This is a perilous time for America

Editor’s note: These are excerpts from a speech given by former U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin at the Iowa Farmers Union state convention last weekend in Ames.

Now, I initially thought in preparing my remarks today to address the theme of this convention, empowering farmers to weather the chaos …

But the events of the last few weeks caused me to rethink my message to be empowering us to save America.

I just finished watching the six-part series that Ken Burns has on PBS about the Revolutionary War … Out of our history as a set of colonies and a bloody and ruthless revolution fought by ordinary people, landless whites and Black Americans, mostly uneducated.

Americans defeated the most powerful nation on the globe at the time and drafted a Constitution and a Bill of Rights to guide us through the ages. The checks and balances so drafted were meant to ensure that no president could have the kind of sole power as King George, a monarch or a king. The Congress and Supreme Court was supposed to check any move in that direction.

Now, we have a president who flagrantly abuses us with his personal whims on an almost daily basis. He does not respect constitutional boundaries, does not respect any rule of law, except how he personally perceives it to be.

My friends, I am not overstating it to say we are at our most perilous time in saving our constitution, in saving American democracy, in securing for future generations the blessings of liberty and opportunity and personal freedoms since the adoption of the Constitution in 1788. Well, you might say, “Well, what about the Civil War?”

Compare Trump to Lincoln

But I think we’re in more danger now. Why?

Because at the time of the Civil War, we were blessed with the leadership of Abraham Lincoln, whose moral compass pointed him to issue the Emancipation Proclamation and to fulfill the promise of the Declaration of Independence for all Americans …

So, contrast Lincoln and Trump.

Lincoln with malice toward none, with charity toward all. Trump with malice toward my opponents … and with charity toward none …

Somali people are “garbage.” Press people who ask tough questions are stupid or pigheaded … opponents are “guilty as hell,” and he instructs his handpicked prosecutors to indict them without any evidence.

Trump orders the killing of drug runners, those at the lowest level of drug smuggling, but pardons the former president of Honduras, who sat at the top of the drug smuggling empire and raked in hundreds of millions of dollars, and was convicted by a jury in New York and sentenced to 45 years of prison …

Trump and his team of dedicated modern-day Nazis and fascists are transforming America from a caring, inclusive, diverse, and respected nation, moving America, from yes, even Ronald Reagan’s shining city on a hill, moving us to a mean, loathsome bully on the top of the heap.

‘We all do better when we all do better.’

The first clue that I got that this new Trump administration was going to attempt to change the very character of American society was the result on the American movement toward more diversity, equity, and inclusion throughout American businesses, government, and education.

As you heard, as one who led the fight for more inclusion of people with disabilities in all aspects of our country’s life, I couldn’t believe how quickly businesses and educational structures gave in to the president’s attack on diversity, equity, and inclusion. Diversity, that’s always been our strength.

And all my travels around the globe, and all the times I was in public office, the one thing that appealed to people was how we in America, different religions, creeds, and national origin, could live together and have a good society. It was always one of the magnets. And one of the things that people said, that’s what we should do in our country too. The diversity was our strength, equity, fairness, and justice.

To achieve fair outcomes and opportunity for all. I thought equity was part of what we were about. Inclusion. Paul Wellstone, former senator, close friend of mine. Said it best.

He said, “We all do better when we all do better.”

Democracy or totalitarianism

So I believe we’re in our country’s long history now at a point where we will either continue to perfect and enlarge our democratic ideals and protections, or we will give in to the siren song of totalitarian leaders. I think we’re at the brink. To repeat what Thomas Paine wrote during the long winter of Washington’s encampment at Valley Forge. “These are the times that try men’s souls. The summer soldier and sunshine patriot will in this crisis shrink from the service of their country. But he that stands by it now deserves the love and thanks of man and woman. Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered.“ Now is our time to stand by the America of democratic ideals and rule of law …

Number one, we need to ensure that forthcoming elections will not be tampered with at every local level and at the national level.

Number two, that we will bend every effort to ensure the registration of every eligible voter and that those voters are able to get to the polls or cast an absentee ballot.

Three, we need to discuss plainly and openly about civility and decency, and dignity … I think this is something I’ve been hoping to encourage through the institute and at Drake University. In other words, let’s elevate the discussions. Let’s not get down in the gutter...

Fourth. Remember the Trump mandate is very thin. Trump received 77.3 million votes or 49.8%. Harris received 75.02 million votes or 48.3%. A very thin mandate …

Five. Farm families and rural families are feeling the brunt of misguided and injurious trade, tax, and fiscal policies. We need to engage with our farm families and our rural citizens to discuss a better way forward …

As I said, one of the reasons I wanted to be here is to impart to you how close I think we are to losing our democracy …

Trump backers should not be reelected

Bit by bit it will start to go downhill, and people then will turn to totalitarian-type of figures to tell us how to live, what to read, what to see, what to believe. That’s not the America that our forefathers and those people who fought that revolution and wanted us to have. We have all our faults, with slavery, with our involvement in the various foreign affairs, our terrible involvement in Vietnam. And our terrible involvement in Iraq. And other things, yes.

But overall, the constant striving of America has been to be better. To enlarge the concept of democratic ideals, respect for human rights, respect for those who may be different from us in religion, for national origin, race, color, creed …

No person who is serving in the Congress or the U.S. Senate who has not raised his or her voice and vote against the unlawful, tyrannical, cruel, and bullying actions of Donald Trump should not be reelected. And that goes for a Democrat as well as Republican.

The transcript of Tom Harkin’s speech was provided by Robert Leonard, who first posted it at his Substack https://substack.com/@robertleonard where you can find a complete transcript. A video of the speech can be found at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2gibCfC7RU