 It's the same spirit that drove the pioneers to California to join with me to welcome the President of the United States of America. Thank you very much. Thank you. There are strange things done at the midnight sun by the men who moiled for gold. I'll stop right there. Well, thank you all very much. And it's a pleasure for me to be with you here this evening in support of an individual who is one of the most hard-working and effective senators on the Hill, Senator Frank Makowski. Frank's a star of the class of 1980. He didn't come to Washington just to have a job. There's a story you knew I'd have a story about a young man who always wanted to work with animals. And then he saw an ad in the paper one day. The zoo was advertising for a worker. And down he went. Well, then he was a little set back when they told him that right then, now if he took the job he was going to have to put on the gorilla suit and be in the gorilla cage because the gorilla died and the new one hadn't arrived yet. But he accepted when they said, and then when that's over and the other gorilla gets here why you will have this regular job. So he got in the cage and in the uniform and got pretty boring just sitting around there. And finally he started doing tricks for the kids and there was a rope and he started swinging from the rope and all those things and he got carried away one day, swung so far he dropped down in the lion's cage. And the lion came roaring at him and he started screaming, help somebody get me out of here. The lion jumped on him and said, shut up, you'll get us both fired. Well, since Frank got to Washington he hasn't been standing in for anyone. Frank's hard work and good judgment are reflected in the fact that he is the first Alaskan and the first member of the class of 1980 to become chairman of a standing committee. And he's the kind of elected official that I'm proud to support. Not just because of what he's done in support of our common ideals, but also for his diligent work on behalf of the people of his state. He's truly a great senator from a great state. Of course, when we got to Washington five years ago, nothing was more important to the people of any state than putting America's economic house in order. And seeing to our country's national defense, I'm not going to repeat the litany of near catastrophic statistics, but it was suffice to say that our country was in trouble. High inflation, economic decline and national uncertainty were the order of the day. One measure of our success is how difficult it is to becoming to remember how bad it was. And no matter how much the situation has improved, it behooves us to remember the individuals who helped us put those bad old days behind us. Senator Frank Murkowski is one of those I'm talking about. Alaskans and all Americans owe him thanks for a job well done. And that, of course, is why I'm here. Recognizing Frank's past contributions is step number one. Step number two is making certain he is re-elected and Republican control of the Senate is maintained. We can never forget that there are those who, even though they were well-intentioned, would drag us back into the morass that we left behind. One of the greatest threats hanging over us, which Frank continues to battle, is protectionism. Trade restrictions could well precipitate a trade war and push the entire Western world into an economic black hole, just like they did in the 1930s when the Smoot-Hawley-Terra Act protected us right into the Great Depression. Frank's been a champion of free and fair trade. He knows we shouldn't be building barriers of our own but tearing down those of our trading partners. We should not lower imports, raise exports. We should seek to increase overall economic activity, not restrict it. And that's the way to progress. Frank Murkowski has provided special leadership in the area of trade. He has met with the prime ministers of the Pacific Rim nations. The future of exports to those nations, especially from Alaska, looks bright. Last year, he urged that we allow the export of cooked inlet oil. And he was successful at that as well. That's good news for America and it's good news for the economy of Alaska. Frank Murkowski is the kind of man who gets things done. Another concern is the continuing inner beltway clamor for higher taxes. I've heard more gloom and doom about Graham Rudman Hollings than on any issue since our original tax cuts. You remember the experts told us that our tax cuts would unleash a new round of inflation and send interest rates back up? Critics were wrong about the tax cuts and they're wrong about Graham Rudman Hollings. Naysayers have been claiming that reducing spending in order to meet the GRH targets will require us to do everything but close down the entire federal government. You know, that's not a bad idea. Seriously, Graham Rudman Hollings is not a threat. That's an opportunity. Perhaps now Republicans and Democrats can get together to maximize the efficiency of government from top to bottom. Absolutely necessary programs can be improved. And those questionable items in the budget, spending commitments that are there only because of political wheeling and dealing, can and should be eliminated. By being responsible now, prudently cutting that which can be cut rather than knocking the legs out from under our economy with a tax increase, we can lay the foundation for an era of prosperity beyond anything the experts thought possible. I'm just as optimistic about meeting the challenges to our national security. How can anyone remember the dire predictions that preceded our installation of perching twos and cruise missiles in Western Europe? It would, we were told, kill any chance for arms control. Similar pessimism has been expressed about our continuing research into a space-based system to protect us from nuclear attack. Well, not only were those negative voices wrong, they were outrageously wrong. The absolute opposite of what was predicted has come to pass. For the first time, we've been hearing proposals from the other side about actually reducing the number of nuclear weapons and about verification of arms agreements. Are they serious? Only time will tell. But each Soviet offer is being examined closely and well-thought-out proposals of our own are being made. Progress is being made and it's happening because we're negotiating from strength. Closing our eyes and hoping for the best has never been an alternative. Where is that more true than in Central America? The naysayers claimed El Salvador couldn't be saved. And that was just when we were arriving here. Military aid to that beleaguered little democracy was almost scuttled. Yet we persevered and today, representative government is flourishing and the communists are on the run. Vital to the security of El Salvador and to all our Central American friends is our continued aid to those fighting to restore democracy in Nicaragua. Here again, the gloom and doomers are shrieking that such aid will lead to the introduction of American troops in Central America. Well, here again, the opposite is true. We have no intention of doing such a thing. But if we do not meet our responsibility now with helping those freedom fighters that are already down there, everything we've accomplished in Central America will be undermined. And in the not too distant future, we could wake up and find a tidal wave of refugees crashing across our southern border. Supporting those fighting to bring democracy to Nicaragua is both morally right and vital to our own security. And I hope all of you in this room will use your influence to impress upon others the magnitude of this decision. Two years ago, I visited Alaska, as you've been told, to meet with His Holiness John Paul II, one of the truly great men of our time. Earlier, he'd been shouted down and ridiculed by the Stalinists in Managua. And incidentally, Frank, during my visit to Fairbanks, you didn't take credit for this. I was listening outside the door. Nancy and I were very appreciative of the hospitality that you extended to us in the use of your new home. I think it is truly heroic for both you and your Nancy that there was that new home ready for you to move in. You hadn't been able to settle in for one night and we got to break it in and stay there. And even though you stayed in the other house and left us in the new one, we truly felt like we were all part of the same family. And in a very real sense, we are. Senator Frank Murkowski and his fellow Republican senators are key players in our efforts to build for our children a free, prosperous, and secure America. And I thank you for being here tonight and for what you're doing by being here to see that Frank is re-elected. I have just one thing to ask of you. You send this man back to Washington, D.C., as the Senator from Alaska. Well, thank you all. And you know I can't resist again because George Bush or George Schultz has just gotten back from a trip to the Eastern countries and he's come back with some of those stories that those people over there are telling among themselves that realizes what the show is what they think about their own government. So I'm going to close by telling one, Frank. He said that one of the stories going around over there is that they went to General Secretary Gorbachev and told him that there was an old woman there in the Kremlin who wouldn't leave unless she could see him. And he said, well, send her in. So she came in. He said, what is it, old mother? Well, she said, I just want to know. One question. Was communism invented by a politician or a scientist? Well, he said, a politician. She said, that explains it. Scientists would have tried it on mice first.