Region 8 Members Greet Kerry in Nashville
By Jim Adams LU 1853

Tuesday August 31 thousands stood jam packed in an airline hanger in Nashville Tennessee. As a large jet painted in patriotic colors pulled up to the hanger, the deafening reverberation of the jet engines should have sent the crowd to cup their ears in protection, but no one heard their roar as the sound of thousands chanting “Kerry, Kerry, Kerry” made the jet engines silent and unheard. In the front of the crowd stood UAW Region 8 Members, leading the chant, “Kerry, Kerry, Kerry!” As John Kerry exited the plane, their voices grew united and strong, until one could feel the concrete floor shake with the echo of their fury. John Kerry had come to Nashville and UAW Region 8 was there to greet him.

Congressman Harold Ford Jr. was the first to speak and introduced the entourage of VIP delegates who took the stage. Ford introduced Senator John Glenn; Governor Phil Bredsen, Congressmen Jim Cooper, Bart Gordon, Bob Clement, TN State Senator Thelma Harper, Nashville Vice Mayor Howard Gentry and Nashville Mayor Bill Purcell and others. Congressman Ford then spoke of John Kerry’s plan for a brighter and better America.

Next to speak was former Astronaut and U.S. Senator from the State of Ohio, John Glenn. “As I travel throughout my home state of Ohio and across the United States, I am besieged by Republicans who are disillusioned by the Bush administration. This is not the America that they voted for!” Senator Glenn then turned the podium over to John Kerry and the concrete shook once more.

“I am proud to be with you in Nashville tonight. Music City! The Home of the Titans! I have one goal in this election, I am here to bring jobs back to Tennessee!” Kerry proclaimed before stating the thesis of his speech, “This is the most important election of our lifetime.”

Kerry then shared his plan to revive the economy to the crowd. “We have to stop rewarding companies that are exporting jobs,” Kerry declared and shared his plan to give tax incentives to companies that stay in America. Kerry then spoke with pride of the talent of the American Workforce. “There is no one in the world who can beat an American Worker when given a level playing field,” he expounded. “Americans shouldn’t work for the economy, the economy should work for Americans,” Kerry continued. He concluded by decreeing that, “we must build an America where health care is not a privilege for the wealthy, but a right for every American.”

Kerry then shared his plan to build the educational infrastructure of America and shared with the audience his call to give everyone with children in college a four thousand dollar tax credit so they can educate their children.

"Well, ladies and gentlemen, let me tell you something," Mr. Kerry said. "We can, we must and we will win the war on terror. And the way to win the war on terror is to fight a smarter, more effective war on terror. And that begins by having a president who brings other nations to our side to share the risk, to share the responsibility, to share the burden, share the cost. And I understand that working with other countries is not a sign of weakness, it's a sign of strength, and that's what we're going to do."

Presidential candidate Kerry next shared his strategy for a cohesive energy plan and the environment. “America imports 61 percent of the world’s oil, it is time we put America’s energy policy in the hands of Americans. America’s energy policy should not be in the hands of the Saudi Royal Family! Look at the country that our children will inherit!” Kerry affirmed changing his speech to reflect the environment. “I am a hunter and a fisherman, I know that hunting and fishing are important to the people of Tennessee and I find it sad that in 28 states our children can not eat the fish they catch because we have poisoned the rivers that flow across this land.”