Republican National Convention keynote speaker in Green Bay Sen. Zell Miller, led a Republican rally Saturday at the Regency Suites in downtown Green Bay (photo by Tina M. Gohr). News-Chronicle "The most-conservative Democrat in Congress" voiced his support for President Bush on Saturday while criticizing the so-called most-liberal Democrat in Congress, Sen. John Kerry. Zell Miller, the Democratic senator from Georgia who gave the rousing keynote address for the president at the Republican National Convention, labeled himself the most conservative member of his party after speaking to 100 people at the KI Convention Center in Green Bay. During his speech, Miller said he knew he was talking to the most diehard of Bush-Cheney supporters, since they attended his address while the powerhouse University of Wisconsin football team was playing on national television. "You will make the difference in what happens in Wisconsin," Miller said, adding that he believed the Nov. 2 general election would have a global impact not only today but far into the future. Miller said he has served with Kerry for four years in the Senate and has known the president since the 1990s, when he and Bush were governors. "They are as different as night and day," Miller said. The president acts, the senator talks, he added. The war on terrorism is the most pressing issue voters need to remember when choosing the next president. "There is nothing as important as this one issue ... and that is fighting terrorists." Miller likened Bush's decision to lead the country to war in Iraq to killing dangerous copperhead snakes in his backyard - a move he said he executed without seeking approval from the city council or his wife because he knew he was protecting his family. "You might call it a pre-emptive strike," he said of the snake killing. Like in his speech at the convention, Miller criticized Kerry for voting against bomber jets and helicopters that were used heavily during the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. Kerry is not equipped to build an international coalition of troops in Iraq because he keeps saying the war was wrong, Miller said. Miller highlighted positive outcomes of Bush's presidency, such as a child tax credit and a 49 percent increase in the education budget compared to funding during former President Clinton's administration, Miller said. He said Kerry and his running mate, Sen. John Edwards, have kept a bill from passing that would limit physically healthy unemployed individuals to two years on welfare while providing job training. Miller attacked Kerry for voting multiple times against a partial birth abortion ban; however, during the Oct. 8 debate in St. Louis, Kerry said he opposes partial birth abortions except when the mother's life is in danger. During the rally, attended by local elected officials such as Brown County Executive Carol Kelso, Green Bay Mayor Jim Schmitt, U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Green Bay, and state Treasurer Jack Voight, Voight spoke against reinstating a military draft. After his speech, Miller said Iraqis would make up the military force to protect their country. "I think that where the additional troops are going to come from are from the Iraqis themselves," he said. "They are being trained. We'll have more than 60,000 trained before the end of this year's out, and within six months we hope to have more than 125,000 trained," he said. "I have been over there, I have met with the general who is in charge of training. He is hopeful they will have some very good soldiers," Miller said. Chris Laws of Green Bay said Miller's "notoriety from the Republican convention was what really caught my attention," he said, recalling how Miller's speech energized many voters. Miller was the first rally speaker Laws has heard this campaign season. "He believes in everything I believe in," he said. Nancy Krause of Bowler said of Miller, "I think he's got a lot of facts." When Miller raised Kerry's voting record on supporting troops with military equipment, Krause said one judges a candidate based on his or her past. Green Bay has been a hub of election activity, with Vice President Dick Cheney speaking Thursday and White House chief of staff Andrew Card visiting Friday. Meanwhile, on the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay campus, "Fahrenheit 9-11" filmmaker and Bush administration critic Michael Moore made a presentation. Miller is not running for re-election; his term ends in January. On his Senate Web site, he characterizes his term as one that reaches across party lines. Miller said on Saturday that fellow Democrats know his conservative history. "They know my philosophy, and they pretty much accept it. I haven't had anyone treat me impolite or rude," he said. As he did before serving in Congress, Miller wants to teach history, after he finishes writing a book.