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Southern Republican Leadership Council 2/21/92 [OA 6097] [2]
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Southern Republican Leadership Council 2/21/92 [OA 6097] [2]
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Jeannie
Memorandum for Speechwriting Staff
From:
Dan McGroarty
Regarding: S.GOP Leadership
Please return your comments to
Room 122 by:
3Pm
Today's Date: 2-20-92
STAFF
MASTER
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1ST DOCUMENT of Level 1 printed in FULL format.
Public Papers of the Presidents
Remarks at the Bush-Quayle Fundraising Dinner in Houston,
Texas
27 Weekly Comp. Pres. Doc. 1557
October 31, 1991
LENGTH: 3965 words
Please be seated. And, Bob, thank you. Thank you for the superior and
wonderful job you've done. You know, this is the very first event for the
Bush-Quayle fundraising effort. And we wanted to start amongst friends, and we
wanted to get somebody good, somebody effective to head this dinner. And I
can't think of anybody better than Bob Cruikshank and all those up here and all
those out there that have come through. It is wonderful beginning. And I'm
grateful, and I know Dan is, to every single one of you.
I want to thank my Vice President, your Vice President and his marvelous
wife, Marilyn. I can't begin to tell you of all the things he does. But I
think the country now sees his substance and his value, and it's something I see
every single day that I'm President as we take on a Congress that, frankly,
needs a little leadership up there. I've heard him take the gloves off a little
bit there, and that's fine. That suits the heck out of me.
I also want to say to Bob Mosbacher how grateful I am to have him at my side.
I know all of you know him. Everybody in this room knows him as a friend. But
I know him not just as a friend of longstanding but as an effective member of
our Cabinet. And I can tell you, he is out there, domestically, and around the
world promoting the American free enterprise system, looking after the interests
of American investment. American jobs, here and abroad. And, Bob, I'm very
grateful to you.
May I also thank Bobby Holt. Yes, Midland's out there somewhere. [Laughter]
Holt is everywhere, and he's doing a wonderful job as our chairman, our national
chairman, taking the role Bob Mosbacher had so successfully filled for us in the
previous campaign.
Senator Phil Gramm, I agree with everything Dan Quayle said about him. I see
him in action. And I'll tell you, when you have the minority in the Senate,
when you have to play defense because of the numbers, you want a tenacious
bulldog, free thinker, enterprising Senator at your side like Phil Gramm. I'm
grateful to him every single day that I'm President.
I want to thank Willie Alexander for being with us, and Reverend Claude
Payne, my pastor; Milo Hamilton, of course; and then the Aggies, the Texas A&M
Singing Cadets. I don't know how they can still stay standing. This is about a
45-minute speech. Let's see how they do at the end of this one. [Laughter]
It's great to be back. Milo, one slight correction, you said I said,
"There's so-and-so." I was looking at Red Adair, and I said, "There's that
so-and-so." [Laughter]
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You know, coming back here really does take you back in a sense to roots. I
first became active in politics out in Odessa and Midland in '52 when I headed
the Eisenhower-Nixon campaign, Barbara at my side. In '56, the same role. I
think it was in that year that she and I conducted the very first primary that
was ever held in Midland, Texas. Three people -- some of you have heard this
story; it happens to be true -- three people voted all day in that precinct:
Barbara, me, and one drunk that thought he was going to the Democratic
precinct. [Laughter] And that's the gospel truth. [Laughter]
Then, I came down here to Texas, and early in the sixties I became Harris
County Republican chairman. There, I think more than anyplace, Barbara and I
first got a taste of what was to become a way of life for us. The party was
small, very, very small in those days. And yet, the ideals and the ideas were
sound: Fiscal sanity; people controlling their own destinies more; limited
government; trust in the people; a compassionate, fair Government; strong
defense, a country not afraid to lead. Those were some of the things that
brought us together in this tiny party matrix 30 years ago in Harris County.
And I must say, those are the same ideals that both Dan and I have, the same
ideas that we believe in. Thirty years later, I still feel strongly about those
principles and other fundamental principles that join us here tonight.
Lately, the opposition up there in Washington says we don't have an agenda.
But I've noticed that their agenda for Congress is stopping our agenda for
America. They are old thinkers, tired, old ideas, and all they want to do is
block the agenda that I was elected to perform on by the American people. And
I'm a little tired of it. You work your heart out for new ideas in trying to
bring some new systems to this country, and you face the old, same old tired
liberal cliches in Washington, DC. We are pro-growth. We are pro-family. We
are a pro-freedom agenda. And that is our agenda, to build a better America.
And I wish we had more people in the Senate like Phil Gramm, and we'd be singing
swiftly ahead, I'll tell you.
I was privileged to work with my dear friend, Hugh Liedtke, and others in
starting two or three very small companies here in Texas. And I never forgot,
and I never will forget that America owes to its small business men and women.
That's one reason that, for over the last 3 years, I've fought against policies
that would drive small business into the ground through Government mandates.
Every time you turn around, you've got some subcommittee chairman that's been
there 30 years trying to mandate new benefits and tell some guy in Midland or
Odessa how to run his life. And we're sick and tired of it. And next year,
we're going to change it.
Dan Quayle has a committee trying to do something about overregulation. And
you ought to hear them squirming over there in the House of Representatives,
refusing to let him get his job done because they're thinking old, tired
thoughts that the Federal Government ought to regulate every inch of your life.
And we're tired of that one, too.
Look, I'll be the first to agree we need economic growth in this country.
But we can't get it if Congress keeps piling on mandated benefits. Wonderful
new programs designed by a subcommittee chairman in Washington, DC, telling
everybody exactly how they're going to take their leave, what they're going to
do about helping people in their neighborhoods. This isn't the way America
ought to be operating. I have this wonderful sense that -- I get frustrated
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at times, but I've got this wonderful sense that we can change that next year by
taking our message that the Congress has been around there too darn long,
controlled by the same party. And it's time to change it.
Let me give you an example. I'm just getting warmed up because I heard
George Mitchell on the television a few minutes ago. Now, let me tell you
something here. [Laughter] Let me talk to you about an issue. I don't think
there is anybody in this country, any fairminded man or woman who doesn't
sympathize with someone who wants to work and is out of work. It's very easy to
demagog on this issue. Nobody who has one grain of compassion likes to veto an
unemployment compensation bill. But someone -- and I think I was the one
elected to do this -- must consider the welfare of all the people in this
country.
So, let me tell you what my position is on this unemployment compensation.
Number one: I want to see the Democrats in the Senate lay politics aside and
help those whose unemployment benefits have run out. Families are hurting out
there. And I've said for months that I want to help them.
Secondly, I want a bill that, in helping them, does not burden every single
taxpayer in this country, those that are working and those that aren't working.
I don't want to see the budget agreement that Phil Gramm and others worked so
hard to get into place, the spending caps on it, the only control that you as
taxpayers have on a spendthrift Congress, I don't want to 522 it broken. And
the only safeguard we have against more and more spending is that budget
agreement.
Every time I turn around, the liberal Democrats want to bust the agreement.
That would add to the deficit and eventually add to the tax burden of present
generation's and the debt burden of future generations.
Number three on this same subject: We have a proposal before the Congress
that extends benefits. It lays aside all this political rhetoric that you hear
from these Democrats and get the checks in the mail to those families that are
hurting and does it within the budget agreement. Bob Dole proposed that weeks
ago. But the Democrats want to ram it down my ear in a political victory, and
I'm going to veto their bill if they send it down in a way that's going to bust
this budget again. Now, they can mark that one down.
I think it's a crying shame to play politics when people are hurting in this
country. I really believe that. And they can get a bill signed by me tomorrow
if they get going and send something down that lives within the budget agreement
that we all agreed to, that they themselves agreed to. You tell me who's
playing politics with that issue when people are hurting in this country.
It's not all negative. At times, we're able to persuade -- I remember how
Lyndon used to talk: "Come reason with me." Wrench the guy's arm out of his
socket. [Laugher] And he was working with control of both Houses of the
Congress. I don't know how he'd do it today.
But sometimes we are able to persuade the opposition to cooperate, to join
with us. I've reached out to the Congress. I don't believe there's a person in
America that thinks I haven't reached out to the Congress, not always in a kind
and gentle way, but always reached out to the Contrying to get something done
for the American people and do it in a manner I was elected to do it. I was
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the one that was elected, Dan Quayle and I were the ones that were elected by
all the people in this country. And the Senators have their responsibilities.
Of course they do. But I think I have a responsibility to perform on what I
told the people 3 years ago that I would do.
We did get the Clean Air Act through compromise. Good, fair negotiation with
the Democrats, amendments that employ free-market incentives and really do help
the environment. We advanced the cause of property rights and home ownership
with this HOPE, this homeownership initiative. We're broken down the barriers
to employment of 43 million Americans with our landmark Americans with
Disabilities Act, which I was very proud -- emotional in signing last year on
the South Lawn of the White House.
Other times we can do some positive things on our own. Just last week, I
signed an Executive order to take the first steps in reforming our legal system.
Dan Quayle's committee came up with some very sound recommendations, and I was
proud to incorporate them into an Executive order. We're trying, frankly, to
put an end to some of these outrageous lawsuits and monstrous settlements that
scare every small businessman, every doctor, and everybody else in this country
to death.
There's only so much of it we can do with Executive orders. We need
liability reform legislation. And yet, that legislation is bottled up by these
people I'm saying tonight are old thinkers. They just don't want to take on the
pressure groups, the lobbies, the tough constituents that come together and try
to get for the few that which the many are denied.
Americans want liability reform. And I'd like to see the Congress move out
now and do something about it. Dan Quayle has been out there on the cutting
edge of this, and I am 100 percent behind him.
And I might say that he's touched -- he referred to it -- touched a sore spot
with some of the members of the ABA, the American Bar Association, when he
called for legal reform. But he touched a nerve with a whole lot more everyday
Americans who just plain stood up and cheered. He's done a great job on it, and
I am very proud to have him by my side on this issue and all the other issues
we're talking about here tonight.
The Senate did a good job in a bipartisan manner on the crime bill. But then
it goes over to the House, and some of these old thinkers I'm telling you about
are denying the changes that the American people 50 clearly spoke about in the
Presidential elections of 1988. We've got -- you talk about these incentives to
get jobs -- we've got some incentive in a transportation bill, a job-heavy
transportation bill and yet a good one. We beat back some bad legislation.
We've got a good one there.
In the State of the Union message, I said to Congress, "Hey, how about
passing a transportation bill in 100 days?" That was 241 days ago, and they
haven't got it down to my desk to be signed yet. I think the people are tired
of this kind of old thinking, old politics.
One area where we don't need a lot of legislation, need some but not a lot,
is in education. We have an initiative called America 2000, a concept designed
to literally revolutionize our schools.
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Lamer Alexander, David Kearns, coming together as a fantastic team there,
rethinking, working with Governors, Democrats, Republicans alike, to redefine
what we need to achieve educational excellence.
And you talk about an exciting concept, one that's gathering momentum and
excitement around the country, it's that one. And fortunately, we don't need a
lot of legislation because one of the key education committees that you have to
go to is tired. Think how much money we are going to spend for this, how much
money are we going to spend for that, programs that have failed.
It's not a question of money. It's not a question of that. We spent $ 190
billion in 1980 on education. We spend $ 400 billion today, and we're way back
in the tail end of education around the world. It isn't good enough. And we've
got to think anew. Give me more Senators like Phil, and give me more
congressmen like Bill Archer, and by golly, you'll see the change in education
that the American people want.
You hear about consumer confidence. Yes, there's a lack of confidence. And
one thing that would change it right now is sound, forward-looking banking
reform legislation. And we've got those proposals, and they've been gutted by
partisan infighting. How I long for a Congress where we can at least take the
offense on these important issues.
One subject that many of you know an awful lot about in this room, a national
energy strategy. We need that from the Congress. It would mean jobs. It would
mean increased production, and it would mean less dependence on foreign oil for
our energy requirements.
And I am going to continue to support environmentally responsive access to
AMWR, the Alaskan Refuge, for energy production. We need it. And if you're
worried about caribou, take a look at the arguments that were used about the
pipeline. They'd say the caribou would be extinct. You've got to shake them
away with a stick. They're all making love lying up against the pipeline. And
you've got thousands of caribou up there. And yet the same voices, the same
voices are arguing against ANWR today. I mean, come on. [Laughter]
I want to see us reduce our reliance on foreign oil, and we can if we pass an
energy bill, one like the one that came out of Senator Bennett Johnston's --
good Democrat on this issue -- and Senator Malcolm Wallop, came out of their
committee.
You know, we hear a lot about economic growth. I've called for economic
growth initiatives in three State of the Union messages, and a part of that, one
part of the economic growth was a capital gains tax cut. So, what happens in
Washington, DC? They jump up and down and scream, "This is a tax cut for the
rich." Let me tell you, I'll make them a proposal right here tonight. I will
take all the political heat that they can muster. Whatever country, however
much demagoguery they can bring to bear on that issue, I'll take that heat if
they will give this capital gains cut a chance. Because it will create jobs and
get America back to work again. And it is not a tax cut for the rich. It is a
jobs measure, a small-business-creation measure, a
shot-in-the-arm-for-a-sluggish-economy measure.
History has already shown that it does not add to the deficit. The Treasury
scores it as a plus, not a minus. It reduces the deficit. So, let the
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opposition carry on all they want. We've all heard it before -- good heavens,
I'm 67, I've heard it for a thousand years -- "tax cut for the rich, breaks for
the rich." Let's try something a little bit different than the mandated programs
from Washington that offer people a lack of dignity and a lack of hope. And in
the meantime, give the Americans a break. Give them some jobs. Get going with
our motivation package.
Finally, it's time we got rid of a practice where a privileged few stand
outside the law, where attending to the national interest takes a back seat to
serving the special interests. And very frankly, it's time that the United
States Congress started following the laws it imposes on every citizen in this
country.
I gave the Congress a gentle nudge on this the other day, pointing out that
with all the pious cries during those Thomas hearings, Congress, now, get this,
has exempted itself from sexual harassment laws. Word of honor. Yesterday the
Senate did take one step to put itself under the same laws that the rest of the
people have to obey. But that's just not enough. It's time that those who make
the laws, live by the laws that they make others live by. Now, that is
fairplay, and it's long overdue.
And speaking of Clarence Thomas, I am delighted that he's on the Supreme
Court. Men supported him overwhelmingly. Women supported him overwhelmingly.
Blacks supported him overwhelmingly. But the liberals in the Senate didn't
support him at all. And I'm glad that the people won out on that issue.
When I hear the critics in Congress arguing about our priorities, foreign
policy or domestic policy. I wonder where their priorities are. The "global
marketplace" isn't off in Europe or Asia or in Africa. It's right here in our
neighborhoods, in our businesses, in our schools. Take a look at our North
American free trade agreement. It will have a monumental effect on the quality
of life here in the United States over the next decade.
We're not doing this to be nice to Mexico. We're doing it because it is in
the best interest of the workers and the people of the United States of America.
Every billion dollars in the new trade means 20,000 new jobs. a better-educated
work force means higher quality products, which means more economic growth. The
cycle continues, and growth means more jobs, more opportunity for everyone.
But the world beyond our borders affects us in other ways. And we've got to
make a choice: Do we meet its challenges, or do we fall behind?
And yes, since I've been President, we have been called upon to meet one
crucial challenge after another. And meet them we did, each and every one.
From Eastern Europe to Panama and the Persian Gulf, to dealing with the Soviet
Union as history unfolds before your very eyes, in all of these, it is America
that stands as a beacon of freedom throughout the world. And our prestige
around the world has never been higher than it is today.
I'm still on Madrid daylight saving, or something. My eyes kind of ---
because yesterday I was in Madrid, and I helped open that Middle East peace
conference in Madrid. But over there, I made a terrible mistake. I flipped on
CNN, and I say that with respect to CNN guys down here. But I turned it on, and
I saw one of the Democrat leaders, one of the elected Democrat leaders in the
House of Representatives attack me for being at that historic conference. I
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could not believe the small-bore nature of that partisan criticism. Here you
have a historic peace conference. You're bringing together people that have
been hostile and wouldn't even have been in the same room at any time in their
history. And this guy gets on and says I shouldn't be in Madrid for 36 hours.
Come on. We have a responsibility here. I have a responsibility to lead,
and I'm not going to let Democratic, liberal carping keep me from leading.
If I had to get -- let me put it to you so you can understand it. Let me put
it in Red Adair's terms, "If I'd have had to let Ted Kennedy tell me whether I
could move a quarter-of-a-million troops to the Middle East or let Schwarzkopf
move from St. Petersburg or Tampa to Saudi Arabia, Schwarzkopf would still be
there. The troops would still be there, and Saddam Hussein would still be in
Kuwait, maybe moving into Saudi Arabia. That's what was at stake. And thank
God, I didn't have to listen to these carpers telling me how to run that war.
I'm getting warmed up for next year. [Laughter] I told them I was not going
to do this until about March or April of next year. [Laughter] But they get
under your skin for a while. I've reached out to this Congress. [Laughter] I
really have tried. And I'm getting sick and tired, as the Congress winds up, of
this partisan, liberal criticism. I can't wait now to roll up my sleeves and
become a candidate. [Laughter]
My point is simply this: We live in an integrated world. And in that world,
you can't neatly divide foreign policy from domestic policy. When I talk with
foreign leaders about new markets for American products, is it foreign policy or
domestic? When I meet with groups of Latin American leaders, as I did in
Cartagena, to help try to keep drugs out of America's schools and neighborhoods,
is that foreign policy or is that domestic policy? When Desert Storm reignited
Americans' faith in themselves, was that just foreign policy?
No. It demonstrated our special role as the world's preeminent moral,
political, economic, and military power. The pride that we felt in our fighting
men and women, and in ourselves shouldn't be trivialized as something "foreign."
Anyone who says we should retreat into an isolationistic cocoon is living in
the last century, and the life that our kids can have in that next century.
They should know that America's destiny has always been to lead. And if I have
anything to do with it, lead we will.
I'll tell you, yes, there are plenty of real problems out there all across
our country. They're human problems where real people, real lives are at stake.
Dan talked about the family, where families are ripped asunder. Tons of
problems out there. But we are going to prevail because I firmly believe that
the American spirit is alive and well.
In Texas or in Washington, I know we'll keep up the fight. And we will hold
as our banner the frontier resolve and the commonsense ideals of those early
Texans who built our great State. I am absolutely convinced, no matter what the
obstacles we face in a partisan nature, that we can do something for the kids,
that we can build a better America.
So, I want to thank you for being here with us tonight. It means a great
deal in many, many more ways than I can possibly tell you, for Barbara and me to
start this journey, this fundraising journey right here where we feel, what
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Bob talked about, a sense of love and warmth and friendship. That means an
awful lot, whether you're President of the United States or still living around
the corner.
Thank you and God bless each and every one of you. Thank you very much.
Note: The President spoke at 9:01 p.m. at the Sheraton Astrodome Hotel. In his
remarks, he referred to Robert Cruikshank, chairman of the dinner; Willie
Alexander, former Houston Oiler; Reverend Claude Payne, Rector, St. Martins
Episcopal Church; Milo Hamilton, emcee for the dinner; Senator Robert Dole;
Secretary of Education Lamar Alexander; and David T. Kearns, Deputy Secretary
for the Department of Education.
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DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
we're grateful for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina -- host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
stunning victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty- , Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot my mistake.
You remember those days -- sometimes if you tried to
register Republican they'd tell you not to bother -- because
2
there were no Republicans to vote for in primary elections. Or
times when there would be out and out intimidation -- even
violence.
We went through a lot back then. In fact, I'm sure many of
you can share similar experiences. Why did we do it? Why did we
build a Republican Party in the South?
We did it because we wanted change. We did it because we
believed in some fundamental values: faith and family --
responsibility and respect -- community and country.
We did it because we saw our government getting too big,
getting into our pockets and into every corner of our lives. We
did it because we worried about our schools and our neighborhoods
and our communities.
We did it because our taxes always seemed to go up at the
same time America's problems got worse. Each of us, in our own
small way finally said, enough is enough.
We were upstarts and mavericks and gadflies. But we
CourtHouse crowd the
BS
challenged the status quo -- challenged the N closed-door, one-
party rule of the democrats.
And they fought us every step of the way.
But we fought hard too, and we fought fair. We took our
message of smaller government -- better government -- to the
people of the Carolinas, and Virginia, and Mississippi, and
Florida, and the rest of this great region of America. And we
started winning -- at first a House Seat here, a Senate race
there. But our momentum grew and grew.
MEMON THES
3
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our standard-bearers in
those early days -- Howard Baker and the late John Tower, the Bo
Callaways and Bill Brocks, Bill Dickinson and John Paul
Hammerschmidt, Mills Godwin and of course the phenomenal favorite
son of South Carolina Strom Thurmond.
They paved the way. They inspired a generation of talent
that transformed the nation's political landscape. I'm thinking
now of another South Carolinian, a good man and a good friend -
-Lee Atwater. We miss him still.
And now the Republican Party of the South is the Party of
Carroll Campbell and Phil Gramm and Trent Lott, of Jim Martin and
Connie Mack, of Kirk Fordice and Newt Gingrich. The Republican
Party is the force for positive change in the New South, and I am
proud to have played a role in its success.
Our message then and our message now is simple: We believe
government is too big and spends too much. We believe in good
schools and safe streets -- and a government worthy of the
people's respect. And we believe in a strong defense.
We believe that we put America first when we put America's
families first.
So we believe that parents, not the government should make
the big decisions. Parents, not government, should choose their
children's schools.
Parents, not government, should decide the family's health
care and parents should choose who cares for their children --
not some bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
4
And yes, we believe in parents choosing life for the unborn
and prayer for their children in the classroom.
THESE
Those are our beliefs -- those are why we built a Party in
THESE
the South and why we continue to build it today. Those beliefs
don't change from one election to the next. They still guide
each and every one of us, each and every day.
Now we are at the beginning of a new era in America's
history. The Cold War is over and America won. The Soviet Union
collapsed and imperial communism is finished for good. Bringing
change to the world during these tumultuous years was American
changed the world.
the
leadership. Bringing change to America during the coming years
will be Republican leadership. will change America.
In my heart I am confident about our future. But we've got
a lot of work ahead of us. There are some things that are simply
on the wrong track in our country. Take our courts, for example.
When fathers stop coaching little league because they're afraid
of liability lawsuits, something's wrong. When doctors stop
delivering babies because they fear a malpractice lawsuit,
something's wrong. Or when people stop volunteering to help each
other because they fear ambulance-chasing lawyers, something is
terribly wrong. These days a sharp lawyer would tell the Good
Samaritan -- keep on walking.
We've proposed reforms to our court system to address the
question of frivolous lawsuits and that's a good step. But the
real answer for solving problems is for Americans to start
helping each other and stop suing each other.
5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
The answer isn't to go down the road of socialized medicine,
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides,
it won't work. My approach is to reform our health system, keep
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. The last thing we want is
the government standing between you and your doctor.
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. It
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked my departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system -- to get people to work -- to go after dead-beat fathers
who run out on their children -- and to keep families whole.
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's the economy. It's people worried about
6
their jobs -- providing for their families, meeting the everyday
challenges of paying the bills.
The American people -- your neighbors -- want this economy
fired up again. So do I. Many of you heard my State of the
Union Address. I put forward a two-part plan -- the first part
gets business growing again -- hiring workers again -- upgrading
plant and equipment again. It uses incentives like an investment
tax allowance and yes, it is clearly time for Congress to wake up
and cut the tax on capital gains.
And to get housing back on its feet I put forth several
straightforward proposals to get people buying and building
homes. Perhaps the most easily understood proposal is a $5,000
tax credit for first-time homebuyers. With our plan, young
people almost able to buy that first home could do it with the
extra $5000 in their pocket. The House Democrats plan gives them
nothing. [Pulls the ing not fromunder them.]
A word about the Democrats' current plan. I say "current"
because it seems to change just about every hour. That's why
it's really not a plan, it's simply a bad deal. It smacks of
class warfare. Listen to the trade-off in their deal: 25 cents
a day in temporary tax relief for two years -- paid for -- true
to form for the Democrats -- by a large permanent tax increase.
Now some Democrats in the Senate want to make that temporary
tax relief permanent -- get a bidding war going. But to pay for
that they'd have to hike tax rates for the middle class -- people
the
7
got us
making 35,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit, and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old thinking.
We drew a line in the sand in the Persian Gulf and kept our
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll send
it right back.
[BOOMERANG LEGISLATION!]
I sent them a plan --- a good plan -- that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
maneuver that they know right now won't fly. I'll say it again
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again.
I said the plan had two parts. The second part is a long-
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
into the next century. Our long range plan strengthens the
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal I
STET
mentioned earlier. Our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
8
But a central idea behind our approach is that to succeed
economically at home, we have to lead economically abroad. Our
exports are at record levels. Isolationism is a bankrupt notion.
I simply will not jeopardize the millions of jobs that those
exports represent.
Some people wish the rest of the world would just go away.
That's naive. But worse, it's a dangerous pre-World War II
mentality. They're saying that a level playing field isn't
enough -- that American ingenuity, American know-how, and the
American can-do spirit, are simply a bunch of hackneyed phrases.
I don't believe it. And neither do you. America is not
going to cut and run -- ever.
We believe in America. We are optimistic about its future.
And we believe in our Party. I am tremendously fortunate to be
serving as your President at this most exciting time in our
nation's history.
Yes, we have much to do. But I guarantee you we are up to
it. Yes, we have many challenges before us. And I guarantee
you, we will meet them -- each and every one of them. Yes,
there's an election in November -- and I guarantee you, we will
win it. I want to be your President for another four years.
Thank you and God Bless the United States of America.
6000 strong here a
S.C. + The 10's
of 1000s
more all
accoss the
South.
Tony
Memorandum for Speechwriting Staff
From:
Dan McGroarty
Regarding: 5.Gopieadership
Please return your comments to
Room 122 by:
3PMToday
Today's Date: 2-20-92
T,
1
DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
we're grateful for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina -- host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last
time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
stunning victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty- , Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot my mistake.
You remember those days -- sometimes if you tried to
register Republican they'd tell you not to bother -- because
2
there were no Republicans to vote for in primary elections. Or
times when there would be out and out intimidation -- even
violence.
We went through a lot back then. In fact, I'm sure many of
you can share similar experiences. Why did we do it? Why did we
build a Republican Party in the South?
We did it because we wanted change. We did it because we
believed in some fundamental values: faith and family --
responsibility and respect -- community and country.
We did it because we saw our government getting too big,
getting into our pockets and into every corner of our lives. We
did it because we worried about our schools and our neighborhoods
and our communities.
our families and
We did it because our taxes always seemed to go up at the
same time America's problems got worse. Each of us, in our own
small way finally said, enough is enough.
We did, t because
P.
We were upstarts and mavericks. and gadflies
But
we
dep. good
E
was
challenged the status quo -- challenged the closed-door, one-
right.
party rule of the democrats.
And they fought us every step of the way.
But we fought hard too, and we fought fair. We took our
message of smaller government -- better government -- to the
people of the Carolinas, and Virginia, and Mississippi, and
Florida, and the rest of this great region of America. And we
started winning -- at first a House Seat here, a Senate race
there. But our momentum grew and grew.
State
It's hord to cast Mills Godwin as
a Repub. standard -beater. 48 switched parties, and basa Repub. (Eader helped
kill Republican candidacies like Marshall Coleman in 1981. Try John Dalton,
3
maybe?
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our standard-bearers in
those early days -- Howard Baker and the late John Tower, the Bo
Callaways and Bill Brocks, Bill Dickinson and John Paul
e
Hammerschmidt Mills Godwin and of course the phenomenal favorite
son of South Carolina Strom Thurmond.
They paved the way. They inspired a generation of talent
that transformed the nation's political landscape. I'm thinking
now of another South Carolinian, a good man and a good friend -
talk about
-Lee Atwater. We miss him still.
the Atwater manat proud party fitting ideas as
a tried his
And now the Republican Party of the South is the Party of
dying who day to into Expand
Carroll Campbell and Phil Gramm and Trent Lott, of Jim Martin and
Connie Mack, of Kirk Fordice and Newt Gingrich. The Republican
thus tradition
Party is the force for positive change in the New South, and I am
of the his predecessors.
proud to have played a role in its success.
Our message then and our message now is simple: We believe
government is too big and spends too much. We believe in good
schools and safe streets -- and a government worthy of the A strong Role
people's respect. And we believe in a strong defense.
fort. conomally military.
We believe that we put America first when we put America's
families first.
So we believe that parents, not the government should make
the big decisions. Parents, not government, should choose their
children's schools.
Parents, not government, should decide the family's health
care --and parents should choose who cares for their children --
not some bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
4
And yes, we believe in parents choosing life for the unborn
and prayer for their children in the classroom. Summary Sentence include God.
Those are our beliefs -- those are why we built a Party in
WE built our party voon beliefs.
the South and why we continue to build it today. Those beliefs
don't change from one election to the next. They still guide
ourdefermination
each AN to and every one of us, each and every day. And they ha will guide us to victory.
Now we are at the beginning of a new era in America's
and
values our carried
history. The Cold War is over, and America won. The Soviet Union
collapsed and imperial communism is finished for good. Bringing
usto
change to the world during these tumultuous years was American
leadership. Bringing change to America during the coming years
will be Republican leadership.
Sounds
In my heart I am confident about our future
But we ve got
Carterasque
a lot of work ahead of us. There are some things that are simply
on the wrong track in our country. Take our courts, for example.
WE will start
When fathers stop coaching little league because they're afraid
by putting
of liability lawsuits, something's wrong. When doctors stop
with the basics.
delivering babies because they fear a malpractice lawsuit,
something's wrong. Or when people stop volunteering to help each
other because they fear ambulance-chasing lawyers, something is
terribly wrong. These days a sharp lawyer would tell the Good
Samaritan -- keep on walking.
We've proposed reforms to our court system to address the
question of frivolous lawsuits and that's a good step. But the
real answer for solving problems is for Americans to start
helping each other and stop suing each other.
Crime
5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
The answer isn't to go down the road of socialized medicine,
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
tighten
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides,
POST OFFICED
sattle on.
it won't work. My approach is to reform our health system, keep
the soint
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. choice.) The last thing we want is
bite
the government standing between you and your doctor.
Lit's face it.
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. It
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked my departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system -- to get people to work -- to go after dead-beat fathers
who run out on their children -- and to keep families whole.
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's S the economy. It IS people worried vorry about
arying honey
hids
6
slaming
their jobs -- providing for their families, meeting the everyday
challenges of paying the bills.
The American people -- your neighbors -- want this economy
fired up again. So do I. Many of you heard my State of the
Union Address. I put forward a two-part plan -- the first part
gets business growing again -- hiring workers again -- upgrading
plant and equipment again. It uses incentives like an investment
Break into
sentences
tax allowance and yes, it is clearly time for Congress to wake up
Duild 2P to
and cut the tax on capital gains.
capquins
also proposed a straightforward way
And to get housing back on its feet I put forth several
straightforward proposals to get people buying and building
It starts with
homes. Perhaps the most easily understood proposal is a $5,000
tax credit for first-time homebuyers. With our plan, young
people almost able to buy that first home could do it with the
extra $5000 in their pocket. The House Democrats plan gives them
nothing.
A word about the Democrats' current plan. I say "current"
because it seems to change just about every hour. That's why
it's really not a plan, it's simply a bad deal. It smacks of
class warfare. Listen to the trade-off in their deal: 25 cents
a day in temporary tax relief for two years -- paid for -- true
of billions blank
to form for the Democrats -- by a large permanent tax increase.
Now some Democrats in the Senate want to make that temporary
tax relief permanent -- get a bidding war going. But to pay for
that they'd have to hike tax rates for the middle class -- people
MORATORIUM. De Reg.
7
making 35,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit, and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old tax + spend thinking.
We drew a line in the sand in the Persian Gulf and kept our
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll send
it right back.
I sent them a plan ------------------------- a good plan - that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
maneuver that they know right now won't fly. I'll say it again
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again.
I said the plan had two parts. The second part is a long
will
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
This
into the next century. Our long-range plan strengthens the
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal
I
welfare
It Encourages innevation
mentioned earlier. Our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting-edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
8
But a central idea behind our approach is that to succeed
economically at home, we have to lead economically abroad. Our
exports are at record levels. Isolationism is a bankrupt notion.
I simply will not jeopardize the millions of jobs that those
exports represent.
Some people wish the rest of the world would just go away.
That's naive. But worse, it's a dangerous pre-World War II
mentality. They're saying that a level playing field isn't
enough -- that American ingenuity, American know-how, and the
American can-do spirit, are simply a bunch of hackneyed phrases.
I don't believe it. And neither do you. America is not
going to cut and run -- ever.
We believe in America. We are optimistic about its future.
And we believe in our Party. I am tremendously fortunate to be
serving as your President at this most exciting time in our
nation's history.
Yes, we have much to do. But I guarantee you we are up to
it. Yes, we have many challenges before us. And I guarantee
you, we will meet them -- each and every one of them. Yes,
there's an election in November -- and I guarantee you, we will
win it. I want to be your President for another four years.
Thank you and God Bless the United States of America.
get back to values
metism
1
DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
we're grateful for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina -- host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
stunning victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty- , Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot by my mistake.
You remember those days -- sometimes if you tried to
register Republican they'd tell you not to bother -- because
seared
2
there were no Republicans to vote for in primary elections. Or
times when there would be out and out intimidation -- even
violence.
We went through a lot back then. In fact, I'm sure many of
you can share similar experiences. Why did we do it? Why did we
build a Republican Party in the South?
We did it because we wanted change. We did it because we
believed in some fundamental values: faith and family --
?
responsibility and respect -- community and country. + service (veterans)
We did it because we saw our government getting too big,
getting into our pockets and into every corner of our lives. We
did it because we worried about our schools and our neighborhoods
and our communities.
We did it because our taxes always seemed to go up at the
same time America's problems got worse. Each of us, in our own
THE
small way finally said, enough is enough.
Rebelisho
We were upstarts and mavericks and gadflies.
But we
challenged the status quo -- challenged the closed-door, one-
party rule of the democrats.
And they fought us every step of the way.
But we fought hard too, and we fought fair. We took our
message of smaller government -- better government -- to the
people of the Carolinas, and Virginia, and Mississippi, and
Florida, and the rest of this great region of America. And we
started winning -- at first a House Seat here, a Senate race
there. But our momentum grew and grew.
3
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our standard-bearers in
those early days -- Howard Baker and the late John Tower, the Bo
Callaways and Bill Brocks, Bill Dickinson and John Paul
Hammerschmidt Mills Godwin and of course the phenomenal favorite
son of South Carolina Strom Thurmond.
They paved the way. They inspired a generation of talent
that transformed the nation's political landscape. I'm thinking
now of another South Carolinian, a good man and a good friend -
-Lee Atwater. We miss him still.
And now the Republican Party of the South is the Party of
?
Guy Hunt
Carroll Campbell and Phil Gramm and Trent Lott, of Jim Martin and
Connie Mack, of Kirk, Fordice and Newt Gingrich. The Republican
Jesse
add
Party is the force for positive change in the New South, and I am
proud to have played a role in its success.
Our message then and our message now is simple: We believe
taxes too much
government is too big and spends too much. We believe in good
schools and safe streets -- and a government worthy of the
less govt.
so We beh Cossport, low taxes
Low takes
people's respect. And we believe in a strong defense.
which would
control
We believe that we put America first when we put America's
spending
and a
families first.
Strong
difense
So we believe that parents, not the government should make
the big decisions. Parents, not government, should choose their
children's schools.
Parents, not government, should decide the family's health
care --and parents should choose who cares for their children --
not some bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
4
And yes, we believe in parents choosing life for the unborn
and prayer for their children in the classroom.
Those are our beliefs -- those are why we built a Party in
the South and why we continue to build it today. Those beliefs
don't change from one election to the next. They still guide
each and every one of us, each and every day.
Now we are at the beginning of a new era in America's
history. The Cold War is over and America won. The Soviet Union
collapsed and imperial communism is finished for good. Bringing
change to the world during these tumultuous years was American
leadership. Bringing change to America during the coming years
will be Republican leadership.
In my heart I am confident about our future. But we've got
a lot of work ahead of us. There are some things that are simply
on the wrong track in our country. Take our courts, for example.
When fathers stop coaching little league because they're afraid
of liability lawsuits, something's wrong. When doctors stop
delivering babies because they fear a malpractice lawsuit,
something's wrong. Or when people stop volunteering to help each
other because they fear ambulance-chasing lawyers, something is
terribly wrong. These days a sharp lawyer would tell the Good
Samaritan -- keep on walking.
We've proposed reforms to our court system to address the
question of frivolous lawsuits and that's a good step.
real answer for solving problems is for Americans to start
helping each other and stop suing each other.
Friend But make the Insuits COST connection
to
5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
The answer isn't to go down the road of socialized medicine,
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides, Keepre
it won't work. My approach is to reform our health system, keep
+
preserve
choice.
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. The last thing we want is
Choice-
the government standing between you and your doctor.
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. when It it
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked my departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system to get people to work to go after dead-beat fathers
andrynm policies that promote
who run out on their children and to keep families whole. broken
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's the economy. It's people worried about
familis- rather than
Whole
Whole
heal
and aep all
it
helping
the other
them
become whole.
6
their jobs -- providing for their families, meeting the everyday
challenges of paying the bills.
The American people -- your neighbors -- want this economy
fired up again. So do I. Many of you heard my State of the
Union Address. I put forward a two-part plan -- the first part
gets business growing again -- hiring workers again -- upgrading
plant and equipment again. It uses incentives like an investment
that ex. (explain)
tax allowance/and yes, it is clearly time for Congress to wake up
and cut the tax on capital gains. b/c we all know that this
conjunction w/the rest of
And to get housing back on its feet I put forth several the plan
will
straightforward proposals to get people buying and building
move
homes. Perhaps the most easily understood proposal is a $5,000
things
faster
tax credit for first-time homebuyers. With our plan, young
people almost able to buy that first home could do it with the
extra $5000 in their pocket. The House Democrats plan gives them
nothing.
A word about the Democrats' current plan. I say "current"
because it seems to change just about every hour. That's why
it's really not a plan, it's simply a bad deal. It smacks of
class warfare. Listen to the trade-off in their deal: 25 cents
a day in temporary tax relief for two years -- paid for -- true
to form for the Democrats -- by a large permanent tax increase.
Now some Democrats in the Senate want to make that temporary
tax relief permanent -- get a bidding war going. But to pay for
that they'd have to hike tax rates for the middle class -- people
velief
tem
tax
&
we
and
Fase
that
temp.
7
making 35,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit, and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old thinking.
We drew a line in the sand in the Persian Gulf and kept our
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll send
it right back.
I sent them a plan -- a good plan -- that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
maneuver that they know right now won't fly. I'll say it again
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again.
I said the plan had two parts. The second part is a long-
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
into the next century. Our long range plan strengthens the
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal I
mentioned earlier. Our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
textiles
8
But a central idea behind our approach is that to succeed
economically at home, we have to lead economically abroad. Our
exports are at record levels. Isolationism is a bankrupt notion.
I simply will not jeopardize the millions of jobs that those
exports represent.
Some people wish the rest of the world would just go away.
That's naive. But worse, it's a dangerous pre-World War II
mentality. They're saying that a level playing field isn't
enough -- that American ingenuity, American know-how, and the
American can-do spirit, are simply a bunch of hackneyed phrases.
I don't believe it. And neither do you. America is not
going to cut and run -- ever.
We believe in America. We are optimistic about its future.
And we believe in our Party. I am tremendously fortunate to be
serving as your President at this most exciting time in our
nation's history.
Yes, we have much to do. But I guarantee you we are up to
it. Yes, we have many challenges before us. And I guarantee
you, we will meet them -- each and every one of them. Yes,
there's an election in November -- and I guarantee you, we will
win it. I want to be your President for another four years.
Thank you and God Bless the United States of America.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-20-92 ; 7:07PM ;
4562983;# 1
CLOSE HOLD
Document No. 30941555
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
2/20/92
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
4:00PM, TODAY, FEB. 20
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
FEBRUARY 21, 1992
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROGICH
CALIO
ROLLINS
DEMAREST
SMITH
FITZWATER
YEUTTER
GRAY
FINDLAY
HOLIDAY
KAUFMAN
MCGROARTY
REMARKS:
ANDERSON
BOSKIN
Please provide comments on the attached directly to
Dan McGroarty, Rm 122, X2930, with a COME to this
office NO LATER THAN 4:00PM, TODAY, THURSDAY, FEB. 20.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
comments
p.1
CLOSE HOLD
PHILLIP D. BRADY
off.7
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 : 2-20-92 ; 7:08PM ;
4562983:# 2
1
DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN COUNCIL
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
we're grateful for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina - host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
stunning victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty- , Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot my mistake.
?
You remember those days -- sometimes if you tried to
register Republican they'd tell you not to bother - because
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-20-92 ; 7:08PM ;
4562983;# 3:
7
making 35,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit, and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old thinking.
We drew all line in the sand in the Persian Gulf and kept our
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll send
it right back.
I sent them a plan -- a good plan -- that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
-
maneuver that they know right now won't fly. I'll say it again
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again. My PLAN WILL PROTECT your POCKETBOOK, WHILE
I the plan had two parts The second part is a long-
THEIRS said NICE Dick Your POCKET.
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
into the next century. Our long range plan strengthens the
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal I
mentioned earlier. Our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:44 ; LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218;# 1
CLOSE HOLD
Document No. 30941555
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
92 FEB 20 P3:16
2/20/92
4:00PM, TODAY, FEB. 20
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
FEBRUARY 21, 1992
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROGICH
CALIO
ROLLINS
DEMAREST
SMITH
YEUTTER
FITZWATER
FINDLAY
GRAY
HOLIDAY
KAUFMAN
MCGROARTY
ANDERSON
REMARKS:
BOSKIN
Please provide comments on the attached directly to
Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this
office NO LATER THAN 4:00PM, TODAY, THURSDAY, FEB. 20.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
note changes
MASTER
CLOSE HOLD
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:44 ; LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218;# 2
and Aenator, Thurmond None Mark of my most
valued alles and a great bader in the Anate
1
DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN COUNCIL
FEB
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
we're grateful for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina -- host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
great
victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty- , Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot my mistake.
You remember those days -- sometimes if you tried to
register Republican they'd tell you not to bother -- because
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:45 ; LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218;# 3
2
there were no Republicans to vote for in primary elections. or
times when there would be out and out intimidation -- even
violence.
We went through a lot back then. In fact, I'm sure many of
you can share similar experiences. Why did we do it? Why did we
build a Republican Party in the South?
We did it because we wanted change. We did it because we
believed in some fundamental values: faith and family --
responsibility and respect -- community and country.
We did it because we saw our government getting too big,
getting into our pockets and into every corner of our lives. We
did it because we worried about our schools and our neighborhoods
and our communities.
We did it because our taxes always seemed to go up at the
same time America's problems got worse. Each of us, in our own
small way finally said, enough is enough.
We were upstarts and mavericks and gadflies. But we
challenged the status quo -- challenged the closed-door, one-
party rule of the democrats.
And they fought us every step of the way.
But we fought hard too, and We fought fair. We took our
message of smaller government -- better government -- to the
people of the Carolinas, and Virginia, and Mississippi, and
Florida, and the rest of this great region of America. And we
started winning -- at first a House Seat here, a Senate race
there. But our momentum grew and grew.
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:45 ; LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218;# 4
3
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our standard-bearers in
those early days -- Howard Baker and the late John Tower, the Bo
Callaways and Bill Brocks, Bill Dickinson and John Paul
Hammerschmidt, Mills Godwin and of course the phenomenal favorite
son of South Carolina Strom Thurmond.
They paved the way. They inspired a generation of talent
that transformed the nation's political landscape. I'm thinking
now of another South Carolinian, a good man and a good friend -
-Lee Atwater. We miss him still.
And now the Republican Party of the South is the Party of
Carroll Campbell and Phil Gramm and Trent Lott, of Jim Martin and
Connie Mack, of Kirk Fordice and Newt Gingrich. The Republican
Party is the force for positive change in the New South, and I am
proud to have played a role in its success.
our message then and our message now is simple: We believe
government is too big and spends too much. We believe in good
schools and safe streets -- and a government worthy of the
people's respect. And we believe in a strong defense.
We believe that we put America first when we put America's
families first.
So we believe that parents, not the government should make
the big decisions. Parents, not government, should choose their
children's schools.
Parents, not government, should decide the family's health
care --and parents should choose who cares for their children ---
not some bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:46 ; LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218:# 5
4
And yes, we believe in parents choosing life for the unborn
and prayer for their children in the classroom.
Those are our beliefs -- those are why we built a Party in
the South and why we continue to build it today. Those beliefs
don't change from one election to the next. They still guide
each and every one of us, each and every day.
Now we are at the beginning of a new era in America's
history. The Cold War is over and America won. The Soviet Union
collapsed and imperial communism is finished for good. Bringing
change to the world during these tumultuous years was American
leadership. Bringing change to America during the coming years
will be Republican leadership.
In my heart I am confident about our future. But we've got
a lot of work ahead of us. There are some things that are simply
on the wrong track in our country. Take our courts, for example.
When fathers stop coaching little league because they're afraid
of liability lawsuits, something's wrong. When doctors stop
delivering babies because they fear a malpractice lawsuit,
something's wrong. or when people stop volunteering to help each
other because they fear ambulance-chasing lawyers, something is
terribly wrong. These days a sharp lawyer would tell the Good
Samaritan -- keep on walking.
We've proposed reforms to our court system to address the
question of frivolous lawsuits and that's a good step. But the
real answer for solving problems is for Americans to start
helping each other and stop suing each other.
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:46 ; LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218;# 6
5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
The answer isn't to go down the road of socialized medicine,
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides,
it won't work, My approach is to reform our health system, keep
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. The last thing we want is
the government standing between you and your doctor.
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. It
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked my departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system -- to get people to work -- to go after dead-beat fathers
who run out on their children -- and to keep families whole.
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's the economy. It's people worried about
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:47 ; LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218:# 7
6
their jobs -- providing for their families, meeting the everyday
challenges of paying the bills.
The American people -- your neighbors -- want this economy
fired up again. So do I. Many of you heard my State of the
Union Address. I put forward a two-part plan -- the first part
gets business growing again -- hiring workers again -- upgrading
plant and equipment again. It uses incentives like an investment
tax allowance and yes, it is clearly time for Congress to wake up
and cut the tax on capital gains.
And to get housing back on its feet I put forth several
straightforward proposals to get people buying and building
Honsens@xperts believe that my plan would create jobs in the next months.
homes.) Perhaps the most easily understood proposal is a $5,000
tax credit for first-time homebuyers. With our my plan, young
people almost able to buy that first home could do it with the
Mxplan would create 415,000 Jobs Thement
extra $5000 in their pocket. The House Democrats plan gives them
nothing.
A word about the Democrats' current plan. I say "current"
because it seems to change just about every hour. That's why
cas they chanse it to buy votes.
it's really not a plan, it's simply a bad deal. It smacks of
class warfare. Listen to the trade-off in their deal: 25 cents
a day in temporary tax relief for two years -- paid for -- true
to form for the Democrats -- by a large permanent tax increase.
Now some Democrats in the Senate want to make that temporary
tax relief permanent -- get a bidding war going. But to pay for
that they'd have to hike tax rates for the middle class -- people
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:47 ; LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218;# 8
collectors to get
7
your wages.
making 35,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
The only jobs their an might create are for hiring more taxd
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old thinking. Adon it behave the american people
want We Congress drew taking a line in in amy the more sand of kn Rapper the Persian any taxpayous Gulf money and kept to our
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if All the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll take my veto per send
speration
it right back.
I sent them a plan - a good plan -- that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
maneuver that they know right now won't fly. I'll say it again
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again.
I said the plan had two parts. The second part is a long-
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
into the next century. our long range plan strengthens the
- permanent tax relief -
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal I
mentioned earlier. Our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
SENT BY:The TICKET CENTER
; 2-20-92 ; 14:48 : LEGISLATIVE AFFAIRS-
6218;# 9
!
8
But a central idea behind our approach is that to succeed
economically, at home, we have to lead economically abroad. Our
exports are at record levels Isolationism is a bankrupt notion. Ateosts
jobsand I simply will not jeopardize the millions of jobs that those
exports represent.
Some people wish the rest of the world would just go away.
That's naive. But worse, it's a dangerous pre-World War II
mentality. They're saying that a level playing field isn't
enough -- that American ingenuity, American know-how, and the
American can-do spirit, are simply a bunch of hackneyed phrases.
I don't believe it. And neither do you. America is not
going to cut and run -- ever United States and the American
Assubmit toyou that
We believe in America. We are optimistic about its future.
And we believe in our Party. I am tremendously fortunate to be
serving as your President at this most exciting time in our
nation's history.
Yes, we have much to do. But I guarantee you we are up to
it. Yes, we have many challenges before us. And I guarantee
you, we will meet them -- each and every one of them. Yes,
there's an election in November -- and I guarantee you, we will
win it. I want to be your President for another four years.
Thank you and God Bless the United States of America.
people are uniquely
challenge of foregn corpetition.
capable of meeting the
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
C2 FEB 20 P5: 23
February 20, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR TONY SNOW
Deputy Assistant to the President for
Communications and Director of Speechwriting
FROM:
JANET REHNQUIST JR
Associate Counsel to the President
SUBJECT:
Presidential Remarks -- Address to Southern
Republican Leadership Council; February 21, 1992;
Charleston, South Carolina
Following up my telephone call to your office this afternoon,
attached is a copy of the comments discussed. Otherwise,
Counsel's office has no legal objections.
Thank you for the opportunity to review this matter.
CC: Phil Brady
5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. care Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
The answer isn't to go down the road of socialized medicine,
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides,
it won't work. My approach is to reform our health system, keep
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. The last thing we want is
the government standing between you and your doctory health care provider.
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. It
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked my departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system -- to get people to work to go after dead-beat fathers
who run out on their children -- and to keep families whole. 3
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's the economy. It's people worried about
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-20-92 ; 5:24PM ;
4562983;# 1
20 February 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR DAVE DEMAREST
FROM:
JEANNIE BUNTON JR
SUBJECT:
RESERVE/GUARD MEMO ATTACHED
CHRISTINA FERRANDINO, SYSTEMS AND ANALYSIS DIRECTOR OF RESERVE
AFFAIRS - MANPOWER AND PERSONNEL AT DOD TOLD ME A BREAKDOWN OF
RESERVE/GUARD PARTICIPATION IN "STORM" FOR ALL 50 STATES COULDN'T
BE DONE RIGHT NOW -- DUE TO FILES/PROCESSING/AND COMPUTER
SOFTWARE PROBLEMS. SHE EXTRAPOLATED THE INFORMATION WE REQUESTED
BY HAND, AFTER GETTING THE DATA FROM FILES STORED IN CALIFORNIA.
I WAS ABLE TO GET [NEGOTIATE] THE NUMBERS FOR THE STATES THE
PRESIDENT WILL BE VISITING IN THE NEAR FUTURE [ATTACHED MEMO].
SHE HAS AGREED TO CONTINUE PROVIDING BREAKDOWNS -- I'LL CONTINUE
CALLING WITH "BATCHES" OF STATES UNTIL WE GET ALL 50.
SORRY THAT THE INFORMATION IS BEING PIECEMEALED.
Gary
Memorandum for Speechwriting Staff
From:
Dan McGroarty
Regarding: 5.GOPLeadership
Please return your comments to
Room 122 by:
3PM
Today's Date: 2-20-92
1
DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
we're grateful for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina -- host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
stunning victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
sounds NiXON
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty- , Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot my mistake.
You remember those days -- sometimes if you tried to
register Republican they'd tell you not to bother -- because
2
there were no Republicans to vote for in primary elections. or
times when there would be out and out intimidation -- even
violence.
We went through a lot back then. In fact, I'm sure many of
you can share similar experiences. Why did we do it? Why did we
build a Republican Party in the South?
We did it because we wanted change. We did it because we
believed in some fundamental values: faith and family --
responsibility and respect -- community and country.
We did it because we saw our government getting too big,
getting into our pockets and into every corner of our lives. We
did it because we worried about our schools and our neighborhoods
and our communities.
We did it because our taxes always seemed to go up at the
same time America's problems got worse. Each of us, in our own
small way finally said, enough is enough.
We were upstarts and mavericks and gadflies. But we
challenged the status quo -- challenged the closed-door, one-
party rule of the democrats.
And they fought us every step of the way.
But we fought hard too, and we fought fair. We took our
message of smaller government -- better government -- to the
people of the Carolinas, and Virginia, and Mississippi, and
Florida, and the rest of this great region of America. And we
started winning -- at first a House Seat here, a Senate race
there. But Our momentum grew and grew.
3
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our standard-bearers in
those early days -- Howard Baker and the late John Tower, the Bo
Callaways and Bill Brocks, Bill Dickinson and John Paul
Hammerschmidt, Mills Godwin and of course the phenomenal favorite
son of South Carolina Strom Thurmond.
They paved the way. They inspired a generation of talent
that transformed the nation's political landscape. I'm thinking
now of another South Carolinian, a good man and a good friend -
-Lee Atwater. We miss him still.
And now the Republican Party of the South is the Party of
Carroll Campbell and Phil Gramm and Trent Lott, of Jim Martin and
Connie Mack, of Kirk Fordice and Newt Gingrich. The Republican
Party is the force for positive change in the New South, and I am
proud to have played a role in its success.
Our message then and our message now is simple: We believe
government is too big and spends too much. We believe in good
schools and safe streets -- and a government worthy of the
people's respect. And we believe in a strong defense.
We believe that we put America first when we put America's
families first.
So we believe that parents, not the government should make
the big decisions. Parents, not the government, should choose their
children's schools.
Parents, not the government, should decide the family's health
care --and parents should choose who cares for their children --
not some bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
4
And yes, we believe in parents choosing life for the unborn
and prayer for their children in the classroom.
Those are our beliefs -- those are why we built a Party in
the South and why we continue to build it today. Those beliefs
don't change from one election to the next. They still guide
each and every one of us, each and every day.
Now we are at the beginning of a new era in America's
history. The Cold War is over and America won. The Soviet Union
collapsed and imperial communism is finished for good. Bringing
change to the world during these tumultuous years was American
leadership. Bringing change to America during the coming years
will be Republican leadership.
In my heart I am confident about our future. But we've got
a lot of work ahead of us. There are some things that are simply
on the wrong track in our country. Take our courts, for example.
When fathers stop coaching little league because they're afraid
of liability lawsuits, something's wrong. When doctors stop
delivering babies because they fear a malpractice lawsuit,
something's wrong. or when people stop volunteering to help each
other because they fear ambulance-chasing lawyers, something is
terribly wrong. These days a sharp lawyer would tell the Good
Samaritan -- keep on walking.
We've proposed reforms to our court system to address the
question of frivolous lawsuits and that's a good step. But the
real answer for solving problems is for Americans to start
helping each other and stop suing each other.
5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
Whateverreason) Bby Mentioning Seens fact
The answer isn't to go down the road
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides,
it won't work. My approach is to reform our health system, keep
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. The last thing we want is
the government standing between you and your doctor.
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. It
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked my departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system -- to get people to work -- to go after dead-beat fathers
who run out on their children -- and to keep families whole.
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's the economy. It's people worried about
6
their jobs -- providing for their families, meeting the everyday
challenges of paying the bills.
The American people -- your neighbors -- want this economy
fired up again. So do I. Many of you heard/my State of the
Union Address I put forward a two-part plan -- the first part
gets business growing again -- hiring workers again -- upgrading
plant and equipment again. It uses incentives like an investment
tax allowance and yes, it is clearly time for Congress to wake up
and cut the tax on capital gains.
And to get housing back on its feet I put forth several
straightforward proposals to get people buying and building
homes. Perhaps the most easily understood proposal is a $5,000
tax credit for first-time homebuyers. With our plan, young
people almost able to buy that first home could do it with the
extra $5000 in their pocket. The House Democrats plan gives them
nothing. Righton!
A word about the Democrats' current plan. I say "current"
because it seems to change just about every hour. That's why
it's really not a plan, it's simply a bad deal. It smacks of
class warfare. Listen to the trade-off in their deal: 25 cents
a day in temporary tax relief for two years -- paid for -- true
to form for the Democrats -- by a large permanent tax increase.
Now some Democrats in the Senate want to make that temporary
tax relief permanent -- get a bidding war going. But to pay for
that they'd have to hike tax rates for the middle class -- people
7
making 35,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit, and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old thinking.
We drew a line in the sand in the Persian Gulf and kept our
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll send
it right back.
I sent them a plan -- a good plan -- that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
maneuver that they know right now won't fly. I'll say it again
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again.
I said the plan had two parts. The second part is a long-
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
into the next century. Our long range plan strengthens the
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal I
mentioned earlier. Our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
8
But a central idea behind our approach is that to succeed
economically at home, we have to lead economically abroad. Our
exports are at record levels. Isolationism is a bankrupt notion.
I simply will not jeopardize the millions of jobs that those
exports represent.
Some people wish the rest of the world would just go away.
That's naive. But worse, it's a dangerous pre-World War II
mentality. They're saying that a level playing field isn't
enough -- that American ingenuity, American know-how, and the
American can-do spirit, are simply a bunch of hackneyed phrases.
I don't believe it. And neither do you. America is not
going to cut and run -- ever.
We believe in America. We are optimistic about its future.
And we believe in our Party. I am tremendously fortunate to be
serving as your President at this most exciting time in our
nation's history.
Yes, we have much to do. But I guarantee you we are up to
it. Yes, we have many challenges before us. And I guarantee
you, we will meet them -- each and every one of them.
one there's of You here an today election that future in November generations Will and be I able guarantee to say: They didite you; we They will
ANdI Yes, promise fevery
win it. I want to be your President for another four years.
Thank you and God Bless the United States of America.
Bob
Memorandum for Speechwriting Staff
From:
Dan McGroarty
Regarding: S. GOPLeadership
Please return your comments to
Room 122 by:
3pm today
Today's Date: 2-20-92
T,
1
DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
we're grateful for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina -- host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
stunning victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty- , Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
see
some poor
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot my mistake.
You remember those days -- sometimes if you tried to
register Republican they'd tell you not to bother -- because
2
there were no Republicans to vote for in primary elections. Or
times when there would be out and out intimidation -- even
violence.
We went through a lot back then. In fact, I'm sure many of
you can share similar experiences. Why did we do it? Why did we
build a Republican Party in the South?
We did it because we wanted change. We did it because we
believed in some fundamental values: faith and family ---
responsibility and respect -- community and country.
We did it because we saw our government getting too big, too corrupt,
X
getting into our pockets and into every corner of our lives. We
did it because we worried about our schools and our neighborhoods
and our communities.
We did it because our taxes always seemed to go up at the
same time America's problems got worse. Each of us, in our own
small way finally said, enough is enough.
Note:
fought
We were upstarts and mavericks and gadflies. But
court- house we erowd - the
local against Lots Dom. the
challenged the status quo -- challenged the closed-door, one-
clique
party rule of the democrats.
And they fought us every step of the way.
But we fought hard too, and we fought fair. We took our
message of smaller government -- better government -- to the
people of the Carolinas, and Virginia, and Mississippi, and
Florida, and the rest of this great region of America. And we
started winning -- at first a House Seat here, a Senate race
there. But our momentum grew and grew.
For
some
tus
who
moved to the south and didn't find a Depablica
Party, we started one.
(Don't forget. Lots of Southern GOBers are Worthern transplants.)
3
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our standard-bearers in
those early days -- Howard Baker and the late John Tower, the Bo
Callaways and Bill Brocks, Bill Dickinson and John Paul
Hammerschmidt, Mills Godwin and of course the phenomenal favorite
son of South Carolina Strom Thurmond.
They paved the way. They inspired a generation of talent
that transformed the nation's political landscape. I'm thinking
now of another South Carolinian, a good man and a good friend -
-Lee Atwater. We miss him still.
And now the Republican Party of the South is the Party of
Carroll Campbell and Phil Gramm and Trent Lott, of Jim Martin and
Connie Mack, of Kirk Fordice and Newt Gingrich. The Republican
Party is the force for positive change in the New South, and I am
proud to have played a role in its success.
Our message then and our message now is simple: We believe
government is too big and spends too much. We believe in good
schools and safe streets -- and a government worthy of the
people's respect. And we believe in a strong defense.
We believe that we put America first when we put America's
families first.
So we believe that parents, not the government should make
the big decisions. Parents, not government, should choose their
children's schools.
Parents, not government, should decide the family's health
care --and parents should choose who cares for their children --
not some bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
4
And yes, we believe in parents choosing life for the unborn
and prayer for their children in the classroom.
Those are our beliefs -- those are why we built a Party in
attract followers day after day.
the South and why we continue to build it today. Those beliefs
don't change from one election to the next. They still guide
each and every one of us, each and every day.
Now we are at the beginning of a new era in America's
history. The Cold War is over and America won. The Soviet Union
collapsed and imperial communism is finished for good. Bringing
change to the world during these tumultuous years was American
leadership. Bringing change to America during the coming years
will be Republican leadership.
In my heart I am confident about our future. But we've got
a lot of work ahead of us. There are some things that are simply
on the wrong track in our country. Take our courts, for example.
When fathers stop coaching little league because they're afraid
of liability lawsuits, something's wrong. When doctors stop
delivering babies because they fear a malpractice lawsuit,
something's wrong. Or when people stop volunteering to help each
other because they fear ambulance-chasing lawyers, something is
terribly wrong. These days a sharp lawyer would tell the Good
Samaritan -- keep on walking.
good!
We've proposed reforms to our court system to address the
question of frivolous lawsuits and that's a good step. But the
real answer for solving problems is for Americans to start
helping each other and stop suing each other.
5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
The answer isn't to go down the road of socialized medicine,
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
local
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides,
it won't work. My approach is to reform our health system, keep
sounds
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. The last thing we want is
like
the government standing between you and your doctor.
Fosty Bottom
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. It
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked my departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system -- to get people to work -- to go after dead-beat fathers
who run out on their children -- and to keep families whole.
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's the economy. It's people worried about
6
their jobs -- providing for their families, meeting the everyday
challenges of paying the bills.
The American people -- your neighbors -- want this economy
G6
fired up again. So do I. Many of you /N heard my State of the
Union Address. I put forward a two-part plan -- the first part
gets business growing again -- hiring workers again ---- upgrading
plant and equipment again. It uses incentives like an investment
tax allowance and yes, it is clearly time for Congress to wake up
and cut the tax on capital gains.
And to get housing back on its feet I put forth several
straightforward proposals to get people buying and building
homes. Perhaps the most easily understood proposal is a $5,000
tax credit for first-time homebuyers. With our plan, young
people almost able to buy that first home could do it with the
extra $5000 in their pocket. The House Democrats plan gives them
nothing.
A word about the Democrats' current plan. I say "current"
because it seems to change just about every hour. That's why
it's really not a plan, it's simply a bad deal. It smacks of
class warfare. Listen to the trade-off in their deal: 25 cents
a day in temporary tax relief for two years -- paid for -- true
to form for the Democrats -- by a large permanent tax increase.
Now some Democrats in the Senate want to make that temporary
tax relief permanent -- get a bidding war going. But to pay for
that they'd have to hike tax rates for the middle class -- people
7
making 35,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit, and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old thinking. - the kind that got us where we
are today.
We drew a line in the sand in the Persian Gulf and kept our
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll send
it right back.
I sent them a plan -- a good plan -- that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
Their plan may have
maneuver that they know right now won't fly. I'll say it again wings
but
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
it's a
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no tur key!
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again.
I said the plan had two parts. The second part is a long-
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
into the next century. Our long range plan strengthens the
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal I
mentioned earlier. Our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
8
But a central idea behind our approach is that to succeed
economically at home, we have to lead economically abroad. Our
exports are at record levels. Isolationism is a bankrupt notion.
I simply will not jeopardize the millions of jobs that those
exports represent.
Some people wish the rest of the world would just go away.
That's naive. But worse, it's a dangerous pre-World War II
mentality. They're saying that a level playing field isn't
enough -- that American ingenuity, American know-how, and the
American can-do spirit, are simply a bunch of hackneyed phrases.
I don't believe it. And neither do you. America is not
going to cut and run -- ever.
We believe in America. We are optimistic about its future.
And we believe in our Party. I am tremendously fortunate to be
serving as your President at this most exciting time in our
nation's history.
Yes, we have much to do. But I guarantee you we are up to
it. Yes, we have many challenges before us. And I guarantee
you, we will meet them -- each and every one of them. Yes,
there's an election in November -- and I guarantee you, we will
win it. I want to be your President for another four years.
Thank you and God Bless the United States of America.
This is long, but it dedn't seem long
because it says something
Very Good.
CLOSE HOLD
Document No. 30941555
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
2/20/92
92 FEB 20 P4: 18
DATE:
4:00PM, TODAY, FEB. 2
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
FEBRUARY 21, 1992
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTER
BROMLEY
ROGICH
CALIO
ROLLINS
DEMAREST
SMITH
FITZWATER
YEUTTER
GRAY
FINDLAY
HOLIDAY
KAUFMAN
MCGROARTY
REMARKS:
ANDERSON
BOSKIN
Please provide comments on the attached directly to
Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this
office NO LATER THAN 4:00PM, TODAY, THURSDAY, FEB. 20.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
P.I.Z BERHOLD showhym. Assistant and PHILLIP Staff to
D. BRADY
the President
Secretary
Ext. 2702
1
DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN ERDENSHIP COUNCIL
22 FEB
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
we're grateful for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina -- host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
stunning victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty-
, Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot my mistake.
You remember those days -- sometimes if you tried to
register Republican they'd tell you not to bother -- because
2
there were no Republicans to vote for in primary elections. or
times when there would be out and out intimidation -- even
violence.
We went through a lot back then. In fact, I'm sure many of
you can share similar experiences. Why did we do it? Why did we
build a Republican Party in the South?
We did it because we wanted change. We did it because we
believed in some fundamental values: faith and family --
responsibility and respect -- community and country.
We did it because we saw our government getting too big,
getting into our pockets and into every corner of our lives. We
did it because we worried about our schools and our neighborhoods
and our communities.
We did it because our taxes always seemed to go up at the
same time America's problems got worse. Each of us, in our own
small way finally said, enough is enough.
We were upstarts and mavericks and gadflies. But we
challenged the status quo -- challenged the closed-door, one-
party rule of the democrats.
And they fought us every step of the way.
But we fought hard too, and we fought fair. We took our
message of smaller government -- better government -- to the
people of the Carolinas, and Virginia, and Mississippi, and
Florida, and the rest of this great region of America. And we
started winning -- at first a House Seat here, a Senate race
there. But our momentum grew and grew.
3
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our standard-bearers in
those early days -- Howard Baker and the late John Tower, the Bo
Callaways and Bill Brocks, Bill Dickinson and John Paul
Hammerschmidt, Mills Godwin and of course the phenomenal favorite
son of South Carolina Strom Thurmond.
They paved the way. They inspired a generation of talent
that transformed the nation's political landscape. I'm thinking
now of another South Carolinian, a good man and a good friend -
-Lee Atwater. We miss him still.
And now the Republican Party of the South is the Party of
Carroll Campbell and Phil Gramm and Trent Lott, of Jim Martin and
Connie Mack, of Kirk Fordice and Newt Gingrich. The Republican
Party is the force for positive change in the New South, and I am
proud to have played a role in its success.
Our message then and our message now is simple: We believe
government is too big and spends too much. We believe in good
schools and safe streets -- and a government worthy of the
people's respect. And we believe in a strong defense.
We believe that we put America first when we put America's
families first.
So we believe that parents, not the government should make
the big decisions. Parents, not government, should choose their
children's schools.
Parents, not government, should decide the family's health
care --and parents should choose who cares for their children --
not some bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
4
And yes, we believe in parents choosing life for the unborn
and prayer for their children in the classroom.
Those are our beliefs -- those are why we built a Party in
the South and why we continue to build it today. Those beliefs
don't change from one election to the next. They still guide us
each and every one of us, each and every day.
Now we are at the beginning of a new era in America's
history. The Cold War is over and America won. The Soviet Union
collapsed and imperial communism is finished for good. Bringing
change to the world during these tumultuous years was American
leadership. Bringing change to America during the coming years
will be Republican leadership.
In my heart I am confident about our future. But we've got
a lot of work ahead of us. There are some things that are simply
on the wrong track in our country. Take our courts, for example.
When fathers stop coaching little league because they're afraid
of liability lawsuits, something's wrong. When doctors stop
delivering babies because they fear a malpractice lawsuit,
something's wrong. or when people stop volunteering to help each
other because they fear ambulance-chasing lawyers, something is
terribly wrong. These days a sharp lawyer would tell the Good
Samaritan -- keep on walking.
We've proposed reforms to our court system to address the
question of frivolous lawsuits and that's a good step.
But the
real answer for solving problems is for Americans to start
helping each other and stop suing each other.
As call I made, The national Genter for Community
Risk aresult management Ba and Insurance has been incorporated. The Gentor's
nurpose is to reduce lighility
5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
The answer isn't to go down the road of socialized medicine,
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides,
it won't work. My approach is to reform our health system, keep
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. The last thing we want is
the government standing between you and your doctor.
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. It
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked my departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system -- to get people to work -- to go after dead-beat fathers
who run out on their children -- and to keep families whole.
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's the economy. It's people worried about
6
their jobs -- providing for their families, meeting the everyday
challenges of paying the bills.
The American people -- your neighbors -- want this economy
fired up again. So do I. Many of you heard my State of the
Union Address. I put forward a two-part plan -- the first part
gets business growing again -- hiring workers again -- upgrading
plant and equipment again. It uses incentives like an investment
tax allowance and yes, it is clearly time for Congress to wake up
and cut the tax on capital gains.
And to get housing back on its feet I put forth several
straightforward proposals to get people buying and building
homes. Perhaps the most easily understood proposal is a $5,000
tax credit for first-time homebuyers. With our plan, young
people almost able to buy that first home could do it with the
extra $5000 in their pocket. The House Democrats plan gives them
nothing.
A word about the Democrats' current plan. I say "current"
because it seems to change just about every hour. That's why
it's really not a plan, it's simply a bad deal. It smacks of
class warfare. Listen to the trade-off in their deal: 25 cents
a day in temporary tax relief for two years -- paid for -- true
to form for the Democrats -- by a large permanent tax increase.
Now some Democrats in the Senate want to make that temporary
tax relief permanent -- get a bidding war going. But to pay for
that they'd have to hike tax rates for the middle class -- people
7
making 35,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit, and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old thinking.
We drew a line in the sand in the Persian Gulf and kept our.
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll send
it right back.
I sent them a plan -- a good plan -- that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
maneuver that they know right now won't fly. I'll say it again
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again.
I said the plan had two parts. The second part is a long-
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
into the next century. Our long range plan strengthens the
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal I
mentioned earlier. Our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
8
But a central idea behind our approach is that to succeed
economically at home, we have to lead economically abroad. Our
exports are at record levels. Isolationism is a bankrupt notion.
I simply will not jeopardize the millions of jobs that those
exports represent.
Some people wish the rest of the world would just go away.
That's naive. But worse, it's a dangerous pre-World War II
mentality. They're saying that a level playing field isn't
enough -- that American ingenuity, American know-how, and the
American can-do spirit, are simply a bunch of hackneyed phrases.
I don't believe it. And neither do you. America is not
going to cut and run -- ever.
We believe in America. We are optimistic about its future.
And we believe in our Party. I am tremendously fortunate to be
serving as your President at this most exciting time in our
nation's history.
Yes, we have much to do. But I guarantee you we are up to
it. Yes, we have many challenges before us. And I guarantee
you, we will meet them -- each and every one of them. Yes,
there's an election in November -- and I guarantee you, we will
win it. I want to be your President for another four years.
Thank you and God Bless the United States of America.
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-21-92 :11:15AM ;
4562983;# 1
CLOSE HOLD
Document No. 30941555
WHITE HOUSE STAFFING MEMORANDUM
2/20/92
4:00PM, TODAY, FEB. 2(
DATE:
ACTION/CONCURRENCE/COMMENT DUE BY:
PRESIDENTIAL REMARKS: ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN
LEADERSHIP COUNCIL
SUBJECT:
FEBRUARY 21, 1992
CHARLESTON, SOUTH CAROLINA
ACTION FYI
ACTION FYI
VICE PRESIDENT
HORNER
SKINNER
MCBRIDE
SCOWCROFT
MOORE
DARMAN
PETERSMEYER
BRADY
PORTE
BROMLEY
ROGICH
CALIO
ROLLINS
DEMAREST
SMITH
YEUTTER
FITZWATER
FINDLAY
GRAY
KAUFMAN
HOLIDAY
MCGROARTY
ANDERSON
REMARKS:
BOSKIN
Please provide comments on the attached directly to
Dan McGroarty, Rm. 122, x2930, with a copy to this
office NO LATER THAN 4:00PM, TODAY, THURSDAY, FEB. 20.
Thank you.
RESPONSE:
CLOSE HOLD
PHILLIP D. BRADY
Assistant to the President
and Staff Secretary
Ext. 2702
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-21-92 :11:15AM ;
4562983;# 2
1
DFD #1
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN 22 EER LCOUNCIL
February 19, 1992
[ACKNOWLEDGMENTS]
10 LIKE TO THANK
It's great to be here in Charleston. Governor Campbell,
HIS
HIS
gratural for your hospitality, and for your leadership as
one of our nation's finest governors. It's great to be here in
South Carolina -- host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
last time -- of the Southern Republican Leadership Conference.
Four years ago the South rose to lead our Party to a
stunning victory across this great country. This year the South
will rise again to lead us to a victory in November, 1992.
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I want to be your
nominee at the Republican Convention and your President for four
more years.
I'll need your support. We've much to do these next few
months, because we've much to do these next few years. Together
we can finish what we've started and move our country forward.
Let me open with a little story about the old days
Nineteen fifty- , Midland, Texas -- trying to organize a
Republican party. I was a poll judge at primary election time.
Barbara and I voted Republican. We represented two-thirds of the
Republican vote that year. The only other guy who voted
Republican was a drunk who took our ballot my mistake.
You remember those days -- if you tried to
register Republican A they'd tell you not to bother -- because
IN SOME PLACES
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-21-92 11:16AM ;
4562983;# 3.
2
there were no Republicans to vote for in primary elections. or
IN OTHER AREAS
times when there would be out and out intimidation -- even
violence.
We went through a lot back then. In fact, I'm sure many of
you can share similar experiences. Why did we do it? Why did we
build a Republican Party in the South?
We did it because we wanted change. We did it because we
believed in some fundamental values: faith and family -
responsibility and respect -- community and country.
We did it because we saw our government getting too big,
REACHING
POKING
getting into our pockets and into every corner of our lives. We
WANTED TO IMPROVE
did it because We worried about our schools and our neighborhoods
and our communities.
We did it because our taxes always seemed to go up at the
same time America's problems got worse. Each of us, in our own
small way finally said, enough is enough.
We were upstarts and mavericks and gadflies. But we
challenged the status quo - challenged the closed-door, one-
party rule of the democrats.
And they fought us every step of the way.
But we fought hard too, and we fought fair. We took our
SMALL, EFFICIENT
message of smaller government -- better government -- to the
people of the Carolinas, and Virginia, and Mississippi, and
Florida, and the rest of this great region of And we
started winning == at first a House Seat here, a Senate race
there. But our momentum greward growt
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-21-92 :11:16AM ;
4562983;# 4
3
We owe a great debt of gratitude to our standard-bearers in
those early days == Howard Baker and the late John Tower, the Bo
Callaways and Bill Brocks, Bill Dickinson and John Paul
Hammerschmidt, Mills Godwin and of course the phenomenal favorite
son of South Carolina Strom Thurmond.
They paved the way. They inspired a generation of talent
that transformed the nation's political landscape. I'm thinking
now of another South Carolinian, a good man and a good friend -
-Lee Atwater. We miss him still.
And now the Republican Party of the South is the Party of
Carroll Campbell and Phil Gramm and Trent Lott, of Jim Martin and
Connie Mack, of Kirk Fordice and Newt Gingrich. The Republican
Party is the force for positive change in the New South, and I am
proud to have played a role in its success.
Our message then and our message now is simple: We believe
government is too big and spends too much. We believe in good
AND STRONG FAMILIES.
schools and safe streets, --- and a government worthy of the
people's respect. And we believe in mus strong defense.
We believe that we put America Street when WE out America'
families
first.
FAMILIES
So we believe that parental not the government should make
the big decisions. Parents, not government, should choose their
children's schools.
Parents, not government, should decide the family's health
care --and parents should choose who cares for their children --
not some bureaucrat in Washington D.C.
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4
And yes, we believe in parents choosing life for the unborn
and praver for their children in the classroom.
Those are our beliefs -- those are why we built all Party in
IT CONTINUES TO GROW
the South and why we continue to build 10 today. Those beliefs
don't change from one election to the next. They still guide
each and every one of us, each and every day.
Now we are at the beginning of as new era in America's
history. The Cold War is over and America won. The Soviet Union
collapsed and imperial communism is finished for good. Bringing
change to the world during these tumultuous years was American
leadership. Bringing change to America during the coming years
will be Republican leadership.
In my hear I am confident about our future. But we've got
MUCH
ris
lot of work ahead of us. There are some things that are simply
on the wrong track in our country. Take our courts, for example.
When fathers stop coaching little league because they're afraid
of liability lawsuits, something's wrong. When doctors stop
delivering babies because they fear and malpractice lawsuit,
something's wrong. Or when people stop volunteering to help each
other because they fear ambulance-chasing lawyers, something is
terribly wrong. These days a sharp lawyer would tell the Good
Samaritan -- keep on walking.
We've proposed reforms to our court system to address the
question of frivolous lawsuits and that's a good step. But the
real answer for solving problems is for Americans to start
helping each other and stop suing each other.
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5
Then I think about our nation's health care system. Our
health care system provides the highest quality care anywhere in
the world. But it's not perfect. We all know that.
Too many people don't have access to health insurance. Too
many people worry that they'll lose their coverage if they change
jobs or worse still, if they lose their job. And anybody who's
had even minor surgery knows that health care costs are going
through the roof.
NATIONALIZED
The answer isn't to go down the road of socialized medicine,
with its long lines and faceless, impersonal service. If that's
what we wanted we'd put our doctors and nurses to work for the
State Department of Motor Vehicles. That's crazy, and besides,
won't
My approach is to reform our health system, keep
the quality high, the bureaucracy low. The last thing we want is
the government standing between you and your doctor.
Then there's America's sorry welfare system. It's pretty
obvious that the system now too often perpetuates dependency. It
should rather promote independence and initiative. We need to
encourage individual success through personal responsibility and
the dignity of a job. So I've asked -may/ departments and agencies
to make it easier for state and local government to reform the
system -- to get people to work -- to go after dead-beat fathers
TOEETHER.
who run out on their children -- and to keep families whole.
But we all know what the number one issue on the minds of
all Americans is -- it's the economy. It's people worried about
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6
their jobs -- providing for their families, meeting the everyday
challenges of paying the bills.
The American people
your neighbors
want this economy
fired up again. So do I. Many of you heard my State of the
Union Address. I put forward a two-part plan -- the first part WILL
a
THE BENOMY
BUSINESSES
AND
gets business growing again hiring workers again upgrading
plant and equipment again. It uses incentives like an investment
tax allowance and yes, it is clearly time for Congress to wake up
and cut the tax on capital gains.
And to get housing back on its feet I put forth several
MANE IT EASIER FOR
STEY
straightforward proposals to get people buying and building
homes. Perhaps the most easily understood proposal is a $5,000
tax credit for first-time homebuyers. With our plan, young
people almost able to buy that first home could do it with the
extra $5000 in their pocket. The House Democrate plan gives them
nothing.
A word about the Democrats' current plan. I say "current"
because it seems to change just about every hour. That's why
it's really not à plan, it's simply a bad deal. It smacks of
class warfare. Listen to the trade-off in their deal: 25 cents
a day in temporary tax relief for two years paid for -- true
to form for the Democrats -- by a large permanent tax increase.
Now some Democrats in the Senate want to make that temporary
tax relief permanent -- get a bidding war going. But to pay for
that they'd have to hike tax rates for the middle class -- people
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7
making 735,000 a year. You know, people like teachers, factory
workers, everyday Americans.
Their plan also adds $30 billion to the deficit, and doesn't
create a single job. I believe the American people have about
had it with that kind of old thinking.
We drew at line in the sand in the Persian Gulf and kept our
word. I'll draw another line in the sand here: if the Democrats
send me the kind of nonsense they're talking about now, I'll send
it right back.
I sent them a plan === a good plan -- that's what they ought
to spending their time working on -- not some phony partisan
maneuver that they know right ROW won't fly. I'll say it again
to the Congress -- here's the deadline -- March 20. If we act
by then we can see some results this Spring. No more games, no
more empty gestures, just pass my plan and get this economy going
again.
I said the plan had two parts. The second part is a long-
term plan to keep this country competitive and vigorous right
into the next century. Our long range plan strengthens the
family through tax relief and outlines the health care proposal I
mentioned earlier. our plan gets the billions of dollars worth
of cutting edge government research and development into the
hands of our private sector businesses and workers -- faster than
ever before. That helps us get a real return on your tax dollars
investment -- helping to create new products and new jobs.
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8
But a central idea behind our approach is that to succeed
economically at home, we have to lead sconomically abroad. Our
exports are at record levels. Isolationism is a bankrupt notion.
I simply will not jeopardize the millions of jobs that those
exports represent.
Some people wish the rest of the world ? would just go away.
IGNORANT
That's naive. But worse, it's È dangerous pre-World War II
1
mentality. They're saying that a level playing field isn't
enough -- that American ingenuity, American know-how, and the
American can-do spirit, are simply a bunch of hackneyed phrases.
I don't believe it. And neither do you. America is not
going to cut and run -- ever.
We believe in America. We are optimistic about its future.
And we believe in our Party. I am tremendously fortunate to be
serving as your President at this most exciting time in our
nation's history.
Yes, we have much to do. But I guarantee you we are up to
it. Yes, we have many challenges before us. And I guarantee
you, we will meet them -- each and every one of them. Yes,
there's an election in November -- and I guarantee you, we will
win it. I want to be your President for another four years.
Thank you and God Bless the United States of America.
310
Feb. 21 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Administration of (
will be a leader in the administration's drive
And it's great to be here in South Carolina;
ried about our fan
to create jobs, increase economic growth,
host for the first time, but I'm sure not the
our neighborhoods
and prepare America for a bright future.
last time of this prestigious Southern Repub-
our taxes always se
I am sure that Transportation Secretary
lican Leadership Conference. Four years
time America's pr
Card will insure that America continues to
ago, the South led our party to a great victory
each of us in our 0
travel safely home and abroad and that the
across the entire country. And this year, the
"Enough is enough.
Nation's transportation systems are ready to
South will lead us to victory in November
And we were up:
move into the 21st century.
1992.
we challenged the S
And just to be perfectly clear about it, I
the old, what was k
am confident of winning the Presidency for
crowd," the closed-
4 more years. I come here fired up and con-
the Democrats. An
Remarks to the Southern Republican
fident. But I'll need your support. We have
knew Republican pr
much to do these next few months because
Leadership Conference in
they fought us eve.
Charleston, South Carolina
we have much to do these next few years.
we fought hard, and
Together, we can finish what we've started
took our message, S
February 21, 1992
and move this country forward.
ter Government, to
The President. Thank you, thank you. It
Let me open with a true story from my
nas and Virginia ano
own past about the old-days, Midland, Texas,
and the rest of this
is great to be here in Charleston, I'll tell you.
I'm delighted to be back in the South. And
1956, trying to organize-I hear Ernie An-
And we started W
gelo over there-[laughter]-trying to orga-
seat here and a Ser
may I say to our Governor, my dear friend
nize a Republican Party. And this is the gos-
Carroll Campbell, we're grateful for your
momentum grew. N
pel truth. I was a precinct judge, a poll judge,
hospitality and, even more, for your leader-
grew. And we owe a
polling judge at primary election time. The
to our standard bea
ship as one of the finest Governors in the
first time the Republican Party had ever held
those that were out f
entire country, a real leader, Carroll Camp-
a primary in Midland County. And Barbara
late John Tower, the
bell. And I might say how pleased I am that
and I were there alternating at the polls, poll
Brocks, Drake Eden
Governor Campbell will serve as our national
watchers. She and I voted Republican, and
Bill Dickinson and
cochairman of the campaign and once again
we represented two-thirds of the Republican
schmidt and of cour
as southern regional chairman. I couldn't be
vote that year, gospel truth. The only other
vorite son of South
in better hands, and thank you very much.
guy that voted was a slightly inebriated Dem-
me, Strom Thurmon
May I thank the Citadel Bulldog Band
ocrat. He thought he was voting in the-
to one year ago almo
over there for some fine music. I appreciate
[laughter]-and you can go back and look
tough decision that
it very much. And this is a real star-studded
up the records.
committing your son:
event. And I want to salute the Governors
But some of you all are old enough to re-
war, Strom Thurmon
here today, past and present. I know Gov-
member those days. And sometimes if you
to me than any single
ernor Jim Martin's here from North Carolina.
tried to register Republican, they'd tell you
States Senate. And We
And Members of the United States Congress,
not to bother because there was no Repub-
him.
I think four or five Congressmen with us here
licans to vote for in the primary. Or times,
Well, these leader
today, a couple of them with us right here:
out and out, there was intimidation, some-
they inspired a gen
Congressman Ravenel, hometown boy, and
times violence. And we went through a lot
transformed the Nati
others. And other distinguished guests. And
back then. And in fact, I'm sure many of you
And I'm thinking now
may I say that an early supporter and friend
can share similar experiences. And you say,
linian, a good man ar
of mine is running for the Senate here,
"Well, why did we do it? Why did we build
Atwater. We miss hi
Tommy Hartnett. And I want to see him
a Republican Party in the South when some
And it was great to ha
elected to the United States Senate-former
said it was impossible?" We did it because
down with us this aft
member of Congress. And I also want to ac-
we wanted change, and we did it because
One. Sally, we're so P
knowledge key members of our political
we believed in some fundamental values:
Well, today the Re
team: Rich Bond is with us, our new chair-
faith and family, responsibility and respect,
force for positive char
man and Jeanie Austin, doing a superb job.
community and of course country, the Unit-
and I'm proud to have
And of course, the conference chairman
ed States of America. And we did it because
in that success. Our r
Martha Edens' superb work here. Keep up
we saw the Government getting too big and
message now is simple
the good work and thank you very much,
getting into our pockets and to every corner
it. We believe Govern
Martha.
of our lives. And we did it because we wor-
spends too much. We I
311
in South Carolina,
ried about our families and our schools and
and safe streets and a Government worthy
t I'm sure not the
our neighborhoods. And we did it because
of the people's respect. And so, we believe
Southern Repub-
our taxes always seem to go up at the same
in less Government, low taxes. Surely we be-
time America's problems got worse. And
ence. Four years
lieve in a strong defense. And we believe that
each of us in our own small way finally said,
y to a great victory
we put America first when we put America's
And this year, the
"Enough is enough."
families first.
And we were upstarts and mavericks. And
cory in November
And so, we believe that parents, not the
we challenged the status quo. We challenged
Government, should make the big decisions.
the old, what was known as the "courthouse
y clear about it, I
Parents, not Government, should choose
crowd," the closed-door, one-party rule of
he Presidency for
their children's schools. Parents, not the
the Democrats. And we did it because we
fired up and con-
Government, should decide the family's
support. We have
knew Republican principles were right. And
health care. And parents should choose who
months because
they fought us every step of the way. But
cares for their children, not some bureaucrat
we fought hard, and we fought fair. And we
e next few years.
in Washington, DC, telling us how to do it.
hat we've started
took our message, smaller Government, bet-
And yes, we believe it ought to be okay to
ard.
ter Government, to the people of the Caroli-
have a voluntary prayer for children in the
nas and Virginia and Mississippi and Florida
le story from my
and the rest of this great region of America.
classroom, and I'm not going to change my
;, Midland, Texas,
view on that ever.
I hear Ernie An-
And we started winning, at first a House
seat here and a Senate race there. But our
Those are our beliefs. And those are why
|-trying to orga-
momentum grew. Momentum grew, and it
we built a party in the South and why we
nd this is the gos-
dge, a poll judge,
grew. And we owe a great debt of gratitude
continue, with your help, to build it today.
to our standard bearer in those early days,
Those beliefs don't change from one election
ection time. The
those that were out front: Howard Baker, the
to the next. They still guide each and every
.rty had ever held
late John Tower, the Bo Calloways and Bill
one of us each and every day.
nty. And Barbara
Brocks, Drake Edens and Clark Reeds and
And now we're at the beginning of a new
: at the polls, poll
Bill Dickinson and John Paul Hammer-
era in the history of our country. The cold
Republican, and
schmidt and of course, the phenomenal fa-
war is over, and America won. The Soviet
of the Republican
vorite son of South Carolina, right behind
Union, as we remember it, has collapsed,
The only other
me, Strom Thurmond. When I think back
gone. Imperial communism is finished for
inebriated Dem-
to one year ago almost to this very day, the
good. American leadership changed the
voting in the-
tough decision that had to be made about
world. Republican leadership will change
) back and look
committing your sons and daughters into a
America.
war, Strom Thurmond was of more support
I know we've got tough times, but I am
Id enough to re-
to me than any single Senator in the United
totally confident about our future. But we've
ometimes if you
States Senate. And we should be grateful for
got a lot of work ahead of us. There are some
, they'd tell you
him.
things that are simply on the wrong track in
was no Repub-
Well, these leaders paved the way, and
our country. Take our courts, for example.
mary. Or times,
they inspired a generation of talent that
When fathers stop coaching Little League
midation, some-
transformed the Nation's political landscape.
because they're afraid of liability lawsuits,
nt through a lot
And I'm thinking now of another South Caro-
something is wrong. And when doctors stop
ure many of you
linian, a good man and a good friend, Lee
delivering babies because they fear a mal-
es. And you say,
Atwater. We miss him. We miss him still.
practice lawsuit, something's wrong. Or when
hy did we build
And it was great to have Sally Atwater flying
people stop volunteering to help each other
outh when some
down with us this afternoon on Air Force
because they fear ambulance-chasing law-
3 did it because
One. Sally, we're so pleased to be with you.
yers, something is terribly wrong. These days
did it because
Well, today the Republican Party is the
a sharp lawyer would tell the Good Samari-
amental values:
force for positive change in the New South,
tan, "Keep on walking."
ity and respect,
and I'm proud to have played a modest role
We've proposed reforms to our court sys-
untry, the Unit-
in that success. Our message then and our
e did it because
tem. They've got them sitting up there in the
message now is simple. Carroll said a lot of
United States Senate now to address the
cing too big and
it. We believe Government is too big and
questions of frivolous lawsuits, and that's a
to every corner
spends too much. We believe in good schools
good step. But the real answer for solving
ecause we wor-
312
Feb. 21 / Administration of George Bush, 1992
Administratio.
problems is to be more concerned with help-
I put forward a two-part plan. And the first
Democrats SE
ing each other than suing each other.
part gets business growing again right now
talking about
And then I think about our Nation's health
instantly upgrading plant and equipmen
will veto it th
care system. Our health care system pro-
again, hiring workers again. It uses incentives
I sent them
vides-and let's not forget this-the highest
like an investment tax allowance.
what they oug.
quality care anywhere in the world. But it's
And yes, it is clearly time for the Congress
partisan mane
not perfect. We all know that. And too many
to wake up and cut that tax on capital gains.
And I'll say it
people do not have access to health insur-
And to get housing back on its feet, I put
the deadline:
ance. Too many people worry that they're
forth several commonsense proposals-
then we can se
going to lose their coverage if they change
they're sitting right there in House now-
more games, n
jobs or, worse still, if they lose their job. And
to get people buying and building homes.
pass this plan
anybody who's had even minor surgery
And perhaps the most easily understood pro-
again, and ther
knows that health care costs are going
posal is a $5,000 tax credit for first-time
fights we want.
through the roof.
homebuyers. With our plan, young people al-
do something
The answer is not to go down the road
most able to buy that first home could do
are hurting out
of socialized medicine with its long lines and
it with the extra $5,000 in their pocket. And
I said the pl
faceless, impersonal service. If that's what we
the plan we're fighting against in the Con-
member that f.
wanted, we'd put our doctors and nurses to
gress this very day gives them absolutely
The second pai
work for the department of motor vehicles.
nothing, nothing to that first-time home-
this country cc
Our plan, my approach, written out in detail,
buyer.
And it's a road
is to reform our health system, make insur-
You're worried about the Democrat's cur-
ing America in
ance available to all, keep the quality high,
rent plan. I don't want to say too much about
the 21st century
the bureaucracy low, and preserve choice.
it. It's a nice evening here, and I don't want
Our plan re
And that is vital. And the last thing we want
to ruin it. Current plan, I say current because
cational system
is the Government standing between you and
it seems to change just about every hour as
of dollars' worth
your doctor.
they change it to garner in some votes front
research and de
And then there's the sorry welfare system.
the special interests, to buy votes. And that'
our private-sect
It's pretty obvious that the system now too
why it's really not a plan. It is simply a bad
faster than eve.
often perpetuates dependency when it
deal. It smacks of, and you've heard it before,
get a real return
should promote independence, promote ini-
class warfare. And listen to the tradeoff in
ment helping to
tiative. We need to encourage individual suc-
their deal: 25 cents a day in temporary tax
ucts.
cess through personal responsibility, the dig-
relief for 2 years, paid for, true to form for
Our plan pro'
nity of a job. And so, I've asked the depart-
the Democrats, by a large permanent tax in-
the family. We
ments and agencies to make it easier-and
crease.
children by $50
this is upon the advice of Jim Martin and
Now, some Democrats in the Senate have
this plan passed
Carroll Campbell and others-to make it
other ideas. They want to get a bidding war
Keep the heat 0
easier for State and local government to re-
going. But to pay for that they'd have to hike
get that done.
form the system, reform policies that pro-
tax rates for the middle class, people making
But a central
mote broken families. We need to get people
$35,000, you know, people like teachers and
is that to succee
to work, go after the deadbeat fathers who
factory workers and everyday Americans.
have to lead ec
run out on those little kids, or as they do
And they won't tell you that about their sorry
touched on this
in Wisconsin, to make recipients work or
plan. But that's the estimate I've been given
means and what
study and to keep families together.
by our experts. Any economist will tell you,
in America by o
But we all know what the number one
the last thing our economy needs now is a
ports all over th
issue on the minds of Americans is, and it
tax increase by that Democratic Congress.
fight hard in eve:
is the economy. And it's people worried
And their plan adds almost $30 billion to this
exactly that. We's
about their jobs, providing for their families,
deficit. And the jobs it creates are more likely
made dramatic }
meeting the everyday challenges of paying
to be for more tax collectors.
in exports, but We
the bills and providing a home and teaching
I believe the American people have about
ter.
the kids and putting aside for our retirement.
had it with this tax-and-spend thinking. And
Some people
The American people, your neighbors,
we drew a line in the sand in the Persian
would just go aw
want this economy fired up again. And so
Gulf and kept our word, and I'll draw another
is defeatist. They':
do I. And in my State of the Union Address,
line in the sand right here today. If the
field isn't level er
1992
Administration George Bush, 1992 / Feb. 21
313
ard a two-part plan. And the first
Democrats send me this nonsense they're
nuity, American know-how, and the Amer-
usiness growing again right now
talking about now, I will send it right back.
ican can-do spirit are simply a bunch of hack-
apgrading plant and equipmen
will veto it the minute it hits my desk.
neyed phrases. I don't believe it. I don't be-
g workers again. It uses incentives
I sent them a plan, a good one. And that's
lieve that for one minute, and neither do you.
stment tax allowance.
what they ought to work on, not some phony
America is not going to cut and run ever.
it is clearly time for the Congress
partisan maneuver that they know won't fly.
We're going to stay involved, and we are
and cut that tax on capital gains.
And I'll say it again to the Congress: Here's
going to continue to lead the entire world.
housing back on its feet, I put
the deadline: March 20th. And if we act by
then we can see some results this spring. No
Before I finish now, I have something to
eral commonsense proposals-
say about this primary campaign. Of course,
ing right there in House now-
more games, no more empty gestures, just
ole buying and building homes.
pass this plan and get the economy going
this campaign is important, not just to me
os the most easily understood pro-
again, and then we can have all the political
but to you and to our country. And for the
fights we want. But let's set it aside now and
sake of our country we must not turn over
$5,000 tax credit for first-time
S. With our plan, young people al-
do something for the American people that
the Nation's leadership to the Democrats.
are hurting out there.
Republican leadership must continue.
to buy that first home could do
extra $5,000 in their pocket. And
I said the plan had two parts; you may re-
For 8 years, Ronald Reagan, I was at his
è're fighting against in the Con-
member that from the State of the Union.
side, led this country. For the last 3 years
very day gives them absolutely
The second part is a long-term plan to keep
I've stood on our principles and against a
thing to that first-time home-
this country competitive, keep us vigorous.
Democratic Congress that would undermine
And it's a road map for competing and lead-
them. And with the help of our Republican
orried about the Démocrat's cur-
ing America in this fast-changing world of
leadership on Capitol Hill, 25 times our prin-
don't want to say too much about
the 21st century.
ciples were upheld, vetoes of bad legislation
sustained.
e evening here, and I don't want
Our plan revolutionizes America's edu-
urrent plan, I say current because
cational system. Our plan gets the billions
And the next 5 years of American history
change just about every hour as
of dollars' worth of cutting-edge Government
are just too important to entrust to the inex-
it to garner in some votes from
research and development into the hands of
perienced. I believe the American people
interests, to buy votes. And that's
our private-sector businesses and the workers
want to hear about how we're going to ad-
lly not a plan. It is simply a bad
faster than ever before. And that helps us
dress our country's challenges, how we can
cks of, and you've heard it before,
get a real return on your tax dollars, invest-
unite our people, create more opportunity
e. And listen to the tradeoff in
ment helping to create new jobs and prod-
and hope for all Americans. And I believe
25 cents a day in temporary tax
ucts.
the American people want to hear solutions,
years, paid for, true to form for
Our plan provides tax relief to strengthen
not just a lot of name-calling and running
ats, by a large permanent tax in-
the family. We raised the tax deduction for
this country down.
children by $500. Make no mistake, I want
And frankly, I also believe that sometimes
le Democrats in the Senate have
this plan passed in this session of Congress.
somebody's got to stand up and say what's
They want to get a bidding war
Keep the heat on the Congress, and we can
right about the United States of America.
pay for that they'd have to hike
get that done.
And you can't hear it from this campaign
the middle class, people making
But a central idea behind our approach
going on out there. We are number one, and
know, people like teachers and
is that to succeed economically at home we
make no mistake about it, and we're going
kers and everyday Americans.
have to lead economically abroad. Carroll
to stay that way.
n't tell you that about their sorry
touched on this very eloquently. What he
And another thing, maybe this is just my
at's the estimate I've been given
means and what I mean is jobs right here
personal prejudice talking, let's not listen to
:rts. Any economist will tell you,
in America by opening markets for our ex-
the gloom and doom from all those intense
g our economy needs now is a
ports all over the world. And I'm going to
talking heads who are happy only when they
by that Democratic Congress.
fight hard in every foreign market to do just
say something negative. We are the United
in adds almost $30 billion to this
exactly that. We've made headway. We have
States of America, and we don't have to put
the jobs it creates are more likely
made dramatic headway with this increase
up with all that.
e tax collectors.
in exports, but we are going to do even bet-
Audience members. Four more years!
he American people have about
wer.
Four more years! Four more years!
his tax-and-spend thinking. And
Some people wish the rest of the world
The President. Let me just say, you and
ine in the sand in the Persian
would just go away. That is naive, and that
I believe in America, and we are optimistic
t our word, and I'll draw another
is defeatist. They're saying that a level playing
about its future. And we believe in our party.
sand right here today. If the
field isn't level enough, that American inge-
And I am tremendously fortunate to serve
SENT BY:Xerox Telecopier 7020 ; 2-20-92 ; 6:25PM ;
4562983;# 2
THE WHITE HOUSE
WASHINGTON
February 20, 1992
MEMORANDUM FOR DAVE DEMAREST
FROM:
MICHELE NIX
SUBJECT:
SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP COUNCIL DRAFT
NOTE: THIS IS NOT A SUCK-UP MEMO. I really liked the SRLC
draft you wrote. And I want to make sure you know why: Not
because I want you to remember me at Christmastime, but because
there's a quality in your draft that I think desperately needs to
be repeated in every draft we produce: it flows -- throughout.
Many times are speeches tend to read like laundry lists --
like fact sheets with a joke here and there. You've developed a
definite theme -- the rise of the Republican Party in the South -
- and you've woven it throughout the text. Every paragraph is
born from the previous one.
Also: the language is very conversational. And that's when
George Bush is at his best. I often wish the President could
come across the way he does in his press conferences. Have you
ever noticed? He's calm, confident, sincere -- and he speaks as
if there were only a handful of people in the room -- not 60+ and
the world at the other end of the airwaves. He starts his lines
with conversational tags: "Look,
II or "Listen,
"
or "Ok, Sam, I'll tell you what this means
"
And not every sentence is complete -- which is good. In
speeches, you don't have to speak in complete sentences. It's a
speech, not an article. You don't have to list every item on the
agenda. It's a speech, not a fact sheet. What you do have to do
is: repeat; personalize; engage. This draft does that.
I'll never forget my commencement speaker from undergrad --
some [cough] years ago. Former Texas Representative Barbara
Jordan rolled up in her wheelchair to the microphone. And she
said in her slow, baritone voice, "Education and commitment. 11
Education and commitment. // Education and commitment. //" With
each break, she turned to look at another side of the audience.
The pause and the repetition were so effective. You got the
point (and a chill) and she got your attention.
This speech flows well, David -- the storytelling, the
conversational tone, the analogies -- it all fits together.
Let's not overlook that in future speeches. Let's cling to it.
Let's go with the flow! [insert at million laughs here)
ADDRESS TO SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE
FEBRUARY 21, 1992
*
IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE IN CHARLESTON. GOVERNOR
CAMPBELL, WE'RE GRATEFUL FOR YOUR HOSPITALITY, AND FOR
YOUR LEADERSHIP AS ONE OF OUR NATION'S FINEST
*
GOVERNORS. AND LET ME JUST SAY HOW PROUD I AM THAT
GOVERNOR CAMPBELL WILL SERVE AS NATIONAL CO-CHAIRMAN OF
THE CAMPAIGN AND ONCE AGAIN AS SOUTHERN REGIONAL
*
CHAIRMAN. citadel Band
THIS IS A REAL STAR-STUDDED EVENT. I WANT TO
SALUTE THE GOVERNORS HERE TODAY -- PAST AND PRESENT;
Tomme * Hartweit
MEMBERS OF CONGRESS, AND OTHER DISTINGUISHED GUESTS.
I'D ALSO LIKE TO ACKNOWLEDGE KEY MEMBERS OF OUR
POLITICAL TEAM: RICH BOND AND JEANNIE AUSTIN, AS WELL
AS CONFERENCE CHAIRMAN, MARTHA EDENS [EE-DENS].
MARTHA, KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK.
IT'S GREAT TO BE HERE IN SOUTH CAROLINA -- HOST FOR
THE FIRST TIME, BUT I'M SURE NOT THE LAST TIME -- OF
THE SOUTHERN REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP CONFERENCE.
FOUR YEARS AGO THE SOUTH LED OUR PARTY TO A GREAT
VICTORY ACROSS THIS GREAT COUNTRY. THIS YEAR THE SOUTH
#
WILL LEAD US TO A VICTORY IN NOVEMBER, 1992.
POTUS #2
- 2 -
AND JUST TO BE PERFECTLY CLEAR ABOUT IT, I AM
CONFIDENT OF WINNING THE PRESIDENCY FOR FOUR MORE
* YEARS.
I'LL NEED YOUR SUPPORT. WE'VE MUCH TO DO THESE
NEXT FEW MONTHS, BECAUSE WE'VE MUCH TO DO THESE NEXT
FEW YEARS. TOGETHER WE CAN FINISH WHAT WE'VE STARTED
AND MOVE OUR COUNTRY FORWARD.
LET ME OPEN WITH A TRUE STORY ABOUT THE OLD
DAYS
MIDLAND, TEXAS - -- 1956 -- TRYING TO ORGANIZE A
REPUBLICAN PARTY. I WAS A POLL JUDGE AT PRIMARY
ELECTION TIME -- THE FIRST REPUBLICAN PRIMARY EVER HELD
IN MIDLAND COUNTY. BARBARA AND I VOTED REPUBLICAN. WE
REPRESENTED TWO-THIRDS OF THE REPUBLICAN VOTE THAT
A
YEAR. THE ONLY OTHER GUY WHO VOTED ALL DAY LONG WAS
SLIGHTLY INEBRIATED. HE WHO THOUGHT HE WAS VOTING IN
THE DEMOCRATIC PRIMARY.
- 3 -
YOU REMEMBER THOSE DAYS -- SOMETIMES IF YOU TRIED
TO REGISTER REPUBLICAN THEY'D TELL YOU NOT TO BOTHER
-- BECAUSE THERE WERE NO REPUBLICANS TO VOTE FOR IN
PRIMARY ELECTIONS. OR TIMES OF OUT-AND-OUT
INTIMIDATION -- OR EVEN VIOLENCE.
WE WENT THROUGH A LOT BACK THEN. IN FACT, I'M SURE
MANY OF YOU CAN SHARE SIMILAR EXPERIENCES. WHY DID WE
DO IT? WHY DID WE BUILD A REPUBLICAN PARTY IN THE
SOUTH?
WE DID IT BECAUSE WE WANTED CHANGE. WE DID IT
BECAUSE WE BELIEVED IN SOME FUNDAMENTAL VALUES: FAITH
AND FAMILY - RESPONSIBILITY AND RESPECT -- COMMUNITY
*
AND COUNTRY.
WE DID IT BECAUSE WE SAW OUR GOVERNMENT GETTING TOO
BIG, GETTING INTO OUR POCKETS AND INTO EVERY CORNER OF
OUR LIVES. WE DID IT BECAUSE WE WORRIED ABOUT OUR
FAMILIES AND OUR SCHOOLS AND OUR NEIGHBORHOODS.
- 4 -
WE DID IT BECAUSE OUR TAXES ALWAYS SEEMED TO GO UP
AT THE SAME TIME AMERICA'S PROBLEMS GOT WORSE. EACH OF
US, IN OUR OWN SMALL WAY FINALLY SAID, ENOUGH IS
ENOUGH.
WE WERE UPSTARTS AND MAVERICKS. WE CHALLENGED THE
STATUS QUO -- CHALLENGED THE COURT HOUSE CROWD -- THE
CLOSED-DOOR, ONE-PARTY RULE OF THE DEMOCRATS. WE DID
IT BECAUSE WE KNEW REPUBLICAN PRINCIPLES WERE RIGHT.
AND THEY FOUGHT US EVERY STEP OF THE WAY.
BUT WE FOUGHT HARD -- AND WE FOUGHT FAIR. WE TOOK
OUR MESSAGE OF SMALLER GOVERNMENT -- BETTER GOVERNMENT
-- TO THE PEOPLE OF THE CAROLINAS, AND VIRGINIA, AND
MISSISSIPPI, AND FLORIDA, AND THE REST OF THIS GREAT
REGION OF AMERICA. AND WE STARTED WINNING -- AT FIRST
A HOUSE SEAT HERE, A SENATE RACE THERE. BUT OUR
MOMENTUM GREW AND IT GREW.
- 5 -
WE OWE A GREAT DEBT OF GRATITUDE TO OUR STANDARD-
BEARERS IN THOSE EARLY DAYS -- HOWARD BAKER AND THE
LATE JOHN TOWER, THE Bo CALLAWAYS AND BILL BROCKS, BILL
DICKINSON AND JOHN PAUL HAMMERSCHMIDT AND OF COURSE THE
PHENOMENAL FAVORITE SON OF SOUTH CAROLINA, STROM
*
THURMOND.
STROM MORE THURMONDON
FOR THAN ANY
THEY PAVED THE WAY. THEY INSPIRED A GENERATION OF
TALENT THAT TRANSFORMED THE NATION'S POLITICAL
OTHER
LANDSCAPE. I'M THINKING NOW OF ANOTHER SOUTH
CAROLINIAN, A GOOD MAN AND A GOOD FRIEND -- LEE
X
ATWATER. WE MISS HIM STILL. [IT WAS GREAT TO HAVE
R
SALLY FLYING DOWN WITH ME THIS AFTERNOON.]
- 6 -
TODAY, THE REPUBLICAN PARTY IS THE FORCE FOR
POSITIVE CHANGE IN THE NEW SOUTH, AND I AM PROUD TO
HAVE PLAYED A ROLE IN ITS SUCCESS. OUR MESSAGE THEN
AND OUR MESSAGE NOW IS SIMPLE: WE BELIEVE GOVERNMENT
IS TOO BIG AND SPENDS T00 MUCH. WE BELIEVE IN GOOD
SCHOOLS AND SAFE STREETS - -- AND A GOVERNMENT WORTHY OF
THE PEOPLE'S RESPECT. SO WE BELIEVE IN LESS
GOVERNMENT, LOW TAXES, AND A STRONG DEFENSE.
WE BELIEVE THAT WE PUT AMERICA FIRST WHEN WE PUT
$
AMERICA'S FAMILIES FIRST. SO WE BELIEVE THAT PARENTS,
NOT THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD MAKE THE BIG DECISIONS.
PARENTS, NOT GOVERNMENT, SHOULD CHOOSE THEIR CHILDREN'S
* SCHOOLS.
PARENTS, NOT GOVERNMENT, SHOULD DECIDE THE FAMILY'S
HEALTH CARE -- AND PARENTS SHOULD CHOOSE WHO CARES FOR
THEIR CHILDREN - -- NOT SOME BUREAUCRAT IN WASHINGTON
* D.C.
- 7 -
AND YES, WE BELIEVE IT OUGHT TO BE OKAY TO HAVE
R
VOLUNTARY PRAYER FOR CHILDREN IN THE CLASSROOM.
THOSE ARE OUR BELIEFS -- THOSE ARE WHY WE BUILT A
PARTY IN THE SOUTH AND WHY WE CONTINUE TO BUILD IT
TODAY. THOSE BELIEFS DON'T CHANGE FROM ONE ELECTION TO
THE NEXT. THEY STILL GUIDE EACH AND EVERY ONE OF US,
EACH AND EVERY DAY.
NOW WE ARE AT THE BEGINNING OF A NEW ERA IN
AMERICA'S HISTORY. THE COLD WAR IS OVER AND AMERICA
&
WON. THE SOVIET UNION COLLAPSED AND IMPERIAL COMMUNISM
IS FINISHED FOR GOOD. AMERICAN LEADERSHIP CHANGED THE
x
WORLD. REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP WILL CHANGE AMERICA.
- 8 -
I AM CONFIDENT ABOUT OUR FUTURE. BUT WE'VE GOT A
LOT OF WORK AHEAD OF US. THERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT
ARE SIMPLY ON THE WRONG TRACK IN OUR COUNTRY. TAKE OUR
COURTS, FOR EXAMPLE. WHEN FATHERS STOP COACHING LITTLE
LEAGUE BECAUSE THEY'RE AFRAID OF LIABILITY LAWSUITS,
*
SOMETHING'S WRONG. WHEN DOCTORS STOP DELIVERING BABIES
BECAUSE THEY FEAR A MALPRACTICE LAWSUIT, SOMETHING'S
*
WRONG. OR WHEN PEOPLE STOP VOLUNTEERING TO HELP EACH
OTHER BECAUSE THEY FEAR AMBULANCE-CHASING LAWYERS,
#
SOMETHING IS TERRIBLY WRONG. THESE DAYS A SHARP LAWYER
WOULD TELL THE GOOD SAMARITAN - -- KEEP ON WALKING.
WE'VE PROPOSED REFORMS TO OUR COURT SYSTEM TO
ADDRESS THE QUESTION OF FRIVOLOUS LAWSUITS AND THAT'S A
GOOD STEP. BUT THE REAL ANSWER FOR SOLVING PROBLEMS IS
TO BE MORE CONCERNED WITH HELPING EACH OTHER THAN SUING
*
EACH OTHER.
- 9 -
THEN I THINK ABOUT OUR NATION'S HEALTH CARE SYSTEM.
OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM PROVIDES THE HIGHEST QUALITY
CARE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD. BUT IT'S NOT PERFECT. WE
ALL KNOW THAT.
TOO MANY PEOPLE DON'T HAVE ACCESS TO HEALTH
INSURANCE. TOO MANY PEOPLE WORRY THAT THEY'LL LOSE
THEIR COVERAGE IF THEY CHANGE JOBS OR WORSE STILL, IF
THEY LOSE THEIR JOB. AND ANYBODY WHO'S HAD EVEN MINOR
SURGERY KNOWS THAT HEALTH CARE COSTS ARE GOING THROUGH
THE ROOF.
THE ANSWER ISN'T TO GO DOWN THE ROAD OF SOCIALIZED
A
MEDICINE, WITH ITS LONG LINES AND FACELESS, IMPERSONAL
SERVICE. IF THAT'S WHAT WE WANTED WE'D PUT OUR DOCTORS
AND NURSES TO WORK FOR THE DEPARTMENT OF MOTOR
VEHICLES. MY APPROACH IS TO REFORM OUR HEALTH SYSTEM:
MAKE INSURANCE AVAILABLE TO ALL. KEEP THE QUALITY
HIGH, THE BUREAUCRACY LOW --AND PRESERVE CHOICE.
THAT'S VITAL. THE LAST THING WE WANT IS THE GOVERNMENT
&
STANDING BETWEEN YOU AND YOUR DOCTOR.
- 10 -
THEN THERE'S AMERICA'S SORRY WELFARE SYSTEM. IT'S
PRETTY OBVIOUS THAT THE SYSTEM NOW TOO OFTEN
PERPETUATES DEPENDENCY WHEN IT SHOULD PROMOTE
INDEPENDENCE AND INITIATIVE. WE NEED TO ENCOURAGE
INDIVIDUAL SUCCESS THROUGH PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY AND
THE DIGNITY OF A JOB. SO I'VE ASKED MY DEPARTMENTS AND
AGENCIES TO MAKE IT EASIER FOR STATE AND LOCAL
GOVERNMENT TO REFORM THE SYSTEM -- REFORM POLICIES THAT
PROMOTE BROKEN FAMILIES. WE NEED TO GET PEOPLE TO WORK
-- GO AFTER DEAD-BEAT FATHERS WHO RUN OUT ON THEIR
$
CHILDREN -- TO MAKE RECIPIENTS WORK OR STUDY -- AND TO
KEEP FAMILIES WHOLE.
BUT WE ALL KNOW WHAT THE NUMBER ONE ISSUE ON THE
MINDS OF ALL AMERICANS IS -- IT'S THE ECONOMY. IT'S
PEOPLE WORRIED ABOUT THEIR JOBS -- PROVIDING FOR THEIR
FAMILIES, MEETING THE EVERYDAY CHALLENGES OF PAYING THE
BILLS, PROVIDING A HOME, TEACHING OUR KIDS AND PUTTING
ASIDE FOR OUR RETIREMENT.
- 11 -
THE AMERICAN PEOPLE -- YOUR NEIGHBORS - WANT THIS
ECONOMY FIRED UP AGAIN. SO DO I. IN MY STATE OF THE
UNION ADDRESS, I PUT FORWARD A TWO-PART PLAN -- THE
instantly
FIRST PART GETS BUSINESS GROWING AGAIN RIGHT NOW --
UPGRADING PLANT AND EQUIPMENT AGAIN -- HIRING WORKERS
AGAIN. IT USES INCENTIVES LIKE AN INVESTMENT TAX
ALLOWANCE AND YES, IT IS CLEARLY TIME FOR CONGRESS TO
&
WAKE UP AND CUT THE TAX ON CAPITAL GAINS.
AND TO GET HOUSING BACK ON ITS FEET I PUT FORTH
SEVERAL COMMON SENSE PROPOSALS TO GET PEOPLE BUYING AND
BUILDING HOMES. PERHAPS THE MOST EASILY UNDERSTOOD
PROPOSAL IS A $5,000 TAX CREDIT FOR FIRST-TIME
HOMEBUYERS. WITH OUR PLAN, YOUNG PEOPLE ALMOST ABLE
TO BUY THAT FIRST HOME COULD DO IT WITH THE EXTRA $5000
A
IN THEIR POCKET. THE HOUSE DEMOCRATS' PLAN GIVES THEM
NOTHING.
POTUS A's
- 12 -
A WORD ABOUT THE DEMOCRATS' CURRENT PLAN. I SAY
"CURRENT" BECAUSE IT SEEMS TO CHANGE JUST ABOUT EVERY
HOUR AS THEY CHANGE IT TO BUY VOTES. THAT'S WHY IT'S
REALLY NOT A PLAN, IT'S SIMPLY A BAD DEAL. IT SMACKS
OF CLASS WARFARE. LISTEN TO THE TRADE-OFF IN THEIR
DEAL: 25 CENTS A DAY IN TEMPORARY TAX RELIEF FOR TWO
YEARS -- PAID FOR -- TRUE TO FORM FOR THE DEMOCRATS --
BY A LARGE PERMANENT TAX INCREASE.
NOW SOME DEMOCRATS IN THE SENATE HAVE OTHER IDEAS
-- THEY WANT TO GET A BIDDING WAR GOING. BUT TO PAY
FOR THAT THEY'D HAVE TO HIKE TAX RATES FOR THE MIDDLE
CLASS -- PEOPLE MAKING $35,000 A YEAR. YOU KNOW,
PEOPLE LIKE TEACHERS, FACTORY WORKERS, EVERYDAY
AMERICANS. THEY WON'T TELL YOU THAT ABOUT THEIR SORRY
PLAN -- BUT THAT'S THE ESTIMATE I'VE BEEN GIVEN BY OUR
EXPERTS. ANY ECONOMIST WILL TELL YOU -- THE LAST THING
*
OUR ECONOMY NEEDS NOW IS A TAX INCREASE. by that Congress Democratic
- 13 -
THEIR PLAN ALSO ADDS MORE THAN $30 BILLION TO THE
DEFICIT, AND THE JOBS IT CREATES ARE MORE LIKELY TO BE
FOR MORE TAX COLLECTORS. I BELIEVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE
HAVE ABOUT HAD IT WITH TAX AND SPEND THINKING.
WE DREW A LINE IN THE SAND IN THE PERSIAN GULF
AND KEPT OUR WORD. I'LL DRAW ANOTHER LINE IN THE SAND
HERE: IF THE DEMOCRATS SEND ME THIS NONSENSE THEY'RE
TALKING ABOUT NOW, I'LL SEND IT RIGHT BACK. I WILL
*
VETO IT THE MINUTE IT HITS MY DESK.
I SENT THEM A PLAN -- A GOOD PLAN -- THAT'S WHAT
THEY OUGHT TO WORK ON -- NOT SOME PHONY PARTISAN
MANEUVER THAT THEY KNOW WON'T FLY. I'LL SAY IT AGAIN
TO THE CONGRESS -- HERE'S THE DEADLINE -- MARCH 20.
IF WE ACT BY THEN WE CAN SEE SOME RESULTS THIS SPRING.
NO MORE GAMES, NO MORE EMPTY GESTURES, JUST PASS MY
PLAN AND GET THIS ECONOMY GOING AGAIN.
get aside politics
do something
*
- 14 -
I SAID THE PLAN HAD TWO PARTS. THE SECOND PART IS
A LONG-TERM PLAN TO KEEP THIS COUNTRY COMPETITIVE AND
VIGOROUS. IT'S A ROAD MAP FOR COMPETING AND LEADING
AMERICA IN THE FAST-CHANGING WORLD OF THE 21ST CENTURY.
OUR PLAN REVOLUTIONIZES AMERICA'S EDUCATION SYSTEM.
OUR PLAN GETS THE BILLIONS OF DOLLARS WORTH OF CUTTING
EDGE GOVERNMENT RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT INTO THE HANDS
OF OUR PRIVATE SECTOR BUSINESSES AND WORKERS -- FASTER
THAN EVER BEFORE. THAT HELPS US GET A REAL RETURN ON
YOUR TAX DOLLARS INVESTMENT -- HELPING TO CREATE NEW
PRODUCTS AND NEW JOBS. OUR PLAN PROVIDES TAX RELIEF TO
STRENGTHEN THE FAMILY. WE RAISE THE TAX DEDUCTION FOR
CHILDREN BY $500 DOLLARS. MAKE NO MISTAKE, I WANT THIS
*
PLAN PASSED IN THIS SESSION OF CONGRESS. //
- 15 -
BUT A CENTRAL IDEA BEHIND OUR APPROACH IS THAT TO
SUCCEED ECONOMICALLY AT HOME, WE HAVE TO LEAD
ECONOMICALLY ABROAD. THAT MEANS JOBS RIGHT HERE IN
AMERICA BY OPENING MARKETS FOR OUR EXPORTS ALL OVER THE
WORLD. I AM GOING TO FIGHT HARD IN EVERY FOREIGN
MARKET TO DO JUST THAT.
Increase
SOME PEOPLE WISH THE REST OF THE WORLD WOULD JUST
*
GO AWAY. THAT'S NAIVE AND DEFEATIST. THEY'RE SAYING
THAT A LEVEL PLAYING FIELD ISN'T LEVEL ENOUGH -- THAT
AMERICAN INGENUITY, AMERICAN KNOW-HOW, AND THE AMERICAN
CAN-DO SPIRIT, ARE SIMPLY A BUNCH OF HACKNEYED PHRASES.
*
I DON'T BELIEVE IT. AND NEITHER DO YOU. AMERICA IS
NOT GOING TO CUT AND RUN -- EVER.
BEFORE I FINISH TONIGHT I HAVE SOMETHING TO SAY
ABOUT THIS PRIMARY CAMPAIGN. OF COURSE THIS CAMPAIGN
IS IMPORTANT - -- NOT JUST TO ME, BUT TO YOU, AND TO OUR
COUNTRY. FOR THE SAKE OF OUR COUNTRY, WE MUST NOT TURN
OVER THE NATION'S LEADERSHIP TO THE DEMOCRATS.
REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP MUST CONTINUE.
- 16 -
FOR EIGHT YEARS, RONALD REAGAN AND I LED THIS
COUNTRY. FOR THE LAST THREE YEARS I HAVE STOOD FOR OUR
PRINCIPLES AND AGAINST A DEMOCRATIC CONGRESS THAT WOULD
UNDERMINE THEM. WITH THE HELP OF OUR REPUBLICAN
LEADERSHIP ON CAPITOL HILL, TWENTY-FIVE TIMES OUR
PRINCIPLES WERE UPHELD -- VETOES OF BAD LEGISLATION
SUSTAINED. AND THE NEXT FIVE YEARS OF AMERICAN HISTORY
of
ARE JUST TOO IMPORTANT TO ENTRUST TO THE INEXPERIENCED.
- 17 -
I BELIEVE THE AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR ABOUT
HOW WE'RE GOING TO ADDRESS OUR COUNTRY'S CHALLENGES --
HOW WE CAN UNITE OUR PEOPLE -- AND CREATE MORE
OPPORTUNITY AND HOPE FOR ALL AMERICANS. I BELIEVE THE
AMERICAN PEOPLE WANT TO HEAR SOLUTIONS, NOT JUST A LOT
OF NAME CALLING AND RUNNING THIS COUNTRY DOWN. AND
FRANKLY, I ALSO BELIEVE THAT SOMETIMES SOMEBODY'S GOT
TO STAND UP AND SAY WHAT'S RIGHT ABOUT THE UNITED
STATES OF AMERICA. WE ARE NUMBER ONE -- MAKE NO
MISTAKE ABOUT IT. Going to stay that way.
AND ANOTHER THING, LET'S NOT LISTEN TO THE GLOOM
AND DOOM FROM ALL THOSE INTENSE TALKING HEADS WHO ARE
TA
HAPPY ONLY WHEN THEY SAY SOMETHING NEGATIVE.
YOU AND I, WE BELIEVE IN AMERICA. WE ARE
OPTIMISTIC ABOUT ITS FUTURE. AND WE BELIEVE IN OUR
PARTY. I AM TREMENDOUSLY FORTUNATE TO SERVE AS YOUR
PRESIDENT AT THIS MOST EXCITING TIME IN OUR NATION'S
HISTORY. THESE NEXT PRIMARIES ARE CRITICAL: I NEED
YOUR HELP TO KEEP OUR PARTY STRONG AND UNITED SO WE CAN
WIN THIS FALL.
Barbana
- 18 -
YES, WE HAVE MUCH TO DO. BUT I GUARANTEE YOU WE
WILL GET THE JOB DONE. YES, WE HAVE MANY CHALLENGES
BEFORE US. AND I GUARANTEE YOU, WE WILL MEET THEM --
EACH AND EVERY ONE OF THEM. YES, THERE'S AN ELECTION
IN NOVEMBER - -- AND I GUARANTEE YOU, WE WILL WIN IT. I
R
WANT TO BE YOUR PRESIDENT FOR ANOTHER FOUR YEARS.
THANK YOU AND GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF
R
AMERICA.
# # #