[Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: WILLIAM J. CLINTON (2000, Book I)]
[June 24, 2000]
[Pages 1253-1257]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]



Remarks at a Brunch for Senator Dianne Feinstein in Los Angeles
June 24, 2000

    Thank you very much. I'm delighted to be here. I always try to show 
up on Dianne's birthday. [Laughter] I was just thinking, one time in 
1994 I made an appearance in northern California for Senator Feinstein, 
and she didn't come--[laughter]--because she had to stay back and vote 
in the Senate. So I was sort of her surrogate. And I was talking about 
that the other day, and Hillary said, ``Well, if you did it for her, you 
can do it for me.'' [Laughter] So now I've started--now we're actually 
doing it on purpose in her election, so we'll see. [Laughter] I hope the 
results are just as good, and I'm inclined to think they will be. 
[Applause] Thank you.

[[Page 1254]]

    I want to thank our friend Ron Burkle for 
giving us this beautiful home to have this event. And I'd like to 
recognize Joe Andrew, the chairman of the 
Democratic committee, and Terry McAuliffe, 
the chairman of our convention. Thank you both for being here.
    I want to thank Governor Davis for many 
things, two in particular: Number one, the extraordinary example he has 
set in pushing for reforms in education and criminal justice and other 
things; and secondly, I want to thank you for being so loyal and helpful 
to Vice President Gore. And when we win, we 
will never forget that you were there, and I appreciate that.
    Sharon Davis is here, and I want to thank 
her for going down and being with me in San Diego the other night. We 
had a great time down there. We're actually swelling the ranks of the 
Democrats in San Diego.
    And we have a lot of mayors here: Mayor Vicki Reynolds of Beverly Hills; Mayor Miguel Pulido of Santa Ana; Mayor Bill Bogaard of Pasadena; and my great friend Mayor Beverly 
O'Neill of Long Beach. Thank you all for 
being here.
    I want to introduce one other person and ask him to stand, because I 
believe he is one of the reasons that Dick Gephardt will be the new Speaker of the House, State Senator Adam 
Schiff, candidate for--[inaudible]--Adam, stand 
up here. Thank you. [Applause] You ought to help him. He deserves to be 
elected to Congress. He did a great job.
    Now, I want to be brief. Gray has already 
talked about Dianne's remarkable record. I have said many times, but I 
will say again, I can't think of any first-term Member of the United 
States Senate, particularly one who had to labor in the minority--and I 
know she got the short straw, she's actually sort of in her second term 
because she was elected in '92 and '94. But if you think about what she 
did with the Headwater Forest, the Mojave Desert National Park, the 
other national monuments we set aside in California--with the assault 
weapons ban, with the water agreement, it's really, truly astonishing. 
And I literally can't think of anybody else who accomplished so much in 
such a short time.
    I think one reason is her extraordinary ability, her persuasiveness, 
and her persistence. I remember one time 4 or 5 years ago, somebody 
called and said Senator Feinstein had called and asked us to do 
something in the White House, and what did I think. I said, ``Well, 
there's only one decision to make, are we going to do it now or 
later''--[laughter]--``because I can tell you, no will not be an 
option.'' [Laughter] When she makes up her mind, no is not an option.
    I think also the fact that she was a mayor had something to do with 
her success, that she was willing to approach people with different 
views in good faith and try to work things through.
    One of the reasons I ran for President in 1992 is, I was just--
Washington drove me crazy. They had--the basic mode of operation in the 
Congress was, ``I've got an idea. You've got an idea. Let's fight. Maybe 
we'll both get on the evening news.'' [Laughter] And it worked pretty 
well, I guess, to get on the evening news. It didn't have much to do 
with what was happening in America, and we weren't very well off as a 
result of it.
    So I'd like to tell you, I am very grateful for the chance I've had 
to serve as President. I am very grateful for the opportunity I've had 
to work with people like Dianne Feinstein. I'm glad the results have 
been good for California and good for America.
    But I think the most important thing that we should be thinking 
about is, what do we plan to make of this moment, and what is this 
election about anyway? And I want you to know three things. I think 
Dianne's going to be reelected, overwhelmingly, because she's done such 
a great job and because people will agree with her. It will be better 
for her and she'll do more for you if we pick up a dozen or 15 House 
seats, if we pick up 5 or 6 Senate seats, and if the Vice President is 
elected President. And I believe that whether those things happen depend 
in large measure on what the American people believe this election is 
about. Sometimes the answer you get depends on the question you ask.
    And there are three things I want you to know about this election. 
And you know, I'm not running for anything. [Laughter] Most days I'm 
okay about it. [Laughter] I got a call--this is the first time in 26 
years they've had an election roll around, and I can't go ask somebody 
to vote for me. [Laughter] Sometimes I have, you know, kind of DT's 
about it, but most days I'm okay. [Laughter]
    A distinguished citizen of the world called me last week and said 
that for a lame duck, I was quacking rather loudly. [Laughter] And

[[Page 1255]]

I'm trying to do that. We're trying to get things done.
    Oh, I want to tell you one other thing, one other Californian I want 
to brag on. You should be very proud of Henry Waxman, because this week he got a bipartisan majority in the 
House to vote to let us proceed with the tobacco litigation. And he beat 
the tobacco interests and the Republican leadership, and I'm really 
proud of him. It was great.
    So what is this election about? When you leave here and you go 
around and you talk to people and they ask you, why did you show up at 
this, what are you going to say? ``Burkle's got a 
pretty spread.'' ``Dianne makes a great speech.'' ``I want to see 
Clinton one more time before he withers away.'' [Laughter] What are you 
going to say?
    You're laughing, but I'm serious. I want you to laugh, but I want 
you to think, because I'm telling you--here are the things you need to 
know about this election. It's really important. It's just as important 
as the '92 and '96 elections were. I mean, to be fair, you didn't have 
to be a rocket scientist to know that '92 was important. I mean, 
California was in the dumps. We had riots in the streets. The economy 
was bad. The political environment was rancorous. It was obvious that we 
needed a new economic policy, a new social policy, and a new political 
approach. We knew that.
    And in '96 it was obvious, I think, to the people that we had to 
keep working on this. A lot of stuff was in transit. So now I've worked 
as hard as I could to help turn this country around. And what's the 
election about? It's about, what are you going to do with this magic 
moment? And it is not self-evident yet that the American people 
understand or accept that that is what this election is about.
    Once in maybe 50 years a country gets a chance to have a set of 
circumstances like this, where you really can build a future of your 
dreams for your children. So, I think what the election ought to be 
about is, how are we going to meet the big challenges; how are we going 
to seize the big opportunities? What is it going to be like when all of 
us baby boomers retire and there are only two people working for every 
one person going on Social Security and Medicare? How are we preparing 
for it?
    We have the largest group of schoolchildren in history, and the most 
diverse one, racially, ethnically, religiously. How are we going to give 
them all a world-class education? And are we prepared to live with the 
consequences if we fail to do so?
    What about all the people that aren't part of this prosperity, all 
the people in places that have been left behind? If we don't bring them 
into the circle of opportunity now, when will we ever get around to 
doing it? What about all the people who have jobs and have children and 
have a really tough time balancing work and family? Because our country 
is still way behind most others in giving support to working parents.
    What about global warming and these big new environmental 
challenges? Are we going to prove we can grow the economy and improve 
the environment, or are we going to keep our heads stuck in the sand and 
say it's going to be unfortunate when the sugar cane fields in Louisiana 
flood and the Florida Everglades flood and we can't grow crops on part 
of our land anymore, but we just aren't going to do anything about this?
    What about the fact that there is still manifest hatred in our 
country against people just because of their race or their religion or 
just because they're gay? What are we going to do about that? I mean, 
here in Los Angeles, one of the most diverse places, one of the most 
exciting places, and often, one of the most tolerant places in the 
country, you had those kids shot at that Jewish community school--shot 
at; you had that Filipino postal worker murdered by a person who 
apparently thought he got a two-fer, he got an Asian and a Federal 
employee; Matthew Shepard killed because he was gay; James Byrd dragged 
to death because he as black. In the Middle West, we had a young Korean 
Christian shot, walking out of his church, and an African-American 
former basketball coach at Northwestern shot, walking in his 
neighborhood, by a guy who said he belonged to a church that didn't 
believe in God but believed in white supremacy. We still have these 
things in our country. We have less grievous manifestations of it.
    How are we going to build one America? And if we want to build a 
human face on the global economy and we want to be a force for peace and 
freedom and decency, from the Balkans to the Middle East and Northern 
Ireland to the African tribal conflicts, we have to be good at home if 
we want to do good around the world. How do we propose to deal with

[[Page 1256]]

this? Now, that's what I think this election is about. These are big 
things.
    You know, when I got elected it was, how are we going to pay the 
bills and get out of debt and get interest rates down, so people can go 
back to work; what are we going to do to make the streets safer so 
people can walk down the streets? Now we have these big questions. You 
can get America out of debt if you want to. I think you ought to want 
to. I think the liberals ought to want America to pay off its debt. Why? 
Because it means lower interest rates, more jobs, more money for 
ordinary working people. The people that serve our food today will be 
better off if America is not borrowing money that they can then borrow 
for lower costs to send their kids to college or to get an education 
themselves or make a car payment.
    Yes, the crime rate is down to a 30-year low. So what? Anybody think 
America is safe enough? What are we going to do to make America the 
safest country in the world? Yes, we have a Children's Health Insurance 
Program, and 2 million kids are now getting insurance, but just like 
Hillary warned in 1994, the number of 
people uninsured has gone up. One Democratic Member of Congress told me 
the other day, he said, ``You know, they told me if I voted for 
Hillary's health care program, the number of uninsured Americans would 
go up, and I voted for it, and that's exactly what happened.'' Think 
about it. [Laughter]
    So what are we going to do about this? So that's the first thing. If 
the American people believe that this is a moment that we cannot afford 
to squander, her election is a cinch, and I believe the Vice 
President will win; I think 
Hillary will win; I think we will 
definitely win the House and probably win the Senate--if that's what 
people really believe. So it's a big election.
    The second thing I want to tell you is there are huge differences.
    And I'll just go to the third point now. There are three points you 
need to remember--big election, big differences. The third point, only 
the Democrats want you to know what the differences are. [Laughter] Now, 
you laugh, but it's true. Can you believe this Republican campaign? 
They've tried to get you to develop amnesia about the primary they had. 
[Laughter] And their nominee did not go to 
his own State party convention this year because he didn't want to have 
to answer questions about the Texas Republican platform.
    I urge you to get a copy of that. [Laughter] I mean, you can get rid 
of every other reactionary tract in your library, if you just got a copy 
of the Texas Republican platform. [Laughter] You would never have to do 
any research again for the rest of your life about what the most 
reactionary position is on any issue; just that one little document, 
you'll have it forever.
    There are differences. I'll just give you a few. We think we ought 
to be spreading this benefit to everybody. We think we ought to raise 
the minimum wage, and they don't. We believe in managed care, but we 
don't think people should be abused in managed care, so we favor a 
Patients' Bill of Rights. And if people get hurt, we think they ought to 
be able to sue for redress, and they don't. We favor a Medicare 
prescription drug program that every senior that needs it can buy into 
on a voluntary basis, and they don't. We favor continued aggressive 
efforts to improve the environment, even as we grow the economy. They 
won't fund our initiatives for global warming. They never want to fund 
our initiatives to develop alternative sources of fuel on more efficient 
cars, even though you see what's happening to gas prices in the Middle 
West today and why we need to diversify our energy sources.
    Al Gore says, ``If I get elected President, I'm going to build on 
President Clinton's order setting aside 43 million roadless acres in the 
national forests,'' something the Audubon Society said was the most 
significant conservation move in the last 50 years. [Applause] I don't 
want you to clap for the self-serving part. [Laughter] So Gore says, 
``Clinton did a good thing. I'll build on it.'' His opponent says, 
``Vote for me, and I'll reverse it. It is an unconscionable land grab.''
    We believe that we should build on Senator Feinstein's assault 
weapons ban and ban the importation of large capacity ammunition clips, 
which allow people to evade the assault weapons ban. We think we should 
mandate child trigger locks. We think we should close the gun show 
loophole, and they don't. They don't.
    We know that in the next election, there will be--we'll produce a 
President who will get to make at least two and maybe four appointments 
to the United States Supreme Court--at least two and maybe four. And we 
have a candidate who is committed to support a whole range of

[[Page 1257]]

personal liberties, including a woman's right to choose, and they have 
one who is committed to do what he can to do away with it.
    Now, they don't want to talk about that anymore. That was all stuff 
that happened in the primaries. But my view is, we ought to run this 
election not in a hateful way, not in a negative way. I hate these 
campaigns the last 20 years where you get these forces in opposition, 
they're running down their opponents, and they want you to believe that 
whoever they're running against is just a step above a car thief. I 
don't believe that. I don't like that. I think we should assume that 
from top to bottom, the people running are honorable and intend to do 
exactly what they say they will do. But let's not have a shaded 
definition of what they have said. Let's get it all out there and let 
people see the choices and let them make their decision.
    So, big differences. Only we want you to know what they are. You've 
got to go out and tell people. There are consequences here.
    Their position is, ``Hey, this economy is on automatic now. You 
couldn't mess it up if you tried. Their fraternity had it for 8 years. 
Give our side a chance.'' Their position is, ``Hey, we're going to have 
all this money in the surplus. We want to give you way over half of it 
in a tax cut, spend more than the rest of it that's left in our Social 
Security privatization plan, spend a little more on our national missile 
defense or whatever other commitments we've made, and it will all be 
there, even though it's just projected.''
    Al Gore stands up and says, ``Look, I 
know I'm running for President, and I'd like to have all the votes I 
can, but we don't know if we're going to have all this money that we're 
projecting.'' What's your projected income over the next 10 years? Would 
you go spend it all today? [Laughter] Anybody here that's sitting down 
right now and projecting your income for the next 10 years and is 
willing to make an ironclad commitment that will land you in the 
poorhouse if you don't do it--spend every nickel of it--you ought to 
vote for them. The rest of you ought to vote for us.
    And you need to tell people that. I mean, Gore says, ``Look, let's 
take at least 20 percent of this money that is being produced only 
because you're paying more in Medicare taxes than we're spending now, 
and set it aside and not spend it, not fool with it, use it to pay down 
the debt, and take the interest savings and put it into Medicare so it 
will be there when the baby boomers retire. And we don't have to 
bankrupt our kids. Let's do for that what we're doing for Social 
Security. And then if the money doesn't materialize, we haven't spent 
it, and we won't go back to deficits and interest rates. And let's have 
a tax cut, but let's use it to help people like the folks that are 
working here establish their own savings account, create a little 
wealth, prepare for the future; help families with child care, with 
long-term care for their parents and their disabled family members; open 
the doors of college to everybody and still have some money to invest in 
education and the environment and making a safer world.''
    Now, I think that that's more likely to keep this economy going. 
People ask me all the time, ``Well, what great new innovation did you 
bring to Washington? How did you do this economic magic? What did you 
bring?'' And I always say, ``Arithmetic.'' [Laughter] We brought 
arithmetic back to national policymaking.
    So I want you to think about this, folks. We've got to have 
California. California can influence Oregon, Washington, Arizona, 
Nevada, people all over the country you've got friends with. You need to 
tell people when you leave here, ``I'm glad I went there yesterday 
because I understand clearly now that this is a really important 
election. I understand clearly that there are real differences with real 
consequences. I'm for Dianne Feinstein because I agree with her, and she 
has gotten more done in less time than anybody I ever saw. And I'm for 
Al Gore because he's had more impact for 
the good as Vice President than anybody in history, because he will keep 
the prosperity going, because he cares about people that too often get 
forgotten in our society, and because he understands the future and he 
can lead us there.'' Now, if people think that's what the election is 
about, we win.
    Thank you very much.

 Note:  The President spoke at 12:37 p.m. at a private residence. In his 
remarks, he referred to brunch host Ron Burkle; Gov. Gray Davis of 
California and his wife, Sharon; and Gov. George W. Bush of Texas.