Election Eve Chat

November 06, 2000

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Xiannie: Although the first two Clinton-Gore years were rocky, the last six years have seen an unprecedented economic boom. Why kick out the Democrats?

Randy Tate: I believe that we have been benefiting over the last15-20 years of the positive impact of the Reagan years. A President George W. Bush would continue the prosperity, making us proud once again of the president of the US. That those seeking the highest office the land should set the highest standards of the land. Over the course of the last 8 years we have benefited not only from good economy, but a balanced budget. The first since 1969.

Craig Smith: The questioner makes a very good point. During the eighties, Ronald Reagan nearly bankrupted this nation. George Bush was elected, and nearly destroyed our economy. High interest rates, high unemployment, no plan for the economy. In 1993, Bill Clinton passed an economic plan without a single Republican vote. Since then, we've created over 20 million new jobs, balanced the budget, begun to pay down the debt. Crime has gone down eight years in a row. Government is smaller than it's been in the last 40 years. That's a record we should stick with.

Chase Me: For the first two years of the Clinton Administration, the Democrats controlled the White House, and Congress, and the economy was a shambles. The current economic boom didn't start until the Republicans took Congress. Didn't Clinton NEED the GOP Congress as a right-wing foil so he could get his "new Democrat" proposals enacted?

Craig Smith: I would disagree with that point. It was the Democratic Congress who passed that plan with no Republican vote. Without that Democratic congress, we would still have massive debts, high interest rates, and a struggling economy. If you look at the GOP Congress today, they're in there spending money on unnecessary projects, in order to get reelected. They've shut down the government in 1995, in order to get their way, in support of their right-wing agenda. I think the economic recovery of this country was done in spite of a Republican congress. not in conjunction with.

Randy Tate: Craig is correct. Al Gore was the deciding vote as the presiding office over the Senate for the largest tax increase in the history of the country. It increased taxes on seniors on their social security benefits, increased taxes on gasoline, even retroactively taxed Americans that were dead! And all of it to spend more money on government programs. And let us not forget that, in 1993, the Democrats under the leadership of Bill Clinton, Al Gore, and Hilary tried to take over one-seventh of the national economy and turn it into a national program, under the title of "Nationalized Healthcare." As we go into this election cycle, Americans are spending more today on taxes than on food, clothing and shelter combined. And with all of this talk about Social Security reform, thank goodness the Republicans were able to repeal those taxes on Social Security just last year. If we want people to keep their own money, the best way to do it is through tax cuts for all Americans.

Registered Voter: The economy is booming and yet Gore is behind in the polls. Why? Is it because he is boring, or is he tainted with the residue of Buddist Monks, Motel 1600, and Monica?

Randy Tate: I believe it's a combination of things. Partially, it's Clinton-fatigue. The American people want to take a shower, so to speak, and move forward. They want a president to be proud of, who understands no legal controlling authority. It's a combination of issues -- issues are one of the reasons are why Al Gore is behind. The American people want someone who puts more faith in them, than in the bureaucracy in Washington. In terms of style, the American people like George W. Bush They seem as someone who isn't changing every day. He doesn't have to ask how to act, how to debate, but already knows where he wants to take the country.

Craig Smith: I think that George Bush, at a certain level, does connect with the American public better than Al Gore. Voters need to remember we're not voting for the president of the fraternity. This job is for the leader of the Free World. Randy's right -- we want a president who can make up his own mind, not who has to ask his press secretary if he got arrested in 1968 or not! That's something voters need to be concerned about. The world is a dangerous place, and the American economy is a complicated system. The issue becomes which of these two gentlemen will be better at taking us into the 21st century, with a dangerous world and complicated economy.

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