Q: [to Bush & Forbes]: Will you agree not to run any negative ads against each other?
FORBES. The answer is if being negative is telling the truth I will continue to tell the truth. People deserve it, we deserve an honest and open and vigorous debate.
And if a man breaks a pledge [re 1997 tax cuts], the voters ought to know it.
BUSH: I’ll run positive ads. Listen, I cut taxes as the governor. That’s a fact. That is the bottom line. The people of my state know my record and they endorsed it
with an election. And yet if you look at [Forbes’] ads it doesn’t say that. I don’t mind debates. I do mind Republicans tearing each other down.
FORBES. You’re not going to win the White House by making pledges that are
then broken. We’ve been through that before, particularly on taxes. A pledge made should be a pledge kept. And in Texas it was your own party that saved you from breaking that pledge. You tried to break it, they blocked you.
Source: (cross-ref to Bush) GOP Debate in Michigan
Jan 10, 2000
Remove gov’t from health care, retirement, & education
I’m running for president because I believe it’s important for somebody to step forward and deal honestly and openly with the American people.
Someone who will speak directly to the American people
about a healthcare system where you choose your own doctor, not the politicians or bureaucrats.
About a Social Security system where you choose your retirement account.
An education system where parents
choose the schools that their children go to, no mother should be forced to send her children to a failing school.
A tax system that is honest and fair for all Americans, not just lobbyists and Washington special interests.
An America where everyone is allowed to develop to the fullest of their God given talents.
An America that the world respects and tries to emulate.
These are the things I will do as president
Source: Television advertisement in NH & Iowa
Dec 30, 1999
Drain the tax code swamp to kill lobbyist mosquitoes
FORBES [to McCain]: Passing laws against lobbyists is sort of like passing laws against mosquitoes. Washington attracts mosquitoes the way swamps attract mosquitoes. Special interests go there. Don’t we need to drain the swamp first to get the mosquitoes
out of the way. And don’t we have to get rid of the tax code first?
McCAIN: The fact is if you want to drain the swamp, you take the big money away from the big-time K Street lobbyists and that way they lose their power and their influence.
Look, anybody who wants the status quo in Washington, they don’t want John McCain. Because there ain’t going to be the status quo when I’m president of the United States. You take away the big money, you’re going to take away
their power and you’re going to break that iron triangle of lobbyists, big money and influence over the legislative process which has so badly embarrassed so many of us and it is the gateway to draining the swamp.
Source: (cross-ref. to McCain) Phoenix Arizona GOP Debate
Dec 7, 1999
Remove excess regulations, a hidden tax
We must encourage American businesses and farmers by weeding out the excessive red tape that Washington has been creating over the past decade.
Regulations act as a hidden tax, and if we are not careful, they can begin to suffocate small businesses, destroy jobs, and choke off economic growth.
Source: “A New Birth of Freedom,” p. 176
Nov 9, 1999
Tort reform to end frivolous lawsuits
We need real tort reform. Our courts are suffocating under the weight of frivolous lawsuits designed by greedy trial lawyers that bog
down our legal system, drive up the cost of doing business, and hinder our economic competitiveness.
Source: “A New Birth of Freedom,” p. 177
Nov 9, 1999
Unlimited campaign gifts, with full disclosure
We should have a system in America where individuals can give as much as they want to a candidate as long as there is full and prompt disclosure. The establishment loves the current rules because, unless you are blessed like me with
independent resources, they have ways of shutting you out! [The establishment considers the primaries to be] a coronation, not a real contest. And that’s fundamentally wrong.
Source: Republican Debate at Dartmouth College
Oct 29, 1999
Eliminate tax code instead of soft money
The Forbes camp rejected eliminating “soft money” in campaigns. “We believe the best reform is to eliminate the tax code,” said Forbes’ campaign manager, who added Forbes also supports increased personal contribution limits, disclosure and term limits.
Source: Matthew Fordahl, Associated Press
Jul 7, 1999
Appoint judges who are not social activists
Appoint judges and Supreme Court Justices who respect the moral outlook that produced the Constitution they are interpreting. Such judges will not imagine themselves philosopher-kings who can dispense with centuries of ethical tradition, or
singlehandedly determine difficult social questions for an entire nation.
Source: www.forbes2000.com “Moral Compass”
May 21, 1999
End of Cold War is opportunity to shrink government
How did we justify federal aid to education? The initial rationale was national security. Federal aid for the space program? National security. If government could mobilize resources to fight external enemies, it could solve an array of domestic
problems: hence, the “War on Poverty.” Now that the Cold War is over, we no longer need such a massive, centralized federal government. We now [should] downsize Washington & shift money, power & control back to individuals, families & local communities.
Source: www.forbes2000.com “Moral Compass”
May 21, 1999
Supports Term Limits
Forbes has long believed that the freedoms of the American people would be better protected by putting an end to the permanent political class in Washington. Term limits are the will of the people. They make sense. Steve will support their passage as
President.
Source: www.forbes2000.com “Personal Security”
May 21, 1999
Refuses PAC money; opposes banning soft money
Steve supports giving the American people more political freedom. That’s why he [supports] efforts to substantially raise or abolish the caps on personal giving to a political campaign, provided there is prompt and full disclosure on the Internet. Steve
strongly opposes any effort to take away any person or organization’s right to free speech, [& opposes] the McCain-Feingold bill. Steve refuses to take taxpayer funds for his presidential campaign, and refuses to accept special interest PAC money.
Source: www.forbes2000.com “Personal Security”
May 21, 1999
Eliminate Commerce Dept, FCC, & other ‘alphabet agencies’
All of [my] proposals and themes have the common thread of allowing you to have more power, more opportunity and more responsibility. We have to reduce the size of government. There’s several departments, starting with the Commerce Department that can be
tossed out. Some of the alphabet agencies can be done away with, I think. Like the Federal Communications Commission, created when the spectrum was scarce. Spectrum is not scarce today, thanks to technology. It’s outlived its usefulness.
Source: Speech at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government
Nov 27, 1995
Click here for 4 older quotations from Steve Forbes on Government Reform.
Click here for definitions & background information on Government Reform.
Click here for policy papers on Government Reform.
