Governor Washington gives a brief speech, broadcast on radio and television across the state; excerpts are replayed occasionally on ABC, NBC, and CBS, among other networks.
"We have before us today a great question about the future of our country. Our question is not one of nationalism versus globalism; nor is it one of progress versus regression. The choice facing the American people today is about justice. Is it justice, for example, to not go after the criminals that threaten the peace and happiness of those in the cities? Is it justice to, failing to prosecute them, perpetuate a culture of violence that will begin a horrid and, altogether, destructive decay of our cities? Some would say yes. There are those in this country -- every-day citizens, those in the state capitols, and those in Washington -- who would rather those criminals defy the law. They would rather see a weakening of police departments across the country, than a weakening and total destruction of the gangs that run drugs in our neighborhoods. They would rather see a loosening of police procedure, than a loosening of the grip that these criminals maintain on some of the most destitute neighborhoods in our nation. They would rather see a shrinking of the prison system and our courts, than a shrinking of these gangs' influence and the terrible crimes they commit. As a very wise and intelligent man, President Reagan, once said, 'We must reject the idea that every time a law is broken, society is guilty rather than the lawbreaker. It is time to restore the American precept that each individual is accountable for his actions.'
"Is it justice to take from the taxpayer -- twenty, thirty, forty, fifty percent of their yearly income-- and, rather than ensure a prosperous and peaceful life for our posterity, instead spend hundreds of billions on enslaving the poorest of the poor to a party in Washington? Is it justice to bind the disadvantaged and the disabled to the government for the rest of their lives, and earn the votes of millions of Americans who would otherwise see their only source of income -- from the government -- dry up? Some would say yes. There are those in the Democratic Party that would rather see this enslavement than the liberation of the disadvantaged through the acquisition of well-paying jobs that suit them. They would rather the government provide sustenance to those looking for work -- rather than encourage them to seek out their own destiny. They would rather steal more from the taxpayer, and more from our children and our children's children -- to perpetuate a system that traps people in welfare, rather than one that frees them from it. A man that would prefer of all this -- an expansion of crime, a ballooning welfare system, and a failure of the government to get out of people's lives when it isn't needed -- is the Democratic nominee for President, Jimmy Long.
"Though we may have witnessed the final collapse of the Soviet Union, we continue to live in dangerous times. The very fate of our future generations will be decided by this election. There cannot be any doubt about the important decision lain before American people. In Governor Long, we see skyrocketing spending, an increased deficit, a worsening of crime, an increased reliance on government-provided welfare, and weak leadership abroad, with our allies and our enemies. But in President Bush, we see a man who will ride out the storm; a man who, dedicated to the causes of liberty and equality, will not forsake our children's future. President Bush will continue to be committed, more strongly than even before, to the principles and values of the United States of America, at home and around the world. President Reagan said that, 'Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn't pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.' These words ring truer today, and will ring truer still for each passing day in our future. The promise of America -- freedom, justice, and equality -- cannot and will not be stamped out. That is why, with every fiber of my being, I am voting for President George Herbert Walker Bush, the forty-first President of the United States of America, and I implore you, my fellow American citizens, to do the same. Thank you, and God bless the United States."
