George W. Bush in CNN political race coverage
On Budget & Economy:
Bush ties growing economy to his tax cuts
Bush noted that a record 68 percent of Americans own their own homes. He also cited relatively low inflation and a rise in manufacturing. "Our economy is growing," said Bush. "It's strong and getting stronger."
Bush tied what he described as a growing economy to his series of tax cuts -- including a boost in the child tax credit and breaks for small businesses -- and he called on Congress to make them permanent.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Mar 26, 2004
On Budget & Economy:
A biennial budget will avoid budget gridlock
With a split government -- the current Democratic administration vs. the GOP-controlled Congress, for example -- yearly budgeting often results in gridlock. "A biennial budget
would lead to conservative budgeting. A yearly budget leads to squabbling." Bush added that he would seek to draft legislation that would end the threat of government shutdowns.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Oct 21, 2000
On Civil Rights:
Condemns anti-Semitic comments of Dallas NAACP president
A Bush spokesman made it clear that Bush did not agree with the statements from Dallas NAACP President Lee Alcorn, who had raised questions about Lieberman's Jewish faith during a local radio interview. "In the strongest terms, the Bush-Cheney campaign
condemns the anti-Semitic remarks made against Senator Lieberman. When it comes to fighting anti-Semitism, Governor Bush and Secretary Cheney stand shoulder-to-shoulder with all Americans in condemning such foolish utterances."
Source: CNN.com coverage
Aug 9, 2000
On Crime:
Use DNA evidence for death penalty cases
Bush insists that the 30-day reprieve granted to death row inmate Ricky McGinn was done on procedural-not emotional-grounds. The delay-the first such reprieve Bush has issued since he took office-will allow defense attorneys to seek DNA testing of crime
scene evidence. "To the extent that DNA can prove for certain innocence or guilt, I think we need to use DNA," Bush said. The increasing trend toward the use of such science-based evidence has reshaped the national debate over capital punishment.
"It's a case where we're dealing with the man's innocence or guilt," Bush said. His recent comments reflect a new sensibility from just a few months ago, when he stated emphatically: "There's no doubt in my mind that each person who has been executed in
our state was guilty of the crime committed." Bush has not yet spared any death row inmate, and in 1998 rejected a direct plea from the Vatican to spare the life of Karla Fay Tucker, who became the first woman put to death in Texas since the Civil War.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jun 2, 2000
On Crime:
Bush grants 30-day death row reprieve for first time
Convicted killer Ricky McGinn had already eaten what was to be his last meal before being told, 18 minutes before his scheduled execution time, that he had been granted a 30-day reprieve. Texas Gov. George W. Bush recommended the 30-day reprieve so that
potential DNA evidence that might exonerate McGinn could be reviewed. McGinn, 43, a mechanic with an 11th grade education, was convicted of the 1993 rape and ax murder of his 12-year-old stepdaughter. Under Texas law, capital punishment in murder
cases requires an aggravating factor such as rape committed in the course of the slaying. Bush has never before granted a 30-day stay of execution Since Bush has been governor, 131 people have been executed -
- 129 men and two women. Bush has been questioned repeatedly on the campaign trail about the Texas execution record and has responded that he believes no innocent person has been put to death.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jun 2, 2000
On Crime:
Tough love means consequences for committing crimes
Bush told the Fraternal Order of Police he would be the candidate of "tough love." "The men and women in uniform understand that if you break the law, there will be a consequence.
In order to have a safe country, we're going to stand by the men and women who wear the uniform."
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 20, 2000
On Education:
Evolution & creationism both valid; let states decide
On teaching evolution in schools, Bush believes both evolution and creationism are valid educational subjects. "He believes it is a question for states and local school boards to decide but believes both ought to be taught," a spokeswoman said.
Source: CNN coverage by Bruce Morton
Aug 27, 1999
On Education:
Pushes OPTIONS for private schools; without saying VOUCHERS
Bush vowed to push the most controversial portion of his plan, school vouchers, albeit a slightly revised one in an attempt to win the support of reticent Democrats. "In order for an accountability system to work, there has to be consequences. I believe
one of the most important consequences will be after a period of time, giving the schools a time to adjust and districts time to try different things," Bush said. "If they're failing, the parents ought to be given different options."Throughout the
campaign year, Bush said schools whose students do not show acceptable rates of improvement on test scores would be given every opportunity to turn their failure rates around. After three years, if failure rates do not improve significantly, much of the
federal money earmarked for the struggling schools would be broken apart and distributed to parents in the form of payments-or vouchers, according to some critics-that may be used to transfer students to private schools or more successful local schools.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jan 23, 2001
On Energy & Oil:
Look for oil in US rather than tap into emergency reserves
Bush assailed Gore's suggestion as "bad public policy," and accused the vice president of trying to manipulate a national strategic asset for political purposes. The reserves are "an insurance policy meant for sudden disruptions of the oil supply.
It should not be used for political gain at the expense of national security." Rather, plans must be implemented to make the United States less dependent on oil imports. "I would like to aggressively explore our own continent for oil and natural gas."
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 21, 2000
On Government Reform:
No government takeover of campaign finance
Bush called Gore's endowment proposal a "government takeover that replaces individual spending decisions with decisions made by an unelected government committee." He said the plan echoed Clinton's 1993 failed health care legislation. In a statement,
Bush described his campaign finance overhaul proposal as "superior because it abolishes corporate and union soft money without creating taxpayer-financed elections." Gore's plan is nothing more than "welfare for politicians," Bush's spokesman said.
Source: CNN.com coverage: AllPolitics
Mar 27, 2000
On Government Reform:
Make govt citizen-centered, results-oriented & market-based
Americans see a government slow to respond, slow to reform, and ignoring all the changes going on around it. I have set forth policies that capture my vision of government reform, guided by three principles: government should be citizen-centered, results
oriented, and, wherever possible, market-based. In size and scale, modern government will never resemble what the framers envisioned. In spirit, however, it should always be citizen-centered, always listening and answering directly to the people."
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jun 9, 2000
On Gun Control:
Gun show checks OK; ban guns near schools & kids
An aide to Bush said the governor has "consistently supported since 1994 the idea of instant background checks at gun shows to make sure the people we don't want to sell guns to are not buying guns." The aide noted that Bush previously signed legislation
prohibiting anyone from carrying a weapon within 300 yards of a school, and holding adults criminally liable if they allow a juvenile access to a loaded gun.
Source: CNN coverage: AllPolitics
Apr 30, 1999
On Health Care:
Modernize Medicare and give prescription help to seniors
Medicare is an enduring commitment of our country, but it must be modernized for our times. We will work to modernize Medicare, but we will not wait to help seniors without prescription drugs. This plan will help
seniors much sooner than anything proposed by my opponent. Even if the Gore plan passed, no one would get drug benefits for eight years.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 5, 2000
On Health Care:
Reinvent Medicare's bureaucracy
Bush's proposed initiatives are intended to reinvent Medicare in a way that would incrementally break down the federal bureaucracy which now administers the multibillion-dollar insurance program. Bush's two-part,
10-year plan for seniors aims to provide immediate drug coverage to low-income earners, shore up the solvency of the Medicare program over the coming decade and offer seniors a menu of health-care plans from which to choose.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Sep 5, 2000
On Homeland Security:
Lack of details makes Bush SDI & START policy same as Gore's
Bush portrays himself as a bold advocate of cutting the nation's nuclear arsenal while building a bigger, better defense against enemy missiles. But Bush's unspecified minimum number of nuclear warheads could end up being the same as the START-III goal
of 2,500 agreed to by Clinton and Yeltsin. Pentagon sources are already on record as saying the 2,500 level is as low as they would want to go. It's unlikely that a pro-defense candidate such as Bush would overrule the military chiefs. So while Bush
sounds like he's proposing substantial cuts in nuclear force levels, it could be a difference without much distinction. It's a similar story on national missile defense. [The Clinton-Gore program] is, essentially, the same program advocated by Bush-at
least so far as can be determined from his public statements. [Bush has not] provided the details that would tell voters whether his policy on those two issues is really much different from Gore's.
Source: CNN.com coverage
Jun 1, 2000
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