What shaped my politics regarding war and peace was Martin Luther King Jr., the most extraordinary person that I ever heard. And when he began to talk about the issues of war and peace with such eloquence and such passion, I was drawn to that like a magnet.
— Ron Dellums
If being an advocate of peace, justice, and humanity toward all human beings is radical, then I'm glad to be called radical. And if it is radical to oppose the use of 70 percent of federal monies for destruction and war, then I am a radical.
Let's make Oakland a model city.
Companies using public lands should be required to perform thorough testing on all wells in order to fully ensure water safety.
I am so blessed that I have been able to live long enough to see a woman nominated for president.
I have been a lot of 'firsts' on the national political stage, including the first African American congressman from the Bay Area and one of the first Democratic Socialists in Congress.
We want Nelson Mandela and the people of South Africa to know that we will stand shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip, until apartheid is eradicated.
The government should not do everything for everybody all the time, but it should provide basic services to everyone who needs them. Education ought not be contingent on income or where you live. Neither should health.
I was part of the peace movement and part of the civil rights movement. You know what we heard? 'The majority of people don't support you.'
I want balance in my life.
I'm just a guy. If you hit me, I hurt, and if you cut me, I bleed.
Economics should not drive you out of the community.
If I wanted to be a celebrity, I would have taken guitar lessons.
The very foundation of our nation's economy is predicated on the health, growth, and vitality of our local communities.
I'lI say this: I recall entering Congress in 1971 and being called a 'feminist' by members of my own party as if it was a dirty word. They didn't realize that I wore that label as a badge of honor.
Being a mayor was an awesome, difficult job. Being the chair of the Armed Services Committee was perhaps the most incredible time in my life, because I got up one morning, and the peacenik from Berkeley was chair of the Armed Services Committee, and it was the greatest - one of the great challenges of my life.
Look at black people dying and suffering in South Africa. I ask why. We've dropped bombs on no one, we've harmed no one in the world, yet for some incredible reason, black people have suffered at an extraordinary level all over the world.
The government ought to be in the business of delivering health, education, housing, and basic services to people without a lot of game playing. There ought to be comprehensive childcare, a comprehensive approach to housing, a sane, rational way to finance education. But I also strongly believe in the notion of fundamental individual freedom.
If the truth be known, we are on the verge of losing an entire generation of our young people, killing and dying in the streets of America.
If you're going to use the public resources, you need the public benefit.
So here comes this black guy from the Bay Area talking about peace, feminism, challenging racism, challenging the priorities of the country, and talking about preserving the fragile nature of our ecological system. People looked at me as if I was a freak.
Peace is more than simply the absence of war; it is the absence of conditions that give rise to war.
I have long maintained the military budget is not a jobs bill... and will continue to support the lowest budget possible.
Detroit's financial challenges - the decline of the American auto industry, the impact of the global economic recession, declining population, and an erosion of the municipal tax base - are key to understanding what led this great city to an inability to provide basic city services or to carry out the normal functions of a municipality.
The Democratic Party has been my party over 50 years, where I waged my battle to change America and change the world from its progressive wing.
The Constitution is designed to inconvenience one person from taking us to war. War is a very solemn and sobering and extraordinary act, and it should not be granted to one person.
Basic human needs like food cannot be corporate questions.
I think democratic socialism will ultimately prevail in this country because it makes an enormous amount of sense.
If Ron Dellums running for mayor gives you hope, then let's get on with it.
Failure is not a crime. The crime is not trying.
