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The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class

Bernie Sanders

4.17 · Rating details · 823 ratings · 103 reviews

On Friday, 12/10/2010, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders walked on to the floor of the US Senate & began speaking. It turned out to be a very long speech, lasting over eight & a half hours. It hit a nerve. Millions followed the speech online until the traffic crashed the Senate server. A huge, positive grassroots response tied up the phones in the senator's offices in Vermont On Friday, 12/10/2010, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders walked on to the floor of the US Senate & began speaking. It turned out to be a very long speech, lasting over eight & a half hours. It hit a nerve. Millions followed the speech online until the traffic crashed the Senate server. A huge, positive grassroots response tied up the phones in the senator's offices in Vermont & Washington. Pres. Obama reportedly held an impromptu press conference with former Pres. Clinton to deflect media attention away from Sanders' speech. Editorials & news coverage appeared throughout the world. In his speech, Sanders blasted the agreement that President Obama struck with Republicans, which extended the Bush tax cuts for millionaires & billionaires, lowered estate tax rates for the very, very rich, & set a terrible precedent by establishing a "payroll tax holiday" diverting revenue away from the Social Security Trust Fund, threatening the fund's very future. But the speech was more than a critique of a particular piece of legislation. It was a dissection of the collapse of the American middle class & a well-researched attack on corporate greed & on public policy which, over the last several decades, has led to a huge growth in millionaires even as the US has the highest rate of childhood poverty in the industrialized world. It was a plea for a fundamental change in national priorities, for government policy that reflects the needs of working families, not just the wealthy & their lobbyists. Finally, Sanders' speech--published here in its entirety with a new introduction by the senator--is a call for action. It's a passionate statement informing us that the only people who will save the middle class of this country is the middle class itself, but only if it's informed, organized & prepared to take on the enormously powerful special interests dominating Washington.
Sen. Sanders is the longest-serving Independent in the history of the US Congress. He's represented Vermont in the Senate for four years & in the House for sixteen years. He served four terms as Mayor of Burlington, VT, during which time the city was recognized as one of the most livable cities in America. ...more

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Paperback, 270 pages

Published March 1st 2011 by Nation Books (first published 2010)

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Jan 02, 2016 Roy Lotz rated it really liked it

Shelves: americana, art-of-compromise

Greed, in my view, is like a sickness. It is like an addiction.

Say what you will, this presidential race has been, at the very least, an intensely interesting affair. Of course, there is the debacle of the Republican primaries; but those are mainly interesting in the same way that a car accident is interesting—you can’t help but rubberneck, even if you’re a bit disgusted with yourself for doing so. Much more engrossing, for me, has been the rise of Bernie Sanders, something which seems to ha ...more

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Nov 26, 2011 Bradley Jarvis rated it it was amazing

Recommends it for: Everyone

Recommended to Bradley by: Debbie Jarvis

During the height of last year's debate over extending the Bush tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, Independent Senator Bernie Sanders spoke in opposition for several hours on the Senate floor. During his speech, reproduced (with minor editing) in this book, Sanders laid out the many problems with the agreement between President Obama and Senate Republicans which ultimately - and unfortunately - became law.

The speech was, more than anything, an indictment of how greed and corruption have rui ...more

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Jan 10, 2012 Richard Sahn rated it it was amazing

Shelves: politics

A must read for young people trying to form political opinions. He pulls no punches in exposing the hypocrisy, greed, and corruption of his colleagues in Congress. This book makes readers aware of what they're not getting from mainstream media and pundits—in fact, just the opposite. Sanders is fiercely critical of politics as usual. ...more

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Jan 04, 2012 Kathleen rated it it was amazing

Shelves: law, non-fiction, read-in-2012

Bernie Sanders is a hero and an inspiration for the incredible work and time and energy he put into his efforts to halt the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts. In this amazing filibuster he repeatedly calls on the American people to take action and let their Senators and representatives know that in this age of crumbling infrastructure, rampant child poverty, joblessness and homelessness they do not think it is necessary or wise to extend tax breaks to the multimillionaires and billionaires of t Bernie Sanders is a hero and an inspiration for the incredible work and time and energy he put into his efforts to halt the extension of the Bush-era tax cuts. In this amazing filibuster he repeatedly calls on the American people to take action and let their Senators and representatives know that in this age of crumbling infrastructure, rampant child poverty, joblessness and homelessness they do not think it is necessary or wise to extend tax breaks to the multimillionaires and billionaires of this country. He reminds us that it is important to voice our opinions to our elected officials, and I am making a personal resolve to do that in the future. Bravo, Bernie and thank you for your extraordinary efforts on behalf of the poor and working class and middle class of this country!

I was underlining and starring throughout the whole book. Here are a couple of passages. Also, this is from the bare-bones edition without the introduction, just a transcript of the filibuster:

"As I indicated a moment ago, the Fed said this bailout was necessary in order to prevent the world economy from going over a cliff. But 3 years after the start of the recession, millions of Americans remain unemployed and have lost their homes, their life savings, and their ability to send their kids to college. Meanwhile, huge banks and large corporations have returned to making incredible profits and paying their executives record breaking compensation packages, as if the financial crisis they started never happened." (p.17).

"I will never forget - never forget - Hank Paulson coming before the Democratic caucus - I am an Independent and have long been serving as an Independent in Congress - saying that within a few days he needed $700 billion or the entire world's financial system would collapse. My suggestion to him at that meeting was: If you need the money, why don't you go to all your banker friends and millionaire friends and billionaire friends and get some of that money, and don't go to the middle class of this country that has already been harmed." (p.89). ...more

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Feb 11, 2016 jeremy rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: politics, gen-nonfiction

let me also say there is no doubt in my mind what many—not all but many—of my republican colleagues want to do; that is, they want to move this country back into the 1920s when essentially we had an economic and political system which was controlled by big money interests; where working people and the middle class had no programs to sustain them when things got bad, when they got old, and when they got sick; when labor unions were very hard to come by because of antiworker legislation. that i

let me also say there is no doubt in my mind what many—not all but many—of my republican colleagues want to do; that is, they want to move this country back into the 1920s when essentially we had an economic and political system which was controlled by big money interests; where working people and the middle class had no programs to sustain them when things got bad, when they got old, and when they got sick; when labor unions were very hard to come by because of antiworker legislation. that is what they want. they do not believe in things like the environmental protection agency. they do not believe in things like social security, medicare, medicaid, federal aid to education. that is the fight we will be waging.

essentially a transcript of senator bernie sanders's 8.5+ hour speech on the senate floor in late 2010, the speech: on corporate greed and the decline of our middle class finds the now-presidential candidate condemning the collapse of the working class at the hands of the greedy, powerful, and malfeasant. armed with research and statistics, senator sanders discusses income disparity, energy independence, our crumbling infrastructure, corporate taxes and refunds, bailouts, social security, the estate tax, capital gains, education, childhood poverty, unemployment, trade policies, the offshoring of american jobs, banking deregulation, the loss of manufacturing jobs, usury, and a host of other public policy matters.

the longest-serving independent in congressional history, sanders's priorities have remained remarkably uniform over the decades, as has his commitment to progressive ideals and leveling the playing field for middle and lower class americans. the speech may be easily read as a campaign platform, since nearly all of the issues sanders has raised in the 2016 presidential race are expounded upon at great length. moving beyond partisan bickering and rancor, sanders offers a coherent, sane, and moral plan to restore income equality and ensure economic justice. while many of the statistics, legislation, and decades-long trends cited throughout the speech are likely to infuriate compassionate, thinking people, sanders's offers a call to action, imploring the american populace to more fully and effectively engage the political process.

the very strong response to my speech in 2010 and our campaign tells me that the hunger for a discussion about economic truths, for a counterattack on the ferocious assaults that are taking place against working families, and for a practical plan on how we can reverse the obscene politics that favor the rich over the middle class and disadvantaged in our nation is growing all over america.

...more

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Jan 11, 2016 Scott Rhee rated it really liked it

Shelves: politics, economy, nonfiction

The filibuster is a powerful legislative tool which can be very effective, especially in old movies when used by Jimmy Stewart. On December 10, 2010, Mr. Smith---in this case, Mr. Bernie Sanders---went to Washington and gave a seven-hour long speech on the Senate floor to persuade voting members to not approve a tax bill agreed upon by President Obama and the Republican leadership. The filibuster failed, as the tax bill was passed into law, but Sanders got his points across, and the speech has b The filibuster is a powerful legislative tool which can be very effective, especially in old movies when used by Jimmy Stewart. On December 10, 2010, Mr. Smith---in this case, Mr. Bernie Sanders---went to Washington and gave a seven-hour long speech on the Senate floor to persuade voting members to not approve a tax bill agreed upon by President Obama and the Republican leadership. The filibuster failed, as the tax bill was passed into law, but Sanders got his points across, and the speech has been published in book form.

It is a compelling, well-researched, and quick read, minus all the “ums” and dramatic pauses that I’m sure a seven-hour long speech contained.

Sanders may not be the most elegant or eloquent of speakers, but he is direct and straightforward and says what he means.

He even manages to be somewhat politic, especially when he politely criticizes Obama for not having the gumption to stand firm on certain points and caving in too easily to Republican demands. He’s also somewhat polite when he, in a nice way, complains that too many Republicans and Democrats have big corporate money pulling their strings in voting for bills that would help the rich and super-rich and hurt the middle class and poor.

Hell, he’s even nice to the Walton family, whom he mentions a lot, as being a big, fat, greedy bunch of in-breeds bent on destroying this country with their soul-sucking Walmart stores and Sam’s Clubs. (Okay, those words were mine, not Sanders, FYI...)

Obviously, it’s a speech, so it gets pretty repetitive. He also repeats himself a lot, mainly because it is a speech.

It’s a seven-hour speech, by the way.

Regardless of how you feel about the guy, that’s pretty fucking impressive. I have a hard time staying awake or on my feet for most of my eight-hour shifts at work. God bless ‘im.

Seriously, though, this book is a great resource for Sanders fans. There’s a great quote worth repeating on just about every page.

Sanders may sound like that grumpy old uncle that complains about everything before, during, and after Thanksgiving dinner, but he’s also incredibly smart, funny, and honest.

Unlike that other guy running for the GOP ticket, the one who looks like the registered sex offender that lives down the street with that ugly toupee who’s always threatening to kill his neighbor’s dog for shitting on his lawn and hitting on middle school girls as they walk home from school.
...more

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Dec 29, 2011 Joe rated it it was amazing

Longest-standing Independent Senator from Vermont, Bernie Sanders shown light on the curtained-off greed in politics. In this eye-opening speech, Sanders denounces the tax agreement being worked out between President Obama and the Republican leadership. He speaks out against the entrenched corporate interests on behalf of the poor, working and middle class. During the course of this speech which lasted for over eight and a half hours, Sanders criticizes continuing tax cuts for multi-millionaires ...more

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Mar 28, 2016 Evan rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2016-reads, politics, capitalist-piggy-swine, currently-reading-slowly, heroes

Biases out front: I love Bernie Sanders. I gave him two campaign contributions and voted for him in the Kentucky Democratic primary. I agree with his political philosophy and with what he had to say during the campaign and in the speech that comprises this book.

Before I tackle the book, my rating of it is based on the question: Since we're on Goodreads, do I consider this a good read? I'm saying, not necessarily.

The namesake speech of this book is actually a filibuster by Bernie opposing the 201 Biases out front: I love Bernie Sanders. I gave him two campaign contributions and voted for him in the Kentucky Democratic primary. I agree with his political philosophy and with what he had to say during the campaign and in the speech that comprises this book.

Before I tackle the book, my rating of it is based on the question: Since we're on Goodreads, do I consider this a good read? I'm saying, not necessarily.

The namesake speech of this book is actually a filibuster by Bernie opposing the 2010 Obama-Republican Bush tax cut extension legislation. It has the messiness and lack of craft that one might expect from a filibuster. It is not a finely honed masterpiece of oratory meant to stand high in the annals of political discourse. Nonetheless, it is historic because in this filibuster are all of the themes and even some of the catchphrases that Bernie used in his rallies, stump speeches, interviews and debates during the 2015-2016 presidential race.

This 2010 speech was one of C-Span's "greatest hits," a real-time internet sensation, and, as such, a lightning rod for popular sentiment that probably alerted Bernie that the time was ripe for a presidential run. I consider this filibuster -- five years before the fact -- to be the opening salvo of his candidacy.

Apart from liking its content, I like the fact that it is a real, substance-laden filibuster, with a logical argument, a consistent narrative and an attempt to enlighten and persuade --which is all in contrast to the way the Republicans have so amply and lazily used the filibuster in recent years, reciting nursery rhymes and random nonsense just to kill time and hold the floor. That kind of stuff is cute in a Frank Capra movie, but it's not impressive in terms of political oratory or as a statement of cogent political philosophy or as an ethos. One prominent news magazine noted that, despite the prolific filibustering efforts of many Republicans in recent years, it took Bernie, a non-Republican, to actually deliver a real one.

What Bernie does well in this speech is show the state of neglect American has fallen into at the hands of bought-off politicians. His portrait of the Wall Street bailouts (their inherent corruption, conflicts of interest and lack of transparency) is here better presented than in his later speeches, I think, and it will make your blood boil. Bernie points out the hypocrisy of politicians who talk a big patriotic game, but when it comes to approving a $250 bonus for wounded veterans, Republicans would rather say no, and say yes to million-dollar tax breaks for stock brokerage CEOs.

But, this speech also reveals the weaknesses that, in my opinion, damaged Sanders' campaign for the 2016 presidency: its heart was in the right place and its pinpointing of many key problems in the body politic was necessary and refreshing in light of the silence, evasiveness and reactionary lies typical of all the bought-off politicians around him. Bernie has the energy to filibuster and campaign, to galvanize the disenfranchised and economically marginalized and the silenced bottom 99 percent. He had to guts to eschew corporate money. But, in the end, there was not enough steam, and Bernie's tactics lacked that extra something needed to overcome a system too powerful and entrenched; one that had just enough safeguards in place to ensure the likes of him and his disaffected supporters were kept at bay.

As this speech and as the campaigned proved, Bernie is not really a great public speaker. There's sincerity and logic in what he says, but he is not really rhetorically inspiring and too often repetitive. During the campaign, I found his reliance on a small number of pat themes and slogans to be limiting and ultimately damaging, and it opened him up, rightly, to criticisms and charges of having simplistic solutions to complex problems. Every speech and every sound bite from all of his campaign speeches and debates contained the same half-dozen slogans. Bernie's inflexibility and rigidity on the stump made him sound less intelligent than he was. Politicians and their handlers understand the efficacy of telling the public the same things over and over, pounding it into their heads. For me, it became tiresome. I wanted him to lunge and parry with new swords, to change things up for freshness and to demonstrate nimbleness in speeches and debates. He has demonstrated an ability to do this in the past, but frustratingly did not during the campaign.

I believe this country can afford free health care and education for its citizens, just like Bernie. Vested interests do not want this for many reasons; too many to go into here. But even I was not convinced that a tax on Wall Street speculation was a realistic single source to fund those things. Even if such a tax were implemented, Wall Street and the business interests of America are too smart and too heavily invested in the infrastructure of moneymaking and the legal apparati to maintain that supremacy to simply buckle under to it. Businessmen always find ways around things, always. Loopholes are endless. If they get taxed one way, they simply invent something else: another product, another tax loophole, another shell corporation, another offshore scheme, another media misinformation campaign, another full-court lobbying press, another free-flow of campaign contributions, etc., etc. When Obamacare required companies to pay health care for employees working over 30 hours, companies of course did the right thing and did that. No. They cut employees' hours so their cheapskate asses didn't have to pay. They flouted the law and said, fuck you American worker -- again.

Bernie Sanders is absolutely right in linking the fallout of the Citizens United Supreme Court ruling to the way the nation's politicians have become bought off and beholden to the interests of corporations to the detriment of the needs of most citizens. He is correct that money in politics has poisoned our government and worked against the notion of a commonwealth that exists for the common good.

But, as overarching as Bernie's astute diagnosis was, he did not go far enough. The real core issue -- the one that even Bernie evades and is being talked about by no politicians -- is the fundamentally immoral imperatives of the corporate law that drives American and international conglomerates. It's that law that requires companies to -- quarter after short-sighted quarter -- return the maximum possible dividend to stockholders, regardless of how the companies' methods of doing that affect their employees or the general public. A company that operates within a society cannot simply thumb its nose to the society in which it operates, but our laws actually encourage this. And the political system of corruption we have now ensures its continuance.

(This 8-plus-hour speech can actually be viewed and heard in its entirety on Youtube.)

(KR@KY 2016) ...more

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Jul 29, 2015 Taylor T rated it it was amazing

Shelves: 2016, books-i-have, history, books-that-changed-me, economics, nonfiction, politics, social-justice-activism

This was a fantastic read, and it shows how hard Bernie has been fighting against wealth and income inequality and corporate greed for the people of this country, particularly the disappearing middle class. On December 10, 2010 Senator Bernie Sanders spoke for eight and a half hours to filibuster the tax agreement between President Obama and Republican leaders (that eventually, unfortunately, did pass). He not only brings attention to the problems with the agreement—lowering the estate tax and e This was a fantastic read, and it shows how hard Bernie has been fighting against wealth and income inequality and corporate greed for the people of this country, particularly the disappearing middle class. On December 10, 2010 Senator Bernie Sanders spoke for eight and a half hours to filibuster the tax agreement between President Obama and Republican leaders (that eventually, unfortunately, did pass). He not only brings attention to the problems with the agreement—lowering the estate tax and extending tax breaks to the richest of all the richest Americans, the top 1% of the population—and highlights the aspects that he agrees with, like extending unemployment benefits, but he also focuses on what we should be investing in to actually improve the livelihood of the middle class.

Instead of giving more tax breaks to billionaires and multi-millionaires and increasing our $13 trillion national debt, Bernie Sanders was saying five years ago that we need to be investing in the children and the middle class of this country. Single-payer healthcare and affordable education. Expanded Social Security benefits, instead of raising the retirement age or gutting it completely, as well-off Republicans would like to do. We need to invest in infrastructure so we don't continue to decline toward a Third World country compared to other industrialized nations, and even China. This not only makes us more competitive, it creates much-needed jobs here, in our own country. Bernie Sanders blasted disastrous trade policies that sent companies overseas and closed thousands of factories in the US in the search for poorer workers who get paid $1/hour. We are currently importing much more than we export. We are worse off than we were 40, 50 years ago, and we have the first generation of American children who will have a lesser standard of living than their parents—because of corporate greed at the cost of the middle class.

It is no surprise to me that 5 years later he's running for President. We need him. Everybody should read this book. ...more

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Feb 22, 2015 Thyme Wisper rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: politics

I have seen more and more quotes from this senator being shared in Facebook. What he consistently said in those quotes came across to me as honest, practical, factual and were insights or opinion on a specific issue. No partisan bullets. No extreme political biting remarks. I know this seems like a contradiction in terms, but he comes across with rational emotion. He cares about the people of this nation, that is clear. And he obviously (and to me, uniquely) reads the bills that come up for a vo ...more

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Jan 01, 2015 Chad Dennis rated it it was amazing

I've read a lot of books in my time and this one is just amazing. My favorite part is when Bernie reads aloud the personal stories of Americans that are struggling. The only thing I didn't like about the book is that he repeated a lot of things (but then again they were worth repeating when he gave the speech). I can personally relate to other Americans who wrote Bernie. If you're interested in where this country is headed, I highly recommend this book. ...more

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Aug 20, 2015 Avalon Radys rated it it was amazing

I'm still holding out for the Bern. ...more

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Mar 24, 2019 Joey rated it really liked it

Shelves: 2019-4-stars

Good core ideas established all the way back in 2010.

You should watch the 8 hour video sometime.

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Mar 15, 2020 Micah rated it liked it

The significance of this speech was more in the act of giving it than in the speech itself, which isn't really worth reading today unless you're writing books about Bernie (which is why I read it, heh). ...more

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Apr 28, 2011 Don rated it really liked it

Shelves: politics-society

The book, less the introduction, is simply a transcript of the speech (hence the title) that Senator Bernie Sanders (Vermont) gave on the Senate floor on December 10, 2010. It was an old-fashioned filibuster, like Jimmy Stewart in "Mr Smith Goes to Washington," except that all of the speech included actual political commentary content, as opposed to simply reading the phone book. Senator Sanders' speech was in protest against the deal that the President had reached with Republicans that extended ...more

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Oct 22, 2015 Michael rated it really liked it

I discovered, perhaps later than most, that this speech by Bernie Sanders, delivered on the Senate floor in 2010, is what initially elevated Sanders to the national spotlight. In his speech, Bernie Sanders lists reasons for his opposition to the 2010 Senate Bill extending Bush-era tax cuts. More importantly, I think this speech can also be read as an introduction to Bernie Sanders' political philosophy. In his speech, Bernie Sanders discusses reasons why the middle class is deteriorating, why th ...more

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Nov 18, 2016 Mike rated it it was amazing

Shelves: nonfiction, political

In 2010, Senator Bernie Sanders spent several hours railing against a bill that would provide tax breaks to the wealthiest Americans, while job creation was stagnant, the country's infrastructure was crumbling, and the average citizen was working longer hours for less pay and fewer benefits.

Since he spoke for several hours, some of his argument can become repetitive, but this is an excellent crash course for understanding Sanders' socio-economic philosophies and, even if you have an opposing vi ...more

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Mar 28, 2019 Claire rated it it was ok

Shelves: 2019-read-harder-challenge

I got a sense of nonplussed wonder seeing how this book did not stretch longer than 255 pages. How did this demagogue manage to fit his "historic filibuster" in so short a book? What do these words even mean any more?

I have read Greek and Latin oratory of much longer duration with Prof. Rosso at my alma mater West Chester University, at Bryn Mawr, at Harvard, and at the University of Pennsylvania. Cicero! Herodotus! Demosthenes! Maybe the current atmosphere has become too polluted to accommodat I got a sense of nonplussed wonder seeing how this book did not stretch longer than 255 pages. How did this demagogue manage to fit his "historic filibuster" in so short a book? What do these words even mean any more?

I have read Greek and Latin oratory of much longer duration with Prof. Rosso at my alma mater West Chester University, at Bryn Mawr, at Harvard, and at the University of Pennsylvania. Cicero! Herodotus! Demosthenes! Maybe the current atmosphere has become too polluted to accommodate for 500-page speeches. Maybe there isn't much else to say besides that the rich are getting richer, the poor are getting poorer and no one is doing anything about it or if they are, it's not noticeable. Perhaps it is simply impossible to get too in-depth about these issues without even accidentally stumbling upon a potential solution.
What I was expecting from Mr Sanders was in his preface a sounder rationale behind giving an 8.5-hour speech.

I didn't know what to make of this and am still puzzled.

The specifics in the book are valid and deserve more of a detailed approach in a 300-500 page study. He says, "We are headed in the direction of being a third world nation."
How did our nation get this way? What can we do to avoid getting hurt? I would like to find out more information about this phenomenon.

The primary reason I read this book and not the other Bernie Sanders book which is out right now was that every copy of the other book was not available right now. I could put a hold on it... DONE so I'll have the info up here... next week.

What I wanted to learn from this book was how to become a better politician. So what I drew from it, in the end, is that you can give filibusters that aren't really all that long, in actuality. What I mean by that: they don't have to consist of much actual content. I've done it several times in the past, too, I know it, and I'm sorry if it distresses you. Sometimes I give relevant info, and sometimes I do not, I know this. So, I just wanted to learn from the experts how to make a real-life filibuster speech!

This is how it is done! ...more

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Dec 02, 2020 Mason Wyss rated it really liked it

The Speech is an incredibly helpful and great companion to the C-SPAN video of Senator Sanders’s filibuster. The book clears up some of Sanders’s speech and corrects and adjusts some figures and statistics he gave to more accurately reflect reality. However, sometimes the book does misquote him and in doing so changes the meaning slightly of what he said. Because of this, and because of the numerous graphs and charts Senator Sanders uses, it is best to read the book with the video playing nearby ...more

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Sep 28, 2020 Chris rated it liked it

This is a tricky review. Is the book a good read? Not particularly. It's format - the transcription of a filibuster - means it is repetitive, meandering, and suffers from Bernie not being able to explore ideas as fully as they would benefit from

Is it a good rallying cry? Yes?

Is it a good demonstration of the credentials and for the politics of Bernie Sanders? Yes

Is it a damning indictment of Republican politics, with its inherent desire to strip taxes, prioritise the wealthy over the rest of us, ...more

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Apr 04, 2019 Rebecca Gordon rated it liked it

I read this book immediately following the Crazy Rich Asians series: an interesting juxtaposition. As other reviewers (and Bernie himself) said, this book is very repetitive which I feel kind of typifies Bernie. I agree with just about everything he says but, as in following him on social media, he sounds a bit like a broken record and it gets tiring (and depressing given the state our country has moved into since this speech). Overall, the book contains important concepts that i wish people wer ...more

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Apr 17, 2019 Dan rated it really liked it

Bernie Sanders is a long distance runner for justice. He has been consistent and unwavering with his message. The champion of the middle class and standing up for the little guy has bee his mantra his entire life. This is a testament to just that, 8.5 hours of an unintended filibuster, this speech launches him for the first time into the public eye and sets the stage for his presidential runs. It is repetitive and outdated which is why I take away a star.

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Feb 16, 2018 Jacob Harris rated it really liked it

I'm definitely a Bernie fan. I read this during the primaries and if you're familiar with his politics, it'll just be repetitive for you. It's a transcription of an eight plus hour speech he gave to congress that garnered a lot of media attention. It was a good and quick read. ...more

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May 21, 2017 Matt Stearns rated it it was ok

I respect Bernie's passion, but this was meant as a filibuster speech, not a book and is not very readable. Large portions of it are redundant and certain speech oddities are sprinkled throughout. ...more

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Jul 30, 2017 Allison rated it liked it

Pretty repetitive (as it was a filibuster) but I love Bernie's voice and dogged push towards a more just world. ...more

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Sep 23, 2017 Theresa rated it it was ok

Shelves: progressive-politics

This is better as a speech than a book--quite repetitive.

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Jan 07, 2018 Matthew rated it it was amazing

Essential reading for our time. This speech really lays out what the problems of the US have been since the Reagan era.

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Apr 06, 2020 Krystal rated it it was amazing

Shelves: non-fiction

This is a great transcript of Bernies 2011 Filibuster on the floor of the Senate. It is cyclical in nature, but empowering and persuasive.

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Aug 29, 2020 Alex Clarke rated it it was amazing

A book every American needs to read.

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Jan 12, 2021 Amolina Bhat rated it it was amazing

should be a bipartisan issue but alas, super PACS... we are screwed

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Bernie Sanders

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Bernard "Bernie" Sanders is the junior United States Senator from Vermont, elected on November 7, 2006. Before becoming Senator, Sanders represented Vermont's at-large district in the United States House of Representatives for 16 years. Sanders also served as mayor of Burlington, Vermont from 1981 through 1989. ...more

Books by Bernie Sanders

Bernie Sanders Guide to Political Revolution

Conscience of a Progressive: The Best Speeches of Bernie Sanders, In Congress, 1991-2015, Abridged and Annotated. Illustrated.

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The Most Anticipated YA Books of March

As dedicated readers already know, some of the best and most innovative stories on the shelves come from the constantly evolving realm of...

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“You can’t become a billionaire stepping over children sleeping on the street.” — 46 likes

“The rich and large corporations get richer, the CEOs earn huge compensation packages, and when things get bad, don't worry; Uncle Sam and the American taxpayers are here to bail you out. But when you are in trouble, well, we just can't afford to help you, if you are in the working class or middle class of this country.” — 29 likes

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Preview — The Speech by Bernie Sanders

The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class

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About Bernie Sanders

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Trivia About The Speech: A His...

Quotes from The Speech: A His...

See a Problem?

Preview — The Speech by Bernie Sanders

The Speech: A Historic Filibuster on Corporate Greed and the Decline of Our Middle Class

Get A Copy

Friend Reviews

Reader Q&A

Lists with This Book

Community Reviews

new topicDiscuss This Book

Readers also enjoyed

Genres

About Bernie Sanders

Books by Bernie Sanders

News & Interviews

Trivia About The Speech: A His...

Quotes from The Speech: A His...

new topic
Discuss This Book