McCain pledges to attack bureaucracy, limit government
Republican nominee says his administration would “set a new standard for transparency and accountability.”
John McCain offered a vision of fiscal austerity and limited government in his speech Thursday night accepting the Republican nomination for president.
"All you've ever asked of your government is to stand at your side and not in your way," McCain told assembled delegates. "And that's what I intend to do for you."
"We need to change the way government does almost everything," McCain said. "From the way we protect our security to the way we compete in the world economy, from the way we respond to disasters to the way we fuel our transportation network, from the way we train our workers to the way we educate our children. All these functions of government were designed before the rise of the global economy, the information technology revolution and the end of the Cold War. We have to catch up to history, and we have to change the way we do business in Washington."
McCain said he had "fought corruption" on many fronts during his tenure in Congress. "I've fought the big spenders in both parties who spend your money on things you neither need nor want," he said. He also noted that he had "fought crooked deals in the Pentagon."
McCain was directly critical of the way Republicans have acted while in charge of Congress and the executive branch in recent years. "We were elected to change Washington and we let Washington change us," he said.
"Rather than reform government," McCain said, "both parties made it bigger." He pledged to "get back to basics."
"We believe in a government that unleashes the creativity and initiative of Americans," McCain said. He made several disparaging references to "bureaucrats" and "bureaucracy." When he described Democratic nominee Barack Obama's health care proposals as allowing "a bureaucrat to stand between you and your doctor," the assembled delegates booed lustily.
Nevertheless, McCain issued a call for Americans to join the civil service. "If you find faults with our country, make it a better one," he said. "If you're disappointed with the mistakes of government, join its ranks and work to correct them."
McCain said he would reach across the aisle and appoint Democrats and independents to key positions. And, he said, "my administration will set a new standard for transparency and accountability."
Click here to read a full profile of John McCain from the September issue of Government Executive.