crazies, say thank you. [laughter] >> thank you. yeah, we're crazy. we're crazy about this country. we're crazy about our children and our grandchildren. and so that's what we have to do as defending fathers. that's my message to you today. stay connected. say involved. stay connected. stay involved. and stay informed. and that way you can come back from the liberal sin. and with the winter olympics going on it reminded me of the closing song, the words of the closing song of the 2000 likes. . -- olympics. ...

the power of one begins with believing that you hold the key to all of your achieving. just look inside. and you will find just what you can do. the power of one begins with

believing that you hold the key to all of your achieving. we have a message. for the president, his administration, and the liberals. we the people are still in charge of this country. [applause] ♪ ♪ hey rock 'n roll [inaudible conversations] ♪ shake like you're going to give it everything you've got ♪ ♪ move like you're in the groove ♪ ♪ prove your someone the world

needs badly ♪ ♪ be who you are . ♪ shine like you do ♪ ♪ caucasian features, cheekbones, unite the future ♪ ♪ rise like the sun you already have begun ♪ ♪ stay strong, help each other along ♪ >> held hoe, my name is patrick and i'm a conservative because i want less government spending. ♪ don't think hey rock 'n roll ♪ don't think so ♪ hey rock 'n roll ♪ don't think so >> anybody who is notified up after herman cain, please raise your man. the starbucks intravenous drip will start in the back of the room. herman has it just right and the

next panel feeds right into it. the next panel is about saving freedom. it's about the jobs, stupid. it's all about the economy. last night, i was sitting with my very dear friend alan west who is running for congress in florida. yeah. wait a minute. alan west is running for congress, mark -- do i have to move to florida? hey, you guys are going of to -- explain that to my wife. i'm not that brave. anyway, the basic point; it's about two things. this election is about stopping the obama agenda, restoring our economy and, and national security. that's not three things. it's all really one. there's a real agenda, there's a bumper sticker, it contains a platform, and an agenda, and everything else, three words, all the republicans have to run on this year is roll obama back. and it doesn't sound like it's a whole lot more complicated than that. well, we're going to be doing that all this year at human

events, and let me right now bring in hour next panel. tim phillips is president of the americans for prosperity and the americans for prosperity foundation. he's enjoyed huge, huge growth. they started in january of 2006, with only 25 state chapters. today, they've got 980,000 grassroots activists, he's a veteran political strategist. one of the nation's premiere grassroots organizers, with 24 years of experience, including presidential gubernatorial and congressional races. ladies and gentlemen, tim phillips and his panel. >> good morning. how would you like to get up in the morning and have to follow herman cain? that is just wrong. that's unfair. my mom told me there would be days like this, but my goodness. think back for just a moment one year. one year ago.

look at the agenda we were facing from the left. do you remember it? the three key parts of the pelosi-obama agenda domestically. number one, car check. job killing, union grab. number 2, cap and trade. the biggest energy tax or the biggest tax period in american history in the name of an environmental agenda was simply radical. and third, the health care takeover. those three high temperatures have really three things -- items really have three things in common. number one, thanks to folks like you, as of this moment, they're all dead and not passed, so give yourselves a hand for that. [applause] >> but unfortunately, the left is a little bit like the character from the old halloween movies. remember that halloween slasher movies, he would get knocked down or shot and they would get back up and be back later in the movie, so health care takeover, it's trying to come back. we know that with this sham summit next week an we know that they're going to try to bring cap and trade and their radical

energy agenda back and different elements of the car check agenda as well. secondly, all of these three agenda items represent genuinely the largest power grab by the federal government in modern american history. that's not just a slogan or a statement. it's the reality of the threat we're facing. and the third thing that all three agenda items have in common is that they kill jobs in the private sector. now, notice i said private sector. because their goal is to create jobs where? yeah, they want jobs. they just want jobs paid for with your tax dollars or with more debt to build a bigger organization for the long haul to push their agenda from the left. but all three of their agenda items, the three biggest agenda items they have, kill jobs in the private sector. demonstrablely. we know what happens when union become stronger and have special privileges. we know that it kills jobs and chokes of off opportunity.

look at great states like michigan, and new jersey, that are struggling under the weight of this union agenda. we know that cap and trade, with you ration energy, at a time when we need cheap abundant energy and when you make businesses less competitive because they're having to deal with regulations from the environmental protection agency and other unelected bureaucracies, instead of creating jobs and being able to compete with our foreign competitors, we know it kills jobs and with you have a health care takeover that piles up trillions more in debt, that forces businesses to comply with new regular -- regulations, that taxes businesses and individuals, we know that kills jobs as well and that brings us really to the point of this morning's first panel, which is on it's jobs, stupid and we'll let you figure out who the stupid is pointing at, but with really is about job creation and this morning, that's what our panel will be discussing and our first speaker is a gentleman who was elected in 2002 to the united states congress from

virginia, my home state, the seventh district of virginia and i'll tell you something and you know his bio, you know his accomplishments, but the thing that eric cantor has done, and this is a technical term, but he has given the house republicans their mojo back. would you agree with that? they got their mojo back in the house and i think that really, four or five votes symbolize that in my mind, in my opinion. number one, remember the very first out of the box obama maneuver, which was the so-called stimulus package. they don't want to call it stimulus anymore. that's a bad word now. remember how many republicans voted for that under eric's leadership as the house whip. zero. remember the obama budget last year that drove up new spending by double digits, new debt filing up. you know how many house republicans voted for that? zero. that's exactly. and there were two last votes that i want to mention to you.

unthe most aggressive avalanche of pressure, i would argue, in our time, the health care bill only received one republican vote in the house, just one. that's amazing leadership from this side, and i really believe that house republicans are getting their mojo back. they're figuring out and refining the roots of conservativism and have generally limited government and if you look at all the accomplishments of eric canton, that's the best one and one day i think he's going to be speaker of the house. welcome eric cantor. [applause] >> thank you. thank you fothank you very much. thank you, tim. good morning. the title of today's panel is saving freedom. it's about jobs, stupid. i want to take you back 12 months ago. millions of americans were losing their jobs, small

businesses were struggling to even keep the lights on, much less maintain their payrolls. families in this country began losing their sense of economic security. and you know what? we had a new democratic president, and he had an emboldened group of allies in congress, led by nancy pelosi, and they believed that government spending was going to be the answer. and so they put forward their massive $800 billion spending bill. and as tim just pointed out, republicans had a chance to finally stand up and show their true colors once again as common sense of conservatives. [applause] >> we put forward an alternative. it didn't include any government spending.

but it did cut taxes for every working family in this country. every tax paying family there was. and it did provide a 20% tax cut for small businesses. but the democrats, they rejected this alternative. and as it would go, house republicans began to regain their mojo. we took a stand in opposition to that bill. it was the first moment of solidarity for us, and we began to regain our footing. as tim said, we did not lose one vote. [applause] in the beginning, some of our members found this a difficult vote. chris van holland, the head of the democrats campaign

committee, warned that g.o.p. opposition to the stimulus bill would form the centerpiece of the 2010 attack ads. and sure enough, once the stimulus passed, the left embarked upon a very organized, very sophisticated campaign, attacking republicans republican opposition to this agenda. i'll never forget the story that one colleague of mine told. when she went back to her district after taking this vote. she went home, she turned on the television, and there were attack ads launched against her. she went to sleep that night, woke up the neck morning, opened the paper, there were the attack ads and reports again. she turned on her computer, she began to read the vitrial that the left was spewing, lambasting her vote.

how dare she vote against an $800 billion stimulus bill. she got in her car, turned on the radio, there it was again. of after having gone through her work day, she came home to find this same vitrial in the mailbox, as well as picking up the phone in her house for the robo call. she was under siege. you know, thomas jefferson once advised that in matters of style, swim with the tide. in matters of principal, stand like a rock. we, house republicans, were standing firm, but obviously under siege and in need of help and you were there. many of you organized rallies, blogged, talked to your friends and neighbors, and generally

stood at the vanguard of an emerging movement that at first helped restore the balance to the debate by emphasizing the point that big government spending means less economic freedom and could no way result in sustainable job creation. and as you know, you did not just restore balance to the debates. you won the debates, and for that, we thank you very, very much. [applause] >> but the fight is not over. the left has not conceded. and they've left us a heck of a mess to clean up. let me share with you some very troubling figures. according to the department of labor, today there are over four million more americans working for government than are working in the goods-producing segment of our economy.

and these government jobs, they're pretty good jobs. as mark can tell you, most federal employees are protected by pretty powerful unions. and in fact, in january, our country passed forevery troubling milestone. there are now moorhen i don't know members who work for government than work in the private sector. and they've negotiated some pretty darn good deals for themselves too. did you know that the average salary in the department of education is now over $100,000 a year? average. anyone who is following the news right now in greece, a country in bankruptcy, where the public employee unions are striking against the government's effort to rein in spending has to wonder, is this the america that

we know? is this america's future? if we're going to save freedom, we've got to begin focusing not just on jobs, but on private sector jobs. [applause] to preserve freedom, we need more individuals who are worried about how high their taxes are and less worried about how rich their government benefits are. i'm sure all of us will agree, that across the board tax cuts are the key to reviving our economy. encouraging entrepreneurs, and creating jobs. this is what all of us would call a common sense pro-freedom solution. many of you have seen lately about a few week ago, that the republicans in the house just

concluded our annual retreat. while there, we launched an effort to produce a document not unlike newt gingrich's contract with america in 1994. we understand the country is fed up with the democrats. but is not of can dent yet that we as republicans will be any better. the people need to see our commitment to enact a reform agenda. [applause] we will emerge this year much as we did in the beginning of the last, with our alternative to the democrats' big government agenda. we once again demonstrate that we are the party of small business, entrepreneurs, and free markets. we will continue to reject the

notion that somehow you can actually create sustainable jobs by government spending. let's face it. there is no such thing as a free lunch. every dollar spent must come out of the private sector. as all of you know, if we really want to balance the budget, we've got to grow this economy. and to do that, we should lower taxes and stop the regulatory madness. to doubt, no doubt, washington has become too big and too pour fum. -- powerful. croneyism plagues the system and must be stopped. the most compelling solutions we will offer will involve our returning power, responsibility and money to the states and the localities closer to the people. [applause]

>> a smaller washington will result in a bigger america. more jobs and more opportunity for all, for everyone, for ourselves and our children. i look forward to joining alongside you in this fight to reclaim the america that we know. thank you all very much for being here. [applause] >> americans for prosperity as we've crisscrossed the nation in the past year, with our hands-off bus tour, hopefully many of you were there at those as we did the cost of hot air and by the way, who can have more hot air than al gore, the cost of hot air, cap and trade events with our big plan around the country, save card checks,

tears been one group out there more than any other from the left. protesting and attacking those efforts and really attacking the two parties that are on the ground. and that's the big labor unions. we see them, they try to bully, they try to intimidate, they try to silence us, they try to silence you. but for decades, there's been one organization that has really led the fight for freedom against these big labor unions and that's our friends at the national right to work committee. they've done the hard work, year in, year out, and we're honored to have their president, who is a virginiaan, i've known him for 20 years with we were both young twice and starting out, he's been all these years fighting and today he's the president of the national right to work committee, please welcome mark mix. >> thank you, ladies and gentlemen. it's great to be with you. let me start out by saying what i can't do and what i don't

have. i can't dance like herman cain, i do not have eric cantor's hair, i'm not as tall and handsome has tim and ken up here, but we all have one thing in common and we know be, ladies and gentlemen, as you do, that freedom works. freedom works and freedom works. it national right to work, we're interested in the freedom works part of this hey quags. -- equation and we believe that we offer a solution to the american people and to america's rank and file union members and to workers across this nation, a solution that doesn't cost one cent of government money, it's not a government program that has to be bestowed on us, it's simply returning to the original intent of our individual freedoms granted by the constitution and our declaration of independence and that is the right to work without being forced to join a labor union or pay dues as a condition employment. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, like

you, eight out of 10 americans believe that it's wrong to force workers to pay dues to get or keep a job. but if america, and in 28 states, workers can be fired simply because they won't tend their dues to a private organization. now, that's what right to work is all about. and let me tell you how it fits into freedom and the economy, it's the jobs, stupid. because right to work is more about freedom, but it's also about economic development. and we have demonstrable results that indicate that freedom works in america. it works in the 22 right to work states and it will work for hour country, if we can bestow that freedom back on america's workers. i have a friend in michigan who is a great champion of individual freedom, and his e-mail 70 freedom works and he time i see that, i'm reminded the importance of restoring freedom for america's workers,. you know, just from a context of jobs, we know that big government's bread and butter these days is big government. as eric mentioned, we've crossed

the rubicon. there are more union members in the government sector of employment than there are in the private sector. ladies and gentlemen, that sound like france. when they want to go on strike, they'll shut the state down, they'll shut the country down, they'll shut everything down and that's a danger for our country. you know, from january 2008 to december 2009, which wasn't a very good economic time for our country, private sector employment was down 4.2%. but interestingly enough, unionized private sector employment was down more than double that. from april 1, 2000, to july 2008, one person moved from a non-right to work state to a work to right state every minute for that period. ladies and gentlemen, freedom works. now the other side has a plan, organized labor bosses have a plan for jobs. we saw this in the job summit called by our president and let me just go over some of the elements of their job summit and what they have in store for the american people to prestore jobs to america. the first thing they want to do

is pass card check forced unionism. tim mentioned it already. let's go over real quick what it dolls. it eliminates the secret ballot for union certified elections, meaning union officials can intimidate one-on-one, perhaps three on one to sign a 3 by 5 card to unionize. they want of to the government impose contracts on private sector employers by government to create within 90 days of negotiation. that means, workers may not get a chance to vote on certification and they may not even get a chance to vote on the terms and conditions which they labor under. ladies and gentlemen, that won't create one job. it will create revenue for organized labor, you can bet on that and they are a $20 billion business looking for more revenue. secondly, the president implemented an executive order in february, that excludes 85% of all construction workers from doing jobs that contain money from the federal government stimulus program. how far does excluding 85% of construction workers across america create a job? it doesn't.

they want topples the tarp funds that were supposedly passed to of is a our country from the abyss of financial ruin to pay down debt. they want to aid the state to earn a financial crisis with taxpayer money to prop up the government jobs that have been created over the last year. four million new government jobs have been created over the last several years and it's just outrageous. finally, they want to extend unemployment benefits. thousand does keep paying someone to stay off the job create jobs? it doesn't. these policies won't and cannot create jobs. but our plan, restoring freedom in america's workplace, is one major component of creating new jobs in america hand providing opportunity for all americans. and as i mentioned, there is no cost to the taxpayers. there is however a huge cost to pol it is and the elite -- politicianpoliticians and elitiy on political spending to prop up their campaigns. we know from the "new york

times" that afl-cio spent what they said was over $400 million to get this president to the white house and they expect a pay back and that pay back comes from card check forced unionism and executive orders and huge expansions of federal government power, including the department of labor, with 25 who new wage and hour investigators who are going to go out and harass employers and employees over the time that they spend at the work police. now, if there's injustice, we putt to protect against it, but using it like the clinton administration did to shake down employers to agree to card check neutrality agreements to neutralize workers is wrong and one of the people in the department of labor was convicted of that, so this is not a jobs program. we also need to protect our states from a federal government that's overflowing its banks and crested way beyond flood levels. one of the bills being considered back here in washington is a bill that would federally mandate the unionization of police, firefighters and emt's across the nation. that would directly repeal the law in representative cantor's

state and my state and jim's state where we said everyone can join a union, they have that right, but the government can be compelled to negotiate with union officials on behalf of the employees. unfortunately, there's a bill pending in the senate and the house right now that would violate in my mind the 10t 10th amendment by imposing this on the states and initially enough, we have several republicans that are sponsoring this hand we need to -- and we need to send a message like th this. they have either supported or co-sponsored a bill that would impose by federal government mandate recognition of unions testify state level for police, firefighters and emt's. we have to stop that bill. ladies and gentlemen, as i close, let me remind you that freedom works and freedom works and by protecting america's workers, we restore the economic strength of this country and provide jobs and we must reject compulsion and restore freedom for american workers. thank you for. [applause]

jointed many years ago in northern virginia, a young attorney decided to run for the state senate, he was running in a left leaning, democratic area in virginia, but he ran on a of conservative platform. a lot of folks said he couldn't do it and he won that race. and with he went down to richmond to serve in the state senate, darned in he didn't keep voting conservative and do what he said he was going to do if the first campaign and the folks in his district sent him back to the state senate again after the next election and he continued to vote right on taxes and spending and regulation and all of the key free market issues and really across the board all the issues in the conservative movement. last year, running on bob mcdonald's particular, he became the 46th attorney general of the great commonwealth of virginia. please welcome ken cucinelli.

>> good morning. good morning to all of you. it's great to be here. although, i could have been in richmond in as long as it took me to drive here from where i live just outside of d.c., and as between washington and richmond, i have my preference. it isn't here, but that's ok. it's good to be with y'all today and especially on this topic. i'm a big believer in freedom and i am a tremendous critic of what the governments at each level have done in recent years that has snuffed out a good bit of that freedom. you heard from congressman cantor, he talked a hot for instance about the stimulus bill and how spending grows the beast that crushes the freedom and i will tell you that i start with a premise that i'm sure many of you share. you can grow an economic pie

with good government policies. but you cannot grow or shrink the freedom pie. and there are only two slices. government and the citizens. and every time you increase the spending, you increase the taxes, you increase the regulation, that government imposes, you increase their slice of the pie, and it only comes from one place. and that's you, and me. it comes from the freedom of the citizens of this country being shrunk at the same time. i agree with mark mix, freedom works. freedom works. it is the best system of governance that we have known to man. it works when we let it. too many people are growing government too much and it's getting in the way, and i'm going to talk to you a little bit about government power, not on the spending side, but on the

raw power side, typically where i encountered it as an attorney general in the regulatory field and i'm going to tell you a little bit about my week this week. i had an interesting week this week. virginia filed in d.c. circuit court to block the epa's endangerment finding related to co2 and other green house gases. [applause] >> we also filed a petition with the epa it's self-, to reopen that -- itself, to reopen that record and to hear good science, good science. on what's happening on the earth's climate. i was an engineer before i went to the dark side and went to law school, and i have a lot of respect for good, honest science. it has been absolutely lacking

in the debate about what regulatory burdens are appropriate in balancing the protection of our environment, which everyone wants to do, myself included, against the reductions in freedom and an economic opportunity that comes with every increase in government power and regulation. and this administration's balance is so out of whack as to be destroying. they're on a path to destroy incredible numbers of jobs, for no proveable environmental benefit. but they're going to crush freedom to do it. they're going to crush freedom to do it. this building, under the endangerment finding, from december, would have to get an epa permit every year, as a hotel to operate at a cost of about $125,000 every year.

and that's if they grant the permit and that's where the crushing part of control comes in. what if they don't grant the permit? and who's to say this administration would grant the permit. the reflection back on the clinton years, you remember who got the i.r.s. audit, coincidentally enough, they were all conservatives. well, do you think the heritage foundation might have a little trouble getting its permit? those games can be played and where that power exists, it will be abused. it will be abused. that is human nature, the founding fathers understood it, they tried to design a government to account for it, not to assume it away, that we'd all be angels. speaking just for myself, no one else, i am not one, and impart of this system now, as an

attorney general. that is a fact about every human being. the founding fathers got it. they understood that concept. and we need to update our governmental system. the principles of 1776 are timeless. that means they apply as much in 2010 as they did in 1776. [applause] >> and we need to get back to those principles. it's interesting that in light of the green house gas endangerment finding, democrats and republicans in congress are putting in bills to block the finding. it's bipartisan. when the rubber meets the road, and they see the destruction that this expansion of government power is going to entail, even some democrats get it. even some democrats get it.

and i'm glad to see that. i am glad to see that. there are legal problems with how the epa has gone about doing this. it's a measure of their outcome based process. and that doesn't surprise anybody. that they would skip certain legal niceties. in the process to get to where they want to be. this incredible reach of government is just one example of how a growing government reduces freedom and reduces opportunity, reduces long-term economic opportunity. this isn't a one-time hit. this is lower the opportunities for all the children and grandchildren of everyone in this room, an of our posterity going forward in america, an for what? to pursue an agenda of political science, not god science.

-- good science. that's what this has been doing. the way to solve this problem, is to shrink the power of government, period. [applause] >> freedom will always be threatnd by growing government. we must not only reduce spending and i would say it's not enough to slow it down. we have to retake ground. we've been living on a credit card of our grandchildren for a long time now, and we need to snap that credit capped. we need to be cutting government. we need to be cutting government, because no matter what you do, the more it grows, the less freedom we have. and the less opportunity. that's true in the spending side, just like it is on the regulatory side. if you don't like the influence of big corporations and

government, guess what? the solution isn't to attack corporations. it's to shrink government power. shrink government power. the inefficiency of government had always reduce freedom. it will reduce jobs. there is no alternative. as congressman cantor said, every dollar spent ultimately comes from the private sector. right now, we're borrowing it from the communist chinese, but at some point, that bill has to shall paid. it has to be paid. and it will come with higher taxes, which will in turn reduce the freedom of the american people. if we want to defend freedom and i know that everyone here does, we need to focus on electing folks who not only will fight in the regulatory arena, but will reduce taxes and spending.

and spending. because reducing taxes creates economic opportunity. reducing spending shrinks the beast that attacks freedom. that's what it does. and that's what we need to do together. thank you all very much. god bless you. [applause] >> thank you, general. well, our last speaker this morning, we've been talking about private sector job creation and he's a businessman in that private sector. with capital advisers. he earned his -- a few years ago, maybe, he earned his ph.d. in economics from the university of southern california, he served ably, in several republican presidential administrations, including the administration of ronald wilson reagan. and i think though when you look at his bio, what stood out to

memos and what i wanted to honor him for most he served as an officer in the united states marine corps -- [applause] >> -- including combat tours in southeast asia, and we on horour military lieders, hopefully every sending he will -- leaders hopefully every single day for what they're doing for us. vip so. please welcome dr. larry eastland. [applause] >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. >> good morning. >> as a young man, i had the privilege for six years, including a year of and a half in combat in the jungles of asia, of being an officer in the finest fighting force on the face of the earth, the united states marine corps. [applause]

>> and i'm mindful, this morning, that my fellow marines are at this moment fighting a decisive battle in another war in asia, in afghanistan for our freedom, for the freedom in the world leading directly back to the enemy that perpetrated the cowardly attacks on the united states, on september 11, 2001. in their on horthis -- honor this morning, i would ask you to join me and the universal call of marines everywhere, of after they receive their order of march and before they cross the line of battle, we always say, hurrah. so i'm going to ask you three times to join me. hurrah. hurrah!

hurrah! doesn't it feel great to be a marine? [applause] >> can somebody tells me what this is? well, let me tell you what it is. it's a piece of paper. it may be called money, but if reality, the dollar bill is openly as good as what stands behind it. only that value we believe its purchasing power represents. otherwise, it's just paper. if you don't believe that, ask the argentiniens of a decade or or the germans of the 1920's, when they lost faith in the purchasing power of their currency, the paper was worthless. strangely, this administration seems to believe that simply because they control the printing presses, and print this paper, with $1 on it, that they're creating wealth. in reality, they're just recycling paper.

because wealth or capital formation comes from the labor of america's entrepreneurs, and farmers, and small businessmen and inventors and corporations. we call them capitalist. well, i stand before you today, i am a capitalist. and i'm not ashamed to be called a capitalism. in fact, i consider it a privilege. we create jobs for america, not government. government simply consumes the wealth that we, the capitalists, create. some of which is necessary and essential to upon defense and general welfare, but that doesn't explain why the federal government is the largest employer in america. why state and local government is the second largest employer in america and why unemployment paychecks are the third largest employer in america. that's true. government unions now have more

members for the first time in history than hall private sectors in america combined. isn't it nice that we can see our tax dollars at work, creating good jobs. will, i guess we really ought to be thankful, that we don't get all the government we pay for. and equally glad that government is not efficient, because if it were, imagine what they could do to us then. we capitalists invest in hour ideas. we create opportunities and wealth for more americans. to us, it's innovate or evaporate. it's invest or be divested, because we stand on our own. there's a principle at work with america's investors, that if government ignores, it does so at its own peril. wealth is created by those who have the money to invest, the talent to create, and the confidence to take the risk. when government increases taxes on investors, and strange else them with unnecessary

regulation, the people it robs most are the working poor. those who desperately want to have the opportunity and satisfaction of having a job, marketable skills, and a dream of doing better next year than this year. at the same time when trillions of dollars are being printed by government, we must remember that someone is going of to -- pay, they're going to have to work to pay for it through their taxes and time is not on our side. we have an aging population at the top end and an absolutely flat replacement population at the bottom. this means that america's work force is shrinking as a percentage of the population. so unless something comes along to wipe out the elderly, or make it possible to give birth to 21-year-old college graduates, we're in real trouble. the young people here today will not only have to pay the costs of rearing their children, but

also the mushrooming costs of our social security, with many of us still living past 100 the by the way, the national institute of health who says a young person who today is 16 will live to be an average of 124. what are they going to do from 65 to 124? that's a long time and it certainly is not going to be social. it's certainly not going to be security and there's nobody going to be able to administer it. and then they're going of to -- take care of the waves of trillions of dollars of uncontrolled government spending, beyond all of that. add up the numbers. it's easy. the numbers simeo simply do notd cannot work. it's so easy to understand, even a caveman can do it. but even if the numbers did work, the best thing that government can do is simply get out of the way and let the forces of the market work. [applause]

>> so here's what i believe we have should advocate. first, i vote for gridlock in washington. because when gridlock -- with washington gridlocks, america booms. second, the first instinct of government, whether congress or the administration is to do something. please, leave the economy alone and let the market work it out. [applause] >> as our friend governor mitt romney recently observed, the invisible hand of the market always moves faster and better than the heavy hand of government, so mr. president, just leave us alone and let us muddle through this. [applause] >> third, this is to senator harry reid and his cohorts, i would add, stop trying to pass laws to tell me what to do and

how to live my life. you're not my mother. [applause] government can never know the scope of the economic problems that they're trying to fix. they can't because no one can. because the economic data collected by government is months old by the time it gets compiled. therefore, it's old information and usually incomplete. and it's only from the fortune 500 companies that they can collect that information. small businesses, individual artisans and the subterranean economy where 80% of new jobs come from can never be measured. we have to idea where in economy is. and finally, whatever action government takes, just getting the machinery in motion takes months, if not years, to have any effect on the economy at all. so the administration is using yesterday's data to make today's

decisions that won't have an impact for years. does that make any sense at hall? no. the late foreign minister of israel once said about the palestinians can equally be said of the current administration and their leftist advisers. they never miss hand opportunity to miss hand opportunity. so i'm here today to reaffirm. have faith in democracy, have faith in capitalism. have faith in the genius and resiliency of the average american in times of crisis. find ways to make life for himself and have faith in creative destruction at work. it is in times of economic transition that give birth to the creativity that drive of the economic forces of the future. old ideas and products and the companies that manage them give way to new high december and new jobs. but only if government doesn't disrupt the market by propping up failed companies. let me repeat what i've said

many times. general motors balances not in trouble because they ran out of money. general motors was in trouble because they make cars no one wanted to buy. and that's why they ran out of money. so giving them money doesn't solve the problem. ask the cash for clunkers. 8 to% of the cars that were bought under the cash for clunkers were foreign cars. so even giving money to general motors didn't work. let it fame. let's talk about giving more money from federal government to bail out corporations and start talking about how to unleash the intellectual power and talent of our best and brightest. the geniuses and the risk takers who employ in the private sector jobs for the work force, and wealth for america. but we too are engaged this morning in a great battle in 2010 for the heart and soul of our nation and the outcome of this battle will determine whether or not we will advance

the cause of freedom in america, or whether we will see our opponents further erode what our forefathers pledged, their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honors to give to us in our day and in this generation. so the question we face as we leave here this weekend is, will we walk the walk or just talk the talk? i don't know about you, but here's my hanes. hurrah! >> well, dr. eastland, i guess what they say is true. once a fighting marine, you're always a fighting marine. i think that's what they safe is true. we have just a couple of moments for a couple of questions an two of you had actually slipped a note to me earlier, with questions, and one of them is for congressman cantor. this thursday i know a lot of us are looking at this health care

summit coming up that obama and perspectives pelosi have -- obama and nancy pelosi have called. with you tell us what they have planned up their sleeve? >> well, tim, first of all, lord only knows what's up their sleeve. what we will do in encountering this president is, number one, ask the question, why in the world would he support a bill like those that have come out of the senate and the house? these -- [applause] these bills are flawed by their very nature. they are the bills that america has awakened to and have rejected. these bills are predicated upon back door dealing. these bills are predicated upon requiring the purchase of health care insurance that has a

questionable constitutional origin. these bills are ultimately designed to lead this country to a single payer system, something that the american people reject. so we republicans will go to the president and insist that he push the reset button and get serious about offering americans a positive reform agenda. [applause] we will say no to this health care bill because no is what the american people want and that is our principled opposition that they expect us to pronounce. we will also in turn offer our alternatives. the republicans in the house offered a pro-reform health care agenda. it is premised upon expanding

choice for people in determining the health care that they feel that fits their family's needs, not somebody here in washington. [applause] >> our plan is again, a plan that posters competition, we do so by enabling people to purchase insurance across state lines. it is a bill, it is a plan that is premised on reducing costs and we first must make sure that we keep the frivolous lawsuits out of the examining room. if we reduce costs, more people can have access if we function the system that we have, instead of expanding it to include, lord only knowles, how many numbers of uninsured they can come up

with. those individuals who do not have insurance, perhaps could finally afford insurance. so tim the answer to your question is, you will see us put forth our arguments, and down an indictment, of the democrats' bill, and proffer sensible, free-market based solutions in return that i believe will be well received by the american people. thank you. >> and the other question i had handed to me was for mark mix. you mentioned card check earlier during your presentation. what is -- during the springtime, are you like live to see that bill broken up and attempted to move forward in the house, what are you expecting from the labor union this spring? >> i expect that if we let up

the pressure, they will try to move something, whether they try to move the whole bill and get a recorded vote so they know who's on their side and who is against them in this case. what we've got to do is keep the pressure on. i suspect there will be components of the bill, there are several bills in the house that do individual pieces of the card check bill that are pending, but nancy pelosi understands how damaging this bill is politically for members of congress. in fact, she said the house will not deal with this shall hue until the senate walks the plank first, so we have to keep the pressure on the senate, we have to stop them from bringing up any piece of it. it could end up in a jobs bill, in a reconciliation, it could end up almost anywhere, so we've got to stay involved. as herman cain said, we have to stay interested and involved and if we do, we'll stop this bill, but we should not give up on it at all. [applause] >> attorney general cuccinelli, you talked about the lawsuit against the finding, what is the time frame for a lawsuit like that and what are the next steps

that activists can take to just keep the pressure on on this crucial issue? >> with respect to the time line, really, there isn't a time line balls the e.p.a. isn't bound by time constraints on with they can decide on our petition to prehear. we're not the only state, texas and alabama filed independently of us as well. this with 13 states on the other side. this will amuse you, the 13 on the other side all joined if a set of briefs signed on by attorney general coakley. history is a funny thing. but the court case in the d.c. circuit had presumably await a decision by the e.p.a., whether to reopen the record or not. if they do not reopen the record, we mr. go to court on that decision, balls the legal standard -- because the legal standard, no reasonable person could say that there isn't new

information available since they closed the public comment period in light of climate gate. so -- and that's critical element. now what can you all do? i would say that the bills that have popped up in congress, the one i find most interesting is in the house, because of its really been pushed by democrats first, the republicans are certainly supportive, but democrats jumped right out to try and stop the -- this finding from being implemented. i would go farther and say, and perhaps make a suggestion, congressman, if they get to the floor, what are the odds of that, but one little amendment to the clean air act, which is sort of that miscellaneous clause that so many bills have, and other things, if that were just deleted from the clean air act, we'd still be regular lating smelters and energy production and so forth, which in the 1970's, certainly was needed to clean up some of those businesses without question. the balance was reasonable then.

but that little miscellaneous clause is what is being used now by the supreme court first, in the 5-4 ruling, the massachusetts ruling, two and a half years ago, to give the e.p.a. this power and now by the e.p.a. to exercise the power for regulation that is more destructive and more far-reaching by far than the cap and trade bill, to give you a sense of scale of the economic destruction that we're looking at. so -- there's still work to be done but y'all really putting pressure on your elect representatives is the best thing for you to do right now. your attorneys general wouldn't hurt either, because states are going to weigh in on it one way or another. >> >> i know what americans for prosperity, and the tea park activists out there, we can hold even though the environmental protection agency is an independent agency, we can hold

the house members accountable for this action and that's where we have an activist element in pushing back against it epa power grab. once that happens, then you have competition from overseas.

and the competition from overseas doesn't have to pay those tax rates. so what it really does itxd depresidede president -- depresses capitalism.g and it creates jobs. and thei]ñr half of that is forr entrepreneurs and forzv your investors short-term capital gains tax is the other one which makes it so that it's much, much harder to continue to creates rolling jobs which you have a capital gains rate which is about 50%. what that means is if you have stock in something and you sell it within one year you pay 50% in taxes.ñi if you hold it more than one year then you pay about 18% in well, the reality of it is -- i'll give you one example very quick. the reality of it isñre1 we hav. we've been working with this company for five years. five years. we've invested $2 million to get this company on the public stock exchange.

however, the day we get our stock out of the deal, that's when they consider that a short-term capital gains. we've already got five years into it. so short-term capital gains means we pay 50% in taxes if we sell that in the next year. that means we're now waiting six years. well, what happens to that money in the meantime? the money in the meantime doesn't get used to create more jobs to create more businesses to create more wealth for america.ñrlpfá it is very self-defeating the entire tax structure as it relates to your corporations. >> thank you, dr. eastland.  >> we'll wrap up with a question on the floor. go right ahead.xd >> yes, sir. i'm a physician and i would like to go back to the healthcare issue. and i would like to ask is there anything that you're planning to do for my patients who have preexisting conditions? >> absolutely.t( in the republican alternative

that we presented and voted on in the house, the way we spoke to that issue was completely opposite of what the majority's method was. the majority said we need to force insurance companies to accept all-comers whether preexisting conditions or not. the problem with that is -- and the congressional budget office validated this was it will increase costs because folks will not buy insurance until they have to. and there was a significant impact on the costs of insurance premiums. what we did in the republican bill is we mandated that states form what are called high risk p.=1mz%)juáp& access programs. some states have them already. not functioning too well. we allocated some funds. mandated that they be put into these pools. so essentially insurance companies will be required to

access a reinsurance policy, if you will, in these -- in these larger pools and then cap the amount of premiums that could be charged to individuals' preexisting conditions. again a technical difference but one that means lower insurance premiums for everyone. and, in fact, this will be a point of discussion, i believe, with the president next week when we talk about his healthcare bill.fá because he'll say that he addresses preexisting conditions exceptions and we say so do we. the difference the congressional budget office validates our way actually reduces premiums for the rest of the population that is now choking under the çdtqi . >> all right. well, thank you all to our panel, very much. thank you all. [applause] >> and thank you for listening so attentively and we're going to move on to the next step. ♪xdñxdq commercial where you ha

the m & ms and the playing guy is running against the conveyor belt and he gives up and sits down on the scanner and get tossed to a bag and next to him is the peanut m & m and he says, hey, we're on the guest list. and the plain guy says, no. it's the menu. [laughter] >> there's an awful lot of people who are too accommodating to president obama who actually will buy into some of his agenda. sometimes to try to think about getting leverage and they don't get any credit for it because the obamas don't budget. because the obamaoids in the white house and they have a set mission. and that is to discredit the republicans and to reject any conservative principles. well, the three people we've got coming right now, tim pawlenty, steve king and mike pence -- [applause] >> you're not going to see any of them wrapped in an m & m wrapper. let's get rolling right now. to introduce governor pawlenty.

let me introduce my good friend grover norquist, president of the tax reform, the most famous, the most famous for having people sign the tax pledge. and, you know, there's a really good indication whether someone is a conservative or not. if they don't sign grover's pledge a little bit of a red flag. no, a real big red flag should wave. and let me say i was happy to see grover. he was getting testy over the past weeks and i was really, really glad it was not him flying that airplane into the irs building. grover norquist. ♪ >> well, i get cpac's next speaker, governor tim pawlenty. and his is an american story. he and his wife mary of 20 years have two teenager daughters. he was the first in his family to attend college. his father drove a truck for a living and was a teamster. he got involved is a reagan

republican early on. went to the state literature. -- legislator. has twice been elected governor of the sometimes blue state of minnesota. 2002 and 2006. and he has governed as a conservative. he has said no to tax increases and vetoed tax increases. he has no to too much spending and vetoed too much spending. he's helped to bring minnesota out of the top ten taxed states down towards the center. and he's been a leader in reform. he's been advocating real healthcare reform, not more government. but saying let's start by electing -- allowing people in all 50 states to buy their health insurance in any state in the nation. less government will lead to lower cost healthcare for all americans. and more opportunities for americans to have healthcare. ladies and gentlemen, our next speaker, the governor of minnesota, a reagan republican, a conservative, governor tim pawlenty.

♪ >> thanks a lot. i sure appreciate it. i want to thank grover norquist for that kind introduction as well as for his years -- really decades of advocacy and leadership and championing the conservative cause for limited government and lower taxes. we owe him a debt of appreciation. i'm thankful for that kind introduction. grover norquist. [applause] >> now, some of you from this area know washington, d.c. has been experiencing a lot of challenges and one of those, of course, is the epic snowstorm that blew through town about a week ago. schools were closed. businesses were closed. people couldn't come and go as they had hoped. even the united states congress was closed. [applause] >> and i say -- and i know you

agree, that any day, any day that harry reid and nancy pelosi can't get to work is a good day for freedom. it's a good day for liberty. and it's a good day for the american people's wallets. [applause] >> now, you know that with these terrible weather conditions that this isn't president obama's fault. he inherited these problems from president bush. you know that. [laughter] >> that's the line. i'm delighted to be joined here this morning by the fabulous, wonderful, beautiful first lady of minnesota, mary pawlenty. [applause] >> amongst her life experiences as she was a judge for 12 years. and she's been a dedicated champion for great causes in our state of minnesota. one of which is the support for families of members of the military. as you know when members of the

military serve, their families serve too. so mary has pulled alongside and put together these enormous efforts to try and encourage nonprofit organizations and community groups and individuals to support and to love and to extend acts of kindness to the families of the military. she's gotten involved in women's heart health issues and so many other wonderful causes. but i do want to share with you -- and you probably can relate to this. if you have a spouse or a significant other, they do a pretty good job of keeping you grounded. keeping you on track. keeping you within the guardrails and making sure your expectations are about right. and so i had this experience very dramatically with mary in 2001. i was the majority leader of the minnesota literature. -- legislature. and i decided i was not going to run for our governor. i came home to our house in ebegin, minnesota. and i came through the door, and i said honey, i don't think i'm going to do it. jesse ventura looks like he's going to run again and this is a me reallte.

i've been at this for a while. i've done what i can. and she grabbed me literally by the lapels. [laughter] >> and she looked me straight in the eye and gave me a speech that would be right out of a rocky balboa movie. i mean, she said, we need you. minnesota needs you. you be strong. you get in there. you fight. you can do this. i thought, man, all right, i'm in. [laughter] >> so i ran. and in a state that really is an uphill battle for a republican much less the conservative, i won. [applause] >> a few months into my governorship i came home and we had a little tension, a little disagreement about my schedule and missing some commitments for the family. there was a little tension in the discussion. i said, but honey, remember you're the one who told me to do this. you gave me that great inspiring speech. don't you remember? and she looked at me and she

said, yeah, i never thought you'd win. [laughter] >> she said i just told you that because i wanted you to get it out of your system so we could get on with the rest of our life. now, when we were here a year ago at cpac, there were a lot of naysayers, not here in the room, not within cpac, but on the outside. we had all these pundits and smart alecks saying the sun was setting on the conservative movement. we had people saying we might enter a 30 or 40-year era of liberal government. we had people talking about how the new era of hope and change was sweeping aside our values and principles. hope and change and teleprompters. [laughter] >> did you see the other day -- did you see this, president obama was in a grade school classroom.

a grade school classroom speaking to elementary children, and he was teleprompters. [laughter] >> i mean, you got to be kidding me. [laughter] >> that's not a joke. that's a real story. so even in the classroom -- but a lot has changed. when we were here last year, i mentioned to you in my speech that notwithstanding those who were trying to visit discouragement upon us, that the spirit of ronald reagan was alive and well in this room. that the energy and the values and the principles and the passion of the conservative movement was on the rise and on the march. and it worked. those of you in this room, conservatives all across this country did a great job igniting this nation. having your voices heard in congress. having your voices heard in city halls. having your voices heard in legislatures up and down main street. all across this country. and you know what? the american people liked what they heard. [applause] >> they liked what they heard. [applause]

>> and you know why they liked it? they liked it because it was bold. they liked it because it was direct. they liked it because it was telling the truth. and they liked it because it was different than what they've been hearing for so many years and particularly under the current administration. so i want to thank you for what you've done as a movement, for the leadership and the passion that you've poured into it. the comeback for the conservatives was a surprise and unexpected to just about everyone, except us. except us. we knew -- we knew that when freedom is attacked, when our freedoms, our principles and our values are attacked, a powerful movement will rise up. and fight back. and that's what happened. and i thank you for it. now, very shortly this morning a big event is happening in the united states of america.

tiger woods is holding his press conference. [laughter] >> at 11:00 eastern. now, i think we can learn a lot from that situation. not from tiger but from his wife. so she said, i've had enough. she said, no more. i think we should take a page out of her playbook and take a nine iron and smash the window out of big government in this country. [applause] >> we've had enough. even though we've made great progress over the last year, let's be candid with each other. we face sobering challenges as a nation. we love the united states of america. we love this country. we don't wish it ill-will. we want to make sure that we

rise up not just to highlight the problems and the challenges but also that we offer solutions in a more positive and hopeful agenda going forward. we may well be given as conservatives the privilege and the responsibility to govern and lead this nation once again. and when we do, this time we need to do what we say we're going to do. [applause] >> if we give our team members and leaders the jersey of conservative and they are going to lead and govern under the banner of conservative, then they need to go to washington, d.c., and walk the walk. they need to walk the walk. so if we're given that chance, let's remember where it starts. we have a pax -- we didn't call it the freedom last pax. we didn't call it the freedom in the middle pax.

we didn't call it the freedom maybe later on or down the road pax. we called it the freedom first pac because this nation -- it's genius, its spirit, its soul is based on freedom. i was pleased that the mount vernon statement -- the group that came together at mount vernon, the leaders of various conservative groups at this country signed a statement recommitting themselves and their organizations to the constitutional framework, the constitutional principles, and the constitutional values that made this nation great. they are the values of limited government. they are the values of the rule of law. they are the values of limited -- or excuse me, individual responsibility. they are the values of free markets. they are the values of respect for the sanctity of life. they are the values of respecting traditional marriages and families. and down the list.

those are the kinds of principles that this nation was founded on. those are the principles that made this nation great. those are the principles that will lead us forward as a conservative movement. now, for me this is highlighted in the time and place where i grew. for many of you it's the same. we are defined in part by where we come from. i grew up in a meat packing town. it's the bluest of blue collar towns you can imagine. it was the home of the world's largest stockyards, the world largest meat packing mrabts. -- plants. my dad was a truck driver and my mom was a homemaker and my brothers worked in oil refineries and worked in grocery stores for their whole lives. so in my family, we learned some things that i think reflect those values and principles as they get played out on main street and neighborhoods all across this country. and i want to share with you four ideas that i think should carry us forward. these are examples but they're primary.

they are foundational as we move forward. and these aren't hard. this is not, you know, some sort of obscure undertaking by professors. this is basic constitutional principle and basic commonsense. the first one is this. god's in charge. god is in charge. [applause] >> there are some people who say, oh, pawlenty, don't bring that up. you know, it's politically incorrect. hogwash. [applause] >> these are enshrined in the founding documents and perspective of our country in the declaration of independence. it says we are endowed by our creator and it does not say

endowed by the bureaucrats or state government that we are given these rights. [applause] >> and there are many, many examples of this. i'm proud that in my state, in the very first sentence, in the very first paragraph of our minnesota constitution, it says this. we the people of minnesota grateful to god for our civil and religious liberties. and then it goes on from there to talk about the importance of all of us extending those privileges and benefits to others for their posterity and for their benefit down the road for future generations. so as we look forward, i say to those naysayers who tried to crowd out god from the discussion. if it's good enough for the founding fathers, it should be good enough for each and every one of us. [applause]

>> there's another principle. we can't spend more than we have. we can't spend more than we have. [applause] >> so i remember my mom -- she died by the way when i was 16 years old. she was 50 years old. she died of cancer. and when i was growing up, we didn't have a lot of money. but i remember very vividly my mom sitting at the kitchen table fretting over how that checkbook will balance, literally, on the brink of tears trying to figure out how are we going to get the bills paid but always saying, we got to live with what we have. we're going to live within our means. it was hard. and it was challenging. that perspective has been lost on too many of our federal officials. that perspective is not reflected in the current administration. barack obama, president obama, does not share that commitment.

if government spending were an olympic sport, he would be a repeat gold medallist. [applause] >> i want to share with you -- this is no longer a matter of right versus left, liberal versus conservative. we can prove our conclusion on this. by basic mathematics. the united states federal government from all sources, for all purposes takes in $2.2 trillion a year. keep that number in mind. $2.2 trillion a year. we have total unfunded liabilities of $65 trillion. $2.2 trillion in revenue. $65 trillion in total unfunded liabilities. that is more than 30 to 1 leverage. if the united states federal government were a bank regulated by itself, they would shut themselves down. [applause]

>> we live in a nation where not long ago our united states secretary of state was on rhetorical bended knee in communist china pleading with the chinese to continue to buy our debt because if they don't buy our debt and other foreign sovereign wealth funds don't buy our debt, our beloved united states of america can't pay its bills. the united states of america, my friends, is not a beggar nation. [applause] >> the united states of america is not a beggar nation. >> this will not be easy but it can be done. in minnesota, this is the land by the way of eugene mccarthy. this is the land of hubert humphrey. this is the land of paul wellstone. it is the land of walter mondale. it is the land of united states senator al franken.

[booing] >> minnesota -- let me put it this way, 49 out of 50 states voted for ronald reagan including massachusetts. guess which one didn't? minnesota. in minnesota we have taken the spending curve down to about zero. for the first time in 150-year history of my state. we cut spending in real terms. [applause] >> and i just want to share with you if we can do it in minnesota, i would suggest probably the most liberal states in the country, it can be done anywhere so i know there's challenges in new england and other places. but believe me, if you can do it in my state, you can do it anywhere. the next thing i want to share with you is a third of four principles is this. people spend their money differently when it's their money.

[applause] >> this plays itself out on lots of different issues but let me give you an example in one that's timely right before us and that's healthcare. if i said to you today, on your way home from cpac, swing by a great minnesota company. go to best buy. go to target. you buy any television set that you would like. pick any size you'd like. any characteristics, qualities that you like. don't even look at the price. don't worry about it. just send the bill to mary and me at the governor's residence at 1006 summit avenue in st. paul. how many of you would show up back at your hotel room tonight with a 12-inch black and white? [laughter] >> none of you would, of course. and so if we're going to reform systems, the direction isn't to turn them in to government-run monopolies where the other side can declare that they're giving

away, quote-unquote, free stuff, the direction we need to head is to put consumers in charge in a marketplace in conjunction with their doctors. giving them good information about what stuff costs, what the quality measurements are and let them decide what's right for them and their families. not the federal government. [applause] >> in minnesota, we did this with great success. i'll just give you one example. we said to our state employees -- i said to our state employees, by the way, the cost of the program are out of control. breaking the financial backs of everybody involved. and i said, look, we'll have a new system. you can go anywhere you want. but if you choose to go somewhere that's extra expensive and has really poor results, you're paying more. and if you choose under the program the government is paying for to go somewhere with good results, that's more efficient, with better results, you'll pay less. guess what they did? 90% of our government employees in minnesota, state government

employees, migrated to higher quality, more efficient healthcare providers and for five years in a row we had almost no premium increases in the program cumulatively. i mean, it's an amazing development because people spend their money differently when at least some of it is their money in a marketplace with market principles around that. and then lastly in terms of the four principles, bullies, we all know this, i learned this in south st. paul and you probably learned it in various ways. bullies prey on weakness not strength. so, you know, i have a fondness for ice hockey. some of you probably aren't part of the country -- if you got -- if you got a really tough person on the ice, most people leave them alone. so you look at what's going on in national security policy for our country, we have now entered an era where the president of france, president sarkozy, is lecturing the united states of

america on the dangers of appeasement. we have enter a new era. [laughter] >> that is like aig lecturing us on financial responsibility. [laughter] >> i have a message for president obama. and my message is this, mr. president, no more apology tours and no more giving miranda rights to terrorists in our country. [applause] >> now, as conservatives we know there's a better way. the patriots in this room and patriots around this country are sounding the alarm and rising up. and we also have a message for liberals. we're planting the flag on constitutional ground and if you try to take our freedoms, we will fight back. [applause]

>> president lincoln during the most challenging moments of the civil war was encouraged to fire general grant. a lot of his advisors and others said you got to get rid of him. he's scruffy, his rough at the edges. his boots aren't always polished. he's kind of a little out there. and some even said, you know, he drinks too much. well, when you listen to the elites and the pundits talk about the tea party movement or they talk about us as conservatives, they may not always say it explicitly but implicit in their comments are, you know, maybe they're not as sophisticated because a lot of them didn't go to the ivy league schools. ... 

we're on the side of freedom. we're on the side of individual responsibility. we're on the side of free markets. we're on the side of the rule of law. we're on the side of limited government and like grant, we fight. [applause]

>> so i want to encourage you never give in, never give up and let's take this country back and have conservative leadership again for the united states of america. thank you again. have a great rest of the day. [applause] ♪ >> hi, i'm dave kern and i'm a conservative because it's the right thing to do. >> i'm joseph from new york, i'm a conservative, because i believe in self-preservation, self-reliance and the protection of liberty. >> my name is susan, i was born

a conservative. ♪ >> i think we really had a break-through here. i think governor pawlenty got it right. well he got a lot of things right, but way back when, way back when in his ancestry, i bet barack obama was french. somewhere, somehow, there's some french genes in that guy. all right. moving right along. well, first of off, i've google book to remind you all, the straw poll closes at 1:00 p.m. please get your votes in of about then. all right. right now, we're continuing our parade of tough conservatives. the guys who are not in the m & m bowl and coming up is steve king. i've got to tell you a little bit about my own personal experience with steve king. i got to address the conservative opportunity society a couple months ago and walking in to that room with, oh, i guess about 15 or 16 congressional members, there was

enough energy, enough conservative energy in that room, if i could have plugged steve king in, we could have powered washington for a month, which probably would be a bad idea because we want the power to go of 0 down here sometimes. all right, to introduce congressman king, let me introduce kaine robinson, the director of operations for the national rifle association, currently serves as a member of the nra's executive council. while on the board of directors, robinson served as a member of the executive committee, long-term chairman of the legislative policy committee, chairman of the board for the nra policy committee in new mexico and he came to this after four years in the marine corps and in vietnam an american hero. ladies and gentlemen, cane. [applause] >> well, first thing i'd say about steve king, he's my

friend. i was chairman of the iowa republican party and he is a whirlwind. he grew up in a law enforcement family, in storm lake, iowa, built king construction company, starting in 1975, with one bulldozer. steve king has built stuff. that's important. six years in the iowa state senate, he was chairman of the state government committee and vice chairman of the oversight and budget committee. oops. the bureaucrats soon found a guy he didn't like new spending, he didn't want new programs, a tough businessman who demanded less spending, and lower taxes. he put the inheritance tax on the chopping block, passed other tax cuts, and made english the official language of iowa. the huge iowa congressional district in the western part of the state needed a congressman in 2002.

in the primary, you'll like this, you're organizers, in the primary, the speaker of the iowa house of representatives, he was a moderate, he was running, the wealthy state senator from the largest city in the district, he was running. from washington, the house republican campaign committee sent people to work for their favorite candidate. the r.n.c. sent people to work for their favorite candidate. but steve king, he assembled a supergrassroots campaign, fought for every vote. after a long struggle through the primary and convention process, he outorganized everybody and he won. in the general election, overwhelmingly elected. overwhelmingly elected every time since. in congress, king landed on the judiciary committee and its constitution committee. that's a problem for liberals,

because he actually believes in the constitution. what a thought. steve is it the top republican on the emigration committee, where he believes the emigration issue boils down to a couple of things. the rule of law, determining how many people should be let in and sticking to it and then a country without borders is simply a place, not a sovereign nation. he's fearless, he's iowa's george patton, congressman steve king. >> thank you all very much. it's always hard to live up to an excellent introduction and i think i'm going to be test they had in that regard. but boy, i just really like being here at cpac and getting a chance to talk to all of you. i draw energy from you, and you know, as i come here and listen

to that introduction, i come back to the time about the test of the general and primary election to be elected to this wonderful honor and privilege of serving the american people in the united states congress in a constitutional manner, i looked at my congressional district, which is roughly the western third of iowa. it's shaped kind of like a short toed boot, roughly rectangular, however, and my opponent said, well, we have more money, we have more political influence, we have moral media, we can do all of these things and took a look at the map and someone said, well, don't you live pretty close to the center. i took a nice straight edge on a scale map and i drew an x on that like you would define the center of a rectangle and that x doesn't come to my nearest incorporated community in iowa, it comes to wheeler township and that x is dead center in the district white over my house. if you could stretch a string line from corner to corner, drop a plum line down my commitment any, that's providence, so i let

them know of all the money you have, you can't buck providence. and so now, here we are today, with the president, this is going to be the theme that i want to talk to you about. the president obama has lost his mojo. he came herals the president of the united states with all of this momentum that he created and by the way, the movement really started in iowa, more eastern iowa than my part of the state, and as he built that momentum across the country and he battled against hillary clinton and hillary clinton knew more about health care than president obama did, so president obama had to get his bon thatfieds up for health care, so that became their primary issue in the primaries across the country. obama won that, went on to become president and he was elected an inaugurated with about as much political capital as any president in history. and i had a ringside seat to

watch that happen. he had more mojo than any president i remember when he was inaugurated a year and a month ago, but now, the master mesmerizer has lost his mojo. and if we stand our ground as system conservatives, he's not going to get it back. [applause] >> now here's what happens. we're a system reap, not a -- constitutional republican, not a democracy, but we're supposed to have at least faith in hour elected representatives. and so when we elected a new congress in 2008, to extend the majorities that nancy pelosi and harry reid had and when president obama was inaugurated on january 20 of 2009, i wrote before that election that if you elect president obama and nancy

pelosi as the speaker of the house, those three people can go into a phone booth and do what they will to america and there's nothing we can do in the short term about it. that's what happened. they are the ruling troica. you can call this reid care, pelosi care, you can call it obama care, i can call it all those things, it's the three-way ruling elite that is running this country. but we, as american people, have to entrust our faith to elected representatives and so when we had the economic crisis that befell us, when henry paul wallison came to the -- paulson came to the capitol september 2008 and he said the sky is falling, i need $200 billion right now to prop the sky up and we sat there and said you're in a different arena now, but he made one run at it, we voted it down, he made another run at it and it passed and henry paulson got his

$700 billion in two components. that's when the american people got really nervous about what was happening in washington, d.c. and along through that path of things that happened, we saw the nationalization of huge private sector entities. we saw the nationalization of bear stearns, fannie mae, freddie mac, ai gillespie, the insurance --aig, bank of america and now the american people are starting to think what have we wrought? the people we put in charge are making decisions to punish the private sector and nationalize that growth engines that have been created by free market capitalism. but they trusted that their elected leaders knew more about wall street than they did. and now we find out that we know more about wall street than the people on wall street know about wall street e. [applause] >> unless it was their business model to game the taxpayers, in which case i had give the nod to the wall street brokers, but we saw the nationalization of eight

huge private sector entities. but i've only named six. right of a that game general motors and chrysler. now we may not know wall street, but americans know cars. and we know that if you're going to shut down 3400 dealerships in america and you're going to ice out the secured bondholders that by legitimate right of law held that security for general motors and chrysler, and handed it over to the trade unions on the voice of the president of the united states, who fired the c.e.o. of general motors, and replaced and hired all but two board members of general motors and put in place a car czar that was 31 years old, that had never made a car, had never sold a car, i haven't seen evidence that he ever owned a car, but if i did, i'd want to ask him if it was an american-made car. and we lost faith in the white house. i wonder why. we knew more than they know, the car czar 31 years old, that was kind of the end of the line for this leap of faith that the

american people endorsed the president and the majorities, the pelosi and reid majorities, and we what happened one-third of the private sectors nationalized within this last year and a half or so and right behind that came $787 billion in economic stimulus plan,. there was another blank check for the president of the united states to pay of off his political benefactors. and here we sit today with an economy that spiraled downwards, the president of the united states has concluded this and he said this a year ago before a conference meeting with republican members of congress. he said that the new deal under f.d.r., back the great depression, actually did work, but it would have worked better if fdr hadn't lost his nerve, but fdr lost his nerve and was afraid he was spending too much money so he pulled back and when he pulled back in the second half of the 1930's, then that's what you saw unemployment go up and you had a recession within a depression, according to the

economists on steroids named barack obama. well, i'm not an economist on steroids. i'm a free marketer. i have head every word of "wealth of nations" and i believe it. [applause] and they're celebrating the anniversary of the signature on these economic stimulus plans, stim and now we have wallison of stim or stim two that they wants to bring before us. are americans nervous about this? absolutely we are. i tell you this story because that's how we got here. we got here with this whole string of t.a.r.p., the nationalization of eight huge entities an an economic stimulus plan and on ton of that, then we went right into what was next last summer in july, cap and trade. cap and tax. now, sometimes leadership will make -- give advice that will be don't argue the science, you've

already lost that argument, just argue the economics of cap and tax. i will tell you if there's ever a premise that you disagree with, never concede a premise. never, never concede a prem ills. -- premise. [applause] the liberals, the environmentalists, the extremists, its al gores of the world were wrong on the science, and today we know it. [applause] >> and i have an al gore shower at my place, and i took my drill bit out with an 8-inch bit in and i drilled all the holes out so now i can take a shower in three minutes instead of 12. sorry, al. but i've got a scoop shovel for you if you want to come anyplace in the 50 states in america, for the first time in the history of keeping records, there's snowfall on the ground in all 50 states. tough to make an argument when

the evidence is all around us with the snowy white wonder in a crystal cathedral and so we went through all of these ramifications and we came out the other side, with this. the american people lost their faith in the government, they believe that they lost their handle on government, and they rose up. and we had tea party patriots that rose up against this country last year, the 9-12 committee. many other days, april 15 is another day. i was in south carolina that day, i'll never forget that. the opportunity to be there and be part of that. constitutional conservatives stepping up to take america back. but the one thing that song wrote about that is know thine enmy. who are we up against and i want to define that enemy. they are liberals, they are progressives, they are

castroites, they're socialists, more enemies on this list, leninist, marxists. how about i go to democratic socialists and go to the web site and see what you find there. the democrat he can socialists of america, they are the socialists. there is a game man on there. that game plan looks suspiciously like president obama's game plan. it says on there that they want to nationalize the major corporations and thank them over and they want to manage those for the benefit of the people affected by them. that would be for the trade unions and perhaps the customers, and so, when i asked timothy geithner in writing as part of a hearing that we had, and so he's essentially under oath, present for me his exit strategy to denationalize these

eight huge entities. two months later, a seven page letter came back and after my lawyers analyze it had all, it came down to this, well you will do that if the time is right and i'm the only one that will know. this is the president's plan. don't believe he ever shed a tear over nationalizing any of those companies. it's in his play book. the democratic socialists of america is the play book that i've seen uniformed. i ask you to go to that web site and address that, and i could read you. so things off of that, but the big piece of the obama agenda have been cap and tax, socialized medicine, comprehensive amnesty. i believe that any combination of those are transformative to america and debilitating to our liberty an our freedom. [applause] i want them all dead. i want to kill all those bills.

and by the way, i don't want to meet with the president of the united states to see what other kind of toxic stew he's going to serve up to us. and it is a toxic stew. i mean, they started out, they were going to cook up this health care for america, so what do they do? they get a big pot out and they decide how do you start with cooking up the stew, so they reached in to that 15-year-old shelf and they pulled hillary care off it, the big old soup bone, dropped it into the pot and started to cook up the single payer socialized medicine. then they found out that the flavor was tainted, so they thank you a few more things into it and after all of these months of debate panned negotiations, it comes down to this. if you start out with tainted stew, there is no part of it that americans want, we don't want a potful, we don't want a bowlful, we don't want a spoonful, a cupful or any dined of measure of toxic stew called

socialized medicine. we want it dead. throw it out and start over. and if the president of the united states wants to negotiate with the leaders of the republicans, or if he wants to negotiate with the people who are leading philosophically among republicans or conservatives or constitutional conservatives, here are the conditions, mr. president. first, concede that that toxic stew has to be thrown out. that's one. second one is, this reconciliation package, the idea of running two bills through, past the senate bill and the house, and then the negotiated piece that's going on right now in secret, bringing that through the senate under reconciliation, which democrats called the nuclear option, now the wording is changed, reck sellation, that sounds real nice and gives me a warm fuzzy feeling, it's its

nuclear option when they named it before. passing that bill through and jamming this in the american people directly against your will, that's what they want to do. that's what they're talking about doing. the president has got to say the whole package of troika care is of off the list. and the nuclear option, reconciliation is also off the table. and now republicans need to make a concession. we need to say, our complete holistic approach to this is a pretty big complicated piece of legislation, however good the points are -- components are, let's also take that off the table. because we know if you have two ideas out there and you need a bill to get them passed, that probably says the two ideas aren't good enough to pass on their own. i have want stand-alone legislation. and i want stand-alone legislation that the american people can see clearly is

negotiated in the transparency of the light of day. and i want to start with this. lawsuit abuse reform. [applause] the trial lawyers in this country, some call them ambulance chasers, i call them trial lawyers, are tapping into the health care costs in america to the tune of 81 of a%, that's -- 8 1/2%, $2 trillion over the course of the bill and the troika will not take one dime out of the pockets of the trial lawyers. let's start with that. mr. president, if you're serious about negotiating, let's do all of the things i said, take all of those things off the table, let's set lawsuit abuse reform up as a stand-alone, pass that, put it on president obama's desk as a measure of his sincerity and wanting to have bipartisan negotiations. and if he will not do that, i

guarantee you, we will get a lot, lot better deal of a november, o of after the electi. thanks very much. god bless you. ♪ this is our country >> he's one of those guys who is not an m & m republican. he knows the difference between being on the guest list and being on the menu. all right. moving right along. let's get to our next speaker, the honorable michael williams, there you go, and marita noon is going to introduce him and ms. noon is a powerful example of america's energy thinking process. she's the executive director of care, which stands for the citizens alliance for responsible energy and she's been there since january of

2007. she focuses almost entirely on energy, oil, gas, natural gas, wind, solar, all of those things, and she knows more about this stuff than anybody on al gore's team. or in al gore's family, or in al gore's thinking pro sells. let's talk to marita. since joining care, she's come to see that everything we hold dear in america is under attack. cap and tax. i heard something else. alan west is such a font of wisdom. and alan was talking about, what are you saying cap and tax. it's kneecap and tax. something to that. all right. ladies and gentlemen, marita noon. >> we've been here talking about freedom and the things that make america great. as a part of that, we've talked about conservativism, we've

talked about grassroots, we've talked about tea parties. but until this time, we have not talked much about energy. and i postit that energy is what makes america great. not one of you would be here today or those of you watching on television or on the internet, not one of you would be able to participate in this event today, if it was not for energy. sadly, our current administration believes in an energy policy that i like to call hope and change. they hope that the change they are forcing on the american citizen will actually work. however, i venture to guess that not one of you got here today on a wind gust or a sun beam. wouldn't it be great if we had

somebody in washington who understood the role that energy really plays, the extractive industries play in america to create true wealth and provide real jobs. the combined energy industry employs in america more than 10 million people. the big three auto industry employs 2.5 million. the energy industry employs almost five times more than the auto industry. however, we in america, we taxpayers, must value the auto industry so much that we have taken our money and bailed them out, while our government increasing taxes, on the energy industry, and kills jobs. how does this make sense? our next speaker understands this. michael williams is the railroad commissioner from the great state of texas.

and that has little to do with railroads and everything to do with oil and gas. he also is on the governor's clean coal technology council. he understands the role that energy plays in america. i was if texas last week, and as i talked to people and i shared that i had the honor of introducing michael williams, i repeatedly heard statements like, he is great. you'll love him. and he'll be our next senator from the state of texas. i'm pleased to introduce to you this morning, a graduate of the university of southern california, with a bachelor's, a masters, and a law degree. a man married to his best friend

for 24 years, the next senator from the state of texas, someone who -- a candidate who has signed growers tax pledge and a man who knows that energy makes america great. please help me welcome michael williams. [applause] ♪ got bless texas ♪ it is our land >> thank you. thank you. marita, first of all, thank you for that introduction. thank you for your friendship, and thank you for working on behalf of americans each and every day to make sure that america has abundant supplies of affordable, clean, and reliable energy. my friends, it is an honor to be with you here today. i come before you today as ar three-time elected member of the texas railroad commission. a body that has absolutely

nothing to do with railroads, but we've got a lot to do with energy. as many of you know and those of you who are texans in the room, let me first of all say thank you for three times in 2000, 2002, and 2008 electing and then reelecting a bald head guy that wears bow ties and cowboy boots and as you know, i have to thank the man who made it possible for me to be a member of the railroad commission in the first place, he used to be the governor of the state of texas, he's the former president of the united states. george w. bush. my friends, many of you know my relationship with the president goes back to 1980 when he and i served as officers of the united way and while i've run for statewide office three times, the first time i put my name on a ballot was way back in 1984, when i ran for a little local office, in my hometown of

midland texas and i had a great campaign manager, his name was george w. bush and we got stomped in the republican primary. my friend, as i stand here i'm reminded of a story of alex haley. he said with you go about your business each and every day, you should find some good and praise it. so my friends, i'm here to praise some good, some good that you're doing and good about america. : poaf poaf.

we understand in this room that the constitution was created to protect us. not to subject us to a despotic central government. and that the principal role of government is to advance the cause of freedom. we know as government grows, freedom contracts. we know the more we pay in taxes the less we take home. the more we spend today the less we save for tomorrow. and i know somebody out there when i said that said you politicians always talk about cut spending and you never do that. when i came to the railroad commission of texas we had more than 950 employees. we have right at 700 today. because we took your word and your challenge to cut the size of government. [applause] >> back in 2005, back in 2005, the texas legislature gave the eight of us in statewide positions a $32,000 pay raise.

and two years later they gave us another $13,000 pay raise. that's $45,000 per year. and i've never taken one penny of it. [applause] >> it is so much easier for me to hold the line on spending when i don't have my hand in the cookie jar. my friends, the people of massachusetts gave us is tea party more than two centuries ago. and new hope just one month ago. if massachusetts can elect a republican to replace teddy kennedy, then there is no safe haven this election year for the tax and spend washington crowd. [applause] >> the theme for today -- the theme for today is advancing freedom. and there's no greater challenge and no greater threat to the freedom of american families and american businesses than the fantasy called global warming.

[applause] >> and the proposed epa regulations to control c02 and the federal cap-and-trade legislation. and by the way, back home in texas, we say cap-and-trade is cap and tax. cap our jobs and trade our -- to cap our economy and trade your jobs over to china and india. my friends, you know two months ago the epa ruled that the air we exhale represents an endangerment to our health. this ruling came just weeks after the so-called science behind manmade global warming came into question. because of the manipulations of climate data. it turns out that the scientists in great britain who are connected to scientists in the united states and have received millions of dollars in grants to advance the science of climate change have cooked the data to back their claim that your activities imperil this earth. it seems the idea of following the science wherever it leads is not so attractive when the

science begins to threaten future research dollars. so data that shows evidence of global cooling has been buried, discarded with emails and other data destroyed to prevent a public hearing. don't you think it's ironic that liberals who claim we rush to war in iraq without hard evidence of weapons of mass destruction now say alternate alternatively we need to pass regulations without science to settle the matter. you might call this the policy of preemptive warming. [applause] >> but allowing politics to highjack science is not just a scandal because it exposes hypocrisy because it impacts the real lives of 300 million americans. think about it groups as varied as the brookings institute on the left and the heritage on the right.

they said epa regulations in cap-and-trade will reduce gdp, will kill american jobs and will lighten your pocketbook. my friends, because texas is so energy intensive, our comptroller even said that it would have a greater adverse impact on us and that's why earlier this week our texas governor announced texas was suing the epa to stop it from using bad science. [applause] >> to stop it from using bad science to promote bad things. my friends, that doesn't mean that we don't recognize that we have a moral obligation to take care of the earth that god gave us. but we can have a healthy economy and a healthy environment at the same time. the choice is between those on the left that want to use regulation taxation and litigation. and those of us here that recognize that we can get to a clean environment by spurring

innovation and entrepreneurship and new technology. [applause] >> we have to do a couple of things. we have to recognize that energy is the life blood of this country. and when you're talking about power, you got to recognize that 60% of this economy -- when it's growing and growing runs off firms that are driven by electricity. we've got to protect the ability to make affordable power. so we've got to do four things. we got to go and drill for american energy wherever we have american energy. [applause] >> we got to drill for it on the west coast, the east coast, the eastern part of the gulf of mexico, the rocky mountains and, oh, by the way, drill in anwr.

[applause] >> beyond that, we've got to do something else. we've got to bring the nukes back. [applause] >> we haven't built a new nuclear power plant since 1979. and think about this one fact. 75% of the electric power in france is nuclear-fired. 35% of the nuclear power in japan is nuclear-fired. my goodness if the french can figure it out, surely we can. [applause] >> in order to do that we'll have to streamline the regulatory regime. we'll have to accelerate research and development of generation for nuclear power plants. we'll have to remove the bureau rattic road blocks and we're going to have to enact a loser pay rule that says that those who want to file frivolous lawsuits to stop the building of nuclear power plants -- they're going to have to pay. [applause] >> the third thing that we'll

have to do, i was like you. i went -- i listened to all the campaign rhetoric in the last presidential race and i heard the president say he was for hope and change. i just hope he changes. [applause] >> and there's one area i hope he changes. i hope he changes c02 is a commodity. it's not a waste. it's not a polluter. al gourmet be afraid of c02 but i got oil men that pay $20 a ton for it. my friends we have advanced the new technologies for carbon capture and storage. and one of the things that we're doing in texas today, the texas literature passed legislation said if you build a power plant and the primary fuel is coal and you can reduce the emissions as greater a level as we have today and capture the c02 and use it for enhanced oil recovery, we'll give you a credit against your margins tax. you realize to date 200,000

barrels of oil is produced in texas every day using c02, pushing it in the ground to push that oil back up. and there's 5 1/2 billion barrels left that we know of and there's 10 billion across america. my friends, we have to advance the knowledge of wind storage technology. some of you know in texas we lead the country in the promotion of wind energy. it's not hot air from austin. it's actually wind energy. about 9,000 megawatts of wind power. more wind power than states combined. but god had a sense of humor. he put the sweet spot for texas wind way out in west texas and he put the demand load where the population center is in dallas/fort worth. he just wanted to make sure we could figure out how to get the west texas wind over to dfw. just like in texas what we'll have to do all across the

country is built transportation lines. i'm giving you a riddle i will let the wind blow in the early morning and evening but not when you're at work and school. he said, i'm going to have the wind blow stronger in september, october and november rather than june, july and august. [laughter] >> but there are technologies that we need to unleash that believe that they're that close to building the energy storage capacity so that we could generate the wind when it's blowing but save it until we need it. my friends, the core of how we're going to turn the light on so your youngsters can study and we can do our work around the house is going to be natural gas and clean coal and nuclear power. but we're going to complement is

with better bioefficiency. we'll continue making sure that america is the greatest place in the world. my friends may the peace of the lord be with you. may god bless you. may god bless america. [applause] ♪ god bless texas with his own hands ♪ >> low taxes, minimal government involvement and independence and personal responsibility for actions taken. >> my name is frank. i'm going to serve because i don't want like the government in my life. i don't want the government tell me where i can go, where i can see.

>> my name is adrian. and i'm a conservative because i'm here to promote freedom here and at home and abroad. ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ >> you're watching live coverage of cpac, the conservative political action conference hosted by the american conservative union. we expect in just a moment remarks from congressman mike pence of indiana. this is live coverage on c-span2. >> someone had given the stage crew false information. we were not going to have another pop-in by dick cheney but somebody said well, maybe obama would come by so they raised the prompters up,

noticed, please, nothing on my hands and the prompters they're done. there's something about the midwest of the united states. there's something about the midwest, you know, a lot of us -- a lot of us who are in the washington scene, talk radio and things like that we tend to be a little bit loud sometimes. we tend to get a little too excited sometimes. what this country really needs is what our next speaker and the gentleman who is going to introduce him provide. calm, competent conservatism. the three cs. remember that. because that's what this country really needs most. calm competent conservatism. what better thing to do than the man who preceded him in congress congressman mike pence. one of our favorite people on this planet. there's not a lot of people in this town who are truly admirable. and there's not a lot of people whom we talk to but look up to.

mike pence clearly is one of those. david mcintosh is one too. preceded mike in congress and before he did that special assistant to attorney general ed meese. special assistant to president reagan for domestic policy affairs. a devout conservative. you know, one -- one of those calm competent hoosiers. ♪ >> thank you. it's great to be here at cpac. this is a historic moment. a year ago the pundits were telling us conservatism is dead. not now. just like 1980 with ronald reagan and 1994 when you sent me and the contract to america to congress. conservatives are once again on the march on washington. [applause] >> we're ready to restore our

constitution, to ensure the sanctity of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. i'm here to introduce the man who succeeded me. my dear friend, mike pence. he is, as he describes himself, a christian, a conservative and a republican. in that order. [applause] >> before coming to congress, mike ran a think tank where he thought through the policy issues. and then he was a talk show host where he learned to become a great communicator. in fact, i think he'll be the next great communicator in our party. [applause] >> now, mike is campaigning tirelessly for conservatives to take back congress, to dethrone nancy pelosi. [applause] >> yeah! and to send harry reid and his midnight deals back to nevada.

[applause] >> time after time mike has proven to be a great leader for our cause. when washington said we have to rescue wall street and buy general motors, mike stood up and said, no more bailouts! [applause] >> when barack obama said we have to pass a cap-and-trade tax on energy, mike stood up and said, no! no! no cap-and-trade tax, mr. president. and when obama said we've got let the government take over our healthcare system, mike pence said, no way! [applause] >> mike has said yes to the american way of life. to free enterprise, to our constitution, to the pursuit of liberty, to the sanctity of life, to all the things that make this the greatest nation on this earth. yesterday vice president cheney

told us his predictions. well, it's my hope that in 2012, the american people will not only say no to barack obama, but they'll get a chance to say yes to mike pence. our next speaker. [applause] >> oh, gosh. [applause] >> thank you for that. i'm mike pence. i'm from indiana. welcome to the conservative comeback and the beginning of the end of the pelosi congress. cpac 2010! [applause] >> thank you, david mcintosh for that grossly over the top introduction. [laughter]

>> it is much appreciated. thank you to the board, to jeb babbin and the rest. i got to be honest they say behind every great man is a woman rolling her eyes. [laughter] >> and my wife, karen pence, is sitting right there. 25 years this june. [applause] >> give her a round of applause. will you please. [applause] >> i was really excited with this time slot. you know, they called me up and said how about 11:00 am friday at cpac for your address. and i said, man, that is great timing. you know, in politics, really timing is everything. i was driving down the road yesterday and i heard the news that tiger woods would be addressing the nation at 11:00 am friday. [laughter] >> oh, perfect. but, you know, there is hope. somebody beyond you good people in this room might see this speech.

i mean, i got a facebook page. [laughter] >> and youtube springs eternal. [applause] >> what a difference a year makes. last year at this podium i said that despite our defeats in 2006 and 2008 i said we were on the brink of an american awakening but i had no idea. i mean, a year ago most conservatives were still sure of our principles but we were pretty uncertain about the future. i mean, a year ago it seems like it was only a remnant of people in this country unbound by the glamour and the appeal of the new american left. at cpac 2009 we met under a seemingly un conquconquerable juggernaut. i mean, barack obama had 120% approval rating according to msnbc. [laughter] >> no, seriously, his approval

rating was over 65% in all 57 states. [laughter] >> unprecedented democrat majorities in both houses. an unchallenged liberal dominance in the media our courts, our public schools and our universities. it's extraordinary. it was the force that seemed indomable to everybody that didn't know you. now look at you. look at what you've done. you've proved thomas jefferson right. the people are the ultimate guardians of their own liberty. [applause] >> because of you, because of you, the american people have been on the march to restore the timeless values that built this nation. a march that was first bugled by you right here in this room one year ago.

the american people are on the march. and they're on the march to win back america. [applause] >> and they took that march of freedom to historic elections in virginia. [applause] >> in new jersey. [applause] >> and in the state formerly massachusetts. we have a republican in the united states senate because of you. [applause] >> as we say south of highway 40, who'd a thunk it. [laughter] >> facing overwhelming opposition. you stood firm. and you inspired a nation. because of you, the question of american renewal is no longer if. it's when. [applause] >> and your enthusiasm for freedom and limited government

has been contagious. with your strong support, even republicans in congress have returned to the fight for fiscal discipline and limited government. [applause] >> i mean, really. three years ago republicans didn't just lose their majority. we lost our way. i mean, when i opposed the members of my own party and my president on things like no child left behind and the prescription drug entitlement, i warned them. sometimes right here at cpac, that if we walked away from the principles that minted our national governing majority, the american people would walk away from us. and you did. but after a year that saw every single house republican vote against the failed stimulus bill, every single house republican vote against the budget-busting budget and opposing schemes of energy and healthcare let me tell you from inside the building republicans

in congress are back in the fight and they're back in the fight on the right. [applause] >> now, some people around here like to call us the party of no. well, i say no is way under rated here in washington, d.c. [applause] >> sometimes no is just what this town needs to hear. when it comes to more borrowing, the answer is no. [applause] >> when it comes to more spending, the answer is no. when it comes to more bailouts, the answer is -- >> no. >> and when it comes -- and when it comes to some healthcare summit that's nothing more than a photo op designed to pave the way for obama-care 2.0, the

answer is no! conservative republicans are back. and we're in the fight for fiscal discipline and we're on the side of the american people. so this is what you did. you took the battles in washington, d.c. to the streets of america. you marched to the airwaves of talk radio, to tea parties, to april 15th, to town halls and to the national mall on 9/12. [applause] >> isn't that something? karen and i will never forget that day. i parked the car on the other side of the capitol. it's a saturday morning. i figured there'd would be 10, 20,000 people. we walked out on the west side of the capitol building and my knee locked. [laughter] >> karen reached over and gave me one of those, honey, it's going to be okay. touch us on the elbow kind of things. i mean, it was just amazing.

the throng of americans that i saw spanning across the nation's mall. now, i know the "new york times" said there were a few thousand people. [laughter] >> gathered there that day. and fox newschannel said there were a billion. [laughter] >> sorry, guys. but as god is my witness, as i looked out from the west steps at that moment, i saw a sight i'll never forget. hundreds of thousands of every day americans gathered on the nation's mall on behalf of limited government, personal responsibility and fiscal responsibility. everything that made this country great. [applause] ..

>> and they might just be kicking to the right. the bottom line, this ain't over. we cannot rest. we cannot relent. and we cannot let up until we take the american congress back for the american people.

[applause] >> men and women, we've got to win back america. we've got to take that he'll in 2010, so help us god. so how do we do it? so how do we do it? first, to win back america we've got to stay focused. got to stay focused. distraction is the enemy of our success. politics in the airwaves are always filled up with speculation. who is up, who's down. who is next, who is perfect. who is not? friends, with god to resist the temptation to look past the next election. anybody who is not focus on the midterm election don't have their eye on the ball. [applause] >> and she was right. or to borrow another line from a regular speaker at cpac a few years back, we need to remind our neighbors and friends every single day, that a recession is

when your neighbor loses, and depression is when you lose your job. and recovery is when nancy pelosi loses her job. [cheers and applause] >> second, to win back america, we need to elect a conservative congress in 2010 to turn this country around. we don't just need a republican majority. we need a conservative majority on capitol hill. [applause] >> we need men and women committed to fight for a strong defense to limit government and

traditional moral values without apology. i have said for years, i'm a conservative but i'm not bad. [laughter] >> we need you to go out there and find more happy warriors. and back them all the way. cheerful conservatives who will take our message to every community, every neighborhood, and every american regardless of race or creed or color. [applause] >> and lastly, to win back america we've got to offer solutions grounded in the timeless pencils of american founding. there's nothing that ails this country that couldn't be fixed by paying more careful attention to the principles enshrined in the declaration of independence and the constitution of the united states of america. [applause] >> to win back america we have to offer the american people real solutions, to the

challenges facing this country at home and abroad. the american people are looking for answers. and lord knows, we need them. despite the political gains of the last year, men and women, america is changing. and she is not changing for the better. a nation conceived in liberty has come of age in bondage to the government. we've lost respect to the world. we are going broke. and our social and cultural fabric is unraveling. during similar times margaret thatcher told her conservative party in 1976 these words. she said, britain is on its knees. by those old enough to remember the sacrifices of the war, and by the young born since the war, we have seen too much national failure. hope has withered. faith has gone sour. and for we who remain, it is close to midnight.

america is not yet on its knees, but it is bowed by years of fiscal recklessness, debt and cultural decline. you know, i am told that officials in this administration will actually admit in private that they see their job as, quote, managing american decline. so let me say from my heart the job of the american president is not to mention american decline. the job at american president president is to reverse it. [cheers and applause] >> our movement must produce solutions that will return our national government to the commonsense and the common dice of everyday america. so how do we do it? well first, we reverse american decline by doing what is

necessary to defend this nation at home and abroad. this means getting the american soldiers the resources they need to get the job done and come home safe from afghanistan and iraq. [applause] >> it means giving our intelligence communities the tools to fight the war in terror like a war. [applause] >> and it means and in the era where we put international public relations ahead of public safety. khalid shaikh mohammed and his cohorts should not be tried i our courts. they should be tried in a military tribunal at guantánamo bay. [cheers and applause]

>> and it means being prepared to confront rogue regimes like north korea and iran. let the world know this, if nothing else, america stands with israel. [cheers and applause] >> and it also means being prepared to defend our security today and tomorrow. as communist china continues to build its military at a frenetic pace, our relationship with china should look like this. one hand extended in diplomacy and trade, and the other hand

resting comfortably on the holster of the arsenal of democracy. [cheers and applause] >> and closer to home we reverse american decline by giving back some good old common sense. the american people know we can't borrow and spend and they'll our way back to a growing country. they know that deficits and debt threaten our prosperity and our posterity. they know we can't bail out everything business in america, and they know the freedom to succeed must include the freedom to fail. [applause] >> and you know, this is not just about economics. one bailout after another, one takeover after another is not just bankrupting our government. it is bankrupting our national character. separating people from the

consequences of failure, corrodes the fundamental virtue of the american people. and is a prescription for permanent economic decline. [applause] >> so we have to end the era of runaway spending, borrowing and bailouts but fiscal discipline alone is not enough. we need to renew the incentive in america to create, to build, to achieve and excel, permitting people to enjoy the fruits of their labor, build our cities, conquer our frontiers, and it is what made america the most powerful economy in the history of the world. we must return incentives. to the american people. [applause] >> but you know, that's not the president's approach. i was with him in baltimore the other day. i had to ask him to if he would support a cross the board tax cut. the way john f. kennedy did.

the way ronald reagan did. and i think the president pretty much said that he would support across the board tax cuts, as long as they weren't across the boards. [laughter] >> this whole thing about not wanting to do tax cuts for the rich, it's a phobia on that side of the aisle. and reminds me the time someone came up to ronald reagan when he was running for president. he had been criticized for the very same thing. this pipefitter came up and said governor reagan, i heard you're being criticized for those tax cuts for the rich. but i want you to go ahead and pass those tax cuts for the rich because i ain't never been hired by a poor man. [applause] >> law, the american people know what works and what doesn't. the reverse economic decline we need fiscal discipline in washington, d.c., and fast acting across the board tax relief for working families, small businesses and family farms. get government under control, get government out of the way,

and america will come roaring back. i promise you. [cheers and applause] >> and finally, finally to reverse american decline we should recognize that our present crisis is not merely economic and political, but moral. in nature. [applause] >> we must win back america for the fundamental traditional values of the american people. the sanctity of life and the sanctity of marriage. [applause] >> marriage was ordained by god, instituted in the law is the glue of the american family and the safest harbor to raise children. and that must be defended against the onslaught of the left and the congress, and the courts, and if need be, in the constitution of the united states of america.

[applause] >> and we must defend the life. we must defend life. you know, i believe in the an innocent unborn human life is morally wrong but it is also morally wrong to take the taxpayer dollars of millions of pro-life americans and use it to promote abortions at home and abroad as this government is busy doing every single day. [applause] >> we need to restore the historic restrictions on foreign aid in mexico city. we need to end all federal funding for destructive embryonic research, and the largest abortion provider in america should not be the largest recipient of federal funding under title 10, but time has come to deny any and all federal funding, the planned parenthood of america. [cheers and applause]

>> so stay focused. [laughter] >> send us a conservative congress. and offer principled solutions based on our timeless principle. that's how we win back america. this is our moment. now is the time. it's time for all of us to do all that we can to preserve what makes this country great. if you can give, give. if you can speak, speak. if you can write, write. and if you can run, run. [laughter] [applause] >> but, do all you can. now is the moment.

and as you take to the field in the next nine months to do freedoms work, know this. you will not fight alone. engraved on the liberty bell our words from an ancient text. it reads proclaim liberty, throughout all bland, and unto all the inhabitants thereof. that old book also says where the spirit of the lord is. various liberty. [applause] >> winston churchill said in 1941, words to this time and your life. he said, and i quote, you must indeed have a blind soul who cannot see that some great purpose and design is being worked out here below, of which we have the honor to be faithful

servants. men and women of cpac 2010, there is a great purpose. you are the faithful servants, and his purpose is freedom. [applause] >> let us do as generations of americans have done before, let us stand for what has always been the source of american greatness. our faith in god, and our freedom. and if we hold that banner high, i believe with all my heart the good and great people of this land will rally to our cause. we will take this congress back in 2010, and we will take this country back in 2012. so help us god. [applause] >> thank you for being here.

god bless you all. [cheers and applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ >>adies and gentlemen, i think, i think we just heard one of the best speeches that's ever been delivered here. [applause] >> i don't say this lightly,

because i talk to political people all the time. but again, there are very many people that we respect. there are some whom we admire, and there are darn few of the we look up to. and think of great futures for. one of those is mike pence. [applause] >> all right, before we let you go for lunch, we got to talk about -- some of the things that mike talked about. and our next they'll does precisely that. saving freedom from obama-care, because you will lose the freedom to choose your healthcare. the freedom to have a good relationship with your doctor, the freedom to buy and sell whatever you want in terms of the medical care you choose to have, if some of this in grossly gross bill is passed. all right, to have this panel, we will have grace marie turner, the present, she founded in 1995

to provide and informed debate on free market ideas for health reform. serves as a form for analysts and market oriented think tanks. joining her, docs for patient care, dr. hal scherz. and just to be a little bit of a self promoter, if you read the front page of human events.com today, guess who has the headline story? dr. hal scherz. with him, jim martin, heather higgins. ladies and gentlemen, grace turner. [applause] >> good morning. welcome to our panel on saving freedom from obama-care. it isn't over yet.

our panelists are leaders who took action to light the flame that swept across america to set massachusetts on fire on janua january 19 and hauled obama-care from near certain passage. scott brown, 41, president obama and speaker pelosi still deny the message that the voters sent to congress by electing senator brown to the people's seat. [applause] >> we were truly within days, or at most, weeks, of obama-care being enacted. but even today, if the house were to take a suicide boat and pass the senate bill, it would be on the president's desk immediately and signed into law. their plan is to use the 51 vote

reconciliation process to fix it in the senate. ladies and gentlemen, these bills cannot be fixed. even today, news reports say that the white house will pose a merged bill online on monday, and there are republicans who oppose it at next week's health summit at blair house. leader boehner made it very clear yesterday that he will insist, and i quote, that they wrap their biggest government takeover of our healthcare system and start with a clean sheet of paper, and commonsense ideas. he knows these bills cannot be fixed. the latest poll shows that 61 percent of the american people agree. mr. boehner warned us to stay

alert. we are not safe from passage of obama-care until the gavel falls on the 111th congress, even today, a democratic strategist said they're going to come out with guns a blazing, determined to pass obama-care after this summit. one democratic official said last week that if they had any idea scott brown could win, they would have worked through christmas to finish work before the massachusetts election. they are not giving up, and we must not either. these for outstanding leaders on your panel today stepped up and found unique ways to have a huge impact on turning the tide away on what seem like an inevitable passage of obama-care. and we need them and you to keep working. heather higgins chairs the board

of the independent women's forum, is president of the randolph foundation and is involved in many philanthropic and professional endeavors. she will talk with you about her crucial work in educating massachusetts voters about the dangers of obama care. dr. eric novack is a full-time orthopedic surgeon. he is chairman of arizona. we have arizona here. arizona for healthcare freedom, what a novel idea. he will tell you about his work and starting a nationwide movement in state legislatures to stand up to washington operation. dr. hal scherz is a noted pediatric urologist in atlanta, and took action to create doctors for patient care. again, a novel idea. he started with 20 members last may, and is now up to 4000 members. look out, ama.

and jim martin -- [applause] >> -- will talk about his incredible messaging campaign as president of the 60 plus association, a conservative alternative to the aarp. please join me in welcoming our panel, heather. welcome to the panel. [applause] >> good morning. or nearly good afternoon. i wanted to let you know that i am an unlikely person to have up here because healthier had never been something on which i could focus. but when i became where of what was being snuck through in the stimulus bills last february, i decided it was income and upon me for the sake of my children and their children to do whatever i possibly could in whatever small way i could to assist in trying to stop the passage of the healthcare proposal as we saw them coming down the pipe. i deserve no credit for this.

i did whatever i could in my small way to help with media or strategy or fundraising, but these were for so many different groups, and they all worked so hard and as well as there are many unsung heroes out there, individuals who did exactly what i did who pitched in and made this all possible. but it was exciting to do. it was rewarding to have iws put up the ad, be involved, put out polls to watch the work of afp and 60 plus and the numerous other groups, do what they did and yet, despite poll numbers that were worse than hillary care had, this thing was still walking around and really. we have frankenstein on her hands. is dead but still undead thing that we're insisting on passing. around christmas i started hearing scuttlebutt is that the massachusetts race might not be quite as hopeless as the 20-point gap indicate in the

polling. and that was reaffirmed by the numbers that show that scott brown had closed at 29 points. i spoke a number of political professionals and they told me that it was still way too long a shot to try and spend money on, the resources for healthcare needed to be saved for the battles that we knew we had, and this was just a very long shot. but they weren't my resources. i didn't have any resources, so i figured maybe this was the silver stake him if we could make the race be close and make it be about healthcare, then we could close that enough that they would get the message. so independent women's boys turned itself into a qualified c-4, it raised money. it used message, radio ads on healthcare to try and make that be the issue. because back in our agenda, it was about the economy and national security. it was taken primarily to women and independents, remember, massachusetts is 51% independent. only 12% republican.

we found two wonderful massachusetts physicians who recorded robo calls. and we got to the time of the election we would assume to be enough to live calls going out to get out the vote, but as best as we could tell from asking many people who were involved, not the campaign, but other people, there were no calls going out from independent groups, women's groups or on the healthcare message as the 41st vote. so we raised more money and we did that. what a phenomenal day. brown didn't just come close. he won. i think, the silver stake was there. [applause] >> and yet, frankenstein had had his brain removed, his heart cut out, and they didn't get it. obama, nancy pelosi were taking motorized wheels, propping up his corpse, weekend at bernie's, and pretending he is still alive. and the independent women's boys continued its effort by doing several things. and i encourage you all to go to www.iw voice.org. we have a list of those members

who voted yet go and those for healthcare bill in november and another list of those who voted nay go for that vote. and is twisting their arms now. the these are the ones where we think of those who voted that way will be quickly susceptible to hearing from their constituents. constituents. they are in tight races that they care. be sort of dismissed republicans. they are democrats. but it matters to them to hear from you to countervail the pressure that's being put upon them now and if you can help us with radio ads that would be tremendously helpful. i want to give you, and my remaining two minutes and 39 seconds, because it been really good, because grace marie turner spend very strict. to leave you with three lessons learned from this. the first is that small independent efforts actually matter.

i had assumed that it needed to always be large, but the reality is we did polling afterwards and 60 percent of the people who heard our radio ad voted for scott brown. we also found that are robo calls, instead of having people hanging up on them, both of our physicians had total strangers tracking them down and calling them to thank them for having recorded those calls. so it does make a difference and it should reinforce all of you who are volunteering, and tea party activities, small groups, whatever it is, important to do. the large work is important, too, and some of the other things that were done were fantastically important. but it all is a collaborative effort and it all matters. the second thing is we need to think long-term. the reality is that obamacare is our fault that the reason i say that is that after 1994, we did a republin