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    "localId": "7340732",
    "label": "Excerpts from Remarks by the President at Statewide GOP Luncheon, Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington [Ford Speech or Statement]",
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    "title": "Excerpts from Remarks by the President at Statewide GOP Luncheon, Seattle Center, Seattle, Washington [Ford Speech or Statement]",
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        {
            "day": 4,
            "logicalDate": "1975-09-04",
            "month": 9,
            "year": 1975
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    "ocrText": "Digitized from Box 15 of the White House Press Releases at the Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library\nFOR RELEASE ON DELIVERY (Approx.\nSEPTEMBER 4, 1975\n3:35 p.m. EDT, Thurs,. 9-4-75)\nOffice of the White House Press Secretary\n(Seattle, Washington)\nTHE WHITE HOUSE\nEXCERPTS FROM REMARKS\nBY THE PRESIDENT AT THE\nSTATEWIDE GOP LUNCHEON\nSEATTLE CENTER\nSEATTLE, WASHINGTON\nI know that Washingtonians are some of the most independent-minded\npeople in America. And I think that is just great.\nI also think the Republican Party has a lot to say to the independent-minded\nvoter--so let us reach out to these independents and bring them into the\nParty which most closely reflects their views and their philosophy.\nThe independent voter, it seems to me, is concerned more with the\nfuture of his country than with the fortunes of one political party or another.\nHe is concerned with economic progress, energy independence, national\ndefense, the pursuit of justice and the protection of society in America. He\nwants a good education, good housing, good health care and good food for\nhis family--and at prices he can afford.\nThese are basic concerns that affect all our lives--regardless of our\npolitical persuasion. These are the elements that help determine the\nquality of our private lives, far more than determining the issues for\npolitical debate.\nImproving the quality of life in America is the great challenge we face as\nwe enter our third century of independence just ten months from today.\nIn our first hundred years, our most urgent goal was to establish firmly\nand securely a system of government and an order of society that would\nsafeguard our liberties and allow progress to flourish in our land.\nOur freedoms and our form of government were marvels for the world, and\nthe promise of America gave hope to millions of oppressed people all\naround the globe.\nAmerica's second century of independence was devoted to increasing our\nmaterial wealth, making the most of the industrial revolution, expanding\nwestward. Our civilization advanced during this period at an incredible\npace, with a host of inventions and discoveries that made our lives more\npleasurable and our work more profitable.\nAmerica's past, like its present, is a mixture of successes and setbacks,\nof good and bad. The future, in this sense, will be no different. And yet\nthe future must be different. We must reclaim our independence from\nthose hugh institutions of society which have come so close to snuffing\nout the fire of personal initiative and individual achievement.\nWe must rededicate ourselves to those great principles of freedom and\nequality which first gave life and purpose to this great nation, We must\ndemonstrate that, far from being in a state of decline, America and its\npeople are prepared for adventures and achievements far excelling any\nwe have seen in the past.\n(MORE)\n- 2 -\nWe must agree that a successful blend of personal initiative, private\nenterprise and public service will come closer to solving our problems\nand realizing our potential than will total reliance on the massive, muscle-\nbound bureaucracy of government.\nToo many Americans have relied too much, for too long on the government\nin Washington to meet their demands, grant their wishes and solve their\nproblems. I think it is time we look elsewhere--more to Washington State,\nfor example, and less to Washington, D. C. We should look in the offices\nand shops, the factories, the farms, the laboratories, the homes, the\nschools and the churches of America.\nThere is where the real strength and promise and potential of America\nreside. There is where to find the creative genius, the knack for problem-\nsolving, the pioneering spirit, and the Yankee ingenuity for which this\ncountry is so well-known.\nI am convinced that if we shoulder more of life's responsibilities ourselves,\nand take a more personal stake in the life and success of this nation, we\ncan truly make a fresh start in America, even as we celebrate our 200th\nbirthday. In our third century, we should seek to enhance the individual\nfreedom of each of our citizens and strive to make America's civilization\nthe wonder of the world. And we should gauge the progress of our\ncivilization not just by our standard of living but by the quality of our lives.\nThe Republican Party is prepared to help guide that progress. Perhaps\nmore than at any time in our history, our Party's principles and objectives\nmatch the hopes of the American people.\nOur Republican commitments to fiscal responsibility in government, to a\nvigorous free enterprise system, to a strong national defense, to local\ncontrol over local concerns, and to personal freedom for the individual--\nare commitments shared by the vast majority of Americans and\nWashingtonians.\nWe believe, as Abraham Lincoln said, that government should only do for\npeople what they cannot do as well for themselves. We believe that the\nAmerican people have grown weary of government's overblown promises\nand overbearing controls.\nWe believe the American people are ready to do great things for themselves\nand for their country.\nWe are prepared to govern--butnot to dominate--the American people.\nThat is our pledge for the coming campaign and for the years ahead.\nWe can make those years great ones for America--so much so that we\nand our children and their children may say with new meaning and fresh\nenthusiasm the words of Daniel Webster: \"Thank God. I am an American.\"\n###"
}