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Southern Leadership, Charleston, SC 2/22/92 [OA 8130]
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Southern Leadership, Charleston, SC 2/22/92 [OA 8130]
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Records of the White House Office of Speechwriting (George H. W. Bush Administration)
Curt Smith Chronological Files
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Originally Processed With FOIA(s):
FOIA Number:
S
FOIA
MARKER
This is not a textual record. This is used as an
administrative marker by the George Bush Presidential
Library Staff.
Record Group/Collection:
George H.W. Bush Presidential Records
Collection/Office of Origin:
Speechwriting, White House Office of
Series:
Smith, Curt, Files
Subseries:
Chron File, 1989-1992
OA/ID Number:
13890
Folder ID Number:
13890-006
Folder Title:
Southern Leadership, Charleston, South Carolina, 2/22/92
Stack:
Row:
Section:
Shelf:
Position:
G
18
29
1
6
(Smith/Grossman)
February 11, 1992
Draft Two
REP
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SOUTHERN LEADERSHIP
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1992
I am delighted to be in a city the writer John Gunther
called "an untarnished jewel." // Four years ago, the South
propeled us to victory. This year, it's going to lead us to
another great triumph for all the South holds dear. // It is
wonderful to be back in the true heartland of America. //
((I suppose you're still reeling from my surprise
announcement that I'm seeking re-election. / When I told one of
my grandkids I'd be making a formal announcement that I'm
running, he said, "Why can't you just put on your athletic shoes
and go out the door like everyone else?") ) //
((Barbara and I were talking this morning about my trip to
Charleston. I asked her how she felt about four more years. She
said, "Why, is our marriage license expiring?" // I said: "No,
but America's patience with Congress is.") ) //
((Actually, another great lady is the reason I'm here. I
have come to Charleston to announce the appointment of my newest
domestic advisor. / Tammy Wynette.) ) //
Tammy's theme song, of course, is "Stand by your man. " I
believe this November America's theme will be: We go back to the
future with the Republicans -- or back to the drawing board with
the Democrats. // I think Americans will look at our entire
2
record / our experience / and then decide they want the next
four years to be America's finest hour -- not her amateur hour. //
I say this for a reason. First, I'm an optimist. / The
way I fish, you have to be. // Next, America knows there's a big
problem with letting liberal Democrats quarterback the U.S.
economy. Every time they holler "hike," they mean taxes. // The
final reason is our recovery program. / The American people have
sent an S.O.S. Only Republicans have a plan to act A.S.A.P. //
Last year we liberated a country in the desert sand. This
year we must fight to liberate our economic proposals from
Congressional quicksand. // You know what I'm referring to: My
deadline to pass the economic package I unveiled in State of the
Union. March 20th is a modern "D-Day." "D" for domestic --
domestic action / domestic recovery / domestic jobs. //
By passing my program, Congress will send a signal worthy of
Richard Petty: "The economy, start your engines." / My plan
provides tax credits for first-time homebuyers. / An Investment
Tax Allowance. / Research and development expansion. / Reform
to make health care accessible, and affordable. // Also, I call
on Congress to pass our capital gains tas cut. Remember:
Liberals aren't demagoguing this issue because they're afraid it
won't work. / They're doing it because they're afraid it will. //
Here's a quote for you. Senator Byrd, liberal Democrat.
"There is no certainly no need to hurry and pass this plan. //
Really? Talk with an unemployed textile worker in Savannah. /
Travel to Mississippi. See the unemployed yearning for a job. /
3
Senator, take your left-wing colleagues outside the Beltway to
Tennessee and Florida and North Carolina and, yes, Arkansas. //
People have work in their hearts. My plan will put it in their
hands. //
That's why -- remember -- March 20. / Twenty-six days away.
// The deadline is dead serious. If Congress doubts me, they're
dead wrong. // If the Braves could win the pennant in seven
playoff games / if the Redskins could win the Super Bowl in three
hours / and if Congress could pass a pay raise in even fewer /
here's a chance to earn that raise. // Today, I call on Congress
to do the people's business by passing the people's program. //
Here'a Anf ristmessage to Congress is: Get on board or
get out of the way. // Americans won't tolerate those in
Congress who would block recovery for partisan political
purposes. / Obstructionists should realize: If you drag your
feet -- come Election Day you'll get the boot. //
With passage of our program, we'll be able to say March
20th: "The liberation of America's economy has begun." We will
liberate it through my plan's proposals. / Tax credits for
first-time homebuyers. / An Investment Tax Allowance. /
Research and development expansion. / Reform to make health care
accessible, and affordable. // Also, I want Congress to pass our
capital gains tax cut. Remember: Democrats aren't damagoguing
this issue because they're afraid it won't work. / They're doing
it because they're afraid it will. //
4
Some don't understand this. / They hoist the banner of
proectionism which would have America wave the white flag of
surrender. // Here is my answer: It's the same General
McAuliffe said during the Battle of the Bulge: "Nuts." //
Isolationism has never been right for America, and it never will.
Others may want our national symbol to be the ostrich. I will
fight to keep it the eagle. //
I want to be very clear on one thing: We were victorious
over Communism -- not just because it fell / but because it was
pushed. // Because America was strong -- we were able to help
the weak. // In a fast-changing world where the future is
uncertain, the state of our defenses must never be. //
Look at the Persian Gulf. / If the Democrats had been in
the White House last year, there wouldn't be any talk these days
about getting Saddam Hussein out of Baghdad. / We'd be talking
about getting him out of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. //
History tells us that when it comes to the military,
finishing second means finishing last. / / That's why liberal
Democrats' proposed $100 billion dollar defense cuts send
precisely the wrong signal to our potential enemies. / I assure
you: I'm going to hang tough against those who would hang a
"kick me" sign on America. //
We are strong. They are weak. / We want to protect the
dollar. They want to destroy it. / We are Main Street. They
are so left of the street they have fallen off the highway. //
5
We love America's general interest. They bow to special
interests. //
(Smith/Grossman)
February 12, 1992
Draft Four
REP
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: SOUTHERN LEADERSHIP
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 22, 1992
Four years ago, the South propeled us to victory. I know
this year will bring another triumph to the true heartland of our
seis:
country. // It's great to be back in the region a writer called
Itsul
"not just of America -- America is of it. " //
((I suppose you're still reeling from my surprise
announcement that I'm seeking re-election. / When I told one of
my grandkids I'd be making a formal announcement that I'm
running, he said, "Why can't you just put on your athletic shoes
and go out the door like everyone else?") ) //
( (Let me tell you the real reason I have come to Charleston.
I am here to announce the appointment of my newest domestic
advisor. / Tammy Wynette. )) //
Tammy's theme song, of course, is "Stand by your man." I
believe this November (yeu America's theme will be: We go back to the
future with the Republicans -- or back to the drawing board with
the Democrats. // I think Americans will look at our record --
our experience / and then decide they want the next four years to
be America's finest hour -- not her amateur hour. //
I say this for a reason. First, I'm an optimist. / The
way I fish, you have to be. // Next, America knows there's a big
problem with letting liberal Democrats quarterback the U.S.
economy. Every time they holler "hike," they mean taxes. // The
2
final reason is our recovery program. / The American people have
sent an S.O.S. Only Republicans have a plan to act A.S.A.P. //
Last year we liberated a country in the desert sand. This
year we must liberate our economic proposals from Congressional
quicksand. // You know what I'm referring to: My deadline to
pass the economic package I unveiled in State of the Union.
March 20th is a modern "D-Day." "D" for domestic -- domestic
action / domestic recovery / domestic jobs. //
Today, I call on Congress to pass my program and send a
signal by way of Richard Petty: "The economy, start your
engines. If / My plan provides tax credits for first-time
homebuyers. / An Investment Tax Allowance. / Research and
Development expansion. / Reform to make health care accessible,
and affordable. / I also ask Congress to pass our capital gains
tax cut. Liberals aren't demagoguing this issue because they're
afraid it won't work. / They do it because they think it will. //
( (Now, I know things can be misinterpreted. Let me tell you
about a woman named Mary Scott in New Hampshire. Her 6-year-old
son Ian was watching a TV report that I was going to that state.
Ian rushed to tell her the news. // "Guess what?" he said
breathlessly. "The President is getting a new hampster. ") ) //
How's this for clarity? If Congress thinks my March 20 deadline
isn't dead serious, Congress is dead wrong. //
I realize that trying to get Congress to speed up is like
trying to get me to slow down. But the time to act is now. We
can no longer tolerate a Congress so slow, it would take an hour
3
and a half to watch "60 Minutes. " // Last month, Senator Byrd
said, "There is certainly no need to hurry and pass our economic
plan." // Let him talk with a textile worker in Savannah. / Go
to Mississippi -- where the unemployed yearn for a job. / Let
his left-wing colleagues venture outside the Beltway to Tennessee
and Florida and North Carolina. / People have work in their
hearts. We have a plan which will put it in their hands. /
If the Braves could win the pennant in seven playoff games /
if the Redskins could win the Super Bowl in three hours / and if
Congress could pass a pay raise in even fewer / then, surely,
Congress can do the people's business by passing the people's
program. // Americans won't tolerate those who would block
recovery for political purposes. / My advice to Congress is:
Get on board or get out of the way. //
( (This morning Barbara and I were talking about my trip
here. I asked how she felt about four more years. She said,
"Why, is our marriage licensing expiring?" / I said: "No, but
America's patience with the doom-sayers is.")) / They include not
only liberals but others who would have America wave the white
flag of surrender. / We call them protectionists. To them I say
what General McAuliffe did in the Battle of the Bulge: "Nuts. " / /
Protectionists have never been right for America, and they
never will. They believe in isolationism -- in an America
running scared. / We believe in ourselves -- in an America
standing tall. // We want to increase the thousand Southern
-
jobs stemming solely from exports -- and $ billion in Southern
4
goods America exports each year. // Not by building a wall
around America -- but by convinceing other Nations to tear their
walls down. // Protectionists are afraid to fight. I'm like the
Confederacy: When it comes to principle, I relish it. // Let's
will
build a level playing field so that America can outwork /
outproduce / and outcompete any nation in the world. //
What we're talking about is time-honored: The timeless
values of the South. Mark Twain put it this way: "The
Southernor talks in music. " // Aunt Bea of the sainted Andy
Griffith Show meant the same thing when she said: What matters
Lee,
565mg
indents
is "home and people's feelings and how they grew up. " // Barbara
is like Gomer Pyle: Barbara "says hey. " // You know that our
friend Ronald Reagan was right: America is a "shining city on
bries Likes
the hill. " // Which brings me the second reason 1992 can be our
finest hour: Americans know that we are divinely blessed -- and
must carry our gospel to the world. //
Think of the past three years. / Remember how because
America refused to be weak -- we were able to help those less
strong. TI We helped freedom in Panama / in the former Soviet
Union / and in Eastern Europe -- where the walls came tumbling
down. // We were victorious over Communism -- not just because
it fell / but because it was pushed. // Six decades ago, Lincoln
freed the slaves. Today, the South helped free a world. / Here
is the headline Southernors helped write: The Cold War is over -
- and America won. //
5
We won because we knew that when it comes to the military,
finishing second means finishing last. / We won because we knew
that in a fast-changing world where the future is uncertain, the
state of our defenses must never be. / We won because, as any
An
Southernor can tell you, a sound bite means less than sound
policy. // Look at Panama. / Some believed we should let a
dictator maim the Western Hemisphere. We insisted on helping a
brave people restore the rule of law. // Look at the Persian
Gulf. If the Democrats had been in the White House last year,
there wouldn't be any talk these days about getting Saddam
Hussein out of Baghdad. / We'd be talking about getting him out
of Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. //
Over and over the pattern emerges. Liberals believe in
eternal compromise. We believe in eternal vigilance. // As long
as I am President, I will fight those who would not only reduce
America's defenses to pea-shooters -- but also complain that we
have too many peas. // That's why liberal Democrats' proposed
$100 billion dollar defense cuts send precisely the wrong signal
to our potential enemies. / Don't worry: I'm going to hang tough
against those who would hang a "kick me" sign on America. //
Someone once said, "God, as devout and devoted Southernors
are sure, took special pains in creating the South. // You want
America to be like the South -- strong, not weak. We yy want to
expand the economy. Liberals want to constrict it. / ( (Even
though this is an election year, I received some Valentine cards
from liberals last week. I could tell they were from liberals
6
before I looked inside the cards. // They had bleeding hearts on arens
and
them. )) // So I come to the final reason I am optimistic about
1992. Republicans will protect America general interest.
must
Liberals bow to special interests. We are Main Street. Liberals
are so left of the street they have fallen off the highway. //
Liberals in Congress wanted a quota bill. I refused. The
result: I am proud of a civil rights bill that promotes social
justice -- not social engineering. // Liberals in Congress want
to kick God out of the classroom. I will keep fighting until we
pass a Constitutional Amendment restoring voluntary prayer to our
Nation's schools. // Liberals are satisfied with the "C-minus"
C>n: hispina)
of state bureaucracy Our Administration's America 2000 program
inn
wants to give America the "A-plus" of school choice. //
Finally, let's talk -- as the saying says -- about taking "a
sall
bite out of crime. Congress got it backwards -- it took a bite
absed
out of my crime bill. // I will not sign, insel their bill which soft-
pedals the need to be hard on crime. // By reforming habeus
1
corpus laws, let's stop endless Death Row appeals. / By reforming
the exclusionary rule, let's stop evidence from being thrown out
on technicalities. / I want mandatory scntencing that ensures
felons do their time. / I want a Federal death penalty that
works. // I want a kinder and gentler America. Liberals want a
kinder and gentler crime bill. // I say: Let's show more
sympathy for crime's victims and less for the rapists, murderers,
hooligans, and thugs. Think of the South as the salt of the
earth. It's time we stood up against the scum of the earth. //
(4- be ,asm assas we Soy who is haley seeis qualle went u his must Su sout. i
secure my sed crus all is 11: in United can
v wall-yes
us
in
Six
Lyned
and
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- all fines new William
7
glin.
There you have it: Why I'm optimistic about 1992
dmveriting.
optimistic about America. Liberals of course, differ. They
react to optimism the way Dracula reacts to the sign of the
cross. We're bullish on the future -- and they can't bear it. //
I'm optimistic because of what we've done. We've changed
the world. / And because of what we're going to do. We have a
plan to change America. // I'm optimistic because of the things
I named in my announcement for re-election. We believe in the
big things -- the important things: "Family, home, school --
church, community, country." //
Those values lift us -- sustain us. They make us proud to
be Americans. They keep America proud. // So let's elect
officials who believe us we do. Let's send Republicans to the
Hill -- and get rid of that "malaise majority in Congress." //
Above all, let's remember the two magic words: "March 20th." //
No, Rome wasn't built in a day -- but by March 20 Congress
will have had days to act. // It's their mistake if they use
-
that time the way Nero did. It'll be our mistake if we don't use
Super Tuesday to vote Republican / revive the economy / and thus
light a New American Revolution. //
I'm counting on you. So is America. So are our kids.
Thank you for your kindness / thank you for your support / and
God bless this wondrous land -- the United States of America.
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