[Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents Volume 42, Number 45 (Monday, November 13, 2006)]
[Pages 1993-2000]
[Online from the Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]
<R04>
Remarks at a Nebraska Victory 2006 Rally in Grand Island, Nebraska
November 5, 2006
The President. Thank you all very much. Thanks for coming. Thanks
for inviting me. So Laura says, ``What do you think we ought to do on
our 29th wedding anniversary?'' I said, ``Why don't I go to Grand
Island, Nebraska, because there are some people I want to thank in
advance of what you're going to do on November 7th.''
I want to thank you for working hard. I want to thank you for
voting. I want to thank you for sending Adrian Smith and Pete Ricketts
to Washington, DC. You'd be happy to hear she agrees. [Laughter] She
said, ``You go ahead on; you go tell them, I agree with you.'' So she
sends her love, and on this, our 29th anniversary, I'm proud to say, I
love her dearly.
Seems like to me, when you want somebody to represent you in the
Congress, you need somebody who has lived here their whole life and who
understands Nebraska values. Seems like to me, if you're from this part
of the world, you'd better have you somebody who understands what it
means to be a farmer and a rancher representing you in the United States
Congress. And that person is Adrian Smith.
I also appreciate you coming out to support Pete Ricketts. He's a
small-business man; he's a successful small-business man. Let me tell
you, we've got too many lawyers in Washington. Send somebody to
Washington who has met a payroll, and that person is Pete Ricketts for
the United States Senate. I appreciate Susanne Ricketts for standing
with Pete and working just as hard as he is.
I want to thank your Governor, Governor Dave Heineman, and his wife,
Sally, for being with us today. One of these days he and I are going to
be members of the ex-Governors club. [Laughter] But I know you're proud
of the job he's doing. He's setting high standards and working hard to
accomplish that which he said he would do on the campaign trail.
I appreciate very much being here with a fine United States
Senator--a man I call a friend and a person I know you call friend,
Chuck Hagel. From the First Congressional District, Jeff Fortenberry and
his wife, Celeste, is with us. And from the Second Congressional
District, Lee Terry and his wife, Robyn, have joined us. It's a good
sign when the Congressmen from neighboring districts are coming in. See,
they smell a winner. They understand what's about to happen on election
day.
Proud to be here with your Lieutenant Governor, Sheehy, your
attorney general, Bruning, and your secretary of state, Gale. Thank you
all for coming.
I had an opportunity to say hello to his honor, your mayor. Mr.
Mayor, thank you for being here. I appreciate you coming. I'm honored
you're here. My only advice is, pave the potholes. [Laughter] Although
Mr. Mayor, if you please, I didn't feel any on the way in.
[[Page 1994]]
I want to thank you all. I really do want to thank the grassroots
activists, the people who worked hard to get these candidates to where
they are. And I just urge you to keep working for the next 48 hours.
I know--I'm sure you've heard the same predictions I've heard. The
prognosticators have already decided the outcome of this election before
the good people of Nebraska have voted. But don't worry about it, the
same thing happened in 2004. Some of them up in Washington had already
picked out their new offices in the West Wing. [Laughter] They listened
to the prognosticators. Then the people showed up to the polls, and the
movers were not needed.
And the same thing is going to happen on November the 7th. You're
going to elect Adrian Smith; you're going to elect Pete Ricketts. We're
going to hold the House and hold the Senate.
And there's a reason, because Republicans understand the values and
the priorities of the American people. And by the way, we don't shift
our values and we don't shift our priorities based upon the latest
opinion poll. We're running on a record. We've raised standards for our
public schools. No child is going to be left behind in America, because
of our reforms.
Adrian Smith and I understand, if the farm economy is doing well in
Nebraska, the entire economy of the United States does well. Adrian,
Pete, and I understand that we've got a problem, because we're too
dependent on foreign oil. And so we passed comprehensive energy
legislation that encourages new technologies that will enable us to
drive our cars as a result of crops grown right here in the great State
of Nebraska.
We're taking the lead. I remember when I was campaigning with you, I
said, ``Vote for me; I will put judges on the bench who strictly
interpret the law and not legislate from the bench.'' We've got a record
to run on. I want to thank Senator Chuck Hagel for strongly supporting
my nominees to the Federal bench, particularly Sam Alito and John
Roberts. When you go in to vote for your United States Senator, just
remember you're not only voting for an individual, you're voting for the
style of judiciary we have.
And if the Democrats were to control the United States Senate,
judges like Alito and Roberts would never have been seated on the
Supreme Court.
No, we've got a record to run on, and we've got stands we take that
are totally different from the Democrats. The two big issues in this
campaign, as far as I'm concerned, is how many--how much tax are you
going to pay, and whether or not this Government is going to do
everything in our power to protect you.
Let me start with taxes. See, our philosophy is this: You can spend
your money far better than the Federal Government can. I don't care what
they're telling you in the races here, but the Democrats believe they
can spend their money better than you can.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Our philosophy says that if you've got more of your
own money in your pocket to save, spend, or invest, the economy
benefits.
We just didn't go to Washington to be philosophers. We went to
Washington to act. I signed the largest tax cut since Ronald Reagan was
the President of the United States. We cut the taxes for everybody who
pays income taxes. We doubled the child tax credit. We reduced the
marriage penalty. We cut the taxes on the small businesses. We cut taxes
on capital gains and dividends to encourage investment. And for the sake
of our small-business owners and for the sake of our ranchers and for
the sake of our farmers, we put the death tax on the road to extinction.
I don't know if you can remember that far back about the debate on
taxes, but I can. Democrats in Washington predicted the tax cuts would
not create jobs; they predicted the tax cuts would not increase wages;
and they predicted that tax cuts would cause the Federal deficit to
explode. That's what they predicted. Now the facts are in. The tax cuts
we passed have led to a strong and growing economy. Last Friday, we had
more good news about our economy. The national unemployment rate is down
to 4.4 percent. Real wages rose 2.4 percent over the past year, and we
cut the deficit in half 3 years ahead of schedule. The tax cuts we
passed are working.
[[Page 1995]]
And the Democrats are going to raise your taxes.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Oh, they're not going to tell you that. They won't
admit it quite that bluntly. As a matter of fact, they really don't want
you to know what they think. They asked the Democrat leader in the House
recently about tax cuts and she said, speaking about the Democrats, ``We
love tax cuts.'' Well, given her record, she must be a secret admirer.
[Laughter]
She and her party voted against reducing the marriage penalty, voted
against cutting taxes on small businesses, voted against lowering taxes
for families with children, voted against putting the death tax on the
road to extinction. If this is their definition of love, I'd sure hate
to see hate.
See, here's the way the tax cuts work: If they are not extended or
made permanent, your taxes are going up. See, if the Congress doesn't
act to say, we're going to extend the tax cuts, or we're just going to
make the tax cuts permanent, then you get to pay an increased tax. They
asked the man who aspires to be the head of the Ways and Means Committee
in the House of Representatives--that's the tax writing committee--they
said, ``Can you think of any of the tax cuts that were passed that you
would extend?'' He said, ``I can't think of a one.'' In other words,
that's the Democrats' view of extending your tax cuts. This election is
important because it determines the size of your taxes.
I'm going to give you an example of what I'm talking about. Right
now the child tax credit is up to $1,000. But if those tax cuts are not
expired, it goes down to $500 a child. So when you're sitting around the
dinner table tonight, count heads. [Laughter] Any of you got four
children? Right here, here you go, okay. I'm going to use you all as an
example. So you're at dinner, number one child, two children, three,
four--multiply by 500, means that if the Democrats take control of the
House of Representatives, you get yourself a $2,000 tax increase.
Audience members. Boo-o-o!
The President. Now, that may not sound like a lot to people in
Washington, but it sounds like a lot to me. It sounds like a lot to
Adrian Smith, and it sounds like a lot to Pete Ricketts. That's why
we're going to keep your taxes low.
On these issues, the Democrat party has adopted a clear strategy of
opposition and obstruction. Recently the House Democrat leader explained
the advice she's been following since I was reelected in 2004. She said,
``You must take him down.'' That him would be me. One newspaper
described her approach as scorched-earth strategy, for refusing to
negotiate with the GOP. Now I want you to think about that. Think about
that kind of vision. It's a sad commentary on the Democrat party that
its leaders have resorted to knee-jerk opposition as their guiding
principle.
You know if you're wondering what--where the Democrats stand on a
major issue, there's an easy formula to figure it out: No matter what
the issue, if the Republicans are for it, they're against it. [Laughter]
When we proposed tax relief for everybody who pays income taxes, the
Democrats opposed it. When Republicans proposed an energy policy, an
energy bill to make our Nation less dependent on foreign oil, the
Democrats opposed it. When Republicans proposed association health plans
to help small businesses get coverage, insurance coverage at the same
discounts big companies get, Democrats opposed it. When Republicans
proposed medical liability reform so our docs aren't run out of practice
and your costs aren't run up, the Democrats opposed it.
And here's the way I see it: If the Democrats are so good about
being the party of the opposition, let's just keep them in the
opposition. And the best way is to send Adrian Smith to the United
States Congress and Pete Ricketts to the Senate.
This election is taking place in an historic time for our country.
And when our children and grandchildren look back on this period, one
question will overwhelm all the rest: Did we do everything in our power
to fight and win the war on terror? We face an enemy--[applause]. I wish
I could report to you we weren't at war. Nobody wants to be at war. But
the truth is, we face a brutal enemy that
[[Page 1996]]
still desires to harm America. Many of our citizens say, ``Why is
that?''
Well, this enemy has an ideology. They believe the exact opposite of
what we believe. We believe in basic, universal freedoms. We believe
people ought to worship the way they see fit. We believe people ought to
be able to express themselves. We believe in public dissent; they don't.
They also have a vision to spread their ideology as far corners--to the
far corners of the world, and we stand in their way. You can't negotiate
with them. You can't hope for the best with them. Our most important job
is to protect you, and the best way to do so is to stay on the offense
and bring them to justice before they hurt us again.
The strategy is to stay on the offense, and the strategy is to
protect you here at home. We have to be right 100 percent of the time,
and the enemy has to be right one time. And therefore, I reviewed all
the procedures to make sure our professionals have what it takes to
protect you. There is a wall--there was a wall that prevented our
intelligence folks from sharing vital information with our law
enforcement folks. I can't tell you why that happened; it just did; and
it didn't make any sense in this new kind of war. If our job is to
protect you, we better make sure the intelligence our people gathers is
passed on to the people whose job it is to prevent the attacks here in
the homeland.
And so I asked the Congress to pass the PATRIOT Act. The PATRIOT Act
is a vital piece of legislation that has helped us break up terror cells
around the United States. It's a piece of legislation that guarded your
civil liberties. When that important piece of legislation came up for
renewal, the vast majority of Senate Democrats and House Democrats voted
against it. Now they must have a different attitude about this war on
terror.
See, my attitude is, you can't respond after we're attacked; you
must respond before we're attacked. In this new kind of war, we'd better
understand what the enemy is thinking. And so I talked to the--our phone
boys, and I said, ``If they're calling in, if Al Qaida is making a phone
call from outside the United States to inside, or if somebody affiliated
with the enemy is making a phone call from outside to inside, we better
understand why.'' We need to know what they're thinking and what they're
planning in order to protect you.
When the terrorist surveillance program came up for votes in the
United States House of Representatives, by far the vast majority of
Democrats voted against that legislation. They just see the world
differently. When you're getting ready to go into the ballot box,
remember the attitudes of the folks in Washington, DC, about what it
takes to protect you. We're picking up people off the battlefield, and
we better know what they're thinking.
I'm going to give you a short story here. We found a man named
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad. Our intelligence people think he was the
mastermind of the September the 11th attacks. So I authorized the
Central Intelligence Agency to find out what he knew. See, if he knew
about one attack, he might know something about another attack. Our job
is to protect you. When the authority for these CIA interrogators to
continue their program came up in front of the House and the Senate, the
vast majority of Democrats in both bodies voted against that
legislation.
We need people like Adrian Smith and Pete Ricketts in the House and
the Senate who understand our professionals need to be given the tools
necessary to protect you. We are on the offense, and we're going to stay
on the offense. It is hard to plot and plan against America when you're
on the run. It is hard to plot and plan--America when you're hiding.
I want you to know--let me share a lesson about September the 11th
that's important. When we see a threat overseas, we've got to take the
threat seriously. It's important for our fellow citizens never to forget
that lesson. The days are gone when you see a threat and just hope for
the best. When we see threats, we must deal with them.
Saddam Hussein was a threat. I saw him as a threat; members of both
political parties saw the threat; the United Nations saw the threat. My
decision to remove Saddam Hussein was the right decision, and the world
is better off for it.
And today we witnessed a landmark event in the history of Iraq.
Saddam Hussein was convicted and sentenced to death by the
[[Page 1997]]
Iraqi High Tribunal. Saddam Hussein trial is a milestone in the Iraqi
people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law,
and it's a major achievement for this young democracy. America
congratulates the Iraqi people, and we give our thanks to the men and
women of America's Armed Forces, who have--[applause]. Without their
courage and skill, today's verdict never would have happened. And we are
grateful for their sacrifice and service.
We are in a global war, and it's a war being fought on a variety of
fronts. And the central front is Iraq. Oh, I've heard all the talk out
of Washington. You probably have too. ``Iraq is a distraction in the war
on terror,'' they say. Well, I don't believe that. Our troops don't
believe that. And Usama bin Laden doesn't believe that. Listen to his
words: He calls Iraq the third world war. He says victory for the
terrorists in Iraq will mean America's defeat and disgrace forever.
Now I want you to listen to the words of a senior Member of the
House of Representatives from the Democrat party. The reason I'm talking
about this is the people of this district have got to understand, there
is a different mentality in Washington than what you're used to. She
said, ``The President says that fighting them there makes it less likely
we will have to fight them here.'' That's exactly what I say, and it's
exactly what I believe. She went on to say, ``The opposite is true.
Because we are fighting them there, it may become more likely we will
have to fight them here.''
Iraq is not the reason why these extremists and terrorists are at
war with us. We were not in Iraq when they bombed the World Trade Center
in 1993. We were not in Iraq when they bombed the Embassies in Tanzania
and in Kenya. We were not in Iraq when they attacked the USS Cole, and
we were not in Iraq on September the 11th, 2001. You don't create
terrorists by fighting the terrorists. The best way to protect you is to
stay on the offense and defeat them overseas so we do not have to face
them here at home.
And we got one goal in Iraq, and that is victory. There's a country
that--we're working for a country that can sustain itself and govern
itself and defend itself and be an ally in the war on terror--to be an
ally in this struggle against extremists who want to defy the hopes of
reasonable people around the Middle East, these extremists who want to
come and attack America again. And it's a tough fight, no question about
it. I understand how tough it is, and so do our troops, and so do the
families of our troops.
It's tough because we face an enemy that is willing to kill innocent
life to achieve their objectives. They have no conscience, and they
understand that these violent acts will end up on our television
screens. And they believe the United States does not have the stomach
for the long fight. But what they don't understand about this
administration and a huge number of Americans--we're not going to run
from thugs and assassins.
Our goal is solid. Our tactics constantly change. I'm in touch with
our commanders all the time. I tell them, ``Whatever you need to win,
you'll have.'' We give them the flexibility necessary to continue to
adjust their tactics to meet the changes the enemy are doing on the
ground. And we got a lot going for us. We got a strategy for victory
that will work, and we got a fantastic group of young men and women who
have volunteered to defend you in the United States military.
And whether my fellow citizens agree with my decisions or not, one
thing they owe is they owe those who wear the uniform the utmost
respect. And those of us at the Federal Government owe them all they
need, all the support to make sure they can do the jobs that I've asked
them to do.
And I thank Senator Hagel for his strong support. I thank the
Members of Congress who are here for their strong support of the United
States military, and there's no doubt in my mind Pete Ricketts and
Adrian Smith will be strong supporters of the men and women in the
United States military.
We have something else going for us, and those are brave Iraqis.
Iraqi citizens have suffered unspeakable violence, yet they are
committed to a government of and by and for the people. Our strategy is
to help their politics move forward. Our strategy is to help their
economy improve. And our strategy is to train Iraqis so they can take
the fight to the few who want to dash the hopes of the many.
[[Page 1998]]
You know when nearly 12 million Iraqis voted, I was pleased, but I
was not surprised, and I'll tell you why I wasn't surprised. I believe
there is an Almighty. I believe a great gift of the Almighty to every
man, woman, and child on Earth is the desire to be free. And so when the
Iraqis said, ``We want to be free,'' it is part of my belief in the
universality of freedom.
We have a strategy for victory, and the only way we won't achieve it
is if we leave before the job is done. If you listen to this debate on
Iraq, if you think about the Democrats' plans for success, there isn't
one. This is a vital issue facing our country. This is a central front
in the war on terror, and yet they have no plan for victory.
Oh, some of them are saying we ought to pull out now. Others are
saying we ought to pull out at a fixed date, before the job is done.
Actually, one of the Members of the House of Representatives, a
distinguished Member, said the best way to handle the situation is to
remove our troops to an island 5,000 miles away. I'm not kidding you.
That's not a plan for victory. Nineteen House Members introduced
legislation that would cut off the funds for our troops. One Democrat
Senator, one of Chuck's colleagues, she said, ``We haven't coalesced
around a single plan, but we're in general agreement on basic
principles.'' Think about that. Yes, they're in agreement on principles:
Get out before the job is done.
They've taken a calculated risk. By the way, I'm not saying these
folks are unpatriotic; I'm saying they're wrong. You can't win a war and
protect the homeland if you're unwilling to fight the war. You know, the
Democrats have taken a calculated gamble in this campaign. They think
the only way they can win is to criticize and not offer a plan of their
own. You know, let me say this to you: Anger is not a plan; criticism is
not a plan; pessimism is not a plan. This country needs people who
understand the stakes and are willing to support the fight to protect
you.
Retreat from Iraq before the job is done would embolden the enemy
and would make this country less secure. It's very important for our
fellow citizens to understand this is a different kind of war, and if
the United States were to leave before the job is done, the enemy would
follow us here. Leaving before the job was done would make it easier for
these extremists to recruit. Leaving before the job was done would dash
the hopes of the millions upon millions of people who want to live a
peaceful life in the Middle East. And leaving before the job is done
would dishonor the sacrifice of the men and women who have worn the
uniform of the United States.
And leaving before the job is done would be felt for generations to
come. And let me explain to you why: The enemy has made it clear, they
expect us to leave when the fighting stays tough because, one, they want
a safe haven from which to launch further attacks on the United States,
a safe haven similar to the safe haven they had in Afghanistan where
they trained thousands of people and where they planned and plotted to
launch their attacks that killed nearly 3,000 of our citizens.
They have said that they want to establish a caliphate--a governing
organization based upon their ideology--and it starts with toppling
modern governments. They would like to get ahold of oil resources so
they could then say to the West, ``Abandon your alliance with Israel,''
or, ``Withdraw from the Middle East; otherwise you're going to be facing
high priced oil, and we'll bring your economy down.'' And when you put
all in the mix a country which doesn't like us with a nuclear weapon, 30
years from now people are going to look back at this period in our
history and say, ``What happened to them in 2006? Could they not see the
impending danger? Were they unable to see the threats to a generation of
Americans?''
Well, let me assure you, I see the danger. I clearly see the stakes.
That is why we will support our troops. That is why we will fight in
Iraq, and that is why we'll win in Iraq.
I would like to share a story with you. I share this story all
around the country, so if you've heard it, I apologize. It's a story
about the power of liberty. It's a story about then-sitting Prime
Minister of Japan, Koizumi, and me and Laura heading down to Elvis's
place in Memphis, Tennessee. They said, ``Why did you go down there?''
Well, I hadn't been down there. I thought it would be fun to go.
[[Page 1999]]
Koizumi, Prime Minister Koizumi wanted to go because he loved Elvis.
He was a fan of Elvis Presley. But also I wanted to tell a story. It's
the story about--I'm sure your relatives, just like my relative, my dad,
volunteered to fight the Japanese after the attacks of Pearl Harbor.
That's when the story begins. They attacked us. Thousands of our fellow
citizens said, ``I want to go, and I want to fight for our freedoms
against an enemy which has attacked us.'' By the way, it's the same
spirit today, around, where people have said, ``I want to volunteer to
defend America.''
My dad went. Your relatives went. They fought like mad. Japan was
the sworn enemy of the United States. I'm now on the airplane, Air Force
One, flying down to Elvis's place, and I was talking about keeping the
peace with the Prime Minister of Japan. We talked about how we got to
work together to convince the North Korean to give up his nuclear
weapons ambitions. We talked about the fact that Iraq has 1,000 troops--
I mean Japan had 1,000 troops in Iraq.
He understands what I know: In this ideological struggle of
extremists versus rational, reasonable people who want to live in peace,
when we find young democracies, we must support them for the sake of
peace. We talked about how to whom much is given, much is required, and
that we'll continue to take the lead in trying to eradicate the pandemic
of HIV/AIDS in places like Africa. We talked about our responsibilities
as friends and allies.
I find it amazing that my dad and your relatives fought the
Japanese, and today--then his son was talking about keeping the peace.
Something happened, and what happened was, Japan adopted a Japanese-
style democracy. The lesson for all to hear is, liberty has got the
capacity to transform an enemy into an ally. Liberty has got the
capacity to transform a region of hate and resentment into a region of
hope.
Someday, American Presidents will be sitting down with duly elected
leaders in the Middle East talking about keeping the peace, and a
generation of Americans will be better off for it.
In 48 hours, you're going to be walking into the booth, and so will
millions of citizens around our country, and people will be given a
choice between two political parties with different philosophies. If you
think your health care decisions should remain in the hands of
bureaucrats, then you ought to vote for the Democrats. If you think that
you and your doctors should control your healthcare decisions, vote
Republican.
If you think that trial lawyers should be allowed to continue
driving good doctors out of practice and running up your costs of
medicine, you go ahead and vote Democrat. But if you believe that we
should trade in the trial lawyers and protect our physicians from
frivolous lawsuits, vote Republican.
If you think activist judges should be allowed to redefine our
country and issue new laws from the bench, you need to go vote Democrat.
If you believe the role of the judge is to strictly interpret our
Constitution and laws and leave legislating to legislators, vote
Republican.
If you think Medicare was serving our seniors just fine and didn't
need to be reformed, vote Democrat. But if you believe we were right to
expand choices for our seniors and provide better access for affordable
prescription drugs, vote Republican.
If you think our farmers and ranchers ought to pay taxes while
they're alive and then pay taxes after they're dead, you vote Democrat.
But if you think that the death tax is punitive and we need to get rid
of it, you vote Republican.
If you think you can afford more taxes, vote Democrat. But if you
want our taxes low and if you want people who believe you can spend your
money better than the Government can, you vote Republican.
And if you think the way to protect this country and win the war on
terror is to criticize your opponents and offer no plan for victory, you
vote for the Democrats. But if you believe the way to win this war is to
stay on the offense and use every element of national power to protect
you and lay the foundation of peace for a generation, vote Republican.
So I appreciate your coming. Thanks for giving me a chance to share
something that's on my mind. I'm now asking you when you go forth to
find fellow Republicans and say, you've got a responsibility to vote.
But while
[[Page 2000]]
you're doing it, don't overlook discerning Democrats and openminded
independents. Tell them to go to the polls. Tell them to vote for Adrian
Smith and Pete Ricketts, and the United States will be better off for
it.
God Bless, and God bless America.
Note: The President spoke at 3:58 p.m. at the Heartland Events Center.
In his remarks, he referred to Susanne Ricketts, wife of senatorial
candidate John P. ``Pete'' Ricketts; Lt. Gov. Rick Sheehy of Nebraska;
Nebraska State Attorney General Jon Bruning; Nebraska State Secretary of
State John A. Gale; Mayor Jay Vavricek of Grand Island, NE; former
President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al
Qaida terrorist organization; former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of
Japan; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea.