Address by Senator John McCain
                  To the California Republican Party Convention

                  Thank you. Thank you for receiving me so graciously and for the generous introduction. 

                  I want to begin tonight by saying how proud I am to be a Republican. What problems we may have as
                  a party should not detract from our many accomplishments. Nor should the temporary ups and downs
                  of political life discourage us. We maintain an important advantage over our friends in the other party.
                  We believe in something. I don't know what Democrats believe in any more, if, in fact, they believe in
                  anything at all. And I have faith in the American people that they will prefer, when the choice is clear,
                  candidates of principle over candidates of expediency. 

                  That is not to say that we don't have problems that need to be addressed immediately. We have a great
                  deal of work to do, between now and the next election, to remind voters that we are not simply the
                  anti-Clinton party. I believe the American people understand very well what we stand against. We
                  need now to remind them what we stand for. And whatever disagreements we may have among
                  ourselves, we are a party that should stand united for freedom, security, strong families, prosperity
                  and reform of our government institutions. 

                  And as we begin the 2000 campaign, let's remember that the day Ronald Reagan first declared the
                  11th Commandment, I will speak no ill of a fellow Republican, he began the restoration of the
                  Republican Party. 

                  As you know, I'm considering running for President. If I do, I promise you I will honor the 11th
                  Commandment. I'll let you know what I stand for and what I stand against. But I will not engage in
                  personal attacks and the politics of division. I will not stoop to negative campaigning against fellow
                  Republicans. I will not run negative attack advertising. I give you my word on it. And I call on the
                  other candidates to join me in that pledge. 

                  I know George Bush, and Elizabeth Dole and John Kasich and Dan Quayle. They were my friends
                  before this campaign, and I intend for them to be my friends after this campaign. I know Steve Forbes
                  and Lamar Alexander and Gary Bauer and Pat Buchanan. They have my genuine respect. I am proud to
                  serve in the Senate with Bob Smith. I hope the day never comes when for the sake of personal
                  ambition I try to destroy people I admire, and with whom I agree on most issues. I hope all who
                  aspire to lead our party feel the same way. You should insist that we do. 

                  This pledge isn't important only to the candidates. It's important to all of us. Scorched earth
                  Republican primaries will lead directly to an Al Gore presidency, and to Democratic control of one
                  or both houses of Congress. Don't let us do it. Dont let us go down the road of mindlessly destroying
                  each other. Awaken us to the better angels of our nature. 

                  You should make it clear to every one of us that the first candidate who breaks the 11th Commandment
                  forfeits your support. Then we can all get on with the important business of electing Republicans. We
                  can begin to show the country that we deserve their support; that we are the party of low taxes and
                  small government; that we are the real reform party; that we are the party that best understands how to
                  protect American interests and promote American values abroad. 

                  Unlike the Democrats, we believe small government is more than a campaign slogan, and we did
                  something about it. If Americans had not elected a Republican Congress in 1994 and sustained our
                  majority in November, a balanced budget -- indeed, a budget surplus -- would still be a joke at
                  Washington cocktail parties. 

                  But the fact that annual federal budget deficits are a thing of the past does not absolve us of our
                  promise to the voters who elected us to keep cutting the federal government down to size. That's why I
                  get angry about pork barrel spending, whether Democrats or Republicans do it. There are much more
                  urgent, more principled responsibilities facing Republicans, such as improving our defenses, cutting
                  taxes and saving Social Security and Medicare, that should rank considerably higher on our list of
                  priorities than the usual bonanza of parochial spending. 

                  We can save Social Security this year if we have the courage to, and if the President, for once, is
                  genuinely interested in reforming the system rather than just using the issue to beat Republicans with. 

                  The proposals in the Presidents State of the Union address were not encouraging. Anybody who is
                  genuinely committed to saving Social Security found alarming, the idea that the government should
                  become an institutional investor in the stock market. The Government, my friends, has no business
                  going into business. 

                  How could the government bring action against a company for violating anti-trust laws if it has a large
                  equity investment in that same company? And can anyone fathom how the forces of political
                  correctness might distort the market? Would the government eventually become the majority
                  stockholder in Ben & Jerry's? 

                  Americans should be allowed to invest part of their payroll taxes in retirement accounts if we are
                  ever to ensure that Social Security is truly solvent. But it must be the taxpayers and not federal
                  bureaucrats who are doing the investing. 

                  I believe we can improve public education in America, but only if we are interested in doing more
                  than simply placating a status quo-minded union. I believe good teachers deserve to be paid more.
                  Why should a good teacher be paid less than a bad Senator? But we ought to insist, as well, that
                  teacher salaries are based on merit, and that teachers are periodically tested to ensure that our
                  children are getting an education that befits a great nation. Good teachers are a precious resource in
                  this country. Bad teachers are a waste of resources. 

                  I am proud that Republicans are the party of lower taxes. But, I don't believe we will ever truly
                  reform our tax code unless we reform some other things first. 

                  As long the influence of special interests dominate our political campaigns, they will dominate law
                  making as well. A tax loophole is not a tax cut that we should be proud of. A telecommunications bill
                  that protects every interest that gave could afford to buy a seat at the table is not deregulation. It is a
                  government endorsed scam that discourages competition and defrauds the consumer in order to
                  finance a Washington political payback fund. 

                  If I run for President, I will fight for every Republican's vote. I won't cede one inch of territory to
                  anyone. And I will certainly fight for Californias support. I don't believe Republicans are going to
                  win national elections if we spot this state to the Democrats. But I would not want to lead a party that
                  is overwhelmingly beholden to special interests. 

                  I want every one of your votes. But I will not campaign as an advocate for failed policies of the past,
                  policies that have lost us the last two elections. I want a party that governs by vision, not by polls. 

                  I want to lead a party that believes in deregulation, competition, and open markets; a party that trusts
                  in the creative genius of the people rather than subsidies to corporations that have become trapped in
                  a form of welfare dependency. 

                  These are the reasons I'm considering running for President. If I run, I'll run to reform the practices of
                  government and politics; to give Americans a government that works as hard for them as it does for
                  the special interests; that respects their freedom; that encourages their dreams 

                  I am a proud Reagan Republican, a man whose faith shouted at tyrants to 'tear down this wall.' I don't
                  believe in walls. I believe in freedom. 

                  We are a strong, confident people. We know that in open competition our ideals, our ingenuity, and
                  our courage assure our success. We know that isolationism and protectionism are a fool's errand. We
                  should build no walls in a futile attempt to keep the world at bay. We should build no walls to other
                  nations, no walls to the free exchange of ideas, no walls to trade. Walls are for cowards, not for us,
                  not for Americans. 

                  I am proud a member of the party of Abraham Lincoln and Teddy Roosevelt. I believe in the politics
                  of addition, not division. I welcome the support of any American who wants to work with us to make
                  this country greater. It doesn't matter to me where your family came from, whether they came on the
                  Mayflower or arrived yesterday. If you legally come to this country and assent to Mr. Jefferson's
                  proposition that all men are created equal, you are an American. And your rights are as precious to
                  my as my own. 

                  No one should ever think we want them to abandon their aspirations because we no longer believe the
                  American Dream is big enough to share. No one should believe that we scorn their contributions to
                  our culture. 

                  I know from personal experience that the Republican message can have strong appeal in Hispanic
                  communities. We are the party that best rewards hard work. We are the party that supports small
                  businesses. We are the party that wants to make parochial education more affordable for more
                  Americans. We are the party of smaller government. And my friends, no one ever came to this country
                  to find big government, they came to escape it. 

                  These are the central principles of the Republican message, but they are too often drowned out by the
                  politics of division. Were a better country than that. And we're a better party than that. 

                  We should all be working toward a new American unity, because we can't afford to leave anyone
                  behind. We need every American's help if we are to extend our countrys greatness into the next
                  century. 

                  I won re-election last November with the support of 55% of Hispanic voters in Arizona. I am proud
                  of that. But I am not satisfied with that number. I want all their votes. Their support is my honor. They
                  believe in me, and I believe in them. I want their help to build a better country. 

                  I entered politics with the same expectations I had when I was commissioned an ensign in the Navy.
                  First among them was my belief that serving my country is an honor, indeed, the most honorable life
                  an American can lead. 

                  My friends, something has gone terribly wrong in a country where parents no longer wish their
                  children to grow up to be President. They see the public profession as corrupt, and they wish to hold
                  their children to higher standards. Americans have lost pride in their government. That shames me,
                  and I want to do something about it. 


                  Even amid today's peace and prosperity, the people know that something is wrong with the country.
                  Ask any American one simple question: Are you proud? 

                  Are you proud when a poor Native American tribe that wants to recover some land has to pay all the
                  money they have in the world to get the Vice President's people to help them? 

                  Are you proud when monks and nuns abandon their vows of poverty and pay tens of thousands of
                  dollars to have spiritual communion with the Vice President? 

                  Are you proud when the Lincoln Bedroom of the White House is rented by the night, and the President
                  of the United States serves as the bellhop? 

                  Are you proud when a generous campaign benefactor of the President is given a waiver to sell a
                  satellite and our most sensitive technology to the Government of China, a waiver opposed by the
                  Justice Department? 

                  Are you proud when a commercial subsidiary of the Chinese Army can legally - legally - contribute to
                  our campaigns? 

                  Are you proud when someone who wants to build a pipeline across Central Asia pays the President
                  $300,000 to discuss it with him, and then promises to pay $600,000 the next time to seal the deal? 

                  Are you proud of an Administration that spends all of its time worrying about controlling legal
                  authorities but cannot abide a controlling ethical authority? 

                  Of course not. We're Americans. We hold ourselves to higher standards. We have borne great
                  sacrifices for the sake of an idea that a just government is derived from the consent of the governed.
                  Let no one who is privileged to serve America today stain the honor of this country's good name. 

                  Someone once described America as a nation that is forever becoming something. We have always
                  been an unfinished nation. We are always building a great civilization, each generation improving on
                  the work of the last, never believing, never wanting the work to be done. 

                  We are still an unfinished nation. And we are a good people. We try to look after our families and
                  friends. We care about our communities. But I worry that we do not see, as clearly as we once saw,
                  that we are a part of a great experiment; that people who are free to act in their own interests will
                  conceive their interests in an enlightened way, and will gratefully accept the obligation of freedom to
                  make of our wealth and power a civilization for the ages -- a civilization in which all people share in
                  the promise of freedom. 

                  Let us dedicate ourselves to the renewal of that sense of purpose and hope that is our national
                  heritage. Let us build a bigger country. 

                  Before I leave you tonight, I would like to recall one American's service to our country's cause. Roy
                  Benavidez was the son of a Texas sharecropper, a seventh grade dropout who was taunted by other
                  children as a 'dumb Mexican.' 

                  He grew up to become a master sergeant in the Green Berets, and serve in Vietnam. He was a member
                  of that rare class of warriors whose service was so honorable, so brave that they are privileged to
                  wear the Medal of Honor. He was decorated by Ronald Reagan, who said that if the story of his
                  heroism were a movie script 'you would not believe it.' 

                  On May 2, 1968, in an outpost near the Cambodian border, Sergeant Benavidez listened to his short
                  wave radio as the voice of a terrified American, part of a 12 man patrol that had been completely
                  surrounded by a North Vietnamese battalion, pleaded to be rescued. Armed with only a knife, Roy
                  Benavidez jumped into a helicopter and took off with a three man crew to save his trapped comrades. 

                  When they arrived at the fighting, the enemy was too numerous for the helicopter to immediately
                  evacuate the surrounded patrol. It had to land seventy-five yards away from their position. After
                  making the sign of the cross, Sergeant Benavidez jumped out of the helicopter as it hovered ten feet
                  above the ground, and began to run toward his men carrying a medic bag. 

                  He was shot almost immediately, but he got up and kept moving. An exploding grenade knocked him
                  down again; shrapnel tore into his face. He got up and kept moving. Reaching the American's position,
                  he found four men dead, and the others badly wounded. He armed himself with an enemy rifle, and
                  began to treat the wounded, distribute ammunition and call in air strikes. He was shot again. He
                  ordered the helicopter to come in closer as he dragged the dead and wounded aboard. After he got all
                  the wounded aboard, he ran back to retrieve classified documents off the body of a fallen soldier. He
                  was shot in the stomach, and grenade fragments cut into his back. He got up and kept moving, and he
                  made it back to the helicopter. 

                  But the pilot was shot and the helicopter crashed. Benavidez pulled the wounded from the wreckage
                  and radioed for air strikes and another helicopter. He kept fighting until air support arrived. He was
                  shot several more times before the second helicopter landed. As he was carrying a wounded man
                  toward it, a North Vietnamese soldier clubbed him with a rifle and stabbed him with a bayonet.
                  Sergeant Benavidez fought him to death, hand to hand. After rescuing three more soldiers, he was
                  finally flown to safety with them. 

                  Bleeding profusely, he was thought to be dead. Roy was placed in a body bag before a doctor
                  discovered he was alive. Miraculously, he survived, but spent a year in hospitals recovering from his
                  wounds. 

                  It took thirteen years for Roy Benavidez to receive his Medal of Honor. But it didnt seem to matter to
                  him. He stayed in the Army. The war, and his forgotten heroism never embittered him. He spent his
                  retirement speaking to schools and youth groups, counseling troubled kids to stay in school and off
                  drugs. 

                  'I'm proud to be an American,' Roy Benavidez said as he lay dying last November in a San Antonio
                  hospital. May God bless his soul. And may Americans, all Americans, be proud - very proud - that
                  Roy Benavidez was one of us. I wouldnt want to live in a country that didnt recognize how much we
                  needed such a good man. 

                  I prefer to live in a bigger place. I prefer to live in a growing America, as proud of its variety, as it is
                  of the ideals that unite us. I prefer to live in a hopeful country. I prefer to live in Roy Benavidez'
                  America. 

                  Thank you.

