[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 11 (Tuesday, February 3, 2004)]
[House]
[Pages H278-H279]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        THE DUTY OF LEADERS TO BE RESPONSIBLE IN THEIR RHETORIC

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Under a previous order of the House, the 
gentleman from New Mexico (Mr. Pearce) is recognized for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PEARCE. Mr. Speaker, the most fundamental right that is 
guaranteed to us by the founders of our country is the right to speak 
freely. The Founding Fathers knew that public discourse is the backbone 
of a republic and must be inherent to a free society. As leaders, it is 
our job to raise the level of public debate in this country so that we 
can leave behind a legacy of sound decision enhanced by free-willed 
people. But we should never lower the bar of public debate to the point 
where baseless rhetoric is the standard.
  It is our duty, Mr. Speaker, as leaders, to raise the level of public 
debate to a level where truth can be self-evident, where the lines of 
fact and fiction are clear and not blurred, and where it would be 
unimaginable for a public figure to blatantly deceive the American 
people.
  We have a duty to all Americans, as leaders, to be responsible in our 
rhetoric, honest in our discourse, and truthful in our debate.
  Mr. Speaker, I have been profoundly disappointed in some of the 
recent public discourse by some regarding President Bush's service to 
our country. On Sunday morning, Terry McAuliffe, the chairman of the 
Democratic National Committee, said that President Bush was AWOL from 
the Alabama National Guard. Furthermore, he said that President Bush, 
as a member of the National Guard, never served our country in the 
military. In my hands right here I hold President George Bush's DD-214, 
which is the official separation record of any service member. Let the 
record show that it says right here that President Bush, our Commander 
in Chief, served honorably in the National Guard and received an 
honorable discharge.
  For those of the Vietnam era, like I was, who will remember the 
service of National Guard troops, they understand that a fighter pilot 
unit was not the best place to hide in the National Guard. My own 
personal recollection is that one morning as a copilot on a C-130, I 
had been held overnight at that base that was abandoned and was being 
reopened at Takhli Air Force Base in Thailand. When I got up and walked 
outside the tent that morning there was an F-105 pilot there. He was 
nervous and said, ``Where am I? Twelve hours ago,'' he said, ``I was 
teaching school in Kansas.'' He was in the Kansas National Guard. 
Twelve hours later, after teaching school, he is in the Southeast Asian 
conflict, flying wild weasel missions over the north.
  Mr. Speaker, the National Guard flying fighters was not a place to 
hide during the Vietnam conflict. It is next to impossible for the 
President to have received an honorable discharge if he was found 
guilty or even accused of AWOL. McAuliffe's charges are to imply that 
the Guard would have given an honorable discharge to someone who did 
not show up for service.
  As you can see, Mr. Speaker, this accusation is reckless, it is 
irresponsible, and it is false. These charges are slanderous and 
without merit. It is outrageous for a leader of a political party and a 
top surrogate of the Presidential forerunner to be making this charge 
in our public discourse.
  Especially upsetting to me is that McAuliffe believes that serving in 
the National Guard does not constitute serving in the military. To 
imply that the National Guard is not military service is to dismiss the 
sacrifices of tens of thousands of National Guardsmen and women who 
have served before and are presently serving. And it is a slap in the 
face to their service and their families.
  National Guardsmen in World War II landed at Omaha Beach. The New 
Mexico National Guard served in the Pacific, and still today we honor 
those members who survived the Bataan Death March, who were members of 
the National Guard in New Mexico.
  Currently there are more than 193,000 National Guard members and 
Reservists currently serving our country in the war on terror. About 40 
percent of the soldiers in Iraq are Guard and Reserve. In my district 
alone I have more than 1,500 National Guardsmen and women and 
Reservists currently serving on Active Duty.
  And, Mr. Speaker, it would be a cold day in July in New Mexico before 
I would let anyone say that these men and women, the people that I 
represent in this fine institution, do not serve our country.
  I went to Iraq, Mr. Speaker, and I met personally with young men and 
women who are serving there. Mr. Speaker, the National Guard and 
Reserves are steadfast servants to our country, serving to ensure that 
liberty for others is achieved. Some of these men and women are on the 
front lines. They serve as a wedge between terrorism and freedom.
  Mr. Speaker, the National Guard and Reserve soldiers are serving our 
country as we speak. As a member of the Air Force, I find Mr. 
McAuliffe's characterizations insulting and demeaning. Terry McAuliffe 
cheapens the National Guard by saying it is not military service. His 
baseless insinuations diminish the National Guard as an institution. He 
owes an apology to the men and women in the National Guard and Reserve 
uniforms who are serving our country and protecting their fellow 
Americans.
  Mr. McAuliffe's comments represent the worst of election year 
politics. It must be a sad day to be a member of the political party 
whose leader publicly denounces, degrades, and dishonors the fighting 
force that is at this moment fighting for freedom and liberty and who 
have risked their lives to fight terrorism around the world.

[[Page H279]]

  It is a sad day, Mr. Speaker, when we allow our public debate to be 
laced with deception in this body and the other body. We have a duty to 
the American people and to future generations to raise the level of our 
honest public debate in this country. Let that be our legacy.

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