The Honorable Corrine Brown's Speech Before the Democratic National Convention Thursday, July 29, 2004

/EMBARGOED FOR RELEASE UPON DELIVERY OF SPEECH, SCHEDULED FOR 4:23 P.M. EDT TODAY, JULY 29/

BOSTON, July 29 /PRNewswire/ -- The following is a transcript of a speech by the Honorable Corrine Brown at the Democratic National Convention on July 29, 2004:

God is good. All the time, God is good.

Greetings to my fellow Democrats, and to the wonderful people of the third congressional district of Florida.

I am Corrine Brown. The same Corrine Brown who spoke out on the house floor about the travesty of the election of 2000 and whose words of protest were stricken from the Congressional record.

Understand me. In November 2000, in my district alone, 27,000 votes were kicked out by faulty machines. Those votes went uncounted.  Twenty seven thousand votes -- in areas I represent that vote 98 percent democratic.

What's more, many voters were wrongly purged from registration lists for a variety of unacceptable reasons. I want to preserve for all people the right to vote and the right to have their votes counted.

America, we have a lot of work to do. Much is at stake.

We need leadership that will help us educate our kids, uplift the middle class, create jobs, support our veterans, provide affordable health care for families and our seniors. I believe all Americans can count on John Kerry and John Edwards to do just that.

A good reminder for the job that lies ahead in changing directions in this country is right on the dashboard of your cars. R is for reverse. And D is for drive. America we must get out of reverse and move into drive. The leadership team of John Kerry and John Edwards is the perfect vehicle to move us forward.

What you do the next 95 days will determine whether we go forward with John Kerry or stay in reverse.  If we are to move forward we need to shift into "D" with two new drivers, John Kerry and John Edwards. This November, give this administration what millions of Americans have gotten for the last three and a half years -- a pink slip.

Wake up America so that what happened in 2000 does not happen again in 2004. As I take my seat take a look at your hands.  America's future is in your hands.

May God continue to bless America.

Source: Democratic National Convention Committee

CONTACT:  Peggy Wilhide of the Democratic National Convention Committee,
+1-617-366-3100

Web site:  http://www.dems2004.org/