    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2005, Book II)]
    [November 29, 2005]
    [Pages 1778-1782]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Luncheon for Representative Marilyn N. Musgrave in Denver, Colorado
    November 29, 2005

        Thank you all. Thanks for the warm welcome. Thanks for the
    invitation, Marilyn. I am here because Marilyn Musgrave is a great
    Congresswoman, and she deserves to be reelected to the United States
    Congress.
        And I want to thank you all for coming to support her. I want to
    remind you, it's one thing to support a person with your hard-earned
    wages; it's another thing to support a person with your time and
    efforts. So when the time comes, I hope you're dialing the phones and
    knocking on the doors and helping defeat the special interests that are
    trying to drive her out of office.
        I appreciate Marilyn because she's a hard worker. You know, some of
    them get up to Congress, and they take it easy, take things for
    granted--not this Congressperson. She's home in her district because she
    cares about the people of Colorado. I know she cares about the people of
    Colorado because every time I see her, she says, ``I want to remind you
    about the values that are important in Colorado.'' [Laughter]
        She's not only a hard worker; she brings commonsense values to
    Washington, DC. And that's a town that needs some commonsense values. In
    order to keep this country safe, in order to keep this country strong,
    we need people like Marilyn Musgrave in the United States Congress.
        By the way, Laura agrees with me. [Laughter]
    I'd like us to hang around for lunch, but I've got to head back to
    Washington and have dinner with her--and my mother and dad, by the way, who
    send their love as well to the Congresswoman.
        I'm proud to have traveled from the airport not only with your great
    Governor, Bill Owens--it's great to see you,
    Governor; thanks for being here--but with Marilyn's husband,
    Steve. As a matter of fact, I've met so many
    Musgraves today--[laughter]--that if they all lived in the district, it
    would be a landslide. [Laughter] Nothing like somebody in the Congress
    who loves her family and who understands the importance of family
    values, and that's Marilyn Musgrave.
        Not only do we have the Governor here, we got
    the Lieutenant Governor, Jane Norton. Thanks
    for coming, Governor--both Governors. Proud you're here. Mark
    Hillman, the treasurer, is here; a lot of State
    and local officials. Thanks for coming. It's good to see my friend the
    Congressman, Bob Beauprez, and
    Claudia. Thanks for coming, Mr.
    Congressman.

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        I had the privilege of saying hello to former Senator
    Armstrong and his wife,
    Ellen. It's good to see the Senator. It
    looks like he's doing pretty good. Retirement hasn't been all that
    difficult on him, and nor has it been rough on former Congressman
    Schaffer as well.
        But most of all, I want to thank you all for working hard to get
    this good person back in Congress. We got a lot to do up there. These
    are extraordinary times that we live in. We're at war. I wish I could
    report to the people of Colorado the war was over; it's not. There's an
    enemy still out there that wants to inflict harm on the United States of
    America because of what we believe in.
        We believe in the freedom of people to worship and speak their mind,
    the freedom of the press to print what they want. They believe in the
    opposite. They have a dark vision of the world. They have made their
    intentions clear. They want to establish a totalitarian empire that
    stretches from Spain to Indonesia. And one way for them to accomplish
    their objective is to drive us out of the Middle East, is to cause
    America to become isolated. It's not going to happen on my watch.
        One of the reasons I'm proud to stand here with Marilyn is she
    understands the stakes as well. It's important to have a--somebody from
    the United States Congress from that district, from her district, who
    understands that on September the 11th, 2001, an enemy declared war on
    the United States of America, and we must do everything in our power to
    protect the American people.
        This is an enemy that has declared their intentions in Iraq. They've
    got one weapon, by the way. Their ideology is so dark, nobody believes
    in it except for a handful, but they've got the capacity to kill
    innocent people and have those images on the TV screens around the
    world, all attempting to shake our will and to get us to retreat. They
    have stated openly their desire to do to Iraq what they did to
    Afghanistan, to convert that country into a safe haven so they can plan,
    plot, and attack. We will defeat the enemy in Iraq. We will do our job
    to protect the American people.
        The stakes are high, and it's important to have Members of the
    United States Congress who understand that. Marilyn Musgrave understands
    that we're in a time of war. And in a time of war, it's important to
    support those who wear the uniform, the men and women who are courageous
    enough to volunteer for the United States military. Marilyn is a strong
    supporter for our troops, and that's important.
        Marilyn also understands what I know, is that we've got a strategy
    for victory in Iraq. On the one hand, we'll help this good country
    develop into a democracy, and it's happening. Think about what's
    happened in such a brief period of time. You might compare it with our
    own history, which was a little rocky getting to our own constitutional
    process. In 2\1/2\ years, that country has gone from a totalitarian
    dictator, who is an enemy of the United
    States, to a transitional government to the ratification of a
    constitution and, in 2 weeks' time, elections to elect a Government to
    serve the people for 4 years. Democracy is on the march in Iraq.
        And at the same time, we're training the Iraqi troops so they can
    take the fight to the enemy. The Iraqis are becoming more and more
    capable of doing that which they want to do, which is secure their own
    country against terrorists and Saddamists. Listen, these people--the
    mothers in Iraq are like the mothers here in Colorado. They want to
    raise their child in a free and peaceful society, and they've got
    citizens willing to sacrifice for that free and peaceful society.
        Oh, I know there's some in Washington that have said, ``Get out of
    Iraq now.'' They're wrong. Precipitous withdrawal of our troops would
    send the wrong signal to our own troops, send the wrong signal to the
    enemy, and send the wrong signal to people around the world who watch
    the

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    commitment of the United States. We're going to stand squarely with the
    people of Iraq and help them develop a free society.
        Marilyn also understands what I know, is that democracies yield the
    peace we all want. You know, I just came back from the Far East, had a
    great trip representing our country there. And it's--and in my time in
    Kyoto, Japan, it struck me again about how amazing the democratic
    process can be for laying the foundation for peace. I was there to--as a
    guest of Prime Minister Koizumi, and we
    sat around the table talking about helping Iraq develop a democracy, and
    what do we do about the person in North Korea
    that is developing a nuclear weapons program, we think, and how do we
    keep the peace.
        Sixty years ago, my dad fought the
    Japanese. Many of your relatives fought the Japanese as well. They were
    the sworn enemy of the United States. Yet in the year 2005, the
    President is sitting down with the Prime Minister talking about making the world a more peaceful
    place. Something happened, obviously, between when an 18-year-old
    fighter pilot--Navy fighter pilot, I might add--George H.W. Bush signed
    up, and his son is the President. What happened was Japan developed a
    democracy, a Japanese-style democracy, but a democracy.
        Democracies make the world more peaceful. Someday, an American
    President is going to look back at this period of history and say,
    ``Thank goodness the United States of America kept faith in the capacity
    of democracy to change the world,'' and be dealing with duly democratic,
    elected leaders in the Middle East, helping to lay that foundation of
    peace for generations to come. The stakes are high. It's important to
    have Members of the United States Congress like Marilyn Musgrave, who
    understand the fact that we're laying the foundation of peace for
    generations to come.
        I promise not to talk so long the food gets cold. [Laughter] But I
    do appreciate Marilyn's understanding about how our economy works. You
    know, there are some in Washington that would like to raise your taxes.
    They believe that raising taxes would be good for the economy. I think
    that's what they believe, but their logic is backward. Marilyn and I
    understand if you let people keep more of their own money, it spurs
    economic growth and vitality. We've come through a lot in this economy.
    We've been through a recession. We've been through terrorist attacks.
    We've been through corporate scandals. Yet economic--the economic growth
    of this Nation is strong and vital. And I believe, and Marilyn believes,
    one of the main reasons why is because of the tax cuts that we delivered
    for the American people.
        She also understands that the death tax is unfair. We put the death
    tax on the road to extinction, and we need to make sure it stays
    extinct, for the good of our farmers and ranchers and small-business
    owners.
        Good thing about Marilyn, she also understands Washington has got to
    be wise about how we spend your money. We're working on a lean budget up
    there, and it's good to have strong fiscal conservatives in Washington,
    DC, to fight off the tendency of Washington to spend too much.
        She understands how the economy works. She understands that small
    businesses create most new jobs. It's important to have somebody from
    the State of Colorado in that congressional district who stands squarely
    with the entrepreneurs and small-business people, and that's Marilyn
    Musgrave.
        I look forward to working with her on a rational immigration policy.
    The United States of America will secure our border. I just signed an
    appropriations bill which expands the number of Border Patrol agents,
    which is good. But you can't do that, enforce this border only with
    agents; you need technology like drones and infrared and cameras. And
    the bill I signed provides for additional technology to help

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    these good Border Patrol agents do their job down there.
        We're going to stop catch-and-release by expanding the number of
    detention beds. We got people working hard down there. They're finding
    people trying to sneak into the country, and sure enough, shortly after
    they get detained, they're back in society again. And so we're going to
    increase the amount of detention space and work on expedited removal.
    We're also going to do a better job of enforcing worksite rules here in
    the United States of America.
        Finally, I feel strongly that in order to have a good and secure
    border, we got to differentiate between those who are here to work and
    those who are here to bring criminal--to provide--to do criminal
    activities. Listen, we got people coming into this country to do the
    jobs Americans won't do. It seems like to me it makes sense to have a
    willing worker be able to work with a willing employer on a temporary
    basis.
        I stand strongly against amnesty. Amnesty sends the wrong message.
    Amnesty would say to other illegal aliens, ``Come, and you can come into
    America and get citizenship automatically.'' No, I'm for a bill that
    strengthens our border by providing people with a tamper-proof identity
    card to let them work in America for jobs Americans won't do, on a
    temporary basis, and then go back to their country. And I'm looking
    forward to working with Marilyn on rational border control policy, and I
    think we can get something done.
        I'm also proud of the fact that she stands up for values that she
    thinks important. It's really important for the United States of America
    to promote a culture of life, to be a welcoming society, to recognize
    the value of each person. Marilyn is a strong supporter of developing a
    culture of life. And she's a strong supporter of the sanctity of
    marriage. We supported a constitutional amendment to make sure that
    activist judges do not redefine traditional marriage. And I'm proud of
    your support of that important piece of legislation, Marilyn. And the
    people of this district ought to send her back to Washington, DC,
    because she shares the same values as most people in Colorado.
        So, in summary, send her back. [Laughter] She's doing a fine job.
    You know, when you find somebody who's honest and upright, somebody who
    speaks her mind, somebody who's willing to take a tough position
    regardless of all the noise around, seems like to me that it makes a lot
    of sense to keep her in the United States Congress. I'm proud to be here
    today to support a good person, a good family person, good God-fearing
    person, somebody who is doing a fine job for the people of Colorado, and
    somebody who will do--continue to do a great job for the people of
    Colorado.
        Thanks for letting me come by to say hello. Marilyn, I'm proud to be
    on your side. God bless you all.

    Note: The President spoke at 1:24 p.m. at the Comfort Inn Downtown. In
    his remarks, he referred to Gov. Bill Owens, Lt. Gov. Jane E. Norton,
    and State Treasurer Mark Hillman of Colorado; Claudia Beauprez, wife of
    Representative Bob Beauprez of Colorado; former Senator William L.
    Armstrong of Colorado and his wife, Ellen; former Representative Robert
    W. Schaffer of Colorado; former President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; and
    Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi of Japan.

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