[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George H. W. Bush (1992-1993, Book II)]
[August 23, 1992]
[Pages 1403-1405]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks to the Community in Springfield, Illinois
August 23, 1992

    The President. Thank you, thank you. Thank you, Jim Edgar. You in 
Illinois are lucky to have Jim Edgar and Brenda here in Springfield, 
I'll tell you. And of course, I'm very pleased that Illinois' own Ed 
Madigan is our Secretary of Agriculture. He understands it, and he's 
doing a great job. May I salute Bob Kustra, the Lieutenant Governor, and 
his wife, Kathy; an old friend of mine, the secretary of state, George 
Ryan, and Lura Lynn. George has been at my side through a lot of 
political battles, and I'm very grateful to him.
    May I salute a good Member of Congress; if we had more like him we 
wouldn't need to clean House. I'm talking about Representative Thomas 
Ewing here. And two others that I want to single out because as we talk 
about change, real change to help this country, we've got to change the 
Clinton-Gore gridlock Congress. We've got to change it. And in Rich 
Williamson running for the Senate, we have a man that can do just 
exactly that. He's with you on the values. He's with us on taxing less 
and spending less. He's with us on the fundamentals, and we must have 
him in the United States Senate. And I want to see John Shimkus elected 
from the 20th District.
    I am going to do what Harry Truman did in this campaign. No, it's 
not give 'em hell, but they're going to think it's hell when I get 
through with them. But here's what it is. Look, I'll tell you why I'm 
going to do it this way. For months, I've held out my hand to the 
Congress only to have it bitten off. And now I am starting right here in 
Illinois. The Congressman from this district voted against us on Desert 
Storm. He tried to bring legal papers against me. He is against the 
balanced budget amendment. And I want John Shimkus to replace him in the 
United States Congress.
    We've had it. We've had it with this gridlocked Congress. The 
American people have told Barbara and me, ``Here are our values.'' And 
they've said, agreed with me in the election, ``Here's want we want to 
do.'' And it hasn't worked because the Congress blocks us at every turn. 
You've got to turn out these--no matter how nice they are, how kind they 
talk about the farmer when they come back here, look at the record. 
Don't let them talk one way in Illinois and vote differently in 
Washington, DC.
    And let me just say it is really great to be back in Springfield. 
Lincoln, you recall, Abraham that is, said of this, he said, ``To this 
place and the kindness of these people I owe everything.'' I think he 
had good taste in political parties. I think he had great taste in 
hometowns.

[[Page 1404]]

    And as you know, until Houston I stayed out of the actual political 
arena. I stayed out of it because I was trying to get some things done 
to bring tax relief, incentives for the first-time homebuyer, investment 
tax allowance, reduction in capital gains, trying to get those done for 
the farmer and for the American people. But I felt like one of those 
corndogs at the fair, skewered by the Democratic opposition for 9 
months. And that's changing; it changed as of Houston, and it's going to 
change for every single of the remaining 73 days.
    You know, we've had dramatic change. I see these kids here. And you 
do not hear a word about this from the Democratic Convention. Don't you 
think it's a wonderful thing that these young kids go to bed at night 
without the same fear of nuclear war that the generations precedent had? 
This is big. This is important.
    So we've got our priorities. And one of them affects every single 
Illinois farmer: We must open markets abroad. We will get a GATT 
agreement. We've gotten a NAFTA agreement. And we cannot go for 
protection. One fact: One-third of the corn and soybeans grown in 
Illinois head for markets outside the United States. And if we can get 
that playing field level, if we get access to foreign markets, it means 
bonanza for the farmers in this country. They can outproduce anybody, 
outhustle them, outwork them. And so, open trade, free trade without 
apology is what I believe in and the case I'm taking to the American 
people.
    Illinois farmers and workers feel that the Government takes too much 
and gives too little. And so, when next year Congress comes back in, I 
pledge a dramatic new effort to slash Federal spending and then get 
these taxes down.
    Listen to the opponents on this one. It's wonderful new----
    Audience members. Clean House! Clean House! Clean House!
    The President. Yes, as soon as we get a Congress in that will do it. 
And I want to cut spending and taxes. And he accuses me of 
fearmongering? He's wrong. Capital gains is one right there. That's a 
good place to start. Get the income taxes down. And if you'll excuse me 
one political comment, I have a message for Governor Clinton: Americans 
aren't afraid of cutting spending and lowering taxes. They fear most of 
all a rubber-stamp President that will rubber-stamp this spendthrift 
Congress. So there. We're not going to let that nightmare happen.
    You know, I think that you all understand perhaps as well as any in 
America--certainly is true in rural America--the values, what we're 
talking about when we talk about family values. And here we learn that 
the family is there to teach us right from wrong, to lend a helping hand 
to a neighbor, respect for the law, hold out your hand to help somebody 
else, wipe a tear away when something goes wrong. Now, Barbara and I try 
to impart these values to our kids and grandkids. And I have great 
respect for what she has done, helping with literacy, helping other 
Americans to have a better life.
    You know, today the American family is under attack. And we've got 
to defend it because it is the foundation of our nature. And that is why 
when we cut Government spending, I will fight for an increase in the 
personal income tax exemption so more Americans can afford to build and 
strengthen their families.
    We're going to reform the welfare program to encourage families to 
stick together and have fathers stick around and do what they ought to 
do.
    I see the signs out here of the teachers; God bless those people 
that teach our young people. And we have proposed the most far-reaching 
reform in American education in a century, and with a new Congress we 
will get it passed. We need to reform education, support the teachers, 
and be sure these kids can grow up in a competitive world number one.
    I'll give you another idea why I want to change this Congress. I 
mentioned it in Houston. We are suing each other too much and caring for 
each other too little. And we have been trying for 3 years to reform the 
legal liability laws so that you don't have these excessive suits that 
drive doctors out of medicine, drive Little League coaches out of Little 
League. Locked in that gridlocked Congress by Bill Clinton and the lib- 
eral leadership in Washington. We've got to

[[Page 1405]]

change it. We have got to change that gridlocked Congress. We've got to 
clean House.
    Let me just say in conclusion: Two years ago I made, I think, the 
toughest decision that a President can make, and that is to send 
America's sons and daughters into battle. The sons and daughters of 
Illinois and every other State fought against aggression, fought to keep 
a people free, fought to prevent the Mideast from becoming a nuclear 
powder keg. Now they have come home. And this election, like every 
other, is about making an America that they can be proud of, an America 
we all can be proud of: good jobs, safe streets, and strong families. 
And so I ask for your support, not to change for the sake of change but 
to change America to make it more secure, more safe, more promising to 
every young person here today.
    May God bless you all. And thank you for this fantastic rally. I am 
so proud to be back. Four more!

                    Note: The President spoke at 1:07 p.m. at the 
                        Illinois State Fairgrounds. In his remarks, he 
                        referred to Jim Edgar, Governor of Illinois, and 
                        his wife, Brenda.