James Sensenbrenner, November 19, 2004

On November 2, President Bush became the first president in nearly 70 years to gain reelection to the White House while maintaining and growing his party’s majority in the House and Senate. His 3.5 million vote victory over Senator John Kerry translated to a 51% to 48% win that came about thanks to a record turnout of American voters.

This high turnout debunked the myth that when more people make it to the polls, it usually means good news for Democratic candidates. Republicans came out in strong force, and gave President Bush more than 50% of the American vote for the first time since his father’s election in 1988. Rejecting the rhetoric of the likes of Michael Moore and George Soros, many Americans cited "moral values" as the determining factor in how they cast their vote, and those who did so voted overwhelmingly for President Bush.

These numbers reinforce the fact that the majority of Americans endorse the work of the President and Congress. The American people spoke clearly, and the resounding message was one of support for the work and philosophy of the Administration and the 108th Congress, which include:

• Support for the war against terrorism, in which we have taken the fight to the terrorists, instead of waiting for them to bring it to us again;

• Support for our efforts to bring freedom to Iraq and Afghanistan so that citizens of those countries enjoy the fruits of living in a democracy, free from the rule of a dictator like Hussein, or the oppressive Taliban regime;

• Support for our work to regenerate the nation thanks to various jobs growth packages which have helped jumpstart a sluggish, inherited economy, that, as of October, has posted 14 straight months of job gains;

• Support for our position on issues such as flag-burning, same-sex marriage, and the Pledge of Allegiance;

• Support for our work on Medicare and healthcare issues as we helped America’s seniors with their medical expenses;

• Support for our nation’s veterans, and for our work to expand access to VA health care services, boost veterans’ benefit programs, and strengthen legal protections for service members and veterans.

We need litigation reform to combat the plague of frivolous and outrageous lawsuits; to address soaring health care costs in Wisconsin and across the nation, we need to rein in uncontrolled and unfair lawsuits that attempt to pick the medical industry’s pockets; bankruptcy filings continue to break records and strain the system’s resources with nearly 1.7 million bankruptcy cases filed in fiscal year 2003. These are but a few bills that have passed in the House and can be expected to be brought up again next Congress. The anti-terrorism bill, which has provisions due to expire next December, will also be scrutinized and carefully deliberated, as we make sure that we’re taking the right steps to protect Americans -- and all innocent citizens -- from the cowardly actions of terrorists.

Undoubtedly, over the next two years, we will be under the watchful eye of the American public, and the headlines of every newspaper will center on our actions. But Americans have endorsed Republican reform efforts, and I look forward to making those reforms a reality.

Congressman James Sensenbrenner, a Republican, represents the Fifth Congressional District of Wisconsin. He serves as chairman of the House Committee on the Judiciary. The Fifth District of Wisconsin forms an arc surrounding Milwaukee to the North and West, and includes parts of Jefferson, Milwaukee and Waukesha counties, and all of Ozaukee and Washington counties.