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Cheney touts Bush policies in Milwaukee visit
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by Ryan Masse
Monday, September 13, 2004
Milwaukee— Vice President Dick Cheney visited Wisconsin Friday during a town-hall meeting in Milwaukee, focusing on winning the war on terror and President George W. Bush’s economic policies.
Cheney, sitting with wife, Lynne, in front of about 500 supporters at the Midwest Airlines Center, said this year’s election is the most important he can remember because it will set the course of the country for the next 30-40 years.
Cheney discussed how terrorists have changed the formula for defending the nation and how previous strategies that worked during the Cold War no longer apply to national defense.
“[Terrorists are] the kind of enemy that can’t negotiate with, you can’t appease; there’s no treaty at the end of the day that solves this problem. All you can do is go out and defeat the enemy,” Cheney said.
Military action in Afghanistan and Iraq was a necessary step in winning the war on terror, he noted.
The vice president also gave a nod to former Green Bay Packers quarterback Bart Starr, who accompanied the Cheney’s on their Wisconsin tour.
“Anybody who has followed the Green Bay Packers over the years knows that a good defense isn’t enough. You also have to go on offense,” Cheney said.
Regimes harboring terrorists must be held as accountable as the terrorists, the vice president said, saying leaders like Saddam Hussein, who provide sanctuary for terrorists and reward suicide bombers, cannot be tolerated.
While acknowledging Democratic presidential candidate Sen. John Kerry’s (Mass.) patriotism, Cheney questioned whether the senator is adequately prepared to address the new threat terrorists bring to the table.
“Looking at 20 years of voting in the United States Senate, I see a senator who has consistently voted in a way that I think doesn’t reflect the views, the philosophy and the attitude of a man who would pursue the kind of strategy that would prevent the war on terror,” Cheney said, commenting on a litany of votes Kerry has made during his 20 years in the Senate.
George Twigg, Kerry’s Wisconsin campaign spokesman, said Kerry’s record indicates a strong awareness for the danger terrorists present, citing Kerry’s writing of a provision in the USA Patriot Act dealing with terrorist money laundering.
“[Kerry] wrote a book about terrorism in 1997 before a lot of people were thinking about the issue,” Twigg said. “George Bush’s going-alone strategy is actually making us less secure.”
Cheney defended the direction of the nation’s economy in the question-and-answer portion of the town-hall format.
“John Kerry says this is the worst economy since the Great Depression. I think he’s been windsurfing too much,” the vice president said to cheers.
Cheney promoted Bush’s proposed increase in Health Savings Accounts and proposals to let small businesses pool resources to obtain less costly health insurance. Cheney added Kerry would move the country towards nationalized health care.
Appearing at ease in the intimate setting, Cheney spoke for close to an hour, even agreeing to answer more questions after U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan announced there was time for just one more.
The last question of the afternoon came from Marquette University student Brock Banks. Banks asked how the country should combat the “liberal ideology” that terrorists offer less of a threat to the nation than enemies of the Cold War era did.
Cheney simply replied: “I think you ought to have George Bush president of the United States.”
