The American Democracy Minute Radio News Report & Podcast for May 25, 2026
In a Memorial Day tradition, we bring you an abridged portion of a speech at the U.S. Capitol by legendary campaign finance reformer Doris “Granny D” Haddock, the 90-year-old grandmother who walked across the U.S. to bring attention to campaign finance corruption.
“This morning we began our walk among the graves of Arlington so that those spirits, some of whom may be old friends, might join us today and that we might ask of them now: Did you, brave spirits, give your lives for a government where we might stand together as free and equal citizens, or did you give your lives so that laws might be sold to the highest bidder?
What might we call the selling of our government from under us? What might we call a change of government—from a government of, by and for the people, to a government by and for the wealthy elite? I will not call such a change of government a treason, but those more courageous shadows standing among us, whose blood runs through our flag and our history, and whose accomplishments are more solid beneath us than these stone steps, why they might use such a word in angry whispers that trace through the polluted corridors of this once great Capitol.
We speak for these spirits and for ourselves: No, you may not have our democratic republic to sell. What our family members died for, we do not forget. They died for our freedom and equality, not for a government of the rich alone.”
We’ve linked the full speech and more on Granny D at AmericanDemocracyMinute.org. I’m Brian Beihl.
Today’s Links
Articles & Resources:
Open Democracy – Granny D Speech at the US Capitol Feb 29 2000
Bill Moyers.com/Dan Weeks – 15 Years Later, Granny D’s Walk for Democracy Continues
YouTube – Trailer to “Granny D Goes to Washington”
Open Democracy – “The Politics of Joy (and Sacrifice): The Fearless Walks and Historic Talks of Doris “Granny D” Haddock”
Harvard Kennedy School of Government – Granny D: Awakening America’s Non-Voting Women
Related ADM Reports:
American Democracy Minute – Who Was Granny D and Why is She Important to American Democracy?
Groups Taking Action:
Open Democracy Action, End Citizens United, Common Cause, American Promise, Represent.Us
Register or Check Your Voter Registration:
U.S. Election Assistance Commission – How to Register And Vote in Your State
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