Gary Hart for President 1988 Campaign Brochure

Gary Hart for President 1988 Campaign Brochure

‘Leadership with Courage’

In every recent poll Gary Hart leads all possible Democratic candidates for President. And Gary's support is deeper than name recognition. Americans have confidence in Gary's vision for this nation's future. In his courageous adherence to principles and democratic values. In his appeal for a truly patriotic society where we all invest something of ourselves to keep this country prosperous and just.

It is these qualities that make Gary Hart our choice for President of the United States in 1988.

Representative Pat Schroeder

Charles T. Manatt

Honorable Jon Mills

Gary Hart:

Leadership for the Future

Gary Hart wants America to set a goal of building the world's finest work force and technology base by the year 2000. To realize this goal, Gary calls for a "Strategic Investment Initiative" to promote national investments in education, job training, and research -- the foundations of economic growth.

The imaginative policies underlying the Strategic Investment Initiative include Gary's American Defense Education Act, High Technology Morrill Act, and his proposal to put Americans to work rebuilding our infrastructure: the ports, highways, bridges, and other public facilities.

A NEW LOOK AT AMERICA'S DEFENSE

Reforming America's military has been a priority for Gary Hart. He founded the Congressional Military Reform Caucus. He fought successfully to terminate needless weapons programs. He forced changes in the way the Pentagon tests weapons to save money and the lives of soldiers. He improved the way the service academies educate our soldiers.

Gary Hart believes in arms control; he fought for the SALT II Treaty when it was politically unpopular to do so. He led the fight against the MX missile. And he continues to speak out, recently presenting a sweeping and thoughtful proposal for arms control and reductions of the risk of nuclear war.

Gary Hart firmly believes that the Democratic Party is the party of both peace and strength -- a party with the courage to negotiate the elimination of nuclear weapons, the wisdom to use diplomacy to settle conflicts, and the experience to maintain a cost-efficient, effective, and flexible defense.

Gary Hart:

Leadership with Courage

What makes Gary Hart a leader with exceptional character? Uncommon courage.

GRAMM-RUDMAN

Just as he stood virtually alone in 1981, voting against every element of Reaganomics, Gary Hart led a small band of Senators who opposed Gramm-Rudman. He was right in 1981, charging that Reaganomics would cause huge deficits. And he spoke his conscience in opposing Gramm-Rudman, believing it to be bad constitutional law, bad budget policy, and politics-as-usual.

TAX REFORM

During Senate debate on tax reform, the bill was threatened by proposals to restore special interest tax loopholes closed by the fair tax bill. Gary Hart voted against every one of them. He helped save tax reform by providing leadership and resisting the special interests.

PROMOTING COMPETITIVE TRADE

America has lost its commanding position in world trade: we are now a debtor nation, with trade deficits in excess of $170 billion, and unemployed workers in industries from steel to silicon chips. We're even importing food. Gary Hart believes the way to "get even" is to "get competitive" -- through new investments in retraining, rebuilding our keystone industries, restoring the international financial system, and getting tough with trade law violators.

PACS REFORM

Calling special interest money in campaigns "the toxic waste of American politics," Gary Hart has been a strong supporter of campaign reform legislation. But until the laws are changed, Gary Hart refuses to accept special interest contributions from Political Action Committees. He was the first candidate in the 1984 Presidential primaries to turn down PAC money; he will not accept any in 1988.

Gary Hart:

Leadership for the Nation

Americans want a foreign policy worthy of our history, and capable of achieving our goals. Gary Hart offers a new foreign policy that uses change in the world to America's advantage -- a policy of enlightened engagement.

Managing US-Soviet relations to reduce the risk of war, and using our economic advantages and arms control to advance America's interests.

Relying more heavily on America's economic influence -- not just to promote domestic prosperity, but to increase world stability. An open and fair trading system can be used to make societies more democratic and markets more open -- if -- our policymakers understand the value and strength of America's economic power.

Rejecting the real isolationism: opposing the policies of those who reject arms control, the advocates of the Strategic Defense Initiative who undermine the confidence of NATO, the protectionists, and those who close their eyes and ears to human rights violations.

Gary Hart advocates a voluntary system of national service. Under national service, a new generation of college students would be given opportunities to restore urban parks, care for the elderly, serve as teaching assistants or in a police corps, work in national parks for conservation.

"With your support, our ideas will take center stage, and the American people will be the winners. Together, we can restore integrity and respect for law and the Constitution to the conduct of our foreign policy, and instill a new sense of purpose and direction to the management of our economy."

Gary Hart

What others are saying about Gary Hart:

"What this serious man had to say -- in 21,000 fairly well chosen words in a series of lectures last week -- may become the foreign policy of the United States in 1989."

William Safire, New York Times, June 1986

"…his ideas are the most coherent the Democrats have produced so far."

Richard Reeves, Baltimore Sun, June 17, 1986

"With the exception of Gary Hart, no candidate yet has a clearly articulated defense or foreign policy."

Lee Smith, Fortune Magazine, September 29, 1986

"Mr. Hart knows something: American elections are about ideas. He is playing the game as it ought to be played."

George Will, Washington Post, June 1986

"Hart is taking the risk of defining views publicly and prodding other Democrats to join in the dialogue...However it works out for him, that kind of gutsiness deserves applause:"

David Broder, Washington Post, June 1986

"Hart has a special stature going into the preliminaries to 1988 because he may have been the only Democratic leader who was right about something last year. He kept insisting that the party needed to turn to a new generation of candidates...and the voters proved him right with a vengeance:"

Germond/Witcover, Washington Magazine, August 1985