[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 95 (Monday, July 12, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H5524-H5525]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                ELECTIONS, NOT FEAR, MAKE AMERICA STRONG

  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Ms. Harris). Under a previous order of the 
House, the gentleman from Washington (Mr. McDermott) is recognized for 
5 minutes.
  Mr. McDERMOTT. Madam Speaker, elections, not fear, make America 
strong.
  I just returned this afternoon from my district. All last weekend, 
everywhere I went in Seattle people kept asking me the same question, 
are they really going to take away our election? Now, I did not go to 
the secret briefing that they had last week. It is my practice and my 
policy not to go to secret briefings.
  The day after the briefing, however, there was a stunning 
administration press conference revealing that the Department of 
Homeland Security thinks we should all be more afraid but that things 
are not bad enough to raise the terror alert level from yellow, and we 
should all be vigilant, but not about anything specific.
  Now, that secret meeting that they had the day before had everybody's 
mouth zipped shut in this place. Then they go out on the street and say 
what they told us not to talk about; and, by the way, we need to figure 
out how to legally delay the election, just in case. That was the 
bottom line, what they were talking about. The homeland security 
spokesman referred to this as an effort ``to determine what steps need 
to be taken to secure the election.'' Please, folks, could we not at 
least avoid the Orwellian language?
  Now we have got the people flooded with fear, and the conspiracy 
theorists are having a field day. It is everywhere, in all the clips 
today in the paper, everywhere all across the country just

[[Page H5525]]

what was going on in my district. I did not know where it came from, 
but when I got back to Washington and read what was going on 
nationwide, it is everywhere.
  How does this contribute to our national security? How does it do 
anything except keep everybody off balance and crazy?
  This ratcheting up the level of alarm is always followed by a pause 
though there is no change in the evidence or lack of evidence of a 
terrorists' ill-intentions and the relaxation of the tension is always 
followed by another call to fear.
  There really are people out in the world who want to hurt us. Let us 
direct our attention to them. Let us work on the problem, instead of 
working on the nerves of the American people.
  I do not want to anticipate that the Department of Homeland Security 
is going to fail. I want the Department to do everything possible to 
make us and our elections safe.
  So I have some advice for the Department of Homeland Security, Madam 
Speaker. Stick to your knitting; try to keep the homeland secure; 
analyze the chatter; do not chatter yourself; do not add to the noise; 
do your job; do not stir up fear.
  We are a vast and strong Nation. For the people in our government to 
be saying that if there is a terrorist event we will get rid of the 
election, excuse me? They do not do that in India. They do not do that 
in Germany. They do not do that in any country. You are acting like one 
event somewhere in this country is going to give the President the 
right to call off the election. Absolutely nonsense.
  We got through the British burning the White House and the Capitol, 
this very building was burned to the ground in the War of 1812, without 
suspending an election. We got through the Civil War without suspending 
an election. You can go downstairs and see pictures of troops 
bivouacked on the campus of the Capitol, but we had an election in 
1864. Some people thought it should be delayed, but it went right 
ahead. In a democracy you do not have to be afraid, and we will get 
through the election of 2004.
  The Presidents who made these decisions to go ahead with the 
election, despite threats, were fighting ground wars right here in D.C. 
and in its suburbs, not 8,000 miles away. They had it right on their 
doorstep, but President Madison, who wrote most of the Constitution, 
and President Lincoln, who saved the Union, believed in this country 
and in its people. They believed that people would persevere and 
prevail, and that is what I believe.
  Mr. Speaker, I call on the Members of this body and our 
administration to repudiate this fear mongering, the rumor generating, 
the chatter about delaying our elections. What kind of nonsense is that 
for the leadership in this country to be even talking about? It insults 
our intelligence. It distracts us. It harms our country. It is ill-
befitting of this American democracy that we are all so proud of.

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