on the floor at the time. nobody listens to each other in these things. an older gentleman who i will not name came up to me afterward and said fred, that was a pretty good speech. i said thank you, i appreciate that. he said i just have one question. ready to my full stature to answer anything, and he said was that a real submarine you used in the hunt for red october? i understood the priorities

around the place right off the i do remember my early days in the senate fondly. you can always tell new members of congress. every once in a while they will slip up and accidentally spend some of their own money. but they get over it. i was at a little function , and a lady who is here tonight -- but i won't embarrass her -- told me her son was coming home after four years in iraq. she said we don't get a lot of recognition, but we are going to tonight. is a loved one of someone serving in the armed forces, will you stand up tonight for around of applause -- a round of applause question ?

[applause] we need to be reminded every day that if we were not the land of the free and the home of the brave, we would not be the united states of america today and we would not be the country who has shed more blood in the cause of freedom for other people than any nation in the history of the world, and our detractors and critics need to remember that about the young people of our country. [applause] appreciate steve going back in history with me a little bit. and i appreciate the introduction. i never take anything for granted anymore. i talked to a lady in the airport the other day for five

minutes before i realized she thought i was dr. fell. l. dr. phi [laughter] just do? guess who? you'll never -- dr. phil. through thatt little historical journey for me, a lot of memories came back. my folks coming off the farm into a little country town --tead of going to school instead of going to high school, they had to go to work. best parents anybody could possibly have. i still have my mama back home in tennessee. their appreciation for education, it allowed me to do the things steve talked about. still wonder what they were thinking as they watched their

teenage kid get married and .tart his own family . got to do those things when i got to the united states senate, i put everything else aside. i wanted to balance the budget, welfare,xes, reform have congress live under the same laws as everybody else, the kind of things i talked about in 1994 and talking about today. i was 20 points ahead on election night against a popular incumbent congressman. 20 points in a state the bill that bill clinton carried twice. i feel proud of that, but i feel it even more proud about being part of a team that was able to do the things i talked about. but i put her in limits on myself.

myself, andts on iter eight years, i decided was time to go. i could have run again, but i was consistent with my pledge. people asked me why i left the when i didn't have any opposition, and i said after eight years in washington, i longed for the sincerity and realism of hollywood again. [laughter] i got to kind of cosponsor the homeland security bill. we got that passed. two tries. i did have an election in the middle of it. didn'tocrats want to give the president flexibility in times of emergency to move people around on the federal employees union

fought it all the way, but we got that done. i got to serve on the intelligence committee. i got to travel to various parts of the world and meet with leaders. sometimes, the most important things in your life happen under your own roof. shortly before i left the senate, i married a wonderful lady, and not to long after that, we found out that we were going to be parents. had never been married, never been a mother, and my children were grown. it was a little bit of a surprise, to tell you the truth, but i knew from the first instant that another wonderful chapter was opening in my life. you cannot look at that first sonogram and ever be the same again. so, when all the politics talk , and allome time ago

the back and forth practical questions, process questions and , we talked about it several times, and we kept coming back to the question what kind of country, what kind of are these kids, now kids because hayden has a little partner in life who is 10 months old, what kind of world are they going to grow up in? what kind of country are they going to grow up in? and how many people get a chance to do something about it? , that little journey kind of gives the background of why we are here tonight. everybody here has their own journey. the bottom line is, we have a lot of things in common. i don't know about the

particulars, but it all has to do with love of country and the kind of world they want to leave behind. the first obligation that every generation has is to leave this place a little better than the way we found it. ,hat's what our parents did what our grandparents did, and above all, what we have to do. my friends, i feel like these next few years are going to bring decisions that we are going to have as a people, certainly on the president's desk, but on the american as to decisions that are going to affect the future course of our country many years from now. i believe that on the present , we are going to be a weaker, less prosperous, more divided nation than what we have been. i don't say that lightly. but i think it's the truth, and

i think the american people are ready for the truth. when i think about it, there are a lot of different issues. goodness knows we are not deprived of issues or solutions. there are about three things that underline everything else. is national security. our country is in danger, and it's going to be that way for a long time to come. i'd to not think that we have come together as a nation and come to terms with the length , and experience and commitment, that it is going to take to meet the threat that we terrorism andc islamic radicalism. we are dealing with people who look at this as something that has been going on for hundreds

of years, and they are plenty well ready for it to go on another hundred years, slaughtering innocents in the process. they look historically at things and see that for 15 or 20 years they have been attacking us all over the world. the embassy, the trade center, .he uss cole, on and on they have already defeated the toughest enemy, they say, the soviet union in afghanistan. and things are just kind of going along. there is a current front in the that is something to be .ealt with before they move on we have to do better. we have to be more united, more

committed, more unified than we and yetr been before, you look at our responses sometimes as a people and say that is not the message we are .ending out whether you look at budget priorities or our situation in -- some people think that's all it is. if we get out of there, our troubles will be over. a border situation where we can't or won't stop illegal immigrants from coming over our border. in the last few years, we've picked up thousands of people from terror related states alone. we only catch about one out of three. in the era of the suitcase bomb when a small amount of material can recap on the country, when you look at our court system adjustmentsmade the

to combat terrorism in the court system. warning them of their rights. you can't prosecute them unless you do. ining to tell everything court, open discovery, having them take advantage of that information. we are oftentimes in this system not acting like we are serious. the debate in regards to some people have a problem with it. but if al qaeda suspects are on the other end of the line, i don't have any problem with it. but it's done begrudgingly with great debate and fanfare. it's an indication and demonstration to friends and foes alike, i think, that we have not made to the adjustment yet.

9/11 has not had its full impact yet. the second thing that concerns we are doing steady damage to our economy, that if we don't do things better, it's going to result in economic generations,future and a breaking of that commitment to leave this place better instead of weaker. we are spending their money. we are spending lots of their money, and instead of having an honest conversation, democrats , we ignore the most important part of the , and that is our grandchildren, people who have not been born yet, they won't

have anybody speaking for them in many cases. our economy is good now, no question about it. that's the greatest story never told. president bush does not get enough credit for his far as tax cuts are concerned. if there is one thing that should be agreed upon among , it'sody in this country the growth effect of tax cuts. you cannot solve any of these problems unless you have economic growth. and if you look at any administration in history, the result is been the same. at if you look down the road little bit, you will see that before long we will be using up .he social security surplus you know the one that's locked up in a lock locks that every politician has the key to?

-- lockbox that every politician has the key to? when the a time demographic shift will change and there will be more and more people requiring benefits, at a time when health care costs very likely will continue to go up, we have to do something about that. all of those things working together will eventually lead us to an unsustainable position. that is not my opinion -- it is my opinion, but not originally. look at the writing of the gao, the government accountability office, a nonpartisan organization. david walker, the comptroller, has been going around this country with people from a conservative think tank and a liberal think tank. i don't think they will mind those delineations. that's what i would call them.

good people in both organizations all saying the same thing here it all three saying the same thing, and that is that what we are doing is unsustainable. do you hear anybody talking about that? it's not going to happen between now and the next election. these are things that cannot be by aed or decided or cured president or a political party. it's going to have to be done by the people. it will have to be done by the people. which leads me to my third point. at a point when we need to be more united and come together with common sense and honest what theion about problem is and have the guts to deal with it and not use it as a political hatchet against each other, at a time when we are probably more divided than ever

before, probably have more cynicism than we have had in a a long time, at a time when you are seeing the convergence of these problems and all of the other chickens coming home to roost, like energy, like education, like , and we have a congress that, despite the great work and fortitude of some, now has lower approval ratings than probably in the history of the country, in order to have leadership, you have to have some people that are going to follow. how do you follow if you don't have confidence in what is being said or who is saying it? you can't go down that road forever. and now we have a government that apparently is incapable of doing some things that are a sick, common issues that

government has to do -- deal with. we want a limited government. we want a government strong enough to protect us, but we a competentnt government willing to do the things government is supposed to do. time after time we are seeing government unwilling to do that anymore. just a couple of thoughts as we go on this journey together. we can talk about a lot of and we will have time to do that, but the main thing, i , that we need to think about going forward, are what are the principles we are going to operate under? a 15-20 point plan is great. i have a 30 point plan. at what happens when the plans go asunder and you can't get agreement on something like

that? i think the united states and we as citizens should remember our first principles. i don't think the constitution and the declaration of the --'s the declaration of independence and constitution of the united states are outmoded documents. [applause] tells us ouron rights come from god and not from government. [applause] has a framework not as a result of bureaucratic haggling but is something that is designed to protect our freedom. that's the setup, including federalism, including the rise of the federal government and allowing the experimentation among the states, the competition among the states, because it promotes freedom,

promotes better government, and diffuses power. those are not outmoded thoughts , but youed documents will find that every good idea that somebody has now has to be federalized. , there wereasions 99-1 votes in the senate and i was the one because this was an issue that had been the states purview for years. is the federal government getting involved when it can't do what it supposed to be doing right? [applause] thean inherent's to principles -- and adherence to the principles that underline everything we do in this country, what i always stand for, the rule of law, the kind of judges we are talking about,

adherence to the rule of law, not something somebody makes up because they have decided a social policy is not to their liking, but a rule of law that people can rely upon. that's what it is supposed to be about. markets, economy, respect for private property, free trade, competition, it works to our benefit. it has been an example for every other nation in the world that has ever tried it because nobody who has ever tried it has been unsuccessful in terms of prosperity. mainly what we have to do is what others have done in times , and that is to come together, recognize the problem, talk about it truthfully, work together, remember that there is more that unites us than divides

us, take on the tough jobs, and get to the other side of the mountain wiser and stronger than we were when we started out on the journey. we know how to do that. we have done it so many times before, and every time we have done it, we have been successful. i will notemoment, that some might say well, fred, you haven't done much talking about the republican party. , that is exactly what i've been talking about, because i think that is what the republican party believes. i think that is traditionally what we have stood for, that's the kind of things we must stand for. if we do that, we will be successful and we will deserve to lead this nation. we will lead this nation, and most of all, it will make for a stronger, more secure, and more prosperous united states of

america. i look forward to working with you toward that end. thank you very much. [applause] >> civil rights leader julian bond died this year at the age of 75. he was a member of the student nonviolent for dating committee, chairman of the aa cp and mm -- of the naacp, and a member of the house. this is 45 minutes. >> i am very glad that it took so long to get the chairs arranged because i have an opportunity to sit with one of the most interesting people i have been able to talk with in a very long time.

it would take longer than we i were to introduce him properly. so i am going to skip the awards and all of that for the moment and start with a little history. julian bond's grandfather was .orn a slave two years after he was born, the emancipation proclamation was issued, and james bond, as his name was, made it to college. academic inas an tennessee. his father was president of a college in pennsylvania, and grew up at a quaker school there , obviously an integrated quaker school. by the time he graduated and went to college, his family had moved to atlanta, which he said was a terrifying experience.

college,d at morehouse and in 1960, was a cofounder of the student nonviolent coordinating committee. for those of you not old enough to know that history, that was one of the major activist organizations of its day. in 1965, after the rulings cament down and the legislature was redrawn, he ran for the legislature in the state of georgia and won. in january of 1966, the assembly of the state of georgia declined to see him on the grounds that he had endorsed the snake ,osition in the war in vietnam on the grounds that he felt

people who avoided the draft were to be encouraged. for those reasons, he was denied a seat on the legislature. got a nine-zero decision from the supreme court that his constitutional right to free speech had been denied and he was seated in the georgia legislature. [applause] made him not just a national figure, but an international figure as well. at the chicago convention, he was nominated to be vice president of the united states, first time that had ever happened in a major party convention? he had to decline the honor because you had to be 35 and he wasn't yet 30. he then served for 20 years in the legislature in georgia, which he said he loved to this day and would go back and

do again if he could only do it for two days a week. he left that job, which i should say was also intermixed with many other activities because the legislature did not meet full time. he has been a legislature, -- a legislator, a professor, and taught at harvard university, american university, drexel, university of virginia, he has been a radio and television host .nd held many other positions in 2008, he became the chair of the naacp, and that's where i want to start the questioning. he served as chair and to last year. ish interesting about that two things. first, he is here tonight because the naacp is holding the convention this week, and secondly, because one of the organizations that the student

nonviolent coordinating committee result of -- was originally critical of was the naacp. they thought it had gotten too old and was not serving the needs of young african-americans were meeting the challenges of the civil rights era as it should have. why did you go back and become the chair of the maa -- of the naacp as you did? julian: i was living in atlanta. i was in the legislature, and i looked around, and the naacp was the only man standing. it stood for 50 years from its founding until that time, and i thought what we need is to strengthen this organization that has lasted this many years. have been active, i have been

a member as a college student, but it had gotten too old and too stodgy. all of the people had gray hair. so i re-involved myself and became president of the atlanta branch and got in a dispute with the chairman and lost my seat on the board of directors. i won my seat back and helped to defeat him. i ran to succeed a woman in 1998 when she wanted to step down and , 11ed until last year years. it was a wonderful experience. made a speech this morning in which he made three observations. the naacp membership is up for the third year in a row, our resources and finances are in budget balanced

for three years in a row. something else he said was good news. in a row.s trust me on this. he said the organization is hale and hearty and alive and well, and i am proud to be associated with it. >> what has it meant for the civil rights movement that you have been involved in for your entire life and still are as the chairman of the naacp, to have a black man in elected as president of the united states. >> it means the work we have doing since 1909 is worth it. we were talking together and joked upstairs about how the headline in the onion the day after obama got it, "black man gets worst job in the united states" -- [laughter] it means that the work we have

been doing all these years has paid off. it does not mean our work is over. there is more work to be done. no one can believe that barack obama would be president of the united states if it had not been for the work of the and aa cp. -- of the naacp. the work done by these people and these groups. it was like vindication that all of this labor, all of this has been worthwhile. we are happy to do it and see the results of it. he spoke at our convention in 1909, i'm sorry. 2009. -- 1999, our centennial. 2009. thank you. my wife is here in the front row. [laughter] she serves many wonderful purposes. [laughter] one of them is correcting me. >> i am glad she did that, because i could not get it right either. >> at any rate, he spoke to our convention in 2009.

he spoke to us as senator obama. he spoke to us as candidate obama running for the presidency. he spoke to us as democratic nominee for the party. having him speak was a great thrill. having him become president was a great, great thrill for all of us. >> when he was first running, nominated,ter he was there were civil rights veterans who seemed to be resentful, particularly because he had not lived what they regarded as "the black experience." i think jesse jackson was the most prominent of those who seem to be unhappy about him in that respect. is that important? >> it is important to note that reverend jackson came a strong

supporter, is a strong supporter today, campaigned vigorously for him and i am sure will be campaigning for him vigorously again when he undertakes his formal campaign for re-election. many of those people who felt that way, i felt that he would make a wonderful president. as friends in chicago kept telling me, we have a great state senator who is going to be president someday. we would say sure. that he got to be a u.s. senator. and they would say he is a u.s. senator now he is going to be president someday. and we would say, ok. and didbegan to run well, and we said sure. then he won in iowa. and i thought, if he could win in the whitest of states, i would support him. i became a convert when i hadn't been before. i wasn't going to waste my vote. he proved to me he could win.

i was happy to support him then. >> we have an african-american family in the white house. african americans in the united states are still disproportionately suffering from poverty, ill health, poor schools, all of the other ailments. you avert so hard to correct and in manyy ways, ways succeeded in correcting, but not in every way. is it harder now to argue for affirmative action? to argue for issues of that kind? >> it is a little bit harder because there is a feeling in the population that having elected a black man, all of these problems have been solved and gone away. the remedies that solve these problems are no longer needed anymore. that is false thinking. that is not true. the fact that there is a black man in the white house does not mean the country has become a wonderful place where everything is happy, everything is fair and equal.

but because many people believe that, it is harder to argue for these things. we're are going to argue for them nonetheless. >> the term racism is in some respects, in some places, a punchline. i have done a program where , howdy you do the laundry, you separate the dark from the light, and the punchline is that's racist. npr did a story about this. the younger generation finds the word racism is a punchline. sure what itnot means. i heard the npr story and i read something about it. but what does it mean? does it mean if somebody says is uncomfortable

you, whetherny to it involves race or not, that you can say racism and it is a joke? if it is, i don't get to the joke. i do think young people are free of many you, whether it involves race or not, that you can say racism and it is a joke? of the bigotries and prejudices that we older people have had over the years, and cannot forget, many of us. i do think the generation of young people i teach, college students, is much freer about their associations, their friends, the things they do, the things they think, than i was in my time. but i think we have a lot more to do and we have to buckle down and do it. >> there are those who argue that the reason it is a good joke is that black people have advanced to such appointed that they are now occupying the white house and we don't have to worry about that anymore. julian: if it's a big joke, it's

not funny to me. doesn't unfunny, but it make me laugh. i don't get it. and i was a host of saturday night live, so i know funny when i see it. not saying it is an evil statement, but i don't get it. >> who did you host saturday night live with? julian: the entertainment was a singing group called brick. all of the original cast except , who had left to the , and bill murray. line youas the best

had? julian: this is a setup. we had a skit called black perspectives in the news. there it more as was the post. and he was saying that the iq test has been around for a long time and still blacks score poorly on the test. and i go through a number of nonsensical explanations saying tests are biased. are you going skiing and the stock? are you going to use number three, why? obviously, that's biased. he says no, the tests have been around for a long time and the tests are not biased. why do blacks do so poorly? and i say it is because light-skinned blacks are smarter blacks, and heed

has darker skin than i do. take andes a double says, say what? and i say everybody knows it. and he says we have run out of time. and the audience thought it was just as funny as you do. >> that was a long time ago and you still know your lines. not bad. what about a race politics, identity politics in the united states? think about the tea party as identity politics -- why don't we think about the tea party as identity politics? this is an almost all white phenomenon that picketed the naacp yesterday. it looked more like orange county than south-central. were about 100 people and 75 of them were white. identity politics,

do we talk about the tea party? why is it only people of color who are condemned in this way? [applause] >> why is it? people findink some it objective when people of color banded together in their own interests. somehow, that is supposed to be american dream,mer the american way. they don't feel the same way about white people coming together in their own interests, and that seems to be because they don't think white people can do anything wrong in that regard. >> president obama was the nominee, or maybe still running against hillary clinton, i there were those who

had been involved in the civil rights movement, and others who wondering, do we have to vote for this guy just because he is black? do we have to support him just because he is black? what do you think of that? to my: herman cain went college. herman cain is a black man. i am not going to vote for herman cain. [laughter] >> one of the questions in the , were he to be obama would have to be not only the president of the united states, but also the de facto leader of black america . has he done a good job at both of those things? is he both of those things? julian: no, and i think the

expectation that he would be both of those things is the wrong expectation. to think he would be president of the united states and president of black america is too much. i think he has been a good president. this pack ofhave objectors shouting no it him he would've been a better president and a more successful president. [applause] sure his second term will be even more successful than the first. [applause] people accuse him of leading from behind. does that mean anything to you? julian: yes. it means you are waiting too long to make a decision and then trying to do something else. i don't think that's true. i think he faces an unusual amount of hostility from the

other party, from americans, many of whom are motivated by the fact that he is acting like the president while black. the hostility is unlike anything i have ever seen. i have gone through president after president after president and i have never seen anything like this. i'd out you have either. i am older than you are. you are.der than >> have you seen anything like this in your lifetime? >> no. do you think it is because of racism question mark >> absolutely. be? else would it legs because he is from chicago? because he is tall and thin? orelieve there is an and missed number of people who would not like him if he gave each of them $1000. he still wouldn't be their president. he still wouldn't be president to them.

>> i prepared some questions but i can't see them in the light appear, but i want to go from where you just left off. his attention to the kinds of issues that you have spent your life trying to advocate? has he disappointed you in any way? julian: he has, and i have to say he will knock at the first president to do that, and i don't think he will be the last -- i have to say he will not be the first president to do that, and i don't think he will be the last president to do that. i am not sure in his second term that he will pay as much attention to these things that i would want him to.

want him to pay attention to the appalling rate of unemployment. alwaysnemployment is staggering i am not going to throw him out the window because of this or say that i will never vote for him or he is a bad guy. warren olney: do you think he is shying away from those kinds of issues because she is the first black president or because of this -- because he is the first black president? julian bond: i do not think he wants to be perceived as the black president, and i can understand why. that is how you want to be thought of. if you can stop being the black president or being thought of as the black president. he does not want to be the black president.

warren olney: i want to go back to your time in georgia in the legislature. 20 years. how long was it before you felt you were not any longer being considered as the black representative and the leftist, the unpatriotic opponent of the vietnam war? julian bond: for some people this never happened. i was always thought that way. but for most people -- politicians are very rational. if everybody in the front rows were voting on something and they had to get a majority and the people on this side voted one way and the people on this side voted another and these people could get one person to come over they would do it and they would be nice to a person and be nice to my wife was very personable and talk to her and

promise her things a she would like. i don't mean bribes. just that when she had an argument they would be on her side. when it became clear that i was a vote and i could be for them or against them they began to pay attention to me and asked me to vote for them and in turn i asked them to vote for me. if it was something they could do, they would do it for me. so i would say about two years. warren olney: when you were first elected, there were eight of you elected at the same time who were african-american. you were the only one who was not seated. why was that? julian bond: about a week before i was elected, i was to be seated, a young man named sammy young who worked with the student nonviolent coordinating committee was shot in the back.

he had been in the navy. he had lost a kidney in the avy. he is walking away from a demonstration, he comes to a gas station and wants to go to the bathroom and as he tries to do that the owner of the gas station shot him in the back and killed him. the irony of this guy losing his life in service to his country was too much. we issued an antiwar statement which at the time sounded aggressive and militant but today sounds like people are saying about the war in afghanistan, the war in iraq, ust normal things. wouldn't sound bad at all but then i think sounded radical to my colleagues to be. they held a trial in the house and voted 160 odd to 12 to throw me out. the 12 were my black colleagues. they threw me out. i appeal this to a federal court and the judges appointed by president kennedy voted against

me and the judge appointed by president eisenhower voted for me. [laughter] we appealed that to the united states supreme court and i went to the court to hear the argument, and i was sitting in the court just behind the bar with the lawyers in front of me and i was sitting next to my lawyer's partner in the attorney general of georgia was making the argument that georgia had a right to throw me out because i have said things that were treasonous and seditious. i think it was judge white who said to him, is this all you have? [laughter] the aid you have come all way up here and this is all you have? so i said, we are winning, aren't we? and he said yes you are and yes we did. we won 9-0 and i was seated the following year. [applause]