Nice try Red, but you really should check your facts more carefully.
Health Insurance
?...Since Bush took office in Texas, the percentage of persons with no health insurance has edged down from 24.5 percent in 1995 to 23.3 percent last year, according the census. And in that same period, the national rate has gone up...? (Brooks Jackson, CNN?s Inside Politics, 10/12/00)
1) While there was a 7.6 percent drop in Texas Medicaid enrollment, there was also an 11% drop in the number of people eligible for Medicaid. The Texas economy has been strong under Governor Bush
2) The Texas Legislature only meets 140 days every two years, therefore the Texas CHIP program was not passed until 1999 and did not start enrolling children until this year. The study recognizes that the national increase in Medicaid enrollment is directly tied to the CHIP program, but does not acknowledge that some states such as Texas did not begin enrolling children until later.
3) At the earliest opportunity provided by state law, Texas enacted the CHIPs program and began aggressively enrolling children. Texas outpaced similar states in enrolling children in the CHIP program, and has enrolled over 120,000 children in the CHIP.
The increase in monthly Medicaid enrollment beginning in mid-1998 corresponded with the implementation of State Child Health Insurance Programs (SCHIP). A comparison of Medicaid enrollment data from this study and SCHIP shows that SCHIP directly accounted for 27% of the increase in Medicaid enrollment from December 1998 to December 1999 (Kaiser Family Foundation, 10/00)
Key indicators of children?s health are improving in Texas under Governor Bush. In 1994, under Ann Richards, the infant mortality rate was 7.1 deaths per 1,000. That number has dropped to 6.4 per 1,000 under Governor Bush.
Crime and Guns
Texas today has the lowest overall crime rate in 25 years. Texas has the lowest violent crime rate since 1985. (Criminal Justice Policy Council) The Texas murder rate is at its lowest point since the 1950s. (Uniform Crime Reports 1960-1999) Since Governor Bush took office, violent crime is down 20.6%. Overall crime is down 14.3%. (FBI Uniform Crime Reports 1995 and 1999) From 1994-1999, the murder rate decreased 45%, rape went down 23%, robbery went down 28%, aggravated assault down 16%, burglary down 19%, theft down 10%, motor vehicle theft down 24%. (Sourcebook of Texas Adult Justice Population Statistics, 1988-1998; Texas Department of Public Safety) In 1991, there were 2651 murders. In 1999, there were 1218. (Sourcebook of Texas Adult Justice Population Statistics, 1988-1998)
From the White House Website:
Crime Falls 15% in Texas: Since 1992, serious crime in Texas has fallen by 15%. Violent crime and property crime has also declined by 18% and 14% respectively.
Crime Has Dropped Sharply in Major Cities: In Dallas, between 1992 and 1997, serious crime, as indicated by the crime index, has declined 23%, with a 46% drop in murder and a 51% drop in robbery. In addition, serious crime has also declined 47% in Fort Worth, 32% in Beaumont, 46% in Odessa and 31% in Wichita Falls. The murder rate has fallen 52% in Beaumont, 47% in
Brownsville, 45% in El Paso, 57% in San Antonio and 91% in Wichita Falls. [1992 and 1997 Uniform Crime Reports] Juvenile Arrests Down in Texas: Texas?s juvenile murder arrests have decreased 61%. [FBI, Uniform Crime Report, 1992 and 1997]
Texas? Concealed Weapons Law has Successfully Kept Guns Out of the Hands of Criminals. Gore cites an inaccurate story from the LA Times to arrive at his faulty conclusion. Of the 215,000 concealed weapons permits issued in Texas, only 71 - or .03% -- went to people with disqualifying backgrounds, and those were immediately revoked. Of those 71, only one had actually committed a crime, and that crime was non-violent and did not involve a gun. The delays stemmed from the fact that the Clinton/Gore Justice Department took over two months to perform simple background checks.
Cops for Bush
In this election, law enforcement is enthusiastically behind Governor Bush. He has been endorsed by the International Brotherhood of Police Officers (IBPO), the National Troopers Coalition, the Law Enforcement Alliance of America, and the Fraternal Order of Police (FOP). The FOP is the nation?s oldest and largest police union, and both the FOP and the IBPO endorsed Clinton-Gore in 1996. In 2000, they support Governor Bush.
Economy
The poverty rate is down by more than 20% (U.S. Bureau of the Census) Texas per capita income is up by 16.7 percent between 1995 and 1998, outpacing the 13.1 percent increase nationwide. (US Department of Commerce)
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