Governor George W. Bush
Remarks at Bob Jones University
February 2, 2000
We are conservatives because we believe in freedom and its possibilities, family and its duties, and faith and its mercies.
We believe in opportunity for all Americans: Rich and poor, black and white, young and old, born and unborn.
Every political campaign ? every political victory ? is empty unless it used for some great purpose. In this election, we have a chance ? not just to elect a new president ? but to set a new direction for America.
I take this challenge seriously. I have a specific, positive agenda of change and reform.
First, I will work to restore standards, discipline and decency to our public schools.
A president is not a federal principal. Not a federal superintendent of schools. So I?m going to lift the burden of bureaucracy and give states and local folks more authority over federal education dollars than they?ve ever had before.
I?m going to take the side of teachers who enforce discipline and safety, so our children can learn without fear.
I?m going to fight against the soft bigotry of low expectations that traps disadvantaged children in failure. My administration will bring new hope through charter schools and parental choice.
Second, I will respect and rebuild our military.
Our nation still has determined enemies, who resent our values and hate our successes. The Evil Empire has passed, but evil remains.
We will take care of our current armed forces ? adding a billion dollars a year in salary increases. We will restore morale with better training, better treatment, and better pay. We will begin creating the military of the future ? so our defenses are always superior to any threat. And yes, I will make an unyielding commitment to develop and deploy an anti ballistic missile defense to protect our allies, our people and our country.
But, let me tell you some things I won?t do.
I won?t run our armed forces ragged with no thought for tomorrow ? driving our military like a rental car. For this administration, a strong defense is something they expect from their lawyers.
I won?t ignore our allies. I will be their friends when we don?t need them, so they will be our friends when we do.
I won?t run American foreign policy according to the message of the week or the poll of the day.
My administration will return to the American tradition of leadership and strength. I will have a foreign policy with a touch of iron, guided by American values and American interests, not by foreign agendas and global committees.
This nation still determines the future of freedom. And, in every case, I will defend American interests, American obligations and American honor.
Third, I will return honor and dignity to the White House.
The current president pledged the most ethical administration in American history. As it turned out, he fell about 41 presidents short.
The president is the commander in chief of the armed forces. He is the leader of the free world. He is the voice of the American people. I will return the highest standards of honor to the highest office in the land. This is my pledge. And it does not depend on what the meaning of the word "is" is.
Fourth, I will cut taxes. Not for the few. Not for the favored. But for everybody paying income taxes in America.
In these final days before the contests in Iowa and New Hampshire and South Carolina, the debate has turned to taxes ? now at their highest since World War II, when our nation had 8 million men and women under arms.
We must cut taxes to continue our prosperity and make our tax code more fair.
Under my plan, no middle class family will pay more than 25 percent of their earnings to the federal government. And no taxpayer in America will pay more than a third.
We?ll double the child credit, dramatically reduce the marriage penalty, and Jim Martin, we will eliminate the death tax that unfairly penalizes farms and small businesses.
We?ll eliminate the Social Security earnings test for our seniors, expand education savings accounts to cover K through 12, and allow the 70 percent of taxpayers who don?t itemize to deduct charitable contributions.
My conviction is simple: Government should only keep enough money to meet its basic obligations ? and not a dollar more. The American people are more than willing to support the necessary functions of government ? but nobody told Washington to keep the change. It?s time to give it back.
My plan uses real numbers. It sets responsible priorities. It reserves the Social Security surplus for Social Security itself. It balances the budget. It funds needed priorities, including defense and education. It reduces our debt. It cuts our taxes while honoring our commitments.
You and I both know the tired arguments against tax cuts.
Some say they favor the rich.
This plan of mine is fair to all Americans. The biggest percentage tax cuts in my plan will go to the lowest income men and women. My plan cuts taxes for those in the middle class and for those working hard to get there. My plan cuts rates for every taxpayer in this country.
Some argue that tax cuts somehow endanger Social Security.
My tax cut plan reserves $1 trillion in new money for Social Security over five years ? and $2 trillion over the next 10 years -- 62 percent of the total surplus.
Some say a tax cut might somehow "risk" our prosperity.
How is it risky to allow a single mother to keep an extra $1,000? For a senior citizen to work without penalty? Or for a family to afford health care, or a vacation? Why is it risky to let you keep your own money?
Let me tell you what the real risk is. The real risk is leaving Congress alone in a room with half a trillion dollars, because we know what will happen. They will use it. Government will grow. The principle here is simple: If you keep it, they can?t spend it.
It is bad enough when Democrats use these arguments against meaningful tax cuts; it?s worse when Republicans repeat them. We should be rejecting these arguments, not reflecting them. We have a different approach. Our goal is to spread opportunity, not resentment. You see, our goal is to unite Americans in prosperity, not divide them with distrust.
I welcome the tax debate. I intend to keep our ideas at the top of the national agenda. I?m going to make the case that our conservative principles are compassionate principles. That work and responsibility are better than dependency on government. That local control, and standards, and parental choice are better for our children than the schemes of some towering, centralized bureaucracy.
Someone will make history this November. Either we will have the equivalent of a third Clinton term, or we?ll have a new beginning in American politics. An era of high standards and new leaders. A time of new hope, new energy, new idealism.
I think our country is ready for a fresh start after a season of cynicism. If you will give me your help and your support, we can get there together. Thank you for letting me speak to you. God bless you all and God bless America.
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