Remarks at a fundraiser for senatorial candidate John Cornyn in Dallas, Texas

Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, April 1, 2002

March 28, 2002

Thank you very much. Thank you all. Please be seated. Thanks. Everybody in Crawford says hello--[laughter]--starting with Laura. I wish she'd have come with me today, but--[applause]--she is doing a fabulous job. I tell people it's because she's from Midland, Texas. But I send her best. She's got a lot of friends here. And the country now realizes why I asked her to marry me. [Laughter] A lot of people are still wondering why she said yes, but nevertheless, she's doing great, and she sends her love. And I want to thank you all for coming here today as well.

It is my honor to come and campaign for the next United States Senator from the State of Texas. I'm going to miss Phil Gramm. He is a close friend. He is a strong, strong advocate for principles that are sound or our freedom. He has been a great United States Senator from Texas. I was disappointed he chose not to run again. I understand, but I was disappointed. But my disappointment waned when I realized my friend John Cornyn was running to take his place. I know John. I've seen him work. I've seen him in action. I've not only seen him as a campaigner but somebody who does in office what he said he is going to do. There is no question in my mind that he can do the job and bring a standard of excellence to the United States Senate. And there's no question in my mind we need him in the United States Senate to make sure our agenda moves forward.

I want to thank Bill and Rita Clements for being here. I like to call Bill the pathfinder for Republican Governors. I appreciate my friend Henry Bonilla for taking on the Texas Victory 2002 committee. It is important we send Henry back to the United States House of Representatives. I know Kay Granger from Fort Worth is here, and I appreciate so very much working with Kay. She is a great friend, a reliable voice for sound and commonsense policy in Washington, DC.

I'm so glad to see Greg Abbott, the next attorney general of Texas, here. I know that Wallace Jefferson and Mike Schneider are here. Thank you all for coming. I know that Jeb Hensarling, the next United States Congressman from the 5th Congressional District, is here as well. Congratulations on your primary win, Jeb. Charles Matthews is here. Our party chairman, Susan Weddington, is here. I want to thank Susan for her longtime service to the Republican Party of Texas. I see Tommy Craddick is here, other members of the house and the State senate. I miss you. I wish I could count on your votes in Washington, like I could have in Austin. But thanks for coming by to see your old buddy. And thank you all for being here as well.

This is an important election for Texas. And it's an important election for the country. We've got to have a man like John Cornyn representing our State in Washington. And there are a lot of reasons why.

First, we've got to get good, conservative judges appointed to the bench and approved by the United States Senate. I want people on the bench who don't try to use their position to legislate from the bench. We want people to interpret the law, not try to make law and write law. And I sent such a man up from Mississippi the other day, a good, honest, honorable man, who had been approved unanimously by the United States Senate earlier, and yet did not get a vote on the floor of the United States Senate. We need people like John Cornyn in the United States Senate, who will work with the White House to have a solid judiciary, to make sure that the judges do what they're supposed to do in the United States and not overstep their bounds.

We need somebody like John, who is going to take a tough position, tough stand on issues like energy. I don't need to be telling my friends in Texas that we've got an energy problem, but we do. We need to do a better job of conservation, no question about it. And we will. As technology advances, we will conserve more. But for the sake of our national security, we need to be finding more energy at home. We need to be less dependent on foreign sources of crude oil. John Cornyn will be a steady vote and a steady voice when it comes to good, sound energy policy in Washington, DC.

You know, one of the interesting issues that always faces us in Washington is what to do with the people's money. The tendency, of course, is to overpromise and then overspend. We need fiscal sanity in Washington. I want to thank Phil and his leadership on the issue of taxation. As you may remember--I think it was in this room--I said, "If you give me a chance to be your President, I will make sure the people get to keep a substantial amount of their own money. I reminded people that we weren't dealing with the Government's money; we were dealing with the people's money. John understands that.

And we passed tax relief in Washington, exactly at the right time. You see, we understand--Phil understands, I understand, and John understands--that if you let people keep more of their own money, they will demand more goods and services. And if they demand more goods and services, somebody will help produce those goods and services. And if somebody else produces those goods and services, it makes it easier for somebody to find work. And so we cut the taxes on the people. Bight in the middle of a recession, we cut the taxes, which is the right thing to do.