Robert Dole photo

Remarks at the Economic Conference of the Republican Governors Association in Detroit

October 21, 1996

Thank you very much and I have an opportunity to watch you on CROSSFIRE from time to time. And you always win. You always win. No problem about it.

And I want to say to everybody here, including the people who work here, you know, this is our country. Democrats, Republicans or independents, it's our country.

We're very proud of it. We want to make it better. We want to create more opportunities and more jobs in the private sector. That's what it's all about.

Michigan is a very important state or other states that are represented here. Illinois, Ohio, Mississippi, Iowa, South Carolina, Kansas. I think we're all right in Kansas. We're all right in South Carolina. I just heard this morning too.

But, in any event, the election's about two weeks from now. And a lot of people haven't focused. In fact, I was surprised that only about 35 to 40 million watched the second debate.

This was compared to about 90 million who watched the Bush-Clinton-Perot debate in 1992. So, maybe there's no interest in politics. Maybe nobody cares or maybe they're just getting around to focus on it and they're beginning to make up their minds because there's a lot of movement out there.

We see the polls go up and down and up and down. And they can't all be right and they can't all be wrong. Probably, somewhere in the middle. But, I wanted to express to this group whether you're, as I said, a Democrat or a Republican or an Independent or just came to wrong meeting. There are always one or two who get into the wrong meeting.

[laughter]

This is about you. It's about your job. It's about your business. It's about your family. It's about your community. It's about your state. It's about your country.

Now, President Clinton will tell you, and he's a great talker, I've had a chance to spend a couple 90-minute segments with him, and he does a good job. He goes right past the facts. The facts never get in the way of President Clinton.

He created all the jobs. He took two million people off welfare rolls. I thought you did the Governor Fordice, and other governors. He doesn't take people...

In any event, I think he gets a lot credit for things that haven't happened. He doesn't want any credit for this foreign aid that's coming to America. Finally, we're getting foreign aid in America. From Indonesia and other countries.

[laughter]

[applause]

And it's all coming to America. I didn't think I'd live long enough to see us get foreign aid. The trouble is it's all going to the Democratic Party. In any event, that's another story.

If we're going to get America moving, we need to do what Jack Kemp and I have prescribed. Again, this is sound. Oh, I've listened to all the people that say, but Bob Dole had his reputation as a deficit hawk. And I still do.

I'm a deficit hawk. Jack Kemp is a supply sider. We both recognize to make this work, to make it work in the right way, we have to cut spending. If we're going to reduce taxes, we need to balance the budget.

And on this package, we do both. We balance the budget by the year 2002. We do this without touching Social Security or Medicare, of course, interest on the debt you can't touch.

And we don't think we ought to touch Defense. We think President Clinton has already cut Defense too much.

[applause]

So, I want to make it clear to senior citizens here. I don't see any, but if anybody comes in or if you know a senior citizen — oh, there is one, one right — we're not going to touch Medicare. Medicare's going to grow 39 percent under our plan.

Social Security 34 percent under our plan. And I know there have been a lot ads run about how Bob Dole doesn't like Medicare. Bob Dole doesn't like veterans. Bob Dole doesn't like anybody. There's nobody left. We don't like anybody which makes it a little bit more difficult to get a big, big landslide.

[laughter]

But in any event, we're working on it. We like people. We like Democrats. My parents were the greatest people I ever... They were Democrats and they were great people.

In fact, I'm finding out on the rope lines — now, I don't know if Jack is. But, I was in Denver, Colorado where four different — they were scattered — four different women said I'm a Democrat, but I'm going to vote for you. So, the people are beginning to listen.

It's not a Republican election or Democratic election. It's an election for the president of United States by Democrats, independents and Republicans.

DOLE: And we're reaching out to people everywhere we can. Getting tangled up here and I'm going to fall off the stage again.

[laughter]

I don't know anybody saw that out in Chico, California. But, on the way down, my cell phone rang, as I've said, and it was a trial lawyer saying boy, I think we got a case here Bob. But, in any event, those are some of frivolous lawsuits we're trying to prevent.

Put a lot of businessmen and business women out of business. So, I would just say to everybody here, it's an honor to be back in Michigan.

I've spent a lot of life in Michigan — different places, Battle Creek for couple of three years after World War II at Percy Jones Hospital. So, I know a little about the state and I've been coming up since. And I know what a great job your governor's done.

As Roger said when you cut taxes 21 times, you create some opportunities, you create some activity in the private sector. I'm told by friend Wayne Angell, former member of the Fed, there are $7 trillion in assets locked up out there. Seven trillion dollars.

And we get letters day after day after day saying, I would like to do something. I'd like to expand my business or whatever. But, we can't do it because of the capital gains rate. So, we're going to cut it in half.

Cut it 50 percent from 28 percent to 14. That is a start. That would create lots of jobs in the private sector. A lot of activity in the private sector.

So, I just say to people who ask me about this election, I say just line us up. Take a look at Bill Clinton's record. He's already in his second term.

His first two years, he was a liberal. That was one term. So, he had one term as a liberal. Then something happened and people said, wait we've had enough of that, we don't want our health care taken over by the government.

We don't want 17 new taxes and price controls and 50 new bureaucracies. And we don't want to spend $1.5 trillion to ruin our health care system. And you promised us a tax cut, Mr. President and you gave us the biggest tax increase in history.

He's says, well, only 1.1 percent of the rich pay it. Seventy percent of those taxes are paid by small businessmen and small business women in Michigan and across the country.

Senior citizens got their Social Security taxes hiked. Thirty-two billion dollars tax increase in gasoline, not for highways, but to go into some fund where they can take it and play with and spend it wherever they want.

So, take a look at that first term, the first two-year term as governors have in New Hampshire. He had one two-year term. Then, Republicans took over the House and the Senate.

And suddenly, President Clinton became something else. He was no longer the liberal. Well, what happens, if he gets re-elected unrestrained by another election? Will we see health care again, see more tax increases, or will you have these targeted tax cuts that he talks about?

What is a targeted tax cut? Do you have to follow the rules of the government? If you do that, if you're good little boys and girls, eat your vegetables, and do all the things the president wants you to do, then you get a little tax cut.

We don't believe that's the way to go. We ought to have an across-the-board tax cut. Everybody's treated the same in America in the Dole/Kemp tax plan.

[applause]

That blast of hot air reminded me of my days in the Senate. But, in any event... So, I better sit down here before I get carried away. The record in the Senate is held by Senator Thurmond, as you know. Twenty-four hours and 17 minutes he talked without interruption. That's why we didn't bring him along today because we knew we had a long program. But, he's going to be re-elected big time in South Carolina.

So, I want to conclude with this. It's the economic package. It's foreign policy which we didn't have an opportunity to go into in our debate in San... Didn't have many — there was only one foreign policy question.

Look around the world since President Clinton has been there. First, they turn it all over to the United Nations. That was called assertive, multi-lateralism. That's what they called it.

Let the U.N. make decisions. We'll send the troops or we'll send the money. We've got to worry about the economy. So, we did that in Somalia until 18 young Americans were killed and some dragged through the streets. And then we pulled out of Somalia.

We repeated that everywhere we've been. We made a big, big mistake in Bosnia. We promised — it was a candidate to lift the arms embargo if the Muslims defend themselves. Then, he changed his mind when he became president. So, we had to send twenty some thousand Americans to Bosnia.

Well, they're supposed to be coming back by the end of the year. But, now it appears, it will be some time next year. You go right around the world, we haven't had a real foreign policy.

In fact, Secretary Christopher being the very honest man that he is, says that it really took him quite awhile to understand the importance of America's leadership. Well, if you didn't know that going in, you got a problem.

DOLE: So, I want to say, again, this is a great opportunity. Michigan is a very key state and so are the other states represented here by governors. We're going to be in all those states because we believe the American people are beginning to focus.

Jack gave me some good advice about a month ago. He said, don't watch the scoreboard. If you watch the scoreboard, then somebody's going to fumble. It might be the quarterback or it might be the running back. Whatever role we're playing these days.

[laughter]

So, we've got a great team. Dole/Kemp. They're two four-letter words you can teach your kids. Dole/Kemp, Dole/Kemp.

[applause]

That's right. All right. Plus, they're two four-letter words that mean leadership. Leadership, honesty, keeping your word. Keeping your word is important, at least, it used to be.

Maybe, we'll find out in a couple of weeks. Maybe, it's not important any more. Maybe, just go out and say what you have to say to get elected. In fact, you remember during the San Diego debate — and I don't want to keep going back to that — but, the president got up and said you shouldn't listen to these candidates who promise you a tax cut right before the election.

He did it in '92. I mean, I couldn't believe it. I was right there in the room. And he said it like nobody would remember what he did in 1992.

Got to keep your word.

In my little town, that's all you did. You had your word. You didn't have a contract. You didn't sign anything. You said Ok or no and that was it. Your word was your bond.

And that's the way it's going to be when Bob Dole and Jack Kemp are sworn in next January.

[applause]

And let me say... And I know each of the governors sort of spell out what they've done in their states to make it work whether it's $200 million tax cut in South Carolina, whether it's tort reform in Illinois. Whatever it is, they're changing the landscape out there. They're bringing the government closer to the people.

And I would conclude by saying, that I carry in my pocket, a copy of the Tenth Amendment to the Constitution. It's been around over 200 years. It's only 28 words in length. It simply says, that unless the federal Constitution gives the power to the federal government or denies it to the states, it belongs to the states. And more importantly, it belongs to the people.

[applause]

Now, our founding fathers did that 200 years ago. And they did it. You talk about wisdom. They had it. You know what they were afraid of? They were afraid of this all-powerful central government. They didn't know about the Republican Party or Bob Dole or Bill Clinton or Ross Perot or anybody else.

They were worried about an all-powerful central government that got so powerful, it could strip your rights away through taxation or not compensate you for private property they might be taking. That's what they were concerned about. This all-powerful central government.

And there isn't a person here, regardless of your party, who wouldn't agree that there's been too much power shifted to the federal government. Why not send it back to these outstanding governors we have here today?

Democratic and Republican governors, legislators, welfare reform is finally going to come back. But, the president said he's going to change it next year, if he's there.

Medicaid ought to come back. Block grants and all these education — some of these education — and training programs ought to come back to the governors. Every opportunity we have. Why? Because it's closer to the people.

It's closer to the people and I have a lot of confidence in America's governors. They know what to do. They're here everyday. They understand the people. They understand the state better than any bureaucrat, Republican or Democrat, in some agency somewhere in Washington, D.C.

So, we're going to work on that along with our economic package. Send more power back to the states and back to the people. So, the people will have an opportunity to participate — not just to keep paying taxes, and keep saying yes or keep complaining — where you actually can participate. And for all those reasons.

Again, I am honored to be here and I'd ask for your support. We're going to win this election. He's going to be the most — I'm the most optimistic man in America. And Clinton will be the surprised man in America on November 6, 1996.

[applause]

Thank you. All right.

Robert Dole, Remarks at the Economic Conference of the Republican Governors Association in Detroit Online by Gerhard Peters and John T. Woolley, The American Presidency Project https://www.presidency.ucsb.edu/node/285479

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