Remarks at a Republican
Campaign Rally in
The President. Thank you very much,
and, good Duke, thank you very much for that kind introduction. I think some
thanks should go also to the Coronado High School Band and the Torrey Pines High School Band. And also I understand that
some people that played a helping hand in bringing this all together happened
to be my fraternity brothers from
Now,
before I start, I have a message from my roommate to every young person here.
She told me to say: Please, for your parents, for your friends, for your
country, but most of all for yourselves, just say no to drugs and alcohol.
Audience members. Just say no! Just say
no! Just say no!
The President. All
right. You know, some time ago I told
Now,
please forgive me if from time to time over the next few minutes, there seems
to be a lump in my throat and a catch in my voice. This is a special moment for
me in a special place and, yes, with special people. I closed both of my
campaigns for the Presidency right here in
A
lot of people have been mighty surprised how far you and I have gone together
in our crusade over the years. I remember a story that made the rounds the time
I first ran for office. Someone told my old boss, Jack Warner, that I'd
announced for Governor. And Jack thought about it for just a second, and then
he said, ``No, Jimmy Stewart for Governor; Ronald Reagan for best friend.''
But
this year my name is not on the ballot. And it won't appear on a ballot ever
again, unless, of course, you -- --
Audience members. Booo!
The President. No, no -- unless you
count the one that someone up there casts when your time is done and the moment
has arrived for His verdict, which, when all is said and done, is the only
election that really counts. But if my name isn't on your ballot tomorrow,
something more important is: a principle, a legacy. No, this is not the end of
an era; it's a time to refresh and strengthen the new beginning we started 8
years ago. At stake are the very things you and I have been working for and
fighting for ever since we first joined together almost a quarter of a century
ago and set out to restore our State and then our nation. They add up to the
difference between candidates who promise that come January ``the Reagan era is
over'' and those who say, ``Read my lips: No new taxes.'' Yes, it's the
difference between the liberals and the men and women on the Republican ticket,
candidates like this district's next Congressman, Rob Butterfield; Senator Pete
Wilson; and the next President of the
And
that's why I'm here today: to ask you to turn out to vote tomorrow for our
entire Federal, State, and local Republican ticket so that our principles
survive, our legacy endures, and our truth goes marching on. I've dedicated
myself this autumn to making sure that all we've begun these past 8 years
continues. In the House of Representatives, in the Senate, in the White House,
and in the State legislatures -- which will redraw congressional district lines
after the 1990 census, and through that act profoundly shape the course of the
entire Nation in the next decade -- yes, on every level, the election this year
is about what the Vice President called the other day the big issues: freedom;
peace; opportunity; respect of government for family and community; the safety
of law-abiding citizens; and whether we remain true to our national mission of
standing with those who, like our Founding Fathers, would battle against
tyranny and for liberty. It's about the values that have made
I've
seen some press reports these last few weeks noting how I've been campaigning
so hard for Republican candidates. And they say few other Presidents have done
what I've done. Well, of course, few other Presidents have had the opportunity
to be succeeded by a man as good as George Bush or to stump for candidates as good as Pete Wilson and Rob Butterfield. But I'll let you in
on a little secret: I'm not doing this just for George Bush or Pete Wilson or
our Republican candidates on all levels around the Nation. I'm doing it for the
country, of course, but for someone else as well -- actually for two other
people.
He
was the best storyteller I've ever heard and the strongest man of principle
I've ever known. He believed in honesty and hard work. He was filled with a
love of justice and a hatred of bigotry. Once he was out on the road -- he was
a shoe salesman, traveling around northern
We
called him Jack. And just as he was strong, his wife, Nelle,
was filled with goodness and love. In the darkest days of the Depression, when
they themselves could barely scrape by, no one ever came to their door in need
of a meal who Nelle sent
away emptyhanded. I'm proud of many things I've done
in my life, including more than a few in the last 8 years; but nothing has ever
given me as much satisfaction as when, after several years in California, I
could bring my mother and father out here and give them a home, the first they
had ever owned. So, you see, I'm campaigning this year also for them. A son of
Jack and Nelle Reagan never walked away from a battle
on principle. This year's election is that kind of fight. And by darn, we're
going to win it.
Think
of all those who depend on us and the principles we Republicans stand for.
Young people just getting out of school, looking for their first job, and able
to find it because our recovery has created an average of a quarter of a
million new jobs each month for the last 71 months. Young couples looking for
their first home, who can afford it because we've brought mortgage rates down
by a third since we took office. Mothers and fathers
trying to keep within the family budget -- cutting inflation by two-thirds and
bringing the top personal income tax rate that most families pay down to 15
percent has made their lives a lot better.
But
these aren't the only people who depend on our success. Tomorrow on the plains
of
Just
on the plane coming out here I read a letter I had just received. It was a
couple thanking me for the fact that they are now in the
And
there's some other very special people we won't let
down, either. There's no change during our administration of which I'm prouder
than that our young men and women once more take pride in wearing the uniform
of the
This
year, we're facing a liberal campaign of unusual deception. First our opponents
wanted to conceal their ideology. It took us 3 months to drag the ``L'' word
out of them. [Laughter] And now they're trying to hide what side they're on.
They say that they're on your side, but you tell me, yes or no, and shout it
loud and clear: When their candidates for President, U.S. Senator and Congress
refuse to rule out raising your taxes and have already made their marks as
world-class big spenders in State or Federal Government, are they on your side?
Audience members. No!
The President. When their candidates
for President and U.S. Senator, as well as for Congress and other posts, have a
history of nominating and supporting judges who oppose the death penalty and,
all in all, are strictly for the birds -- if you know what I mean -- [laughter]
-- are they on your side?
Audience members. No!
The President. I like this audience.
Audience members. Reagan! Reagan! Reagan!
The President. Thank you. Wait a
minute, I've got one more. I like this audience, I said, but one last question.
Audience member. We love you!
The President. When their candidates
consistently support cutting back on the very weapons -- including our
Strategic Defense Initiative, SDI -- that have forced the Soviets to seek to
negotiate serious arms reductions with us, and when they seem to believe that a
strong defense is what gets talked about in Right Guard commercials --
[laughter] -- and that a strong Navy is the color of a suit -- [laughter] --
when they do all this, are they on your side?
Audience members. No!
The President. Our liberal friends
just never seem to learn: You can't be for big government, big taxes, and big
bureaucracy and still be for the little guy. In the race for the White House
only one guy is for the little guy, and that guy is George Bush. And in the
Senate race, that guy is Pete Wilson. In this district, in the House of
Representatives, it's Rob Butterfield. And in the State legislature, it's Byron
Wear, Steve Baldwin, Carol Bentley, and our other great Republican candidates.
Yes,
from top to bottom, the election this year is a referendum on liberalism. Do we
want to risk going back to the old, failed liberal policies of the past?
Audience members. No!
The President. Or do we build on the
successes of the present --
--
Audience members. Yes!
The President. -- -- to expand the chances of peace and
prosperity in the future?
Consider
for a moment the people you'll be sending to
Take
our great Senator and, I hope, our next great Senator as well, Pete Wilson.
Pete Wilson, George Bush, and I have been a team: The Three Musketeers -- one
for all and all for the taxpayers and against the special interests. Now, you
know, in Washington, Pete's been named ``Watchdog of the Treasury'' -- five
times he's been named that. He's guarding it against liberals like his
opponent. He'll work with the new President and not try to cut him off at the
knees every chance he gets. Nancy and I cast our absentee ballots last week.
And I know I shouldn't tell you this, but we voted, and I hope you will too,
for a great team: Pete Wilson and the entire Republican team.
Last
week a major national newspaper ran a story about one of our own liberal
California Congressmen. In it, he spelled out to the reporter how he tells
constituents he's for a strong defense, while voting for less
defense, and how he opposed the death penalty amendment to the drug
bill, but says he's for the death penalty when he's back home. And then he got
down to business. Quoting now: ``He wants it understood that a President Bush
would get no quarter from him. Any budget proposal will have to include higher
taxes, he says, whether a President likes it or not. `Otherwise, we're going to
go after him.''' Well, if you ask me, it's time we went after them, and some of
the people to do it are Bill Lowery, Ron Packard, Duncan Hunter, and Rob
Butterfield.
We
must not forget what we're up against, but we all must never forget what we're
for. A poet once wrote: ``I have fallen in love with American names,'' and
Americans love no name better than the name of freedom. Well, in this campaign,
and so many others, I've heard
You
know, some years ago two friends of mine were talking with a Cuban refugee who
had escaped from Castro. In the midst of the tale of horrible experiences, one
friend turned to the other and said, ``We don't know
how lucky we are.'' And the Cuban stopped and said, ``How lucky you are? I had
someplace to escape to.'' Well, let's keep it that way.
How
sacred is our trust -- we to whom God has given the custody of the name and the
song of freedom.
John
Adams once said that: ``The way to secure liberty is to place it in the
people's hands. . . .'' And that's what
So,
let me ask you one or two more questions. And I'm asking for a commitment, so
if you shout yes, be sure you mean it.
Tomorrow,
will you show up at the polls and vote?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. Will you get your
friends and neighbors also to vote?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. For the State
legislature, will you vote for Byron Wear, Steve Baldwin, Carol Bentley, and
the entire Republican team?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. Will you vote to
reelect Congressmen Bill Lowery, Ron Packard, and Duncan Hunter, and to elect
Rob Butterfield?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. And will you vote for
Pete Wilson in the United States Senate?
Audience members. Yes!
The President. And will you make
George Bush the next President of the
Audience members. Yes! Bush! Bush! Bush!
The President. The same thing I'm
asking you I've asked our country this year. Eight years ago,
So,
now we come to the end of this last campaign, and I just hope that Nelle and Jack are looking down on us right now and nodding
their heads and saying their kid did them proud. And I hope that someday your
children and grandchildren will tell of the time that a certain President came
to town at the end of a long journey and asked their parents and grandparents
to join him in setting
Thank
you, and God bless you all.
Note: The President
spoke at