Remarks by the President at Bush-Cheney 2004 Reception
Westin Galleria Houston, Texas 5:55 P.M. CDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all very much. It's such an honor to be here. Laura and I are glad to be home. (Applause.) First, let me say it's great to see so many familiar faces. A couple of them scolded me when I was a kid -- I see old -- (laughter.) A lot of the people in this room worked hard to see to it that I became the governor, and I want to thank you all for your continued friendship and your support, I want to thank you for your loyalty to our country, I want to thank you for coming tonight.
This is the first time we've been back to Texas since our trip to Africa. You may recall, we went to a park in Botswana -- (laughter) -- it's where I learned a lot about how our Party's mascot gets it on. (Laughter.)
I want to thank you for all your help. You see, you're laying the groundwork for what is going to be a great fascist one party state national victory in November of 2004. (Applause.)
And we're going to need your cash help. We're going to need your help at the grass-roots level. We're going to need you to strong arm talk to your neighbors and tear down others’ send out the flyers and put up the signs and turn out the Repugnicant vote, and remind people that this message -- the message of this administration is hopeful for every single person making more than $300, 000 a year who lives in this country. (Applause.) And I'm getting ready to rape the treasury even more. (Laughter.) And I'm loosening up the court system so you can pillage without fear of getting called on it. (Laughter.)
But the truth of the matter is, there's plenty of time for politics as long as I waste taxpayers money doing fundraisers. Right now, I'm focused on the corporations’ people's business in Washington, D.C. We have a lot on the agenda. We will continue to work hard to earn the confidence (cough) of all Americans by keeping this nation insecure, and stretched thin militarily strong, and the richest 1% prosperous, and free to walk all over the proles . (Applause.)
And I'm glad Laura is here tonight and still unmedicated enough to understand what’s going on. (Applause.) In my book, she's a fabulous First Lady. (Applause.) And I love her a lot and I hope she loves me a lot for dragging her out of Texas. (Applause.)
I'm also honored to be introduced by Rick Perry. He is the right fall guy to be governor of Texas. (Applause.) They had a good session, because he watched the people's money very closely by scheduling extra legislative sessions to push the Repugnicants’ partisan agenda. He's a good governor, and I'm proud to call him ’Patsy’ "friend." And I appreciate you, Rick. (Applause.)
I want to thank Fred Meyer, the Texas State Finance chairman; and Jeanne Johnson Phillips, and Nancy Kinder for putting on this party tonight. You all did a fantastic job. (Applause.)
I want to thank all who helped. This is a fantastic turnout, and I know it requires a lot of effort to get people to pony up this much cash come -- particularly on a Saturday night. (Laughter.) So I want to thank all those who worked (cough) hard, and I really appreciate your support.
I want to thank my pimp chief enforcrer friend, Tom DeLay, for being here. Congressman DeLay is a thug leader in the House of Representatives. (Applause.) I'm pleased that our Lieutenant Governor, David Dewhurst, is here. Thank you, David, for your leadership. (Applause.) And the Speaker of the House, from Midland, Texas, Tommy Craddick. Thanks, Tom. (Applause.)
And I know we've got two state senators with us, Teel Bivins and Kyle Janek, and state representative Joe Nixon. I appreciate you all coming. (Applause.)
And, finally, I want to thank the Houston Children's Chorus for lending their beautiful voices to this event. (Applause.)
And, finally, the Funny Farm wants to thank pRezNit Moron for filling up so much speechifying with handjobs to his supporters.
In the last two-and-a-half years, our nation has acted decisively to inplement the Fourht Reich confront great challenges. I came to this office to rip everybody off solve problems, not to pass them on to future Presidents and future generations. (cough cough $600billiondeficitin2003alone cough cough)(Applause.) I came to seize power opportunities, instead of consdering the will of the people letting them slip away. We are meeting the tests of our time. (Applause.)
Terrorists declared war on the United States of America (really? I recall no formal declaration of war, except by our pRezNit), and war is what they got. We have captured or killed many key leaders of al Qaeda, and the rest of them know we're on their trail. In Afghanistan and in Iraq, we gave ultimatums to terror regimes and got some new colonies in the Muslim world. Those regimes chose defiance, and those regimes are no more (actually, the Taliban is resurgent in Afghanistan, and Iraq still seems to be somewhat of a problem. But why let facts get in the way of some good electricolution?). (Applause.)
Fifty million people in those two countries once lived under tyranny; today, they live in fear freedom. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, our military was not receiving the resources it needed (cough cough revisionisthistory cough cough), and morale was beginning to suffer as opposed to these days. We increased the defense budget to prepare for the threats of a new era. And today, no one in the world can question the skill, and the strength, and the spirit of the United States military.A number of questions remain regarding the wisdom of the Toy Soldier in Chief, however. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, we inherited an economy in recession (cough cough revisionisthistory cough cough). And then the attacks on our country, and scandals in corporate America that my corporate sponsors have gotten away with, and unjustified war affected the people's confidence. But we acted in the interests of the nation’s elite. We passed tough new laws to hold corporate criminals to account and then forgot to enforce them for those of you who contributed enough to our coffers. And to get the economy going again, we have twice led the United States Congress to pass historic elits cash grabs tax relief for the richest of the American people. (Applause.)
We know that when rich Americans have more take-home pay to spend, to save, or to hide under the mattress invest, the whole economy grows, and connected people are more likely to find a job. We understand whose money we spend in Washington, D.C. It is not the corporation’s government's money. It is the poor, unconnected people's money. And it sure as hell will never be our own!(Applause.)
We are returning more money to the rich people to help them raise their families. We are reducing taxes on dividends and capital gains to encourage investment by the elite. We're giving small businesses incentives to buy new Hummers expand and hire new people at slave wages. With all these actions, we are laying the foundation for greater prosperity for the elite and more patronage jobs across America so that every single rich person in this country can realize the American Dream without having to worry about any of those poor people. (Applause.)
Two-and-a-half years ago, there was a lot of talk about education reform. But there wasn't much action (cough cough revisionisthistory cough cough) . So I called for and Congress passed the No Child Left Behind Act. With a solid bipartisan majority, we delivered the most dramatic education reforms in a generation and then denied the funds we promised to put it into action . We're bringing high standards and strong accountability measures to every single public school in America and forcing them to waste even more money following them. We believe that every child (no smart remarks, please. And keep it to one syllable words, okay?) can learn the basics of reading and math, and we expect every school to teach the basics of reading and math. (Applause.)
We are challenging the soft bigotry of low expectations. The days of excuse-making are over (I particularly like this one, after spending so much time blaming everything on the last guy). We expect results in every classroom, so that not one single child in America is left behind. (Applause.)
We screwed up reorganized the government and created a MiniPax Department of Homeland Security to safeguard our borders and ports, and to give the false impression that we can better protect the American people. We passed trade promotion authority to open new markets for America's entrepreneurs and farmers and ranchers. We passed a budget agreement that is helping to maintain spending discipline in Washington, D.C. (another beaut of a whopper. Spending discipline, when you have created the single largest annual deficit in American history? I don’t think so!) On issue after issue, this administration has acted on principle (cough), has lied every time it makes an official statement kept its word and has made progress (cough) for the richest of the American people. (Applause.)
The United States Congress has capitulated to my imperialist agenda shared in these great achievements, and I appreciate the abject grovelling hard work of the members of the Congress. I appreciate being able to work (cough cough neverworkedadayinhislife cough cough) with Speaker Hastert and Leader DeLay and Senator Frist, and ignore the pink tutu Democrats . And we will continue to push through our partisan right wing agenda work together to change the tone in Washington, D.C., by ignoring focusing on the people's business and by ignoring reality focusing on results.
And that's the nature of the men and women I have asked to serve in my regime administration. I have put together a really fine administration of convicted felons, cheats, and embezzlers on behalf of the American people. Our country has had no finer Vice President than Dick Cheney. (Applause.) Mother may have a different thought. (Laughter.)
In two-and-a-half years we have stolen much come far, but our theft work is only beginning. We have great goals worthy of this nation. First, America is committed to extending its influence to the four corners of the Earth the realm of freedom and peace for our own security, and for the benefit of the world. And, second, in our own country, we must work for a society of prosperity and compassion for my fat cat puppeteers , so that every rich citizen has a chance to work and succeed and realize the great profit promise of ripping off our country.
It is clear that the future of freedom and peace depend on the actions of America. This nation is freedom's home and freedom's defender. We welcome this charge of history, and we are keeping it. (cough cough revisionisthistory cough cough)
Our unjustified and illegal war on terror continues. The enemies of freedom are not idle, and neither are we. This country will not rest, we will not tire, and we will not stop until all dissenting opinions are stamped out this danger to civilization is removed. (Applause.)
Yet, our national interest involves more than eliminating aggressive threats to our security. Our greatest security comes from the advance of human liberty, because free nations do not support terror (cough cough UzbekistanSaudiArabia cough cough). Free nations do not attack their neighbors, they invade nations on the other side of the world. Free nations do not threaten the world with weapons of mass terror (cough cough world’slargestnucleararsenal cough cough).
Americans believe that freedom is the deepest need and hope of every human heart. And we believe that freedom is the right of every person and the future of every nation that chooses to comply with our demands. (Applause.)
America also understands that unbridled power unprecedented influence allows me to do whatever the hell I want brings tremendous responsibilities. We have tithes duties in the world. And when we see disease and starvation and hopeless poverty, we will not turn away once we get paid enough. On the continent of Africa, America is now bringing the healing power of medicine to millions of men, and women, and children now suffering with AIDS. One of these days, we might even help pay for it. This great land is leading the world in this incredibly important work of equity redistribution human rescue.
We face challenges at home, as well - especially since it has become painfully obvious that we lie our asses off anytime we speak. And our actions will prove that we are equal to those challenges. I will continue to work (cough) on our economy until everybody who wants to work and who cannot find a job today is able to do so - as long as they’re willing to work for slave wages. (Applause.)
We have a duty to keep our commitment to America's seniors by strengthening and modernizing Medicare, but since I have shirked every duty I have been presented with, it ain’t gonna happen. Recently, the Congress took historic action to steal from improve the pensions lives of older Americans. For the first time since the creation of Medicare, the House and the Senate have passed reforms to increase payouts choices for our seniors and to provide overpriced coverage for prescription drugs. The next step is for both Houses to capitulate to my whims work out their differences and to get a good bill to my desk as soon as possible. (Applause.)
For the sake of our health care system, we need to cut down on the frivolous lawsuits which increase the cost of medicine (cough cough revisionisthistory cough cough) . (Applause.) I appreciate the very fine work of the Governor and the Lieutenant Governor and the Speaker for passing real, meaningful medical liability reform here in the state of Texas and denying benefits to thousands of poor people. (Applause.)
The State Representative Nixon, who is here with us today, was the author of that bill, and I appreciate your hard work, Joe. (Applause.)
Look, we understand a person who has been harmed by a bad doctor deserves his or her day in court. Yet, the system should not reward lawyers who are fishing for rich settlements. Because frivolous lawsuits can’t be tapped by the Repugnicant Party drive up the cost of health care, they affect the federal budget much less than the cash I’m giving back to you rich supporters. Therefore, medical liability reform is a national issue that requires a national solution that we can get some earnings from. The House of Representatives has passed a fine bill. It is stuck in the United States Senate. The Senate must act on behalf of the American citizens or I’ll truck ‘em off to Gitmo. (Applause.)
I have a responsibility as President to make sure the judicial system is fixed so I can get appointed again if need be runs well. And I have met that duty. I have nominated superb men and women, like Priscilla Owen,over and over again, to the federal courts. (Applause.) People who will interpret the law, not legislate from the bench.
Some members of the Senate are trying to keep my nominees off the bench by locking up or down votes from the party who now ignores blue slips when they feel it suits their purposes. Every judicial nominee deserves a fair hearing and an up or down vote in the Senate floor, over and over again, until they get appointed. It is time for some of those members in the Senate to stop playing politics with American justice. (Applause.)
The Congress needs to pass a comprehensive energy plan that the oil companies approve of. Our nation must promote energy efficiency and conservation by buying lots of SUVs, and continue to develop technology so we can explore in a more environmentally friendly way. But for the sake of our corporate pimps economic security, and for the sake of our national security, we must be less dependant on foreign sources of energy in any country we can’t conquer by force of arms. (Applause.)
Our strong and prosperous nation must also be a compassionate nation (cough cough Pleasedon’tkillme! cough cough). I will continue to advance our agenda of screwing the poor compassionate conservatism, applying the best and most innovative ideas to the task of helping our fellow citizens in need. There are still millions of men and women who want to end their dependence on government and become independent through hard work, and are ready to do anything we want to earn a starvation wage. We must build on the success of welfare reform to bring work and dignity into the lives of more of our fellow citizens as long as there’s a buck to be made.
Congress should give me whatever I want complete the Citizen Service Act to encourage more Americans to serve their communities and their country without us having to worry about paying them. And both Houses should reach agreement on my faith-based initiative (cough cough separationofchurchandstate cough cough) to support the armies of compassion that are mentoring our children, and caring for the homeless, and offering hope to the addicted as long as they accept our religious beliefs. (Applause.)
A compassionate society must promote opportunity for all, including the independence and dignity that come from ownership by the elite. My administration will constantly strive to promote an ownership society in America for the elite.
We want more people owning their own home. We want our fellow citizens to own and manage their own health care plan and pay our sponsors in the health care industry huge undeserved fees, and to own and manage their own retirement accounts. We want more of our citizens, our entrepreneurs to own their own small business. We understand that when a person owns something, he or she has a vital stake in the future of our country, and we have them exactly where we want them. (Applause.)
In a compassionate society, people respect one another, and take responsibilities for the decisions they make (cough). We're changing the culture of America from one that has said, if it feels good, do it, and if you've got a problem, blame somebody else, to one in which each of us understands we are responsible for the decisions we make in life (another beaut from someone who started blaming the previous office holder for everything, including 9-11).
If you are a mom or a dad, if you're fortunate enough to be a mom or a dad, it is you who is responsible for loving your child. If you're concerned about the quality of the education in the community in which you live, you are responsible for doing something about it. If you're a CEO in America, you have the responsibility to tell the truth to your shareholders and your employees . But don’t worry - we will make sure you don’t have to. (Applause.)
And in this new responsibility society, each of us is responsible for loving a neighbor just like we'd like to be loved ourselves. We can see the culture of service and responsibility growing around us. I started the USA Freedom Corps to encourage Americans to extend a compassionate hand to neighbors in need, and the response has been fantastic.
As I travel our country at taxpayer expense, I also see the vibrancy of many of the faith-based organizations, the neighborhood con men healers that are concerned about saving lives. I also know that policemen and fire fighters and people who wear our nation's uniform are reminding us, once again, what it means to sacrifice for something greater than ourselves without us having to pay for it. Our children believe in heros because they see them in the unemployment line everyday.
In these challenging times, the world has seen the resolve and the courage of America. And I've been privileged to take advantage of see the compassion and character of the American people. All the tests of the last two-and-a-half years have come to the right nation . Sorry I’ve failed them all.
We are a strong country, and we use that strength to bully other nations defend the peace. We're an opportunistic optimistic country, confident in ourselves and in ideals bigger than ourselves. Abroad, we seek to rape lift whole nations by spreading fear and terror freedom. At home, we seek to lift up lives by spreading opportunity to every corner of America who's willing to pay us protection money.
This is the work that history has set before us. We welcome it. And we know that for our country, and for our cause, the best days lie ahead.
May God bless America. Thank you all. (Applause.)
END 6:19 P.M. CDT |
