Originally published in the Jackson Hole Daily on March 15, 2004
By Jim Stanford
By cutting military spending and emphasizing diplomacy, former President Bill Clinton left America vulnerable to a terrorist attack, U.S. Rep. Barbara Cubin told a Jackson audience Friday.
Cubin, R-Wyo., criticized the former president for his emphasis on negotiations in handling foreign affairs. “That policy gave us 9-11,” Cubin said.
Wyoming’s lone congressional representative spent much of her address at the Teton County Republican Party’s annual Lincoln Day Dinner defending President Bush and the war on terror.
“President Bush has made America a safer place to live,” she told the mostly older crowd of about 100 at the Virginian.
Cubin said Libya, Iran and North Korea would not have softened their stance on weapons proliferation “had President Bush not shown leadership” by attacking Iraq.
Cubin said Bush also has “brought some dignity back to the presidency” with his tough stance on moral issues. “It’s not OK for Janet Jackson to have her breast exposed at halftime of the Super Bowl,” she said.
Cubin, a five-term incumbent, is up for re-election this year and likely faces a stiff fight. She attended the fund-raiser in Jackson on the same day that Bruce Asay, a Cheyenne attorney and Wyoming National Guard assistant general, announced he will challenge her in the Republican primary.
Tedd Ladd, a Wilson resident who is considering running against Cubin as a Democrat, sat watching in the audience.
Cubin stumbled through much of her speech, at one point attributing a purported 75 percent cut in intelligence spending to President Bush.
She said she was concerned about the federal budget deficit, projected to hit a record $478 billion this year. Again she blamed the problem partly on the Clinton administration.
Congress has been forced to “plus up” spending for defense and intelligence agencies to make up for past cuts, she said.
Cubin said Clinton “virtually gutted” the military and left troops without enough money to fix their tanks, planes and rifles, an assertion that drew surprised looks from some in the audience.
The congresswoman said the Bush tax cuts eventually will help the economy and generate revenue, but “it’s too early in that process for us to measure.” She said she will propose a 1 percent reduction in funding for all government agencies except the departments of defense and education.
Turning her attention to local issues, Cubin said she was “appalled” by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s rejection of Wyoming’s wolf management plan and said she supports a planned legal challenge.
“We are in the right on that issue,” she said.
Cubin lauded the recent decision by U.S. District Judge Clarence Brimmer overturning a ban on snowmobiles in Yellowstone and Grand Teton national parks. Brimmer’s ruling essentially reversed the decision of a federal judge in Washington, D.C.
“We are lucky to have an equalizer in this country in Judge Brimmer,” Cubin said to applause.
Cubin thanked supporters for helping her through difficult times. Since 2000 she has been forced to take leave from Washington, D.C., to care for her ill husband, Fritz, who suffers from auto-immune disease.
Critics have said Cubin’s frequent absences have hurt her ability to represent Wyoming. The Associated Press reported Saturday that Cubin ranks fifth in the House in missed votes.
Cubin hasn’t faced a challenger from within her own party since 2000. In 2002 she won her home county, Natrona County, by just one vote.
Cubin said this year’s campaign will be more intense than ever, and she pledged to do everything possible to make sure not only she and Bush are re-elected.
“I will win,” she said.
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