issue. our feeling is that the united states can want take people to offshore prisons and hold them outside the law. there will be times and more when you need to hold people, and they don't have the right to lawyers or judges looking at them then, but certainly when you hold people for years in a safe place, they need review. i hope that answers it in some general way. >> i mean to me, it's a place where it demonstrates if guantanamo is a place where the suspect of terrorism was conjured up for people who had nothing to do with terrorism, this is the area where gee -- jay -- geneva ceases to exist. in 2004, the supreme court said you can hold prisoners until the end of hostilities creating some

parallel worlds to the yes geneva conventions, and at that point, the geneva conventions were unilaterally discarded. call him our governor, i'm more

proud to call him my friend, governor andrew cuomo. [applause]. bridges. this is an hour. >> thank you very much. [applause] thank you.ou, thank you.

thank you. happy new year, new york.good it is going to be a good one.th the lieutenant governor is and he great. [applause]we when we started theadministtion administration we had three colb you seele behind me ball is thet personification of that. he was a great mayor of the cit of rochester. he's been a phenomenal governor. he's been everywhere. he's truly a superstar. let's give him a round of applause, lt. governor bob duffy. [applause] our great country will have ano important job at one time he was a formeran assemblyman.rmer [applause]er anotr another gentleman who had a ver important job when he was the state senator still has an

important of attorney general eric schneider. [applause] majority leader talking about broad players, the last person to have a rookie season was derek jeeter. a pleasure to be with you. [applause] speaker sheldon. th had two rookies to deal withi last year. the speaker both myself and the -- i can tell you this the speaker was always constructive it's not that we always agree o everything but the question is are you positive and are you constructive and are you working towards a solution and of the speaker was always constructive and was always supportive of me personally. we all owe him a debt of gratitude for a great job lastgr

year. [applause] my friend john simpson pleasuree o be with you. thank you for being here. [applause]n alre minority leader brian. thank you very much foryou very vice, your serviceof the court of app especially chief judge lipman, an honor to be with you, and as a point of certainly privilege, i hope you noticed there's been a certain amount of restoration that's been going on in the capital, the ogs, office of an the general service team has done an outstanding job headed by the commissioner. [applause]assembly

foot for thank you for all of your help. [applause] and to all of you my fellow new my f yorkers, thank you for taking the time to be with us today. it was just about one year ago today that we got in this room at this point to talk about the state and the trajectory of the state. we said at that time the state was at a crossroads, that new yorkers were hurting abouters 800,000 people unemployed or underemployed. the economy had reaped hardship and anxiety all across the state and people needed help.go the government however was filled with scandal that was ineffective and ride withst

partisanshipat and the state was divided in many ways. upstate and downstate millionaire's middle class, gays straight cut democrats andstrair republicans. we had a fiscal deficit which was the most pronounced problemm but maybe even a more difficultb problem was the trust deficit, pee performance deficit, the integrity rfdeficit that the ste was also suffering from.from new yorkers the serve better. it than they were getting.new itd the new yorkers knew it.o cp the capitol was a symbol of the deterioration and it was under the renovation for 11 years believe it or not. scheduled to take four more years by the time the renovatio was finished we would have had to start a renovation all over again. the situation was grim. people have problems and our government didn't have thee capacity or the credibility to be of service.

we were at a crossroads we had choice to make and we made the choice. it remains dysfunctional andogeo decided to come together tonmen reestablish the government in the state of newan york and to forward to rebuild our state.ch we've made the right choice. we chose to begin to change the culture of all the need to put people first to rebuild the trust to restore our dtv readin capital. the 234th legislative sessiona had a historic success for the people of the state. [applause] would be asked the men and wome of the assembly and the senated please stand so we can recognize you and give you a round ofr applause for the great work that

you did in this legislativeed tf session. you restore the faith of the people in the state and we thank you. we all think you. onwhat se] thinking back what we accomplished makes me tired with no taxes and we got a budget edneta on time.enact the tax cap after 20 years of debate and discussion. we've closed -- blabber. [applause] [laughter]lis, we closed 3800 prison bedsosed because we finally realized tha rison operations is not economic development. we eliminated the nt a payroll tax for most small businessesl across the state.

we passed the toughest30 years, regulations and 40 years. we launched and the new york open for business campaign anda regional councils that areat ar energizing the entire state.st we passed an affordable energy policy with the recharged new york financing and after eightd years we passed article 10. we provide desperately needed flood relief to homeowners andd small businesses and passed the ethics reforms to restore trust in the government and attack the chronic high unemployment among the inner city disadvantaged youth with an innovative jobs program. [applause] be restored new york's ta reputation as the progress of capital of the nation.ndmark avt we have landmark achievements i the area of social justice ands, economic justice. millions of new yorkers had been treated as second-class citizen

for too many years. we ended the injustice. we stopped the discrimination. we made history. ri led the nation. mar we passed the marriage equal thr for all new yorkers, and we did it together. [applause]we but we didn't stop there. for decades new yorkers wereed burdened by an unfair tax code.d under our old tax code whether you made $20,000 or $20 million, you paid the same tax rate believe it or not. was it was just plain wrong.ought we brought fairness to new york. our principle is very simple. the more you make, the high yea the rate you pay because a flat tax is just not a fair tax and

that's what we understand and believe in the state of new york. [applause]new under our new fair tax plan,bras we've added new brackets to protect the middle class and a high earner brackett. fair tax plan we stimulated thee economy byc providing a middle class tax cut.agrees everyone agrees to stimulate the economy whether it is president reagan or president barack obama that a tax cut stimulates the r economy. and everyone agrees that the middle class has been struggling for too long without any help and without any assistance and we've provided a middle class tax cut for the lowest rate in 58 years. [applause]st

now 58 years. just think about that. it was a really long, long time ago. the year was 1953. was tom dewey was governor of the state of new york.the the first culbert television sets were just being sold. orckie robinson was playingse f second base for the brooklyn dodgers. [applause] the first corvette was created. [laughter] i was just a twinkle in myer's e father's [laughter]doub may be a double trinkle. [laughter] the majority was onlyonly 4-years-old.

but what a ladder he was, wasn't he? [laughter] speaker silver was onlyeven 8-years-old. but even at eight he was speaker silver. [laughter] ryt what is very heartening isve that even then you should know they were both working together hand in hand in the spirit of bipartisanship. let's give them a round of applause. [applause]down 2011 will go down in historyboos books as an extraordinary success and the members of the legislature should be very proud of what they've accomplished. unfortunately, that wasn't the only story of 2011. 2011 was also a very challenging

year towards the state in manyma ways.albany. especially outside. we had a terrible situation with tropical storm lee and hurricane i dream that caused terrible damage in parts of the state that could really least affordt it. the mid hudson the north country, the southern tier sustained terrible damage. but in our darkest hours, new yorkers shined brightest. the revenue and orders came together in the spirit of community and the voluntarismin was inspiring. the way our first responders came together all across themode state as models of courage as models of public service wheny every instinct in your body says run to safety ha the first responders and to provide safety to other neighbors and other neo

yorkers if it wasn't for theof extraordinary work of the first responders what we went through would have been much, much, much worse. [applause] we are joined today by many of the first responders to savehat lives during that terrible period for the state of new yor i will ask them to stand at this time and let's give them a big round of applause and thinkd of their courage and other service in their volunteerism. [applause]

[applause] 2011 we accomplished much there is no doubt, 2011 we've been through much. there is nero doubt. it but it's also no doubt that we've only just begun to do the work that this state needs done we've established credibility, we reversed decades of declinew in the state, but now is theual time to actually get to workyore building a new new york. we have big problems in new york. we also have big solutions in. new york. today i'm going to put forth a rkree part plan to make the newo

new york a reality. part one the next phase in thei economic blueprint for growth,o part two, the real imagine the governmcaent can make it a real in part three a new york new division for the progressivere,n future. when it comes to economics anda getting the economy moving, our challenge for 2012 is this, how does government have any government, the state government, the national government, how do they spur jo creation in a down economy whil limiting spending and maintaining fiscal discipline? the answer is create at public-private partnerships that leverage state resources to generate billions in economic growth and create jobs. and that is the challenge that we face. spurring the private sector toto create jobs without spendingspn state resources that would actually hurt the economicion of situation o f the state. let's begin by building on our

economic strength. we know that new york is ayorkeu destination location to words it spent $50 billion in new york ie 2010 alone. new york is the place -- the nee york is the place that people want to come to but new york must stay ahead of thecompetion competition. the convention centers aret econ important economic generators.wu right now when you look at the list of weare new york is in terms of convention centers,w sadly new york's convention center on the west side ofentio manhattan is down at the bottom of the list literally number 12 as the places like anaheimplace california, washington, d.c., los angeles, there is new york. right now the jacob javits convention center is not competitive. conv that hurts the new york economy because we are just not getting the show here. the largest convention center in the country is in chicago at

3.1 million. you see it is 842,000 square feet. now this is not in a problem. you talk about four years, possibly expanding jobs. it's hard to expand the job because it's lost, the hudsonon river is on the west side of the development of the north and the development of the east.t but today is different, today io different because we are nott b just on the talk about ourab palms, we are not just going tot talk about challenges we want to talk about the opportunities.e and today is different becauseui ng are nos t just going to talki about this challenge we are going to do something about it.s it's builtt the largest convention center in the nation there is. [applause]we we believe we can attract $4 billion in the private secto investment to build a state ofn

the art convention center at thl racetrack. it will be all about jobs, jobs jobs, tens of thousands buildin he number one convention centen 'l the country. we we will go from number 12 to number one because that's where we deserve to be the number one state in thein nation period. [applause] we can then transform the current jacob javits site and master plan the 18 acres tores revitalize new york city to west side and follow the battery par model which is a tremendous success battery park city and master plan the project the priv private sector actually developed. battery park city hascity residential units, hotels,denti recreational facilities, parks the liberal we teach about battery park city in the urbanp planning design schools around the country. we would follow that model for

the jacob javits site.jacob t believe we can attracttrac $2 billion in private sectordoll development.private to give you a sense of the size of the site is 18 acres. the united nations is 17 acres8 and the world trade center site was 16 acres. is the javits center is a very large tract of land and has great potential for though west side of manhattan. it is also bordered by the hudson yards and the moynihan station projects which are unde way. when you put javits moynihan and hudson to gather you were talking about a comprehensive revitalization of the west sidea of manhattan whnnich can make at wejor c difference. while we are investing on our strength, we also have to invest in those struggling areas of our state and many of our struggling areas have been ignored for too .ong. new york is stronger when every

region of the state is strong. we must address the crisis inin new york and in buffalo specifically. [applause]nds, buffalo, my friends, has the third highest poverty rate in te the nation. in the nation.yo, not in new york, in the nationo behind detroit and cleveland.of 28% of the people in buffalo are living in poverty.at at a time when the state population was growing, buffalo lost 10% of its population.anot this is another issue that hasn gone on for many years while the state sat by and didn't takedoes action. it doesn't have to be that way.r 25 years ago the capital district region, the region weto are in today, albany, had a struggling economy. the state began investing inling

albany's high-tech industry. today, albany is height of thewl world-class center for nanotechnology as the speaker mentioned, we just signed anw agreement within intel and ibmbi bringing in thousands ofngof additional jobs, and there is a vibrancy in the capital distric region around the man of technology that would not haveb happened but for the state's investment.it if we did it in albany, we can do it in buffalo.buffal we believe in buffalo.ady we are ready to invest developn $1 billion in an economicr the development package for the city of buffalo to bring businessck back to buffalo. it's gone on for too long. it's going to stop today. [applause]

standing for buffalo and standing for billion we are going to standt for the councili which have been a great success in the buffalo regional council was working very well to creater thousands of jobs, attract companies internationally orjob nationally and we will putd together an economic developmen package that works for the th economy. we believe the 1 billion can leverage at least $5 billion in economic activity. last year we got serious aboutgo economic development all across the board.we and we have a two-part strategy. we had a macrotop-down strategy, new york open for business. we have new york state set thet template, set the table, and a microbottom-up strategy in the regional council. it has worked very well. the regional council has exceeded everybody's expectations. there is an energy that is out there, there is some optimism, there is the hope, therefore, lo partnerships. local governments are talking,i

the private sector is workingthu with the public sector, people of different parties talking, iney are talking to the metstalk fans. it'se unbelievable.a tal and the creditor for this greato accomplishment goes to one manma specifically if a normal public servant our lieutenant governor bob duffy and we want to giveli him a round of applause. [applause]soell it has worked so well the weto want to keep it going. we want to launch a second round of competition for an additiona $200 million. there's grt eat momentum especially in upstate new york. let's offer by the second round in a growth that momentum even stronger. [applause]enopened f

the new york open for business' campaign is going to bending expanding this year and go global in the port authorityautt will coordinate an effort to boost internationalinrnat s mpetitiveness because we arees not just competing with other states. we are competing with countries all across the globe. to we have to realize that and we have to be prepared for the compet competition.the the open for business campaign was also being expanded tobe promote tourism and will beand running television advertising campaigns to attract people tog our state, highlighting our highonal treasures like the catskills and the long island beach as we have the greatest i the country and to promote andc, generate tourism to allow the state especially upstate newin u york. [applause] another potential economic engine for the state is casino

game, when it comes to casino gaming, i believe we are living in a state of denial, it's time we confronted reality, it is not a question of whether or not we should have gaming in this state, we have gaming in the state of new york, we have tribal casinos all across the state, we have racinos all across the state, we don't realize itfinger we don't regulate it, we don't capitalize on it but we have gaming. we have 29 thousand electronic gaming machines, that is more than in atlantic city. that is more than any state in the northeast or the mid atlantic, so the debate that we don't want to go is just not true. we are in the gaming business. we're not doing it well, we're not doing it as well

as we should be doing it but we are in the gaming business. we are also surrounded by casinos. on virtually every border of the state. massachusetts just legalized casinos. so not only do we have gaming within the state, we are surrounded by gaming. and for us this is not about chips and cards. this is about the jobs that the casino industry generates. we generate one billion dollars in economic activity for the state of new york if we recognized reality and regulate and capitalize on gaming the way we should. let's amend the constitution. let's do gaming right. let's make it safe. let's protect our people, but let get the jobs back in new york and let's take the first step this year. [applause]

we have a great opportunity to rebuild new york. we need jobs, we need to be competitive, we need to be safe. we need to rebuild our infrastructure. 32% of the bridges are rated deficient. 40% of our roads are rated fair or poor. 83% of the state parks and major dec dams are in a state of disrepair. we have much work to do and we need a new approach to get it done. i'm proposed setting up new york works fund and task force. this task force will be made up of leading public and private sectors experts. coordinate for the first time all the state capital construction.

mta has a capital plan they're pursuing. different than of the port authority which is capital plan they're pursuing. different from the department of transportation which has a capital plan that it is pursuing. different from the department of housing which has a capital plan that it is pursuing. it makes no sense. it never did. time to be squandering resources. you can't have that many agencies and authorities coming up with their own vision for the state. we need comprehensive vision and we need the expertise frankly to help us get it done. not the state's forte. there are people in the private sector who are expert at this, want to be helpful. we want to invite them in. put together a task force and actually lead this effort. we want a comprehensive master plan of all of the

states construction over the next few years and how we can coordinate and maximize that work to have a positive synergy among the projects. we also want to accelerate the construction. we can't do this on government time. this is going to have to happen on real time. it can't take three years to put a shovel in the ground. it just can't work that way anymore and it is not going to. [applause] and i said, said in the beginning, that the task for us is to find leverage with private sector partners. we want to find a 20 to one, leverage throughout these projects that we maximize the impact of the state money. we are planning to improve more than 100 bridges, which will include finally building a new tapanzee bridge.

15 years of planning and talking and commiserate something too long. it is time to build and to act and perform. [applause] we're going to repair 2000 miles of roads. that is from buffalo to new york city five times. we're going to finance upgrades to 90 municipal water systems. improve 48 state parks and historic sites visited by 37 million people per year. and after hurricane irene in storm lee, repair 114 flood control projects, all across this state. we need power to power our economic growth. let's build an energy highway system. that doesn't exist now. we have supply of power in northern new york, quebec. we have power supply in western new york. we have a tremendous need for power in down state new york. let's connect the dots.

let's connect the supply dots to the need. what eisenhower did in the '50s, by building a interstate system is what this energy highway can be to the next generation. if we want the state to develop and we need the jobs and we need the businesses, we're going to need the power and this is the way we're going to do it. the state can master plan a system and issue an rfp. we'll allow private sector, private sector companies to come in to bid it and build it. we believe they will finance it over a period of time and we believe it can generate $2 billion in infrastructure. this is no doubt a comprehensive and ambitious jobs program. 15 billion in infrastructure. 4 billion for a convention center. two billion for javits transformation. 2 billion for energy highways.

one billion for gaming. one billion for buffalo we believe will generate additional money from the private sector. a total of about $25 billion. this program will make a major impact on the trajectory of this state's economy if we get it done. and the people of this state desperately need it because it all comes down to one word, jobs, jobs, jobs, jobs. that's what people need in this state and that's the focus of this plan. [applause] part two, we need to reimagine government that can make our plans a reality. this is not going to be a question of tinkering around the edges. we started last year with our sage project. the more i've seen the worse the situation is with the state agencies. this is going to be a ground-up

reorganization. i'm going to be giving you more details in the budget but the system is just gotten to a point where it is not operational and we've been cutting the budget for many years and reducing personnel. we never reduced the workload and the wheels have come off the car. we're going to need to fundamentally reimagine how the government operates. we'll need a government that performs better and costs less. a government that, woulds for people of this state must commit to fiscal discipline. the state's competitive advantage is increased when we are reducing taxes, not raising taxes. we have to commit to hold the line on spending this year and close the remaining budget deficit with no new taxes and no new fees. we can do it. [applause] we must do it.

we must do more on mandate relief. the cost of pensions are going sky-high as you know. [applause] 100% increase in pensions from 2009 to 2013, believe it or not. we need to reform the pension system and create a new tier 6 in this state. i understand the politics and i understand the political opposition but the choice for you this year, my friends is this. when we're talking about pension reform for union employees, we're talking about union employees who don't even exist at this point in time. because current employees are covered by the current pension system. we're talking about changing a pension system for employees who may be hired in the future. employees who may be hired in the future. no one ever said a pension system was a legacy or an

inheritance where it got passed from one bern down to the next. i refer to these people as the unborn. not even hired yet. and if they look at a job with a benefit package and decide to take the job with that benefit package, that is their decision and their opinion but to protect a pension for years in the future as a legacy when the taxpayers of this state just can't afford it anymore, is a violation of the public service and the public duty. we have taxpayers who are suffering today. and we have taxpayers who need help today. [applause] and let's respond to them. we need to help local governments. the property tax cap we passed worked. it forced fiscal discipline. forced being an operative

word and it stimulated a citizen dialogue but it stopped the assumed annual increases. and property taxes were going up at a rate that was unsustainable. unsustainable. 6%, 7%, 8%, every year. and it was just on automatic pilot and you heard it all over the state. the tax cap doesn't stop as we know. the taxes from going up. but, it engaged the citizens. what is this tax cap? what is this about? more people are now turning up at the discussions, the local budget discussions because citizens are engaged and it has put pressure on the local officials to think before increasing. but that's exactly what we wanted to happen. we want the citizens engaged and it is working. but, the local governments are also right that we have to do more on mandate relief. we set up a mandate relief

council in last year's legislation. i want that mandate relief council to have public hearings all across the state where citizens participate, and local elected officials participate. let them come up with a package that they present to the legislature this year on mandate relief and let the legislature take an up-or-down vote this year because the local governments deserve that. [applause] we must change the focus and reimagine the government in our priority area. priority mission, for this state government is public education. i think we can all agree. what i want you to know, i learned my most important lesson my first year as governor in the area of public education. i learned that everyone in

education has a lobbyist. [laughter] i am not kidding. superintendents, they have a lobbyist. principals, they have a lobbyist. teachers, have a lobbyist. school boards also have a lobbyist. the maintenance personnel, they have lobbyists. even the bus drivers have lobbyists. the only group without lobbyists are the students. [applause] well this year, my friend, the students do have a will be byist. i'm taking a second job. i amount going to be the governor of the state of the new york and i'm also going to be the student lobbyist. [applause]

and we're going to have to take a fundamental look at what we've been doing because the purpose of public education is to help children grow. the purpose of public education is not to grow the public education bureaucracy. [applause] we are driven by the business of education. more than achievement in education. business of public education, and the attention to the business of public education is brought us to a point where we spend more than any state in the nation. the lack of focus on the

achievement and the students have brought us to a point where we're 38th in graduation rates. it is not about the business. it is not about the lobbyists. it was about the student and the achievement. we have to change our focus and we have to switch those two numbers. then we'll be a success in public education. [applause] we need major reform. we have to change the paradigm. when it comes to transforming education we need to focus on student achievement and we're going to need a real teacher evaluation system. the law that was passed in 2010 during the race to the top law just doesn't work. we recently even saw the board of regents threatening to stop money going to school districts because the teacher evaluation system has never been put in place. two years, and it hasn't

even started yet. our children deserve better than that. and hopefully they get it this year. [applause] we must also transform education when it comes to the management of school districts. there's a vast disparity between how school districts manage their money and manage the system. some are managed much better than others. it's a point that hasn't been evaluated or looked at. we need to demand a management efficiency and have a real management evaluation system along with a teacher in school academic system. we need a new blueprint for education. i want to form a commission to really come up with an overhaul plan for our education system. i want to do it on a bipartisan basis. i want to do it cooperatively with the legislature. where we have joint appointments. but i want the report done this year because we have

wasted enough time and i want to do it together. [applause] is public education is a core mission. we simply can not fail. we will not fail. we all say it's about the children and the future. it is about the future and it is about the future and that's one obligation every person in this room takes seriously and i know we'll accomplish it through this legislative session. public safety is also a core mission. and we learned the hard way last year that we must anticipate and be prepared for all emergencies. we need a statewide network of emergency responders who are prepared for anything at any time. i don't want to get into a long debate about global warming whether it is happening or whether it is not but i can tell you this. 100 year floods happen every two years now. so, something is going on.

i witnessed first-hand, last year, the work we need to do with the breakdown in communication transportation and the need for better deployment of personnel throughout the state. we have a spotty emergency response system. some areas of the state have more expertise, more equipment, more personnel. others parts of the state don't. we must have the best state emergency management operation in the country. it is literally a matter of life and death. it is one of the foremost responsibilities of government. we are blessed to have a gentleman who has more experience in this area than anyone i've ever met. he is come up to join us to put together our state emergency operations. he previously ran the emergency operation for the city of new york and for the

state of indiana. he then went to washington where he is a biodefense expert at the u.s. health and human services, but he's a new yorker first. we asked him to come back and leave washington to come put together our network. he agreed. we owe him a debt of gratitude. i'm excited to have him. let's give a big round of applause to jerry howard. [applause] part three, a new york wigs for a progressive future. -- vision. we are still in a financial crisis. it is still taking a terrible to on our state homeowners. last year we created the department of financial services headed by benjamin losky. it was a new york state regulation that provided financial regulation and consumer protection. this year we'll establish the foreclosure relief unit

which will provide counseling and mediation services to help banks resolve mortgages and help new yorkers stay in their homes finally. [applause] last year we enacted the best tennant regulations in 30 years. this year we'll make sure those laws and regulations are being enforced creating the tenant protection unit at department of homes and community renewal to investigate fraud and prosecute unscrupulous landlords. too many tenants have been abused for too long and it stops now. [applause] we are committed to expanding mwbe opportunities and doubling the goal of 20% for mwbe. [applause] we have identified an obstacle which is many of the mwbe companies can't

obtain the bonds that are necessary to participate in the state contract. we will now be providing support for that bond which will allow companies to qualify for up to $200 million in state contracts. [applause] our cuny system is the great equalizer. for working families the cuny system said that any student in new york could get the best college education in the nation. and cuny has done that magnificently well for many years. it is a precious jewel of this state and it is a jewel we started polishing last year and we'll continue. we started the new york suny 20-20 program last year. that allowed campuses to compete for grants to improve the academic excellence of the college

but also become an economic development generator for the region. the research centers competed last year. it is going very well. we want to expand that competition to the 60 other campuses for suyn all across the state and have three awards of $20 million each to spur competition and provide funding for suny to reach the level of excellence we all want them to reach. it is an exciting program. suny is doing magnificently well. we're blessed with a great leader. let's give a big round of applause to chancellor nancy demfor. [applause] for all the progress and for all our sophistication, we still have wrongs to right and some of them are

frighteningly basic. one in six children in new york live in homes without enough food. and when you think of that statistic, with all we've accomplished, with all we have, we still have in this state children who go hungry. my friends, that is just simply unacceptable in this great state, in the year 2012. the federal food stamp program is available for many of these families who are not taking advantage of it. 30% of the people who are eligible for food stamps don't enroll. that is 1.4 million people in the state. one billion in federal fund unclaimed. we want to start a program where we promote outreach, we increase encoalment and we end the -- enrollment and

we end the stigma of applying for food stamps. one of the things we do now which makes the stigma actually worse and creates a barrier for families coming forward to get food stamps is we require fingerprints. i'm saying stop from time to timing for families with children for food. stop it all across the state, and let's stop it this year. [applause] i understand fraud detection. i understand fingerprinting. but don't make a child go to bed hungry because your government wants to come up with a fraud program that requires fingerprinting. [applause] we will make sure no child goes to bed hungry in this state. i want to expand the dna data bank which has been a great technological revolution in the area of criminal justice. it helps prove guilt or

prove innocence. it's helped with 2700 convictions. it helped with 27 exonerations of innocent people. right now the database is applied to 50% of all crimes. i propose we expand it to 100% of all crimes. let's provide justice for all and let's be the first state in the nation to do it. new york can lead the way once again. [applause] we have done great work when it comes to tax tearness. fairness. there is more work we can do. we can close loopholes. we can make it more fair. we can make it more pro-growth. there is a lot of work to do. i want to form a tax reform and fairness commission to go through the whole code to close those loopholes. i want to do it on a bipartisan basis in

partnership with the legislature and let's get new york to have the fairest tax code in the nation that also incentivizes job growth in this state. [applause] i'm going to be sending you a bill on campaign finance reform that puts public financing, match contributions, lower limits and increased enforcement at the board of elections. new york currently rates 48th in the country in voter turnout. we have a government that we can be proud of. let's have. let's build that pride and let's have elections that new yorkers can be proud of also. [applause] let's have campaign finance reform and let's do it this year. [applause] in closing, let me say this. by all accounts last year was an historic success.

and i'm hearing it and i'm sure you're hearing it. people ask all the time how did you do this? how did it happen? and they have all sorts of complicated answers for why we had a successful year, complicated theories. i think it is actually simpler than that. i think we had a change of attitude last year, a collective change of attitude. we were done with the dysfunction of albany. done with the label of being dysfunctional. we were tired of dealing with the incompetence of government. and we made up our mind that we were going to change it. we disregarded the political extremists on the left and on the right. and we did what was best for the people of this state. we believed in the people of this state.

and we honored the people of this state. and we showed a mutual respect to each other. institutional, and personal and by the end of the year i really believe we put our politics aside and we were no longer democrats first and republicans first. we were new yorkers first. and we acted that way. [applause] and it worked. and we delivered. and we got things done. and we made this state a better state. and that is why we're here in the first place. and the people get it. and i am so honored, so honored to be part of what you did. and i have been so overjoyed to be able to go out to the people of this state and explain to them our

accomplishments and how we have worked together to make this state a better state. now, you will hear that you're back in this town the naysayers and the cynics are saying well, what happened last year was a fluke. you can't do that again. that was, for whatever reasons the stars the plan etc.. but it was a one-time situation that we're going to slip back to the old way. that we're going to slip back into dysfunction. that is what you will hear from the cynics. i'm hear to tell you that the cynics don't know us and they don't know new york because there is no way we are going back. we are going forward. there is no way we are going down. we are going up. [applause]

i am telling you, we have just started to explore the potential of this partnership. we have just started to explore the limits of our imagination. we have just started tackling the problems that this state needs tackled. this agenda that we laid out today is an ambitious agenda, more ambitious than anything this government has done in decades and decades and decades. but it is an agenda that know that we can do because we are new yorkers. and we are part of the best government historically in the nation. and we can do this. we can build the largest convention center in the country. we can rebuild buffalo. we can transform the jacob javits site. we can build a new energy highway system. we have that capacity.

it is who we are. it is where we come from and we're not going back. this whole state's legacy, our history was about seeing challenges and attacking the challenge and always going forward. we did all sorts of things that they said we couldn't do. we built that empire state building 102 stories. we did it in 400 days in the middle of a depression. when you're driving across up state we built that erie canal and opened up the entire west to commerce. we did it on time. did it on budget. did it with men and women wand mules. we've always been the progressive capital of the nation. we ended slavery in this state 35 years before they signed the emancipation proclamation. we declared independence from brittain before they signed the deck a la race of independence. -- declaration. we birthed, women's rights movement, environmental movement, all were born in

this state in this capitol by this government. [applause] this state has served so many purposes. we've been the gateway to immigration. while other states build walls to keep people out, we open our arms and we invite people in. we're not afraid of the diversity. we celebrate diversity. we are a state of immigrants!. [applause] and we are up state and we are down state and we are black and we are white and we are gay and we are straight but we are one state at the end of the day and we act that way. we come together because we are new york. and if we remember those lessons, my friend, there is

nothing that is stopping us. this isn't the end. this is the beginning. last year we learned to walk. next year we're going to run. we have the challenges. we have the need. we have the know-how. we have the confidence. we have the credibility. we have the talent. we have the relationship. and we're going to deliver for this great state the best is yet to be. they ain't seen nothing yet! 2012, is the year that we're going to make the empire state the empire state once again and we're going to make the dreams of this state a reality. thank you and god bless you. [applause]

[applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. please have a seat. the senate president didn't have to introduce me because they are all doing it outside. [laughter]

also took me longer to walk in today because i think i know a lot more people this year. so, and, -- [laughter] [applause] it is great to be here. the, i just want to tell you before i start, i have really enjoyed all of you, just meeting everybody and just the commitment everybody has to this state. so thank you very much and thanks for everything you've done. how nice you have been to my family. so, all right, get started. thank you very much. my fellow floridians, president haridopolos, members, speaker cannon, members of the florida senate and members of the florida house of representatives, chief justice canady. members of the florida supreme court, my fellow cabinet members, chief financial, attorney general pam bondi. chief financial officer jeff

atwater. commissioner adam putnam and my partner, lieutenant governor jennifer carroll. [applause] it's an honor to be with everyone of you here and it is a real special honor for me to be your governor. as you know i've always been a big believer getting to work early. but this is the first time we have ever shown up for work two months early. until i told that to my family last night and they said, do you think anybody will get it? and they said, well we got it. hopefully they will. let me start by introducing my wife of 39 years, ann. [applause]

ann. i'm real honored that my daughter allison is right next to her and her husband. [applause] and her husband pierre and my, our, our, grandson, august. so is -- [applause] he is eight weeks old today. so. and i apologize for everybody that i have had to show pictures of him too. when allison and other daughter was born. we didn't have iphones. i couldn't show pictures. i'm real thankful that my family is here. [applause] people ask ann and me why we ran for this job and clearly we ran for this job together. when i told ann and trying to talk ann she would be

great, would it be fine if i ran, great as long as i don't have to give speeches. three days later she was giving talks we called them. so we clearly ran for office together so. but the reason we ran is, you know, there is one simple truth. we, we can never look at our children, allison and jordan, our son-in-laws, our grandchild, august, without feeling our love for them. and we know that this type of love also carries a very specific duty. that duty is to leave our children a better place than we inherited it. [applause] it is same duty that probably brought each of you to this chamber today. and a duty that extends to all the children, every child of this great state. like you, we're willing to give our all to make fall absolutely the best place to live and raise a family. a state where you can find a

job. get a quality education, for your children. a state where you can enjoy a low cost of living, free of burdensome taxes and unnecessary government interference. a state where dreams absolutely become a reality each and every day. last session together we made the changes necessary to improve the opportunities for the citizens of our state. education, pensions and medicare reforms. coupled with government reorganization and deregulation. all of those things have helped produce jobs. they saved taxpayers money and they improve the education of our children and bring down the cost of living for all floridians. we worked together to accomplish all of this. and so if i haven't told each of you face-to-face, on behalf of all the citizens of this great state, thank you, thank you, thank you.

[applause] like all of you, as you know, i love this job. i love my work. i tell everybody, tell people everywhere i go if you like people and you want to try to make a difference there is absolutely no better job than being governor of the greatest state in the country, the governor of florida. i have been on the job for a year now and i have traveled all over the state. i have been to all sorts of small towns. all the large towns. i tell everybody if they say they live in city, i probably was there two weeks ago. i've had the honor of meeting and listening to thousands of floridians and they have shared with me their joyce and their concerns. and you know what? it turns out they share the same joy and the same concerns. the joy is, in living in this most special place. given the opportunity to live in florida. a place of sunshine. a place of beaches. we have cities that pulse

with energy and light. a place where rivers, clear rivers flow to blue oceans and a place where bold people come to build their dreams. from our shores we have launched men into the moon and with the same brave spirit, millions have come here to plant their flag in florida soil to build something new and better. i know an and i did. many of you have felt that same joy here. but with that joy comes a lagging doubt. when i talk to floridians, they worry that their best opportunities are behind them. that their children may never experience the security and prosperity that they have known. they wonder, whether the ringing proctor & gamble thatmation of progress has been silent -- proclamation of has been silent. opportunity we once saw within our reach, may instead now be unattainable.

it is clearly understandable that they would feel this doubt. following a series of very, very prosperous and productive years, floridians saw the unemployment rate begin to steadily climb in 2006. from a low of 3.3% that year, to it grew to a high of 12% in december 2010. floridians saw home values drop, wages decline and jobs and opportunities fade away. my fellow floridians, i'm here today to tell you that promise and opportunity absolutely will return. in fact, they are returning. even as we meet here today. we have many miles to go and some of them clearly will be painful. our higher journey is already underway. this year and today, we see the rebirth of even greater florida. but don't take my word for

it. let's look at the numbers. in the past year floridians, not government, created almost 135,000,000 new private sector jobs. -- 135,000 new private sector jobs. [applause] thank you. thank you. thank goodness because everybody remembers i said 7 steps and 700,000 jobs. i'll be glad when i get to the 700,000. we netted more than 120,000 total jobs in the first 11 months of 2011. that is the third most of any state in the nation. in florida those new jobs produced the second largest drop in unemployment in the

country. there is only one state ahead of us. so, when my campaign, when i said let's get to work, it wasn't just a slogan. florida got to work and each floridian deserves the credit. [applause] but who also deserves the credit are each of year, the legislators in this room. last year you passed and i signed a budget. we balanced without raising taxes or fees. despite a revenue short fall of nearly $4 billion. . .

in population. this is a clear sign to the promise of florida still burns bright, and i should add to all of our friends and new york come on down and illinois. [applause] our temperature rell doors is about twice as high as yours and your tax burden per citizen is about twice as high as ours. those are good numbers for us.

think about it the state of new york which is about the same population as florida has a budget roughly twice as large as ours. they say temperature and then i ask what the tax is you have to pay dramatically less. so, you as a legislature all need to be commended for years of tough decisions balancing the budget and delivering quality services and education and infrastructure for their citizens at half price new yorkers pay. half the price. [applause] and for those of those already in florida would do these numbers tell us? it is long the decisions we make in the next few months will determine whether we continue to create a business climate that will be producing jobs and

opportunity for floridians whether we fully recapture the spirit of human potential which is a floridian i'm absolutely convinced that we will. my friend the state of our state will continue to improve. [applause] there are many. i'd like to focus on what i believe are the three most important jobs i have as your governor. one, ensuring that the floridians are able to gain employment, never to, securing the right of every floridian so the quality education. and three come keep the cost of living had low. the families and businesses that are in our state can continue to prosper and grow. and the ones that are here know they have to get there as soon

as they can. when it comes to jobs, it's important to remind ourselves the private businesses create jobs not government. what the government gives to one person hasn't been taken in the pocket of somebody else. something arrogant and overreaching in thinking we have this wisdom to micromanage and economy. having spent decades in business in the government i am convinced more than ever that with few exceptions the best thing the government can do is to create a level playing field and then get out of the way. [applause]

a [applause] what happens to competition people get a better all gets better service, prices get better. so, if we put the florida companies in the position where we can now compete companies in any of the state in any other country what happens? jobs are going to grow like crazy. as we all know, small businesses create most of the jobs in florida. i know this from my own experience. i started the business with single shops so my mom could have a job. we had the two shops and more employees. the two resources were critical in allowing me or any small business to grow and create these jobs.

every window but i sold it gives me more capital to hire more people and buy more equipment and by the way you don't have to worry about all your employees needing your doughnuts. after the second day it's too hard. i've always said it didn't have as many doughnuts as they wanted and the second day they didn't need any. [laughter] after we sold out five of doughnuts. [laughter] so i'm back to eating donuts. but every minute i spent focused on the business resulted in growth and more jobs. so we have somebody in the gallery today also knows something about the potential of the job creation in the doughnut shops. rachel came to the united states 12 years ago in the philippines and she has owned anybody from tampa she has owned nicola's donuts in tampa for the last year. so she hosted the in my first get to work day and i told her i wouldn't be the best at making

doughnuts but i know how to solve them and it worked out. we sold out 240 dozen. at 6 o'clock they were all gone by 8:30. so, she is been in business for 30 years. they have two locations. they've been voted best donuts in tampa and one of the 24 best donuts in america by the troubled leisure magazine. they've recently added cupcakes and my mom came down and now we know how to sell a great apples redder. so, rachel and her husband are here. if they will stand up and they are a great example. [applause]

they are a great example of the hard work it takes to run a small business and just how our economy will grow. i'm gerry appreciative. one thing about this job is there's media around a little bit. so i was -- rachel flout i was speaking to long so she brought a bunch of doughnuts to me and told me i had to get to work. [laughter] the media of course loved that. so, taxes and regulations. they were the big destroyers of the capitol time for small businesses. almost every dollar that i earned as a shop owner went to a little do not shop. so every dollar taken in taxes slows the growth and that impacts jobs. almost every minute i had in the day also went towards growing our small business. so to every minute i spent addressing some new rules and regulation also slows growth.

when the growth is slow what happens? jobs are the first casualty. for this session we need to lower the burdensome taxes on small businesses and continue our mission of slashing the red tape. [applause] we also improved machinery by which the government seekers can get a job. i propose greater accountability for the work force to submit tax money is not the state and the purpose of the boards is fulfilled to get people jobs. that's the entire purpose and the only purpose. i'm also a asking you to require job training for those who are

overseeing the amount climate tracks. [applause] ensure like in your life and my life every challenge creates the opportunity and time in between jobs gives unemployed floridians the opportunity to learn more skills. by lowering taxes and eliminating unnecessary regulations are critical to the bedrock of any sound sustainable economy is the key to work force. well equipped to meet the challenges of an advanced global marketplace. in my own life i've seen firsthand how education puts the american dream within reach. as you know i grew up poor and delivered newspapers for 5 cents a week or $5 a week and when i wasn't delivering newspapers i was selling tv guide's and we can probably remember that for 4 cents a copy and i flip hamburgers for 85 cents an hour. i learned every one of those

jobs. today i stand before you privileged to be the governor of the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world. this is the american dream. [applause] it is a story told a thousand times with each generation. and the means by which it is accomplished is an effective and accountable education system. so we can have great weather, bjs, when you of the wonderfully strategic location, which we have, but they don't provide the intellectual power estimate for businesses competitive we would become a footnote when this history is written. but if we can continue to create a culture of excellence in now with schools, a full chapter in the history that disguise the real beginning of a mighty

prosperous nation and state. [applause] we begin to do this by building on the success of the last session when wheat increase school choice for florida's parents. we also refocused the all dated tenure system into the system that can reward the best performers for excelling in educating our students. as you know, as you each no none of that is particularly easy but all of this is obviously necessary. if we are to give our children the chance to grasp the future, i want to thank each of you for your willingness for those issues because i think it will have a dramatic impact on the state to. i spent the past two years listening all about the vision for the future of our state. i would like to take a moment

now to recognize one of the talented her working educators that taught me a great deal about a bright future for our students and the state. here with us today in the gallery heather is a first-year teacher in the community. i had the opportunity to meet her when i taught school for a day this fall. heather is very committed to her students. she teaches american governments of a high school. her students are -- she teaches honors and advanced placement, english -- easy for me -- english-language lerner's every day, and as all of us have hopes and dreams for our future and our grandkids future, so do her students. when i talk to her students there to do everything from being a chef to a veterinarian, they want to be a hair dresser, a doctor, a lawyer, some of the module and shops, they are not sure which ones yet but they

want to own shops. but educators like heather, these students and their dreams are clearly what is going to drive the prosperity of the state's. i want to thank you for all you do. [applause] micha other daughter taught special needs kids for four years and comes back to the third degree now but these teachers gistel of their students. you can see it with hatari and her kids and i can see it with my daughter. after traveling the state in listening to parents, teachers like heather and other students, i heard one thing very clearly. over and over. floridians truly believe support for education is the most

significant thing we can do to ensure short-term job growth and long-term economic prosperity for the state. and you know what, they absolutely right. that's why this session i asked you to continue your commitment to education to ensure the difficult decisions we must make on the budget are focused on prioritizing the things we all know are essentials to the future of the great state. as you know, my recommended a budget includes $1 billion in new state funding for education. [applause] i ask each of you to consider that, my recommendation very carefully, think about it very carefully. and as you know and as i have said on this point, i just can't budge. i'd ask you again to send me the budget that significantly increases the state funding for education. this is the single most important decision that we can

meet today for florida's future. but, our efforts on education cannot stop tonight. florida has a rich cultural history surrounding its culture and the university. don't take my word for it. ask any anthropologist. [laughter] by the way my younger daughter is going to shoot me as soon as she reads that part of the speech. [laughter] we need to be realistic about this. somewhere out there today there are government officials in brazil or india or china and they are debating whether they should provide students with the proud men acknowledged to see the larger piece of the global economy. the only debate they are having is how quickly they can become

dominant global players. i look forward to working with you to closely look at our higher education system to understand how we can ensure that in the future job creators from around the world will get florida to find the talented and educated work force they will need to compete in the 21st century. it's our duty to help ensure in the time things are beginning to grow again we do not slow the growth by increasing the cost to live here. we can do this by building a mean a more effective government continuing to responsibly manage and reform the pension system. in cracking down on the fraud and abuse, the fraud and abuse that some people brought for the auto insurance system. last year with your help we reengineered the pension plan for the floor of a state workers so that the individuals who will

share in its rewards share its funding this would save taxpayers money and the government practices with the private sector. but despite the year of a great returns, our pension plan remains billions of dollars underfunded we need to continue to closely monitor our pension plan and ensure that will not become a liability for the taxpayers in the state or the workers to rely on that. this year we must also reform our although insurance to crack down on fraud and abuse that is running rampant in the estimated cost of the floridians $900 million. if we don't act the office of insurance regulation predicts the cost for consumers will continue to spiral out of

control. our best estimates will show a 30% increase in the pure premium cost year after year. the costs are being injured and at each and every day all around the state by saddam's daughter ultimately paid for by florida's working families. if we are going to be serious about keeping the cost of living low for the floridians, we have to get tough on the fraud and abuse and the auto insurance system. we all have to remember it's the consumers in our state that we have to protect, not the trial lawyers and all the others involved in these camps. floridians cannot afford another year of fraud and abuse in the cost that comes with it and impacts the poorest families the most. [applause]

but me say that after a year in office on a more than ever appreciate the sacrifice and dedication of all of our law enforcement officers in florida today as we know sometimes that sacrifice is ultimate. this year i have the experience of attending all attend funerals for our brave law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty. at this time i would like to recognize penny if she will stand up. she is a tenth grade biology teacher and an incredibly strong woman whose husband was one of these brave officers deputy john of the her in no county sheriff's office tragically died in a high-speed chase in july. a loving wife and mother of their children in the who is five and jessica is to join us here today. we are extremely grateful to you and john for the service and sacrifice to our great state.

[applause] [applause] so when i have the opportunity to go to meet any, the -- andy, her little boy was for am so we got down to get a picture and instead of me trying to make him feel better he was rubbing my back. he was the cutest little boy. thank you very much for this and god bless you and god bless your

children. [applause] now i just want to express our gratitude for everybody that serves, whether it is in law enforcement or in the military to defend and protect our state and country, and your heart goes out to the families that lose their loved ones like this, whether it is in the state or iraq or afghanistan. your heart goes out to them. succumb in closing i want to give a thank you for the consideration you've given me today and the courtesy that he extended to a new governor last year. since redistricting has been added to the already packaged in 2012 consideration and courtesy for demanding special premium of the next several weeks. no the line open to any idea from whatever source is likely to improve the lives of the

floridians. over the past year i've experienced the benefit of listening to the floridians, i've listened to each of you and i guess i've even listened to my close personal friends in the media. [laughter] [applause] i get asked all the time it is the difference between this and from the campaign and if you're running the company, you have -- you don't have media with you all the time. but i've gotten to know everybody and need a lot of their families and i have enjoyed that. [laughter] we of the monopoly of the good ideas. the commitment i made for those here today is to keep open clear lines of communication. so that together our time in the capitol expansion of service of those in the sentence here. that is why pledge to each of

you. malae voyage to the people of florida is continued to give this job my all. to help build the framework for the enduring prosperity that is grounded in the intellectual debate to intellect and ambition of our citizens. while the great recession has taken a lot out it's also revealed the strength and resilience that is deeply ingrained in the people who call for the home. other states have had their chance. this is our time. this is absolutely -- if you just think about it, this is the time florida should be the job creator. there is no reason we cannot be the number one creator of jobs in the country. it will be the biggest thing we do to change people's lives. it's our time to show the nation and the world that in this century floor will be the safe haven, the safe haven for individuals who want to live their intellectual version of the american dream.

as each of us know none of us can do this alone. so let's get to work together. god bless you, god bless the great state of florida. thank you very much. [applause]

[applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. thank you. please have a seat. the senate president didn't have to introduce me because they are all doing it outside. [laughter] also took me longer to walk in today because i think i know a lot more people this year. so, and, -- [laughter] [applause] it is great to be here. the, i just want to tell you before i start, i have really enjoyed all of you, just meeting everybody and

just the commitment everybody has to this state. so thank you very much and thanks for everything you've done. how nice you have been to my family. so, all right, get started. thank you very much. my fellow floridians, president haridopolos, members, speaker cannon, members of the florida senate and members of the florida house of representatives, chief justice canady. members of the florida supreme court, my fellow cabinet members, chief financial, attorney general pam bondi. chief financial officer jeff atwater. commissioner adam putnam and my partner, lieutenant governor jennifer carroll. [applause] it's an honor to be with everyone of you here and it is a real special honor for me to be your governor. as you know i've always been

a big believer getting to work early. but this is the first time we have ever shown up for work two months early. until i told that to my family last night and they said, do you think anybody will get it? and they said, well we got it. hopefully they will. let me start by introducing my wife of 39 years, ann. [applause] ann. i'm real honored that my daughter allison is right next to her and her husband. [applause] and her husband pierre and my, our, our, grandson, august. so is -- [applause]

he is eight weeks old today. so. and i apologize for everybody that i have had to show pictures of him too. when allison and other daughter was born. we didn't have iphones. i couldn't show pictures. i'm real thankful that my family is here. [applause] people ask ann and me why we ran for this job and clearly we ran for this job together. when i told ann and trying to talk ann she would be great, would it be fine if i ran, great as long as i don't have to give speeches. three days later she was giving talks we called them. so we clearly ran for office together so. but the reason we ran is, you know, there is one simple truth. we, we can never look at our children, allison and jordan, our son-in-laws, our

grandchild, august, without feeling our love for them. and we know that this type of love also carries a very specific duty. that duty is to leave our children a better place than we inherited it. [applause] it is same duty that probably brought each of you to this chamber today. and a duty that extends to all the children, every child of this great state. like you, we're willing to give our all to make fall absolutely the best place to live and raise a family. a state where you can find a job. get a quality education, for your children. a state where you can enjoy a low cost of living, free of burdensome taxes and unnecessary government interference. a state where dreams absolutely become a reality each and every day. last session together we made the changes necessary to improve the opportunities

for the citizens of our state. education, pensions and medicare reforms. coupled with government reorganization and deregulation. all of those things have helped produce jobs. they saved taxpayers money and they improve the education of our children and bring down the cost of living for all floridians. we worked together to accomplish all of this. and so if i haven't told each of you face-to-face, on behalf of all the citizens of this great state, thank you, thank you, thank you. [applause] like all of you, as you know, i love this job. i love my work. i tell everybody, tell people everywhere i go if you like people and you want to try to make a difference there is absolutely no better job than being governor of the greatest state in the country, the governor of florida.

i have been on the job for a year now and i have traveled all over the state. i have been to all sorts of small towns. all the large towns. i tell everybody if they say they live in city, i probably was there two weeks ago. i've had the honor of meeting and listening to thousands of floridians and they have shared with me their joyce and their concerns. and you know what? it turns out they share the same joy and the same concerns. the joy is, in living in this most special place. given the opportunity to live in florida. a place of sunshine. a place of beaches. we have cities that pulse with energy and light. a place where rivers, clear rivers flow to blue oceans and a place where bold people come to build their dreams. from our shores we have launched men into the moon and with the same brave spirit, millions have come here to plant their flag in florida soil to build something new and better. i know an and i did.

many of you have felt that same joy here. but with that joy comes a lagging doubt. when i talk to floridians, they worry that their best opportunities are behind them. that their children may never experience the security and prosperity that they have known. they wonder, whether the ringing proctor & gamble thatmation of progress has been silent -- proclamation of has been silent. opportunity we once saw within our reach, may instead now be unattainable. it is clearly understandable that they would feel this doubt. following a series of very, very prosperous and productive years, floridians saw the unemployment rate begin to steadily climb in 2006. from a low of 3.3% that year, to it grew to a high of 12% in december 2010.

floridians saw home values drop, wages decline and jobs and opportunities fade away. my fellow floridians, i'm here today to tell you that promise and opportunity absolutely will return. in fact, they are returning. even as we meet here today. we have many miles to go and some of them clearly will be painful. our higher journey is already underway. this year and today, we see the rebirth of even greater florida. but don't take my word for it. let's look at the numbers. in the past year floridians, not government, created almost 135,000,000 new private sector jobs. -- 135,000 new private sector jobs. [applause]

thank you. thank you. thank goodness because everybody remembers i said 7 steps and 700,000 jobs. i'll be glad when i get to the 700,000. we netted more than 120,000 total jobs in the first 11 months of 2011. that is the third most of any state in the nation. in florida those new jobs produced the second largest drop in unemployment in the country. there is only one state ahead of us. so, when my campaign, when i said let's get to work, it wasn't just a slogan. florida got to work and each floridian deserves the credit. [applause] but who also deserves the credit are each of year, the legislators in this room.

last year you passed and i signed a budget. we balanced without raising taxes or fees. despite a revenue short fall of nearly $4 billion. . .

in population. this is a clear sign to the promise of florida still burns bright, and i should add to all of our friends and new york come on down and illinois. [applause] our temperature rell doors is about twice as high as yours and your tax burden per citizen is about twice as high as ours. those are good numbers for us. think about it the state of new york which is about the same population as florida has a budget roughly twice as large as ours. they say temperature and then i ask what the tax is you have to pay dramatically less. so, you as a legislature all need to be commended for years of tough decisions balancing the

budget and delivering quality services and education and infrastructure for their citizens at half price new yorkers pay. half the price. [applause] and for those of those already in florida would do these numbers tell us? it is long the decisions we make in the next few months will determine whether we continue to create a business climate that will be producing jobs and opportunity for floridians whether we fully recapture the spirit of human potential which is a floridian i'm absolutely convinced that we will. my friend the state of our state will continue to improve. [applause]

there are many. i'd like to focus on what i believe are the three most important jobs i have as your governor. one, ensuring that the floridians are able to gain employment, never to, securing the right of every floridian so the quality education. and three come keep the cost of living had low. the families and businesses that are in our state can continue to prosper and grow. and the ones that are here know they have to get there as soon as they can. when it comes to jobs, it's important to remind ourselves the private businesses create jobs not government. what the government gives to one person hasn't been taken in the pocket of somebody else.

something arrogant and overreaching in thinking we have this wisdom to micromanage and economy. having spent decades in business in the government i am convinced more than ever that with few exceptions the best thing the government can do is to create a level playing field and then get out of the way. [applause] a [applause] what happens to competition people get a better all gets better service, prices get better. so, if we put the florida companies in the position where we can now compete companies in

any of the state in any other country what happens? jobs are going to grow like crazy. as we all know, small businesses create most of the jobs in florida. i know this from my own experience. i started the business with single shops so my mom could have a job. we had the two shops and more employees. the two resources were critical in allowing me or any small business to grow and create these jobs. every window but i sold it gives me more capital to hire more people and buy more equipment and by the way you don't have to worry about all your employees needing your doughnuts. after the second day it's too hard. i've always said it didn't have as many doughnuts as they wanted and the second day they didn't need any. [laughter] after we sold out five of

doughnuts. [laughter] so i'm back to eating donuts. but every minute i spent focused on the business resulted in growth and more jobs. so we have somebody in the gallery today also knows something about the potential of the job creation in the doughnut shops. rachel came to the united states 12 years ago in the philippines and she has owned anybody from tampa she has owned nicola's donuts in tampa for the last year. so she hosted the in my first get to work day and i told her i wouldn't be the best at making doughnuts but i know how to solve them and it worked out. we sold out 240 dozen. at 6 o'clock they were all gone by 8:30. so, she is been in business for 30 years. they have two locations. they've been voted best donuts in tampa and one of the 24 best

donuts in america by the troubled leisure magazine. they've recently added cupcakes and my mom came down and now we know how to sell a great apples redder. so, rachel and her husband are here. if they will stand up and they are a great example. [applause] they are a great example of the hard work it takes to run a small business and just how our economy will grow. i'm gerry appreciative. one thing about this job is there's media around a little bit. so i was -- rachel flout i was speaking to long so she brought a bunch of doughnuts to me and

told me i had to get to work. [laughter] the media of course loved that. so, taxes and regulations. they were the big destroyers of the capitol time for small businesses. almost every dollar that i earned as a shop owner went to a little do not shop. so every dollar taken in taxes slows the growth and that impacts jobs. almost every minute i had in the day also went towards growing our small business. so to every minute i spent addressing some new rules and regulation also slows growth. when the growth is slow what happens? jobs are the first casualty. for this session we need to lower the burdensome taxes on small businesses and continue our mission of slashing the red tape. [applause]

we also improved machinery by which the government seekers can get a job. i propose greater accountability for the work force to submit tax money is not the state and the purpose of the boards is fulfilled to get people jobs. that's the entire purpose and the only purpose. i'm also a asking you to require job training for those who are overseeing the amount climate tracks. [applause] ensure like in your life and my life every challenge creates the opportunity and time in between jobs gives unemployed floridians the opportunity to learn more skills. by lowering taxes and eliminating unnecessary

regulations are critical to the bedrock of any sound sustainable economy is the key to work force. well equipped to meet the challenges of an advanced global marketplace. in my own life i've seen firsthand how education puts the american dream within reach. as you know i grew up poor and delivered newspapers for 5 cents a week or $5 a week and when i wasn't delivering newspapers i was selling tv guide's and we can probably remember that for 4 cents a copy and i flip hamburgers for 85 cents an hour. i learned every one of those jobs. today i stand before you privileged to be the governor of the greatest state in the greatest nation in the world. this is the american dream. [applause] it is a story told a thousand times with each generation. and the means by which it is

accomplished is an effective and accountable education system. so we can have great weather, bjs, when you of the wonderfully strategic location, which we have, but they don't provide the intellectual power estimate for businesses competitive we would become a footnote when this history is written. but if we can continue to create a culture of excellence in now with schools, a full chapter in the history that disguise the real beginning of a mighty prosperous nation and state. [applause] we begin to do this by building on the success of the last session when wheat increase school choice for florida's parents. we also refocused the all dated tenure system into the system that can reward the best

performers for excelling in educating our students. as you know, as you each no none of that is particularly easy but all of this is obviously necessary. if we are to give our children the chance to grasp the future, i want to thank each of you for your willingness for those issues because i think it will have a dramatic impact on the state to. i spent the past two years listening all about the vision for the future of our state. i would like to take a moment now to recognize one of the talented her working educators that taught me a great deal about a bright future for our students and the state. here with us today in the gallery heather is a first-year teacher in the community. i had the opportunity to meet her when i taught school for a day this fall. heather is very committed to her

students. she teaches american governments of a high school. her students are -- she teaches honors and advanced placement, english -- easy for me -- english-language lerner's every day, and as all of us have hopes and dreams for our future and our grandkids future, so do her students. when i talk to her students there to do everything from being a chef to a veterinarian, they want to be a hair dresser, a doctor, a lawyer, some of the module and shops, they are not sure which ones yet but they want to own shops. but educators like heather, these students and their dreams are clearly what is going to drive the prosperity of the state's. i want to thank you for all you do. [applause]

micha other daughter taught special needs kids for four years and comes back to the third degree now but these teachers gistel of their students. you can see it with hatari and her kids and i can see it with my daughter. after traveling the state in listening to parents, teachers like heather and other students, i heard one thing very clearly. over and over. floridians truly believe support for education is the most significant thing we can do to ensure short-term job growth and long-term economic prosperity for the state. and you know what, they absolutely right. that's why this session i asked you to continue your commitment to education to ensure the difficult decisions we must make on the budget are focused on prioritizing the things we all

know are essentials to the future of the great state. as you know, my recommended a budget includes $1 billion in new state funding for education. [applause] i ask each of you to consider that, my recommendation very carefully, think about it very carefully. and as you know and as i have said on this point, i just can't budge. i'd ask you again to send me the budget that significantly increases the state funding for education. this is the single most important decision that we can meet today for florida's future. but, our efforts on education cannot stop tonight. florida has a rich cultural history surrounding its culture and the university. don't take my word for it. ask any anthropologist. [laughter]

by the way my younger daughter is going to shoot me as soon as she reads that part of the speech. [laughter] we need to be realistic about this. somewhere out there today there are government officials in brazil or india or china and they are debating whether they should provide students with the proud men acknowledged to see the larger piece of the global economy. the only debate they are having is how quickly they can become dominant global players. i look forward to working with you to closely look at our higher education system to understand how we can ensure that in the future job creators from around the world will get florida to find the talented and educated work force they will need to compete in the 21st

century. it's our duty to help ensure in the time things are beginning to grow again we do not slow the growth by increasing the cost to live here. we can do this by building a mean a more effective government continuing to responsibly manage and reform the pension system. in cracking down on the fraud and abuse, the fraud and abuse that some people brought for the auto insurance system. last year with your help we reengineered the pension plan for the floor of a state workers so that the individuals who will share in its rewards share its funding this would save taxpayers money and the government practices with the private sector. but despite the year of a great returns, our pension plan remains billions of dollars underfunded we need to continue

to closely monitor our pension plan and ensure that will not become a liability for the taxpayers in the state or the workers to rely on that. this year we must also reform our although insurance to crack down on fraud and abuse that is running rampant in the estimated cost of the floridians $900 million. if we don't act the office of insurance regulation predicts the cost for consumers will continue to spiral out of control. our best estimates will show a 30% increase in the pure premium cost year after year. the costs are being injured and at each and every day all around the state by saddam's daughter ultimately paid for by florida's working families. if we are going to be serious about keeping the cost of living

low for the floridians, we have to get tough on the fraud and abuse and the auto insurance system. we all have to remember it's the consumers in our state that we have to protect, not the trial lawyers and all the others involved in these camps. floridians cannot afford another year of fraud and abuse in the cost that comes with it and impacts the poorest families the most. [applause] but me say that after a year in office on a more than ever appreciate the sacrifice and dedication of all of our law enforcement officers in florida today as we know sometimes that sacrifice is ultimate. this year i have the experience of attending all attend funerals

for our brave law enforcement officers who were killed in the line of duty. at this time i would like to recognize penny if she will stand up. she is a tenth grade biology teacher and an incredibly strong woman whose husband was one of these brave officers deputy john of the her in no county sheriff's office tragically died in a high-speed chase in july. a loving wife and mother of their children in the who is five and jessica is to join us here today. we are extremely grateful to you and john for the service and sacrifice to our great state. [applause] [applause]

so when i have the opportunity to go to meet any, the -- andy, her little boy was for am so we got down to get a picture and instead of me trying to make him feel better he was rubbing my back. he was the cutest little boy. thank you very much for this and god bless you and god bless your children. [applause] now i just want to express our gratitude for everybody that serves, whether it is in law enforcement or in the military to defend and protect our state and country, and your heart goes

out to the families that lose their loved ones like this, whether it is in the state or iraq or afghanistan. your heart goes out to them. succumb in closing i want to give a thank you for the consideration you've given me today and the courtesy that he extended to a new governor last year. since redistricting has been added to the already packaged in 2012 consideration and courtesy for demanding special premium of the next several weeks. no the line open to any idea from whatever source is likely to improve the lives of the floridians. over the past year i've experienced the benefit of listening to the floridians, i've listened to each of you and i guess i've even listened to my close personal friends in the media. [laughter] [applause]

i get asked all the time it is the difference between this and from the campaign and if you're running the company, you have -- you don't have media with you all the time. but i've gotten to know everybody and need a lot of their families and i have enjoyed that. [laughter] we of the monopoly of the good ideas. the commitment i made for those here today is to keep open clear lines of communication. so that together our time in the capitol expansion of service of those in the sentence here. that is why pledge to each of you. malae voyage to the people of florida is continued to give this job my all. to help build the framework for the enduring prosperity that is grounded in the intellectual debate to intellect and ambition of our citizens. while the great recession has taken a lot out it's also revealed the strength and resilience that is deeply ingrained in the people who call

for the home. other states have had their chance. this is our time. this is absolutely -- if you just think about it, this is the time florida should be the job creator. there is no reason we cannot be the number one creator of jobs in the country. it will be the biggest thing we do to change people's lives. it's our time to show the nation and the world that in this century floor will be the safe haven, the safe haven for individuals who want to live their intellectual version of the american dream. as each of us know none of us can do this alone. so let's get to work together. god bless you, god bless the great state of florida. thank you very much. [applause] conversations]

>> good afternoon. my name is karlyn bowman nma senior fellow here at aei and i would like to welcome all of you here tonight and our first snow storm at this event and also i c-span not yet to tonight's bradley lecture. this is our first bradley lecture at 2012 and i think it's fitting that it has a political theme. but this is the 23rd season of aei redly lectures and they have been supported generously by the hair eland bradley foundation. before introducing sean, i'd like to tell you that once bradley lecture that will be given on february 6 iaea's own

charles murray. it will be one of the first public lectures on his new book titled coming apart: the state of white america, 1960 to 2010. it is a special pleasure for me to welcome sean trende to aei. many of. many of you know sean is shawn is the senior elections analyst for real clear politics. he earned his masters in political science and also jurist doctorate from duke and holds a bachelor's degree in political science and history from yale university. we had pei have a special connection to sean. he for he went to duke in 1997 in 1898, he was an aei research assistant, working for allan meltzer and his monumental history of the government reserve. while shauna said pei, we considered him an honorary member of aei's political corridor and his passion for politics, political history with credit evident at that early point. we are pleased to help him

launch his new book, the last majority 2008 and 2010 in america's political future at this very week for paul craig mcmillan. copies available for sale in the lobby and also at amazon. in december, gallup asked people which two statements describe their campaign. the first thing that was, i can't wait for the campaign to begin and the other was, i can't wait for the campaign to end. 70% nationally said they couldn't wait for it to end. it is an amusing finding, but i think it points to a larger truth. although we are interested in who is ahead and they want more than the latest polls and the prognostications from the pundit. sean's book provides that by inviting us to think about the larger sweep of american politics and how the 2012 election fits into that history. some excel political majorities have made them like they are unlikely to be permanent. but i let him tell you about it.

sean will speak for 45 minutes and then take your question amateur into a reception out that. sean. i have not [applause] >> hello, my name is sean trende. missing elections analyst for realclearpolitics.com and yes that is my real last name. i say that because not a month goes by that i don't get an e-mail from someone who thinks that it's a little too cute for someone who analyzes political trends has the last name trende. i will belabor this point, but i just love this story. someone pointed out to me that my title is senior elections analyst is an acronym for my first name and suggested to me that i was just a monogamous people writing for real clear politics. it never occurred to me and i was such a record events.

it was a bit of an existential crisis, like maybe he really do live inside the matrix. after reassuring myself i am rail, i try to convince them that he was just me and could not be five or six people appear to be restricted begin by thanking karlyn for the kind introduction and the opportunity to talk about my book, the last majority by the government's up for grabs and who will take it. it is truly an honor and privilege to be back here today. the staffers here today to argue in this outside and like to reiterate what a special place the american enterprise institute really is. speaking of course of the adams morgan on afternoons playing softball. but seriously, things you learn at american enterprise institute pop-up to write your life and strange indeed have kind of provided the inspiration for my entire way of looking at politics than for this book. it was here, for example that i first learned from my mentor,

duck or meltzer, but the work of a college of his named keith poole and developing a method of the ideology members of congress. my obsession with them not to turn turnout would be my master thesis committee does on blockbuster hit, the making of an ideological court application of techniques and supreme court ideology from 1901 to 1945. if you suffer from insomnia i'll send it to them that will do the trick with a masters degree soccer out of an opportunity that was supported by aei. after thumbing through an almanac of american politics in the aei library one day, this was another day in the aei library one day, this was another day in the aei library one day, this was another day in the aei library one day, this was another day makeup, and became convinced the gop was on track to become the first party that didn't hold the president need to lose seats a midterm election in 1934. ask are unaffected to a friday form an issue, which is an opportunity for us doctors to

present other staffers and scholars and she obliged. indies need to seek a masters degree along with the lottery for my career. as in every congressional elections saved as in 1997 since the civil war the president's party's last midterm elections. put up a have labeled this the rule, the rule of midterm loss, broken only in a highly unusual year of 1934. lead over this concept of midterm loss is another idea and this is the concept of the safety or hitch, or is highly to collect from the 60 minutes. it's a simple enough concept. every sixth year the president's term tends to be an especially bad midterm election. 1938 come the sixth year at the roosevelt presidency, 81 and a republican case. 1946, the sixth year of the 76 years -- to use a duracell presidency republicans gained

55. in 1958, the six-year eisenhower and 49 democratic seats, 1966 and 47 republican seats. a pretty good trend. this is the problem that's endemic to political science. it overlooks the simple fact that most of these election losses resulted not because they heard the sixth year as such, but because they occurred in years for parties suffer from particular contingencies. in 1938 were emerging from that horrific obsession the roosevelt administration in overreached the packing scheme in the third new deal. in 1946 her struggling to deal with the wage and price controls. in 1958, we were emerging from a bad recession. 1956 the vietnam war was living to increase salient in the democrat had overreached with the great society. and in 1974 of course we had the

debacle of the watergate era also a very bad recession. in other words, these parties just ran into some horrible luck in six-year presidential elections. in 1998, none of that was true. there was a scandal obviously, the bill clinton's popularity wasn't suffering from it. the economy was going gangbusters and he actually reigned in his agenda for what was a very aggressive agenda in the first two years. as i touch myself, well, it's a contingencies had drifted midterm loss in the past or present them in 1998, then the experience we the experience we have in this earlier six-year elections would not be present in 1998. and this experience helps to solidify me thinking about political medication in general and emphasized the difficulty of doing projections based on present events. it brings to mind the famous prime minister harold dylan when he was asked by journalists but could possibly keep up with

government? he simply replied, events, events. what mcmillan had picked up on this something that's largely eluded our political class with its incessant focus on realignments and emerging majorities of both republican and democratic persuasion. political science teachers and this is the first month of most political science election classes. the elections moving 32 year appetites. it's fleshed out by the great and i'm not being facetious. he is great, walter dean burnham. we have your site 1800, 1828, 1860, 1896, 1932 and then things start to kind of fall apart. but i miss 28 to 36 year cycle where it seems like a different political party becomes the majority party in this country. and i think this concept of permanent alignment and realignment has driven a lot of the conversation and discussion of the 2008 and 2010 elections

erroneously. i'll get to that in a second, but i have just one quick thing to say about this are nice concept. it is my view at the end of the day that our politics are much more developed independent and short-term events, contingencies than they are in any long lasting coalition are realigned. while parties may seem to put together long-lasting majorities by a time when he three, four come even five elections in a row, that's really not that unusual. the outset talking neither side has her five or i was one of 16. with 55 presidential elections under her belt, a simple chance we shouldn't be surprised to see more than a few runs for a party under her belt and indeed we do have a few examples. not many, but a few winning 45 elections in a row. so this idea that elections are largely due to short-term events is what underlies a lot of the electorate today. in my book i take things back to

the 1920s to show political alignments, gone much by quickly than people appreciate what a great world chance plays in the elections. i could talk for three or four hours about this, but we don't have three or four hours. i love this stuff. but today a focus on what i think is the most salient and what people want to hear about. the 2008, 2010 elections and what this means for 2012. i will say my discussion of 2012 when i speak will be in the big picture. i anticipate a large number of questions from q&a will focus on specifics for 2012, so i'm going to have a generalized view of things and allow people to ask whatever specifics are interested in about 2012 or two scored two and come, who'll be first in iowa, new hampshire, south carolina, general election we get to those questions. for now there's three questions that i would like to answer. what exactly happened in 2008? how did things fall apart so quickly for the obama

administration? and what does this mean for the future? not to understand where we were in the two in election we have to take a trip in the way that. you may recall opponents spoke of an historic victory, one that would transfer in the's policies. we can start with one barack obama the second, who spoke to transforming the nation's politics, and then a narrative history of wiping out politics of the past 30 years. now i have no evidence for this, but i don't think a 30 year references accident. i view obama and his presidents are keenly aware of the city of of thirty-year cycles. he's after on all an extremely educated man. believe reagan had relented country in 1980 as many suggest that we redo. this is after all the central thesis of a famous book that was another two or three biblical books of the net roots in the early 2000 commend the emerging democratic majority by john jude and roy shaw. that look true directly and

realignment and suggested at some point in the 2002 as he flipped from republican dominance to democratic dominance. i think obama and his advisers believe they have captured this. having won in 2008, 20 years after president reagan, he was destined to a fixed-rate major changes in our politics. this is what help drive that majority to its doom. as a site i should note in the book i'm not just picking a president obama. i'm sure he's relieved to know that, but the same idea took the bush administration as well. everyone remembers after the 2004 election, karl rove speaking famously of its title, william mckinley and mark hanna and how they put together a supposedly permanent majority in 1896. he believed he had accomplished a similar majority in 2004 and i think that helped drive some of the bad choices politically speaking of the bush administration and its second

term. again, i took effect at the 1920s is something that happens again and again in our country says terry. the last majority i discuss in the book is any number of less majorities. some have come and gone in our political scenes. some successful. the lesser for cycles. some like carter's win in 1976 and kennedy in 1960, coolidge in 1924 have only lasted one cycle before replaced by something else. coolidge was replaced another successful republican majority that only lasted one cycle. it wasn't just obama. in the republic celebrated the vindication of the emerging democratic majority thesis. we can go on and on. harold meyerson exhorted the president-elect to bring on the new deal while paul krugman said it all the title of his postelection column, franklin delano obama. by all-time favorite has to be this "newsweek" cover.

[laughter] as rick perry might say, whoops. things didn't turn out this way. the easy answer to why that's the case is obama overspent. americans turned against the health care bill in the tea partiers brought about a resurgent american right that helped to build his congressional majority. although this played a role to be sure. but the more fundamental question, if obama had really assembled an fdr like coalition time he should've been able to overcome these forces. after all, you will recall or maybe you want an fdr's presidency, democratic nominees from 192819241928 had all joined together to oppose his presidency but in 1834 midterms. a huge backlash among the democratic party elite and a lot of republicans and it did no good because the coalition he dissembled in 1932 was a strong one and this method of governing in 1932 from 1936 please the

majority of the country. obama didn't have a much shorter like this. iraq is, when in 2008, contrary to conventional wisdom, with nothing more than a narrower but deeper version of bill clinton's coalition from the 1990s. what bill clinton had done was take what had become a democratic piece of minorities, liberals and union members and and a bracelet should ascend to scherrer referred to as progressive centrism. use this new democratic ideology if you will to grab suburbanites onto the democratic majority and sure of democratic strength among jacksonians in the heartland of the country. these latter voters were white southerners were scotch irish descent who is largely stuck with democratic party's to the 1960s and 1970s.

they didn't vote for richard nixon in 1970 or george wallace in 1968. they voted for hubert humphrey. most successors of the democratic to humphrey did relatively well, these jacksonian voters, at least for southerners. if you look at a map of the county baconian mapping areas in eastern kentucky comedy central tennessee, west virginia, even across arkansas and into northern texascommittee's work areas of unusually strong democratic strength among whites in the south, even after the democratic party and flipped to become civil rights in the 1960s. obama change this coalition do not necessarily for the better. take a look at the maps. what i have done here is taken basically states that were basically tied in 1996 or 2008. and as a republican gets to a point coming becomes a little

bit better, and other reflate georgia in 2008, which is barely won by mccain is way better than mccain does a little bit better gets darker and darker with the democrats. you will notice that the blue states in 2008 look a lot like the blue states in 1996. why is this? because her 1996 to 2008, only three states moved more than five points with the democrats. vermont, nevada and barack obama's home state of hawaii. where is the change? the changes right in the middle of the map, just a fast talking about a jacksonians jacksonians. west virginia, kentucky, tennessee, arkansas, oklahoma and the changes in alabama and louisiana actually come most in the northern charity stays are the most jacksonian. as i sees them as more than five points away from the democrats are in 1996 until 2008.

obama didn't vote the democratic coalition in two in 2008. he merited. bill clinton carried by as much as 45 points in eastern kentucky and the republican in 2008. son for the first time since the new deal. what barack obama produced in 2008 was a narrower, deeper version of clinton's 96 coalition. what i mean by deeper versions of clinton's were the groups that bill clinton brought into the democratic party, suburbanites. in other words, fairfax county. that area became bluer peer barack obama had a huge turnout among minority voters, but that wasn't an expansion of the democratic coalition. i was doing better in areas that had also voted for bill clinton. to get a better idea of this, this is the west south central and east south central regions of the united states. counties carried by democrats