[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992, Book I)]
[March 6, 1992]
[Pages 397-400]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Bush-Quayle Rally in Jackson, Mississippi

March 6, 1992
    Thank you all. Thank you, Governor. And may I pay my respects to 
Governor Fordice, thank him for that introduction, and tell him how glad 
I am to be working with him to help solve the many problems of our 
Nation. And it's great to be with you, Kirk, and of course with the 
First Lady, Pat. You both are off to a wonderful start for this State. 
And to the Lieutenant Governor, Lieutenant Governor Briggs, and to Mayor 
Charles Evers, it's an honor to share the stage. And then I see some of 
our Mississippi Bush-Quayle team, my dear friend Clarke Reed and Evelyn 
McPhail and Ann Wilson. And thank you, Reverend Felder, for the 
invocation; to Anna McDonald for her beautiful singing; Jerry Clower, 
who had you all in stitches, doing a great emceeing job. And may I thank 
the Mississippi Valley State band and also Pearl High School. Thank you 
all for the great music.
    I know of the interest in agriculture here, and I have an 
announcement of interest to Mississippians. I will nominate Jim Huff of 
Taylorsville to join my administration in Washington as head of the 
Rural Electrification Administration. His farming, his ranching, his 
manufacturing, and Government experience make him the perfect choice to 
lead the REA. Insured loans and loan guarantees have helped provide 
service to 600,000 customers in Mississippi, so it is fitting that a 
native son of Mississippi takes on this important job.
    Now, about the business at hand, it's refreshing to be here. And 
it's always refreshing to get away from Washington. I share your pride 
in your new Governor, Kirk Fordice. You see, he's a commonsense leader 
who shares our values and visions for America's future. And these 
values, if you do your history, these values have changed the world. And 
we need them now to change America.
    We're in a battle for our future. We're determined to leave our kids 
the best possible legacy. And we want America to lead the world in good 
jobs with productive work. And we want to remain a force for world peace 
and freedom. And we're fight-

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ing to protect our most basic institution, the American family. And 
that's why this year of decision is so important for America. And that's 
why next Tuesday's election, the primary election, and then the November 
general election are vital to our future. And I'm asking you to get out 
the vote and create a resounding mandate for transforming America. Let's 
nominate and elect men and women who share our values. We've got much 
more to do to get America on the right track. And so I'm asking you for 
4 more years as President of the United States.
    This country was built on faith and family and freedom, and we must 
renew those sources of our strength. We must allow common sense to 
prevail in our welfare system, restore the connection between welfare 
and work. Americans aren't coldhearted; we're a caring people. We 
support those families that need help. But we want to see government at 
every level work together to track down those deadbeat dads, the ones 
who can't be bothered to pay the child support. And we've got to break 
the cycle of dependency that destroys dignity and passes down poverty 
from one generation to the next. That's wrong. It is cruel. And we've 
got to work together, coming together to change it. We're encouraging 
States--full cooperation from the Governor--to innovate with workfare, 
with plans that help people break that dependency and begin learning 
work skills.
    And we will continue also in another front to fight for parents' 
right to choose their schools, school choice. School choice is at the 
heart of America 2000, our strategy to literally revolutionize American 
education. And my wife, Barbara, recently joined Governor Fordice and 
your lovely First Lady, Pat, in the town of Winona to kick off 
Mississippi 2000, your own State's commitment to fundamental reform. 
We're going to stay the course and help every single kid in America have 
the best possible education. That means you.
    Today, March 6th, is a World Day of Prayer. And I think it's quite a 
commentary on things that the World Day of Prayer is observed a lot more 
fervently in Mississippi and in our State of Texas than it is in 
Washington, DC. And speaking of Washington, the House there and the 
Senate both open their daily sessions with a prayer. But there's 
something wrong when our kids cannot participate in voluntary prayer in 
the classrooms of the United States of America. And we need to change 
that.
    You see, parents, not some bureaucrat in Washington, know what is 
best for their children. And that's why I worked to win a child care 
bill, a good one, that provides parents the rights to choose who 
provides the care. And we know America is first as long as we put the 
family first.
    For 3 years I've had to fight the liberal leadership of Congress. 
And I'm going to continue to stand for the principle, no matter how 
daunting the odds. We fought, and we put judges on the bench who know 
the rule is to interpret the law, not to legislate from the Federal 
bench. I'm delighted that David Souter and Clarence Thomas are now 
members of the Supreme Court.
    And also another point: I'll use the veto when I have to, to stand 
for principle, to stand up for family values. And sometimes even my 
friends said I was flirting with defeat by casting a veto instead of 
cutting a deal. But we've never lost a veto fight, and I will never 
hesitate to use the veto when principle is at stake.
    Now, I'm sure you all have been reading in the papers, once again 
the liberal leadership of the Congress is on a collision course with my 
veto. You remember I asked Congress to pass tax cuts and incentives, 
investment incentives to get this economy moving again, and that means 
pass a new investment tax allowance. To get real estate up and running, 
that means pass incentives like a $5,000 tax credit for those first-time 
homebuyers, those young marrieds that want to buy their home for the 
first time. It means rewarding risk to those who create jobs, and that 
means cut the tax on capital gains so we can get more businesses going.
    But instead of passing my plan, the big spenders who control the 
United States Congress had other ideas. They pushed through one of their 
own. And here's what's in it for you: a tiny temporary tax cut, 25 
cents, a quarter a day for each man, 
woman, and child in America. And here's the catch: You can keep that 
quarter in

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exchange for $100 billion in new taxes. Now, the Democrats call that new 
revenue. And I call it your money. If you feel the way I do, tell the 
Congress, ``Keep the change, and keep your hands off the taxpayers' 
wallets.''
    Now, right here in Mississippi, you don't take storm warnings 
lightly. Hurricanes and tornadoes, nothing to trifle with. Well, 
Congress better not mistake my veto warning. The storm flags are flying. 
And if the liberals send me that tax bill, I'll send it back faster than 
a Mississippi whirlwind. And I will veto it the very day that I receive 
it.
    And let me say to the Congressmen that might be listening up there 
in Washington: Remember, I've set a deadline, March 20th. And I've said 
to you all: Pass our plan. Get our economy moving. Do something for the 
American people. Set politics aside and stimulate this economy so the 
men and women of Mississippi and across our country will have more jobs.
    I like a good fight. And we'll fight if we must, and we will win. 
And we'll keep to our course of leadership in the world economy, and 
that's absolutely a must if we're going to succeed economically at home. 
Trade with our neighbors, trade with the world is vital. It is 
absolutely essential here in Mississippi.
    A couple of months ago, I visited Peavey Electronics in Meridian. 
And they told me 40 percent of their sales are exports. Across the 
State, 45,000 jobs now depend on exports. And remember, every billion 
dollars more in manufactured exports means 20,000 new jobs, and each 
extra billion dollars in agricultural exports means thousands more jobs 
on Mississippi farms and in Mississippi agribusiness.
    But my opponents are peddling protectionism, a retreat from economic 
reality. And you cut through all the campaign statements and the 
patriotic posturing and all the tough talk about fighting back by 
shutting out foreign goods. Look closely. That is not the American flag 
they're waving; it is the white flag of surrender. And that is not the 
America that you and I know. We do not cut and run; we compete. Never in 
this Nation's long history have we turned our backs on a challenge, and 
we are not going to start doing that now.
    And I put my faith in the American worker. Level the playing field, 
and the American worker will outthink, outproduce, and outperform 
anyone, anywhere, anytime. And you know what Dizzy Dean said, ``It ain't 
bragging if you can back it up.''
    No, we're America. We're in the State of Mississippi. And because 
we're strong, because we value faith and family and freedom, we're the 
world's greatest power. Because whenever our values are threatened, we 
fight to defend them. We need to keep our defenses strong. In my State 
of the Union Message, I proposed far-reaching but still responsible cuts 
to bring our Armed Forces into line with the new realities of the world. 
But the liberals, true to form, want to put down the scalpel and pick up 
a meat ax, and we cannot let that happen to the defenses of this 
country. I will keep America strong, and you can count on it.
    As President, I have a constitutional responsibility for the 
national security of this country. And as long as I am President, I 
guarantee you we will have defenses strong enough to meet our 
responsibilities. We were ready when Iraq's brutal dictator invaded 
Kuwait, and we will be ready when we face the next crisis; make no 
mistake about it. We must let the world know this: Whatever the 
challenge, America will stay strong. We are the undisputed, trusted 
leader of the world. And as President, I will keep it that way.
    Think back a year ago, think back just a year ago to the calm after 
Desert Storm. Ask any one of the proud sons and daughters of Mississippi 
who became the liberators of Kuwait, and they will tell you military 
strength doesn't mean a thing without moral support right here at home.
    And yes, we all know there were those who didn't support us then. 
There are those who second-guess us now. But not here, not in the State 
of Mississippi. And when I drew that line in the sand, you stood with 
me. And never would this country tuck tail and let aggression stand. 
America did what was right and good and just, and America prevailed.
    And we're bringing that same spirit to the fight we face today. I 
want you to join me. Bring that same Desert Storm spirit to

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solving these problems at home, and let our opponents sound the retreat, 
run from the realities, seek refuge in a world of protectionism and high 
taxes and big Government. And let them drone on about what's wrong in 
America. We know what is right about our country.
    And that brings me to another point, and I want to say it right here 
in front of the capitol of this great State: Desert Storm brought us 
together, Americans of every color and creed. And I am counting on the 
good people of this State and all across our country, the other 49 
States, to build on that harmony. And let's stand up and reject the ugly 
politics of hatred that is rearing its head again. Racism and anti-
Semitism and bigotry have no place in the United States of America.
    Let me close with just a couple of words from the heart. Barbara and 
I are blessed. Let me say parenthetically--it's a little husbandly 
pride--I happen to think this First Lady is doing a pretty fine job for 
the United States of America and for these kids here. But we view it 
this way: We're blessed to serve this great Nation of ours at a moment 
when so many of the old fears have been driven away, when so many new 
hopes stand within our reach. Maybe you do the same thing, but every 
day, every day I thank God that our young people will be able to follow 
their dreams without the nightmare of nuclear holocaust hanging over us 
as it did just a few years ago. And since the day I took the oath of 
office I made it my duty always to try to do my best, try to do what is 
right for this country. I've given it my level-best, and I am not done 
yet.
    And you and I have more work ahead before we've finished our 
mission. It's a battle for our future: It's about jobs; it is about 
family; it is about world peace, the kind of legacy we will leave these 
young kids sitting here in front of me today. Together, we've made a 
great beginning to renew the miracle of American enterprise and to 
strengthen those fundamental values of family, faith, and freedom. And 
now we're approaching an hour of decision, next week. Don't wait until 
November. I'm asking you to vote on Tuesday in the Republican primary. 
Give me your vote in this important election next Tuesday. Help me win 4 
more years to lead the fight for the values we share.
    Thank you, and may God bless the United States of America. Thank you 
very, very much.

                    Note: The President spoke at 4:52 p.m. at the State 
                        Capitol Building. In his remarks, he referred to 
                        Clarke Reed, State chairman for the Bush-Quayle 
                        campaign; Evelyn McPhail, chairman of the 
                        Republican Party of Mississippi; Ann Wilson, 
                        Republican national committeewoman; and Rev. 
                        Bert Felder, senior minister of Galloway 
                        Memorial United Methodist Church, Jackson, MS.