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Skriven 2006-11-02 23:32:32 av Whitehouse Press (1:3634/12.0)
Ärende: Press Release (061102d) for Thu, 2006 Nov 2
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Remarks by the Vice President at An Idaho Victory Rally
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For Immediate Release
Office of the Vice President
November 2, 2006

Remarks by the Vice President at An Idaho Victory Rally



REMARKS BY THE VICE PRESIDENT

AT AN IDAHO VICTORY RALLY

Empire Aerospace

Hayden, Idaho

5:30 P.M. PST

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Mercy. A welcome like that is almost enough to make me
want to run for office again. (Applause.) I said almost, almost.

Well, I'm delighted to be here tonight, and I appreciate that tremendous
welcome. It's great to visit one of the most beautiful cities in America.
(Applause.) Although I must say, I like it better when the sun shines.

Two years ago, we had an important national election. I was honored to be
on the ticket that got 68 percent of the vote here in Idaho. (Applause.)
And I'm honored today to bring good wishes to the people of Idaho from the
President of the United States, George W. Bush. (Applause.)

And I'm delighted to be here tonight, of course, with your governor, Jim
Risch, Senator Larry Craig, Congressman Butch Otter, State Representative
Bill Sali and all of our Republican candidates here in Idaho. (Applause.)

And, of course, I brought my wife, Lynne, with me tonight. (Applause.) How
many of you saw her on CNN with Wolf Blitzer here about a week ago?
(Applause.) We refer to that around the house as the "slap-down."
(Laughter.) You can also tell you who wins the arguments in our house.
(Laughter.)

But I tell people that Lynne and I have a Republican marriage, that in 1952
when Dwight Eisenhower ran for President, I was a youngster living in
Lincoln, Nebraska with my folks. Dad worked for the Soil Conservation
Service; Eisenhower got elected; they reorganized the Agriculture
Department. Dad got shipped to Casper, Wyoming. That's where I met Lynne.
We grew up together, went to high school together, and recently celebrated
our 42nd wedding anniversary. (Applause.) I explain to people that if it
hadn't been for that great Republican victory in 1952, I would never have
moved to Casper, Wyoming, and Lynne would have had to marry somebody else.
(Laughter.) And she said, right, and now he'd be Vice President of the
United States. (Laughter and applause.) No doubt in my mind.

But I'm here tonight on behalf of the President, and on behalf of our fine
candidates to ask all of you to do everything you can to support the
Republican ticket here in the state of Idaho. With only five days to go
until voting time, it's important to talk to your friends and neighbors and
encourage them to get to the polls. We need the support of Republicans and
independents and discerning Democrats. Spread the word that if you want a
strong economy, a safer America, a better future for your children and
grandchildren, then cast your vote for the Republican team. (Applause.)

Idaho has a long tradition of leadership, and this state has produced many
outstanding public servants. One of them is your former Senator and
Governor, Dirk Kempthorne, who is doing a great job as Secretary of the
Interior. (Applause.)

Idaho is extraordinarily well served by your United States Senators, Larry
Craig and Mike Crapo. One of your excellent Congressmen, Butch Otter, is
going to be the next governor of the state of Idaho. (Applause.) And Bill
Sali is on his way to Washington, with Mike Simpson, to serve Idaho in the
next Congress. (Applause.)

Bill Sali, of course, is an experienced member of the state legislature --
and a strong voice for economic growth and jobs and limited government. He
understands the concerns of the taxpayer, the property owner, the
sportsman, and the entrepreneur. Bill is ready to make a difference in
Washington, and he's going to be the kind of Congressman who will make you
proud. (Applause.)

We live in a period of incredible consequence for our country -- with
difficult issues, with big debates, decisions that require not just
toughness but wisdom. I'm humbled by the honor of serving the country in
times like these. And I'm proud to serve with a President who makes
decisions based on what's right for America, not based on the polls, or the
conventional wisdom of the talking heads on television. (Applause.)

When you cast your ballot on Tuesday, you're going to be doing more than
choosing candidates for office. In the congressional race, you'll be
casting a vote for which party will have a majority control in the Congress
over the next two years. And that's going to make a big difference when it
comes to tax policy. You know the record of Republican leadership. We've
given America the largest tax relief since Ronald Reagan lived in the White
House. (Applause.)

We cut taxes for every American who pays income taxes. We doubled the child
tax credit, reduced the marriage penalty, cut taxes on small business and
began phasing out the death tax. We cut taxes on capital gains and
dividends to promote investment and jobs. And the results are in: more than
four years of uninterrupted economic growth, real wages on the rise, 6.6
million new jobs since August of '03. President Bush's tax plan was right
for America -- and it is working. (Applause.)

Our party has a clear record on taxes, and so do our opponents. When we
first cut taxes in 2001, most Senate Democrats and nearly 85 percent of the
Democrats in the House of Representatives voted against it. When we cut
taxes in 2003, most Senate Democrats and nearly 95 percent of House
Democrats voted against it. And when we extended key tax cuts earlier this
year, most Senate Democrats and more than 90 percent of House Democrats
voted against it.

Don't hold back. It's all right.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: I notice that now, on the verge of the election, the
leader of the House Democrats, Nancy Pelosi --

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- claims -- she claims Democratic leaders "love tax
cuts." That only invites another look at her party's record on taxes. It's
plain to see, and it stretches back a long way. The last time they had
control of Congress in 1993, they passed a massive tax increase. They'll do
it again if they can; and they've already figured out a way to do it. Under
current law, many of the Bush tax cuts have to be renewed by Congress or
they will expire, and the old rates will kick back in. Recently the ranking
Democrat on the House Ways and Means Committee, Charlie Rangel --

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- Charlie, said that he "cannot think of one" of our
first term tax cuts that he would extend. If the Democrats take control of
the House, Charlie Rangel will be chairman of the Ways and Means Committee.
He would then be in a position to block any legislation coming out of the
committee. And if there's no tax legislation renewing the cuts, every tax
rate will go back up to its old level, the marriage penalty will return,
and the death tax will come back to life. The child credit, also, will go
down from $1,000 to $500. In other words, take the number of dependent
children you receive the tax credit for, multiply it by $500 -- and that's
the additional amount you'll be sending to Washington if we get a Congress
that lets the Bush tax cuts expire.

That's bad. (Laughter.)

That should raise the stakes of this election in the minds of every voter.
If the Democrats take control, American families would face an immense tax
increase, and the economy would sustain a major hit. As the President has
said, this nation needs more than a temporary economic expansion, so we
need more than temporary tax relief. For the sake of America's
entrepreneurs, families, and communities, we need to make the Bush tax cuts
permanent -- and we will do that with a new Republican Congress.
(Applause.)

And we have to remember, as we work to keep this economy on the right
track, that we need good partners at the state level. We need governors who
understand, as we do, that the key to more jobs is not big government but
rather free enterprise, low taxes, and spending discipline. That's the kind
of governor Butch Otter is going to be for the people of Idaho. (Applause.)

Out in Washington, we'll continue working on an agenda for growth and jobs,
and better access to health care. We believe our job is to solve big
problems, not simply pass them on to the next generation. That's how we'll
continue to do business. And when vacancies arise on the federal courts,
the President will keep appointing outstanding judges like Chief Justice
John Roberts and Justice Sam Alito. (Applause.)

Above all, ladies and gentlemen, we're going to stay focused on our number
one obligation: to protect and defend the people of the United States in
this time of war. (Applause.)

After the attacks of 9/11, President Bush told Congress and the country
that we were in for a long struggle against enemies who regard the entire
world as a battlefield. He said the fight would be a serious test of our
patience and our resolve as a nation. And he was exactly right.

Nine-eleven changed everything for this country. During the 1980s and
1990s, terrorists waged attacks against American interests. They were the
ones on the offensive, and they became convinced that if they killed enough
Americans, they could change American policy. In Beirut in 1983, terrorists
killed 241 of our servicemen. Thereafter, U.S. forces withdrew from Beirut.
In Mogadishu in 1993, terrorists killed 19 American soldiers. Thereafter,
United States forces withdrew from Somalia. Over time, the terrorists
concluded that they could strike America without paying a price, because
they did, repeatedly: The bombing at the World Trade Center in 1993 in New
York, the murders at the Saudi National Guard training facility in Riyadh
in 1995, the attack on Khobar Towers in 1996, the simultaneous attack on
our embassies in Kenya and Tanzania in 1998, and the attack on the USS Cole
in 2000.

Then came September 11th -- that day we saw the murder of 3,000 innocent
men, women, and children. After that attack we made a decision: We will
confront this danger to civilization. We will take this fight to the enemy.
And we will stay in the fight until the fight is won. (Applause.)

The enemy is still -- don't hold back -- (Laughter.) The enemy is still
resourceful, still determined to hit us again. We've uncovered several
plots since 9/11, most recently, of course, you'll remember the reports
from the city of London this past couple of months. The attack that was
then being planned and was successfully disrupted would have involved
nearly two dozen suicide bombers hijacking nine or 10 airliners headed for
the United States, blowing them out of the sky over the Atlantic or cities
here in the homeland. It didn't happen because of the vigilance and the
great work between the United States and our British allies. (Applause.)

In spite of efforts to launch attacks, we've now gone more than five years
now without another 9/11. That is not an accident. (Applause.) Nobody can
guarantee that we won't be hit again. Yet the fact is America is safer
today because we've conducted this war on the offensive, and because we've
used every legitimate tool at our command to protect the American people.
(Applause.)

Going on the offensive requires us to track down the terrorists wherever
they plot and plan. Prior to 9/11, Afghanistan was in the grip of the
Taliban, a regime that brutalized the Afghan people and hosted the training
camps of al Qaeda, where some 10,000 to 20,000 terrorists were trained in
the late '90s, including many of those who attacked us on 9/11. Now that
country has a democratic government that is an ally in the War on Terror.
And Americans who return home from that part of the world can be proud of
their service for the rest of their lives. (Applause.)

The same is true of the men and women serving in Iraq. We maintain forces
in those countries -- (applause) -- we maintain forces in those two
countries because we're a nation that keeps its word, and because we
understand what is at stake in that region. The terrorists understand, as
well. The terrorists know that as freedom takes hold, the ideologies of
hatred and resentment will weaken, and the advance of free institutions in
the broader Middle East will produce a much safer world for our children
and grandchildren. The war on terror is a battle for the future of
civilization. It is a battle worth fighting. It is a battle we are going to
win. (Applause.)

In this election season, national security is at the top of the agenda,
which is where it belongs. Every voter in the United States needs to know
where we stand, as well as how the leaders of the Democratic Party view the
global war on terror. Time and time again, we're seeing examples of
Democratic Party leaders apparently having lost their perspective
concerning the nature of the enemy we face, and the need to wage this fight
aggressively. No sharper example can be found than the Democratic Party
chairman himself, Howard Dean --

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: -- who said the capture of Saddam Hussein did not make
America any safer.

And maybe it should be no surprise that such a party would turn its back on
a man like Senator Joe Lieberman, who's been an unapologetic in supporting
the fight against terror. (Applause.)

Instead, they highlight people like John Kerry.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: That is a great picture. (Applause.) Of course, he was
their presidential nominee just two years ago. The titular head of the
Democratic Party. Aren't we lucky he lost that election? (Applause.) I see
you all remember John Kerry -- (laughter) -- the senator who voted for the
$87 billion before he voted against it, the guy that was always lecturing
us about "nuance." (Laughter.) He's the one, you'll recall, who last year
said that American soldiers were terrorizing children in Iraq.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: And just this week he took another swipe at the U.S.
military. Here's what he said, word for word: "You know education, if you
make the most of it, you study hard, you do your homework, and you make an
effort to be smart, you can do well. If you don't, you get stuck in Iraq."

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Of course, Senator Kennedy -- Kennedy, I'm sorry --
Senator Kerry -- (laughter and applause) -- come on, now. I've got to get
through this speech. (Laughter.) Senator Kerry said he was just making a
joke, and he botched it up. I guess we didn't get the nuance. He was for
the joke before he was against it. (Laughter and applause.)

He has now apologized, and rightly so. All Americans realize that the men
and women serving in Iraq aren't there because they didn't study hard or do
their homework. The all-volunteer force represents the very best of this
country. (Applause.) They are smart, patriotic, exceptionally well trained,
and dedicated to their mission. They are heroes, and they are the pride of
the United States of America. (Applause.)

Among the leading Democrats, you'll find a range of views on Iraq. Some of
them want to pull out all the troops right away. Some want to withdraw on a
time line set by politicians in Washington. And some Democrats in the House
have introduced legislation to cut off all funds for the troops in Iraq.
(Applause.) All these proposals have a common theme: They would have
America leave Iraq before the job is done. That's the kind of withdrawal
that Osama bin Laden has been predicting. He and his followers believe that
America doesn't have the stomach for this fight, and they are absolutely
convinced they can break the will of the American people.

AUDIENCE: Booo!

THE VICE PRESIDENT: If we left before the job was done, we would simply
validate the al Qaeda strategy and reinforce the notion that if they kill
enough Americans they can change American policy. So the choice before the
American people is becoming more clear every day: For the sake of our
security, this nation must reject any strategy of resignation and defeatism
in the war on terror. (Applause.)

This is a great crowd. What are you doing for the next four days?
(Applause.)

Idaho is a two-party state -- I don't have a plane that big. (Laughter.)
The President has got the big plane. (Laughter.) Idaho is a two-party state
with a long tradition of leadership and service to the country. And I know
there are lots of Democrats and independents in Idaho who don't find much
in common with Democratic leaders like Howard Dean, Ted Kennedy, John
Kerry, and Nancy Pelosi. As you get ready to vote on Tuesday, it's
important to remember that this election will have enormous consequences
for this nation. In all the decisions that will come in the next two years,
it's going to matter a great deal which party has the majority on the floor
and the gavel in committee.

So this election is vitally important -- not just for the political parties
but for the nation. The outcome will determine whether Americans pay higher
taxes or lower taxes. It will determine whether this government remains
firm and resolute in the war on terror, or falls into confusion, doubt, and
indecision. The stakes are high for America's prosperity. The stakes are
high for America's security. The stakes are high for American families.
(Applause.) So now is the time to talk to your friends, put up the yard
signs, to make those calls, and to give it one more big push before
Election Day.

Here in Idaho, citizens deserve people in the Nation's Capital, and in the
state capital, who speak up for your values and your interests. And that's
why, with your help, we're going to see a clean Republican sweep in Idaho
next Tuesday.

END 5:56 P.M. PST

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