Senator Boone's Campaign Announcement
Delivered Live in Nashville
Broadcast over Radio throughout the United States
"My fellow Americans, I understand that many of you are fresh from hearing our President's State of the Union Address, and thus are probably not over-eager to listen to the prattle of another big-mouthed, small-minded politician. Thankfully, you are now listening to Earl Boone, and not Henry Davis.
"The accomplishments which President Davis touted and promised to build upon are, in reality, confined entirely to his imagination. The economic upturn of his first term was not his doing, but the lasting impact of President Roosevelt, God rest his soul. In fact, the only contribution of the sitting President to our economy is last year's aptly named Davis Recession.
"President Davis, and whichever Republican attempts to succeed him next November, have committed to halting and eventually eroding the great economic progress began during the Presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt. The promises and programs of the Roosevelt and [not-Truman] administrations languish, unfulfilled and dormant. While the President bull-headedly focuses on de-segregating the South with all the adroitness of a wrecking ball, our farmers and laborers suffer, our public works decay, and our defense and technology sectors wane in the face of waxing Soviet power.
"But, I am sad to say, our own Party offers no decent alternative to the American people! Instead of presenting a unified front in defense of the progress F.D.R. championed, the Democrats sectionalize: the conservatives and the liberals, eating each other alive over segregation. We cannot risk dividing our Democratic Party over sectional issues next year. If, as I fear, we Democrats run two competing tickets in 1960, a Republican victory is virtually assured. We cannot allow this to happen. And that is why I am tendering my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for President.
"I was born in squalor in a log cabin on the outskirts of Raleigh. I earned my law degree by night, sweeping streets and delivering papers by day. I spent a decade of my youth as a Justice of the Peace, dealing with the most intimate problems of the impoverished and indigent. I understand the issues which face every-day Americans better than any silver-spoon politician. F.D.R. set the standard I will emulate. Unity, not division; progress, not stagnation. As President, I will cut every American the Best Deal our nation can offer.
"Roosevelt's proposed Second Bill of Rights will become a reality— unemployment, exploitation, monopolies, and homelessness, things of the past. I believe every American has the right to a well-paying job, so I will expand the public workforce to quash unemployment. I believe every American should be fairly compensated for a hard day's work, so I will extend our minimum wage laws to guarantee every worker fair pay. I believe our farmers have the right to earn a living from their land, so I will vivify the Food Stamp Program and the Rural Electrification Administration, and establish new bureaus to uplift the quality of life in rural America. I believe in the free market, so I will enact robust anti-trust laws and place taxes on personal fortunes exceeding $1 million to prevent the inequitable hoarding of wealth by a shadowy few. I believe that no American should have to call the streets his home, and so I will subsidize public housing projects that put roofs over every American family. I believe that no American should suffer or die when adequate medical treatment is available, so I will establish a public health care system and declare war on disease. I believe that every American should retire comfortably, so I will preserve the Social Security Administration and ensure that pensioners enjoy access to public health care. And, finally, I believe that the future of our democracy rests in our youth, and so I shall re-invigorate the education system, ensuring that our nation is a leader in science, technology, and intelligence.
"As to the issue of civil rights: I will not attempt to impose a dictatorship of the many upon the few, as President Davis has, which, as we all know, resulted in the bloodiest war on American soil the last time it was forced. A solution to racial issues may only come as a unilateral decision, not as a disciplinary measure against the South; a House divided cannot stand. I shall not abuse the power of the President nor violate the Constitution by supporting any civil rights legislation. Instead, I will leave the choice to the states themselves, and let their conscience and the wishes of their citizens be their guide.
"Finally, I shall not, as President Davis has, allow our military and its technology to atrophy, and in doing so allow the Soviet Union and its allies to surge ahead. I shall restore the supremacy of the United States on the world stage and bulwark Western democracy against Communistic aggression at every turn. I shall give no quarter to those who attempt to subvert and undermine our republic from within, the fifth columnists who gleefully anticipate the defeat of our government in our current struggle against Communism. I will take the Red menace seriously, as no other President has before.
"It is now that I ask your support, America. This is not merely a political campaign. It is a call to arms. Our democracy threatens to implode, while Soviet Russia licks its lips. I bid you take up arms with me, now, and rally the nation against the Communist threat. Elect me, Senator Earl Boone, as your President, and together we shall see that America remain the Land of the Free and the Home of the Brave, forever.
"God bless you, and goodnight."
