voting is an essential part of participatory democracy, but one must ask the question in a militarized state what happens when the pentagon since 1990 has been giving weapons to police departments under the auspices of a war on drugs, and those weapons have been aimed principally at the african-american community? we have some serious questions to ask about what was going on and why did we not know that and why is it that we allow those things to happen, and what can we do to change that. when police departments are armed by the federal government, the pentagon, you're moving away from democracy to a totalitarian state, to armed state police. ..

we are living in an age of the southern strategy, and these are all issues that we should be very aware of. at least we are land to go to the slaughter without understanding how we got in the pit. we are dealing with some very pernicious issues today of power, domination and control. young people are feeling very powerless. young people don't understand what have they done to generate this, and they vary -- they're

very upset with all the people who keep telling them to vote without understanding that voting is one aspect of participatory democracy, but it is important to be educated to understand who you are in the world and how you can manage to struggle in an intelligent and smart way. it's more than police training. these guys are trained to profile. these guys are trained with those massive weapons of destruction. for example, in compton, california, when school opened the security guards have ak-47s for the students there. we need to really come out of this fog and be very honest and as a very serious questions about what are we where we are today. and what can we do to organize and change of policy, how do we deal with stand your ground and how do we deal with our? >> and you. as a sacred into this i want to go to you --

[applause] >> lee, what has been, let's talk about policy. what has been the media's portrayal of black boys and men and what message does that message senders was in the age of camera phones and social media, how can journalism be used to combat police brutality, if so? i was most effective way to get information to the media as well? >> well, i think that there suspicion we pull the mic a little closer to? >> sure. i think without a doubt, first of all, the thing i think that needs to be explained i think in terms of the media is that we are not all created equal. okay? there are bad reporters and

editors just like there are bad doctors and nurses, you know? and that police officers. and, unfortunately, in this country a kind of runs the gamut from, you know, podunk, you know, little towns that have really this poor media operations to really big media companies who do bad jobs. unfortunately for us i think the narrative of the black community, the ills of the black community, have been highlighted perhaps more than the successes of the community. the thing that jumped out at me from reading about all these cases and watching the video, these harangued his situations with the police is that these cops are terrified. they are absolutely terrified of

young black boys, black men, and girls. this is true, but they are terrified of us, and i wonder, i'm scratching my head trying to figure out, when did that start where they see us as, you know, the enemy, the absolute enemy? in the barbershop this morning we were passing cell phones around, everybody was looking at the case down in south carolina a few weeks back. have you guys seen this? he pulls over the gas station, the cops shoot him simply because he was doing what he was told. i mean, it was just, it's absolutely crazy that these sorts of things are happening. it's just mind-boggling. but to answer your questions about kind of the role of the media, imagine life in these united states, imagine life in ferguson, missouri, if cnn

wasn't on the ground, "the new york times," the "washington post," the "l.a. times," the st. louis times dispatch, imagine how that case would've gotten swept under the rug come just under the black avoid shot down in the street. if these reporters were out there with their cell phones come with her camera, with the radio mics, with their newspaper ads and covering this story. you know, the civil rights movement when you talk about the genesis and kind of the momentum that was the civil rights movement, it really didn't gain steam until good white folks saw on tv the fire hoses and the german shepherds being released on these innocent, poor black folks. and in a lot of ways this is kind of what we are seeing right now.

this movement of protection, is what i would like to call it, this movement of protection of civility of us, you know, having and regaining and continuing to live with dignity in the society, which is obsessed with guns, like ruby said, and this whole thing, it's going to take all of us but for me i think will play a very, very key role in this. i think that when you see as citizens, as people who were not in the media, when you see or hear of injustice, pick up the telephone, fire off an e-mail. if you live in a small community make it your business to a three or four reporters and names in your contacts so that you can text message them. some newspapers, some digital journalism now, the cool thing about digital journalism, even though it has eaten a bunch of our newspaper jobs, is that at

the ends of the stories on the net, the reporters will put their e-mail addresses. and you have access to that. and so it's very important that we establish a rapport and our relationship in these communities with immediate so that we can help get the word out. >> in a way you are saying that there is an opportunity or even a responsibility of the citizenry to sell the journal and police. >> absolutely. >> self journal, document and police. >> i wanted to know a couple think the major media did not show up to ferguson put a few days later. we know that, okay? because major media is run by some of the same folks that put in these policies in place that continue to hold us down. on the other end of that is an opportunity. social media has been demonized, bastardized.

we all the negatives about social media but the fact of the matter is people on the ground in ferguson and provided a voice for social media. if we are not listening to the voices of the affected communities, then we are listening to nobody. i'd like to highlight the fact social media has given us a new day, a new day and age we can each pull out our cell phone or camera phone and we can document exactly what happened. we can tell the true story of what's going on in ferguson before seeing it decides it's important enough for them to show up. we have to amplify the voices of the youth for using these tools, such as wanted to add that. >> tousled you agree with that. >> the other parties to, come for example, in the michael brown case, in those law enforcement agencies and with prosecutors around the country, they all have very sophisticated public information officers who participate in how they portrayal and how they want to do with certain situations. for example, in michael brown, the prosecutor decided that he wasn't going to charge, number

two, he was not going to reveal any of the evidence he had in the case. so two important things happen. number one, we have found in our practice that is very important at times in some cases to align with the fbi and the department of justice. and in doing so, similar to what you had with trayvon and michael brown, they had the capacity. it was ironic because one day i'm sitting in the with two fbi agents from the st. louis field office, and the very next day they have 40 agents on the ground doing their job. we saw something similar, if you followed the kendrick johnson case in georgia, the man killed speed is quick question, daryl. century been practicing over different administrations edge of the people in power, do you believe that that is the case because of our ag and the individuals who are in power now

and the administration? deeply that would be different response to? i pray it doesn't say but i must say, it's been a blessing, one, to start with president obama and number two, with attorney general holder. i usually in many of the cases i mentioned it was quite clear that washington had taken a vested interest in the case, and number two, that city u.s. attorney whatever they may be domiciled in the country had some call, some interaction from washington, whether it's the civil rights division in washington or from the executive suite in washington. so it meant the world in these cases because like i said, one dancing in st. louis with two agents any meeting, and they have the ability to the next day there are 40 agents. i'm not saying 40 agents in the hood is a good idea but it does get to justice quicker. the dynamics of it. i was glad they got smart the

other day. i read where the fbi decided to go to a community college and let people talk privately if they wanted to talk about whatever they want to talk about in ferguson, if it related to michael brown versus something but when an agent comes and knocks on your personal house door and whether or not you're going to talk to them. i'm glad the department of justice figure that out. one other thing about media. one of the issues we were confronted with was it was clear they wanted the story to die down. you don't want to get attention for the wrong reasons. when you saw michael brown's autopsy come out and the diagram that came out was the one that we wante wanted to come out agat we wanted to come out and use our resources director that story. that story ended up leaving page-one "new york times" monday morning and set the agenda for the country for that day. and so as you do this, lawyers are equipped with things that other people are not equipped

with. if we are in the case then we could have access to things and use, within the rules, the best benefit our client. we believe that our clients story needed to be told in the way that it was told, and will be. >> we've got about 20, 25 minutes left. i want to get to you all out there. panelists, let's try to make all of our comments as concise as possible. go ahead. >> i want to make a comment. mr. ivey said something about they don't know if. tepees would forget about is building relationships with our law enforcement officers and our elected officials. in terms of media, that's how they get to know us but they don't know us as individuals. something we did in florida was called bridging the gap conversations were we brought youth and law enforcement, law enforcement officers together to talk about issues. what we found out is that there was this disconnect socially and they didn't understand some of thanks at were happening, the reason they were scared.

in terms of that direct action piece i would charge everyone to get to know your law enforcement officers. have conversations with them and connect vacuum in peace. >> if we are talking opportunity-based policing, and part of the response that we hear all the time from police departments that have lack of diversity and lack of community based policing, they say we would love to hire black folks, folks from the community but nobody ever applies. now, is there something that we can do to hold these departments to task, either insist on community-based our police officers who actually in the command as part of the job requirement and/or creating an atmosphere where they would be receptive, individuals in the committee would want to actually join the force? does anyone have a comment on that? >> first of all, i think getting to know police is one thing, but

racial profiling a systemic and it violates civil rights. as a getting to know police doesn't eradicate systemic issues. what eradicate is citizens action, understand what's going on in organizing to defeat it. so i might note police over here but that doesn't mean that the systemic evil or the systemic injustice disappears. we have got to be very honest. we are dealing with systemic issues, and they are not personal defects of individual cops. because racial profiling is all over the country. and, finally, about the media, we've been here before during the lynching when black people were criminalized as a means of justifying why we were lynched. in the 1990s there began a campaign in this country to propagandize a negative image of black people. ronald reagan came up with a welfare queen mother who would rather have a crack than to feed

her children to criminalize their black father. so by the time he got to where we are today, the world thinks the black people, we come from a culture of violence, that would come from a culture of deadbeat fathers and non-loving mothers. and so, therefore, we constitute a clear and present danger to society. and most especially to the security of white people. and so that's what we can be killed and nobody bats an eye. there are systemic, there are reasons that we have to begin to move beyond personal emotions and get very, very pragmatic and clear about what we are dealing with, least we will sacrifice our children to another 100 years of lynching. [applause] >> thank you, ruby. if you have a question, lined up behind the mic. i want to be very clear. a question please.

daryl. >> i think it makes all the difference in the world when we know our local law enforcement and to the extent they get to know the people. simple situations get worked out there versus downtown and on the scene. i can't emphasize it enough. i think they have experts in my neighborhood where this one black cop i knew was riding around with the young white rookie who did what know the neighborhood. because the company, i was walking on a morning walk. he stopped. parked his car and we talk. he would bring other office out in introducing. it gives familiarly with people in david versus riding around in his car. that means the world when it comes to policing, y'all, the world. so i would be an advocate for that. >> my name is ron rice. i was a city councilman in north new jersey for eight years. my question is, talk about real solutions. the appointment of federal

monitors over these towns that exhibited of police brutality, and secondly, they use and creation of civilian our citizen review boards with subpoena power. in the city of newark it took us six years but we finally work with the aclu, myself leaving as a council person filing of the federal government to send in federal monitors for new york for police brutality issues that dates back to the rights, the rebellion of 1967. finally, after 47 years we got a federal appointment that just got named in july. secondly, the citizen review board, there are several across the nation but there's barely, they usually do not work because they don't have subpoena power. there's no muscle behind the hustle. if someone could talk about those issues in terms of being practical, pragmatic, real solutions to break up the institution. it's not black or white. it's the blue and it's the institution of the blue that

makes all those who participate in that part of the same culture and the same accountability measures. >> i'll take part of it. i'm an advocate for citizen review boards. because what you see is when you start to see in internal affairs or the local prosecutor's office trying to investigate brutality, it normally doesn't turn out to will. reverend sharpton made a great comment the other day. in florida where we had trayvon martin come with republican governors who appoint special prosecutors. in missouri we have a democratic governor who refuses to step in and appoint a special prosecutor. it's the norm at a think a lot of times local politicians forget that some people who think nationally and get to see the whole broad landscape and know what the norm is around the country. it's a little bit, with a bit of part of the we see governor nixon in missouri not stepping up and not doing the right thing where you have a local police officer who was particular be

charged by the local prosecutor's office to every case the comes out of the department is prosecuted i that prosecutors office. that's a problem. >> go, please. >> i'm all for living with dignity and so were my forefathers. my name is michelle and i write for phenomenal woman magazine, published in the cleveland, ohio, area. so to that end during the civil rights movement the students who participate in the lunch counter sit ins, those campaigns, they were actually trained on how to respond in those situations. so my question is, is a time for some organization to provide training to our community on this modern-day racial profiling civil rights issue? because when our children are sitting in the back of a car and mom is arrested on the side of the road and she's handcuffed and she looks like she's being roughed up -- >> we got the question. >> the question, how are our children supposed to know how to respond?

i'm watching children crying and trying to run towards mommy. i'm watching the video on tv advancing get back in the car because i don't want to see what they broadcast on television nightly anymore. >> i worked with a workstation called the dream defenders. this past summer last summer we conducted a 31 day sit in of governor rick of scott's office. we are thoroughly immersed in acts of civil disobedience, and training and organizing our youth. however we're only in the state of florida at this moment. i think from the dream defenders perspective we would love for these wildfires to spring all across the country because we don't need to be leaders for every community. every community needs their own please. if anyone needs our support, we would love to be there. >> doesn't dream defenders make public their information about how to go about approaching being arrested, et cetera? >> we utilize the aclu, no, -- know you're right docket.

please e-mail us. reach out to as. would love to support you and your efforts to lead your committed. >> spirit house is organizing women, numbers of families who have experienced the murder of their loved ones. we are working with them so that they can become organizers in their own communities, and train young people and themselves how to respond in this urgent crisis that we are facing. >> good afternoon. my name is walter and i'm a member of the fraternity alpha phi alpha. my question or comment goes to the young lady -- what's your name again? >> cici. >> we have a project called project alpha of which most of the office -- [inaudible] our chapter has incorporated a

legal component to that in which lawyers, attorneys come in to speak with the high school students. the last time this occurred in columbia, maryland, i was so impressed by the amount of questions and the depth of the questions, that the students had to the one attorney who was there. we are planning on doing it again. we are talking about solutions, how we can possibly cut down on the rest and murder, it begins with that teenager. we are addressing it and it could be not just my fraternities organization but every other organization that goes into a high school. >> death of the. imho façade for me with project alpha.

>> very good. >> but yes, research shows law-enforcement officer to less likely to arrest someone that they know. so it does break down that construct of folks operating in this broken system. so i commend you on all the work that you were doing. >> we have the time for one final quick and then going to welcome someone closing remarks. >> good afternoon. i am with the spirit house project in atlanta, georgia, also. my question is this. several of you talk about constitutional rights. you carry the little boat. we have a. we distribute it to our interest or other things like that. my concern is about this very conservative supreme court that we have that's changing constitutional rights, and i would appreciate it if you all would speak to sometimes the confusing laws that are happening that have to do with the elimination of the right to remain silent.

so if police officers question you don't have that right anymore. presumed, instead of being presumed innocent, you are now presumed guilty. and this issue of no knock when people with search words come to go because a lot of the cases we found police have just walked in without warrants and a shot people indiscriminately and then later said, wrong address. >> question please. >> the question is state to an out of we educate the people about the changes going on in the supreme court works you can't refer to the book anymore because they are changing the laws of quickly, how do we let people know? how do we tell our young brothers and sisters when you get out of the car, you know, you don't have to say this or do you have to say this? >> does anyone want to take that? >> i think effort starts with us making sure children are better educated. i think a better educated citizen is able to respond to some of the situations better. my answer would just be a

stronger, better, solid education in general. >> i want to go down the line and ask for closing remarks. from each panelist. please keep them concise. what are some takeaways from what are the last thin things yu want folks to hear from you? start with you on the end and come down this way. >> three things from me. one, you need to judge her story. if something happens to you can't have social media. tell your story. that is important that's what i did. it got 40,000 shares. you've got to be decided going to take action or are you going to sit back and complain about or are you going to do something about it. i decided to do something about my situation. i got arrested, ended up with an arrest record i should have had. a lot of people don't know they still have an arrest record. we started a petition online. i encourage you all to please sign the petition. i've been being with legislators, talking with the department of justice.

we are trying to change legislation. we are trying to introduce new bills in various houses. then make a difference. john f. kennedy said that everyone, one person can make a difference, and everyone should try. and those are my three words for you guys. >> ms. ruby? >> organize, think, organize. and bring to everything that you do, everything has a context. hindsight. what is the history of this problem? insight. how does that is, in fact, what's going on today and what are we seeing? and foresight, strategy to solve the issue. so that's what i would say. build the whole movement, predicated on reality not fantasy. >> i think the biggest vacuum in the black candidate is an information vacuum, and the beauty to me as a civil-rights era was we had meaningful conversations with one another.

about things that matter in our lives, education in terms of how not to get beat down and how to register vote and all that. we still did have those conversations, you know, more than ever we have to have those conversations. spread the information out there. go to the aclu website. it's very easy to find, and look, i mean it's there, a giant letters, what to do if you're stopped by the police. what to do, can you videotape or photograph the police? it's in very plain language. sure that with your friends, your relatives, your children so we can protect ourselves. >> i would like to say don't get desensitized by the media. i do sometimes us educated folks are so disconnected, like it's only the trayvon martin's or the michael brown's. as you can see from this panel, it just happens to educated folks as well as i don't want

you to be disconnected from the issues. and i would challenge you to do things in your local community. some folks might disagree but i personally believe that having relationships are critical to us as a community. vote. this is like the bottom line issue. it doesn't stop with just voting but also education. but every tenure can get to know one law enforcement officer, and ring three people to the polls within the that's an easy take what and an action. >> we need to organize. this system is not broken. it wasn't designed to act exactly the way it is acting. this system has been implemented to dehumanize us for hundreds of years. so unless we organize and we all get agitated and what i'll get angry, we will continue to get the same treatment. >> i will also say education. people don't pick on people who can beat them, people they think

they can't control their education take it out of that situation and empowers you. >> and i'll say this in closing for myself. when i went down to ferguson, my heart was heavy and i started looking at what the grand jury done it was actually looking at. on one level i could bring back a charge of murder in the first degree, and on the other hand, it would be a negligent manslaughter, a homicide charge. if you really break that down for my legal background, you look at something like a negligent homicide and you start to your words that talk about creating a careless, willful, ignorance of creating a situation where probable death or extreme harm could occur. it broke my heart and i realize that under that statute i'm just as responsible for the death of michael brown junior as officer

wilson. because many of us have colluded in being willfully ignorant and carelessly absent, even though we know there is an institutional atmosphere that will create a probable death or extreme bodily harm of poor people in these communities. yet we stand by and collude and do nothing. so under that statute i should be charged. you should be charged. we should be charged. if we don't leave this room stop being carelessly ignorant and stop being willfully involved, then we are all at fault. and on that note i would like to welcome alpha phi alpha general president tillman to close us out. [applause] >> good afternoon. first of all i would like to thank the panelists for your

thoughtful insights on this issue. i had an opportunity as well to attend michael brown's funeral. real quick, i personally was affected by the fact that this young man was shot. why? because as a president of a national organization, one of the first things that my member would say is, brother tillman, are we going to have a statement? i don't want to make another statement. alpha phi alpha did make a contribution to the michael brown's funeral. we are one of several individuals that made a contribution. and as i wanted the family to know that they were thrust into situations that they did not ask for. now there just another set of parents who were on a tour to let people know that their son was killed unjustly. and so that's why we're here today. i was affected by that. so i wanted to do some small part, and i had an opportunity to meet with the family and indicate to them that your son

to death will not be in vain. and so that's why we're here today. i would like to thank the national association of black journalists for cosponsoring this. i would like to thank the dream defenders for cosponsoring this. because we know that takes more than just sitting in a workshop to talk about the issues. when we go back to our respective states and cities, it's about doing at our local community. i am from new orleans, louisiana, and one of the first things i learned in in louisiana is, one, you don't speak. because i've heard a lot of folks than what i was caught speeding i was pulled over. first of all, you don't speak. the second thing is you don't agitate. you're not in a position to be in power when you're being pulled over by a police officer. you're in a position of why are you being pulled over in the first place? and yes, being from louisiana i learned three things. yes, sir, no, sir, i don't

understand, sir. the reason why, because i'm not going to agitate. yes, i understand but i want to make sure that you are giving me the right answers or the right questions so i can at least let you know that i don't understand, i do understand, and yes, i understand, here's my credit card. so those are the types of things i've learned just growing up in new orleans, louisiana. but we are here today because we know that we've got to take this information back. we've got to engage our communities back in our respective locations. we know this year is another important vote. when president obama goes out of office, who are we going to be voting for? i don't see anyone black coming behind him. and we may be voting for a woman. who knows? but the fact is president obama is going to be leaving office. so are we prepared for what's next? that's why we stand here to push a national program called a vote

was people is a hopeless people. but we have a charge. first of all, we vote. every voter every election. that is our charge. that's why we're here today but i thank you for being here. i thank you for being engaged in this very important conversation. it's not going to stop because when we go back to our communities we will continue to speak, but most importantly we must vote. and not just being registered to vote. we must vote. i would like to add, every time and in every weather condition. because we are sometimes afraid of the rain. let's get out in the rain, go vote, get your umbrella, get back into the car and then go to work. that's what we've got to do. thank you, everyone, for being here. i will turn back over to the monitor. thank you. [applause] >> thank you, everyone. i really appreciate you being here. josh, do you want to make a final comment? okay.

>> y'all, go have fun tonight last night i will be at the park late-night hosting a party for you will be going to come after your event. i will be at the park. tell them hill harper personally invited you. [laughter] >> and today the congressional hispanic caucus institute is hosting its public policy conference in downtown washington, d.c. with committee leaders and politicians discussing policies affecting latino americans. you can watch the morning session at c-span.org and later covered by the afternoon session starts at 1:30 p.m. eastern c-span2 with the discussion with female hispanic lawmakers. and underwent a on a companion network c-span, a hearing on the secret service with the director of the secret service julie pearson testify. this is a house oversight committee looking into recent security breaches at the white house. you can watch that live now underway on c-span and we will show it again later tonight, 8:00 eastern time here on

c-span2. next, remarks by bobby jindal, former pennsylvania senator, rick santorum and form a alaska governor sarah pindyck there at the values voter summit hosted friday by the family research council. ♪ ♪ ♪ >> thank you very much. this is a great group of people and as you saw from the introduction, liberty institute's mission is to defend and to restore religious freedom act of the founding fathers meant it to be. i think most of us know those are under attack and the typical person under attack doesn't have all the money to go hire a legal team. we provide the best legal teams in the country when those things do happen to some people ask me, kelly, how did you get involved? act when i was in high school i knew i had to do some analytical thinking and speaking.

i thought i even need to be a pastor or a lawyer. peoples it isn't that kind of a god or satan choice? as a look at it i thought about i was by been a will and went to school, did well and got out and had these wonderful job offers. i remember thinking, i think i would suffocate if i did the regular lofting. i was thinking what do you want to do? i thought i want to use my legal skills i'd like to be cases but i want to help pastors and churches and religious freedoms and a founding principle to i would even like to go to seminary part time. and i laugh because there was no paying job to do that. i didn't expect it would be. two weeks later i got a call from two partners in major law firms. they said we'd come to lunch? when we sat down they said we started to donate our time for religious freedom but we are now getting so many calls that it's hurting our ability to make a living. we were wondering, would you be willing to come on, toledo cases, help pastors, churches and a founding principles and you can even go to seminary part time if you want to.

[laughter] now, being a young 20 something i might need a little spiritual maturity isolate different about it. like that wasn't an answered prayer. they said how much do need to live on and they paid out of the pockets to get it started. and a 25 years later liberty institute is the largest legal organization in the country that focuses exclusively on religious liberty in the united states. it's one of those american stories. [applause] i know i probably don't have to tell you this but the attacks are greater than anything i've ever seen in the 25 years i've been doing this. you have seen it. not too far from there, walter reed hospital banned family members from bringing eyeballs to their own family members were wounded soldiers until that was exposed. we have situations like jarvis, wonderful young girl who was told at a major university to take her cross necklace off because quote it might offend someone at the school. until we got involved. you probably saw the five year

old girl we had to represent this you who was told to stop praying over her meal and a lunch cafeteria. i think of 25 years ago when i started doing this if you were told me you will have to represent churches, i would've said this is not the soviet union. we don't have to defend charges against the government in this country. every week we have a new church we have to represent. that just wants to be a church, the ones to increase the size of sanctuary, who wants to feed the homeless, the wants to do things churches can do. those rights used to be understood. now they have to be fought for. everybody is aware of hobby lobby, the case went to the supreme court. very few people know what was argued in the case. they solicitor general of the united states, the highest lawyer for our federal government, stood up in the supreme court in front of the justices and argued that once you make a decision to go into a for-profit business and incorporate, you are making the decision to waive your religious freedoms and quote you now play by the government rules.

that's the argument. some people say but we won that case. we won that case fight for. so these are just -- 5-4. it's not just religious employers. it's religious employees. i don't have time to go through all the cases, let me tell you about one we filed this week. a wonderful guy by the name of eric walsh. eric walsh is an african-american indeed, ph.d, director of public health for the city of pasadena, california, wonderful, wonderful christian guy. the state of georgia said we want you to come be our director of public health and they offered him a job, which he accept. then he was asked to send in his sermons. some people were complaining, some gay-rights activists, that you don't know what this guy believes in, where he goes to church. it ended up firing him not because of anything he said on the job or anything he did on the job, but because they found

his sermons and they fired him for what he said in his own church on a sunday. that that is a massive violation of religious freedom. we don't allow that in this country but these are things were now having to fight for. if we don't stand for these, i don't care if you're a religious employer or a religious employee, we will find ourselves in the country without religious freedom but its messenger for people to stand up like eric walsh, like copy lobby, and like each of us. i would point out we have these event at the table in a smaller form. we just reserve every all the attacks on religious freedom. this is the one. this is everything from an eight year old boy caught praying over his meal, lifted out of the seat and carried to the principles office where he was told to never do that again, all the way to senior citizens who were told their meals would be taken away because they were federally funded and they were praying over their meals. that violates separation of church and state. it's in the north, south. it's young, old. people of wealth, people with

the resources. it is no way to avoid these attacks right now. i've talked to people who say what if i'm not religious, should i care? the answer is absolutely. our founders got religious freedom our first freedom for a reason. the industry if it is religious freedom you will loose all your freedoms. you won't have political freed freedom. and let me talk about that a second. do you think if the government is going to allow you to talk, they will not allow you to talk about your faith or where you go after you died or how you should live your life now, do you think the government will allow you to criticize the people running the government? the one thing that totalitarianism will never allow our citizens hold an allegiance to one-the government, so when ever totalitarianism comes in the first flashpoint, the first part is always an attack on religious freedom. that's why the founders understood when this starts to happen, it means you're about to lose your country if you don't

get things under control. which of our religious freedom is very core, the reason people got a boat and came to this country. if we lose that we lose the united states of america. we've got to be willing to fight. i will give you an example of how quickly it's moved. take the military, our cases in the military. a lot of people have heard about this, the mojave desert veterans memorial. put up in 1934 by world war i veterans who just want remember those who did sacrifice. it a seven-foot crossed with a little plaque on the bottom that says to the dead of all wars. sat there for 70 years. until the aclu brought a lawsuit saying you have to get this done because this is a cross and it's on federal land. unbelievably at the district court and court of appeals, federal court of appeals they said terry down. let me show you a picture of what the court ordered be done is on appeal to the supreme court, assuming they have a picture to display.

i mean, if you can tell, that's the veterans memorial, that cross with a bag around with a chain around the bottom and a padlock. that's in the united states of america. some people will say, why are you making a big deal? you wanted the case at the supreme court. that cross is now back up to the aclu lost, you one. yes, we won 5-4, 5-4. i want you to see that picture, you change one justice, that picture is the law. which is why there's a lot of work to be done. some o of you, educate and you t least that's overcome these attacks on veterans memorial. no, no, we have six more these cases around the country including the mt. soledad case and i want to show you a quick video on that case. ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

[applause] >> the last order in that case was to dinner down -- was to tear down the veterans memorial within 90 days. we've got mistake and we're going to go all the way to the supreme court if necessary to make sure that that never happens. [applause] >> but these attacks in america are not just them on external symbols. it's happening internally as well. while i don't have time to go through all those i will give you one example and that's sergeant monk sergeant monk is here. i hope you get to meet him while he is here. he talks with his case last you. sergeant monk is a hero, 19 have years in the air force, patched up or 600 people in iraq, had to clean the blood of his buddies off his boots. came back to the united states only to be told by his lesbian commander that he needed to agree with her on gay marriage.

when he said, look, you know, this is about the mission of the air force. we can have different beliefs. she said no, i need you to from you agree with me on gay marriage. when he wouldn't answer that question, she relieved him of his duties after 19 and a half years. he actually had to file with our help a complaint to get this overturned. do you know what the first response was when he filed a complaint? they read him his miranda rights and opened a criminal investigation against him to intimidate him. do you know what? it didn't work because sergeant monk had made up his mind on what he was going to do. [applause] he was recently awarded a medal for his distinguished service over and above normal service for this country, and he is now on his way to retire, and all these attacks that were against them have fallen.

he's been protected. but we shouldn't have to protect them. but the point is this isn't very we didn't think usually we have a problem and and now we're having to fight for these things. some of you will say, golly, i'm really glad that the voters had a depressing speaker of the, that shock offered guy. let me play the good news. the good news is with all these attacks on religious freedom, we have a method of dealing with this and it's not just a theory. that is if you look at all the legal groups that nonprofits around the country, left or right or whatever they are, they use the same method to raise as much but as you can can hire as many logs as you can, but those attorneys in an office in washington, d.c. or new york city and shift them around the country to cover cover as many s as you can. that's not our model. our model is the always attorneys went to law school because they wanted to stand for what was right. they wanted to ride on a horse with a saber to say today. 30 years later these are the best litigators at the best law firms in the world and in our

country. they have never gotten to do a case for their faith or for their country. we come along and we say, look, if we give you everything you need, are you willing to give your time? they are like i've been waiting 35 years, sign me up. we know what's going to happen when the dude the first one of these cases. for the first time all their talents, all the gifts, all their training lined up with their faith and their love for their country. they have never felt that before. it's kind of unfair but we know we now have them for the rest of their lives as one of our volunteer attorneys. we have done this long enough to we now have the top 50 law firms in the country, over half that don't just donate their time. they fight each other over who gets to donate their time for the privilege of doing these cases and defending our country. [applause] >> the result of that is twofold. number one, for every case we

spend, for every 10,000 hours we spent on a case we get 60,000 donated from these attorneys. were able to multiply the resources. additionally, if you look at the nonproblem the groups and their win-loss record, 50/50, if they're very good maybe the or 60-40. our win rate right now for 12 years straight has been above 90%. [applause] because when we do a case, our attorney lives in montana, if that's where the case is but he is from one of the biggest law firms there. he grew up there. he is known there. he and the judge were fishing buddies when they were 12, okay? when the aclu guy flies in from newark city he is at a disadvantage. additionally, our people are the best of the best of the best and every time they going to court, it's one of the best law firms and one of the best attorneys versus a government lawyer or some nonprofit lawyer. this country was built on religious freedoms. if people are willing to stand up and we have the resources to

stand with them and to win over 90% of these cases and to make sure that we get back to the very founding principles of this country. [applause] i want to encourage you as we started this effort, my group started originally out of the little state called texas but we are just planning to be texans, but when you start winning 90% of the cases people start asking you to do you cases as a. we knew we were being spread all over the country so we begin to go national and did rapidly because there's so much in need, so many people that need help. and i would ask if you could do us a favor to be our ambassador. to let people know that there is help out there, they can go to our website and see what their rights are. they can get a copy of all the attacks around the country. and so i would encourage everybody here, there's a few ways you can do that. go to liberty institute.org when

you get a chance to you will get an e-mail every week on what cases are going on and the most important ones in the country. go to our booth. you can get a small copy of one of these with all the listing of the cases. you can get a copy at 5:00 i will be signing my book which we are giving away for free if you want to go and get one. called supreme irony. i just want to end with a story. a number of years ago i was minding my own business eating lunch looking at my newspaper and i saw something i've never seen, which senior citizens holding picket signs. i thought that's unusual. they have been told that they could not pray over their meals in the senior center and they couldn't sing gospel songs. i had a young guy fresh out of the military registered with us. up with a newspaper debt and so let's see if we can help them. before i finish my sentence he was getting out of the parking lot on the way to the seniors and. they said we don't have any power in this done. there are four guys on the city council, they control everything. we never that anybody would help

us, much less lawyers for free. so this young attorney comes back to me and he says, this city doesn't deserve -- no, no, we are a christian organization but we will send them a letter, tell them the constitution thing you ought to read and try to get this corrected. they decide to fight it. we had a press conference and i had all the seniors behind the. at the end i said destiny we want to say anything? from the incomes army clark, 77, fought in world war ii, had a western suit and cowboy boots. he walks up and he says, i fought in world war ii for these freedoms, and i ain't going into the corner to pray. they can arrest me, long as it says what i'm arrested for, arrested for praying. he turned around and walks in the back. about an hour later we get a call from bill of rice producer saying, we want the guy in the hat. [laughter] starts barney's world when the tour. he testifies in the senate choices first plane ride. he had been in the navy.

[laughter] short story is, we ended up winning this case. we won an injunction that could never interview with their brain over the news again, never into the with singing. we even want a little money so they could hold a celebration party. my favorite part is what happened after the case. that is everybody in the city watch the power less seniors be the powerful city council members but they all decided let's hold a recall election and they through all four of those people out of office. [applause] and about a year and a half ago i got a postcard from one of the seniors, because she wanted me to know that she was now one of the new city council members. [laughter] sometimes will sit around and think and what can i do, i'm one person. we can do anything we want in this country if we are willing to stand up just like the seniors did. god bless you. thanks for having me.

[applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you ladies and gentlemen. i want you to know as akin to putting to your standing ovation each time it honors me. [laughter] i am humbled. hey, folks, we're also very proud of one of our sponsors for the values voter summit, a new sponsor this year, a national organization for marriage. and coming now to introduce -- great organization and we're proud to be associated with. coming now would you please welcome to introduce our next speaker, president brian brown. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> well, it is a real privilege and honor to be able to introduce the next speaker, who is truly a champion for our

values. he is someone who has stood up time and time again in defense of the truth about marriage, in defense of the truth about the nature of human life and human dignity, and he's someone that many of us have looked up to for a long time. now, there are some as many of you know within the republican party that think that it would be a good idea to take the three legs of the stool, social conservatives, economic conservatives, foreign policy conservatives, take the three legs and just get rid of that social conservative like. just maybe lop it off a little bit. but those of us in this room know that that is the exact way that we have been losing elections, not winning them. [applause] the simple truth is that you can not blame social conservatives for lost elections when you spend over $1 billion in almost

no ads did you mention marriage or life. it's not our fault. instead, when we have leaders who boldly stand for the party platforms, who boldly stand for the truth that marriage is the union of a man and woman, for the truth that life begins at conception, voters can trust them because they are standing up and talking about what they believe in. ..

>> back in 2003 authored and moved through congress the syrian accountability act. to hold terrorists accountable. [applause] the iran freedom and support act in 2005 to encourage democracy in iran and, again, to hold the folks that would do damage to our country accountable. he was a bold leader, a visionary leader who realized that to be a conservative is to stand with all three legs of that stool. it is my privilege and honor to give you former presidential candidate and u.s. senator rick santorum. [applause] ♪ ♪

>> thank you! [applause] thank you very much. thank you. ♪ ♪ >> thank you. very kind. thank you very much. thank you, brian. thank you for the great work that you do at the national organization for marriage. and thank all of you for being here. this is my ninth speech here at value voters summit. it's because there's only been nine value voters summits. [laughter] i told tony backstage that i expect a pin next year, like an attendance pin, for ten years. [laughter] but i come here because, as brian said, you know, we together have been out there fighting the battles on these fronts. we've been, we've been successful in many respects, much more than, certainly, anyone expected on some issues,

particularly on the life issue which you really started to see some dynamic and dramatic changes of america coming to the realization of dignity for all human life. there's a very important issue for me, one that was not just one that i've been out there speaking about for a long time and taking podiums, but have been living. i want to give you regards from karen and our seven children, and particularly i want to give you regards from our little girl, bela, who through the grace of god, through your prayers is now six and a half years old -- [applause] we are, you know, i've taken these podiums, thousands of them, literally, thousands of them to talk about life. but through bella, god has given karen and i a gift of not just talking about life, but living

a, an example of the blessings and, frankly, the crosses that come with the acceptance of the dignity of all human life. it is a wonderful opportunity that i have the witness to that, and, in fact, karen and i have just finished a book that will be coming out in february that will be a very raw witness as to the life of a family, somewhat high profile family with a special needs little girl. and the name of the book, which i hope you will have the opportunity to see, is bella's gift. and so i'm very excited about that, in sharing the reality of accepting life in all of its forms and respecting it for what it is and what it can be. we've been out here fighting the battle for nine years, and i think we all realize and have

heard speeches over these nine years and for many years before about the real clash that's going on, the clash of world views. i like to talk about in terms of the difference between the american revolution and the french revolution. the american revolution of which we descend is one that believes in god-given rights, the dignity of all human life and the rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. that is the foundational principles upon which america stands and made us a most prosperous, free nation in the history of the world. and that there's others in western civilization who descended from another revolution that was a secular revolution, anticlerical revolution that believed in rights being given to you by the state. we replace the king, the southern king with the -- the sovereign king with the sovereign state, and the state is the one that give cans us rights. and, ladies and gentlemen, that clash is front and center in america today. and we're seeing it like we've never heard it today.

you've just heard it from kelly shackleford, not unexpected. you see, if you understand and look at the world through clear eyes -- not through rose-colored glasses or through some contorted view -- but you look at the real struggle that is taking place in america today, it is very easy to see where we are going. many people have criticized many in the past -- me in the past for going outs in front on some issues saying, oh, this will never be a problem in america. when i forced in 2004 and then again in 2006 in the united states senate something everyone said is premature, why are you each talking about this? this will never be an issue in america. what was it on? a federal marriage amendment. this'll never be an issue. this can't possibly happen here. if you look clearly through the prism of the struggle that is at hand, it is easy to see.

why i introduced the workplace religious freedom act 12 years ago. to protect the very people that we now are seeing in court cases like hobby lobby. it's easy to see where we are going if you know what the fight is. and that's why it's important, ladies and gentlemen, to elect leaders and to have leaders within our movement which we, frankly, do not have many of. particularly in the republican establishment who understand the existential struggle that is in america today. and then are prepared to engage that struggle. because when we lose these battles, when we lose these precious freedoms that i talk about, then everything else will start to fall because now government has gotten more intrusive and bigger and dictatorial. and the secular statists who control government are the ones who will be dictating not just how you practice religion, but how you run your business, who you do business and how.

economic freedom is certain to to go, as is everything else. so, ladies and gentlemen, we know that this class of civilizations, if you will, is very present in america today. and so when i heard the president say at the united nations that there is no clash of civilizations at stake here and this is all hogwash, this is all tripe from those who don't see the world the way he sees the world, i would suggest to you that it's because he sees the world as a descendant of the friend of rev -- french revolution and doesn't quite see the lines, as someone who understands the dignity of all human life and the protection of liberty and the freedom of conscience. and a world, a very fundamentally different world not of western civilization that sees god and sees people

differently, fundamentally different than we do here. so, yes, there is a very big clash going on right now in the middle east against a civilization that for 1300 years -- given a press spit of a couple hundred years -- has been in conflict with our civilization. those who ignore history are december stinted -- destined to repeat it. and unless we have clear-minded leaders who can look at that clash and look into the future and say here's where we're going, here's what's next because i've seen this before. back in 2004 -- 2003 as kelly, as brian mentioned i introduced the syrian accountability act, the iran freedom of support act. why? because i said back then the

iran regime is pursuing nuclear weapons. this time the bush administration said, no, no, no. but if you understand islam and the leaders of iran and you hear what they say not just to the western press, but to their own people, then it's very easy to see the path that they're on, the decisions that they will make. and they will be to arm and have the ability to project power with nuclear weapons. there's no doubt that's what they're doing. there's no doubt that that's their path. and yet we have a president who is in disneyland. he is looking through, at these issues and seeing a country developing advanced uranium refinement, producing weapons -- excuse me, producing rockets to

fire weapons, the only weapons that are used to fire are are nuclear weapons. throughout asia and beyond. and a program up until recently -- they're saying now they've suspended it -- that was to weapon nice this -- weaponize this nuclear material. and we still are in doubt as to whether they want to pursue a nuclear weapon or not. ladies and gentlemen, when i fought president bush back in 2005 and 2006 about defining this war to the american public, about explaining to the american public what is at stake and who the enemy is, i did so because i believed then as i believe now that this is an existential fight. it has been for a long time. radical islam in one form or another has been around for a long time, and its borders are very bloody.

ladies and gentlemen, we don't have borders anymore when it comes to the technology that's available for those who want to do harm. we have all sorts of means to project power, project fear, to terrorize. whether it's a simple film clip of a beheading or a bomb going off in an unexpected place, there are no borders that protect us, and the borders we have are not secured to protect us. we need leaders, and we need to be a movement that is sure, that is not divided. we see so much division within the republican ranks, the conservative ranks about the direction to take on all of these issues, on all these

clashes; clash of civilization here who as you heard brian talking about the republican conversation saying, no, no, we need to stop talking about these things. i don't know about you, but i have never been involved in a race where you play defense on an issue, and you put points on the board. but that's what we've decided to do as an establishment republican party, is to simply play defense. to ignore these, put our heads in the sand and hope that these issues go away when, in fact, the -- by every survey that's ever been done, the folks who have extreme positions on these issues are our opponents. and yet we refuse, as brian said, a billion dollars in advertising and not a single mention of these issues. same is true when it comes to the issues overseas. ladies and gentlemen, i know there are people who think that

america should just pack up and pay attention to our own problems and ignore the problems around the world and that somehow this is constitutionally provided for. our constitution provides for limited government. it doesn't necessarily provide for uniform, small government. in fact, there are areas which our government should be quite robust, but limited to certain areas where government is, in fact, the only place where this responsibility lies. and that, of course, is national defense. so don't confuse small and limited. sometimes limited means limited to certain subject areas, but robust many those areas to protect our -- in those areas to protect our freedoms and keep us secure. and that is what i argue for, and that's what we as republicans have always argued for. it's the three legs of the stool; understanding how they

all weave together to protect our risht. our liberty. limited government, to do the things that are essential that government can do, providing for common defense. and small government when it comes to areas which impose upon our freedoms, particularly on our religious liberty in our businesses. so people always ask me, okay, rick, if that's the game plan, if that's the struggle that we're -- what do i do? i hear this all the time. what do i do? i'm only one person. well, do you realize that if you look at the last 40 years of the united states, you look at survey after survey of people who consider themselves traditional values conservatives and progressive values liberals, there's twice as many conservative traditional values people in this country than there are liberals, yet for the

past 30 or 40 years we've been losing ground? how does that happen? it happens because they're willing to fight. because they're willing to sacrifice. because they're willing not to give up. if you look at the current conservative movement, republican party, there are issues that we aren't even, we haven't even lost yet, and we're talking about giving up. we're not even handgun to fight the fight -- willing to fight the fight, to stand what we -- to stand for what we say we believe in. history is moving in a different way. we have determiners of history. [applause] we are not to look to history, this amorphous concept to judge us. we have somebody else that we need to pay attention to when it comes to judging us.

and it's not history. [applause] so why do we lose? it's because we don't have enough brian browns and kelly shacklefords and many of you out here in the audience who are willing to stand up and not take no, to come back and fight. i would say we won the american revolution not because we had the most powerful army, the most weapon, the best generals, not because of any of those things. we won because of that last line of the declaration of inexception, we mutually pledged to each other our lives, our fortunes and our sacred honor. if we are going to win this fight here at home to protect our religious liberty, to protect the right to life, to protect the institution, the glue that holds the family together, marriage, to protect our economic liberties, then we

have to be willing to make those sacrifices. we have to be willing to join together and make a difference. when i left the campaign in 2012 in april, i went out and formed an organization called patriot voices. and i formed that organization for one reason, to provide an avenue for people to get involved and try to make a difference. because, ultimately, that difference is made at the ballot box, but it's also made in the state legislatures and in the congress and in the courts. and we have to fight 'em all. but we also have to fight within the family. how many of your children have the same values that you do? how many of you have seen that slip away in your own family? how can we let that happen and still hope for a good and healthy america? how many of you have let your schools, you know, the most popular history textbook in schools today is written by a

marxist, anti-american by the name of howard zinn. is that being taught in your schools, do you know? what are we doing to protect our children in our own classrooms? let me assure you, they're fighting. they're fighting in schools, they're fighting in your home, they're fight anything hollywood. fighting in hollywood. brian and kelly are in a film -- actually, kelly is, brian's not -- i recently did called "one generation away" which talks about how we're losing our religious liberty in america. i'm fighting. i'm fighting in my business, i'm fighting within my house, i'm fighting by the schools. unless we all do that like they do, then the chance of america coming out on top as we've seen in the last 30 or 40 years is not good. what do we do? the answer to that, something.

do something. now, you're here, and i know i'm talking to the choir in many respects, but all you in the choir have an obligation and a responsibility to go out and sing solos in your own community, your own family and, yes, in your own business. how is it that business has gone from a place of traditional values to a place now that has codes of conduct and education in major corporations that if you don't share these values, you have to go in for reeducation. about those values. how did that happen? we let it happen. how did the bible get pushed out of schools? we let it happen. you can say, well, it was the court. it was us. the court rules against them too. they come back and fight. [applause] if we are serious, i know i talk to a lot of people, and they tell me, rick, you know, i'm really worried, i'm scared about

the future of our country, i'm scared about what's happening here, i see things falling apart. quit being scared scared and stt being activists and making things happen in america. [applause] the first part of doing that is to elect leaders who are clear-minded, who have experience and who have looked at these problems for a long time and have come down on the right side. i'm talking about leaders of our party, leaders of our movement and, yes, leaders of our government. i know there's always a rush to sell the new, the great bling and beautiful, but it is important to see how rooted these leaders are. because i know we have all been fooled by many. who come here to to washington to be the new great leaders and

turn out to be just very high profile followers. we need leaders, and you need to hold them accountable. you need to understand where they are and understand where they're going by understanding where they've been. ladies and gentlemen, we have an opportunity in this election to do something, to get excited and to win not just the house back, but the senate and do it in a big margin. let me assure you, if we don't, if we don't, we have two years from now of the 34 senate seats up, 24 are held by republicans. the chance of us picking up seats in 2016 are pretty close to zero. so we either go all out this time for the people that we know are going to be with us, and i mean go all out. even in places where it may not look possible. this could be a year where you

just never know who could win. put the effort in people that you trust, and do it again in 2016 in the primaries for all of the races that you're going to be dealing with. go and make sure that you get behind people that have the track record and the energy and the enthusiasm to fight this battle up here in washington d.c. we desperately need it. thank you all very much and god bless you. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> senator rick santorum. thank you, senator. well, coming now is a true pioneer of the values voter movement. as a leading spokesman for pro-life, pro-family and

pro-growth values in america, he was chief domestic policy adviser to president ronald reagan, president to have the family research council, senior vice president of focus on the family and in 2000 he ran for president of the united states of america. today he shares a pac dedicated to electing conservative candidates to congress and as president of american values featuring his end of day e-mail briefing which is a must-read, by the way, for every values voter. ladies and gentlemen, would you please join me in welcoming to the stage gary bauer. [applause] ♪ >> thank you. thank you very much. how nice of you. ♪ >> thank you. really appreciate that. i told you this before, ronald reagan once told me if i was ever introduced and got a standing ovation, i ought to sit

down immediately because i had nowhere to go but down after that. you've already put me on the spot. gil, thanks for the wonderful introduction. what line did you have to get in to have that voice? great to be here at the values voter summit as it always is. here we are in this sixth year of the disaster euphemistically nope as the obama -- known as the obama years. i remember last year and the year before we met here worried about losing our health care, and this year we're meeting worried about losing our heads. that doesn't seem like we're on the right folks, path -- on the right path, folks. look, i've got a bunch of jokes i'd like to tell, but it's a serious time, so i'm going to get serious real quick. we're in deep, deep trouble. we're in tremendous danger. when i say "we, with the i don't mean just the united states, i mean western civilization, judeo-christian civilization.

i think this is a moment in our history probably nearly unprecedented, because we're not aware yet, we're not fully awake about what we're facing. if we survive, it will be due to the mercy of god and his protective hand, and it will be because men and women like you rise to the occasion. and if those two things don't happen, friends, then katie bar the door. i think anything is possible. just a few weeks ago we marked the 13th anniversary of the attack on 9/11. it's kind of hard to believe, 13 years already. even though it's been 13 years, i bet every one of you could tell me where you were that morning if you were old enough, right? i was sitting next to the pentagon ma that morning, striving next to washington, d.c. when i heard the unnaturally loud roar of the jet engine of that hijacked plane that just seconds later crashed into the side of the pentagon.

the blast literally moving my car. i'd find out later that at that very moment friends of mine died both on the plane and at their desks in the pentagon. in the weeks and months that followed, particularly in those days right after the event, do you remember what you did? i was watching tv nonstop. i wanted to get every bit of information i could. why did this happen? who did it? was it the first blow, or were more coming? and i remember in that first 24 hours being heartened, because when i turned on the tv, i saw crowds in berlin and london, in paris and tokyo, all over the world bringing flowers to american embassies, sharing their sorrow with us. i remember the scenes out of tel aviv and jerusalem. people weeping with us, israelis declaring a day of mourning with us, lowering their flag along with us lowering ours. and they did that, of course,

because even though they hadn't experienced the 9/11 event, not one event like that, they had been through these grinding campaigns of terror time and time again. and when you add up all the broken bones and all the ripped flesh and all the spilled blood, israelis had actually suffered worse casualties than we did on that morning. and so they knew exactly what we were living through. i also remember some other images that i saw, and they made me angry. in gaza and in the west bank, people running out of their homes, celebrating, dancing in the street, handing out candy to their children, shooting guns in the air. we hadn't even pulled the bodies out of the wreckage, and they were celebrating our pain and suffering. every time some reporter asks me, gary, why do you conservatives support israel, i remind them of that day and who

cried with us and who celebrated our pain and suffering. and the days that followed 9/11, we saw all sorts of images. wasn't long after that that dan yell pearl, remember him? "the wall street journal" reporter, captured by jihadists, tormented on videotape, made to look into a camera and say over and over again i am a jew, i am a jew before they decapitated him and sent the video of his severed head all over the middle east as a recruiting tool. that's what they're doing now. well, what kind of evil is this that wallows in its bloodthirstiness? and since then we've seen more beheadings, we've seen the bombings in london and madrid and boston, we've seen u.s. soldiers mowed down not in afghanistan and iraq, but at fort hood, in the united states,

where they're supposed to be safe! outrageous! the obama administration referred to it as workplace violence. there's breaking news today, my friends, out of oklahoma. i don't know if you've heard yet or not. a recent convert to islam trying to convert his coworkers, his boss warned him you can't do that on the job. he continued doing it, they fired him. he came back to work and cut off the head of a 54-year-old woman. the story's breaking today. we've seen christians murdered across the middle east in large swaths of africa. i don't remember any emergency meetings at the united nations. we've seen christian girls kidnapped and sold into sex slavery. nuns raped and beheaded. did you see the story? you had to look for it really closely about three weeks ago. three nuns, i think it was

angola. two of them 70 years old, one of them 80, raped first and then beheaded. local authorities say they have no idea who did it or what the motive could have been. [laughter] but i know it couldn't have anything to do with islam, because the president told me. [laughter] here in the united states, synagogues spray painted with swastikas in miami. in indiana about a month ago, somebody writing on three or four church walls verses from the quran calling for the killing of the infidel. i saw an interview on local tv in indiana, it was either a pastor or a priest from one of the churches, and the man was befuddled. he said, what, is this some sort of prank? i mean, is this an effort to turn the local community against our muslim neighbors? is there really somebody in indiana that thinks we're all infidels and have to be killed?

sir, turn on your television set! meanwhile in iran, the muslims who run that country believe that we are on the verge of seeing the great muslim messiah return to the world. he's supposed to come out of a well in rapp, and we'll know him -- in iran, and we'll know him because he will conduct a great slaughter of christians and jews. in fact, in the quran it says when this messiah comes, jews will hide behind trees and rocks, and the tree will shout out, can the jew is hiding behind me, come and kill him. and these people are marching day by day toward nuclear weapons. and, my friends, it's not just the jihadists which would be bad enough, putin's russia is on the march. if a year ago somebody would have told you, you know, in the next year you'll see a civilian aircraft shot down over the

skies of europe either by russians or their operatives, everybody onboard will be killed from a dozen nations and the bodies will lie in fields rotting for days. the president, oh, my, the president was very upset about this. he sent a team of investigators to get to the bottom of who did this, to collect evidence. apparently, somebody forgot to tell the russian thugs that they were supposed to let obama's investigators have access to the crash scene. you know, the president does this all the time, send investigators. this would be like fdr being told about harry truman and saying i want the names of every one of those pilots, let's track 'em down and put 'em on trial! you know, obama and kerry constantly respond to this by

saying this is the 21st century. people don't do things, nations don't do things like this anymore. they just did it. [laughter] the question before us is not whether nations and thugs still do these things, the question before us is what are free men and women going to do, and what are our leaders going to do other than playing golf? [applause] >> yes! yes! [applause] >> president obama says this repeatedly, the 21st century does not belong to those that destroy and kill. let me tell you, ladies and gentlemen, nobody's claimed the 21st century yet. nothing written in stone about the 21st century. it started a little rocky, you know, with 9/11. let me tell you, there was nothing that was determined ahead of time by the 20th century.

there was nothing written in stone about naziism and communism and whether they would win or we would win. the history was written by strong men of both parties, men like fdr and truman and jfk and ronald reagan who rose to the occasion. and we won for another reason, because those presidents and the american people and our cultural elites knew that this civilization, judeo-christian civil, western civilization is worth defending. [applause] today while our leaders show weakness abroad, obama and his allies do everything they can to rip out of our societal all the vestiges that made this judeo-christian civilization;

our belief that liberty comes from god, that it has to be ordered liberty, it has to be based in virtue. that's what made us different, and that's what the liberal elites of this country can't stand. ladies and gentlemen, i know nobody likes to talk directly about these things. i'm under no such obligation to avoid speak truthing. we have got a president today more interested in defending the reputation of islam than he does in saving the lives of christians. [applause] >> yes! yes! [applause] yes! >> thank you. you know, he said that in a speech in cry row. he -- cairo. he said i consider it one of the responsibilities in my office as president to defend islam from unfair and scurrilous attacks.

wouldn't you love to see the next republican nominee actually have a heart and a brain and say to him, mr. president, you know, when obama was in office -- for eight years i never figured, i could never find where in his job description defending islam against scurrilous attacks was. i thought he was supposed to defend the united states of america, but that's just me, you know? [applause] you know, the speech this past week at the u.n., people were praising that speech. and i guess it's because if you hear pack lumbar all the time, if every once in a while there's something with a little meat to it, you get all excited. the speech was filled with platitudes. listen to this. this is directly from the speech. the had doe of world war -- shadow of world war that existed at founding of the united nations has been lifted. no, it hasn't. [laughter] st the exact -- it's the exact opposite. the possibility of a world war

is growing, it's not shrinking. and it's growing because of the instinctive weakness of president obama. our enemies -- [applause] >> yes! >> our enemies are emboldened, and our friends don't trust us, and they're demoralized. look, let me run you real quick through obama's foreign policy, just some of the highlights, the apology tour. he began the administration with the apology tour. we saved the world from communism and naziism, but apparently the president thought we needed to give the world an apology for something. i still haven't figured it out. remember the iranian dissidents? didn't lift a finger for 'em. there were leaks out of the white house saying this really complicates our efforts to reach out to the iranian government. i mean, this instability couldn't come at a worse time. but when the pro-american government of egypt got this

trouble, what did the president do? pulled the rug out from underneath that government as quickly as he could and turned it over to the tender mercies of the wolves of the muslim brotherhood. that's what he did. he and his secretary of state left our men to die in benghazi. and by the way, mrs. clinton, you're not going to get a free ride on this. you can't implement the policies and then run as if you were opposed to the policies. [applause] we're going to call you out! >> yes! [cheers and applause] >> yes! >> the president regularly berates our friends and israel for building homes for israeli jews in jerusalem. jews were living in jerusalem, ladies and gentlemen, when

washington, d.c. was still a swamp. [laughter] no big deal because washington, d.c.'s a swamp today. [laughter] the president said this -- well, first of all, he's the most anti-israel president, narrowly winning the title away from jimmy carter, by the way. i love, i always love reminding jimmy carter whenever i get a chance that the first family of christiandom were all jews. mary and joseph, they were jews, and the disciples were all jews, and that famous biblical figure john the baptist was not baptist, he was a jew. [laughter] [applause] so, good grief, my time's running out, and i'm just getting warmed up here. [laughter] okay. so here's what the president said, and the violence engulfing the region today has made israelis really to abandon the

hard work of peace. he actually said that at theup. [laughter] my friends, nobody wants peace more than the israelis. that's -- but you can't, you've got to have a peace partner, right? and they have not abandoned the cause of peace. they have abandoned the possibility that the president of the united states will ever end his hostility towards them and begin to stand up and defend the most reliable ally the united states ever had. [applause] when boca haram killed christians in churches which they did and continue to do every sunday, the president's protest is such a whisper, you've got to be on the same putting green he is to hear what he's saying. [laughter] when christian girls were abducted and sold into sex

slavery, the obama administration's response was hashtag, bring back our girls. [laughter] and guess what, folks? it ends up that hashtags and selfies -- remember the fist lady holding that picture, you know, taking a picture of herself so she could send out the hashtag bring back our girls -- that's not a foreign policy. [laughter] i don't see the girls, and i hate to imagine what they've been subjected to while we've been doing selfies and sending out hashtags. and then there was that moment when obama leaned over to russian president medvedev and said -- spution vladimir putin. i'll be a lot more flexible after the election. putin got his flexibility, and the people of ukraine got the stiff boot of a russian soldier on their necks.

not a very good deal there. ladies and gentlemen, the truth is that at this very moment in all sorts of places around the world there are evil men, many of them who brag that they worship death, and they are feverishly, furiously, intently working on ways to bring to you and yours sorrows greater than the sorrows we've already experienced. does anybody think barack obama's up to the challenge? >> no. >> of course not. so, look, let me leave you with this: we've got our problems, but there is still a deep reservoir in this country of the values that were at our founding. it's still there. it's hard to see sometimes, but i'm telling you it's there, and it's much more powerful than we think. it needs leadership. we saw those values can come to the fore on the morning of 9/11. i won't go through a complete description, but just think about one or two things; the policemen and firemen that ran into the world trade center

towers even though in many cases their officers were yelling at them don't go in, the buildings could collapse. it didn't matter. they went in to save people like you. the folks on that plane that crashed in pennsylvania. not marines, not navy seals, they were businessmen going on an early morning trip, students going back to college, families going on vacation. they were in the middle of a nightmare. the pilot and copilot dead, several flight attendants murdered, a jewish passenger killed by the guy sitting next to him who was one of the hijackers. the passengers go to the back of the plane, what are we going to do? an argument breaks out. some say sit back down, others say we've got to fight back. they disagree. somebody says, let's vote. oh, i love that! [laughter] on the day they attack our constitutional republic, what do americans do? they vote! [laughter] everybody in favor of fighting back, they raise their hands. everybody in favor of taking

seats -- the ones that wanted to fight back won. and so they grab whatever they could as a makeshift weapon, and they got a drink cart, and they ran down the aisle of that airplane into the teeth of men armed with box cutters. can you imagine what that scene must have looked like? and they brought that plane down and spared us greater suffering that morning. [applause] and then there's all the young men and women that answered the volunteer call and went off to iraq and afghanistan and fought as courageously as you could have ever asked them to do. and be now watch our political leadership fritter away the gains they won with the blood of their brothers. and if that is not enough inspiration for you, there are the reports that have kept me

awake the last couple of nights. hard to confirm them all in the fog of war. you may have heard about them. that in northern iraq today isis has taken another christian area, and they are going door to door in christian homes, and they are grabbing the children, and they are telling those children as they put a neck to their -- a knife to their neck denounce jesus or we will kill you. and we are getting reports from missionaries and others that in house after house there are dead christian iraqi children who will not deny their savior. ladies and gentlemen, love your god and your family.

stiffen your spine. be of stout heart. clear your mind. and get ready to do very difficult things, because that is the only way we are going to save this precious nation, this glowing city on a hill. god bless you. thank you very much. [applause] thank you. ♪ ♪ >> thank you. god bless you all. never give up! thank you. ♪ ♪ [applause]

♪ >> thank you, gary. another powerful speech from gary bauer. always a pleasure to have him as part of the team here at the values voter summit. folks, it may surprise you that there are now 23 states that allow medicinal marijuana, two states now with recreational marijuana, so we know where that's going. and you have to to question, is this a good idea? well, coming to talk about it is louisiana house representative john fleming who is also a medical doctor. during his time in congress, he has worked tirelessly on a balanced budget, health care reform and protecting religious liberty in the military. comes now to talk about this issue of legalized marijuana. would you please welcome congressman dr. john fleming. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you. thank you. great to be with you today. are y'all having fun in

washington? let's see some energy and some excitement here today. well, welcome to washington. of course, as a member of congress, i can't wait to get out of washington. [laughter] my friends, we're here today to discuss the things that bond us together, issues concerning our culture and our civilization, the threats that may loom before us. among these are life marriage and the family, the role of god and government in our lives. in order to better understand a place of social values and society, we often talk about the end results of or poor decisions and what we can do to pick up the pieces of broken families, broken lives and broken bodies. unfortunately, we often ignore the root causes of poor decision making. i want to focus your attention today on one of the major root causes of our social problems in the hope that you will join me in taking on a difficult but

solvable problem; drug abuse, particularly marijuana. now, why talk about marijuana? i'd love to talk about sexier things like religious liberty, but listen to this, this is very important and very fundamental at this point in time. very simply, marijuana is trending toward a socially and legally-accepted drug. despite the important information now coming to light. some years ago as a physician and a parent, i wrote a book on this subject based on then-data that has since been corroborated by recent studies. here's the top line: marijuana use is growing rapidly among teens and children with social and legal acceptance acting as a powerful catalyst, and and this will have devastating consequences for years to come on our families and on our society. let me catch you up with what science has confirmed. the human brain does not fully

mature until the early to mid 20s. my wife says it's much later than that in husbands. [laughter] the brain continues to prune and reprogram itself through the form tiff years of life -- formative years of life based on environmental stillly. the average perp's -- stimuli. the average person's exposure to drugs is usually in the teens or sometimes younger. the younger a child experiments with a legal drug -- marijuana being the most common -- the more likely he or she will become addicted. the corollary to this is that the longer a teen waits to experiment with illegal drugs, the more likely he or she will avoid a lifelong addiction. once that developing brain adapts itself to drug abuse and addiction, the battle to escape addiction will be lifelong, although some level of chronic management and recovery is possible, backsliding into drug use again and again is more the

rule than the exception. since writing my book, "preventing addiction," seven years ago, even more sobering data has come to light. here are four more facts. number one, 16.5% of eighth graders have experimented with marijuana. almost 40% of tenth graders have experimented also with pot. nearly half of 12th gridders have experimented -- graders have experimented with this highly addictive substance. and we also know that 6.5% of 12th graders are daily marijuana users. and their 12th grade peers, 60% do not think there's any harm in regular marijuana use, but they don't know the facts, and that i'm going to share with you today. of all the drugs kids abuse, legal and illegal, marijuana remains the drug of choice. drug rehabilitation centers inform us that marijuana

addiction is by far the most common diagnosis of teens treated in their facilities. as you know, there has been a trend over the past few decades to first medicinallize, then decriminalize and then legalize marijuana in various states across the country. while pot was part of a marginalized culture in the 1960s -- and, yes, i'm old enough to remember those days of the 1960s -- it is rapidly becoming a mainstream, accepted behavior as evidenced in polling and in the relaxation of laws in many states. and how did this happen? as early as the 1970s, it was suggested that dying cancer patients could benefit from smoking marijuana. mainly to assist with nausea. somehow without any real science, this morphed into the idea that marijuana is actually a safe, natural treatment for many illnesses and is otherwise harmless and nonaddictive. consequently, as gil said, 23

states and the district of columbia have now legalized the medicinal use of marijuana. such that as of last year there were more medical marijuana dispensaries in depp very, colorado, than -- denver, colorado, than starbucks and mcdonalds combined. areas of california are also reporting more pot dispenselies than starbucks coffee shops. is it really that many sick people in california? [laughter] dare i go there? [laughter] it's like marijuana became a magic cure-all. but is it more likely a dangerous snake oil marketed by powerful financial interests? sixteen states and the district of columbia have taken the next step and decriminalized marijuana. and two states, colorado and washington, have now fully legalized marijuana for recreational use. and as i and others would argue,

the states have taken these steps based on commonly-held myths. dr. kevin sabbit who advised the drug policy offices has written an excellent book on these myths. it's called "reefer sanity." i highly recommend it. here are just some of the myths. myth number one, marijuana is a medicine. after decades of study, we have found no beneficial medical use for the raw marijuana plant, a schedule i illegal drug under the federal law. it is true that the active ingredient, thc, can make cancer patients feel better, but this is much more safely achieved through the use of synthetic thc, a schedule iii drug, which your doctor can prescribe for you very safely and very legally. there are also anecdotal claims that an oil extract from a marijuana plant not containing the active component thc may be

useful in certain rare childhood seizure disorders. the fda is fast tracking this drug and will approve it for use under the supervision of a physician if proven safe and effective. number two, marijuana is not addictive. yes, it is addictive, folks. this is a complete myth. there is a well documented withdrawal syndrome that any treatment center employee can describe for you. marijuana users can face intense difficulties getting off this drug. the next one, marijuana is harmless. first, marijuana smoke contains tar that is four times more potent than tobacco which is known to cause lung disease and cancer. so how could it be good for you to smoke something that's more dangerous than cigarettes? second, recent sophisticated brain imaging studies show profound, abnormal changes to the brain in even casual marijuana users.

other studies show a spike in auto kepts, skits -- accidents, schizophrenia and suicides relating to marijuana use. in colorado there are growing reports of pot-infused cookies and candies, many with dangerously high levels of thc, the intoxicating chemical in marijuana. a poison center in colorado has reported about 50% spike in calls from people having adverse reactions to marijuana, adults and children. it's naive to think that pot cookies and candy won't end up in the hands of teenagers and each younger children. employee drug tests in colorado have shown an increase of more than 20% positive marijuana tests from one year to the next. raising serious issues of safety and productivity in the workplace. similar numbers were found among tests of drivers in washington state n. colorado the number of drivers involved in fatal crashes that tested positive for marijuana, use doubled from 1994

to 2011. in a report released in august, the number of colorado drivers testing positive for pot and involved in traffic fatalities increased 100% between 2007 and 2012. do you want to be driving among them? i don'ti don't, and i certainlyt want my family driving. my wife, sarah, for several years is a casa worker, you know, a court-appointed special advocate. her job was to assist the courts in being an advocate for children in problem homes. virtually always the central problem in the home was addiction of one if not both parents. myth number four, this is the same marijuana used in the 1960s. the truth is that the marijuana grown today contains almost four times the amount of thc that it did in previous generations. the thc concentration then was

4%. today it hovers around 15%. number five, there are many people in prison today because of simple marijuana use. what a myth, folks. i've spoken to a number of experts in research and law enforcement, and they make it very clear that this is simply not true. this myth derives from the fact that when marijuana users are arrested for more serious crimes, marijuana possession may be an added charge. people also plead down from more severe charges, selling or distributing marijuana to just simple possession. typically, a user of marijuana -- if arrested -- will appear in court and be fined and not imprisoned, and oftentimes directed towards some type of treatment. number six, marijuana produces a lot of revenue to the state treasury. you will hear this more and more. and it will end marijuana's black market. thus far the colorado experiment has not brought in an avalanche

of revenue, and the black market remains as robust as ever. any meager increase in tax revenues will be offset in higher social costs, already an increase in homeless people are moving to colorado has been reported. as social problems and crimes increase, so will the burden on the treasury to provide for broken families, broken lives and broke bodies. and finally, myth number seven, marijuana is not a gateway drug. folks, again, studies show otherwise. ..

should not make or enforce laws that dictate to them how they should behave. or what they should do with their lives when it comes to drugs. my answer is, it is the same taxpayers who will be required to take it of you and your family once drugs have led to your broken families, broken lives and broken bodies. if you truly want a smaller government, then you will oppose the legalization of marijuana. [applause] have i convinced you yet? very good. so why should you care now and what should you do about this growing wave of acceptance of marijuana use across this

country? first, it is important to remember that as marijuana becomes more acceptable in certain states, complacency builds and the fear of its harmful effects and legal consequences begin to dissipate. the net effect is more kids using drugs. it ends up in homes, folks. the more acceptable and the less fear and the fewer threats that are too legal action or harm, the more likely it's going to be in homes, maybe not in your home but it will be in your neighbor some. study showed the addiction rate for those who begin smoking marijuana as an adult is one in 11. for teenagers it is one in six. and what is the impact on society? it has been well documented that many of our social ills derive directly or indirectly from drug addiction. spouse abuse, child abuse, motor vehicle accidents, suicides,

mental illness and failed marriages can often be linked to drug addiction. and too often there's a link act to our good friend marijuana. you know, in denver a 48 year old men will soon stand trial for shooting his wife while she was on the phone with police, panic at his erratic behavior. as a result of congestive marijuana. the only substance reported to be found in his bloodstream was thc. earlier this year a 19 year-old college student jumped to his death in denver after eating a single $10 thc infused cookie. friends who were with him say that the young men begin acting crazy, hallucinating and smashing things in the hotel room before running outside and tumbling over the rail. some will argue that those are just anecdotal examples. even though they are among the

earliest casualties, we will undoubtedly see many more examples with the increasing availability and acceptance of marijuana. my friends, as marijuana and other addicting drugs are determined by society to be more acceptable and legal, we are certain to see more broken families, broken lives, and broken bodies. and deaths. be prepared as this will lead to a greater burden on taxpayer-funded social services and increasing entitlement state to help those families destroyed i addiction. that's why the time for us to speak up on this issue is now. and i would urge you to join me in this fight to stop the medicinal is asian, the decriminalization and legalization of marijuana in the state houses across america as well as in our own federal

government. thank you, and god bless. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you but i'll ask members of my panel to come on out on stage and join me here. where your name card is but i'm going to introduce them individually when i get to each of them, one at a time. the institution of marriage has been under stress for at least two generations now. the sexual revolution took sexual relations out of the sacred precincts of the marital bedroom and into any bedroom, and increasingly into the public square itself.

no fault divorce undermines the permanence of the marriage bond. co-habitation has increasingly become a substitute for marriage, but the staffing of the once powerful bonds which link sex and procreation and marriage has to have reached its culmination in the effort to change the very definition of marriage itself. the idea that marriage is intrinsically by definition the union of one man and one woman, which would've been taken for granted for almost the entire history of western civilization has gone from being universally self-evident to being in the eyes of many, including some federal judges, utterly incomprehensible. last year the u.s. supreme court issued a ruling in the windsor case striking down the federal definition of marriage as a

union of a man and a woman for all purposes under federal law according to the defense of marriage act. but they dodged the issue of state definition of marriage by not issuing a ruling on the marriage regarding california's prop eight. subsequent challenges, state by state across the country, however, have used the rationale of the wednesday ruling to challenge, challenge the laws and in many cases constitutional amendments adopted by the people. each of our guests today offers a unique perspective on the irreplaceable institution of marriage. and i'm going to turn first to eric teetsel. eric teetsel is executive director of the manhattan declaration, a call of christian conscience on life, marriage and religious liberty which was founded i chalk colson in 2000. he works to make sure that the declaration serves not only as a

manifesto, but a movement which continues to inform the public about these issues. eric attended wheaton college, worked at colorado christian university before coming to washington to serve with the values and capitalism project at the american enterprise institute. last year eric was one of several young leaders profiled in "the new york times" under the headline young opponents of gay marriage undaunted by battle ahead. please welcome eric teetsel. [applause] eric, i'm going to start with a broad question for you. why does marriage matter to society? >> how much time do you have? [laughter] you know, i was thinking about this panel today and realized it was five years ago this sunday that chuck colson asked robbie george was offered the first draft of what came to be known as the manhattan declaration.

he said a manifesto but really a wakeup call to the church, to be the church on the most important issues of our time. life, marriage and religious liberty. i thought it would read just a bit of what the manhattan has to say about this question. it describes marriage as nothing less than the crowning achievement of god's creation. marriage is the first institution of human society. indeed, it is the institution on which all other human institutions have their very foundation. and vast human experience confirms that marriage is both the original and most important institution for sustaining the health, welfare and education of all persons in a society. marriage matters because it's good, it plays a central role in god's story for the world in which we live. that fact i think is underscored by, for me what is one of the

coolest realities about scriptures testimony when it comes to the question of marriage. the bible begins with a wedding in a garden between adam and the. and it ends with a wedding in a city between christ and his church. >> very good. [applause] >> no, the millennial generation has seen high levels of divorce in their parent's generation, yet graduated high school students, according to surveys, continue to tell us overwhelmingly that they desire marriage to be part of their future. inspite of the poor modeling they may have seen of marriage in many cases, what does this desire tell us about the powerful good that marriage can be? >> well, it tells us something. i suppose it tells us that things could be worse. there's something deep inside

even this generation that has no idea what marriage is. it has no idea why marriage matters. it has no interest in our conception of why the biblical meaning of marriage should have anything to do with our laws understanding of marriage. but yet they still, somewhere deep down inside, have this sense that i should get married. that's a good thing. unfortunately, they are not getting married. i think these statistics that just came out that just under half of young adults between the ages of 25-34 our marriage. that's a fourfold increase from what it was in 1960. my parents generation, the generation before them has not exactly left a legacy of marriage for my generation to understand and grab onto and that's what i'm happy to be part of the but that's going to rebuild. the same-sex marriage movement is only the latest symptom in what has been a decade-long

break down an understanding of her role of marriage and family and society. we got to start the, fight against that but ours is a much broader project. >> and tell people the website for the manhattan declaration. >> thanks. the manhattan declaration can be found online, www.manhattan declaration.org, also all over facebook and twitter. we hope you will share it with others. >> this is something everybody can sign. of our signatures that are on it the better it is, the more powerful a statement it makes to our society. so i encourage you to go to that site and sign the manhattan declaration. let me move on to our next guest who is a member of congress, representative vicky hartzler is in her second term representing missouri's fourth congressional district here in washington. she previously served three terms as a member of the missouri house of representatives. she and her husband own a company that sells farm

equipment and live with her daughter on a working farm in cass county, missouri. i just want to mention personally, i still been ever so well the first time i met mrs. hartzler with you at the values voter summit and it was before getting elected to congress and she was selling, or promoting a book she had written on christians running for office called, if i get this right, running gods way, something like that. and so it's really great to see someone like this having put those principles into action and being elected to congress. now, -- give her a hand, yes. now, the key question, one of the key questions about marriage is what is marriage, but a second key question is, who decide? missouri is one of 30 states

that amend its constitution to define marriage as the union of one man and one woman are your very active in the campaign back in 2004 i believe, was it? tell us what you thought it was important for the people of your state to act in defense of marriage? >> that was right after the 2004 supreme court decision in massachusetts were a few unelected, unaccountable judges overruled the will of the people in massachusetts and said we know better what the definition of marriage is and we don't care what you think about it. and so missouri's legislature as well as many of the state assemblies across our country were very proactive in putting a measure on our ballot for the voters to decide what we wanted in marriage. i was asked to be the spokesperson for that campaign and ended up helping with that, it was quite an experience because our election was in august. i believe there were 10 other states that had their election in november, and so missouri

became a focal point for the entire national debate at that time. even though that we were outspent 221, and even though the other professional organizations who were opposed to the amendment flooded our state with professional offices and staff, and we're just a grassroots volunteer organization, our voters, our citizens came out that november and we spoke loud and clear with 71% of the vote that we think it's wise public policy for marriage to be between a man and a woman. and i'm very thrilled. [applause] >> now, in the last year we've seen a number of federal judges vote to strike down the state definitions of marriage. this has raised concerns for a lot of us about the balance of power both between the states and the federal government, and between the three branches of government. so as a legislator, as a member of the legislative branch, what

do you think about the role these judges are playing in this question? are they taking authority that doesn't really belong to them? >> absolutely. according to the constitution the judicial branch is supposed to interpret law or enforce laws. it's up to the legislative branch to legislate laws, and that force that goes, the executive branch is supposed to execute laws. we need to get back to all of that. certainly in the case of people across this country speaking like missouri has, the people have the right to determine these policies. that's why we acted 10 years ago, put it in our constitution. that's where it needs to stay, with the power of the people, not some unelected judges somewhere. missouri's law is being challenged as has been all across this country. we had our first hearing. it was yesterday where that was heard in court and i just am praying and hoping that missouri's judges will rule i

could judge fellman down in louisiana that said social decisions should be decided by the people and not by judges. so we are hoping for that. [applause] >> now, as i mentioned in the introduction, last year the u.s. supreme court struck down a portion of the federal defense of marriage act which had recorded the federal government to recognize only the union of one man and one woman as a marriage. the obama administration since then has been very aggressive in pushing this recognition, the widest possible, the broadest possible interpretation of that ruling. but several pieces of legislation have been introduced in congress seeking to address some of the concerns people have about religious liberty and so forth. can you talk a little bit about the? >> there's a couple that i am cosponsoring that i think are very important to the first is a

marriage of religious to be act and helps to address some of the concerns of the federal government coming after by the businesses or nonprofit organizations and withholding federal support for them. that law specifically says the federal government cannot in any way harm an individual or business or an entity because they uphold marriage. that means they can't withhold loans or grants or contracts or other federal programs that perhaps that business would be interested in. and then there's another bill that deals just with foster care and adoption system, and i worked on adoption issues for many, many years and have been a strong supporter of that. we have 400,000 children right now in foster care with about 25% would to be around 100,000 that are available for adoption and wanting a home. yet we have the federal government going after some private foster and adoption agencies and withholding their

tax-exempt status for their contacts with the government because they simply believe that those children to serve to be with the father and a mother. that is wrong and so we've introduced the child welfare provider inclusion act which would prevent the federal government from being able to do that and would make sure that every agency that wants to see these kids get in homes have that opportunity without federal interference. [applause] >> thank you. now, our next guest, aaron and melissa klein are not like our other panelists. they are not elected officials, not theologians, not policy analysts. they are i were the owners of a bakery in gresham, oregon, called sweet cakes by melissa. [applause]

see, they already know you. i did some research and preparing for this but i went on the nexus new search engine. i put in sweet cakes by melissa and searched for the last two years. the very first article that came up was two years ago, the oregonian, a leading paper in portland, oregon, said this in the travel section. they sit farther east on main in gresham, oregon, a small strip mall is something sweet cakes by melissa. known for its complex wedding cakes. melissa's also was filled cupcakes in flavors like red velvet and cinnamon chocolate ribbon. indulge. you've earned it. unfortunately, the next 89 news articles about them were not quite as flattering. because when they return to the news it was because they had joined the growing number of christians businesspeople who

have faced the choice of sacrificing either conscious or the business in the face of demands by homosexual activists and now by the state of oregon, that they participate in the celebration of a same-sex wedding by making a customized cake for that event. now, before we talk about this case that you're involved in, can you, one or both of you, tell us about the process of designing and producing a wedding cake, a process that you use? this is not just a matter of both a take off the shelf, is it? >> no. it's definitely not. with our business, and, everything we do itch and scratch and it's more than just throwing ingredients into the oven and throwing frosting on it. for a wedding we sit down with the bride and groom, or

sometimes the mother and the bride, and for me personally when i would sit down with them, i would just want to know everything about her wedding. and i want to know about her flowers, her dress, the centerpieces, her colors, the way her hair was going to be. i wanted to see her ring. i even we talk about, you know, where are you going on your honeymoon. and i would use all this information to helping design the perfect cake that reflected them as a couple. [applause] >> sorry, i don't mean to get emotional. it just really touches my heart. but anyways, i would sit with

them, i would sit and sketch up designs, and sometimes it would take, you know, several different designs into we got the perfect cake that just matched of them. sometimes it would take two hours of sitting in a cake tasting, and if they chose me to do their take, -- their take -- i'm sorry. [applause] i would just feel so honored to be able to be part of such an amazing, special day. i believe -- sorry. >> well, aaron, initiative and you want to add? >> even before we open our storefront we had our pastor, our church out.

we actually dedicated the shop, i mean, the work done, everything was done to the glory of god. i can't, i can't -- [applause] i can't, i can't say more forcefully than we, i mean, really what it came down to was she has a god-given talent to create a work of art to celebrate a union between two people. and to use that any manner that would be, you know, in the face of what the bible says it should be, i just couldn't in good conscience agree to do it. >> now, thank you. go ahead and give them a hand for that. [applause] >> no, i do have to tell you that unfortunately there's ongoing litigation over this situation, so the clients are somewhat limited in what they can say about the actual

incident, the actual interaction with the people who complained about them. but you were not only attack on social media and in the press, but eventually legal action was taken against you. can you tell us just a little bit about what they did and what the state has done, and what you were forced to do as a result? >> up to this point the girls filed a complaint with the bureau of labor of industry. that has now gone into the process where they have found evidence to suggest we discriminate. we are actually like you said, facing litigation at this point there should be within the next couple of weeks as far as the court date. you know, in the end the boycotting, the harassment, i'm a quite frankly they didn't just harass us. but they harassed the other wedding vendors that we did business with. they cut off our referral system. we had to shut the shop down.

melissa not is very limited cakes out of our house. i mean, we are facing in excess of $150,000 in damages for this just for simply standing by my first amendment rights. on top of that the state has actually told me that merely speaking about this could be construed as advertising, that i would discriminate, and could be defined -- find additionally for that. >> talk to us about your conscious, you made reference to your conscious. -- conscience. how does it make you feel to be basically told that you had to violate your conscious? >> for me personally, it could be, to be told they're going to force me to convey a message other than what i want to convey, i mean, it flies in the face of the constitution. you know, it's a violation of my conscience. it's a violation of my religious freedom. i mean, it's horrible to see

your own government doing this to you. >> okay. how can we pray for you going forward? >> well, first of all, we have five kids. we've suffered some financial hardships because of this. god has been good. he has provided us up to this point. pray for our attorneys. we have an excellent team of attorneys who are fighting this. we plan to appeal any decision that would be contrary to standing up for our religious freedom. pray for wisdom for them, and you know, honestly the commission of the bureau of labor's industry has made it clear at this point that he believes we have broken the law. he said we have religious freedom, but don't have the right to break the law. in saying that he's already declared our guilt. i would say pray for him. pray for a changing of his mind.

>> i should have asked this order but i just want to clarify for our audience. this is not really about sexual orientation per se. you have served gay and lesbian customers in the past. >> the girl who came in is a return customer. she bought and paid for mothers wedding cake for us. she returned wanting and waiting to pick it has never been about sexual orientation. >> it's about marriage. >> it's about marriage and the event. >> let's give a big hand to aaron and melissa klein. [applause]

[applause] >> thank you, guys so much. i can't tell you how much -- >> thank you. our final guest has a tough act to follow. >> i expect that same old nation last night. >> dr. jerry johnson is the president and ceo of the national religious broadcasters located here in the washington, d.c. area. their mission is to advance biblical truth that promotes media excellence and to defend free speech. dr. johnson previously served as president of chris wells college in dallas, texas. in addition to his work in

education, he has also pastored churches in texas and colorado. dr. johnson is married and he and his wife have two children. these welcome dr. jerry johnson. [applause] now, dr. johnson, since you're involved in the media brought -- broadcasting, the first question, what role do you think the media has played in this campaign to redefine marriage? >> its huge. i think we should go back to 2008 properly when the president was elected the first time. ..

repeating the lingo and, it is affecting us. that is the thing i want to say. be very careful how you talk about these issues because part of the debate is in the language itself. >> right. now, what role can christian media play in publicizing the case for the natural definition of marriage? >> we can do a better job than we've been doing. and one of the things we talk about is, when it comes to the first amendment, use it or lose it.

and so, if you're on radio or television or if you have a blog or if you do a podcast or youtube, talk about. if you're a pastor, preach about this. talk about natural marriage, traditional marriage, historic marriage. i think that is very important. you could also come to my panel discussion tomorrow because we'll be talking about the fact that in canada, you know, sermons are turned in on wednesday, for editing. >> wow. >> we have a canadian will be here to talk about it, a major broadcaster. on thursday they can make the corrections and on friday, if they haven't changed it, they run last week's sermons. so, this is right next door and, we have not got to live under some kind of self-imposed sharia law on this issue. we have first amendment freedom and to exercise and we should use it. >> very good. thank you.

[applause] now, i mentioned that before coming to nrb you were president of chriswell college. you had a career in higher education. so my last question for you there, what do you think we need to be doing to educate the younger generation about the importance of marriage, and to equip young christians to defend marriage in the public square? >> well we just have to challenge a lot of these assumptions. young people want to be on cutting-edge and with it, one of the main arguments, you don't want to be on the wrong side of history. well let's take that for a moment. it is not about history. it is about the future. they're not talking about history. they're talking about what they want, the future to be. or maybe they're talking about this month or this year or the last 10 years. history is on our side. the last hundreds of years of

american history our culture has recognized traditional, natural, marriage. that has been the cultural norm. you go beyond that, judeo-christian history. and i take a cue from the apostle paul. you know in romance 1, he didn't quote the leviticus passage we often hear so often. it is true, it is there but paul went back to genesis 1 and paul said, you know, this choice is a rejection of the creator, and the created order, the natural order. it is, when you use word natural marriage, that is genesis one. he made male and female. we're talking about thousands of years of judeo-christian heritage here, and what we do know is that cultures who have chosen this path in the past, this path in the past have not ended well and the future is what they're talking about, not the past.

and so, i think we've got to be biblical, we have to be clear, we have to be practical and, above all things, we do have to talk about it and let's talk about protecting, protecting natural marriage. >> well, i couldn't have said it better myself. please give a paying hand to our panel. thank you. [applause] ♪ >> wow, outstanding. thank you so much, panel. that was terrific. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great honor to introduce to you one of most courageous women have ever heard of, ever known, certainly for our cause on the among values voters. and i absolutely love and think it is totally hilarious how

liberals coil and hiss like count dracula with holy water when you drop the name, sarah palin. [cheers and applause] would you like to meet sarah palin? [applause] well, all right, before she comes out, find out what sarah palin has been up to lately. look at the monitors and then we'll meet sarah palin. ♪ >> i have crossed the country every day americans are standing up and they're speaking out. based on what i've seen, there is more than enough reason to have faith in america. >> we really like sarah palin. she speaks for us in a lot of ways. she is real. >> she is family-oriented. very honest. tells it like it is. >> a normal person like everyone of us. >> she has the soldiers in her heart. we have her in our heart. >> the heart of america is good, small towns just like this one. >> very nice, very kind.

>> great honor. >> we love her. >> not just me. so many americans. i think we're seeing a great awakening of the american public. >> people love this country. they want to make sure we're handing the next generation the blessings of liberty. that is why it is so important for people to get engaged. look around you, you are not alone! you are americans! >> i have a feeling for what she is and why she is so popular. >> a good woman with america in her heart. >> a smart, intelligent woman. >> she has it all, her courage and her strength. >> we need loose-cooking women in the white house. >> she encourages me to fight aggressive fight. >> she is principled. >> she is mama grizzly. >> i hope i inspire others to affect positive change. >> she plays by her own rules. >> gutsy, sirred, real. >> she says the work isn't done yet. >> she is patriot. a defender of freedom. and you don't mess with her. >> solutions come from you and

america's hope ask in you. let's do what we know, america needs us. empower the people of america. we've got to do this together. >> i have the incredible privilege of introducing my good friend, the original mama grizzly, governor sarah palin! ♪ >> thank you very much. thank you very much. ♪ thank you so much. s thank you very much. it truly is an honor to get to be here with all of you and i just want to take some time here to thank you for your boldness, your courage, your, your

ignoring what the lame stream media does to you and a lot of us so often. you're strong and america needs you. needs your voice. so, to just get the kind of share some of that, to empower us all and inspire us all, to enlarge our ranks. i want to take the time to thank you. being here truly, it is an honor and speaking to americans who give more, volunteer more and serve more and do all those things behind behind the scenest make america so exceptional. you're the americans that the media loves to hate. but, you know, i think there is a book out there that, maybe some of them just haven't really understood and in it says consider it pure joy, my sisters and brothers, when you suffer trials of many kinds and considering the trials that the media dumbs on you, this is the most joyful room in washington!

[applause] well, with so much going on in the world and in the country, oh, time is short here for us to do all we can, in order to affect positive change. time is short. are you ready to fight back and get back on the right track? it is time. [applause] it is time. you mama grizzlies out there, rear up and charge against this lawless imperial president and his failed liberal agenda and the lying lapdogs in the media and strong men, time to get off the behind end and expand our ranks and inspire others. i think we've all fattened up enough for what's up ahead. so it is time to stand and fight, like your country's future depends on it, because it does. and, take time to rejoice.

rejoice in two years, it is going to be the end of an error, the obama error. [cheers and applause] all that hope and changing stuff that just did not work, not even a smidgen. remember the greek columns and the stadiums, full of fainting fans and, all that dream weaver stuff promising, the planet would chill out, remember? the seas, he calmed the seas. he could keep your health care, but where are we now? where are we now? we're so over it. we are over the false promises, the messanic oratory and utopia, that man was going to create here on earth. if only us, the little guys if we could only understand what they were doing. no, we're over that and we are

ready to get back to work, america and we are ready to get back to the core values that made america great. so one promise that our president has kept is the one thing that we really must undo to save our country. we did not need this fundamental transformation of america. we need the fundamental restoration of all that is good and strong and free. that made america so great. and, we must be united. our core values of courage, and fortitude and generosity and hard work, you know, they can actually be what it is that pulls us all together again, all americans, rich and poor, young and old, men and women. every race, every background. it is time to end the politics of division, the left, politics of demographics and identity groups. and their tactics of

distraction. so, the status quo has got to go. united we will be able to stand. because here is what they have done. these alinsky-loving, orwellian, out of touch command-and-control elitists running the show. you know, they used to rail against big brother government and the man. remember that? they are the man. their m.o., it is to play the politics of personal destruction against anyone they would deem a threat to their power. and, they distract, bebopping from one scandal after another, there are so many you can't keep up with all of them. so no one is ever held accountable, from the irs corruption to you being spied on, to, gosh, benghazi, to bailouts, to, oh, bushes war was bad but barack's bombs, oh, baby

the red lines, strategierry thought up on the back nine, ba bach's bombs? they're the bomb. well, goodness sakes, our honored military, when we talk about these national security issues, our honored military, on behalf of all americans, who do support you, and, we honor you, we respect you, on behalf of all americans who feel like i do, to your commander-in-chief, well, we then will salute him. [laughter] [applause] hasn't learned how to salute. it is time to end the politics of division of theirs. it is time for the politics of

values. i don't want anybody to be afraid or ashamed of the core values that we are here celebrating. what are they? truth is a value. oh, man, i know all about that difference between truth and lies they can tell about you. well, nearly every day. i know my family sees something in the paper, goodness, gracious, we would never have known about us had we not read it in the paper, you know? [laughter] splattered on "the new york times." i learned the other day that i'm in the middle of another divorce. or, again, the same divorce i guess. i don't know. oh, i read it. it must be true. a picture ran of, in a liberal blog, that is where it started, this blog. it was a picture of me after a workout and i didn't have a ring on. well i rarely wear a ring,

especially up in alaska. you know, chopping wood or you're, butchering a moose or something, jewelry gets in the way. so we just don't. but, you know, and by the way, what the heck business is it of the liberal haters anyway? why are liberals so intolerant? who cares? you know? [applause] so i'm out in the shop with todd. he is winterizing is plane. by the way he sends his very best. he is not able to be here because it is moose season and, it is true and he had one more flight to conduct. so he is out there. he is winterizing the plane and i'm helping him. i'm chatting with him and i quote the headline that was that day. and in the media. and, todd and i we've been together since high school. so i predict what he is going to say and i'm always right.

so this time, after reading the headline about our divorce, he says, yeah, responding like, is it the same that they wrote last time? is it still that same $20 million divorce? well, write he me the check. [laughter] it is kind of tragic to say it though, but, at this point, what difference disit make? we're used to it. well, yeah. [applause] sure as sun will come up tomorrow we expect it. and see, you too though, you're there too. that he is why we have each other's backs. we connect through this, because it is what happens to you too. the lies that they tell about you, calling you the intolerant ones, haters, bigots. oh, and that disgusting charge of being racist? you know, i'm speaking to the most slandered group in america

today. well, join me in telling the lame stream media that we wear your scorn with pride. the lies that you tell about us, you can't defeat our arguments. so all you can do is change the subject. so we win. [applause] and pulling that race card, pulling the race card, how much longer do you think they're going to, oh, just, it is not even smart. it is not even smart when, one simply wants our government to live within its means and to not tax us too and beyond death. not to mortgage our kids future and, that being for today's selfish wants, because of that, are we're racist? what isn't smart, when they try to slap that on colonel allen west and dr. ben carson and j.c. watts and rafael and ted cruz

and my husband, todd palin. those truly prejudiced folks, just, remember this. they scream racism just to end debate. well, don't retreat. you reload with truth, which i know is an endangered species at 1400 pennsylvania avenue anyway, truth. the media's favorite president, he just can't stop telling lies. you know, he just said that the islamic state, isis, isn't islamic. you know who that is news to? the islamic state who calls themselves the islamic state. and it is news to thousands and thousands of muslims who have joined their death cult. so if the islamic state wasn't islamic, well, why does it have such a pill around you guessed it, around the muslim world?

like jonah goldberg asks, if they weren't, why do we give them korans if we imprison them? right. yeah, just like those preplanned, hey, heads up it is coming terrorist attacks. they're now only caused by youtube. well, look, americans can handle the truth. in fact we crave the truth. ignorance and deception, they are the enemies of democracy. so, we can in this -- end this error. and by the way, we can survive this president! the question is, can we survive the people who voted for him a second time? [applause] it is the truth, that will set us free. and freedom, that's another value. under, under the three strikes, obama, pelosi, reid, the nation's business is shackled to

repression, debt and corruption. for instance, their most powerful agency, the irs, decides that independent tea party patriots, all of sudden they're the enemy of the people. and, irs decides it needed to know the content of pro-life groups prayers. and, that it would conduct two years of massive burdensome audits of the most loving, giving families in america, our adoptive parents. they would audit. they were targeted. the one population that, most closely examined and to harass and intimidate by our government? they're the people who would extend their hearts and homes to love the orphans and thedown trodden andhelpless. how about that irs? how about this irs? , to advance liberty and justice for all when you target americans, right back at you.

we get to target you. do you think it is time to abolish the irs? [cheers and applause] well, what can you expect though, from a dense liberal elite that now decides who will have religious freedom and who doesn't? well, americans, we crave liberty, and we kiss our sons and daughters in uniform, good-bye and godspeed to go fight for it. freedom, if you love it, thank a vet. and for those of you who have served, i love being able to point you out, even if you get embarrassed, i love to ask you to stand up, you vets, so that we can honor you. we can salute you and thank you, united states military. we love you! [cheers and applause]

we love you. [applause] >> just gives me goose bumps. liberty and justice for all, you secured it for us. and you encouraged america's finest to hang in there and keep fighting for it. so, liberty and justice for all. even for those who we would disagree with, right? because it is an inherent god-given passion and a need to be free. he created us with that drive to be free. and, friends, we, in this room, we know it. we love live it. we are the liberty movement. we the people. you. men and women, serving in the military, look at the representation of our military here in this room. you have secured the movement that liberates all the united

states citizens to dream and to think and to belief and to do and god put dreams in you. you got to go get them. that is how you live life vibrantly. with no regrets and you need freedom to do that. we're not afraid of liberty, because, we know that in a free and open debate, well, our common sense ethical, fair ideas, they win. but that is why they're afraid. they are desperate and divisive at values voters because you are their threat. you value life. you value equal opportunity. and it scares the bejesus out of them because they know they can't argue against those things. finally, it is courage that is a value. and this is the time of courage. you will be able to hear more about mere ram ibrahim, she, the sudanese christian who refused

to renounce her faith and with her life on the line and her children's life on the line, the held for her and she explained that her faith was her strength. literally in chains for the gospel you know? she was forced to give birth in chains. and she became a testimony for the rest of the world to see what real courage is. it is her strength, coming from god and she is not hesitant to share that with the world. i'm so thankful that this group will take the time to honor her this weekend. and also -- [applause] that is so admirable. also we have our fellow american pastor, saeed. remember, i'm sure that you have heard over the last couple of years because, this is his two-year anniversary being imprisoned, still imprisoned in iran because he is a christian. he won't renounce his faith

either. he shares moving letters now, changing lives and, they're coming from his prison cell and they are letters that every free american should read we won't take for granted what it is that we have here, with our freedoms. his courage, and meriam's. this is seen throughout the world, as christians facing the deadly wave of persecution, driven from their homes. those being sold into slavery. they're "marked for death" in this full-scale ethnic cleansing happening right before our eyes, yet they stand firm. their anchor holds and the least that we can do is stand with them with courage. so, friend, the accuser would say, that you are the divisive ones. the media, trying to say that our basic core values divide.

but how can truth and opportunity and courage and divide? under screwedded up orwellian would they be considered something to divide. don't be ashamed to proclaim your values and live them. we are the movement that says, yes, yes, to time-tested truth, great virtues, great values, and approaching elections, we're going to support great leaders that are hammering out, hammering out and working so hard at that restoration agenda to break this country free again from a failed liberal agenda. the defeating crony capitalism. and respecting and supporting again, our armed forces, so that we may have peace, peace through red, white and blue strength. and to value the sanctity of innocent life where children are not seen as disposable, and babies as punishment, as our own

president referred to. children are the best ingredients in this messed up world. why in the world would you want to get rid of them? [applause] so we'll support leaders who are not afraid of truth and we'll fight for it as ones worthy of a great nation. so value voters, don't let them get you down, okay? america needs you, needs your energy, your confidence, your voice, and we do need to expand our ranks. so, go not on prophets of doom and fear but as messengers of vibrant life and real hope. we are value voters and our values were our founders values. they are america's values. and our message is the message that america wants to here and

needs to hear. so as we fundamentally restore america, keep faith in that that. keep faith in the american dream and share it, because the message resonates and it has since that band of brothers dumped tea in the boston harbor. we can be optimistic as they were. we can be optimistic about the future of our one nation, because we're under god. so, stand up and stiffen your spine. the best is yet to come. values voters, thank you for what it is that you do and what you put up with. got bless you and god bless the united states of america! [applause] thank you. ♪

. . >> and his brand new book, which he'll be doing a book signing right after our session today, "jesus on trial." ladies and gentlemen, we're delighted to have him back at our values voter summit, so would you please join me in welcoming to our stage mr. david

limbaugh. [applause] ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ [applause] >> thank you very much. sarah palin, who i absolutely adore, said a minute ago, asked how long do you think the democrats will play the race card? and i know how considerate she is. she was just giving me a segway into my speech about eternal issues. [laughter] there will be no cessation of their playing the race card. and i have to apologize for shamelessly promoting my book. i know nothing else. i've been this a -- in a cave for three weeks. so please allow me to discuss this book today with you, and

i'll try not to be too self-congratulatory. [laughter] why did i write this book? well, i'd studied the bible for years and years. i became a believer 20 or so years ago. but i, i didn't become a believer studying for this book as some people have mistakenly understood. but i had dinner with a couple of grade school/high school friends, both of whom are skeptics, one of who is more impish than another, and and he said to me i don't see how any rational person could be a christian. i didn't do a very good job of equipping myself, always be prepared to give the reasons for your faith and do it with gentleness and respect, but i didn't want get there. so i filed that for future reference. then within three days, i think, regnery, my great publisher, invited me to write a book on this very subject. i initially ballinged at the

idea thinking, well, i'm not a trained theologian, to maybe i ought not do this -- so maybe i ought not do this. after considering it a little more, it occurred to me precisely since i'm not a trained theologian, i might be able to reach people in the sec la arena, because that's where my platform is. and being a former skeptic, i might be able to relate to people that the trained theologian who had the kind of doubts i had could relate to them. so i decided to do it. i don't just examine the proof for the, the evidence for the truth of christianity's claims. i do that comprehensively, but i also go into my own spiritual journey to establish a foundation of how i made a transformation from nonbeliever to believer. i also structured the book with regnery's consent in a way that reflects my personal journey. and part of that is this, a lot

of what got me over the so-called intellectual obstacles which may have been masking as something else, i don't know, but part of the way i got over it was studying the bible itself and studying theology. and i, part of my message here, part of my purpose to skeptics is take a second look or take a first look if that's the case. the bible claims to have the power of conversion. give it a chance. see what happens. don't believe what other people have told you about the bible, don't believe the myth makers about the bible being the myth, give it a chance. even if you're not looking at it thinking it's the word of god, you may find out later it is. i had a friend, peter kinder, who's the lieutenant governor of the state of missouri, who brought some of his law school class mates home to visit his participants and visit him -- his parents and visit him during the christmas break pretty much every year. one of those years he brought steve springer. steve springer and i and his

parents and peter were talking about christianity. i always believed in god, but i didn't want necessarily -- well, i didn't believe in the bible or necessarily that jesus was divine. steve, instead of getting defensive, in the course of our discussion went to his guest bedroom, got his bible, brought it back and showed me a reference bible. he showed me how passages in the old testament were interconnected with passages of the old testament and the new testament, the new with the new, the new with the old and how integrated it was. frankly, i'm embarrassed to admit how ignorant i was, but i really didn't know it was that integrated, and i with us blown away. that was just one seed that would later come to fruition some 20 years -- well, i don't know how long, but quite a few years later when i became a believer. and i told steve when he came back to visit peter on another occasion a few years ago, you don't have any idea the impact you had on me spiritually.

i went to the library, because they had come to see me at my house, got the very bible he had gimp me, took it back to me, and i think he was emotionally moved that he had that kind of impact. when you go out and evangelize, don't assume that you have to see immediate results or you're failing, because we never know what kind of seeds we can plan and how they're going to bear fruit later. [applause] what ultimately got me over the hump from intellectual doubt to intellectual belief, i'd read paul little's know what and why you believe, norman geyser's christian apologetics, i read so many of these things, it's fuzzy which happened first, but i know that the tipping point came at a christian businessman's prayer group when some celebrity speaker was speaking. different people came different years. and after he spoke, we were

asked to sign a card if we wanted to learn more about jesus christ. i felt a little foolish, but someone, guess who, led me to sign that card. couldn't possibly have been the holy spirit. i signed a card. within a few days, we were meeting -- three of my friends. peter kinder was one of them, by the way. i think he was already a believer, but he wanted to go anyway. so we all met with two leaders, and they took us through a book called "first steps" which introduced us to the foreign concept that all scripture is god-breathed, and the messianic prof my. and when i saw that maya, the prophet micah in the old testament had predicted the very town jesus would be born in, and i saw the prof seize in isaiah and psalms, isaiah 53, psalms 22 about the specifics of jesus' life on earth and his death and resurrection, to the point where, you know, he -- no bones will be broken, his side won't be pierced, he won't lift a

finger to defend himself, he will be punished along with the transgressor, i saw those things and said there is no way now that i can honestly deny that this is the inspired word of god. now, i could have come up with fake excuses like critical scholars do today. no, this book wasn't written by isaiah, it's whatever. they go back retrospectively and say, no, isaiah couldn't have written it. but the dead sea scrolls have kind of put a hole in their claims to critique these books. bottom line, i knew he'd written it, that god had inspired this work. i knew then i was holding in my hands the inspired word of god. i began to read the bible and theology voraciously. i couldn't get my hands on it fast enough. also just to mention a few, in case you to all aren't aware of this, so some other old prof mys that blow me -- prophesies that blow me away, chapters 2 and 7

in daniel and the predictions about the four empires -- and the third, greece -- how it'll rapidly take over the whole world, and it'll split into four generals just like alexander the great. it's truly bone-chillingly remarkable when you read it. but the ones that get me are the prediction 300 years before king josiah was born, by name that this king joe josiah would presa pagan offering on the altar. his name is mentioned. and then king cyrus, who's better known, the king of the empire. he was not only predicted by name, but that he would free the jews to return to their holy land. there is each archaeological corroboration that he had a practice of doing this. not returning the jews specifically to rebuild the temple, but babylonians. he freed the babylonians, according to archaeological

corroboration, to return to their homeland and rebuild their own pagan places of worship. and that's analogously so corroborative. i just love that. in the book i don't just talk about, as i said, the formal proofs of christian apologetics, you know, the prophesy, archaeology, the transmission of the bible and all. i also go into scrip iture, talk about -- scripture, talk about the paradoxical teaching of scripture, two chapters, because i am sofas nateed with the bible and believe -- i take it at its word when it says it has the power of conversion, and i want to introduce nonbelievers to some powerful theology which is taught by god in the holy scripture to us counterintuitively. jesus' parables seem inconsistent. dig deeper, you'll find out there's so much truth in them. i think god did that on purpose. it makes us dig a little deeper to unwrap that riddle, to

disclose that enigma. then it is more meaningful to us. but i also included a couple of chapters on what i call aha moments, these stories, these inspirational stories i ran across after becoming a believer and other theological points that blow me away. so i, two chapters on these things hoping that it might tug at the heart of a skeptic. and so i, one of these aha moments is particularly meaningful to me. they're -- h.a. ironside was a preacher a hundred or so years ago, and ray stead match was his -- stedman was his pupil, and he wrote a book about a bunch of things but included this story in the book. ironside preached at a salvation army gathering up. there would be a guy that -- always sat at the back of the room, particularly attentive. but ironside was very intrigued, why is this guy always back there, and he always bolts at

the end of the sermon. one day the guy was forced to sit on the front row because there were no seats. he cornered him and said what's your story? the guy say ises now i'm not an atheist anymore, but i'm not a christian. i -- what caused you to be from be nonbeliever to at least a believer in god? or at least open to it? he says, that man over there. and the man over there was a friend of his who was a former alcoholic, a bar owner whose life had been totally transformed by his placing his trust in jesus christ. so that had a significant impact on him. and he said, so stedman said why can't you take that next step and become a christian? he said, well, i read the new testament, and it just doesn't do that much for me. i read the book of isaiah, and it blows me away. it's such beautiful literature, i wish i could become a christian by reading the book of isaiah, and stedman says, ah, my moment. would you let me read you a chapter out of isaiah, a little

short chapter, and you tell me who it's describing, and the guy was sheepish -- i don't know anything about the bible, how could i possibly? just give me a chance. so he said, okay. now, here's the chapter. this is the only part of the speech i'm going to read. isaiah 53. and i remember what he, what ironside is doing to this nonbeliever. who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the lord been revealed? isaiah wrote this 700 years before christ's birth. one more time, who has believed our message and to whom has the ample of the lord been -- the arm of the lord been revealed? like a root out of dry grown. he had nobuty or majesty, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. he was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised. and we held him in low esteem. surely, he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by god, stricken by him and afflicted.

but he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities. the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. we all, like sheep, have gone astray. each of us has turned to our own way, and the lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. he was led like a lamb to the slaughter and as a sheep before its shears are silent, ask so he did not open his mouth. he was taken away, yet who of his generation protested? for he was cut off the from the land of the living. for the transgression of my people, he was punished. he was assigned a grave with the wicked and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violation, nor was any deceit in his mouth. yet it was the lord's will to crush him and cause him to suffer. and though the lord makes his

life an offering for sip, he will see his offspring and prolong his days. after he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied by his knowledge, my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities. therefore, i will give him apportion among the grave, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he has poured out his life unto death and was numbered with the transgressors, for he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors. the man, then stunned, asked ironside if he could read the chapter that was just read to him. ironside gave him the book, he read it several times, dropped it in ironside's hands, dropped the bible, and scurried off. he didn't show up for three more days. ironside was worried that he totally freaked him out, he had no idea. and when he came back, ironside then talked to him, and he said, what happened? this guy, when he'd been in the holy land, he had cursed jesus

on calvary saying this is where the christian decrete began. and -- deceit began. all these people that were with him at the the time scurried down the hill thinking they were going to get hit by a bolt of lightning. [laughter] that's an important foundation to understand the quote this guy says next. so the young man breaks down in tears as he related the next chapter in his journey, and he told him about it. he says, he made an announcement to the group, you know, friends, these last few nights i have learned that the one i cursed on calvary was the one who was wounded for my transgressions and by whose wounds i am heeled. is that awesome -- healed. is that awesome it's unbelievable. [applause] i have so little time and so much to share, so i'm going to abbreviate this stuff. in staccato motion. the critics say i that faith and

reason are incompatible, that christianity's incompatible. the lord tells us to love him with all of our mind. proverbs tells us to acquire wisdom, and god made us in his image. the super, infinitely intelligent god made us intelligent so we could have a relationship with him and dig into scripture and mine the depths of his riches. that requires intellect, and there's nothing incompatible between faith and reason where christianity is concerned. [applause] in fact, the overwhelming weight of the evidence, and i've introduced it, put it down in the book, the overwhelming weight of the evidence is that christianity's truth claims are true way beyond a reasonable doubt, the criminal standard, way beyond any standard. if you study it with an open heart and an open mind, you will discover that it's true, that jesus christ is a historical figure who became man while being fully god and fully man, lived a sinless life to die for

our sins and was resurrected physically in the body. let me tell you that i didn't understand jesus christ when i was a doubter. if i'd understood christ, i might have been a believer earlier. this, pullton sheen was a catholic writer who wrote, i read his book, "the life of christ," and it was amazing. [applause] he said three things distinguish from all other people, all other human beings who have claimed to be god. one is that he was the 078 man ever -- the only man ever preannounced who was fulfilled by prophesy. of all the people who have claimed they were god. second, he's the only man who ever divided history. b.c., a.d., even skeptics have to refer to people in that context. and, third, which is the most profound thing to me, he's the only man who ever lived life backward. by that he meant -- and this gave me an entirely new perspective on christ -- he was born to die can k. that's why when peter cut off the soldier's

ear, jesus said get behind me, satan, and rebuked him. he was done with his earthly mission, he was now going to die. he had to die. he had to suffer. he had to take on human form in order to experience the full suffering of humanity. he had to be human, do you understand? otherwise it would be an abstract, mathematical exercise. you can't balance those divine scales with such nonsense. it had to be real in history, but he also had to be fully god in order to wipe the slate clean for all the past, present and future sins of man kind. when we worry about evil and suffering which i used to worry about, it used to be an obstacle to my faith, why would an all-powerful god permit evil, what i didn't understand beyond the free will and that we grow in our suffering because we grow in our relationship with jesus christ, all of which is profoundly important, what i didn't understand was that he became man to suffer with us and for us. and he continues to do it today.

he had to be fully god and fully man for that to have occurred. so as john said, we don't -- some people imagine an indifferent god sitting on his celestial deck chair, indifferent to sip. but for the cross, i wouldn't believe in christianity. jesus christ, my savior, came to the earth as a man, and he took all of the arrows for us, he was separated from the father, took all of his wrath in real history and in real time just so we could live. i didn't understand why would god say, father, why have you forsaken me? why wouldn't he have taken himself off the cross? god, father, take this cut from me. why would he say that? well, the next thing he said immediately -- the reason he said it, he was suffering in his humanity. even though he was god, he knew he would be in eternity momentarily, but his suffering was so excruciating that he said

why -- take this cup from me. and then a minute, second later, but not my will, but your will be done. because he knew that's the reason he came. so when we imagine our suffering and we think it's unfair and we don't understand why god created us to allow this suffering, remember that we have a savior who died with us and for us, who was -- >> i guess we do need, they're starting right now. >> but became human -- >> go ahead. >> so that we can have a perm relationship with him. -- personal relationship with him. i invite skeptics to, please, read this book because i tried to tell you readers the fascination i have for the bible and how -- >> i hope that's not the case. if everyone can hear me in the back? great. thank you so much for your attention. well, i hope you enjoyed lunch. i'm sure you're looking forward to our panel discussion. today's topic is latino leadership in congress. we have an amazing panel.

we have six latina women who have demonstrated to the country and their fellow members of congress that latina women, of course, have what it takes to follow through on the delivery of their constituents and the -- before i introduce our guests, let me remind you to alert your friends and coworkers, and they can watch the discussion live at the chci's web site. you're going to see it in a minute. we'll be entertaining questions from the audience, so you have to pay attention because you're going to be able to ask ask questions, and i encourage you to have them ready, so we'll have representatives go to your table so you can give your questions to them. now to our distinguished panel, first from california's second district, representative grace napolitano. representative? [applause] welcome. we have from california's fourth

district, lucille -- [inaudible] [applause] california's 38th district, linda sanchez, representative linda sanchez. [applause] and, of course, we have from california's 46th district, representative loretta sanchez. thank you so much. [applause] we have, i know michelle -- [inaudible] is coming, she's a little late from new mexico's 1st district, so we'll have her sit at the end. ladies, thank you so much for being here today. really appreciate it. >> our pleasure. >> i'm lucky to be surrounded by intelligent and wonderful women, as i've always been, thankfully, in my life. and why don't we start with a brief introduction round, and we'll go in order. if you would like to start, representative that napolitano, with a brief introduction about our topic today, latino leadership in congress. >> benas dias. hello, everybody, hello. come on. [applause]

[speaking spanish] i'm better known as grace. been in california many years, been in politics on city council and state assembly and now in congress. and it has been a long battle. all of you must understand it is not easy for us to be sitting here. we've earned our way. we've really had battles. we've been lucky enough to have men support us, but more than that, understand that we have brains, and we can use them. [laughter] [applause] and, unfortunately, we still have a battle, there's still a glass ceiling, there still is the ability for us not to be able to have the support we should have on issues that are really critical to us, not only in immigration but mental health, transportation. because we have women veterans, and we have all those women. but we need to impress upon the women who are here, if you get into politics, be sure you know what you're getting into because it's important to help you

achieve a dream. if you truly believe it from here, because that's where we deliver, all of us insuring that we are representatives not only for our districts, for our families, but for other women so they can have a hand up and be with us to fight the good fight. >> thank you so much. [applause] thank you so much. congresswoman, i think, you know, the issue is not only what latina do for latinos in congress, but what we do for the population, for the general population. not only latino issues, it's for everyone. >> well, lull. and just to -- well, absolutely. and just to piggyback on what grace has already said is that it isn't just what traditionally are considered latino issues. the fact and the reality is and something that we have to let others know just as we do as members of congress is that all issues are latino issues. it isn't just immigration. we are concerned about job

creation, our economy, we're concerned about better education for our children, our environment. every issue that is important to our country is important to our latino community because we are equally and sometimes even more negatively impacted by many of the issues that we address here in congress. and just to piggyback for those that may not know, i am the congresswoman for the 40th congressional district. it is a district that has, like, 87% latino, a huge immigrant population. it's a poor minority district with pockets throughout the city that traditionally have been controlled by white anglo communities. and so it's in transition. and it's very, very difficult sometimes to be able to relate to some of the power bases in

the various parts of the district. so one of the challenges that we have as latinos is to help those who are not latino that we are not a threat to them, but that we can be equal partners with them in helping to improve the quality of life that's not just latinos, but of all people within the country. [applause] >> thank you so much. representative sanchez from california's 38th district. you know, i think it's important to mention that i was joking at the beginning when i was introducing the president of the gates foundation here in the u.s. the high school students next door were asking me about world affairs, gender equality, vote or id laws, the environment, all kinds of questions. i mean, that's what kids are interested in now, latino or otherwise, no? >> right. i'm congresswoman linda sanchez, i represent the 38th congressional district of los angeles -- [applause]

and it's interesting because i think the success of the latino community in terms of representing our community is very generational. and i think the next generation coming up doesn't so much see themselves in labels or boxes as, like, latino youth or future, you know, latino leader. they look at issues through a lens in which, you know, all of their friends are concerned about a particular issue, or they're interested in particular issues. and so they don't necessarily see, you know, that they're limited by a label. and one of the things i want to talk about on the panel is that oftentimes as women and as latinos we sort of get labeled as, you know, we're la latinas n congress, therefore, we only care about certain specific issues, immigration being the top one. immigration is a very important issue. all of us serve on different committees -- grace serves on the transportation committee, she talks about transportation

issues and infrastructure investment, lucille serves on the appropriations committee, she talks about the economy, job creation, infrastructure investment, on and on, loretta serves on armed services and homeland security, she talks about issues of national security and our armed forces and their readiness, and i serve on the ways and means committee which deals with tax policy. so we're not all focused solely on one or two issues. we happen to be la latina, we happen to be very underrepresented in the congress. if you look at the elected representatives at the federal level, women in general are just over 50% of the population, we have a historic number of women currently serving in the house and the senate, it's almost 19%. with but that's still a gross underrepresentation. and then if you talk about latino women, it narrows even further. so we're here to all of you who

may not have ever thought that you would run for public office, for women especially i think sometimes they need permission or they need a champion to tell them they can do it. every single one of us up here is here to say you can do it, and we want to help you do it. because the united states congress, which is supposedly the most democratic body at the federal level because you must be elected in order to serve in the congress, you cannot be appointed observe in a house seat, it's supposed to look like the america that it represents. and currently it doesn't. so we need to encourage folks to think about and particularly women to think about running for public office at all levels, but certainly, certainly at the national level. we really need that perspective right now in washington d.c. >> talk about -- [inaudible] [applause] thank you so much. from california's 46th district, representative loretta sanchez,

opening remarks, please. >> right. well, first of all, thanks for having us, thanks for being here in washington d.c. people in washington, d.c., the power capital of the world, need to see our faces here. as my sister linda was saying, they need to see our faces in the congress. but they also need to see our faces in business, they need to see our faces in lobbying, they need to see our faces in appointed positions, they need to see us in the state department, they need to see us in the military. i represent orange county, california, the 46th congressional district. if you've been to disneyland, you've been to my hometown. my angels right now. so really great, you know, really great place to represent. but as lucille was saying about downtown los angeles, which is one of the portions where she represents and has for a while,

the power structures are still the old power structure. meaning that the anglo-saxons have the appointed positions, they have the elected positions, they are the business leaders, and our community is not to be found. in many ways orange county is the epitome of that. orange county's now a third latino of its population, and yet really all the power positions -- except for mine, more or less -- are held in traditional hands. and so how we move that, how we change that becomes so very important. not just in politics, but in business, in agencies, in government agencies. that's what we're looking forward to, when we see young la latinas and also happy we see latinas who have been work in a community, who have been working in businesses decide to branch out, decide to throw their hat

in the ring, decide to come and help us to get this done. that is incredibly important. i will just say that as hard as the it is to be latina somedays, it's even harder to be a woman in politics. okay? so my congressional friends that are black women say it's the double whammy. first we get hit because we're women, and then we get hit because we're minority. and i have seep that play out over -- seen that play out over and over even within the congress as we try to get our work done. thank you. >> thank you. well -- [applause] now that we've talked about the proverbial glass ceiling, why don't we start with that, and let's have that oz our first -- as our first question. equal pay, equal status in the workplace. i know we just touched upon that subject, but let's get into that with a little more substance. representative sanchez, if you want to start. let's talk about the glass

ceiling in the world and in politics too. >> sure. there is very much still a glass ceiling in place. i love to tell this story. when nancy pelosi became the first woman speaker of the house, so we saw a movement, we saw things changing, we saw one of those barriers being broken down. and don't get me wrong, we've made a lot of progress. still a long way to go. i was rushing to votes, and i jumped into an elevator as doors were closing, and there were two southern gentlemen there who were trying to be polite and make conversation with me. and one turned to me, and he said, so, whose office do you work in? [laughter] and i'm wearing a suit, i'm wearing my member pin. and i was angry, and i was just about to blast this guy, and then i remember my mom always told me you catch more flies with honey than vinegar, so i turned to him and said, oh, i don't work for somebody in this building, i have my own office

in this building. and he turned and looked at his friend, and they looked at each other like deer in the headlights, and the elevator doors opened, and they scurried out. even though we had a female speaker of the house, the assumption is if eiffel in the elevators -- if i'm in the elevator, i must be in secretary or staffer or intern. so i think there are huge perceptions that women have to overcome. i think we're judged by far harsher standards. i used to tell people i would see some of our male colleagues come to floor in crumpled suits, and they looked like they combed their hair with a fork. [laughter] if a woman looked like that, they would rip her apart in the press based on what she looked like. so we still have many, many double standards or harder standards and hurdles that we have to overcome in order to be taken seriously. and i think, you know, i definitely see it as part of my charge as a member of congress

to challenge people when they have assumptions about who or what i am or who or what i can accomplish. and you don't always have to do it in a mean way, you can do it very sweetly and make your point just as sponge strong as you can -- just as strong as you can if you turn to somebody and yell at them about why would you think, you know, x, y or z? but it's very tough, and i think, you know, there are good male colleagues that understand, but i tell you, the biggest strength that a i get being a member is sharing experiences and getting help from my sisters that are up here on the stage with me. >> so, i mean, you're already trailblazers, but you're actually in a position to do something about to, basically, legally do something about this glass ceiling and equal pay and equal work status. representative napolitano. >> well, you would think so. [laughter] as -- >> oh, representative -- [inaudible] is here. [applause] >> hi!

>> you wanted to give her an opportunity to speak? >> well, why don't we finish with your remarks, and then we'll give her a -- >> well, again, the glass ceiling still very much exists each though we think, we are female representatives who can make a difference, who do make a difference, but it's still my colleagues on the other side who don't want to pass pay equity, who don't want to do things that help the family and especially the women who is normally the head of the house in latino families in terms of educating the children, etc. and going to work, working two jobs to maybe be able to help the family. it's unfortunate, but it's all political. it is not what needs to be done to help the country. to help minorities, to help latinos, african-americans. it is what is good for business. well, it's good for business, it isn't always good for the economy, nor for our families. and the glass ceiling has always been something we must

address -- [applause] and we need your help to be able to say to my colleagues on the other side, get with it. either that or get out of congress. [laughter] [applause] i mean, you know, let's face it, here we go again. we talk a lot, immigration, mental health and all of that. but what about the votes? where are your families in getting out to vote to insure that somebody's going to be out there voting to insure that you get equal pay? look at what happened in los angeles. he just raised the wage of the hotel workers in the major hotels. why? he had the guts to do it. now, why don't our colleagues on the other side, they should fear the voter coming at 'em and saying if you don't do this, we're going to take care of you during an election. get our families involved, our neighbors, our coworkers and saying to them, you make the difference. that glass ceiling has to be coming down because we need our women to be at parity with men in pay. i started 25 cents an hour.

that was my working pay. 25 cents an hour. and i have been discriminated more than you can think of. and like lynn a da, i walked in -- linda, i walked in, i was a keynoter for a conference, and i walked in, and somebody said whose secretary are you? i'm your guest speaker. [laughter] so, you know, it's just labeling people before they understand that there are women that are very, very intelligent, that are very -- and i'm not one of them, but i know many that are. [laughter] understand that they're there, but we need to be able to promote and to be able to help them become part of the structure of shattering the glass ceiling so that our children, my great grandchildren -- i only have four great grandsons coming up, so unfortunately, i don't have many girls in my family. that needs to happen, and we need your help to do it. >> thank you so much. [applause] from new mexico's first

district, michelle -- [inaudible] thank you so much for joining us. we were talking about the glass ceiling, of course, but why don't we give you an opportunity for some opening remarks, and if you want to make them about this proverbial issue about the glass ceiling, like i said. >> well, thank you very much. i'm delighted to be here. i'm sorry, everyone, that i'm late. i was at the government oversight and reform hearing talking about the security breach at the white house. so important issues and, actually, in that situation that committee's more bipartisan than it typically is. that's one of the most partisan committees in congress, and i think it works very well to the last set of remarks that my colleague, congresswoman napolitano, was making about the glass ceiling. i can relate to many of the statements that she made. i'm old enough to have been treated in the work force as a woman the primary homemaker.

so here are a list of rules as a brand new lawyer in a large law firm: we don't want to hear about your kids, we don't want to hear about your family, you will not have any more kids. if you're going to be pregnant again, this is not the place for you to work. and, of course, i was already pregnant. [laughter] joke's on you, too late for that. [laughter] but those were acceptable, those were acceptable conversations between an employer and a woman. it's not that long ago. and in thinking about pay equity and breaking the glass ceiling, i'm going to -- i think it gets to some of my opening remarks i was going to make that may not quite be relevant. now that we've started the panel, i apologize again for being late. but i ran aging and long-term services in new mexico. before it was cabinet level, it was an agency level in our state government structure, and i ran that for 14 years. so i think i have the longest

tenure ever in new mexico's history. and i worked for democratic and republican governors and three different golfs during that ten your -- different governors during that tenure. and i was talking about long-term care and care giving. and one of the legislators that i was asking for policy shifts, and i was asking for money from, funding said, you know, what happened? families used to take care of each other, and we're getting more and more requests to address this care giving issue, particularly from you. and i need you to help me understand why we went from families could take care of each other to an environment where that doesn't happen anymore. and i said to the legislator, sir, with all drew respect you're missing a major component. we don't have homemakers anymore because we've created an environment, and most of that, 99.99% great where women are no

longer in that role and just raising families in a way that was narrow, and we're now completely joining the work force for three reasons. one, we want to. two, work force needs us. and, three, this economy now requires that both spouses are fully represented in the work force. and so that change, that shift -- business hasn't kept up, policymakers haven't can kept up, and when you know, and i know you know fact 79, women in the house -- i think i'm one of the largest group of women and the most diverse women in congress, only 20 women in the senate. and that's great that we did that in my freshman class. but if you want policies to reflect the realities of the situations we have ourselves in and that they should be fair and not biased and not discriminatory, then the people

making those policies -- as grace said -- have to reflect those values. and until more women and more women of color are in these policy making positions, i fear that we will struggle to find the kind of equality that would really reflect moving forward our families and our communities in a meaningful way. so i appreciate very much being on this very distinguished panel, and i have no doubt that this conversation will lend itself into more women running, more women participating and more fabulous stories about how we can work together collectively to make a difference in the country. >> thank you so much. [applause] i want to touch, of course, i know you want to jump in, representative sanchez, and we'll have the opportunity to do that, but let's make in the last question about, you know, gender equality and everything, and let's concentrate on an issue that you are working on, basically, every day, and i want to talk about midterm elections,

of course, because you mentioned them and voter participation. i think it's crucial that we hear your opinions on these matters. first, if you want to jump in on the issue at hand. >> well, i sit at as the number two democrat on the house armed services committee and the number two democrat on the homeland security committee and the number two democrat on the joint economic committee. so is i just need to figure out how to move one guy out of the way -- [laughter] on either one of those committees and take back the congress, so interim's going to be important, so that i can be chairman. [laughter] chairwoman. [applause] but think about this, i do war, terror and deficits all day long when i'm in washington d.c. and a lot of it most of the time, in fact, my military analyst who is a woman and who is keep-american, she said to me

the other day have you ever noticed when we walk into these meetings on gaza and israel, the palestinian issue, on putin, what he's doing in ukraine, on missile defense, on nuclear proliferation and non-proliferation, on the weaponization of space, all of these things that i do -- these are my, this is what i do all day long in the congress -- when we go into those meetings, she said to me, did you ever notice that we are the only two women, and we are the only two minorities? >> yep. >> and it's true. right? so i want to finish with this. a couple years ago we had an opening for the number one place for the democrats on the most macho committee in the congress, the armed services committee. and i ran for it against two guys. and nobody ever talked about me, you know, in the paper they're going, oh, these two guys are going at it. and meanwhile, we're doing our

campaign, we're doing our thing, right? so we go in front of the steering committee which is, you know, 40 democrats who give decision on who could really do this job, and i go in there and i give my spiel, and the vote comes back, and i've got the top votes and people are going, what? you know, how can that be? how can loretta be the one that, you know, that impressed the most people in that room? but that's okay, because it has to go to a vote to everybody, right? so we go to a vote to everybody, and on the first vote three people, first vote, i get the top votes, the two guys get lower, drop off the third vote. on the second vote, the guy beats me, okay? i know who didn't vote for me on the second vote. remember that double whammy i told you about? come talk to me. so anyway, so i, i didn't get it. but what was the interesting thing is back to something that my sister said, that we and the women who work in the congress,

the women who are staffers have been so used to seeing nancy pelosi as the speaker that somehow they didn't realize that this discrimination, this sexism exists in the congress. and they just anticipated. the women who were watching this race, the young staffers on the military committee and on the committees of the people who were on that committee who see us doing our workday in and day out, they had assumed that i would get this position, you know? and when i didn't, i had so many of them walk up to me in tears and say because we saw nancy pelosi, we thought this was a given, that women would be chosen as leaders here. and it wasn't until we saw the way they defeated you, by six votes, that we realized that the barricades still exist more

women to have -- for women to have top positions. so i think there's a lot more work that we have to do. >> yeah. i -- [applause] i'd like to add to what loretta said, because that's one of the issues i think that we as women particularly and our male allies have to understand, that the perception in many ways is that, well, women are, you know, achieving, and we have made progress. but as loretta's example showed, we still are in many, many instances not considered to be up to the job. and when i came in in 1993, it was considered the year of the woman. and the story that linda just

told in 2003 when he came in -- when she came in is very similar to what we experienced in 1993. when we were literally stopped from entering the house floor and questioned and told, you know with, you need to wait outside because only members are allowed on the floor. and we had to explain that, excuse me, we are members as well. when we were completely ignored by leadership, when task forces were being formed including task force dealing with what many consider traditional women's issues, welfare reform and others, no woman was being put on any of these task forces. and so the women that were there, literally we marched to the leadership office to demand that we gain same respect as our

male counterpart, had to remind leadership that our vote counted the same as our male counterpart. so it continues to be a struggle. so we can't fall into the trap, as loretta said, that well, gee, we had a speaker, a woman speaker, and we have women who are in key positions, so on and so forth, and so we can sit back and relax because we can't. and i want to end with this: not only do we have to continue the fight whether it's here in congress or whether it's in our businesses to push and to support women to obtain b higher positions, but it has to start with us as women. we have to believe in ourselves, in our own abilities and stop apologizing because we're asking for a raise or because we have, you know, certain obligations and we would like some time off.

we have to consider ourselves as equals. [applause] and i just wallet you to know that when i came in, there was three latinas. i was the first mexican-american woman elected to congress, there was the first puerto rican-american woman, and ileana ros-lehtinen was the first cuban-american elected to congress. there's only, there was only three of us. and after 22 years, there's only nine of us. but let me just tell you that the women who are in this room are dynamic leaders. and they're truly helping to move us forward. [applause] and i think, and i just want to say as the senior member here

that we need the support not only of women, but also of our male allies. because it's going to take a partnership between both the men and the women to move the agenda forward and so that stay we as women will not be an afterthought, will not be considered second class, and we have to remember that when we're talking about advancing women, it's not just that we want women in there, but we have qualified, talented women that have the ability to lead and in many cases, let me tell you -- and this is no reflection on my male counterparts -- can excel and even do better than many of our male counterparts who are now in those positions. [applause]

>> thank you so much. you know, to be fair, i think we have to cover the most important issue at hand, of course, and i think we have. and if i had the chance to talk to five representatives, male, i wouldn't be asking them, of course, about this issue, but i would be asking them about midterm elections, about other things that are important. so why don't we move to those subjects, because we've covered the most important thing. that's done with. but now let's talk about other things, too, and i want to talk about midterm elections, especially the participation of latinos. because there's this notion now, even political calculations from the white house, that voting for the midterm elections is not worth it because by doing so, by doing so you might mobilize a bigger vote, the conservative vote for midterm elections, and latinos really don't have a history of participating in midterm elections or making a difference. i really want, from your

perspective, an opinion about that. and also how can we get more latinos to come out and vote? is because we have to participate in the configuration of congress. every time there's a general election, we choose the president or even a governor, i think we have to participate in how we configure our government and our representatives, our representation. so i'll start to my left. >> one of the things that we have a lot of immigrants who come from the countries where they're afraid to speak up, they're afraid to be seep or vote, and -- to be seen or vote, and they've got to understand that their vote counts, those that are documented -- not documented, but that are citizens. but many of the things we hear is that over half a million latinos who are eligible to vote who do not vote. that could turn the tide in many states. but understand that we need to insure that everybody looks at what the voters, the candidates are, who they are.

because they can promise anything. those ads, forget those ugly ads. anybody who goes into negative ads, i just write 'em off. because, unfortunately, we focus too much on things that somebody else says about you. well, what have they done? what are they doing in your community? how are they going to help your business? are they going to be able to help the immigrant population or health care delivery? these are the things that we should be looking at and voting for those who are going to be at the position of being able to make a difference for us, to helping us in congress be able to get a majority and be able to go back and institute the services that we need for the people. forget wars, i'm sorry, i vote anti-war because we need charity to start at home. this is where we need the money to help our communities. and, unfortunately, it's, the youngsters may not understand it and, yes, you have some that are very enthused, but there's very

few. we need others who are turning 18 who are u.s. citizens to understand this will affect their ability to get loans, to buy a car, to purchase a home, to start a business. these are things that are going affect them in years to come. and if they're not involved and if they don't care to vote and talk to their colleagues and get 'em to the ballot box and vote, getting the families out to go out and knock on doors, their neighbors to get them out to vote on election day and understand that you are powerful or. one of you can reach a thousand people just by the multiplication of how you reach out. somehow we are missing the boat, and they're calling us, well, the sleeping giant we have somehow awoken. but not enough to the point where we've made a mark and said to america we exist, we are valuable to you, and we are part of your autonomy. so we must get people that look like us to represent us at every level whether it's local, the senate, all the different elected officials that you can think of.

we need more women there because women think, they speak, and they act with heart. so please carry the message out to get people involved. midterm election, well, in california we're due in november. it's already general. well, we need to be able to position ourselves to be able to get more people, more women to run who actually will help us be able to run an agenda forward that helps all of our country, latinas and everybody else along with it. [applause] >> new mexico's one of those states where the latino vote can really make a difference, and it has made a difference in the past. >> it has. majority minority state, largest percentage in the country, but we -- to your point, we suffer from a midterm election apathy. not just by hispanic voters, but voters in general. given that dynamic in our state, if we can do something about that engagement and that apathy,

then, in fact, you're exactly right. we set that policy agenda can. i think there are several factors in a midterm election cycle. i think that the media plays, actually, a huge role in minimizing and what i would call vote suppression by highlighting the negative which is, take congress. this isn't getting done, this isn't getting done, this isn't getting done. and by focusing on policy extremes on either end, i think it discourages folks from feeling like there's anything they can do to change it. two, i think we've got to start really being clear about, with voters about how we can get them to engage in state policy that allows their voter options to be enhanced, particularly since we have to, in congress, do manager about -- do something in congress about protecting vote or rights. i'm very is disappointed that prior to the midterm elections that we didn't get done. and that's got to be something we've got to get to this

community of voters, but the states can really drive that. the states that do vote-by-mail programs, it'd be a huge incentive. this is how we know we reach everyone, and we provide easy opportunity. and to that, i think it's equally important when you look at a state like new mexico, double-dip recession, we had a spike in our poverty rates, i mean, it's a disaster. p.m.