Speech As Delivered By The Governor At State Republican Convention In Los Angeles
Speech As Delivered By The Governor At State Republican Convention In Los Angeles
August 19, 2006
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. I appreciate it very much. Thank you very much. What a fantastic crowd. Look at this. What a great convention. I love it. And I want to say thank you very much to Duf Sundheim for a fantastic introduction and I also want to say thank you very much to him for his great dedication and for his hard work to make sure that we elect a lot of Republicans up and down our great state. As a matter of fact, the Republican Party should be very proud to call him Mr. Chairman. Let's give him a big hand for his great great work.
You know, yesterday, I did a speech to some Republicans, and after the speech was over my wife came up to me and she says, "Arnold, you're becoming more Kennedy-esque." I said, "What does that mean? Oh, you mean I talk like John F. Kennedy, or like Robert Kennedy?" She says, "No, you're gaining weight like Teddy Kennedy." What can I tell you? Can't get no respect at home. Unbelievable.
But anyway, with pride in what we have accomplished together and with excitement about the future I am very proud to be your governor and I cannot wait to serve you for another four years. Now this November the choice couldn't be clearer, and the issues more important, and the stakes higher. On our ballot this November, there will be more than just two names, there will be two visions. The people of California won't just pick a governor, but they will choose the future. Will we move forward or will we return to the ways of the past? This is what this election in November is all about. But before we talk about the choices let's talk a little bit and remember of how far we have come and how well we have turned our state around.
Less than three years ago our state was like a grand, old house that needed major repairs. Oh yes, our roof was leaking, our foundation was cracking, and our windows were broken, creating an unclear view of our future. Our credit rating was down and our budget deficit was up. Unemployment was high and economic growth was low. And worst of all the people of California were more worried and less hopeful. It was time to rebuild our great state. And we did. We started by repealing the car tax increase, saving the people of California more than $4 billion. Then we reformed workers' compensation, saving the people and the businesses $8 billion.
That, together, is $12 billion that we put back into the private sector, back into our economy. This is $12 billion that people could save, invest, and build with. And we also reduced the structural deficit from $16.5 billion all the way down to $3.5 billion, and all of this without raising taxes. And it's all paying off for California and it's all paying off for our great economy. Since 2003, personal income for California has continued to grow at an annual rate of 6%. Unemployment has dropped by nearly 2 points. Yes, we have created almost 600,000 jobs since I have come into office. Three years ago, as you remember, I said, " California will be back."
Well, today I have the great news. It's official. California is back.
California is shining once again. California is number one once again.
We are number one in job creation, number one in biotechnology, number one in stem-cell research, number one in revenue increase, number one in environment, and we have the number one university system in the world and we are leading the way on public safety. I say to the people of California , we have come too far and we have achieved too much to turn back to the failed policies of the past. And that is what this election is all about. Are we going to move forward or are we going to go back? Are we moving forward or going back?
Now since I have come to this country, I have lived the American dream. Every one of my dreams became a reality. And now, I'm on a crusade to make sure that everyone's Cali- everyone's dreams here in California become a reality. But to-
But to protect the California dream we must continue to strengthen our economy.
Our friends in the other campaign want to go back to the failed policies of the past: higher taxes, more government spending, more government regulations, and less growth. That is dead wrong and is a recipe for disaster. Instead, we will give businesses the tools that they need to succeed. We will invest in our infrastructure, building the roads and the ports, freeways, highways, tunnels, bridges, and everything to make sure that our people and our goods move around the state as quickly as possible because that is economic power. And we will continue to promote our state's products in every corner of the globe. We will continue going on trade missions because we, in California , produce the best products in the world.
We will also continue to grow our economy while protecting our environment for future generations. There are so many people that say that they can only be pro-environment or pro-business, but I think we have proven for the last three years that you can do both, that we can protect our environment and make our economy explode. And in our economy, the choice is clear. We say no to the policies of the past and yes to the dreams of the future.
And to protect the California dream, we must continue to improve public safety.
I believe that families deserve protection and I also believe that criminals deserve prison. It's as simple as that. No excuses and no delays. That's why I fought every effort for weakening the three strike law. Anyone that attempts to weaken the three strike law, I will continue fighting for it, because we've got to continue keeping the three strike law.
That's why I also support Jessica's Law 100%. Unlike my opponent, I didn't have to study Jessica's Law for one year to know in my heart that protecting our children is absolutely the right thing to do. And we will continue to fight the war on methamphetamines so that drug dealers are out of business and our children are out of harm's way. And we will continue to increase the training and resources for Homeland Security and Emergency Services. And we will continue to invest money to help hire more police officers and help our communities fight crime. On public safety, our choice is clear. We say no to the policies of the past and yes to the dreams of the future.
To protect our California dream, we must also create great schools for all of our children.
Education is the civil rights issue of the 21st century. A great state must provide a great education for all of our children. We, this year, providing $55.1 billion for education, but we also know at the same time that it is not just how much money we spend, but how we spend that money. And that's why we're giving parents better tools, empowering them with more information. We want parents to be able to go online and shop for the best schools, just like you do when you buy a car. You can go online, you can compare about the car's safety records, the engine power, fuel efficiency, warranty policies, the prices and everything to make the best choice. Well, I think that parents should be able to go online and compare schools with one another, see what school offers the best programs, compare the dropout rate, the grade averages, physical education results, the quality of the after-school programs, lunch programs, and how well does the school really spend their money and how many dollars really go into the classroom. The parents should have that choice. The parents should be able to go online and get that to compare one school with another. That's another thing that we are fighting for so that the parents can make the best decision for their children.
We will also insist on more dollars into the classroom, greater local control, and better accountability for our schools. And we will continue to support innovation in education and making the largest investment ever in charter schools because I love charter schools. I believe very strongly that every child can succeed. Every child can be a winner, but we have to give them the opportunities and we have to give our children the right support. On education, the choice is clear. We say no to the policies of the past and yes to the dreams of the future.
And to protect the California dream we must also strengthen our borders and reform our broken immigration system in a comprehensive way.
When I arrived in this country 38 years ago, I owned nothing but a dream. I wanted to be an American, and I became one. But right now our immigration system is badly broken. The federal government must strengthen our borders and deal with those here illegally in a reasonable way. We must always remember that we are a nation of immigrants who are part of the very fabric of our society. But at the same time we are a nation of laws and we will continue to insist that the federal government gets its act together, does its job, and secures our borders once and for all. And that's why we put the National Guard on our border, to assist the federal government to get their act together. Now my opponent wants to pull the National Guard off the border. He wants to give undocumented workers California drivers' license. His policies are disastrous.
We will also assimilate legal immigrants into the American family, teaching them about our history, our values, and our language. Being an American means learning English. I know because I did, not that it is perfect nearly mind you, but I did. And we must also help immigrants get the same tutoring I got so they can learn English as quickly as possible. On immigration, the choice is clear. We say no to weakening our borders and yes to reforming our badly broken immigration system and yes to securing our borders.
To protect the California dream we must also promote better health care for our citizens.
Affordability is the issue, because of skyrocketing premiums, runaway drug costs, and diminishing employer-based coverage. Our friends in the other campaign believe that more government control will solve the rising costs of health care. They think that by throwing more money at the problem is the solution. I say no, that's the problem. We all remember what we did with workers' compensation. When we reformed worker's compensation, we didn't throw more money at it. We reformed it. And because of that we lowered the costs now by 45%. We should apply the same common sense approach to health care. The answer is not more money, but more reform. We need to bring health care into the 21st century. So on health care, the choice is clear. We say NO to the policies of the past and YES to the dreams of the future.
Yes, my friends, as you can see California is back! We're headed to even greater tomorrows and, of course, my friends in the other campaign see things quite differently. They have examined our state, and diagnosed it as being unhealthy. And their prescription is a dose of bad medicine. Very bad medicine.
Our opponents wants to raise your taxes by at least $18 billion. He wants to tax virtually everyone, everywhere. He wants to increase the car tax, the sales tax, the property tax, the farm equipment tax, the income tax, the alcohol tax and he even wants to tax you when you go and get a tune-up for your car. Our opponent has never met a tax he doesn't like or a tax he won't hike. His message to us- his message to us is more taxes.
Well here's our message to him. We say no to more taxes! No to more Government spending! No to more Government control! And no to the policies of the past! But let me tell you, I think we should send him this message together.
So what do we say to more taxes?
AUDIENCE: NO!
What do we say to more government spending?
AUDIENCE: NO!
What do we say to more government control?
AUDIENCE: NO!
What do we say to more government policies and policies of the past?
AUDIENCE: NO!
Absolutely. But even though, even though we disagree with him, I think it is very important not to demonize our opponent, very important. Because after November 7th, we will wish him well as he returns to his successful career in real estate, don't we? Let me tell you by closing here again and that--what an honor it is for me to serve you as governor. You know my father in-law always said that being a public servant is the most honorable profession. And I can tell you it has been a real honor and a great pleasure to be your governor. And I want to tell you that it is really a great chance for me to give something back to this great state that has given me everything. And during the past three years, I have been so blessed to meet so many amazing Californians. Every day when I enter the governor's office, I think about the good people who make our state so great.
The teacher who works overtime to help a student learn. Or the police officer who responds to an emergency call that may be his last. Or the small business owner who serves her customers as he helps our economy. These are the unsung heroes of California . Those are the people that make California so great.
Just last month, I met someone - I met some of those firefighters that were struggling with the raging fires down in San Bernardino. I remember talking to a firefighter whose own home was threatened by the fires. But you know something? He was too busy fighting and saving the homes of other people and saving other people's lives rather than worrying about his own home being threatened. That's what I call a true hero.
Now ladies and gentlemen, this is why we have the best state in the country, because we have the greatest people in the world! Three years --- now three years ago the people of this state decided to make a change in government by taking a chance on a new governor. You had faith in me and you sent me to Sacramento to represent you. And for the past three years I have worked very hard to keep faith with you.
And now I ask you once again. But this time, I ask you to support you - me. Not as an act of faith like three years ago, but as an act of confidence confidence in what we have accomplished and confidence in what we will accomplish. And so my friends I say to you, let us move forward, let us continue rebuilding our state, let us win this election, let us build a bright future, and let us protect the California dream. Thank you very much and God bless all of you. Thank you very much. Thank you.
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