FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE OCTOBER 19, 1992 RHETORIC VS. REALITY BUSH GOES DOWN SWINGING George Bush went down swinging tonight. Three strikes. He's out. If you listened to George Bush tonight, you might think that it's 1980 and that George Bush had never been President or Vice President and that Philadelphia and Kansas City were in the World Series. But it's 1992. It's time for George Bush to go. [Our favorite bumper sticker: SADDAM HUSSEIN STILL HAS A JOB. DO YOU?] But first, a few of Bush's worst foul balls and errors of the evening: RETURN TO THE WAFFLE HOUSE RHETORIC: "You can't have a pattern of one side of the issue one day and another the next." REALITY: Here's the pattern of Bush flip-flops. * After pledging "no new taxes," Bush signed the second largest tax hike in history -- the 1990 $106.7 billion tax hike. [Acceptance Speech, 8/18/88; Congressional Quarterly; Wall Street Journal, 8/12/92] * After criticizing the trickle-down theory as "voodoo economics" and "economic madness," Bush became a convert. He came to defend the program, saying "It's a very sensible program, which the best economists...in the country support." [Los Angeles Times, 4/11/80; Associated Press, 3/28/80; United Press International, 10/20/80] * After strenously criticizing then-opponent Ronald Reagan for supporting a balanced budget amendment, Bush has made it a standard part of his current economic proposal. [Washington Post, 1/27/79; "Agenda for American Renewal"] * After proposing and signing the 1989 federal pay raise, Bush recently proposed a 5% pay cut for federal employees earning more than $75,000 annually. [Congressional Quarterly, 1990; Acceptance Speech, 8/20/92] * Although Bush once stated: "I happen to think it [Roe v. Wade] was right" he later reversed his position, maintaining that "I think the Supreme Court's decision in Roe v. Wade was wrong and should be overturned." The Republican platform on which he is now running would outlaw abortion for any reason. [Rolling Stone, 3/20/80; Weekly Compilation of Presidential Documents, 1/23/89] ARKANSAS RECORD RHETORIC: "He would do for the United States what he's done to Arkansas. We do not want to be the lowest of the low." REALITY: Arkansas has the highest job growth, second lowest state and local taxes, lowest state and local spending per capita, declining poverty (in contrast to rising national poverty), higher high school graduation rates, higher college attendance rates, small school classes, and a declining crime rate. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Census Bureau, Department of Health and Human Services, Arkansas Department of Education, Arkansas Crime Information Center] RHETORIC: "He talks about all the jobs he's created in one or two years. Over the last ten years, since he's been governor, there's 30 percent behind, 30 percent -- they're 30 percent of the national average." REALITY: Over the last 10 years (1982-1992), employment in Arkansas grew by 34.6 percent, versus 21.4 percent in the U.S. [U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings] RHETORIC: "On pay for teachers, on all these categories, Arkansas is right near the very bottom." REALITY: In 1991, by persuading the legislature to set aside a half-cent tax increase in a special fund, Governor Clinton was able to provide Arkansas teachers with $4,000 average salary increases for the biennium. According to the National Education Association, this is the highest percentage increase in America for 1991-92. This increase will move Arkansas teacher salaries to to its highest ranking ever achieved. [National Education Association, Research estimates] JOBS RHETORIC: "It's the private sector that creates jobs." REALITY: Except during George Bush's Presidency. There were 35,000 fewer private sector jobs in September, 1992 than there were when Bush took office in January, 1989. [Bureau of Labor Statistics] GROW THE GOVERNMENT RHETORIC: Bush said several times that we must not "grow the government." REALITY: Under George Bush, federal employment has increased. The government now employs 65,803 more people than it did when he took office. Since FY 1989, the Executive branch has grown by more than 6 percent. [U.S. Budgets, FY 1991 and FY 1993] The conservative Cato Institute called Bush "the largest spender to sit in the White House in the past 30 years" -- noting Bush "increased the domestic budget more in 4 years than Carter and Reagan combined did in 12 years." [Cato Institute, 6/19/92] 1990 TAX INCREASE RHETORIC: "It was a Democratic tax increase. I didn't want to do it. I went along with it." REALITY: When the 1990 Budget Agreement was finalized, Bush gave it his "enthusiastic support" saying, "It is balanced, it is fair and in my view it is what the United States of America needs at this point in its history." [Associated Press, 10/1/90; Washington Post, 9/17/92] BALANCED BUDGET RHETORIC: "I'd like to see a balanced budget amendment. REALITY: The Balanced Budget Amendment that George Bush supports would not apply to him. It would not take effect for 5 years. [Bureau of National Affairs] George Bush has never submitted a balanced budget. FOREIGN LOBBYISTS RHETORIC: "Most people who are lobbying are lobbying the Congress..." REALITY: Bush doesn't mention the people he's hired to run his campaign who also happen to lobby his administration. A number of Bush's most senior advisors act as foreign lobbyists for a number of foreign interests and governments. Senior Advisor Charles Black is a foreign agent, who has lobbied for single-party African states and Ferdinand Marcos' re-election campaign, James Cicconi is registered as an agent for a number of foreign interests, including the Mazda Motor Corporation; Craig Fuller has worked for China and Kuwait; James Lake lobbies for the Japanese Auto Parts Industries Association, and the Canadian Forest Industries Council, an umbrella organization representing 17 Canadian forest and timber groups. [Department of Justice; Washington Post, 7/10/91; 8/2/92; Legal Times, 8/6/90] ENTERPRISE ZONES RHETORIC: "I'm for enterprise zones. I've had it in every single proposal I've sent to the Congress..." REALITY: Although Bush professes his support for enterprise zones, he vetoed the Tax Fairness and Economic Growth Acceleration Act, including its enterprise zone provisions, because it raised taxes on the richest 1% of Americans. Bush dropped enterprise zones, which are designed to spur investment in poor inner city areas from his economic recovery package to make room for a repeal of the luxury tax on yachts. [LAT, 5/13/92; Business Week, 5/25/92] CAFE STANDARDS RHETORIC: "Fuel efficiency standards at 40 to 45 miles per hour will throw many auto workers out of work and you can't have it both ways." REALITY: George Bush knows a lot about throwing auto workers out of work. Under George Bush, the American auto industry has lost 89,000 jobs and, if you include the General Motors proposed losses, there will be another 67,000 lost jobs. [Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment and Earnings; New York Times, 2/25/92] This is just another example of George Bush using phony numbers to obscure his disastrous record on the environment. Bush and Quayle have cited an industry study which is based on the totally unrealistic assumption that every plant making cars which now do not meet the standard will close. [ABC News, 10/14/92] Note: Dan Quayle recently claimed that his Competitiveness Council had "saved" 2,000 auto jobs in Alaska even though Alaska has no auto jobs. [Reuters, 10/10/92] PRODUCTIVITY RHETORIC: "Productivity in this country is up. It is way up. Productivity is up." REALITY: Saying it twice doesn't make it so. Under George Bush, the United States has been next to last among the G7 industrialized nations in productivity growth. Japan's productivity growth has been almost 9 times faster than the U.S., and German's productivity growth has been 5 times faster than the U.S. in the Bush Administration. [OECD, Quarterly National Accounts, 1992; Monthly Labor Review; OECD, Employment Outlook] -- 30 --