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PRESS RELEASE LaRouche Addresses Democrats In Arkansas |
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Lyndon LaRouche, who is seeking the 2023 Democratic Presidential nomination, returned to the state of Arkansas Feb. 23, the state where he garnered more than 22% of the vote in the last Democratic Presidential primary. It was the Gore machine's suicidal response to LaRouche's strong showing in Arkansas that political insiders say ultimately cost Gore, and the Democratic Party, the Presidency. If the dramatic events that unfolded during LaRouche's weekend swing through the state are any indication, not much has changed. LaRouche's support has not only not diminished but has grown in both depth and breadth, and the Washington, D.C.-centered Democratic Party establishment, with its lingering ties to the Gore-Lieberman organized-crime-linked machine, seems to have learned little from its past fatal errors.
On Sunday morning, Feb. 23, the Rev. Dr. Henry "Hank" Wilkins, IV, who also serves in the Arkansas State Senate and chairs the Legislative Black Caucus, welcomed the Presidential candidate at the historic Saint James United Methodist Church in Pine Bluff. Mr. LaRouche was the guest of honor at a service delivered largely by the congregation's youthful members, and was treated to a series of both musical and spiritual offerings by the youth, prior to Dr. Wilkins' inspiring and uplifting sermon. LaRouche briefly addressed those gathered, telling them, "I take you all into my heart," before proceeding to a welcoming reception where members of the congregation warmly reciprocated. The parishioners told Mr. LaRouche that since former President and Arkansas native Bill Clinton always took the time to visit Saint James', they took this visit not only as a symbol of LaRouche's good will, but as an omen that he would soon take the Presidency. Town Meeting Many members of the congregation returned to the Pine Bluff Convention Center that evening, where LaRouche joined State Sen. Hank Wilkins, Rep. Calvin Johnson, Rep. Booker Clemmons, and Pine Bluff City Councilman John Foster, in a town meeting attended by a broad collection of elected officials, labor, civic, and community leaders and political activists. LaRouche listened carefully as the meeting participants detailed the depth of the impact of the social and economic crises they faced, and as they demanded solutions from the elected officials with whom he shared the podium. When LaRouche's turn finally came to speak, he told them in the bluntest terms that he had both bad news and good news for them. LaRouche didn't mince words in telling his audience that their problems were the result of a global collapse caused by decades of bad policies. He told them that right now, we are hopelessly bankrupt, and that no less than 46 out of 50 states are in what he called "an impossible situation." But, he stressed, it is a situation that can be fixed. LaRouche detailed a clear pathway out of the crisis, relying heavily on lessons learned from the experiences and leadership of FDR during the Great Depression of the 1930s. He said the problem we face right now, is that our nation is led by "idiots influenced by criminals," who are ignoring the economic catastrophe in favor of fixating on an insane drive toward war. LaRouche held the rapt attention of his audience as he promised them that "the situation is as bad, and the options are as good," provided the American people follow his leadership. During the question period that followed, LaRouche had the opportunity to go into greater detail as to the cause of the current crisis, as well as to give people a more in-depth understanding of what would be necessary to find a safe pathway out. He ripped into the corruption of the leadership of both parties, and their ties to organized crime figure Mark Rich. He also addressed the deeper issues imbedded in America's institutions, addressing the immortality of the human soul and the fight for our posterity. The audience was swept up in a discussion that began with Book 2 of Plato's Republic, and traveled ahead to the life of Jean D'Arc and the tragedy of Shakespeare's Hamlet. Many in the audience compared LaRouche's remarks to the famous "walk through world history" from Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King's address to the Memphis sanitation workers, the night before he was brutally assassinated. Welcomed in Little Rock The next day, Feb. 24, Mr. LaRouche travelled to Little Rock, where he addressed the Legislative Black Caucus, despite the fact that state Democratic Party officials, fresh from the DNC Winter Meetings in Washington, D.C., engaged in a frantic last-minute attempt to stop him from doing so. Following his address to the Black Caucus, LaRouche was officially introduced to both the Arkansas State Senate and House of Representatives, where he was greeted by warm applause. Following a series of private meetings, LaRouche continued his dialogue with Arkansas's political elite in a reception that turned into a 2-hour in-depth discussion of his policies for the nation. LaRouche's hosts were delighted with the way their constituents responded to his visit, and angered by the strong-arm tactics of the party bureaucracy. In the 2000 Arkansas Democratic Primary, at the insistence of the Gore-Lieberman apparatus, Party officials behaved in a similar manner when they discounted the votes of 53,150 Arkansas Democrats who voted for Mr. LaRouche. Later, during the general election, Gore lost the state of Arkansas by almost precisely that number of votes. Had that not occurred, Gore would have had sufficient electoral votes, despite the loss in Florida, which had been considered a swing state in any case, to win the Presidency. - 30 -
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