    [Public Papers of the Presidents of the United States: George W. Bush (2006, Book II)]
    [November 2, 2006]
    [Pages 1970-1977]
    [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office www.gpo.gov]

    Remarks at a Montana Victory 2006 Rally in Billings, Montana
    November 2, 2006

        The President. Thank you for the warm welcome. It's good to be in a
    part of the world where the cowboy hats outnumber the ties. And I'm
    proud to be here in Big Sky country with a fine United States Senator in
    Conrad Burns.
        You might call him a plain-spoken fellow. [Laughter] As a matter of
    fact, I've heard some of them say that he's a
    little rough on the English language. [Laughter] Where have I heard that
    before? [Laughter]
        Conrad, I'm keeping good company. We don't
    need a lot of doublespeak in Washington. I think somebody who speaks
    plainly for the values of Montana is somebody you need to send back as
    your United States Senator.
        Laura sends her love. See, Conrad and I married above ourselves. [Laughter] I'm really
    proud to be here with Phyllis Burns. Phyllis,
    thank you for coming. There's nothing better than having a First Lady
    that you can be proud of. And I'm really proud of my First Lady, and I know you are as well. She knows Phyllis and
    Conrad well, and she joins me in saying: For the good of this State and
    for the good of the United States, send Conrad Burns back to Washington.
        I'm proud to be here with Denny Rehberg.
    He's one of the strong Members of the United States Congress. Given my
    age and Conrad's age, I guess you could say
    he's a young star. [Laughter] But I'm proud to be with Denny and
    Jan. I want to thank the secretary of state,
    Brad Johnson, who is with us. The former
    Governor, Judy Martz, is with us. I want to thank
    all the grassroots activists. Here's what a grassroots activist is: A
    grassroots activist is somebody who is putting up the signs and making
    the phone calls and turning out the vote. I want to thank you in advance
    for what you're going to do in these last days of the campaign: turn out
    the vote and send this man back to Washington.
        And I know you'll join me in sprinting to the finish line. It's
    interesting what's happening in Washington, however. Some of them are
    already measuring the drapes for their new offices. [Laughter] See, they
    think this election is over. They don't understand that the people of
    Montana haven't voted yet.
        Oh, we've been through this before. You might remember 2004. Some of
    them were picking out their new offices in the West Wing. [Laughter] The
    movers never got the

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    call. [Laughter] And the same thing is going to happen on November the
    7th. We will win the Senate, and we will win the House.
        And we're going to win these elections because we understand the
    values and priorities of the American people. We're going to win this
    election because our values and our priorities do not shift because of
    the latest public opinion poll. We're going to win because we've got an
    optimistic and hopeful agenda.
        Let me tell you something about Conrad Burns. I've worked with him closely. He understands that when
    the ag economy is strong, the national economy benefits. He spends a lot
    of time talking to me about--saying, ``Let's get those foreign markets
    open for Montana beef.'' We worked together on a good piece of farm
    legislation that's helped Montana's farmers and ranchers. If I were a
    farmer and rancher in this State, I'd want to make sure this man is sent
    back to the United States Senate.
        We got a lot to do. We're going to continue to work to make sure
    this country is less dependent on foreign oil. So we worked together to
    pass good energy legislation that supports conservation, expands
    domestic production, and invests in cutting-edge technologies. You got a
    lot of coal in this State. It's very important for us to be able to use
    your coal in environmentally friendly ways. That's why Conrad
    Burns promotes clean coal technology. And we're
    also investing to bring alternative sources of fuel like ethanol and
    biodiesel to the markets quicker. Here's what I want: I want Montana
    farmers growing crops that fuel our automobiles so I can tell the
    American people, we're less dependent on oil from parts of the world
    where people don't like us.
        And Senator Conrad Burns understands the
    importance of having good judges on the Federal bench. We believe that
    judges ought to strictly interpret the law and not legislate from the
    bench. Confirming Federal judges is one of the most important
    responsibilities of the Senate, and it is one of the most important
    issues at stake in this election.
        When the people of Montana cast the ballot on Tuesday, your vote
    will determine more than who represents you in the Montana--from Montana
    in the Senate. It will also determine what kind of judges sit on Federal
    courts all across the United States.
        At this moment, there are 50 vacancies on the Federal bench, and it
    is vital to maintain a Republican Senate so we can confirm the men and
    women I have nominated to fill those positions. Our record on appointing
    judges is clear. With the support of Senators like Conrad Burns, we have confirmed good judges, solid thinkers to the
    district court, to the circuit courts, and to the Supreme Court.
        America is better off because John Roberts and Sam Alito are now
    serving on the Supreme Court of the United States. The people of Montana
    have got to understand, a vote for a Democrat Senator would be a vote
    against highly qualified judges like these. All you have to do is look
    at the record. When the Democrats held the Senate, they denied a hearing
    to over one-third of my nominees for the Court of Appeals. When they
    lost the majority in 2002, the Democrats didn't change their tactics.
    They filibustered or opposed 19 of my nominees to the Court of Appeals.
        They tried to use the same tactics when Sam Alito's Supreme Court nomination came before the Senate. More
    than half of the Senate Democrats voted to filibuster him. And when he
    finally did get a vote, 40 of the 44 Democrats voted no. If the
    Democrats had their way, this man would not be sitting on the Supreme
    Court.
        John Roberts had to overcome strong
    Democrat opposition in the Senate to make it to the Federal bench. More
    than a decade ago, another President Bush
    nominated John Roberts to serve on the DC Court of Appeals. A Democrat-
    controlled Senate denied him even a hearing. When I took office, I
    renominated him to that seat, and

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    another Democrat chairman of the Senate Judiciary denied him a hearing. I think you're beginning to see the
    pattern. It was only after the Republicans took the Senate back in 2002
    that John Roberts got his hearing and got his vote and was confirmed for
    the DC Circuit. And then I put him up for the Supreme Court, and we
    confirmed him as Chief Justice last year.
        Now I want you to hear this loud and clear: If the Democrats
    controlled the Senate, John Roberts
    would not be the Chief Justice today. He'd still be waiting for the
    Democrats to give him a hearing for his seat on the Court of Appeals. If
    the people of Montana want good judges, judges who will not legislate
    from the bench, judges like John Roberts and Sam Alito, you vote for Conrad Burns
    for the United States Senate.
        Now, there's a lot of big issues facing the voters around the
    country. The two biggest issues are these: Which party is going to keep
    your taxes low and keep this economy growing; and which party is going
    to take the necessary steps to protect you in this war on terror?
        First, let me talk about taxes. See, we have a philosophy;
    Conrad and Denny and
    I have a philosophy: We believe that you know how to spend your money
    far better than the Federal Government does. That stands in stark
    contrast to the Democrats, who want to take more of your own money
    because they think they can spend it better than you can spend it.
        Audience members. Boo!
        The President. We believe that when you have more money in your
    pocket to save, invest, or spend, the economy benefits. The difference
    between some of them in Washington and those on the stage here is, we
    don't just talk philosophy; we act. And so we passed the largest tax
    cuts since Ronald Reagan was the President. We cut taxes for everybody
    who pays income taxes. We doubled the child tax credit. We reduced the
    marriage penalty. We cut taxes on small businesses. We cut taxes on
    capital gains and dividends to encourage investment and jobs. And to
    reward family farmers and small-business owners for a lifetime of hard
    work, we put the death tax on the road to extinction.
        We got a record to run on. You might remember the debate in
    Washington. The Democrats predicted the tax cuts would not create jobs;
    they predicted they would not increase wages; and they said the Federal
    deficit would explode. Well, the facts are in. The truth is, the tax
    cuts have led to a growing economy that has added 6.6 million new jobs
    since August of 2003. The unemployment rate in the great State of
    Montana is 3.6 percent. Real wages are on the rise, and we cut the
    deficit in half 3 years ahead of schedule. The tax cuts we passed are
    working.
        The Democrats are going to raise your taxes. They got a record too;
    they just don't want you to know about it. Interestingly enough, the top
    Democrat leader in the House made this
    statement: She said, ``We love tax cuts,'' speaking about the Democrats.
    Well, given her record, she must be a secret admirer. [Laughter]
        She and her party voted against reducing
    the marriage penalty. They voted against cutting taxes on small
    businesses. They voted against lowering taxes for families with
    children. They voted against reducing capital gains and income--
    dividends, taxes on dividends and capital gains. They voted against
    getting rid of the death tax. They voted against every single tax cut.
    Time and time again, when the Democrats in Washington had a opportunity
    to show their love for tax cuts, they voted no. If that's their idea of
    love, I sure would hate to see what hate looks like.
        Those House Democrats have got a lot of company in the Senate too.
    We cut taxes in 2003; 46 of 48 Democrats voted against it. During the
    debate over tax cuts, one senior Democrat in the Senate called our
    policies insulting. See, there's a mindset; when you get in that box, I
    want you to remember, there's a mindset amongst the

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    Democrats: It's insulting for you to have more of your own money. And
    others said the tax cuts were the wrong prescription for our economy.
        When people in Montana get in that voting booth, you remember what
    those tax cuts have done for our economy. If they take control of the
    Senate and the Congress, they don't have to lift a finger to raise your
    taxes. See, these tax cuts are set to expire. And their leaders have
    said they're going to let it expire. And if those tax cuts expire, it
    means your taxes are going up.
        Let me give you an example. If the child tax credit were to go from
    $1,000 to $500 per child--which is what would happen if these tax cuts
    were not extended or made permanent--those of you with children get to
    pay $500-a-child tax increases. So when you get home this evening, I
    want you to think about the Democrat plan for you. You can go around the
    table and count the number of children that are eating dinner, and you
    can multiple that by $500 a child. So if you've got four children and
    it's 500 a child--the Democrats win, you're paying $2,000 more in taxes.
    That may not seem like a lot to the Democrats in Washington, DC, but
    Conrad and I know it's a lot, and that's why
    we're going to keep your taxes low.
        I want you to not fall prey to one other trick the Democrats like to
    say. They like to say, ``Oh, we're just going to tax the rich; we'll
    only tax people who make a lot of money.'' That's not how it works in
    Washington. Their spending appetite exceeds their capacity to raise
    taxes. You might remember 1992; they went around the country saying,
    ``Vote for us; we'll give the middle class a tax cut.'' Well, that
    middle class tax cut turned out to be one of the largest tax increases
    in the history of the United States. When it comes to taxes, the
    Democrats are going to tax whoever they can find, and we're not going to
    let them because we're going to put Conrad Burns back in the United States Senate.
        This election is taking place in an historic time for this country.
    When our children and grandchildren look back on this period, one
    question will overwhelm all the rest: Did we do everything in our power
    to fight and win the war on terror? I wish I could report to you that
    there wasn't a war, but there is. There's still an enemy that like--
    would like to strike the United States. These people are brutal. They
    have no conscience. They do have an ideology. They believe exactly the
    opposite of what we believe. We believe in basic freedoms: freedom to
    worship; freedom to dissent; freedom to speak. They do not believe in
    those freedoms.
        And yet they have a plan that says they're going to extend their
    vision as far as they can extend it. It's called a caliphate. You cannot
    negotiate with these people. You cannot hope for the best in dealing
    with these people. The best way to protect the American people is to
    find them and bring them to justice before they hurt us again.
        So our strategy is twofold. We're on the offense overseas, and we're
    doing everything we can to protect you here at home. And it's a tough
    task because the enemy only has to be right one time, and we have got to
    be right 100 percent of the time to do our most important job, which is
    to protect the American people.
        And so that is why, after the enemy hit us, I worked to figure out
    ways to give the professionals on the frontline of protecting you the
    tools necessary to do so. There was a wall that prevented our
    intelligence folks from sharing information with law enforcement. In
    this different kind of war, we need to have the best kind of
    intelligence so we can protect you. We need to know what the enemy is
    thinking so that we can do everything we can to stop attacks.
        We designed a piece of legislation that protects our citizens and
    protects our civil liberties. It was called the PATRIOT Act. And this
    act--[applause]--and this vital law has helped break up terror cells
    across the

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    United States. It's an important piece of legislation. If you expect the
    President and the professionals in Washington to do our jobs and protect
    you, you must put people in the Congress who will make sure we have the
    tools to do so.
        When it comes to this piece of legislation, the Senate Democrats
    wanted to have it both ways. In the 2000--2001, the Senate passed this
    bill 98 to 1. But when the bill came up for renewal in 2005, the Senate
    Democrats filibustered it. In fact, the Senate leader bragged, ``We killed the PATRIOT Act.'' There's just a
    different mindset in Washington amongst these people.
        The Democrat attempt to filibuster the PATRIOT Act follows an
    approach that might sound familiar. They voted for it, right before they
    voted against it. [Laughter] Well, thanks to Senators like Conrad
    Burns, we overcame their filibuster. And I
    signed this important piece of legislation.
        I want to talk about two other measures, two other steps I've taken
    to make sure that this Government of ours can protect you. If Al Qaida
    is making a phone call into the United States, or an affiliate of Al
    Qaida is making a phone call into the United States, we want to know
    why. We want to know why they're making a call into our country. So when
    we created--I sent this bill up to the House, Denny supported it; 90 percent of the Democrats voted
    against it. It hasn't made it to the Senate floor yet, but rest assured,
    the folks there have a different attitude about what it takes to protect
    you. I felt it was important in this different kind of war to understand
    what the enemy is thinking.
        And so when we captured people off the battlefield, I instructed the
    professionals at the Central Intelligence Agency to interrogate them. We
    picked up a man named Khalid Sheikh
    Mohammed--let me tell you about him. Our intelligence folks thinks he
    was the mastermind of the September the 11th attacks. He's the person
    that organized and ordered the attacks. When we picked him up, I felt it
    was important, in order to protect you, that we found out what he knew.
    See, if he was the mastermind of one attack, he might be masterminding
    another attack, and therefore it made sense--if our most important job
    is to protect you--to find out what he knew.
        This bill came on the Senate floor. Conrad Burns strongly supported. Seventy percent of the Senate
    Democrats voted against it.
        Audience members. Boo!
        The President. On all these vital measures--measures necessary to
    fight and win the war on terror--the Democrats in Washington have
    followed a simple philosophy: Just say no. When it comes to listening on
    to the terrorist--listening to the terrorists, what's the Democrats'
    answer? Just say no. When it comes to detaining terrorists, what's the
    Democrats' answer?
        Audience members. Just say no!
        The President. When it came time to renew the PATRIOT Act, what was
    the Democrats' answer?
        Audience members. Just say no!
        The President. When it comes time to questioning the terrorists,
    what's the Democrats' answer?
        Audience members. Just say no!
        The President. And so when the Democrats ask for your vote on
    November the 7th, what's your answer?
        Audience members. Noo!
        The President. We are on the offense against the enemy wherever we
    can find them. One of the important lessons of September the 11th, in
    this new kind of war, America must take threats seriously before they
    come to the homeland. It's important for the people of this State to
    understand that lesson. In other words, when we see a threat, we just
    can no longer hope that oceans will protect us. We can no longer hope
    for the best--that in order to protect you, we must be on the offense. I
    saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. Members of
    both political parties saw a threat in Saddam Hussein. The United
    Nations saw a

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    threat in Saddam Hussein. I made the right decision to take Saddam
    Hussein from power.
        And now Iraq is the central front in the war on terror. See, this is
    a global war. It is being fought on a variety of fronts. And Iraq is now
    the central front in this war. Oh, I hear them in Washington all the
    time saying, Iraq is just a distraction from the war on terror. I don't
    believe it's a distraction. Our troops know it is not a distraction in
    the war on terror. And guess who else doesn't think it's a distraction?
    Usama bin Laden. He has called Iraq the
    third world war. He says that victory for the terrorists in Iraq will
    mean America's defeat and disgrace forever.
        I want you to listen to the words of a Democrat leader in Washington about Iraq, just to give you a sense of
    the difference of opinion, a different mindset: ``The President says
    that fighting them makes--fighting them there makes it less likely we'll
    have to fight them there.'' That's exactly what I said. I said it then;
    I'm going to keep saying it because it's true. ``The opposite is true,''
    this lady went on to say, ``Because we're fighting them there, it may be
    more likely that we will have to fight them here.'' I want to remind the
    Democrats that you do not create terrorism by fighting terrorists.
        Our troops were not in Iraq when the terrorists first hit the Trade
    Center in 1993. Our troops were not in Iraq when they attacked in Kenya
    and Tanzania and the USS Cole. And our troops were not in Iraq on
    September the 11th, 2001, when they killed nearly 3,000 people. The best
    way to protect you is when we find a terrorist, is to bring them to
    justice. And that's exactly what we're going to continue to do.
        We have a plan for victory in Iraq. I'm not going to leave our
    troops there unless I can tell you we're going to win. And our plan for
    victory is an Iraq that can govern itself, sustain itself, and defend
    itself and serve as an ally in the war on terror. And no question about
    it, the fighting in Iraq is tough. It's tough because we face a brutal
    enemy that is willing to kill innocent men, women, and children in order
    to achieve their objective. And their objective is to shake the will of
    the United States. Their objective is to get enough carnage on the TV
    screens so that we withdraw before the job is done. I've got a message
    to the terrorists: America does not flee in the face of thugs and
    assassins.
        Our military is constantly adjusting to tactics necessary to stay
    ahead of the enemy. When the enemy makes a decision, we move. And our
    troops are performing brilliantly in combat. No matter what your opinion
    is about my decision to go into Iraq, America needs to support the men
    and women who wear our uniform. And I know the people of Montana can
    count on Conrad Burns to make sure our troops
    have all that is necessary to do the jobs I've asked them to do.
        Our troops are brave, and so are the Iraqis. They've been suffering
    unspeakable violence, yet they are dedicated to having a government of
    and by and for the people. It's easy to forget, but nearly 12 million
    people went to the polls to defy car bombers and assassins and said,
    ``We want to live in a free society.'' I was pleasantly pleased, but I
    wasn't surprised, because I believe freedom is universal. I believe
    there's an Almighty, and I believe in the heart of every soul is the
    desire to be free.
        So we'll help this Government politically; we'll help them
    economically; and we'll help train their security forces so they can
    take the fight to the enemy. And we'll succeed. The only way we can fail
    is if we leave before the job is done. And that's exactly what the
    Democrats want to do.
        You know, imagine this: We're in the middle of a war on terror, and
    one of the most fundamental fights is in Iraq, and yet the Democrats
    have no plan for victory. They have no idea how to win. Harsh criticism
    is not a plan for victory. [Laughter] Leading Democrats argue we ought
    to pull our troops off the battlefield right now.

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    Others suggest we ought to withdraw at a--on a specific date, even
    though the job may not have been finished. Others recommend moving our
    troops to an island some 5,000 miles away. These are serious leaders
    making these kinds of suggestions.
        Nineteen House Democrats introduced legislation that would cut off
    funds for our troops in Iraq. Last week, one of Conrad's colleagues, a Democrat Senator, explained her party's positions this way: ``We haven't
    coalesced around a single plan, but we're in general agreement on the
    basic principles.'' She's right; they're in agreement that we ought to
    leave Iraq before the job is done. I'm not saying these people are
    unpatriotic; I'm saying they're wrong. You can't win a war unless you're
    willing to fight the war.
        Retreat from Iraq before the job is done would embolden the enemy.
    It would make this country more vulnerable to attacks. This is a
    different kind of war. In this war, if we leave early, if we leave
    before the job is done, the enemy will follow us here. If we leave Iraq
    before the job is done, it would enable these extremists and radicals to
    be able to recruit. If we leave before the job is done, it would
    embolden the extremists and it would dishonor the sacrifice of the men
    and women who have worn the uniform of the United States of America.
        The consequences of retreat from Iraq would be felt for generations.
    The enemy has said that they want to drive us out of Iraq because they
    want to establish safe haven, because they believe they can topple
    moderate governments. I want you to envision a world in which extremists
    battle for power, in which moderate governments have been toppled, in
    which these radicals are then capable of using oil to extract blackmail
    from the West.
        Couple all that with a country with a nuclear weapon that can't
    stand America, and a generation of Americans will say, ``What happened
    in 2006? How come the leaders couldn't see the impending dangers? Where
    were they when the warning signs were evident?'' I want you to
    understand, I see the impending danger. That is why we will support our
    troops; that is why we will fight the enemy; and that's why we will win
    in Iraq.
        Victory in Iraq will be a blow to the terrorists and the extremists
    and the radicals. Victory will say to those in the Middle East who long
    for peace, you've got a friend in America. Victory will make Iraq an
    ally in the war on terror. Victory will say to young democracies, we're
    willing to stand with you. You see, we not only got great assets in our
    military; we got a fantastic asset in the power of liberty.
        I want to share a story with you before we--before I unleash you to
    go turn out the vote. [Laughter] It's a story of my recent trip to
    Elvis's place. You might have heard about that. I went down there with
    then-sitting Prime Minister Koizumi of
    Japan.
        People said, ``Well, why did you go to Elvis's place?'' Well, one, I
    had never been down there. And Laura was kind
    of--[laughter]--pushing me. She said, it's about time we took a family
    vacation. [Laughter] Secondly, Prime Minister Koizumi wanted to go to Elvis's place. He's a big believer
    in--he loved Elvis, in other words.
        But I also wanted to tell a story, and it's a story that many of you
    share here, too, because you had a relative, just like I did, that
    fought the Japanese. World War II came about; the Japanese attacked us
    at Pearl Harbor. In Pearl Harbor, we lost fewer people than we did at
    the World Trade Center and in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and at the
    Pentagon. But it was an attack on the homeland. Thousands of young
    Americans volunteered, just like happening today, by the way.
        One of those volunteers was George H.W. Bush, Navy fighter pilot. And he, like a lot of other
    youngsters, fought hard against the Japanese. Thousands and thousands
    died. It was a bloody war. I find it very interesting that on the plane
    down

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    to Elvis's place, I was talking about keeping the peace with the Prime
    Minister of the former enemy. Something
    happened between my dad's being in the Navy and your relatives being in
    the military fighting the Japanese, and in 2006, the President of the
    United States talking about the peace.
        See, we're talking about the fact that Japan had 1,000 troops in
    Iraq. Prime Minister Koizumi understands
    what I know: In this ideological struggle of moderation versus
    extremism, when you find a young democracy, you support that democracy.
    We talked about working to end the scourge of HIV/AIDS on the continent
    of Africa, understanding, to whom much is given, much is required. We
    were talking about the North Korean and how we
    must work together to convince him to give up his nuclear weapons.
        Something happened between World War II and talking about the peace:
    Japan adopted a Japanese-style democracy. The lesson of history is,
    liberty has got the capacity to convert an enemy into an ally. Liberty
    has got the capacity to turn regions of despair into regions of hope.
    Freedom is universal. People desire to be free, and the more people that
    become free, the more likely it is our children will live in peace.
        Someday duly elected leaders from the Middle East will be talking
    about keeping the peace with an American President, and generations of
    Americans will be better off for it. And that's why I say these are
    historic times. In the election--the differences of opinion in this
    election are clear. If you want your taxes to go up, just go ahead and
    vote Democrat. If you want your taxes to stay low so this economy
    continue to grow and create opportunity, elect Conrad Burns to the United States Senate. If you want this country
    to do everything in its power to protect the American people, to stay on
    the offense against an enemy, and at the same time, create the
    conditions for lasting peace, you vote for Conrad Burns for the United
    States Senate. And while you're in there, make sure Denny goes back to
    Washington too.
        So my call for our fellow citizens is to leave the hall, find our
    fellow Republicans, and tell them we have a duty to vote; find
    discerning Democrats, and remind them about the stakes; find discerning
    independents, and tell them what's at stake in this election. Work hard
    between now and election day. Turn out the vote, and Conrad Burns will be reelected for the United States Senate.
        God Bless.

    Note: The President spoke at 11:27 a.m. at the MetraPark Arena. In his
    remarks, he referred to Janice Rehberg, wife of Rep. Rehberg; former
    President Saddam Hussein of Iraq; Usama bin Laden, leader of the Al
    Qaida terrorist organization; and Chairman Kim Jong Il of North Korea.