Lamar Alexander 1996 Presidential Campaign Announcement (February 28, 1995) 15th Anniversary
EMBARGOED UNTIL FEBRUARY 28, 1995, 10:00 A.M., E.S.T
The Maryville Address
Lamar Alexander
When I was appointed education secretary, one newspaper had this to say about where I had come from: "Lamar Alexander grew up in a lower middle class family in a small town in the mountains of Tennessee." That was all right with me but not -- I discovered when I called home the next week -- all right with my mother. She was literally reading Thessalonians to gather strength for how to deal with this slur on the family. "We never thought of ourselves that way, " she said. "You had a library card from the day you were three, and music lessons from the day you were four. You had everything you needed that was important..."
..I was also reminded on that drive across our country, that Americans know exactly why some of us are losing faith in our future. It is first, because of the arrogance of Washington, D.C. and, second, because of a collapse those institutions --the family, the neighborhood, the church and the schools -- that gave to me and to most of you -- the privileges that made us believe in my grandfather's advice, "Aim for the Top."
This anger at the arrogance of Washington, D.C., and this deep worry about what has been happening to our most basic institutions, produced a Republican Congress in November and gave birth to the opportunity for a new American revolution -- and the opportunity to turn that anger into hope.
The place to start is Washington, D.C. This is where I am different than most of the other candidates who will be seeking the nomination for President this year.
I have been a governor, a university president, and have helped to start a business that today has more than 1200 employees. I have worked for short terms for two Presidents, but unlike the other candidates -- I came home. I have spent about half the last 25 years in public service and half in the private sector. I live in Nashville, not Washington, D.C.
Where I come from has everything to do with where I stand...
..And I would fight for term limits and encourage the Congress to go home, too -- to spend six months at home with the people they represent -- because you know what they should do.
Someone asked me yesterday if the new Republican Congress is going too far. Just the reverse. I am afraid it will be too timid. The greatest danger Republicans have is this: now that we have captured Washington, we must not let Washington capture us...
...The worst thing we could do is to replace the arrogant empire we defeated with an arrogant empire of our own.
Because of where I come from, I believe we should spend less time trying to reinvent America in Washington, D.C. and more time trying to remember the principles that have made it such a remarkable country in the first place...
...I learned long time ago that it makes no sense for the government in Washington to spend $600 million more each day than it takes in. I am the only Republican candidate for President who has ever balanced a government budget. In eight years I balanced eight budgets, lowered the state debt and reduced the number of state employees.
...Thirty years ago Ronald Reagan, before he was elected to any public office, made an address called "A Time For Choosing." He said that in America freedom is our greatest value, and that then there were two great threats: communism abroad and big government at home.
Looking back over those last 30 years, I suppose we could say, one down and one to go. Communism, the evil empire, has virtually disappeared. But big government at home has become an arrogant empire, obnoxious and increasingly irrelevant in a telecommunications age. In every neighborhood in America, the government in Washington is stepping on the promise of American Life. The New American Revolution is about lifting that yoke from the backs of American teachers, farmers, business men and women, college presidents, and homeless shelter directors and giving us the freedom to make decisions for ourselves.
Ronald Reagan put it this way in 1964: "This is the issue of the election. Whether we believe in our capacity for self government or whether we abandon the American Revolution and confess that a little intellectual elite in a far distant capital can plan our lives for us better than we can plan ourselves. "
That was also the issue of the election in 1994. It will be the issue of 1996, and for years to come. It took 30 years of unfashionable principled leadership by the last Republican Washington outsider who became President to help collapse the evil empire. Now is a good time to give another Republican Washington outsider the opportunity to help put some humility into the arrogant empire in Washington, D.C.
When I was five, that grandfather I told you about was a switch engineer on the Santa Fe railroad in Newton, Kansas. His job was to push each big engine into the roundhouse, put it on the turntable and head it in the right direction. Last year the people pushed America's engine into the roundhouse. The new Republican Congress is trying --but we need a new President to help turn it around and head it off in the right direction.
We need a President who is part of the people's revolution.
We need a President with the vision to paint a picture of America's future and lead us into the next millennium.
We don't need a President of Washington, D.C. We need a President of the entire United States of America.
Because I am absolutely committed to moving responsibility out of Washington, D.C. and giving us the freedom to make decisions for ourselves, because deep down in my heart I believe that we know what to do, and because I am determined to help renew the American spirit the old fashioned way, neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block and family by family -- I am announcing today that I am a candidate for the office of President of the United States.
If you agree that the problem is the arrogance of Washington, D.C. and the answer is the character of our people, then this campaign is for you.
My friends, I invite you to Come On Along!
Thank you. God Bless You. God Bless the United States of America.
Full speech at: http://www.4president.org/speeches/1996/lamaralexander1996announcement.htm
