Letters to American voters

Laura Bush | Colin Powell | Harry Browne

I want to thank you for everything you have done for our Party this year. We have a tremendous opportunity tomorrow. I have traveled almost nonstop since the Convention, and I can tell you that Republicans are united and ready to lead. There is one more thing still to do, and that is vote.

There's much at stake. Yes, America enjoys peace and prosperity. But at the same time, there is concern about the erosion of moral values, the direction of our culture and its effects on our families, children, schools, and communities.

As I have traveled around the country, I've found the Republican Party to be enthusiastic, optimistic and united. The entire Republican ticket is presenting a positive vision for America that has been greeted warmly by people across our country.

We are reaching out to all Americans on education, Social Security, health care, and lower taxes. We know reform is not a "risky scheme." And we know there is no substitute for honesty and integrity in our elected officials.

That's why I'm excited about tomorrow, Election Day. In less than 36 hours the polls will close. We still have that long to make a difference. So please talk to your family, friends, neighbors and coworkers about the stakes in tomorrow's voting - and be sure to vote! Thank you.

Sincerely,

Laura Bush

In the life of nations, great turning points and pivotal elections are not always obvious at the time. Circumstances change, politics is full of surprises, history is unpredictable. But for many reasons, November 7, 2000 stands out with unusual clarity as a moment of decision. I am voting for our Republican team, and I urge you to do so as well.

We have offered a positive vision of hope, opportunity and common sense reform. We have forthrightly addressed the big issues: education, Social Security, access to quality health care for all Americans, tax relief, and a strong national defense.

Our team has not flinched from tough choices.

We have campaigned in a spirit of good faith, inclusiveness, and optimism. Our candidates have earned our enthusiastic support.

We must, however, guard against apathy. Please be sure you, your family, and your friends and neighbors get out and vote.

For a variety of reasons too numerous to discuss here, voter turnout in the United States in recent decades has been low and is declining. In fact, it is likely that barely half of the eligible voters will make the effort to get to the polls on November 7. I ask you to make a special effort to be among them. Don't think for a moment it doesn't matter. It does matter and you have an obligation to vote.

We have an extraordinary opportunity on November 7. The Cold War is over, but we need coherent and principled leadership for a rapidly changing world, and a military ready to deter war if possible and win decisively if necessary. We are committed to these principles.

At home, the economy is strong and the budget is balanced. A growing surplus provides the means to both cut taxes and finance important reforms. On education, Social Security and health care, our Republican team is right and our opposition is wrong.

On the social issues that have divided our nation for so long, we are committed to forge a bi-partisan approach to solving America's problems. We are committed to a future that leaves no one behind. We believe individual liberty is rooted in personal responsibility.

The moral dimension of leadership respects the moral and religious foundations of our Republic. We trust the American people to manage their own lives.

For all these reasons, it is important for each and every one of us to vote on November 7. We have as clear a choice as America has faced in at least a generation. Your vote does count. Please join me in helping elect our Republican team. Thank you.

Sincerely,

Colin L. Powell

The most important political question you can ask yourself is simply this:

Do you want smaller government?

Do you want an end to the welfare state, to government destroying our health-care system, to government at all levels taking 47 per cent of the national income in taxes, to government intrusions into your life and your business?

Do you want smaller government?

Stop Supporting Big Government

If you do, the first step toward getting it is obvious:

You must stop supporting those who are making government bigger.

You can't go east by moving west. It's a physical impossibility.

You can't make government smaller by rewarding those who make government bigger. It's a political impossibility.

Only when you begin asking for what you really want do you have any chance of getting it.

Al Gore wants to make government bigger. He's proposed a long list of new government programs.

George W. Bush wants to make government bigger.

He's proposed an equally long list of new government programs to show that he's as compassionate as Mr. Gore -- as though government taking your money is an act of compassion.

Pat Buchanan says he wants a return to constitutional government. But he's made no specific proposals to reduce government, while proposing to have government fix what he thinks is wrong with America. For one thing, he wants to tell you what kind of car you can drive.

And Ralph Nader wants to tell you whether you can drive a car at all. But that's the least of his many plans to make government much bigger.

What Smaller Government Means

I am the only presidential candidate offering specific proposals to make government smaller -- much smaller:

* I want to get the federal government completely out of every area where it's made such a mess -- health care, education, law enforcement, welfare, foreign aid, corporate welfare, highway boondoggles, farm subsidies. Not only are these programs unconstitutional, they do tremendous damage to our lives.

* I want to make the federal government so small you won't pay any income tax. (The tariffs and excise taxes already being collected are enough to finance the constitutional functions of government.)

* I want to free you immediately and completely from the Social Security system. I want to sell off government assets to finance private retirement accounts for anyone now dependent on Social Security -- so you and I and every other American can immediately stop paying the 15 per cent Social Security tax.

* I want to end the nightmare of Prohibition by stopping the insane War on Drugs. At least 90 per cent of the invasions of your civil liberties over the last 30 years have been justified by the Drug War.

You may have no interest in drugs, but the government still snoops in your bank account, monitors your email, and claims the power to search and seize your property without due process.

* I want to restore completely your unconditional right to keep and bear any weapon necessary to defend yourself and your family. We can't end gun violence with new laws or by enforcing the laws on the books now. The gun laws are the principal cause of gun violence, so we must repeal those laws.

* I don't want to appoint Supreme Court judges who are "strict constructionists" or who divine "original intent." I want to appoint judges who can read the plain language of the Constitution -- who understand that when the Constitution says "Congress shall make no law" it means Congress shall make no law. I want judges who will strike down government programs that are not authorized by the Constitution.

In short, I don't want to slow the growth of government. I don't even want to stop the growth of government. I want to reduce government dramatically -- to the limits imposed by the Constitution.

What Freedom Means

I want you to be free to live your life as you want to live it -- not as Al Gore or George Bush thinks you should.

You're the one who gets up every morning and goes to work for 8, 10, or 12 hours a day. How dare politicians like George Bush or Al Gore presume to decide how much of what you earn you should be allowed to keep?

I want you to be able to keep every dollar you earn -- to spend it, save it, give it away as you think best -- not just the crumbs the politicians leave for you.

I want you to be able to use your own money to put your children in a school of your choice -- private, religious, or home school -- without having to beg the state for a voucher or plead with the Board of Education for improvement.

I want you to be able to use your own money to start your own business. Or to support your church or favorite charity in a way you've never been able to do before.

I want you to be free. I want to get government out of your life.

Isn't that what you want?

Don't Vote for Big Government

If so, why would you vote for someone who's moving in the opposite direction -- someone who's made it clear he intends to make government bigger, not smaller?

I'm the only candidate who's running solely for the purpose of making government smaller. I'm the only candidate who doesn't presume to know what charities your money should go to, or how much of your income belongs to the politicians.

How You Can Win

Can I win?

Probably not. But if you vote for anyone else, you won't win either. Your candidate might win, but you won't get what you want. Government will continue to get bigger, more expensive, more intrusive, and more oppressive -- and you will have given your approval to this.

No matter what your reason for voting for Mr. Bush or Mr. Gore -- to keep Al Gore out of the White House or to ward off the Religious Right -- your vote will be interpreted as an endorsement of every big-government proposal your candidate has made.

Even though we Libertarians may not win this year, every vote I get will be an endorsement, a statement, a declaration on behalf of smaller government. No one can misinterpret a vote for me as a vote for more government.

And if I get even one million votes, it could change politics in America forever. It could cause the press to pay more attention to smaller-government proposals, it could encourage other voters to abandon the big-government parties, and it could attract millions of non-voters who have given up on any hope of getting smaller government.

Please don't let the old parties destroy your future by scaring you into voting against someone this year.

Raise your sights. Vote in a way that could lead to a free America with a constitutional government before the end of this decade.

For once, vote for yourself instead of a politician. Vote for freedom.

Vote Libertarian.

Harry Browne

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