Remarks in Cincinnati, Ohio

I want to thank all of you for being here. And I know, when we arrived, the sun came out. And the sun's coming out all over America because we're going to win on November 5, in Ohio, and all across America.

[applause]

I want to thank General Powell, not just for coming out today but for his service to America.

As Jack said, the American Dream. We can do it America. We will do in America with a Dole-Kemp administration. And we're going to make it happen because we believe in you. We trust you. [off-mike] trust the government. We trust the people who are here today.

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And I want Steve and John and Rob and Jim Bunting and all the — and Mike DeWine, of course — there next year to help me. I've got to have help. We need a Republican Congress to get the country moving again.

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And let me thank Jack publicly for the great job he did last night in the debate.

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Support for our economic package grew 8 points last night because of Jack's performance. Every time there was a question, he gave them the economic package.

We've got it right. We believe in you [off-mike]. It's your money. It's your money.

[applause]

And I would just say all — even — I see a few Clinton-Gore signs. You're going to get the tax cut, too. We believe in you.

[applause]

And so, will former President Clinton if he just leaves his change of address when he leaves the White House. We'll send him his tax cut.

Now, President Clinton's been talking a lot about a bridge to the future. What we really need is a bridge to the truth. A bridge to the truth.

[applause]

And that's what I want to talk to you about today. You hear your great governor George Voinovich, no one's done a better job in America's than as he's done as far as creating jobs and opportunities and lowering taxes and cutting spending.

But who takes credit for all of it? Bill Clinton. He does everything.

[boos]

DOLE: And Al Gore stood there last night. He had it all memorized. Oh, we created 11 million this; so many million this; so many million this.

Well, believe it or not, I don't believe it. I believe it was done by Governor Voinovich and the legislature and the mayors and the Democrats and the Republicans all across Ohio. You created the jobs. And you created the opportunities.

[applause]

And so the election this year is between stealth liberals and common-sense conservatives. They don't want you to know they're liberal. But I'm going to tell you every time I get a chance that they're liberal.

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Remember the health care bill they wanted to give America? They wanted to take over your health care. They wanted to spend $1.5 trillion. They wanted 17 new taxes. They wanted 50 new bureaucracies. And you said no. And we said no.

[audio gap]

Think about it. If the worse should happen and he's re-elected, he's going to be right back trying to shove that health care bill down the throats of the American people.

[boos]

And we're going to get elected because Jack and I are the voices, as I said, of common-sense conservatism.

And I believe that with the debates, our message is beginning to come through to the American people. We're told that only about 24 percent of the American people [off-mike].

That means they don't like what they hear from Bill Clinton. That means they're going to vote for us. That means we're going win.

[applause]

And we're going to keep repeating the message of lower taxes, more money for your families, more money for your children, real leadership on crime and drugs, and an American foreign policy set by the president and not by the United Nations.

[applause]

And that's a foreign policy, as the general just said, based on America's national interest. The kind of policy that General Powell was part of when he helped lead American forces in the Gulf War and Saddam Hussein out of Kuwait.

And as I said last night — or whenever I debated Clinton. I can't remember. Ninety minutes is a long time to spend with him.

[laughter]

But in any event, I said one person who was better off than he was four years ago is Saddam Hussein. He's better off than he was four years ago.

But Jack Kemp and I have a different philosophy about foreign policy. And we have a different philosophy about government and about taxes. We believe the federal government is too big and it spends too much of your money. That's what we believe.

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And as Jack said so well last night, in a lot of families one spouse works full-time for the family, while the other spouse works full-time just to pay the taxes. About 40 percent of what you make goes in taxes.

This should not happen in the United States of America, and we're going to change it.

[applause]

DOLE: And if both parents want to work, that's fine. But it ought to be their choice. They shouldn't be forced to work just to pay higher taxes.

And here is our plan. Hold up that 15 percent. We're going to give everybody 15 percent across the board.

[applause]

And remember in our debate in Hartford, Connecticut, I said it's going to be available to you, too, Mr. President. I can use it. Well, if he can use it making $200,000 a year, you can use it if you make $25 or $30 or $35,000 a year.

[applause]

For every child under 18 there's a $500 child tax credit. And for $500 one child, two child $1,000, three children $1,500. Ten children you're probably too busy to worry about taxes, but that's $5,000.

You can buy a lot of health care with $5,000. You can save it for college. You can buy clothes. You could even take a vacation, even go on a vacation with your children, spend more time with your family.

The average family in Ohio will save in taxes under our plan about $1,300 a year. This is a Main Street tax cut, it's not a Wall Street tax cut. It's for families, families, families, working men and women all across America.

[applause]

Create more jobs. Create more opportunities. And to do that, we're going to cut the capital gains rate in half, in half.

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That's what small business needs.

And remember when President Clinton came to Ohio, as he did in 1992, and he came to Cincinnati, he went all over Ohio. And he said the centerpiece in my first four years will be a tax cut for middle income Ohioans.

What did you get? You got the biggest tax increase in the history of America. That's what you got.

[boos]

And then last night, here was Al Gore saying the same thing. Oh, we got a little tax cut for the middle class.

Are you going to believe it the second time? No.

CROWD: No!

DOLE: There are probably some in this audience who made a mistake and voted for Clinton, but don't make that mistake again.

[applause]

And we're also going to virtually eliminate the capital gains tax on America's homeowners. You sell your home, you don't pay a tax on it.

[applause]

And I would say to senior citizens — I don't see any in the audience, but if any show up, let me tell you this. We're going to repeal Bill Clinton's tax increase on millions of senior citizens who receive Social Security. That's six to eight million senior citizens. Hundreds of thousands live right here in Ohio.

And we're going to say, if you work all your life and save your money and the kids work and the husband works, the wife works, and somebody passes on, you shouldn't have to sell half your property to pay the estate taxes. We're going to provide estate tax relief.

[applause]

So here in Ohio, just as in the rest of America, people feel strongly about the quality of their schools.

DOLE: And that's why we're going to do what the legislature and what the governor has done in Cleveland.

I like teachers. I'm a product of public schools. But we're going to pass opportunity scholarships to give low and middle-income parents the same right as the president and the vice president have to send children to the school of your choice.

[applause]

It may be another public school...

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It may be another public school. It may be a private school. It may be a religious school.

If we're going to stop crime and drugs and all the other things that happen with teenagers, they've got to have a good education. And it's got to start in kindergarten. And we're going to make certain it happens in a Dole-Kemp administration.

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We're also going to have a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, which President Clinton opposes, a balanced budget amendment to the Constitution, supported by 80-something percent of the people.

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And we're going to have litigation reform. You know, when I was out in California last month and I fell off the platform, nothing serious — but on the way down, my cell phone rang, and a trial lawyer says, I think we've got a case here.

We want to stop some of the frivolous law suits that put people out of business. And we want to put a cap on punitive damages that puts people out of business.

And we're going to have regulatory reform that costs the average family $7,000 a year, just like a tax. Oh, we want clean water, clean air, safe food, all the things that they want.

But we also want common sense. If everything else fails, let's try some Midwest common sense. And it works.

[applause]

Now, the president talks a lot. Well, he talks a lot about a lot of things.

[laughter]

Remember, President Reagan was "the great communicator?" Well, President Clinton is "the great exaggerator." He exaggerates everything that's happened in America. He takes credit for everything.

Well, if that's the case, he can take the blame for drug use doubling between 12 and 17-year-olds in the last 44 months.

Drug use has doubled, President Clinton. And were have you been? You have been AWOL, Mr. President.

It's time for leadership. We'll have leadership come November 5, when Jack Kemp and I are back in Cincinnati as the president-elect and the vice president-elect of the United States of America.

[applause]

So, we're excited. And I want to ask everyone here for their support.

[applause]

Ohio is a key state. Ohio is one of my home states. My grandfather was born in Montpelier, Ohio. I visited there about 30 days ago. I visited the grave of my great, great grandfather, Michael Dole.

So, this is a home state. I also was stationed in Breckinridge, Jim, so Kentucky is my home state too. So...

[laughter]

We want to ask your support. I believe the key word in this campaign is trust. Who do you trust?

CROWD: Dole.

DOLE: Who do you trust? Who do you trust?

CROWD: Dole-Kemp. Dole-Kemp. Dole-Kemp.

DOLE: Remember, Dole-Kemp are two four letter words you can teach your kids, Dole-Kemp, Dole-Kemp.

CROWD: Dole-Kemp. Dole-Kemp. Dole-Kemp.

DOLE: And finally, remember this. The word that they use, as Jack pointed out last night, is the word "fear". When you don't have any ideas, when you don't have any agenda you try to frighten people. You try to frighten seniors. You try to frighten students. You try to frighten veterans.

And here it is still three weeks before Halloween, but they've been out there month after month after month they spend $45 million since April 1 trying to frighten people in Ohio.

I believe the people in this state and across America are not going to be scared quite so easily. What ought to scare you is four more years of Clinton and Gore and that's what you ought to be scared of.

[applause]

We will protect and preserve and strengthen Medicare just as we did with Social Security. And let me say a word about the environment.

When the Democrats controlled the Congress and Clinton was president in '93 and '94 they passed one environment bill. As John Boehner knows, when Republicans were in control we passed ten environmental bills. We passed ten environmental bills. So keep that in mind.

[applause]

This is the greatest country on the face of the earth. We need to keep it that way. We need strong leadership you can trust in the White House.

Thank you very much and God bless America.