Remarks at a Republican
Campaign Rally in
The President. Thank you, George. And
I'd like to add a special thank you to the Ringling Brothers, to Bruce Drennan, the Baldwin-Wallace Jazz Ensemble, and the great
kids of the Parma High School Band, the Mid-Park High School Band, and the Berea
High School Band. You've all done yourselves proud. And now will you promise me
you'll do all of
Let
me tell you, it's great to be here in a community that's a symbol of all we've
accomplished in the past 8 years. They tell me that the three automobile plants
near here are running close to capacity, and they're all staffed up now at the
steel mill in
Well,
in November 1980 you gave them a message. You said, ``Physician, heal
thyself.'' And every one of you here proved them wrong and showed them there's
no greater engine for change and economic growth and prosperity than the
hard-working men and women of the
And
one of the people who's been responsible for the
change around here is with us today. He's the man who saved the city of
Cleveland, a guy who knows what it means to do what's right and to do it right.
He's a true miracle worker. And now he's got the toughest fight of his life.
But when the dust clears on November 8th, I know he's going to be the next
Senator from the State of
Now,
you know, my time is drawing to a close in
Audience members. Four more years! Four
more years! Four more years!
The President. Well, thank you, but
you know -- yes, that's very kind of you, but you know there's a 22d amendment
that makes that impossible.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. But I'll give you a
little secret. When I'm out of here, so they can't accuse me of doing it for
myself, I'm going to see if I can't talk the people of America into canceling
that amendment because it is not an infringement on the man in office, it's an
infringement on the democratic rights of the people of America.
But
now, as I said, come January I'll be going home, but I'm going to feel just
fine about that because nobody knows better than I do just how capable are
those two hands I'll be passing the torch to come the 20th of January.
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. They're the best. Yes,
they're the best set of hands this side of Bob Feller, and they belong to a man
named George Bush.
Audience members. Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. I'm here today to talk
to you about the great Republican ticket, from the White House to the
statehouse to the county seat, and make sure that everybody who shares our
hopes for the future turns out to vote on November 8th.
You
know, the liberals are going around saying they're on your side. You know
better than that. Let's talk about crime. Our side believes people who want to
protect their home and family from an armed intruder have a constitutional right
to own a gun; the liberals are against it.
Audience members. Booo!
The President. Now, I want to ask you
a question, and would you shout out yes or no loud and clear so that our
friends in the press know just where you stand. Do you believe the liberals are
on your side?
Audience members. No!
The President. Now, do you believe
we're the ones that are on your side?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. I thought you might say
that. Okay, now let's talk about school prayer. We're for it; they're against
it. I want to ask you again: Who's on your side? Are the liberals? Or is it the
Republican ticket?
Audience members. Republicans!
The President. Let's take that liberal
philosophy of tax-and-tax and spend-and-spend. They're for it; we're against
it. Now, tell me again, and tell me so they can hear it all the way to
Audience members. George Bush! George Bush!
George Bush!
The President. All
right. You know, the truth is, those others -- they only come around on
your side when they want to get their hands on your wallet. I remember the last
time the American people heard that kind of talk in 1980. The American people
let them know they weren't on your side; they were on your back. Yes, the
liberals were off-sides in 1980; they're even further off-sides now; and on
November 8th, the people are going to throw the penalty flag and let the
liberals know they're so far off-side that they're way out of bounds.
One
of the guys who's the furthest out of bounds is the
guy running against George Voinovich. He's been called the liberal master of
destruction by the nonpartisan Congressional Quarterly. And now, after all of
these months and all of this time, the fellow at the top of the other ticket
has admitted what Ohioans have known about George Voinovich's opponent all
along: that he's liberal, liberal, liberal!
Audience members. Booo!
The President. And come next week, the
American public will say no to liberals who preach higher taxes, big spending,
and a weak defense. When we came into office, families like yours were reeling
from tax rates that were draining this nation's initiative. Since our expansion
began, we've created more than 18 million new jobs. We've reduced the
unemployment rate to nearly the lowest it's been in 14 years.
We've
had 71 months of economic recovery; that's the longest peacetime recovery in
the history of this great nation. And today a greater proportion of our
potential work force -- that means everybody, male and female, from 16 years of
age and up, in this country, students and retirees included -- a greater
percentage of that work force is employed today than ever before in the history
of the United States of America: 62.7 percent have jobs.
We
also went to work on our nation's defenses. We're once again respected in the
world. Our Armed Forces are strong, and
You
know, some people think that maybe I've changed, that I don't believe the
things that I believed when I came into office. Well, I'm here today to tell
you that's not true. I'm a believer in a philosophy of
world affairs summed up in a phrase I quoted to Mr. Gorbachev: Trust everybody,
but cut the cards.
None
of our triumphs -- no, not one -- would have happened if the liberals had had
their way. There would have been no INF treaty or rollback in
Just
listen to what the liberals said no to. They opposed the liberation of
Of
all the changes we've made, the one I may be happiest about is this: Our young
men and women are once again proud to wear this country's uniform. And because
of them, over these past 8 years, not 1 inch of ground on this good Earth has
fallen to Communists.
We're
also on your side because we take the threat of crime seriously. We've appointed
serious-minded judges who respect the Constitution and know the meaning of the
word ``punishment,'' like two of our good candidates for the Ohio Supreme Court
here today: Joyce George and Paul Matia. We learned
during the ``malaise'' years that when judges don't do their jobs right
criminals feel like they can run rampant. Well, violent crime has fallen
significantly in this country since 1981 because we put criminals on notice:
Make one false move, and the next sound you hear is the clang of a jail cell
door slamming shut.
You
know, my friends, we believe there are no citizens more precious than the men
and women who guard us: our State and local police, and we must stand united
behind them. We must protect them as they protect us. And that's why we believe
with all the conviction we have that a crack dealer with a machinegun who
murders a police officer in the line of duty should face the death penalty.
You
know, all that we've achieved, everything, can be undone faster than you can
say ``Taxachusetts'' if our liberal friends are
successful. The fellow at the top of the other ticket says he's in the
tradition of Franklin Delano Roosevelt, John F. Kennedy, and Harry Truman. But
I'll tell you this one thing: If he's Harry Truman, I'm Roger Rabbit!
Yes,
ladies and gentlemen, when our liberal friends run away from their agenda and
falsely invoke the greats to cover for them, they're just acknowledging that
where they want to take
They're
the people who've stolen the Democratic Party away from its heritage. I know
because I was once a Democrat. And the truth is that when the left took over
the Democratic Party leadership many like me who were inspired by F.D.R. and
Harry Truman took over the Republican Party. So, I want to ask those of you
some people call Reagan Democrats to join me and come home with me today. Come
home to the Republican Party.
Now,
please, don't cancel out your vote for President by picking a tax-and-spend
liberal for the Senate. Remember, it takes the President and Congress working
together to move
We've
got to do all we can to get our message out. We must guard against complacency
and overconfidence. This election isn't over yet, not by a long shot. And as
Winston Churchill once said: ``We must wage war until
victory is won.''
Now
let me take a little public opinion poll of my own. Will you make sure to turn
out for the Republican ticket on November 8th?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. Will you give the next
President the Senate he needs by voting for George Voinovich on November 8th?
[Applause]
And
will you give
Ladies
and gentlemen,
Now,
probably somebody back up there being cynical is going to say, ``Well, wait a minute: This is Wednesday, and Tuesday is
election day.'' I know that. But it's the day after election
day that we do the cheering. And you know, some people are saying it's
time for a change. Well, ladies and gentlemen, we are the change. The change
began 8 years ago.
Let
me just tell you something that most of us tend to forget. In the 50 years to
1980 -- that half a century, 1931 until 1980 -- 46 of those 50 years the
Democrats have controlled both Houses of the Congress. Now, in this campaign
I've heard the deficit called mine -- that it is so big. Let me tell you, the
President can't spend a dime. Only Congress can spend money. Now, in those 50
years, 46 of them with the Democrats in control of both Houses of the Congress,
there have only been 8 scattered years in that half-century in which the budget
of the United States Government was balanced. So, who has been in charge while
all this went on?
Now,
in the 15 years from 1965 to 1980, when the Democratic President then had
started his War on Poverty, which poverty won -- [laughter] -- in those 15
years, the budget of the United States Government increased to five times what
it had been, and the deficit increased to 52 times what it had been. And this
is what we've inherited.
No,
we haven't been able to balance the budget, because the President not only
can't spend money, he can't save money. Only the Congress can do that. If a
Department or Agency's got some money left over, the Congress says they've got
to spend it. That's why we've got an awful lot of warehouses with office
furniture in them -- because the only way they know, sometimes, to spend up the
surplus is to buy new furniture.
But
then we came into office in 1981, and for 6 years, we had one House, the
Senate, on our side. Between '86 and now, we have cut the
Federal deficit by some $70 billion. And we're continuing on a path of
cutting. But as I say, those 6 years -- they've gone by, and now we're back
where we were with them in charge of both Houses. We couldn't have made all the
gains we've made if we had not had that one House. So, that's why this man
sitting back here -- it's so very vital that we get him there, so that once
again, a President can have at least one House that will help him curb the
spending habits of the liberals.
Now
I want to ask you to do me one small favor: Will you go out there and win one
for the Gipper? [Applause] Thank you very much, and
God bless you all.
Note: The President
spoke at