Our intention is to establish a record so that we can go forward with public policy that has the support of the public and they know why certain decisions are made. The public is -- they're beautiful -- they're optimistic, they're positive, they're concerned now about the direction of the country. But they project their own honesty on to some other people. Sometimes they think things are the way they are because that's the only way they can be. That's completely wrong. These people [Republicans] have acted in a way that is contrary to the public interest. They are the handmaidens of special interests, and we have to show that to them [the public]. How many of them know that, I mean, insiders know, how many of them know that the Vice President of the United States had secret meetings with the energy industry, wrote the energy policy for the country and we have $3 a gallon gas at the pump, $3.50 in my district; that you have billions of dollars in subsidies that are given to the energy companies, subsidies -- you know what I mean, all of the tax breaks that they're giving them. They gave how many millions of dollars to the Republicans in campaign contributions? They got billions of dollars in subsidies while the consumers got $3 plus a gallon of gas at the pump. There is a direct relationship. We have to show that to the public. [inaudible] ... whoever prevails in the future. They know they can't get away with it. They've done serious damage to the country, and we have a responsibility to have the record show that.

And also to take people to a different place. This is an old way of thinking -- the rich get rich and the poor get poorer. You know, it's an old idea and it's not a good one. They have to see that there is a concerted decision made to do these things, and so, let the chips fall where they may. The public record is there. The public record on how we got into Iraq; the public record on the prescription drug bill -- probably one, well, there's competition for the title, probably one of the most corrupt bills to come down the pike and middle-class seniors will pay. The cost of corruption -- it's not only the culture of corruption, it's the cost of corruption to the taxpayer. And so, this is about letting the public know. There has to be, in a very dignified way, and I think you will see Republicans participate because they have major doggie do on their shoes and it's going to be a long time coming off, and they may want to look as if they were interested in finding some answers as well. But we're not doing anything unusual -- we're doing what Congress is supposed to do, what Congress is supposed to do.
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Democrats are just so wonderful. We have such a perfectionist drive and if our leaders don't agree with us 100 percent -- the Republicans don't act that way. They're with the program. Thirty years ago, you know what they did. After the '60s, the early '70s, they decided that the free enterprise system was at risk, so they had these foundations, huge money, the richest people in America, the far right who didn't want any taxes, protect the assets of the wealthy period, no taxes. And employment was dangerously high, as Allan Greenspan, former chairman of the Fed said to a committee I was on; employment was dangerously high. And I said Get Out of Here! Because what he meant was that inflation was going to come and he was there to protect the assets of the rich. Let's understand what's going on here. It's all about money. [inaudible] They also told people at the time that Social Security was not going to be there when they retired, they started that a generation ago. So this thing has grown. They're the people who wrote the Contract-On-By-For America, and they had by then all the talk radio -- got rid of the Fairness Doctrine -- all the talk radio, and they had by then half-a-billion dollars in endowment money. No money to be raised, half-a-billion dollars to go out there with their message. [inaudible] They have this whole network, the Cal Thomases, Rush Limbaughs, this whole thing. They have a message -- boom. Half a billion dollars goes a long way.