Remarks by the Vice President at the New York Republican State Committee Dinner

NEW YORK--(Business Wire)--
New York Sheraton Hotel and Towers

7:04 P.M. EDT

THE VICE PRESIDENT: Thank you. A welcome like that is almost
enough to make me want to run for office again. (Applause.) No, no,
no. I said, almost. (Laughter.) But I -- Joe, I appreciate your kind
words, and I'm grateful to all of you for the warm welcome. I notice
that Joe did not mention that the junior senator from New York has
begun calling me Darth Vader. (Laughter.) I asked my wife recently if
it didn't bug her when people called me that. She said, "No, it
humanizes you." (Laughter.)

Let me thank all of you for the chance to join you this evening. I
also want to acknowledge the party officials and officeholders who are
here, including my good friend, Congressman Peter King -- (applause);
of course Assembly Leader -- Minority Leader Jim Tedisco --
(applause); and our Majority Leader in the Senate, Joe Bruno --
(applause). It's always a pleasure to see my longtime friend and
former colleague from the Ford administration -- a great mayor, one of
the great Americans, our friend, Rudy Giuliani. (Applause.)

I'm grateful to everyone who worked so hard to put this event
together tonight. And with your support, we'll build a strong
foundation for Republican victories come November. (Applause.) And I
want to thank all of you for pitching in -- and I bring greetings to
one and all from the President of the United States, George W. Bush.
(Applause.)

It was right here in Manhattan, of course, that the President and
I were nominated for a second term in 2004. And New York certainly
knows how to throw a party. We have fond memories of that week -- the
great hospitality, the superb convention, and the momentum that
brought us to an historic re-election victory.

Now, of course, we've begun to focus on another big election. And
if we all put our shoulders to the wheel between now and November, I'm
confident we'll see John McCain as the next President of the United
States. (Applause.)

President Bush and I look forward to helping our candidates, up
and down the ticket, throughout the important election year. And the
stakes are very high. Whether the issue is the economy, or energy, or
the federal courts, or national security, the right answers for our
nation are not coming from Democrats, but from Republicans.
(Applause.)

Right now, with the economy going through a rough patch, some in
Washington view it as an excuse for expanding the size and scope of
the federal government. Republicans believe that when Americans are
facing tough times, the first thing we should do is let them keep more
of their own money. (Applause.) That's why the President proposed and
signed a stimulus package with immediate, direct relief to the
American taxpayer.

Both parties came together on the stimulus package. As a result,
families are going to find it a little easier to pay their bills. Yet
as we look down the road, there's still more work to be done on the
subject of taxes. Without action by the Congress, most of the Bush tax
relief of the past seven years will be taken away. If that happens,
the death tax, which is being phased out now, would suddenly return,
at rates that top out at more than 50 percent. Taxes would go up on
capital gains and dividends. The tax rate for every single income tax
bracket would be increased. For taxpayers in the lowest bracket, the
rate would increase by 50 percent. And the child tax credit would drop
from $1,000 to $500 per child. The overall effect would be average tax
increases of $1,800 a year in the tax bill of some 116 million
Americans.

This is going to be one of the major dividing lines between the
two parties in this election year -- and we need to make sure that
every voter in the country knows the difference. Remind your friends
that whenever they hear Democratic politicians pledging to get rid of
the Bush tax cuts, what they're promising is a major tax hike for
working families. And they wouldn't have to move a muscle to do it,
because under the law, that tax cuts simply expire a few years from
now. That means it is all more -- all the more critical to elect a
Republican Congress to make the tax cuts permanent -- and a Republican
President to sign them into law. (Applause.)

Americans are certainly concerned as well about energy, because
everyone's paying higher prices at the pump. Our administration has
worked with the Congress and private sector to increase the efficiency
of cars and trucks, and to promote alternative fuels. But that's not
enough to meet the demands of the country -- we also have to produce
more oil and gas inside the United States. (Applause.)

Part of the problem in Washington is that a lot of our Democratic
friends year after year have tried to stand in the way of more energy
production. The plain truth is we can get a lot more energy here in
America, and we can do it in an environmentally sound and friendly
way. And it's not just crude oil or natural gas production that's
being held up. Amazing as it may sound, we haven't built a new
refinery in the United States in 30 years -- so now we have to import
ever larger amounts of refined product and gasoline. Republicans
believe more of the refining ought to be done right here in the United
States, at American refineries, by American workers. (Applause.)

You and I belong to the party of low taxes, limited government,
and free enterprise. We understand that government exists not to be
the people's master but rather the people's servant. We understand the
Constitution and the separation of powers -- and that's why we believe
in putting good judges on the bench like John Roberts and Sam Alito.
(Applause.)

Above all, ladies and gentlemen, we believe in protecting the
United States of America -- in defending our security, our values, and
our way of life. (Applause.) President Bush has never lost sight of
that responsibility. And for that reason, many Democrats who believe
in a strong defense have stood by the President in the war on terror.
Four years ago at Madison Square Garden, our keynote speaker was
Senator Zell Miller of Georgia -- a lifelong Democrat. Senator Miller
spoke passionately about the Democratic Party that has lost its
bearings on national security; a party that regards our own country as
a negative force in the world. Senator Miller said, quote, "Motivated
more by partisan politics than by national security, today's
Democratic leaders see America as an occupier, not a liberator." And
he added a thought that no citizen of this country should ever forget,
quote: "Never in the history of the world has any soldier sacrificed
more for the freedom and liberty of total strangers than the American
soldier. And, our soldiers don't just give freedom abroad, they
preserve it for us here at home." (Applause.)

In that same election year, another prominent Democrat known to
all of you gave his endorsement to George W. Bush. This Democrat said
that the President was, quote, "the only one running who appreciated
the threat of Islamic terrorism to American values and Western
civilization and was prepared to wage a war to defend those values."
Those are the words of Mayor Ed Koch. (Applause.)

And yet another Democrat of national standing has been appalled by
the direction his party has taken on national security. Senator Joe
Lieberman of Connecticut is a statesman whose Democratic credentials
could not be more impeccable -- (applause). After all, he ran against
me for Vice President in 2000. (Laughter.) Yet in his most recent
campaign, Joe was targeted for political extinction by his fellow
Democrats. One by one, they turned their backs on him. Joe's old
running mate, Al Gore, abandoned him. His Connecticut colleague and
best friend in the Senate, Chris Dodd, campaigned against him. In a
tough political fight, Joe Lieberman was dropped by his own party
simply because of his firm stand in the war on terror -- a stand he
has consistently held, in good times and bad. (Applause.)

In an article last week, Joe Lieberman wrote about the Democratic
Party that he grew up in. It was, he said, "A party that was
unhesitatingly and proudly pro-American, a party that 1/4 understood
that either the American people stood united with free nations and
freedom fighters against the forces of totalitarianism, or that what
we -- that we would fall divided." That's the way it used to be. But
today, Senator Lieberman points out, the Democratic Party is "further
to the left than it has been 1/4 in the last 20 years." He finds no
evidence that the party leadership will stand up to the left wing --
and so Joe has proudly endorsed our nominee, John McCain. (Applause.)

As I said earlier, the stakes are high in this election. We're in
the midst of a war against a determined enemy -- an enemy that showed
its faces in this very city on September 11th. After the attacks of
that day, President Bush told the nation to prepare for a struggle
that would not be easy, or brief, or predictable in its course. He
pledged never to grow tired in his own work as leader of the country
and Commander-in-Chief of our Armed Forces. He has honored that pledge
in full. (Applause.)

Since 9/11, our administration had to make a lot of tough
decisions on national security. As a result, the enemies of the
country have been kept off balance. I don't think the terrorists put
their feet up after 9/11 and said, "Well, let's not hit the United
States again." They wanted to hit us. They planned on it. They tried
to do it. And now that we've gone more than six and a half years
without another 9/11 is no accident. (Applause.) It is an achievement.
And the credit goes to some very dedicated Americans in intelligence,
law enforcement, and the military; to vital new laws passed by
Congress; and strong leadership by the President of the United States.
(Applause.)

From the beginning, we've understood that this war is a battle of
ideas. So when we confronted terror states and outlaw regimes, we
didn't just remove the dictators and leave the people to their fate.
We've stood with them to build institutions of freedom and democracy
-- the very institutions that overcome the ideologies of hatred and
murder. The work goes on -- and our strategy in Iraq, with a surge of
operations begun more than a year ago is succeeding brilliantly. The
only way to lose this fight is to quit. (Applause.) But that would be
an act of betrayal and dishonor -- and it is not going to happen on
our watch. (Applause.) Two months ago I was in Iraq and spoke to
several thousand of our troops deployed there at Balad. Our men and
women are dedicated to victory. And I remember the strong response the
troops gave on one point in particular -- when I said that we are
going to get this job done right, so that another generation of
Americans doesn't have to go back and do it again. (Applause.)

Against that background, this election year poses one fundamental
question on national security: Who is serious about fighting and
winning the war on terror, on every front? The choice is going to be
very clear. On one side is the Democratic Party -- led by the likes of
Senator Harry Reid, who said more than a year ago that the war in Iraq
was lost. A Democratic Party whose leaders in Congress permitted a
vital surveillance law to expire, leaving the United States more
vulnerable to terrorist attack. A Democratic Party that operates in
tandem with MoveOn.Org, a fringe group that ran a full-page ad in the
New York Times attacking the character and the courage of General Dave
Petraeus. A Democratic Party that has, in Joe Lieberman's words,
"kowtowed" to the opinions of the far left rather than challenging
them.

On the other side of this divide is the Republican Party -- whose
leaders have supported the war on terror, regardless of what the polls
say or the pundits declare. A Republican Party whose presidential
nominee has served this nation with courage, a nominee committed to
victory for freedom's cause, a nominee who speaks of idealism, and
backs it up with good judgment, consistency, a record of achievement,
and genuine American heroism. (Applause.)

Faced with that choice, and with the options laid out clearly
before them, there's no doubt in my mind that the American people are
going to choose Republican leadership on November 4th. (Applause.)

In a little over seven months, we'll turn our responsibility over
to others. But this evening, ladies and gentlemen, with much yet to do
at home and abroad, President Bush and I remain grateful for the
opportunity to serve this nation. We're grateful to all of you for
your support, not just for us but for our party here in New York. In
the weeks and months ahead, with an economy to strengthen and a war to
fight, we'll stay focused on the business of the people, and we will
come to a strong finish. With your help, we'll leave our jobs in good
hands. And with your help, we'll see many Republican victories across
New York and this great country come November.

Thank you very much. (Applause.)

END 7:21 P.M. EDT

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