Presidential Campaign 1988

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And when you consider that four years ago in the conservative churches of America one. Registering we think we're going to get. It.

I want to get in here Linda. Yeah yeah yeah yeah yeah. OK let's go to. The phones at 6:30 this morning. Cars are becoming ever just every minute or so and I would spend majority of it has nothing no bring up or else I'm going to begin mega-merger County probably the congressional race will be decided by the black turnout in terms of who will be facing the Republican opposition on a statewide basis I think Jim Hunt in the gubernatorial candidates will be benefiting from that because if the Democratic Party is to be the Tories in November it

must have a strong base from the black community. Nothing. I've been to the public eye all over. Again of great city and the way the style it turned out to vote hard. I'm very direct in this region. I think is very much needed on a statewide basis. It's.

A little way sad in my heart. I am. I am I am I am. I am. I am.

I am. Well. Let me just say. Why did everybody this and Dan just raise your hand. I want to say I get my friends dances including the governor bag and my brother and sister and my nephew. But as I look at others and all of my friends who've been with me a long time and politics who cared enough to be here the last two days and talked to a

lot of Iowa friends and I think you made a big difference and I want to thank you all very much thank you. Top I want to say of course that I'm very grateful. There's no doubt in my mind that dozens of people across this state and other states and many young people from surrounding states are here tonight from every walk of life work tirelessly to make this night possible leave someone out. And I especially want to mention to people Barber grass do gooder dieties day just think their caucus and she signed up before tech did and they got things going longer to get past these are the polls moving here are they got a good start up that harbor not started. She's one of our state

co-chair and I must say Jack Grassley has been at our strength is that all over this state. I couldn't go. He filled in I couldn't go governor a good field and it's been that kind of an effort and obviously I have a great deal of it Chuck and Barbara Grassley because of Chuck Grassley says he's for someone. Believe me the people of Iowa listen. There is. More of a candidate was bought Bill. Yar'Adua dad so I guess I made it worse for that guy can make more difference isn't a difference in the future. But out of all those IT workforce workforce when it was to the war 3 daughter was employed as they did a tremendous.

Battle Cry of the best are ever going to get in trouble with white rabbit they can have it you see it everywhere by the way with a desire to be able to say I want my wife Elizabeth. Catlett if you go out on a Saturday and this lady walked up to me as if they're doing really good job that is if we organize for a little bit. She said Jack grasping it was a busy hour. Good afternoon and welcome to the Republican presidential primary debate

sponsored by the Atlanta Journal and The Atlanta Constitution. My name is John Mattick national correspondent for The Journal Constitution. And I will serve as moderator for today's debate. The four Republican candidates with us this afternoon will face a round of questions that they will answer in turn. They will then be given an opportunity during a rebuttal around to answer any charges made during the questioning period or to bring up any matters they believe are part of. All of the answers and the rebuttals will be subject to time restraints. So we ask our audience to please refrain from applause so the candidates time is not consume. Serving as our official timer for today is Georgia secretary of state Mr. Max Cleveland. I am. Starting at my far right Representative Jack Camp. Thank you. But why is President George Bush. To

occur. Senator Bob Dole the US. And Mr. Pat Robertson. The deficit is public enemy number one. But can't we talk with a tax increase. Well you could attack it if you don't want to get elected you get Attack of the tax increases but I don't find many people out there I see a few TV ads that are distortions of record but I don't find many real Americans out there asking for a tax increase we don't need to raise taxes. In fact I brought along a little pile here of all the votes I've made since 1975. There are hundreds of them to either reduce. Taxes order stop Democratic efforts to raise taxes there are hundreds of votes in the stack for the last 12 years a record been consistent. I've been leading the effort to reduce the tax rates. Leading the effort for Ronald Reagan on a three year tax cut leading the efforts on indexing for

working people private sector I was able in the operation I was in charge of to cut our budget by 15 percent. I did it in a relatively short period of time and six months we were in the black. Any businessman knows it has to be done. Congress frankly is out of control. And what I want to see Phil Graham to talk about it he looked across his desk at me and he said but you wanted to do it. It isn't a question of economics it's a question of Will does the Congress of the United States truly will to have the hard decisions that involves. Cutting the budget or does it continually want to buy votes with the taxpayers money. But we're robbing the patrimony of our unborn children we're talking about two and a half to three trillion dollars in debt by the end of this decade. It's got to stop. I would make one proposal right now. Forty two years after World War 2 we're still spending somewhere in the

neighborhood of one hundred fifty billion dollars to help our allies is bigger than the United States of America. I don't mind defending Europe or Japan but for heaven's sakes after the years up what's presentable bill for the work we do for them and make them help us in defending them. So I can say there's been some mistakes and just a minute. Get right up front and say that but then point out the positive. There's no point Republicans going around criticizing each other or certainly criticizing the president of the United States. What we want to do is go after the people you had here yesterday. And that's easy that slow motion slow targets to go. Senator Dole you were critical or critical of the Iran-Contra period or anything else. Well again I believe what we look at is the bright side and the bright side is we've had Ronald Reagan around for seven years and all Americans can be thankful for that. And he has a high approval rating all across this country. So we start with that.

That doesn't mean that in any administration we don't have our differences. I remember back in the Carter years the press for the to ratify the Panama Canal pretty much radium I had no boat against that that's better and better every day with all the drug problems we're having with Noriega. So I said on the Senate floor almost 10 years ago today we had drug problems in Panama we ought to deal with them. I feel like I'm at least qualified to mention. But I think along with the statements that are made this president has made remarkable progress in domestic economic as well as foreign policy. But to be frank about it we have to acknowledge that there is a lot left to be done. There's a lot of people have been let down the recovery. Number one interest rates are way too high. We have failed to stabilize the dollar in 1980 81. The president pledged to the American people and we would stabilize the dollar bring interest rates down. And I want to say to my colleagues and to the audience the single biggest cause of debt. The single

largest reason for this deficit is that we are trying to service that is pay off dad at about 9 percent 30 year Treasury bill rates and that is probably three times as high as they were when the dollar was stable. We have to do is look at the difference in appointments between the Carter administration of the Reagan administration not only in the Justice Department which is crucial but also in the Civil Rights Commission and every other agency of the federal government that has to do with enforcement of the laws and regulations on equality in this nation. Had we had the high caliber people committed to the quality of America in all levels including education I think we would have made great strides in the 1980s but we went the other way. That is part of that lake Reagan legacy that he and others will have to live with. But Paul's right listens. You cannot disassociate segregation in our schools from what is happening in urban America. What's happening in urban America in Atlanta and Denver and all across this nation is economic disparity.

Not only need to get rid of Secretary Meese we need to get rid of Secretary Bennett as well in order to make any real strides. And I think what Gary said is right it's got to be a national goal and I think that that's extremely important. When I give my inaugural address I want to say that by the year 2000. We're going to have the best educated people in the world in the United States. I agree with that John and I would expand on it by saying this. Nobody in this country. Has the ability that a president has to set a tone for this nation not just to speak to equality of opportunity but to act on. And Gary is right when you look at these appointments when you look at the tone that has been set by this administration you see what's happened in the Civil Rights Commission the kind of attitude you have of the Previn of education the Justice Department. But we have years of administration that came to office. Deliberately seeking to reverse the progress of years under administrations of

both parties. Because we won the 54 Supreme Court decision. All they really need a president who sees the value in multicultural education they have a Justice Department that functions that will deal with that. But the absence of racism the basis. OG with the most schools in any one on the stage three or four every week. Ask black white and brown How many of you know someone was dead because of drugs. About. You know someone in your group who is in jail because of drugs about. You know someone in your age group in your school who takes drugs. Thought. Well the answer to your question involves making our schools the best in the world. I want to be an education president not just in name but in deed. I believe that as the world

grows more complex and changes more rapidly the obvious response John is to devote more time and attention and resources to giving our children the best education in the entire world. Our children enter school with minds as sharp as those as the children of any nation on the face of this earth. And yet a variety of studies have told us that by the time they graduate from high school on average there are two full grade levels beyond behind to their counterparts in some other countries. And let me be specific. You have basically two categories and long term care. One is those who can be helped at home. And there are the Claude Pepper bill with Dick is co-sponsoring the house that I'm chief sponsor of the Senate. We'll take care of that. That's about 30 percent of the people who are in nursing homes today in fact could be helped home if we had a good at home program. But there is the second problem that has not been addressed here. And that's those of us who will eventually have to go to

nursing homes. Most of us fortunately will not. Only about 2 percent of us between the ages of 65 and 74 will have to go to nursing homes. But about twenty two percent of us over the age of 85 will have to go to nursing homes and to pay for that and every other major industrial nation does. We're going to have to have some kind of a revenue mechanism ier ier.