"I'm not a Democrat and I'm not a Republican and I'm very proud to say that because I think that those parties are destroying our country," said Jesse Ventura at the beginning of his speech. The former governor of Minnesota and author of the book "Don't Start the Revolution Without Me,"just gave a rousing address here at the Target Center.
Ventura lambasted the two-party system for working together to exclude third-party candidates from the presidential debates. He accused former President Bill Clinton and Senator Robert Dole for making an agreement to exclude Ross Perot from the presidential debates in 1996. He also hammered both Democrats and Republicans for passing FISA and the Patriot Act, claiming that the "Democrats gutted the 4th amendment."
"Today, the Democrats and the Republicans couldn't give a damn less about the Constitution," Ventura said as he urged those in attendance to take the country back. He also stumped for gun rights, despite confessing to not being a gun enthusiast himself.
"The right to bear arms is there because if our government gets out of control we have the right to get up and change it," Ventura said to screams of elation from the crowd.
Ventura went on to question the official version of what happened on 9/11 while many in attendance screamed "inside job" and "Bush did it."(video below)
Lastly, he hinted that he might run for president in 2012.
"Chanting and yelling isn't going to do it," he said to the crowd. "I need to see action. But if I see action, we'll give them hell in 2012."
