september of 2008, the federal government has taken ownership or control of the 30% of the private economy. consider that prior to the inception of bail at nation, 100% of the private economy was private. banks, insurance companies, aig, chrysler, general motors, the student loan industry, every bit was taken over by the government and was -- and with no exit strategy for getting out and with no limits on further the government infusion and attached in these entities. . .

you can see where republicans took over congress. under george w. bush we were in a deficit. and then you look at the case under president obama. this is in -- this is intending to fail. [applause]

we have watched as the obama administration has accumulated more debt than in each previous 230 years of american history. in a matter of months, taking us from $10 trillion to $14 trillion in debt accumulation. $4 trillion dollar bills, take them and pack them tightly on top of one another, you have to go to hundred 68 miles up into the atmosphere to finally reach $4 trillion. think of it in terms of time. if you took $4 -- four trillion seconds, that would equal 128,000 years. that is 123,000 years longer than all of recorded history.

this is a tremendous accumulation of debt, even for washington, d.c. this is real money and if this does not restore enough, the president, speaker policy, harry reid, continue to push to take over another 18% of the american private economy with the jobs- killing government takeover of health care and another 8% of the private economy they want to take over or control with the cat and trade which is the taken over by the federal government over the energy industry. the federal government owning or controlling 56% of the private economy in less than two years' time. it is stunning. i guess the president meant it when he said during the campaign," we cannot ride suv's, set our thermostat at 72 degrees and eat as much as we want." i guess that is true.

the director of the congressional budget office warned us that the economy is on an unsustainable path. we hear that a lot lately. he said the fundamental disconnect will cause serious long-term damage to the economy and the well-being of the population. this is the head of our nonpartisan budget office saying that we are looking at serious long-term damage to the economy and the well-being of our people. i would say that is pretty serious. then we really have to sober up because what we need to do is realize that the only people with the power to change this very bad diagnosis is president barack obama, speaker nancy pelosi, and harry reid?

i wonder what the odds are of them changing things? we have seen this movie before it is called a massive national debt implosion and it is not a pretty sight. we saw this in germany in the 1920's. we saw this in argentina in the 1940's. we are seeing it happen right now today with greece. the end never works out well. people can indulge but you cannot indulge in fantasy economic started it just doesn't work. [applause]

do we detect a democratic pattern? he wanted to keep a manageable recession and turn it into a 10- year repression. in the midst of that, the forgotten man was the poor beleaguered taxpayer who had to pick up the difference and the small businessman who sought collapse and foreclosure because of the massive spending and government intervention that never works. [applause] take a quantum leap forward to the 1960's under president johnson and his democrat majority building upon the legacy of fdr. he created the modern welfare state as you know it. having spent every time --xd tie and then some of the receipts tht(cameñiko in fromxd social security, from medicare they have left us now holding an invoice in excess of $105

trillion in unfunded federal liabilities which obviously was not enough of a debt load for the current administration. it sounds like someone is choosing decline. [applause] that is not what the founders chose. the founders of this great nation did not choose decline. they chose us. they chose greatness for us. they were wise and they gave us a legacy on like any in the reported annals of human history. it was john quincy adams who wrote,"i]çó for the first time e the creation of the world, was laid the foundation of the government upon the principles of human rights." if it goes upq on the screen we

will see it -- 3##j% memory and do not need it. ñr"we hold these truths self evident thatñrñi all men are crd ñiequal, thatñrñi there and outh their greater with certain inalienable rights that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. to secure these rights,ñii governments are institutedñi amg men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed." that is our mission statement. that is the american mission statement. it is our creed. is the answer to who we are is the people. we are creatures made by god. god gave us rights. these are rights that government can never give to us and the beauty of that is that these are rights that government can never take away from us. [applause]

there is only one reason that government exists. it exists to secure these rights and to us, to the people. government derives its power from the consent of the people. it is a beautiful story. john quincy adams went on to say that never before in the history of man has there been an example of a government directly and expressly instituted on this principle of consent by the government. what a concept " ! if 2/3 ofmy the people repudiaa law, government might listen? yes, that is exactly what the founders wereñi thinking.4+ exactly. [applause] ñithat among theseçóñiñi, this r

birthright. it is the mostx(dn personal, li, the mostñr personale1 of all our itñiça is the one that ascribes dignityxd and work to every humn ì+ other right. çorçótherefore, it is the ultime human life. and must bexdñrñr life liberty. liberty is the right to be free and ourçóñiñiñr conscience, our, free and our decision making. what does that tell you about the obama speech police? that is not what the founders intendedñi and the pursuit of çóthis is the fun inalienable right. pursuit of happiness meantçó tht you and i have a right to our labour. we have a right to the fruits of our labour. today, we take this for granted and say that is the way it is. no, this is a radical concept in

the history of man. what i produce belongs to me, not the king, not government, just us. that is our legacy. the world never knew that before. [applause] it is what drives our economy. the bondholders at chrysler only know this all too well. liberty, self-government, these are the ideals that animated the founding fathers. and a great scholar from heritage foundation wrote about america's greatness in his wonderful book. let me tell you a couple of those stores. one is about a young man who was in his early 20's in the spring of 1775. he lived near concord, mass.. the time came for the call for him on liberty.

he answered the call. here he was, a young m7 took upxd his musket, he risked everything to help and fight against the greatest military power in the world. he was brave and was asked late% as an older man, was it the oppression of the colonial policy? ñihe said he never saw any stem. ñiamps. çóit must've been your readingsn liberty. q what made him take up his arms against the british? we always had governed ourselves, he said, and we always meant to.

[applause] he said that the british did not think that they should. levi arrested on that fateful day chose liberty, suffering, self sacrifice and he chose greatness, not decline for america. vein, a young medical directorçã-- dr. was the head of the public safety committee in massachusetts. he stayed in boston. this was the most dangerous era at that time in our country's history. that was the epicenter of trouble in boston. he chose to stay there because that is where the british were headquartered. he wanted to lead thexd'c amern opposition to the british. you should also know this about joseph warren, he was the father

of four young children and they will work. he made the decision to send out paul revere on that fateful night toward the good people of concord that the british were coming, the british were coming. he was elected major general but he chose to fight as a volunteer private. twice, the british regulars attacked and twice the americans held their fire until the very end when the unbalancing regiments can upon the americans at close range then they decimated the british rights and forced them to pull back. the americans were short a powder. there were short of ammunition, as you know. there were short of reinforcements. the americans were overwhelmed on the third try by the british privy the soldiers stormed. later, they found joseph warren's body below the body of his fellow countrymen. three months before this occurred, joseph warren spoke

these powerful words to his friends. " our streets are filled with young man, our harbour is crowded with ships of war, but these cannot intimidate us. our liberty must be preserved. it is part dearer than light. fe. if we but for a moment entertain the thought of giving up our liberty, our country is in danger but not to be despaired up. our enemies are numerous and powerful but we have many friends determining to be free in heaven and earth will aid the resolution." xdon you depends the portion of america. you have the important question of which rests by happiness of liberty of millions yet unborn. act worthy of yourself."

joseph warrant risked everything. he laid down that final full measure of his devotion for us because he chose greatness, not a decline for the united states. [applause] and every successive generation of americans from the time of levi preston and joseph warren have had to make that decision. will they choose decline for the united states or will they choose liberty? 67 years ago last week, 902 young gi boys crossed the atlantic ocean on a world or to transport ship. they were one of three ships and a convoy. there were 100 miles west of greenland, it was 1:00 in the morning when a periscope, out of the water.

it belongs to a nazi german submarine. the periscope took aim and fired at the flank in the icy waters off the coast of greenland. it hit the starboard side of the ship. instantly, the explosion occurred. young gi's, many of them were killed in a matter of seconds below deck. the power was knocked out, the radio was knocked out. panic, chaos set in with these boys. men jumped ship into the few light boats. on deck, there stood four chaplains for it one was a catholic priest, another a jewish rabbi, two were protestants. they were courageous. they called to the young boys. many were pleading, they were crying, they were praying, but the chaplains preached courage.

they opened a storage locker. they took out the remaining life jackets. they handed them out, pricing, saying ,"courage." they handed out the life jackets until there were more men than jackets. wordlessly, the four chaplains removed their jackets and put them on the fearful, shaking bodies of the young gi's. later, witnesses reported that the four chaplains took to bear arms and gathered around one another and they held on to each other. it took less than 20 minutes from the time the torpedo hit the ship until the ship slid into the icy waters. they held on to each other and cried out to young man, "courage, boys.

hold on." they prayed for the boys. they prayed for the survivors. they prayed for those who were lost. they prayed until the chaplains were no more. of the 900 to brave american gi's on board that night, 672 died. one of the greatest acts of valor, the four chaplains demonstrated clearly what the holy scripture says to us," greater man hath no love than this but that he lay down his life for his friend." it is of this suffering and this self sacrifice that our nation was built upon. it was this that credit us our liberty. it was this that granted us our self-government. they chose christmas for us rather than decline.

that is our history. that is the american story. [applause] and so i charge you again today, let us act with great courage, with a sacrifice, that spirit of mobility w and as warren said ," act worthy of yourself."

and i thank you. [applause] >> was that common-sense conservatism or what? our next panel, saving freedom from the california model, get it? introducing the panel is ron eury who was elected in february 2007. he was unanimously chosen by his peers to serve as the president of the california chairman's association. he was a trustee for a high

schoolñi district and proposed a bold plan for charter schools across the district and has advocated for fiscal responsibility and transparency as chair of the district committee. ñrplease give a warm welcome to the chairman of the california republican party, mr. ron ni ering. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, i am wron ron niering and i am a proud conservative. it is wonderful to be back at cpac again and as i look around the room, it is abundantly clear there are more conservatives in this room than in the entire

city of san francisco. we are here to talk about california and the california model and what that has become. the mere mention of california and those images of the best that america has to offer, the innovation of silicon valley, the agricultural powerhouse of the central valley, the defense and aerospace sectors in los angeles, the creativity of the music industry, the life science at the center in san diego, defense centers like miramar and vandenberg air force base and camp pendleton where we send soldiers, sailors, airmen and marines into combat to protect free around the world, natural wonders like yosemite and the sierra nevada. california is home to so much that makes american who we are. today, california is failing to live up to the full potential of persistence. the reality is that we have a

government that has grown too large and is restraining and inhibiting the quality of life of millions of americans who live in california. weçó are the highest taxed peope in the west. we are the most heavily regulated people in the nation. we have a state government ñidominated by a liberal legislator which knows no limits. ñiñrçóit has settled its peoplea ñiñipunishing tax and regulatory scheme which we can barely pay for in good times and cannot afford in these times. the government in sacramento has cost millions of californians their jobs in. it has broken up families and it has destroyed opportunities for millions. leaders in washington who want to take a look of the impact of big government do not have to look to europe. they do not have to look to asia. they can just look to the west coast of the united states and see the impact of the government that is out of control. every month, thousands of

californians fully a government they can no longer afford. there are entire communities in nevada, arizona, in idaho and in other western states that have been fuelled by californians fleeing a government they can no longer afford. california does not only export people. now, we also export jobs. whether it is northrop grumman which recently announced it will move its corporate headquarters out of los angeles and to the washington, d.c. area or if it is a story of a business packing up and leaving the golden state has become a daily occurrence. liberals fail to understand that you cannot claim to be for jobs and against the people who create those jobs. [applause] as other state plot a course for out of the economic morass that like the country, too much of

california government has become a model of what not to do. yet, liberals in my state continually blame the state of california's economy on things like proposition 13, which caps property taxes in the 1978 revolt or blatant the legislature taking a 2/3 vote to raise taxes. it was not for these protections, californians would be much further down the road to serfdom than we already are. citizen initiatives limiting taxes are not the cause of our problems, they are the results. they are the natural response to overtaxing and overspending by politicians who are out of touch with those people they claim to represent. [applause] the panel today includes two outstanding california republican leaders, two outstanding conservative leaders, will explore the state of california and will also

provide some solutions and advice to other states as we plot our way for reported the first two speakers is the hon. steve poison. he's a candidate for the governor of state of -- of the state of california. he is feted two companies in northern california he was. elected to the office of stake insurance commissioner in california where he cut the operating budget of the office of the assurance by 50% across the board. he was the director of critical infrastructure protection in the national security council. he was responsible for protecting the nation's banking system and power grids from cyber attack. following his time in the national security council, he spent one year as a volunteer 12th-grade government teacher which led him to co-found the california charter school association.

this is the involvement. the number of schools and -- charter schools in california has doubled. he received an m.b.a. from stanford university. he and his wife live in california. our second speaker will be the hon. bedevore. [applause] -- chock devore. chuck devore. he is a candidate for the united states senate against barbara boxer. [applause] he has been honored as the legislator of the year by the california veterans of foreign wars. , the california chapter of the american legion and many others. he were to the aerospace industry for 15 years before serving as an elected official. he is listed in the united states army reserve and after

more than 24 years of service, retired from the army national guard with a rank of lieutenant colonel. [applause] he is a graduate of claremont mckenna college and he and his wife have two daughters. would you please welcome to the podium, the california state insurance commissioner and candidate for governor of the state of california, the hon. steve poisonner. [applause] >> thank you. good afternoon, everybody. how many people here are from california? wow. for those of you who are not from california and you were wondering what obama socialism looks like, just look at california. unfortunately, we are about 10 years oahead of what obama wants to do to the whole country. the jury is in great california is now the most liberal state in the country and we are now

unfortunately bankrupt. we're out of cash, the worst credit rating in the country, $20 billion debt as -- $20 billion budget deficit. it couldñr not get much worse tn it is to get rid. i could not think a better time to run for governor. we will take our state back. [applause] i came to california about 30 years ago. i grew up in texas. i came to california because it was one of the best places on earth to start a growth company. unfortunately, not any longer. my last company figured out how to put gps receivers into cell phone. i decided a few years ago that i had to leave the private sector behind. i decided to switch gears and

throw in with certain reformers. there's a new revolution coming up. we will take california back. i want to tell everybody who is not from california that it will be an uphill battle. liberalism is planted deep in california. i was walking in palo alto. i was knocking on the door and the door opened and there is a 12-year-old girl standing there. i decided to give a short version of my speech to her. i can tell she recognized me. she had this disgusted look on her face. she put out her hand and stopped me cold. she started to point at me. she said she knew who i m. she said i was a capitalist. [applause]

it was a bit like meeting nancy pelosi has a child. [laughter] ladies and gentleman, guilty as charged. i believe in the free market system down to my bones, like you. [applause] four major reforms at the centerpiece of my campaign for governor are based and individual liberty and free markets. number one, we have to cut taxes across the board in the state of california. i propose 10% cut in sales tax and income taxes. a 50% cut in capital gains taxes. that is what it will take to make california competitive again. [applause] the second is we have to curb the power of public employee unions in the state of california. [applause] i am working with others to pass an initiative that would outlaw using a government computer system to pull money out of

public employee union paychecks to create action committees. we have to get that passed to curb this out of control public employee union power. the third part of the reform agenda is that we have to solve the water problem once and for all in the state of california. some of you come from states where you do not have a water problem but the problem in california will impact everybody. the water problem in california is man-made. 30,000 lost jobs, $1 billion of crop damage, men made because there is one, unelected federal judge who has taken over the water supply in the state of california when i am governor, i will sue this judge and i will take this case to the u.s. supreme court based on the 10th amendment that states have the rights to grow their own resources. [applause] let's hear it for states' rights. we have the right to control our own resources. [applause]

last but not least, this is unpopular but iwe have to stop illegal immigration once and for all. [applause] some people think it is a federal matter. it is not. the governor can do a lot about it. i will turn the magnets off. there are many programs that attract people to california illegally and i will turn those off. i will secure the borders if i have to send the national guard. [applause] i know all of you are concerned about the state of california. there is hope because there are people like ron, chuck and a bunch of us that will take our

great state back. thank you for the invitation to be here. it is great to be any room of conservatives. thank you all very much. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a republican, a conservative candidate for the united states senate against barbara boxer, the boxerchuck devore. [applause] -- the hon. cuck devore >> i am chuck devore and i am running against barbara boxer parted if you think the california cannot impact your state, let me diffuse that. we are the laboratory of every horrific governmental lab experiment in america.

what starts in california spreads to the rest of the nation. sometimes we have good things we get the nation like proposition 13 and ronald reagan. [applause] sometimes we give the nation nancy pelosi and barbara boxer. [boos] we also had a big role in startin progressiveism. hiram johnson was a republican progressive. let me give you one example. in california, we have the california air resources board for this is an unelected body of technocrats that has been charged with regulating the air quality in california. a few years ago, we passed ab 32, the global greenhouse gas reduction initiative. this is california's version of what barbara boxer tried to pass

in the u.s. senate. what the air resources board is doing is destroying california jobs with unelected bureaucrats writing e takes ever-increasing the cost of energy. in energy barbara boxer try to get this passed and the u.s. senate. when she did not, what happened? we saw the u.s. environmental protection agency do the same thing that barbara boxer was working on. what did they do? a classified co2 as a toxin. i am elected officials may be in my case it is true. [laughter] ladies and gentlemen, you must be aware of what happens in california because just like we have helped start waves of freedom with ronald reagan, so, too, have we been the source of freedom and liberty in

progressive liberalism. because we have the fourth highest unemployment rate in the nation, i believe barbara boxer will pay the penalty at the polls this november. [applause] please do not give up on california. do not give up on california. we have 20% of the electoral college vote to let the president. if we elect a governor, if we beat barbara boxer, then barack obama will not return to the white house in 2012. [applause] >> thank you. [music]

>> is everybody still fired up? that was laying. are you still fired up? [applause] are you ready to take back washington from these crazy liberal? [applause] all right, here to introduce john ashcroft, somebody who knows about staying up for common sense and freedom is chris cox, the chief lobbyist and political strategist for the nra are they great or what? he oversees eight divisions of the nra. he is chairman of the nra political victory fund. do you like the sound of that? he grew up hunting and fishing with his father and three brothers and tennessee.

give a warm welcome to chris cox from the nra. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is a poor village for me to introduce our next speaker. in politics, integrity is often sacrificed at the risk of political expediency. that is not the case of our next speaker. this man served at the highest level of government and never was compromised his values. during his 30 years in elected office, as well as four as u.s. attorney general, he proved every day the public service can be carried out with honor. this is a man of great insight and great vision. in 2001,ñrñi seven years beforee u.s. supreme court issued its landmark decision striking down washington, d.c. handgun ban, he changed the official position of the u.s. government and said the second amendment means what it says and assess what it means

and protect an individual right to keep and bear arms. that action not only reversed the previous administration's xdposition, it also set the stae for a victory and more judicial decisions to come. whether as governor, u.s. senator, or attorney-general of united states, this man has always held strong his beliefs and support for our freedom. he has always understood that america's greatness is a result of the freedoms we enjoy and protecting those freedoms must be the primary duty of everyone in public service. friends, please join me in welcoming a true american patriot, john david ashcroft. [applause] >> thank you, thank you very much. wow.

what pleasure it is to be with you. thank you for standing up and sitting back down. [laughter] sometimes, a standing ovation is a cover for a mass exodus started i'm glad to see you are still here and people are still coming in. let me begin by thanking you for coming to washington, d.c. it is part of the genius of america, is part of the uniqueness of this great country here, the people impose their values on government rather than have the government impose its values on the people. [applause] when you come to washington, d.c. two under line your values. it says something special. i want to thank you for doing that. in many ways, america is unique in that respect. while the kings have relaxed their according europe, they

frequently are seen as a privileged elite on the continent. here in america, we rally around the tea. we believe in lincoln that this is government of the people, by the people, and for the people and your being here makes a big difference. i want to thank you for being here. [applause] i know what you are here. i am not totally clear why i am here. i am retired from public service. i had the privilege of doing things that supported liberty and seeked extended around the world. they wanted me to help with the presentation at cpac. i was delighted but i was not sure. we have worked together through the american center for justice

to reinforce the opportunities for people to be free. i was not sure why i was here. i think it over with someone whispering that the reason that ashcroft was brought to the conference is that that cropp is the only person ever to lose his senate seat to a deceased opponent [laughter] he is here to keep the conservatives from getting overconfident too early for the 2010 election. [applause] to not get overconfident too early. keep working hard and long and we will celebrate the victory, not just the victory for conservatives or republicans, but a victory for the united states of america and for freedom at the end of this year. keep the intensity up and keep the energy up. [applause] with your permission, i would like to spend a few minutes to talk to you about the core

value, the transcendent core value of american exceptionalism. i mean that america is different. i reject the notion that america should become like the rest of the world or that we have to mimic europe or some other country or some other jurisdiction. [applause] my grandparents came to the united states to find a place that was rife with opportunities and respected human dignity and would reward innovation and productivity more profoundly than other -- other settings. i want america to be an exceptional place. i believe it is exceptional because of the respect and regard we have for this prime value of liberty in our culture. [applause] among the most profound individuals to recognize the value of liberty in the american

culture was emma lazarus, the woman who both -- wrote the poetry that graces the base of the statue of liberty. you probably learned it in the fifth grade. " give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses. send the homeless to me. i lift my lamp beside the golden door." [applause] it dawned on me that i love the poetry because i like the rhythm and the way it sounds. it dawned on me one day that she did not say "give me your american scholarship winners. she did not say that if you go to yale or columbia, you need not apply. it did not matter who came. the chemistry, if you will, of freedom is so powerful that breed in itself and its impact

on humanity will change the environment into an environment of productivity. it changes the also-ran into champions and that is the point that i want to make. freedom is an essential, a core value that transcends all other values at the heart of the american experience of being the best place for anybody no matter what your beliefs from mark is, no matter what you're back ethnic background is, this is the best place to be because it rewards human dignity and productivity and productivity. -- and creativity. we believe in liberty here. [applause] when i was the attorney general, there were serious threats and there were carried out against united3÷ states not to be understated in any way. people talk about the need to balance liberty and security. i reject the formulation of

balancing liberty and security. i do not believe that anything stands to be balanced against freedom. i don't think it needs a counterweight. when we talk about security, i think we should ask, to secure what? the purpose of security is to reinforce and enhanced freedom. when we are talking about security, we are talking about something that enhances or elevate freedom. does not something that competes with freedom or stance as a counterweight to freedom. it is, indeed, something that makes our freedom usable and valuable. it is some again as our capacity to live as free people, to be productive and that human dignity that the creator intended us to have money created boss. us. [applause]

liberty is the transition to a core value of american life. and american exceptionalism. freedom is a broader category of opportunity than it has ever been before and is under a broader and more profound attack than it has ever been before. many of us take for granted our freedom to travel or par ability to communicate, our opportunities that come with modernity. we really are free and lots of ways that people have not been at any time in history. with the rise in technology, there has also been a rise in lethality. there are greater threats than we have never before witnessed in the history of this country. some of you have read david

mccullough's book, 1776." the british thought that if the winds don't change, they would land in an hour or two. and then they will make an attack on a spread it took a nation to attack a nation then. the delivery time for lethality was rather slow. it was as if they'd said to run down to starbucks and have a cup of coffee before the attack. you can put the podium in a room like this with full of the most dangerous explosivesçó and you could set off and you would kill some people in the room. yes, the rest might be injured.

today, the lethality of modernity has imposed upon us the necessity of safeguarding against an infringement of our freedoms that could include a destructive capacity of a bomb to be detonated, placed in a container this big that would not just destroy the lives of a few people in the room. it could vaporize an entire city. the requirement for us to be careful about freedom and to be circumspect in how we treated and to safeguard, is elevated significantly. at one time, we could only threaten another nation but now we know that a very few people, releasing chemical agents or evil biology might threaten the very existence or success of a cultured. we know the threats are very substantial. we have this context of knowing and understanding the value of

freedom. we know that freedoms have been expanded significantly. we know the threats to freedom have capitalized on technology to make it very difficult to defend against it. it places before us significant challenges. i would go to my third point in that respect and that is that whenever we seek to defend freedom, we do so in a way that enlarges our freedom. if our freedom is not worth more after we engage in a policy of trying to secure it, we should end the policy. it by seeking to defend freedom, we shrink it, instead of having a greater freedom than we would otherwise have, we have lost the battle that is important to us. i would propose this, rather than trying to have a

counterbalance to freedom with the idea of security, we understand that security is to enrich freedom. i think it would be a good test anywhere in ever -- in our governmental system if we are proposing does not mean we will have better -- a better outcome for freedom with the policy that without a, we should not have the policies. freedom is the core value that means some much to the united states of america. when a white carpet wrote into dodge, he did not have to go through a night -- when wyatt earp rode in to dodge, he did not have to go through a magnetometer. i believe it is a valuable thing to have airport security. it makes my freedom worth more

if i can actually exercise it in safety benefit couldn't. i believe that is the kind of test we need to have. do we have, as a result of the things we seek to do for security, a freedom which is richard, enhanced, and worth more than a free and we might have if we didn't? i submit that there is another little refinement that we should engage in is a refinement that comes out of the technical jargon of law. when serious rights are involved, we measure things by a test we call the strict scrutiny test for it means that we taylor whatever we do in that arena as narrowly as possible. with that narrow tailoring, we make sure we have as limited an impact on the rights that we are seeking to secure. i believe that for policy

reasons, that would be a good guideline that whenever we are seeking to enlarge and and has an safeguard our freedom, we do it in such a way it is as limited as possible so that we maximize the outcome of liberty at the end of the day. let me close with a fourth point about freedom and thank you for your attention. the defense of freedom requires an integrity and vocabulary and it requires a kind of transparency in policy. i believe this is essential for our success. when defending freedom, if you refuse to call a war a war, you are on likely to be able to defend it successfully. [applause]

if the terrorist is making war on you, and you refused to confess that you were at war with the terrorist when you make a response, you might limit your response improperly so that you do not have success in preserving and protecting the liberty which we all know should be protected. [applause] in the arena of the war on terror, let me say that there are a variety of ways we can undertake our effort to secure the american people. included in those ways are the primal laws that the united states normally and forces on its shores but also to the extent that we are at war, we have the ability and i believe we have the duty sometimes to respond with a mechanism and capacity of war rather than to put our head in the sand and think we are not at war or have

failed to consider whether we are at war because we are in love with a vocabulary of the civil justice system. [applause] let me indicate that when i was attorney general, we have the opportunity to deal with terrorists multiply in different ways. that range of opportunities should be available to every president of united states. it should be understood and vocabulary should be avoided that would prejudice -- avoid the vocabulary that prejudice is the nation against doing what it needs to do in order to protect the people of this country. [applause] one of the impact of the increasing lethality that we understand is part of modernity is that very small groups of

people can have a very disastrous impact. it is important that you consider them very carefully. i believe that prevention must continue to be our priority, especially when those who would seek to harm us plan to destroy themselves in the perpetration of the event. it is important that we not have a vocabulary that excludes treating acts of war as acts of war. we consider the potential of using the capacities of war when we are at war so as to limit the kinds of jeopardy in which we find the citizens of this great country. [applause] let me quickly close. in the middle ages, there were a group of folks call the alchemists. i don't know why the seventh

grade is ingrained in my mind. these were guys who were battling around with base metals, copper, bronze, lead, things like that and i thought it they could mix them together right or sprinkle pixie dust on them that they could change base metal into gold. do you remember that? that was their whole idea. they will be rich as soon as they do that. in the ninth grade, we get to the periodic table which was all the stuff about the fundamental elements of the universe. we learned that you cannot do that. i submit to you that there is an alchemy in human existence. there is a special substance, there is a pixie dust, if you will, that changes the ordinary into the extraordinary, that changes the also rans in two

world leaders. it changed -- changes the base into the elite. the chemistry that is involved is the chemistry of liberty. i am back to the first point i made. liberty is the core value of american exceptionalism. we must seek to safeguard it at every turn and whenever we operate in a universe to try and save guarded, we have to make sure we do so as carefully as possible and never do anything that does not expand and enhance the liberty would otherwise have. when we do that, we reinforce this concept that there is an alchemy in human existence. ordinary people become extraordinary and do extraordinary things in the environment and the presence of liberty and freedom. that is what the purpose of self-government in america is about, to safeguard that liberty, to put the self- interest of every individual, to

have to operate in the universal governance. there are folks in governor -- there are folks in government who would impose their will on the people and should be awakened maybe by an election in massachusetts, maybe even a special election, which would bring the belt and say this country is not a place where those in washington imposed on the people what they do not desire. this is a place where the people of the united states come together to tell their leaders of what they do desire and to enshrine the freedom that has made this nation great. thank you very much. [applause] . .

>> joining me is the president of ati news to present a defender of constitution award. please stay in your seats. this gentleman is the author of 11 books, producer of 11 television series including shows on ronald reagan and pope john paul the second. this man is one of the most creative and experienced

observers on the political scene. big welcome to him. [applause] >> here on the podium is a document signed before we had xerox's of one of the founders of this country. each year we have given an outstanding supporter of freedom. general ashcroft ask you in the beginning why he was here. i think you heard from his speech why he is here. [applause] we are presenting this document

because he has left you a legacy. that legacy is freedom. we ran a poll that said do you feel safer today when you fly under barack obama than you did under george bush backs the numbers were 21% safer under obama, 36% safer under bush. this man is the reason 36% felt they were safer under bush. of what like [inaudible] because he told you in the introduction why we are honor ing general ashcroft. the document is signed by one of our founding fathers. most of you who go to college don't hear anything about our founding fathers, or george

washington or thomas jefferson, both of whom were close friends. you certainly don't hear about those others who were founding fathers. he edmund randolph -- he was a close friend of thomas jefferson. when jefferson became president he turned over his clients to this gentleman. he is the former governor of virginia and is the man most responsible for virginia ratifying the constitution. it was his support that vote -- that brought that ratification about. the reason we selected this man is he was the first attorney general of the u.s. general ashcroft has carried on the tradition he started, because he was the first man to

represent america when he came to the question of the constitution of the bill of rights. those freedoms he got for us in american courts has been carried on by general ashcroft in leading this country a wonderful set of freedoms it is hard for the other side to destroy. general ashcroft. [applause]

>> attorney general john ashcroft, a defender of the constitution award. thank you very much. [applause] you are in for a great trait. this is a power panel of all power panels. the chief counsel for the american center of law and justice. an organization that focuses on constitutional law, several cases argued before the supreme court to become part of the legal landscape in religious liberty litigation. [unintelligible] recognized him as one of the top lawyers for religious freedom in the u.s. "time" magazine called him one of the most influential evangelicals.

his organization, a powerful counterweight to the aclu. given up for dr. jay seculo. [applause] >> it is great to be here. we are excited about this. the issue will be the [unintelligible] we had a great panel. let me have them come on out. the good thing about being a discursive -- being a conservative, you can disagree and still have a spirited discussion. i have zero relationship with lots of folks from all lot of different venues. general ashcroft will be coming up for concluding remarks. congressman bob barr from georgia. he was my congressman for some

time. also, dubbed by the "new york times" as mr. privacy. he has a law degree from georgetown university. congressman dan lundgren, a graduate of georgetown law school, former attorney general and great leader. thank you for being with us. we were talking about this earlier. we were trying to figure out where in california. the people in california are fortunate to have him as a congressman. the the former governor of virginia, gov. gilmore and attorney general for virginia. he has been awarded many awards,

but served on the 9/11 commission. he was on the terrorist task force on the attacks on the pentagon. former u.s. assistant attorney general for legal policy. also, as a lawyer sometimes you need a counselor. we are fortunate we have one of my colleagues from the american center of law and justice. he is a 22 year veteran of the u.s. army, a graduate of west point and johns hopkins. welcome all of these great panelists. [applause] of want to read something quickly, the first aircraft of the constitution says we the people established justice,

provide for the common defense, secure the blessings of liberty to ourselves. it seems like under the constitution there was not a conflict between liberty and the security. is there a conflict, whether it is the patriot act? do we try detainee's as criminals? general ashcroft touched on that as well. let me also say, as we look at the issues ahead, these are issues that affect all of us. we have an order we are supposed to be going in which seems to have disappeared. i think we are starting off with congressman barr.

>> thank you for the opportunity to permit me to appear on such a distinguished panel before a distinguished audience. i had the opportunity to do something the pressures of running an office rarely permit. i had the opportunity to go to a movie. it was a damn good movie called "the book of eli." it is relevant for talking about the constitution. that document just mentioned in his kind introductory remarks. without disclosing many details of the movie, it stands for the proposition that words have meaning. in our constitution it is more

than written words, but represents the confluence of the written word and principles. when you bring those two together -- when you print harmful words and principles together, words change. that is what happened when we brought goes together. let us take that lesson, words matter. we cannot forget them. we have something that nobody else has come even those in the united kingdom. loveless speaking their last week it many students -- i was speaking there last week. many students said they do not have o-- bay wish that they hada

written constitution. we have a written constitution here, we have the world's changed for the better, but we are in danger by overemphasizing security over freedom and liberty [applause] let me conclude by citing an individual. he was not a founding father. he said, and i quote directly. i wish those in the white house and congress to listen up. every act of government must be approved if it makes for them more secure and disapprove if it offers security instead of

freedom. ronald reagan spoke those words in 1967. they reflect his understanding of liberty and security and privacy of -- security comes. but if you allow our government to trump liberty and freedom would security, then we are not being true to our founding fathers were the greatest president in modern history. let us remember him and not be seduced by security over freedom. freedom always prevails. >> thank you congressman. >> your opening comments. >> during my years in public

service, i have attempted to try to understand how we preserve our freedom and at the same time how do we give our sessoms -- citizens and a modicum of security. i recall when i was in congress i carried ronald reagan's crime control act. the democrats refused to consider it. there i believe that the democratic leadership misunderstood the proper role of government in protecting people from those who would do them harm. in that case it was dealing with domestic crime. now we are confronted by a new enemy, in a trance national

organization not to find a the boundaries of the nation state but dedicated to the proposition they wish to destroy what we are. i believe the president has made an error when he attempted to describe this. i firmly believe those with al qaeda hate us and wish to destroy us not because of guantanamo bay but because of the statue of liberty. they hate everything it represents and yet we cannot stand by and say they wish to attack us but there is nothing we can do. many to be precise in the terms of the tools we establish for the purpose of protecting those who are americans. i believe we have done that.

the last administration confronted by a phenomenon never confronted before, a foe that does not wish to gain territorial prices. their idea is not to extend the battlefield by geographic success, but to destroy what we are because they believe that is antithetical to what they are. we have tried to define in any combat and is. we have to determine how we try these individuals. not a civilian trial in new york city for khalid shaikh mohammed. we have before us the patriot act with provisions that the

need to be considered. they were scheduled to sunset at the end of last year. we passed a short extension which will sunset at the end of this month. they were put in long by me because it was appropriate for us to consider how they work applied but long -- how they were applied by law. the congress and the president to not -- have not accepted leadership that requires you to decide what the priorities are, what is the difference between the wants and needs? when we have a question whether those tools will be available, that ought to be front and center not something to be

kicked down the street. it goes to the core function of government to provide security so that we can exercise our freedoms as recognized in the constitution. >> governor gilmore, you chaired the governor -- your sense on this balance of freedom and liberty. >> i am delighted to be back here. of went to a movie the other night. i am from a little town in virginia. i went to see the "wolf man" because i thought it was about my home town. it was about people attacked in the middle of the night so i thought it was about congress.

my in a person who has always believed in the maximum liberty of the american people. that is the reason i have always participated in public affairs. i was against the stimulus program and bailouts because it would mean higher taxes. this topic today is a difficult balance between security and liberty. congressman lundgren has addressed to me patriot act. it was adopted in a time after 9/11 andy was the beginning of the security society. some of it is just findç -- soe of it is just fine. you can have warrants but always

subject to judicial review. sometimes things are not so good. what happens if you have a government official that can issue a subpoena all by himself? do you care whether it is a republican or democrat in charge? we have to always have these safeguards. jñwhat kind of country do we wa3 it uses every toolkit can to fix problems. thereç isçççççt(xd a drivr tools we can get to fix a problem. çy technological society. would you feel differently walking across your home town if

you knew you were being watched? ççwhat if we had açd8 systemç total information and awareness where they could lookçóçi]çw3 t everybody's data? ç ability to live in a free society? -- would that chillç your abily to live in a free society? recently we saw there was information now being sought by the fbi. they want to know whatt( every person's web site is they go to. would you like that? say to you i would be aware of those peoplebymç who ask you to redefine liberty in order to satisfy issues of security? [applause]

i say to you that there can be no trade-off. we have to have a security and liberty. they cannot be traded one for the other. >> but in addition to your work at georgetown and service as along clerk for the supreme court, you were the attorney general at the department of justice and played a key role in developing the patriot act. has it been successful in this balance between liberty and security? >> the answer is unequivocally yes. that is why the congress despite success of sun sets, has

unanimously reaffirmedw3 the powers grantedu!td by congressn çthey are necessary. they can be itç is,; and when y are we will bringçç abusersì(+ accountability. that is what we asked for in our system of government. i agree with the government -- agree with governor kill more that the end of government is xdççççoknot security but li- agree with governorçç gilmore. they are not even equal. read the constitution and know where is day guarantee of security. we assume it to me [unintelligible] we can never balance it off or even think of them as coexisting

preconditions of a society. security is there to serve the ends of liberty. what do we mean by liberty? do we mean unbridled licensed or structured freedom? when edmund burke said the only liberty i need is one associated with virtue that cannot exist at all without them. [applause] freedom without responsibility, at liberty without order is unbridled license. that is not true liberty at all. that is the task of government, when our liberty is a challenge. when al qaeda destroyed the

building to provide a structure so allç ofç us can exercise o] çwe need to rebuild and defend our structure of liberty. ççthat is the task we are facd with. everyone in this debate is in it together. we had differences of opinion and how it is done, but the difference of opinion is much less than the devin says between the last administration and this one. bob barr is right when he says words have meaning. i also submit that actions have consequences. when is the "washington post" that runs on its front page that executions of terrorist targets

have increased under obama and under bush. and the president and vice president expounds the fact they are successful in war. why had executions increased? that does not mean they are not a legitimate. we have every right in a war to kill the other side's warriors , but at what cost? the only option we have is to kill them before we can detain them. [applause] if we don't detain them, we don't know what they know. actions have consequences. arguments about law of the real meaning in terms of human lives. >> thank you very much. [applause]

>> i have asked him to make comments because of his service in the army. he does a lot of work with general ashcroft. it would be important for you to address -- it is critical from a person in the military costs point of view. >> of want to tell you what it looks like from the perspective of a soldier. national security looks a lot different from a fox hole event in washington. we had men and women be risking their lives for us, sitting in cold weather willing to give their lives for us and are very well-informed about what is going on. they are doing their part in the national security equation, but they are wondering why our

government wants to try enemy combatants in federal district courts to give them rights those same soldiers could not get if they were tried in military tribunals. [applause] they also wonder why this is happening when it is not required by law. they wonder why we would release from guantanamo bay people to re-enter the battlefield. we have to meet them again. they wonder why we provide the enemy combatants with lawyers. they wonder why a jihad army psychologist was not captured from the army long before he created a massacre. [applause] these are real problems. they also wonder what the

president cannot admit that the u.s. is in a long-term war with any jihadists who seek to destroy us [applause] . my perspective is this, they are doing their part of broad very successfully. -- doing their part abroad. they wonder whether the war is lost here in the u.s., and wondered what we are doing. it seems the most important question is -- and nobody wants to take away liberties, but they are wondering, when are we going to develop policies where all of us have a responsibility back here on the home front. they want to know what we are

going to do. i think this panel will be very reflective of that. >> i want to get everybody's comments on this. if it is great to be able to ask questions this time. here i am relishing every moment of being able to ask questions. the supreme court says it is of this no governmental interest is more compelling than the security of the nation. let's talk about enemy combatants vs criminals. to recapture osama bin laden on the battlefield and say you have the right to remain silent? that is easy for us to say, but i will start with the governor gilmore. should these individuals being captured that are terrorists be

treated as criminals within the civil system or as an enemy combatants? >> lun will give the audience something to think about. i have tried cases all my life. let's take two different groups. one art enemy combatants on the battlefield. you cannot try them in a civil court because you cannot get evidence. what if the person commits a crime in a civil setting? all these people are enemy combatants. they are all organized to do harm to the u.s. for political reasons. what kind of moral aggravation do you want to attach to the

person? if they are an enemy combat in , what do you want to say to that tribal leader? what do you want to say to their family? do you want to say your son was an enemy combatant and killed a child for no reason? he was participating in need jihad and is therefore a martyr? do you want to say to that family, this young man is a criminal, he killed a child. he violated laws of every civilized country and we should try him as a criminal and should hang him in the public square? [applause] i would only suggest that if you do that you take away the dignity of a combatant. >> here is the national --

natural follow-up question. the idea you would try them as civilians and declare them engaged in criminal enterprise. doesn't that present obstacles for national security? if i was khalid shaikh mohammed's lawyer i would say, but speedy trial, all those statements i made, i am glad i did it. not admissible. >> what rights are they permitted were required to have under the constitution? we made a fundamental mistake if we believe you have constitutional rights when you're only connection to the u.s. is we captured you trying to kill us. the battlefield has been expanded such that it may be in u.s. territory, as what occurred

on christmas day. i would take the council of former attorney general casey who presided over the first terrorist trials and said there is nothing objectionable to commit an individual to detention by our military, subject them to intensive interrogation and the sometimes enhanced interrogation. and at that point in time get information to allow you to protect against further attacks. secondly, if after you have done that you believe there is reason to try them, then you make a determination whether it is civilian paramilitary. in almost every instance it would be better to be military

because they can handle the issues of evidence, national security much better than in the civilian court. >> congressman barr, your view on this issue of civilian forces enemy combatants. >> in 1996 we passed a law called the anti-terrorism death penalty act. a primary purpose of passing that law was to address situations that could crop up in which you would have someone commit an act of terrorism over u.s. territory. either we believe as lawmakers that there is value in laws or we don't. if we say we passed this to

address the activity of this idiot on that airline on christmas day, what he tried to do. if we pass a law designed to provide penalties and the procedure for bringing him to justice in the securing the death penalty, then use the lun lun, but we should not allow our leaders -- then use the law. military tribunal does not necessarily have better lawyers than the civilian sector. i had more faith in our u.s. attorney's who are nonpolitical. we should try them. that is what our law provides for. in the first time we've are faced with the situation we want them to torture them for awhile,

but water boarding is torture. try that. >> what did i say in the beginning? this is the value of being a conservative. we can agree to disagree. here is a little bit of disagreement. if i was defending one of these guys i would rather be defending it in a civilian court. but i want to hear from the professor from georgetown who served and the office of the attorney general and was significant in the patriot act. your view on this. >> i think congressman barr's implication of the act passed in 1996 is rhetorical but not relevant.

since then there have been other loss, one is the authorization for military force. to try unlawful and the combatants. also, the detainee treatment act which reaffirmed converse statement -- reaffirmed congress' statement. yes, we can use this to try war criminals just as the nuremberg commission tried the not cease -- tried the nazis. just as every president has used

military commissions to try unlawful enemy combatants. the president had the opportunity and legal right to try war criminals in civilian court if he wants. that is his right as the chief law-enforcement officer. he is subject to the accountability the democratic process puts on our leaders. you have to justify why it is better to give khalid shaikh mohammed all the rights of an american despite the only land they have to america is basic to kill us. -- despite the fact the only link they have to america is to kill us. i don't know what a defense lawyer would do in civilian court in defending khalid shaikh mohammed, because i have not

seen a criminal indictment of khalid shaikh mohammed or any other enemy combat and. >> they make a statement -- i said this in another context. there was a lot of things the president said he would do about the war. he is getting briefings at 7:00 in the morning. it is easy to say what you will do when you are not getting those briefings. in the context of the military trial versus civilian court, you served in the military. and the fact you said that our military -- they areç brought there when they are tried and they are u.s. citizens. >> the system is a very fair. there are certain things it does not have come up for instance

trial by jury. you have panels. it seems to me we provide additional resources to people who have tenuous ties to america that we don't apply to our own people. it seems to me that is wrong. [applause] of one to get everybody's response. it was reported some arabic speaking soldiers may have been plotting to poison the food supply in south carolina. should the u.s. considered constricting investments -- constricting innocence of muslim soldiers in the military? not all muslims are terrorists, but there is a issue that some terrorists are muslim. how do you view this as

governor? this is becoming an issue. how does that role play? do you do those kinds of checks? >> i am not sure what your asking. if you are suggesting somehow people in the muslim faith should not be permitted to join the army, i don't agree with that. i don't think there is a thing wrong with making sure people taking the oath to serve the u.s. are ballot to that both and their conduct -- serve the u.s. are valid to that. i know what it is to serve my country. i understand full well that people in the service will be subject to the military code. if they break the law they will

be tried as such. >> not all muslims are terrorists, but if someone that is muslim in lists in the military, how appropriate is it to find out who they are listening to know -- who they are listening to? [unintelligible] >> background checks on all enlisted men? >> including the they are talking to. >> not unless there is some suspicion. [applause] >> i would handle it the same way you would if it were someone who was a christian white supremacist. we would have trouble accepting that person in the service because of concern how they would act. is not their religion, it is

their attitude that is legitimate cause for concern. as we did not do with major hasan, the evidence is we had every morning he had a distorted vision of what islam -- we have every warning he had a distorted vision of what islam was. if that is not grounds for knocking someone out of the military, i don't know what is. >> how deede can you go to check who they are? >> only people who are u.s. citizens should serve in the military. secondly, i think our military personnel should not be disarmed while they are on military bases [applause] . we ought to rescind the

directive that president clinton issued in 1993 that disarms military on military bases. clearly there is a provable relationship between those of a radical muslim faith and their allegiance to this country that is something that ought to be looked into. the political correctness that prohibits this is asinine and is killing us. [applause] >> your thoughts on that. >> i have served with soldiers who were muslims and they were fined soldiers, but the situation has changedç since 9/11. we need to be diligent in looking what soldiers are doing. as a commander you are responsible for your soldiers. it is becoming more and.

if given the fact the rattle of -- radical islam. >> the patriot act you were heavily involved in putting that forward and working with congress. how effective has it been in the war on terror or preventing terror? a lot of people don't like calling it the war on terror. >> there have been a number of reports not only from the fbi, but those who investigate the fbi who have gone through a comprehensive review and can pinpoint specific uses where it has been effective at uncovering terrorist plots. that is common sense. there are only a certain number

of tools you have in fighting a two-front war. abroad you have more actual killing. to divide the two areas you have immigration enforcement. what is the common link among all three functions fax all the patriot act did was authorized law-enforcement to use lawful authority to gather information about terrorist plots and allow intelligence authorities [unintelligible] in order to gather intelligence to aid military function. it is a fairly straightforward set of tools to effectuate the goals inflicted upon us. a relevant question is where is

the dividing line between information for domestic law enforcement and intelligence for wartime purposes? çthat is a longstanding subjecs of law. congress explicitly authorized the use of certain functions in aid of criminal investigations that have intelligence purposes. the courts find it perfectly constitutional becauseç the sae terrorists are conducting operations here andç abroad. >> gov. bill ward, you have been serving -- governor gilmore, your sense ofxd the affected ths of the patriot act.

>> it has been affected as long we need to make sure tools are properly circumscribe to protect all citizens. the patriot act cannot become a gateway through which government invasion becomes a reality. [applause] in terms of the ability to do these investigations, i think it is a good law. >> i suspect there are portions you don't like. >> you are correct. çlet me identify very succincty those things in particular with regard to theç reauthorizet(t( provisions of the patriot act. the sky will fall if we don't reauthorize provisions. it will not fall.

by making a few simple changesó we bring it into conformity withç the constitution and bill of rights. [applause] çw3w3çççw3ui sayu! this to n the otherv:çt(çç[çqçqç sma,e asking forçfáokçç is there th aok linkçç between a governm's effort to secure information on usç and suspicion we have done something wrong. t(that is all we are askingñr te cooperated into the patriot act. i want to knowvom why lawyers ad citizens who consider themselves to be conservative, why they would have problems with the government to have a reasonable suspicion you have done something wrong before it can tap your telephones. [applause] >> you have been involved in

congress and at interest based processes. hat is your sense? do you think it is serving its purpose? >> i do think it is serving its purpose. çyçççthe great protection at abuses is the obligation of congress to do proper oversight. people should put more pressure on the congress to have consistent oversight hearings. when we were in the majority held extensive oversight hearings after the passage of the patriot act. we have gone through those sections and satisfied ourselves with the language is inappropriate to the different techniques being used for different information asked for. there are different levels of it. some of it goes to content and

you have higher scrutiny, but if you ask has this been successful? yes, because of our oversight hearings, we have looked at how it has been applied and how many times it has been used. we have had the inspector general of the justice department review these things and the inspector general for the fbi. have we brought those responsible for mistakes up to the hill and put pressure on them? the answer is yes. the protection is in the congress and ought to put more pressure on congress to have çqmore oversight hearings to ensure these protections are

being enforced. >> i see you are shaking your head. >> i don't think i do agree. i don't think the oversight belongs with the hearings. it is the rule itself that must be constitutional. [applause] it is the rule, and restraints themselves -- it is the rule and restrains them cells. -- restraints themselves. >> of course we agree the roles should be, but on oversight it is -- the idea we turn moreover to lead the judiciary is something i object. çit is shared responsibilities. the idea the courts are in

better position to decide how we fight theç war, i think is a misreading of the constitution. i don't think that is conservative. >> each panelist will get two minutes. i will ask a general question. how do you assess the current administration's execution of the war on terror? john ashcroft will be joining us in a moment. your assessment. >> they are no john ashcroft. [laughter] clouds that was quick. you don't have any closing comments? -- >> that was quick. >> sometimes more is less. quote time flies when you are having fun.

-- time flies when you are having fun. john ashcroft is a great attorney general. if you doubt that, go back to look at the record with the consternation he has suffered [unintelligible] and the praise he got since he m been out of office for the policies that have come to light. because all of us who served withç him were. mindful -- were very mindful that we do our job to defend the constitution. that is ultimately our job. last time i was here congressman barr reminded us of the great works of ronald reagan. that we as americans have a rendezvous with destiny.

i believe that we do. i think the greatest legacy america kids to the world -- america gives to the world is our ideas. tomorrow you have a panel of freedom under tyranny. just a couple decades ago i could be on that panel as a refugee from communist vietnam. i can speak from experience that the tyranny was a threat to american democracy just as the tyranny of terror is a threat to our american democracy at this time. [applause] i am here as an american

afforded the opportunity you have given me and all the freedom-loving people of the world, because this generation has paid the price and shown the commitment to defend liberty. now just as then, the same commitment america asks of us, and it is our turn to answer that call. thank you very much. [applause] >> governor gilmore, your final comments. >> i think when we deal with an enemy combat and in a foreign country that the rules get easier, but when you are dealing with a war on terror for invasion by terrorists, it becomes more difficult. i will not stand for the suspension of our freedom because we will be under attack by these people.

i want to say one more thing, there have been a lot of partisan speeches here. the liberty of the u.s. is not the possession of republicans or the democrats, but of every american. we should remember that as conservatives here and people watching any ofthis, the rightss of the american people belong to each one of us as an american citizen. our obligation is to protect it. i am going to read a quote. "-- this is very important. i]"give liberty a new birth, not only in the midst of war, but in the very darkest hours of that war. we must keep ourç freedoms, in the face of foreign dangers, even more tenaciously then and more calm times. it is our live -- it is our

liberty that anchors our efforts in timeless things. these are the challenges ahead of us." >> congressman. -÷ft. john ashcroft is a friend of mine. eric holder is no john ashcroft. [applause] >> the september 11 commission observed there is nothing more likely to endanger liberties than the success of a terrorist attack at home. if we were to fail to do what is necessary to forestall another september 11, we might see a backlash in this country that would take away our constitutional liberties. that is why it is our obligation

to ensure that does not happen. we to protect both liberties and security. i do not think it is an internal contradiction. i think we can do it. our constitution allows us to defend ourselves. it gives us carefully crafted balances among the three separate sections of our government. it seems to me that we can work effectively. i would also echo the words of supreme court justice jackson when he said "remember the constitution is not a suicide pact." >> he said that. congressman barr. >> we have mentioned a lot of names today including the former attorney general who i know, appreciate and call a friend as well. we've talked about the congress

of the united states which began long run -- which dan lundgren feels is the best institution to decide our civil liberties. i would put more stock in the chief justice's bat recently decided the citizens in that its case. i also would have to say that stacked up against any of the folks that we have mentioned here today, i side with ronald reagan. ronald reagan got it. he understood the dangers. hónderstood the danger our founding fathers faced when they crafted the bill of rights as strict limitations on government, including limitations on the president of the united states. they were crafted when they were facing a more severe threat than

we are facing today. they were facing a threat by the greatest military power on the face of the earth. they understood and believed, as i believe ronald reagan understood that in order to preserve, protect and defend those liberties, which is the primary job of the president, not secured, but to preserve, protect and defend the constitution of the united states of america, but in order to do that we have to limit government and go down the road that folks would not have us go. the president can call himself the commander in chief and order that any citizen can be surveyed. i stand with the attorney general. >> it is appropriate that we will have closing comments from

former attorney general john ashcroft did a lot of the policies he has been dealing with have been discussed. does that not speak wellç when the debate like this, all ofç s have taken notice despite our roles and positionsç have taken an oath to defend the constitution of the united states. that is the beauty of our system, the very system terrorists are trying to destroy. if we need to realize that we can debate and discuss these issues, and disagree in aggressively, but wew3 can say that liberty is the key to democracy. how you balance that? congressman barr, a very good friend of mine, i am encouraged that john roberts is chief justice of the united states. what if it was not?

w3that is where a constitutional republic comes into play. i think it is appropriate that we welcome back onto the stage a our former attorney general and a distinguished professor and a distinguished fellow, john ashcroft. [applause] >> thankw3 you. >> thank you barry much. please be seated. that is very kind of you. i cannot imagine anything that would be more pleasing to the founding fathers of the united states of america them the kind of robust, transparent argument and discussion about these issues. [applause] >> i think thatxd is what the unitedç states of america is al about. we all have as our role models those who have gone before a

spread the governor mentioned justice jackson and quoted elegantly what he said about liberty and freedom. justin jackson was also a part of the court when the german saboteurs came into florida on the 15th of june and they were executed before the 15th of august with the approval of the united states supreme court by military commission. two of them claimed citizenship in the united states. the court said that does not make a difference. justice jackson, while he understood liberty, he also understood the necessity to defend it. nothing like that has happened. i'm not sure that i'm very proud of the wayç things happened. let me assure you that that is not the kind of activity that has been undertaken in recent çdays because it need noti] be.

we ought to be careful in what we do in the defense of this country we ought to recognize that the courts of the united states do over c.s. and they have the final word i do not think there are any things in the patrick act that arew72 not subject in the patriot act that are not subject to the supervision. if you want to resist an administrative subpoena, and there are about 300 instances in the united states for all kinds of things, you can resist it and go to court and have it litigate it. this is a country where the rights of citizens are regarded. i will not guarantee that the courts will say what they have said in the past. there are times when the supreme court has set aside what we did.

it is interesting to me that 11 out of the 12th courtç of appes justices that ruled on four court cases where the supreme court set aside what the department of justice has done, agreed with what the justice department has done. it is only when you get to the supreme court where they have a significant commitment to law being grown. we live with that. we are a society that believes in the rule of law. we need to ask that we believe in the rule of law and not just the will of lawyers. we need to ask the court announced course that our region rules that are intelligible and consistent -- rules that are

intelligible and consistent. there's nothing as paralyzing as uncertainty. i want to thank each member of this panel for what they have said and what they said -- for what they said and for what they have done. >> i think my time is up. i think her time has passed. [laughter] [applause] >> let me conclude with one remark. i was honored to receive a rewardq+n for defending the constitution. i would also say that the defender should not be the expect -- the exception, it should be expected.

that is what each of these fine american patriots has done by participating in this discussion about the rights and civil liberties that defined american freedom. it is the transcendent core value of american life. it is what makes us different. it is what makes this country home of the brave and land of the fray. everyone reaches their maximum god-given potential. >> joinç me in thanking this entire panel. very good. ♪

♪ >> wow. was that a panel or what? i would think so. i do not believe they were staring at monitors. they were actually thinking and talking, and sharing from their hearts. i am larry ross. i host a national -- i am laurie ross. i host a national radio talk show. i love my country. i am a survivor. i was nearly killed in a motorcycle wreck.

i was too rude to die. i did not care about that option. here is what is left of me. i still have an attitude. are you not relieved. the president said he killed more terrorists in his first year than bush did in 2008. i was reviewing his first year to see how much of a terrorist operator is he. it was not weeks before he got into the white house that he gave $900 million to hamas. i thought that was attractive. he goes on to ensure that -- he immediately backed the left. i am thinking in james bond

moment. then we see the fog who tried to destroy -- the fog that tried to destroy the air plan on christmas he was golfing and could not respond for 32 hours. çi guess that is not a big dea. then, the islamic radical, the scottish highlander who grew up 14 people. what did obama say? do not rushed to judgment. that is an islamic radical on ag hot. hello? is anyone home? he has killed a lot terrorists. all right, and then. tim is the son of a retired marine corps officer.

he has been called all types of things. he lives in san diego, california. he has been married for 22 years. he has two children. tim is a golf course superintendent with over 25 years of experience. that is nothing. i was called a golfing terrorist. it is just grass. i learned differently. qhe holds offices. he has served on a number of committees with his national association. he has also managed golf facilities, located in northern san diego county. he also enjoys colonial and military history. he has quite the guy.

he is going to introduce represented darrell issa. give him a hand. [applause] ♪ >> ladies and gentleman in its a great privilege for me to be here today. as we continue to set a course set more than 30 years ago when see pack for started, as a california -- california, i take pride that my former governor was there. believe it or not, there is still a strong conservative base in california that reflects ronald reagan. limited government, low taxes, strong national defense, and the right of every america -- every american to know what the

government is doing with their money. çkomy congressman in carolina n california's 49th district it is darrell issa. he serves as the chief government watchdog, protecting the american tax dollars. if there is one thing that this administration needs, it is a watchdog. he has led numerous investigations into the waste of so-called stimulus money. he has gone after medicare fraud and a staggering waste of taxpayer money across a bureaucracy. he has been in the front lines against acorn exposing house senior members of the obama administration have worked hand- in hand to launder federal money.

he has been called timothy geithner's tormentor. because of his oversight. others have called him a thorn in the side of the dam project of the democratic-controlled congress. -- democrat-controlled congress. i'm very proud to have him as my congressman. i lived in a neighborhood with retired navy seals. oceanside, california is right there. it is a wonderful place to live. i am awful safe in that neighborhood. it is really nice to be there. it is my pleasure to be introducing him today. i want everybody to know. if you did not get a copy, try to track one down. it is a 60-page report that darrell issa released yesterday, exposing a corn's illegal

activities. copies of the report are available. if you did not get one on the floor, make sure you get yourself a copy off of the internet. it has good reading material. çwithout further ado, he is a successful businessman and now the leader of the conservative resurgence that is sparking up in california. great things are happening. people are angry. they have gone from a fearful, to concerned, too angry. things are happening we will -- things are happening. we will bring that state back with the leadership of darrell issa. [applause] ♪ >> this feels like ronald reagan country.

thank you very much. it is not often that i get an introduction that does not read from my own biography. it is pleasant talk about what we are doing here today. this is an exciting time. scarcely one year ago, there were questions about whether or not our ideas were out of favor, whether or not change is a change very different than the one that is being talked about. today, we are watching a movement that promises us the american people are with us. they want the ideas that made this country great andç strong. the experiments in liberty that george washington, thomas jefferson, and james madison conceived of have stood the test of time. today, they are fashionable like never before. [applause]

>> please, feel free. ñri have the honor of overseeing the watchdog committee of congress. some would say that the chairman oversees it. the chairman of the committee is the party of the speaker, the party of the president, and the party that is not going to oversee itself, but it will apologize and spend for this president. i'm the luckiest man in washington. i am lucky in a strange, strange way. i am lucky for the presidential candidate i did not both for got elected. that kind of luck i can do without. as dick cheney said, this is a one-term president that we trust. our standard that has sustained us for 230 years is a standard of checks and balances. i am honored that at the time it

did which the party of the majority and the party of the president has ideas a very different than those here, very different than the ideas that allowed us to survive and come out of the oppression, the policies that allowed us to defeat soviet communism and to end it once and for all. the party and the principles that allowed us to be a shining light of liberty around the world, not a collective for the greater good willing to co op our ideas to it again and an ever more socialized world. as a young kid growing up in cleveland, ohio. there we go. i always take something from dan lungrdí that he said what he was running for governor. he knew why the pioneers kept moving west it does not the

great parks, museums, or educational resources. it was just the weather. those that have walked on the snow here note that this place is not always a warm swamp. in the year of global warming, we have had four of the worst 18 snowstorms. perhaps when the hot air and leaves the town, that is what happens. the opportunities that i have, even though i left my senior year of high school to go to the army and did not get a high- school diploma,ç the army scholarship and the opportunity to the -- to graduate from college and learned skills that of work for me throughout my career and still being used here, in congress, all of that comes back -- all of that comes

because in this country, all one needs is a belief in our principals, a willingness to work, and a belief that our opportunities will always be there. [applause] >> before you leave, i would ask you all to provide a few dollars to the metro or the taxicabs here and go down to 1600 pennsylvania avenue and go up to the nation's capital. our founding fathers knew that what would oversee our government is the house of the people, the congress. it is a place where every two years we go back and face you, the voters. we go back and ask you how we are doing. we are so often told, we should do better. do better, we will. this administration needs the scrutiny of my committee. i have been privileged to lead a group of individuals, not to be

the leader, but to lead this group of individuals who have done a great research and leveraged our capabilities with great capabilities around the country with people who have done things they should have done. blowing the whistle on a corn, digging in a dumpster andi] tended to be destroyed but left in an unlocked dumpster. we hear today want to talk about the wrongdoing of acorn. before that, i want to talk specifically about this president. he would have you believe that he inherited a great deal and that he is trying to change america for the better. he would have you believe that. i would say that one year after

the stimulus of $787 billion without a single republican vote, that his policies are not only failed, but you can begin to see a pattern. they are very clear. therefore the unions. there for the democratic machine. they are for the liberal agenda. i will give you a case in point. my investigators have done what investigators do. they have searched through to see what the president was really committed to. what were his real campaign promises? i would ask you to take a look at this video and see if it does not answer exactly what is going on here in washington. >> you know you have a friend in need. i definitely welcome acorn's input. when i read a book registration

t(drive, you were in the middlef it. since i have been in the united statesç senate, i have always been a partner. i have been fighting alongside acorn my entire career. >> every major bill has sent to the president has been loaded the and designed to reward special interest groups and political allies of the democratic party. that is undeniable. çwhat is also undeniable is tht a corner is that the center of it all. the most important thing you're going to hear is about an organization who as an ally of

the number of unions, have formed a criminal enterprise. in my report, i asked the question, acis acorn intentionally structured as a criminal organization? putting together an impossible to separate group of organizations that are co- located with unions, do you understand that one of the things we have discovered is that not only are they co- located, but they instruct people to say they represent both organizations. like that would not be a conflict for a nonprofit community organization that only cares about the poor. caring about the poor and union efforts -- do they go hand in

hand? i believe the this panel will show you it is just the opposite. day leveraged tens of millions of dollars exported from banks based on "you do not want us talking bad about you." that money was used to, and in fact, and distort the very democracy that we depend on. fáfor all of us here today, the most important thing that we care about is that our process be able to make a fair decision. in massachusetts, we sought a decision that was unthinkable in the polls, impossible one year ago, and determined by the people of massachusetts in spite of every effort to turn out on the did democratic votes, exaggerated the support of the flawed candidate, scottç brown got elected.

[applause] ç>> the lights were on very bright. it was much harder to distort that election. it is not hard to do a few thousand votes in a congressional race. the amount of thousands of votes that you have to put together, the difference between a republican majority and a democrat majority, is usually less than a few thousand votes. i am telling you that this organization in fact ice to do çexactly that. çthey shake enough to do a difference. they do it at all levels. bay to not just defeat republicans with democrats. they play in the primary. they play to make sure they get their particular style of democrat. they distort democracy in the primary and general. çbefore this panel comes up, ad

i will do everything i can to get you the opportunity to hear this, i want to set the record straight on this president. i think it is important that someone say all we need to do is shined the truth and let people decide for themselves. the american people need the facts and here they are. first, the president has the nerve to say that he will limit his own campaign spending while he relies on this organization to illegally to his election work for him, and then lectures the supreme court justices about protecting the rights of those participating in an election. [applause] t(>> second, to my amazement, hs economic team covers up what is and in calling the shots, they are trying to say that there bailouts and barley are part of

our recovery. it is true. third, and most dangerously, a national security team whose efforts to dismantle its system of defended americans has won i]applause, and even a nobel pee prize. who gave us the award? those who have no vested interest in our security. it was not the american people who know that a prisoner of war is not tried in an illinois court in new york court. go ahead, please. [applause] >> and on lawful come back and is a prisoner of war who was violated the laws of war. that person is less entitled to protection that a prisoner of war. yet, this is ministration is insisting on giving special rights beyond what a prisoner of war would have. it is wrong. [applause]

>> fourth,çó the campaign has hiked stimulus jobs that do not exist. it has pushed corrupted science to get a global warming tax. lastly and most unconscionably, he has reached out to us saying that he wants of bipartisanship in order to get a partisan advantage to a health-care bill that the american people have already decided that they do not want. [applause] >> i first voted in a federal election for richard nixon. for those of you who remember richard nixon, that means i am old. if i were oldç enough to rememr this, i wouldç never forget it and i want us all to take it to heart. president lincoln once warned that our greatest danger if it

is ever to reach as must spring up from among us. it cannot come from abroad. if destruction be our lot, it must ourselves be its author and finisher. as a nation of free men, we must live throughout all times or died by suicide. that is an amazing statement at time when this administration's i]policy are bothç political ad economic suicide. i charge you to be the truth there's to change that in this election and the one that follows. thank you, and god bless you. [applause] ♪ [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] ♪ >> good afternoon and welcome to

our "saving freedom from vote fraud panel." we might have entitled at saving freedom from those who would steal it. my name is cleta mitchell. i am chair of the american conservative union foundation. i also have the honor of serving as the national co-chairman of the republican national lawyers association. our panelists today are quite fantastic. çwe are very fortunate. to my far left -- [applause] [laughter] >> i knew he would hate that, is david norcross. he has had every position at the rnc.

he is on the executive committee of the rnc. most importantly, for these purposes, he has been an election observer in many countries as a part of the international republican institute and he is the national chairman of the republican national lawyers association. anita moncreif is one of the most courageous people i have ever known. [applause] çó>> many of you know her as a writer in washington, d.c., and she has been the acorn was so- blower. -- whistle-blowing. [applause] õç>> in 2005, she joined the

strategic writing. three years later, she came çforward to expose the damage thatç acorn zvhasçó done to w3çimpoverished and marginalized communities and she began to write about the corruption çwithin the end their myriad network of corporations. she has undergone a conversion. she is living proof that when people know the facts, and know the truth, it sets them free and they become conservative. [applause] >> we are so proud of anita moncreif. [applause]

>> it is a very brave person who can do what she has done. if he did not follow her, you need to. she tells a lot of interesting and smart things every day. to my far right, and it is hard to get far of my right, i would like to introduce the john fund from the "wall street jr. -- "wall street journal." >> he is anç author and editor. he has written a number of books. john fund has done more to chronicle the problems of vote fraud and stealing elections in this country than anyone and we are honored to have him with us today. [applause] ok>> with no further ado, i like

to start the panel. i know you know we are running late. we will not have time for questions, however i will tell you how you can e-mail questions to the republican lawyers association. >> thank you. i want to thank all of you for that warm welcome for anita moncreif. she told me last night that she was a little apprehensive. she is new to the cause. she is a brave, brave lady. you have made her feel very, very welcome. thank you. [applause] >> we decided just about one year ago at the republican the lawyers association that we were going to get into what acorn was

all about. we hired a project director. we have a book of information. there are more like 300 organizations and you cannot tell one from the other. we also mentioned the service employees international union. i believe that that is the most serious problem that we face in terms of voter fraud. that union. >> they are smart, and they are bent on the left taking over this country. they have been trying to do it on the ground. they will continue to do it. while acron may be wounded, they are not. one of the things you ought to be doing is to watch out for voter fraud, registration fraud -- who is doing that?

it might not be acron in the election in new jersey last fall, i asked what the acron input was. the answer was that it was çminimal. i found out why is was minimal. ici you has organized version live -- -- virtually every hospital in new jersey. we're toldñr that no outsiders would be permitted. they did not need any outsiders. their employees were all there, and that is what they were up to. the price of liberty is indeed vigilance. your vigilance will be very, very important. çwhy are we now so excited abot voter fraud? it has been going on for years. in the early days of the british parliament, the elder fraud was rampant.

-- broder fraud was rampant. richard nixon did in chicago -- many people thought that y he declined to challenge unfortunately, the prince of inconvenience, al gore, had no such qualms.4zmñthe good news, e put us through, is that the supreme court gave us a very important tool. all votes have to be treated the same. they were not in minnesota. they were not. that is clear. you should know that the secretary of state in and said a was collected -- in minnesota, was elected with the financial backing of george soros. that was done on purpose. we are determined that we are

went to educate secretaries of state so that they understand they are really on the front line. that is no longer a nonpartisan job. they are on the front line. [applause] >> the reason that we now are so concerned -- it used to be almost a joke. the former governor of my home state of new jersey likes to joke that he wants to be buried in hudson county said that he can stay politically active. [laughter] >> this used to be funny. unfortunately, it no longer is. acron has grown systematic about this. they registered voters. they registered the voters they knew would vote the way they want them to vote. they registered voters who they

know may not have been eligible. çthis systematicç registratiod turnout, which may violate federal laws,ç this systematic effort is an effort to make the democrat party the dominant party in this country and to move this country left quickly. they are decidedly a distribution list organization. çt(this building effort of th's is all part of that effort. çthey want to change our way of life. the balance is the sanctity -- the ballot is the sanctity of our way of life. if it is not secure or if it is diminished because they hundred 50 people that are not eligible have also voted in your precinct, then the your vote is not really being counted.

that is what we are up against today. that is why we and many others are so concerned. that is why i am eternally grateful to anita moncreif for coming forward and breaking the silence and frankly to james o'keefe and had giles for obviously adding a spark to the story. a spark that this 70-year old lawyer public could not have added. [laughter] >> you all are on the front lot -- the front lines. they do not care particularly about the law. sign them up, and let them sort it out later. that is the way they do it. it is up to us to see that does not happen. i think there are one to the new

tactics in 2010 and we will need your help to see what those new tactics are early on so that we can combat them. cleta mitchell, i am 18 seconds ahead. thank you. >> anita moncreif. >> first of all, i want to thank everyone for that well -- for that warm welcome and for c pack having me here. [applause] >> when i started working witht( acron, one of my first tasks was to call election committees and find out how they had a provisional ballots. we were focusing on this for a number of reasons, not just because provisional ballots can sway an election, but they're also looking at absentee ballots. these are the types of things

they have done. they have done studies. they have been doing this for over 40 years. they have been operated under the cover. it is only recently that they have come forward. when i was working with them, i was amazed at the type of organization that they have. it is not just them working with one or two organizations. they are working with other 20 or 30 other progressive organizations that may not be affiliated. when you look at organizations like america votes or communities boating together, you might not see acron, but they are there to these partner organizations. they are highly organized to the point where offices across the country are closing and they are saying that there are no longer acron. they are still operating through these organizations. qwhen you see of vote fraud, you look to see who has signed up as

a poll watcher. they have gone in and formed relationships in counties that are all democrat so that they do not have to worry about supervision because there is no oversight there. all the things that i noticed to include some of the things they do for voter fraud. they always knew there was a high level of fraud in absentee ballots. they had to plan for that. that should let you know, like in minnesota, if a truck full of absentee ballots showed up, you have to wonder where they came from. there was a woman handed out blank absentee ballots on the day of the election to people that were already at a polling place in the scott around election. we have to be diligent. i testified. it was a court case in pennsylvania in 2008. we talked about other instances

of voter fraud that have occurred -- that have occurred across the country. this type of the intermission has not gotten out to people. at the time, people did not realize that acron was so entrenched. thankfully, and now people have realized. we are able to go out there and fight them. when i testified, i testified about working with the political operations and having meetings. there was a meeting in 2007 in an -- in arkansas talking about how to get candidates a lot of debt were progressive. it was not just local candidates. these receptors and heads of state. they partnered with george soros. department on a project that was going on around the country where they were electing progress some -- progressive, or openly liberal secretaries of

state. what this means as you see an ohio, there is no types of checks and balances. secretary of state races need to be paid close attention to. senator -- now, in ohio, she is running for senate. all politics are local. they start off the city council, mayor's become senators or congressman. they did it with president obama. the head of political organizations said he supervised barack obama. apparently, that leader was able to go to the white house. in order for us to effectively combat acron we have to be aware of their tactics, going out into

the community and not allowing other groups to do the work for us. i have seen this with the tea party movement. people are going out there, knocking on doors, talking to neighbors about politics in ways that have not been done before. by taking that away from acron, you are actually building stronger conservatives. they were taking money away from republicans. they registered democrats. they wanted a lasting majority. they were able to do it by forming alliances and saying we are the only ones that can go out in the committees and organize people. we do not need to educate -- we do not need to organize people, we need to educate people. we not need liberal organizations to do it for us. [applause] >> thank you. i would say that the one thing i have learned is that we have to

get the conservatives involved. whether or not it is them under the name of acron in a red t- shirt or a in a purple t-shirt, we have to be alongside of them. when the tea party movement happened, you would see paid protesters and 200 members of the tea party. that is why it -- that is because they cared. they're not lied to. they were there because they believed that america needs to be saved from these liberals and a progressive agenda. [applause] >> that is what i have learned. i have written a lot about that on my blond. -- on my website. i hope that you guys will look at that information and find out what is really going on in your areas. it is not just acron. it is a number of progressive

organizations. they are forming a new organizations and funneling money in ways he would not imagine right now. thank you. [applause] >> tell everyone how to fight your website. i also write for hot air. i love hot air. [laughter] >> now, i would love to turn to john fund. he will share to us some -- with us some of the things we need to be worried about in addition to

vote fraud. we have a new chapter, and john fund will tell us about it. >> first of all, there is no way that i can top anita moncreif. you have probably figured out that acron is a creature with hundreds of tentacles. this is confusing for them, too. the internal joke is that our left-wing does not understand what the internal left wing is doing. they are also victimizing people. these people that they dragged in and seduce to work for them are mired in dependency. they encourage that. it is interesting that the mainstream media has not covered this. pigeon know that in the 1990's,

acron was collecting signatures to pass a minimum wage laws and they went to the state of california and sued so that they did not have to pay minimum wage to their own workers? this was in court documents. they thought they had hit the jackpot when their former lawyer, barackç obama -- they thought they hit the jackpot. a whole bunch of people have put them back on their heels. that does not mean that new hydro-headed shoots are not want to come out the have already fallen back on plan b. i was at a liberal conference recently where it was clearly discussed that even though they did not commit voter fraud, we obviously have a corrupt system.

let's get rid of the problems. let's have mandated national voter registration. in other words, will not ask you, we will automatically sign you up. how will this universal voter registration, which by the way, the fact that you have not heard about this, means there planet in capitol hill right now and i guarantee you they're no c-span cameras there now, how will this work? you take every listed the federal government creates income tax returnsç, unemploymt lists, property lists, and you have a list of names. you automatically register those people. it is true that in 30 states people register by party. i know how you'd figure that out, but i'm sure they have a way. this system, of course, you can

see the kind of complications it could create. a lot of states allow aliens and illegal aliens to get a driver's license. this will create tremendous complications. parker lists -- many people have property in two different places. we have already seen that 400,000 people in the new york cityç also quoted -- 4000 peope in new york city also voted in florida. did not tell me that 4000 illegal votes cannot be important. you go on. an enormous on of duplications. people use different variations of their names. all of this, all of this is designed to create what i call "planned chaos."

people that want to commit a voter fraud thrived under conditions where the rules are loose, the records are incomplete, and you can do things between the joints. that is what universal voter registration would bring. it would blur all the information and it would make it easy to manipulate things behind the scenes. now, do we have a problem with the existing rules? yes. the motor voter law which was the first law the bill clinton passed, literally prevented states from cleanup their roles. there is an estimation that there are at least 20 million names that should notç be ther, who had died, moved, or are not legitimate voters. we need to clean up the system. of course, we wantçó people to vote, and wanted easy to.

qas senator dodd said, our goal should be to make it easy to vote, but hard to cheat. everything the obama justice department is now doing is making it easier to cheat. it is sending the wrong signal. whether it is sending the signal that the oversight will beç lodged in the white house, or the black panther case -- the federal government sued them. one the obama administration came in, they won the case in court. what did do with this court victory in its hands? the drop the case affectively, with one small slap on the rest. if you have a president that is a former acron lawyer, supported by acron, an elected to the

presidency, he will take care of his friends. they have been discredited. they will have to retool their operations. we can fight back. the reason is not just for partisan or political reasons. it is also for fundamental reasons of philosophy. we have civil rights in this country. when it comes to voting, there to blow very important civil rights. you all have the civil right to vote without intimidation or fear. we have a long history in this country where there were some places where that did not happen. what did we do? we addressed that. . .

i will be happy to chat with you informally about any questions we cannot answer here. thank you very much. >> before we go, i am going to give you a to do list. i am telling you to get out your

pencil and paper and write things down. you need to go to your local election official, your election board, and find out who is doing local voter registration drives. nina is right. we need to be aware. your officials will know who is doing voter registration drives. google those names and find out if they are part of this web you have heard about. email and the tap. -- email anita. she will tell the rest of us. sign up to be an election worker. we need good people. they are always looking for good people inside the polls. the decisions are made on the spur of the moment on election day. people who show up and try to swap the election can be stopped if we have good, capable, dedicated conservatives inside

the polls as elected -- as election officials. help us protect our american system of elections. thank you very much. [applause] [drum music] >> while. was that something else? we are going to get it right with the voting. i am tired of dead people voting, illegal aliens, people from zimbabwe. it would be nice if plants stop devoting -- stopped voting. we have a president who is a commander in chief who will not salute the flag. this commander in chief runs a military who will salute the

flag. what is wrong with that picture? he also thinks that the star spangled banner, our national anthem, is too bloody and violent. he would like to have "i would like to teach the world to sing," or something like that. we should devote a song to obama. how about the big hit by linda ronstadt, "you are no good"? it works for me. we had an amazing person. he is the president of the heritage foundation. did it up. he is an amazing name. heritage's presence in washington grew from a nine member staff working out of a rented office in capitol hill to a 220 person organization occupying two office buildings

near the u.s. capitol. he has been recognized by "gq" magazine and "the london telegraph," which has named him one of the most influential conservatives in america. the fact that "gq" like him kind of says it all. heritage's success can be attributed to his tireless work. he traveled a hundred 50,000 miles per year to meet with -- he traveled 105 -- he traveled 150,000 miles to meet with elected officials. he is a graduate of regis university. he received an m.b.a. from the university of pennsylvania's wharton school of business and

attended the london school of economics before earning a doctorate at the university of edinburgh. he is a real dummy. can you tell? he and his wife linda haveç two grown children and three grandchildren. he is a real patriot. will you please give it up. [applause] [music: journey] >> hey, my fellow cpacers. w3çwhat a thrill it is to be b. heritage is a co-sponsor of cpac. everybody at acu, thank you so much for bringing everybody together. it is a wonderful opportunity to be here. isn't it exciting this year? thank you, david.

i have a very interesting challenge this afternoon, at introducing congressman dr. tom price. let me tell you. if you are ever in tom price's waiting room, i bet you were never an hour and 10 minutes waiting for him. that is about how far behind we are now. i have cut my introduction very short period before i say a couple of words about tom, let me make a plug for the mount vernon statement that we released on wednesday. go to themountvernonstatement.com. we urge you to sign up as a fellow constitutional conservative, somebody who shares those basic beliefs. one of the first pieces of media that i read on the mount vernon statement was a comment from the head of "people from the american way."

he said this was the same tired, old ideas they have been hearing for so long. well, i do not think of the u.s. constitution as being tired, old ideas. i think of it as what governs us and what guides us. dr. tom price came to theç u.s. congress in 2004. he represents the sixth congressional district of georgia. most importantly for all of us at cpac, heads the most influential group of conservatives in the u.s. house of representatives, the republican study committee. he is the chairman and has been for the last year and a half. he has kept it the go-to place for conservatives in the house of representatives. he is a fearless leader. he has taken on health care çrationing as being a particulr concern of his. he is out for real health care reform. you are a real leader.

we want to welcome you to cpac 2010. [music: journey] [applause] >> thank you. how are we doing out there? hasn't it been a great two days? what a wonderful gathering. i am so glad to be with you today. you have noticed that some of the snow is melting out there. the blizzard last week shut down the government for four straight days. [applause] and we survived. isn't it amazing? we ought to take a lesson from that. let me thank ed for his gracious introduction. ed has been an institution in and of himself for nearly 40 years, from his work at the heritage foundation. give him a hand.

from his work at the heritage foundation to his vision to create to the republican study committee. without his work, the conservative movement would not be what it is today. we owe him a debt of gratitude. i have the honor of representing the sixth congressional district of georgia and serving as the president of the republican study committee, a group that ed founded in 1973. how many of you have heard of that committee? i encourage all of you to go on- line and joined our team at the republican study committee. i like to describe us as the good guys in washington, the true conservatives of the house of representatives, the place where conservative solutions are produced and where battlesxd are waged with the liberal majority in charge. we have had a battle this past year. what a year it has been. can't you feel the energy at cpac? it is absolutely incredible, and

so much different than a year çago. there is a sense that the ground is moving. there is a sense that something historic is truly under way. to me, this has been one of the most important years in modern political history. it began with a new president, a fawning media, and a fawning media, and a fawning media. ç[laughter] liberals were emboldened. many happily declared that conservatism was dead. over the last year, conservatives in washington and across this land have joined together to beat back the liberal agenda, fighting every day, two and nail. we have seen the spawning of a new political movement in the tea party. that has changed the face of american politics. we have even elected a republican to the united states senate from the state of massachusetts. [applause]

i believe that we are on the principles of a historic political resolution. i stand here today wholly confident that next year we will be hereç with a solid conservative majority in the house of representatives and the removal of nancy pelosi from power. [applause] what we have been reminded of over the last year is that when we apply principal to all of our -- when we apply principles to all of ourç actions, we will have the american people on our side. the eternal fire of conservative ideals cannot be extinguished. we have to be honest. our light had dimmed. the influence of conservative thought had waned. as principal was abandoned even by some in our very own party, the fire is -- princças princi

was abandoned by some in our very own party, people have stand -- people have stood in town hall meetings. they have said we must take our country back. we must take our country back from a liberal agenda that is threatening everything we hold dear as americans. amazingly, it took an out of touch liberal elite in the white house to provide us that spark that allowed us to reignite our spirit. it was the fuel inside each and every one of you that has allowed it to remain ablaze. for this, i thank you. i thank you for the inspiration you have given to all of us fighting here in washington. we are fighting because our nation has slipped into the hands of the party whose liberal vision is incompatible with the america that most of us know and

love. with your help, we will take our country back. this is going to take a lot of work. this is not going to be easy. the danger of inaction is too great. too much is at stake. two great a price will be paid by our children and grandchildren if we do not change the course of american history. i am confident that a new direction is possible. i see a political revolution that is already in motion. the engagement and political activism that took place in 2009 was incredibly heartening. all year long, american stood up and voice their concerns in a manner that would make our founding fathers proud. democrats do not even appreciate the fact that americans are standing up against their agenda. during the august town halls, when americans united and said that they reject the government takeover of health care, the white house responded that this

anger was "manufactured." nancy pelosi wrote an op-ed that said we were un-american. do you remember? i want to say to the speaker -- don't you fly over our country in your luxury jet and lecture us on what it means to be an american. don't you tell us about america. [applause] america is a place where when the government does not listen to the people the people stand up and shout later -- shout louder. they take the country back. america is a place founded in protest to repressive government, and on the principle of the consent of the governed. we are rooted in awesome power and the limitless potential of free people, a place where dreams can be conceived, worked for, and realized, a place where we respect the values of life, family, and religion, one that

cherishes individual liberty and responsibility, one that embraces charity and equal opportunity but rejects equal outcomes. america is a place of hard working people looking to do the right thing for their families and their communities. america is too dynamic, to grant, and to independent of community -- too grand, and too independent a community to be organized by any one man, especially the one in the white house right now. i do not hold any personal grudge against this president. he is a remarkably talented politician. his story cells many papers around the world. his ascent is a wonderful inspiration for many in america. but his agenda is driving this nation across -- off a cliff. although he says he will not rest until jobs are created, he spent last night at a fund-

raiser in las vegas, at the blush hill hotel. he has proven that talk is cheap. which have seen his vision of job creation. we are one year into the stimulus package, a trillion dollars stolen from future generations so that we can weatherize homes, we surfaced tennis courts, and by road signs. -- but and buand buy roadsides. how is it working? unemployment at 10%. çwe lose jobs every month. is this the stimulus you had in mind? the reality is that this administration is a lost cause when it comes to job creation. theyç have no appreciation for the economic principles that have made as the greatest nation in the history of the world. the reject free markets because they do not understand them.

they rely on government because that is all that they know. this is an ministration made up almost entirely of academics, lawyers, bureaucrats, and career politicians. virtually none of them has run a business or created a private- sector job. they have never signed the front side of a paycheck. so much of what scares us about those in charge is not the uncertainty of now, because americans will persevere. we are resilience. we will overcome and prosper again in spite of the incompetence of this administration and congress. what scares us is the lasting transformational damage that these idolizes of bureaucracy have in store for america. they will leave future generations indebted to and dependent upon government to achieve opportunity. there is no limit to the scope of what they want washington to

control. there is no limit -- private- sector salaries, investment choice, medical decisions, where we may exit -- where we may exercise our constitutional rights. this agenda will destroy the principles we hold dear and it must be stopped. [applause] as youç know, there charge against republicans is that we are the party of no. it is a little silly, isn't it? we put forth positive, principal solutions to all of the challenges we face. this charge of saying no does not bother me at all. i actually vote no a lot. [applause] in fact, i am proud to vote against oppression and reckless destruction.

when a bill steps all over the constitution, we do not just say no. we screamed it. when democrats borrow a billion dollars for a pork bill stimulus, we stand up and shout no. when democrats pass an energy tax that will cost american families thousands of dollars, we yell no. when a bill takes away power from individuals, we scream no. when they want to raise our taxes, increase debt, take over health care -- what do we shout? we shout no because we know there is a better idea. there is a better way. [applause] america needs real solutions.

you know that we cannot borrow and spend our way to prosperity. nor can we appease our way to security. instead we have to provide true, principled, and positive solutions. now is the time to lead a. we must turn the anger we feel into the passion to provide answers to a nation that is screaming out for principle. our nation needs leadership more now than at any point in our lifetime. it will be this passion for solutions that restores conservatism in american politics. it will be this vision that will allow us to move our nation in the right direction. taking back our nation will not be easy despite our recent successes. it will take a willingness to work, to fight, and an appreciation that this is a historic moment in time. if we let it pass, we might bring to bear ronald reagan's warning that one day we would

look back and talk about an america when men were free. in the months that follow, i implore you toçç embrace your conservatism. i implore you to wear your principles on your sleeve. this is not about party or politics. it is about saving our nation for our children and grandchildren. liberals and the media will try to castigate and marginalize us. to that, we must say, "i am a conservative and i am proud of it. american solutions are conservative solutions." [applause] we have to be united. we have to be united in our beliefs and goals, not/our allegiance to a particular politician or a fraction of the conservative movement. we stand for opportunity, freedom, and liberty. where ever conservatism is on the march, we must join in.

wherever conservatism is under attack, we must push back as one movement. this is about a nation built on çcertain ideals that are now under fire. it is aboutok what made this nation possible, the blood and sacrifice of patriots who fought for what they knew to be right. this nation needs new patriots, not those who take up arms but those who take to the radio, the internet, town halls, protests, and political campaigns. fight for a return to common sense, a return to foundational principles, a return to the prosperity that only our system of representative democracy and free-market capitalism allows to flourish. we have many battles ahead, but i am supremely confident in the power of our ideas and your work to move this nation forward. remember what samuel adams said. it does not take a majority to

prevail, but and i rate entire list minority keen on setting brushfires of freedom in the minds of men and women. i am proud to stand with you and set those brushfires. god bless you. god bless america. [applause] [rock music] >> ladies and gentlemen, this is the most important panel for

the entire cpac. [applause] my name is millie hallow. i am the cpac. vice president the these are the stars of -- i am the vice- president of cpac. these are the stars of tomorrow. each of these young people is going to do the trick of telling you how they saved freedom across this nation in the two minutes each. watch us. this is their moment in the sun. listen to them. value them. learn from them. inspire them. most of all, support them. our first panelist is janie abel. she is from cansius college. she was the first to start a conservative club in high school. she enjoyed backpacking in the

northeast. tell us what you have done at your college. [applause] >> i first got involved in the conservative movement back in high school, where i started a conservative club with the help of the young american foundation. we ran into a lot of resistance at my high school. the administration was not excited about there being a conservative club. they worked really hard to shut us down. ymthey denied us and adviser. they would not let us bring in speakers to our high school. there was even a time when a group of a couple kids were sitting in the cafeteria, talking about different activism events we wanted to do. our dean of students told us we were not allowed to meet in the

school, even as an unofficial meeting. we were not allowed to talk about conservative ideas together. the thing is, i did not back down. i contacted pat coyle. they worked on a press release for us. they made calls to the school. they intimidated the hell out of my principal. [applause] by the end of the year, she was appeasing us. we did not back down and we were not scared of her. it paid off in the end. we ended up having a successful year, doing a lot of events. at cansius college, we run into the same things. sometimes we get scared of the bureaucracy. if you keep fighting and take advantage of the help that

different organizations want to give you, you will be successful. [applause] >> our next panelist is lance christopher. despite having been raised in d.c. public schools, he is still a conservative. he also saw firsthand what kind of damage government education can inflect. he has a grass-roots story you will love. >> hello. how are you today. i hope you are enjoying your time. initially, economic regulation -- it was believed business was not viable. in the '50s and '60s, when we had debates between keynesian, this thing called the d.c. back tax -- it is social engineering.

it has changed from economic engineering to social engineering. those in the white house and the presidency say this is economic policy. this is social engineering. if it happens here, it can happen anywhere across the country. the original young americans for freedom -- as soon as we heard about the d.c. back tax, we went into action. we went on campuses. we are continuing to fight this. it was said to clean up the anacostia river, even though the majority of the pollution does not consist of plastic bags. they take 2 cents and give it to businesses. it taxes families, and students. it discourages consumption. it discourages entrepreneurs.

if we let this happen here, politicians will say it is the federal government and we always follow the federal government. we do not know what states' rights are, so we can have it here. that is why i encourage young people to take a look at and joined our organization. we like to consider ourselves the green berets for the conservative movement. [applause] thank you. [applause] thank you. lance christopher. ç>> thank you. çi like that -- green berets fr liberty. that works for me. chad is next.

you know why he has a big cheering session? in 2005, he became connecticut's youngest elected official when he was elected to town counsel intern all, connecticut -- in an tuturnbull, connecticut at the age of 18. >> thank you to fordham university. i am so happy to be speaking with cpac, our conservative family and friends. it is quite an honor. i want to speak about collegiate activism, one of the most typical forms of activism for the conservative movement. there is something that can help us be more effective. that is financial resources that will back up our efforts, our activism -- our activism, and our speakers. funding makes that much easier.

i want to give you three principles that i believe will help you get as much budgetary force -- as much funding on campus as possible. it will all come from your college, you're liberal college funding your conservative activism. do not assume roadblocks and impediments are a liberal bias on campus. there are undoubtedly a plethora of liberals on campus, and unless you go to certain schools, the administration is dominated by them. but that does not mean they are impeding your efforts because of your into a medical ideology -- antithetical idology. they implement bureaucracy with zeal. master the bureaucracy. learn which people can help you, even if they are liberal. network with other student groups and people who can help

you. pro-life groups, libertarians, and others are natural allies. there are other lecture series that might not lean one way or the other, but who will help you nonetheless. point no. 3 -- do not passively accept the system as it is. get elected to your budget committee. love your professors endure deans to help you make events successful. -- lobby your professors and your deans to make your events successful. this will give you the best conservative activism. thank you very much. >> alyssa cordova is the lecture i]director at the clare boothe luce policy institute, an effective conservative institution. i was told she has not always

been so well mannered. i told -- i heard you got suspended in kindergarten for hitting your friend on the head with a cup of yogurt. i am glad that she fights on our side. [applause] >> thank you. most of my generation is completely clueless. we have been coddled from the cradle through college. most of my peers believed the world revolves around them. we have beenç raised with socialism. wheat and programmed with buzzwords like tolerance and diversity. even when the glaring inequities of welfare redistribution are staring us in the face, many of us fail to see it. i saw this firsthand at george mason university. i went undercover with a petition to ask the administration to redistribute grade point averages. i explain to students that it is not the students' fault -- they come from low-income families and have to work their way

through school and do not have time to study. most of them thought this was ridiculous and refused to sign the petition. when i turned the topic to income redistribution, their attitudes changed. that is totally different, they said. those millionaires are not going to miss that money. the "me "generation only cared about and fairness when it directly affected them, as it would with gpa redistribution. they are persuaded with dooley words like hope and change because they are not affected by these policies. this is why it is crucial for conservative students to become activists. professors and administrators are not teaching these things. it is up to you. you can do something big like coast a speaker through the clare boothe luce policy institute, like an coulter -- ann coulter.

my video took me 30 minutes and got thousands of views on youtube, was shown at a conference, and is used as an active is an example in the upcoming book "obama zombies." [applause] >> that girl can talk. evan gassman is a student at catholic university. he has posted his own youtube series called >"red retro reviews." i only know what one of those words means. >> this is one of my favorite places to be. you are all here to see me. i am kidding. i know why you are all here. that is right.

let me tell you something. you are all student activists, or at least some of you are. there is something you can do. there is a liberal plot on all campuses to basically treat 9/11 like it was any other day. the young americans foundation has responded by doing the 9/11 never for that project. -- b. 9/11 nevethe 9/11 never f project. my university did not like the idea. the college republicans did not like the idea. i pushed on. now it is a tradition nationally in washington d.c. and at my university. all of you kids across the country -- there are people from colleges everywhere.

something i want you guys to do -- go to www.yaf.org. look up the project and organize it on your campus. do not get -- do not let the liberals get away with making it another day. set up memorials on campus and make sure the next generation remembers it just like we did when we were there. thank you very much. [applause] this is the overall winner of the student essay contest. in his spare time, he has run for public office twice since turning 18. he is the youngest person in new jersey history to have run for office. >> i would like the president to know that since this is on c- span these teleprompter is are

not on. we are speaking off the cuff because we're passionate about what we believe in and we know what we believe in. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, ronald reagan once said that people will advance its good people do nothing -- if good people do nothing. we are here at this conference because we understand the fundamental truth behind that statement. i made the decision to run for public office twice. i ran for school board at age 18, and boy did i ruffle feathers. at 21, i ran in the gop primary, and boy did i ruffle the others. it felt great. unfortunately, unlike chad, i was not successful. the absence of electoral victory does not mean the lack of political successes. what i want to emphasize today

is the need for young people, especially between the ages of 18 and 25, that demographic the liberals think is so pro-obama -- we have to get out there. run for office. run for party committees. get out there and work in the institutions that there are. there is so much work to be done. it is great to have activism. i compare conservative civil action to a bonfire. but we activists are the spark. we are the oxygen that keeps the fire going. but we have to work within the institutions at hand. i hope all of you will get young people to run for office. encourage young people to run for office even if there is no chance of winning. that is how my first election was. as president reagan said, freedom is one generation away from extinction.

so help us. thank you. [applause] >> he is going somewhere. jessie hathaway is the chief writer of the independently run conservative blog >> athens runa"athens runaway." he is a college senior. he is described as sometimes humorous, often flippant, and just right of center. i think he is more than just right of center. [applause] >> i think before i get started i want to point out that millie is correct. i am not just right of center.

i am just right. [applause] i am a blog error -- 8 bloggea r in ohio. in the summer of 2009, i got serious about my town's finances. all the newspapers were saying that we were out of money. i wanted to find out why. i basically found out that some dirty dealings were going on in my town. i cannot go into details because it is an ongoing investigation by the state ethics commission. let us jurd say that i ran into some people who were unhappy that i was looking -- that i was poking my nose where they thought it did not belong. basically, conservatives have all the tools that are available to anyone. that is called transparency and

accountability. the government is accountable to us. if you oppose government transparency, you basically oppose democracy. politicians sometimes think they are owed a job, or that they owed it and do not -- or that they earned it and do not have to work for it. they work for us, not the other way around. [applause] >> thanks a lot so much. danny laub is a student at st. louis university. he is a theater major and scenic designer. do you like our set? his victory is an important one that talks about hypocrisy on a college campus. come on up. >> thank you. [applause] thank you, my one fan. i am sure it is comforting to hear stories of great activists and leaders here at cpac.

if you do not bring these ideas back to your community, it is useless. partnering with the young americans foundation, a club has made it cool to be conservative. we hosted events like "no more che," 9/11 memorials, and more. you can turn your campus into a hotbed of conservative excitement. it has not been easy. last year, my club submitted a proposal to bring a speaker to campus. i assume there was plenty of time to hear all the grievances from the university. the administration has presented hoop after hoop, absurd reason after absurd reason why the speaker cannot come to campus. invited, but david horowitz is

offensive? the road for young conservative activists has been bumpy, but it has also had rewards. national press coverage has prompted the university to reevaluate the speaker policy. hopefully, on our campus and other campuses, when you try to bring a conservative speaker you will not meet with the same resistance i have. çi am often asked how you can help the movement. mike, answer is just do it. start an event. it does not matter how small. anyone can do it. just do it. thank you. [applause] >> we have activists that are out of school and running organizations, leaders of tomorrow and today. this is the executive director of young americans and freedom. before that, he went to law

school in japan. he is doing it. he is an example to young people everywhere. jordan. >> thank you for hosting cpac us hosting. -- thank you for hosting us at cpac, . young americans for freedom in new york saw that terrorists were getting civilian trials. eric holder said we would treat them like civilians. i am a new yorker. i saw what september 11 did to our country. we swung into action. we stood up and pulled permits. we said we were going to rally. we let president obama know it is not ok to treat citizens of new york and citizens of america as if we are terrorists. they deserve to be tried in military tribunals. [applause] i will tell you it was not hard. we got with the retired

firefighters, the retired police officers. we got together with people from connecticut and new jersey. we pulled together with america's first. we formed the 9/11 never forget coalition. in downtown manhattan, we said "not in this city." çsend them back to guantanamo. [applause] i have to say it was not politicians. it was not one group. ççit wasç american citizen sg the constitution is what we uphold and we will fight for it. you can see eric holder and president obama rethinking their decision. they're going to take it out of new york. we succeeded. we are victory. we are freedom. you cannot do it here in america.

sign our petition to keep it going. we cannotç let them attack the constitution and the value americans. terrorism is real. it is a threat. we as conservatives need to defend america. [applause] >> jordan, that was terrific. alexander mccobin -- [applause] i tried to get interesting factoids, because i want people to understand that while the students are committed politically and passionately they have lives. they have lives is complete human beings. we are not one-dimensional the way the media sometimes portrays us. "alexander is co-founder and president of students for liberty, which is his passion. he has done remarkable things which he will tell you about.

he has also gone scuba diving in the great barrier reef. they all have lives. complete human beings. know that about them as well. alexander. [applause] >> first off, i would like to thank the american conservative union for inviting me to speak. in the name of freedom, i would like to thank the american conservative union for welcoming gopride as a co-sponsor of this event, not because of any politics but because of the message it sends. if what you truly care about is freedom -- limited government and prosperity -- then this symbol is a step in the right direction. [booing and applause] the typical response is to be socially tolerant and fiscally responsible. students recognize that freedom

does not come in pieces. it is a single concept that we must defend at all times. [booing and applause] çstudents for liberty is only o years old. we are a nonprofit run by students and for students. consider our successes over the past year. our network has grown from 100 groups to over 2150 groups not only around the country but around the world. -- to 250 groups not only around the country but around the world. we have launched new student protest activities to defend liberty on college greens. we host protests in favor of free trade, against smoking bans, and in favor of free speech. [applause] last weekend, students for liberty brought in over 300

liberty advocates to american university in washington d.c. to advocate freedom. the student movement for liberty is strong. we are growing. we are not only preparing to carry the banner in the future but are doing it today. thank you. [applause] >> alexander, thank you. ladies and gentlemen, thank you. this is what cpac is about. katie is a student from fordham university -- katie poedtke. she is going to talk about her flight about communism. lest we ever forget.

katie. [applause] >> this is a great honor. on november 9, 2009, the fordham university college republicans commemorated the anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall on our campus in new york city. at a time when government expansion accelerates by the day, we were determined to expose the truth about centrally planned economies and the inevitable atrocities of their affiliated governmental regime. after weeks of planning, we successfully encouraged the community to step back and reevaluate the significance of all the freedoms they assume today. inspired by an activism initiative of the young americans foundation, we constructed a wall as a memorial to the millions worldwide who have suffered and died under communist regimes. we displayed grim statistics and photos while the wall was

covered in graffiti and the word freedom in several languages. it was on display in the most high traffic area at in campus, attended by flyer passing students. passers-by had the pleasure of hearing reagan's "brandenburg gates" speech all day from a stereo we set up. we were honored to have rnc chairman michael steele join us, speaking to a crowd of local media. he inscribed "no wall can stop freedom." at 4:30 p.m., and she was draped over the wall, celebrating the time when the wall was breached for good by thousands of east berliners. while we have become known for our widely attended speaker events with high-profile conservatives, this time, the

conservative message was coming straight from us, the students, no different than our peers passing by. no difference except that we were passionate about defending freedom. given the overwhelmingly positive responses we received, we are proud to say that now many of them are aware, concerned, and confident, too. thank you. [applause] our next gentlemen, samuel settle, is a student at state college in pennsylvania. he is leading the call for penn state to conduct a thorough investigation of the climategate scandal. he is also an avid fan of "the simpsons," and can "most of the

episodes. is that a good thing? [applause] >> ronald reagan once said there is no political right or left. there is only up or down. we all find ourselves as conservatives, and we define our opponents as liberals. strange as this may be to say at the conservative political action conference, i do not care for the terminology. if we call ourselves conservatives and them liberals, it implies there is some sort of parity between the groups, as if we are different but not essentially better or worse ideologies. the fact is that when we are right and they are wrong, we should say so. for those of you who have been paying attention, that is basically all of the time. [applause]

this came home for me pretty recently when the international climategate scandal came to my university. the university took three of its own employees and decided to dismiss most of the allegations. this investigation was little more than a white wash. i protested it. i demanded an external investigation. the commonwealth foundation demanded an external investigation. we had a rally that drew over 100 citizens to protest and demand oversight of the university. we did not do this because we are conservatives. we did it because the investigation the university conducted was wrong, and it was

the right thing to do to call for a real investigation of climategate. [applause] if you want to do right by climategate, please visit our website. you can sign our petition. if you do not want to do that, come see me. you can sign with pen and paper. god bless you. have a great day. [applause] >> wes siler is at the university of virginia. he is an air force cadet, a former president of the conservative student organization known as the brooke society. he found some conservative professors at the university of virginia. i will let you tell that story. [applause]

>> thank you come millie. -- thank you, millie. how many of you have taken a class with a dogmatic liberal professor? pretty much everybody. somebody completely convinced of modern liberalism who cannot conceive there could be another perspective. as a conservative, what do you do? it seems to me you have two options. you can roll over and play dead. you can sit there and take it day after day, listening to the same propaganda. you can hope your professor does not blame too harshly. you can mitigate and try to get a decent grade with your integrity intact. two, you can fight it openly. you can go out in a blaze of conservative glory. i have done this many times. the downside is that you probably will not get a good grade. you fight bravely and die

quickly. there is a better option, which is what we have come up with at the university of virginia. start your own class. we have decided to host our own class on conservatism, hosted by students. one day, we had 11 professors volunteer to teach our class. i did not know we had 11 conservative professors at the university of virginia. [applause] apparently, they were just waiting for us to take action. the fact that liberal professors think that modern liberalism is somehow this great pinnacle of intellectual thought, that conservatism is simply people clinging to their guns and religion -- the fact is that conservatism has a long intellectual history. it goes back to before modern liberalism even began. we are, have been, and will continue to be, more

intellectually sound than liberalism ever will be. [applause] i wanted to prove this to you by reading off a list of great conservative scholars, but i do not have much time left. to conclude, i want to tell students out there -- take your education in your own hands. start your own class. as students, we are not alone. there have been countless great conservative authors. there are plenty of organizations that will help you learn about them and generate interest on your campus. it is simply up to you to take the first step. . .

guess what? guess what? civil-rights are grounded in natural rights. natural rights are grounded in human nature. human nature is a rational subject. reproductive act as lead to reproduction. understand that. civil-rights with natural rights

in conflict art can't predict jury -- are contradictory. the lesbians at smith college protest better than you do. all right? bring it. guess what, you just made an enemy out of me. you. thanks a lot. >> freedom of opinion. freedom of opinion. freedom of opinion, all right? [applause] nance with is the campaign coordinator for freedom works. she started her conservatism early by establishing in the fifth grade and room so students could stay inside.

nan smith. [applause] >> it might be sad that i stayed in for recess to do that, but i want to thank cpac for being here, and i want to giveñi you a story from septembr 12. i spent the early hours of september 12 running back and forth down from freedom plaza to the capital, over and over again, pushing a cart piled high with bright yellow shirts and hats for volunteers. the morning had been quiet until my last trip to freedom plaza for the beginning of the march. but before i could see anything, i could hear the crowd. i knew it was big.

i had to sit down on the curb to compose myself, and people kept asking if i was all right. i said that i was, i just cannot believe you actually came. that in many ways sums up the past years of the growing tea party movement, and i hope that story resonates with conservative leaders who have laid the foundation for this new plan for the decade. i know each person here who thought they were the last bastion of freedom and their community felt the same way. people finally came to the defense of liberty, which is why i urge you to continue this movement, they must recruit or die. no one should be surprised when other conservatives stand up, and when the stories were

written of the freedom movement of 2010, they will not help the hundreds of thousands who came. there should be millions. freedom works chairman dick armey likes to say that government goes out. we do today, and we continue to keep doing so. [applause] >> del weaver is from liberty on the rocks, and that has acted as a staging ground for anti- dmt activities during the republican convention of 2008. [applause] >> so first, how many of you guys consider yourselves to be activists? [applause] thank you. i consider myself to be an activist, and in 2008 in my

state, a couple of friends and i were very upset we saw this progressive invasion coming to our state, and wanted to do something about it. we started a social club to hang and local bar, and called it liberty on the rocks. the idea is simple. have fun, coordinator. let them interact with politicians in a way that they can learn what people are thinking. that is our organization. organization is very basic. our principles consistent free- market, individual rights, and less government. [applause] back in 2008, we worked with a couple of bloggers who did not like each other so much. we added alcohol to the mix, and

they became friends. what do you know? [applause] as i say that, i will warn everybody that one of our cofounders does not print anything. when he goes out with us at bars, she drinks coffee, a lot of it, and argues all night long. understand that the organization is there to an open forum. it is open to everybody. please join us. check out our website, libertyontherocks.org. check if you have a chapter in your area. we went from one chapter in denver in 2008 to 20 chapters in 12 states. we want more members. go to the website, check us out. if you need one, start a chapter. thank you. >> thank you so much.

justin -- [applause] justin is at the university of central florida, far away. so you got here. this is all you need to know about justin. in 2000, he was campaigning for al gore, and now he is with us. [applause] >> i cannot lie. after the night i have, it is awfully quiet on this stage. i had a fancy introduction written, but anyways, thank you for having me. it is great to be on this panel with a great group of conservative activists, and i appreciate the opportunity for activism and the ways we have been successful at ucf and the

state of florida. i want to start by disclosing that i was a tree hugging liberal democrat. but i have seen the light. [applause] i have been hannitized. i have seen the light of the right, and i am in a better place now. because conservatives was a liberal, they came to me and talked to me about conservatives, and it was an enlightening experience. i have been with conservative activist ever since and have enjoyed every day, week, month. in our business, knocking on doors, going out and trying to get people on the ballot is tough work. and it is not for the faint of heart. what is important in my opinion is bringing people in for a one- on-one connection. what i mean is you could have

the savviest social networking, the best media strategy, and people committed to a personal connection, i do not think it will be successful. i believe you can bring more people into the cause. i would just say that it is even harder. as a mccain 2008 organizer, we worked hard, we played hard, but we always stay together. so thank you very much. i appreciate it. [applause] >> thanks, a tustin. -- justin. greg mangum is from the university of western alabama. i know we got a little self love. please. he is the founder and chairman

of the young conservative politicians coalition of america. >> good afternoon, my fellow patriots. liberty, freedom, and constitutional the fenders. what an honor is to be able to sit on the same conference that freedom defenders like ronald reagan spoke out. our country has strayed so far away from the constitution, and that not only jeopardize our freedom, but it could create a disastrous downfall of society. our freedom was given to us by our creator, not by the government. the government can only exist to protect these rights, but only god can give these rights. that is why we are here to stand and fight for our freedom. this fight is not just for one

generation, though. it is for every generation. the american people have had enough. we are fed up, and we're going to do something about it. we are going to run them out of office. washington, the conservatives are coming in. this november, we will take back the house and senate, and did 2012, we are storming the white house, baby. young conservatives, this is to you, my friends. today's the day of the young conservative resolution. it is time to stand up and fight. the young people today are the future leaders of tomorrow. this never-ending ocean will be here for our generation to play off. this is something we can stand up for. i am 21 years old, and i started when i was 18. this is the reason i founded the young conservative coalition of

america. we want to encourage all of our young people to get active in the political process to change america. may god bless you and the great united states of america. [applause] >> all right, all right. as a seal you know -- aclu board member karen metals would say, this is our future, and we can be proud of it. we can really be proud. we have had some discussion, we have had disagreements. take a good look at these leaders. you will see them to route the conference. appointed -- to run up a conference. make a point to shake their hand. when they become famous and change the world, we can say we knew them early on and gave them

our support. i have got a special guest coming out, a special surprise. please join me in giving them a standing ovation. [applause] david, are you announcing our special guest, or should i? i get to do it. we have a special guest stopping by to say hello, the new government of the commonwealth of virginia, robert mcdonald. -- mcdonnell. ♪

>> thank you, and good afternoon, fellow conservatives. i did not know we could fit 10,000 conservatives in the same hotel in washington d.c., but you are all here, and i am here to say thank you so much, whether you are virginians by birth, by adoption, or by volunteerism this last campaign. i am so grateful to the conservative support, the dollars, the time, the talent, the treasure that came into my campaign last year. you are wonderful, and i want to say thank you. [applause] i went from eight state that

gave a seven-point victory to president obama toñmeut that one by 19 points. and i can tell you there is something happening in this country. people are hungry for principled conservative ideas to be enacted at every level of government, jut that that is why you are here. i am so encouraged, a hearing your vision for the future of america, and so many out here are going to be future councilman and congressman and legislators and governors from your states. it is time to enact policies with limited government, going back to the ideas planted by our founders, where we say we need to limit taxation and regulation and litigation and work was to create a great environment where people can use their god-given freedom to pursue the american dream without major federal intervention in the free enterprise system. that is what will cost a rebirth

of conservatism here in this country. so i want to say thank you for what you did for me, thank you for what you're going to do for conservatives across the country. it is important to the future of the united states of america that grass-roots conservative doesn't take hold, that you be positive -- takes hold, that you be positive through these campaigns to collect leaders. if you do that, we will stay alive and remain the greatest country in the world. thank you very much, and god bless you. [applause] ♪

>> wouldn't it be something if we had to pull off with all of these czars?

i think so. works for me. i do not much care for the czars that want our animals and plants to sue us. that is weird, thinking i will get sued in my yard if i step on something. cds of the cpac taking place in both ball rooms as well as the video dvd for the marriott ballroom is available for purchase, so get your wallet ready. see the desk next to the escalator and coat check for purchase. send a few dozen8+7-÷xd copieso ñrcçorñiçót(ñiobama, will you? put my name on it. i would like some of youok to jn me on my show. fái have eight nature -- i show you canñi dial into every day. now, we have an amazing speaker

coming up, but an amazing coupleñkzdxd,ñrñi fans of repree ron paul. çóçf'óxdñrñixdçóñ'iwe areñr tirn paul is not a poser. ñiñrkevin and daniellexdñi=/%ñie they have been married three years and love each other. are you a little conservative here?

they stay active in church, they are there. >> thank you. i need you to rise up against tyranny. thank you.

that is right. thank you very much, guys. when danielle and i were given the opportunity to come to cpac for ron paul, we were speechless. this is a man who has been extremely influential in our lives as well as got us passionate about the true conservative movement. it is really no surprise that she has generated such enthusiasm with young americans. -- key, because we are the future. rather than falling to a mainstream message, we embrace

the message of freedom, independence, and limited government. [applause] the thing that is great about ron paul and why i look up to him is because he is always positive, hommel, and has always had the courage to consistently force real issues of non interventionist foreign policy -- [applause] and monetary this book conservatism -- fiscal conservatism, instead of latching on to the continued rhetoric we hear from other politicians and so-called conservatives. >> because ron paul is strong, it is a message built on the founding principles of our country. we need to get as passionate about our country and sovereignty as we do about football games and the next "american idol."

[applause] we have come a long way since the 2008 campaign. just a few years ago, no people had an idea that the federal reserve is a private agency losing the american taxpayer. in addition to their awareness, ron paul has gained 317 colts sponsors and passed the house. >> that is right. we're excited to see people waking up, getting excited about the movement they have had on this event alone. without further ado, it is our pleasure and honor to introduce texas congressman dr. ron paul. ♪ ["we will rock you" by queen

plays] >> thank you very much. thank you. [applause] thank you. thank you, thank you. thank you. thank you. fñit sounds to me like the revolution is alive and well. [applause] çóñiçówonderful. it is great to see such a nice

crowd. 10,000 people all interested in promoting good limited government and personal liberty. i would say this is a grand opportunity for all of us to come together,çó because somethg is brewing. this is a different year than anything we've ever experienced ñibefore, and i am optimistic to believeñrñrçó)=@e1ñ2içó that s going to comexdññi out of what s happening today, whether it is the cpac meeting or tea party movement or the recent victory of the election. believe me, by the end of this year, i think it will be a lot better off. [applause] the one thing that brings many of us together has been the,k÷ idea of change. as a matter of fact, someone won

an election using that slogan, change. but there is a change we want that we have not gotten yet, and i think that is what we are here to talk about, what and of change we really want. and we agree on, so we're not talking about different things. it is very important we understand what conservatives and means. to me, it means conserving the good parts of america and our constitution. [applause] i first got involved in politics in 1976, because i was very concerned about the financial situation, the gold standard being cast aside, ushering in the age of big government. and that came in under a nixon administration. and since that time, we have been struggling.

struggling with the conservative message, and we have had bits and pieces of this coming together but have not really had a fall through. we got a revolution of sorts in 1980 with ronald reagan, but -- then, of course, we had 1994, very good, designed to limit government. it kept growing. the year 2000 how the more remarkable event, something that happened where there was a republican congress, house, and senate, but we did not get the revolution. there was a lot of desire, saying that is limited government, balanced budget, and our liberties back. [applause]

and içó think what happened,ñiñn philosophical terms, not in partisan terms, i think what çóhappenedñi takes me back toñie teens of the lastñr centuryxdñrn woodrow wilson was presidentñiç. [booing] those are rightly deserve to let me tell you. but i also want to put pressure on conservatives. woodrow wilson stood for world government. he wanted a league of nations. but it was conservative republicans against it. how often have you heard people saying it is the conservative position to not even belong to the united nations?

1913 was not a very good year. 1913 gave us the income tax, 16th amendment, and i rest. what is wrong with getting rid of the 16th amendment? i think it would be a great idea. [applause] and of course, i have already taken a very modest position on the monetary system. i take the position that we should just end the fed. [applause] [chanting "end the fed"]

but there were other things that went on during the wilson administration. our foreign policy changed for the negative. his goal was to make the world safe for democracy, and he brought us into world war we should have never gotten into. [applause] and we, as conservatives, accepted his principal that we are under constitutional and legal responsibility to engage ourselves and make the world safe for democracy. i do not think it is possible. as a matter of fact if you think back just a short time ago to the year 2000 when george bush was running, guess what he ran on? he was running against an interventionist foreign policy. he was running against clinton

policy, intervention nation- building and the world, and he was elected on that. there was nothing wrong with being a conservative and coming up with foreign policy where we do not go to war so carelessly. [applause] what is not conservative about saying do not go to war unless you go to work properly with a full declaration of war, and no other way? [applause] unconstitutional boards cost the

lot of money, undermine our constitutional principles, and as warren said, it belongs to the state. if you like small government, you need to work hard and having a strong national defense that is not militant. to protect liberty is the function, not to run your personal lives or the economy, not to pretend we can tell the world how they ought to live. [applause] for those who disagree, i have a few comments. i have been on this service, and i know all the arguments. but the bottom line for all

conservatives and constitutionalists will be how we are going to pay for it. it is driving us to bankruptcy. we are now spending one trillion dollars a year to finish. we are in 140 countries, 700 bases, and have you noticed the debt exploding? it is not all because of medicare. believe me, we do not have enough conservatives on the hill to start tinkering with medicare. eventually, this country probably will not do what i suggest, that we back off and back down. i make two promises. we will always -- i always will vote the constitution, as well as i will not vote for one single penny that is not paid for, because that is the monster, that is what will eat us up, and that is why our economy is on the brink.

we are on the brink of a cataclysmic event, because we are leading to, we board to much money, the chinese have backed off on what they love us, interest rates are going up, inflation factors are coming up. the next step is a currency crisis and rejection of the dollar. that is a big, big event. and then, your personal liberties will be severely threatened, because we will usher in people who say, well, just like before, we have had an event, and it is not the democrats alone. democrats and republicans said there is an event, so we should spend more money and stimulate the economy, are more money -- borrow more money. so we tell the fed, print more money.

believe me, it will not last. it has to end. we cannot double the money supply. [applause] we can double the money supply -- we cannot double the money to supply and not see inflation. but back to woodrow wilson, he was not an individual who respected civil liberties, and conservative republicans at the time fought him. republicans did not like the espionage and sedition act. he arrested thousands of people for showing dissent against the war. how do you want it? do you want it that way? you might have one position, others might have another position, but you have a right of dissent and you should never be put in prison for dissenting. [applause]

a famous person was arrested back then. i would not have agreed with the political elites, but he was a famous person who spoke out against the war, eugene debs. he was put in prison because he spoke out and woodrow wilson did not like him, and because congress passed these laws, republicans objected to it, but he was put in prison indefinitely, and i guess because of widow will since the illness and all through the end, he never got the part in. warren g. harding gave him the pardon. a republican. [applause]

government is the enemy of liberty. government should be very restrained. and as i have said so many times, it is time that we do study and understand from a conservative viewpoint on how much we should be engaged around the world. we have good backing from good republicans of the past. but that is the past now. i do not live in the past, because i think freedom is a modern movement. in the past, since woodrow wilson's time, too many of us have taken on the saying that we are responsible. [applause]

who do you think it was that try to keep it out republicans did? one of the greatest republicans was a statue over in washington, and they worked hard to keep us out of war. he also thought was a violation of our rights to have a military draft. he strongly opposed the draft. [applause] he was strongly opposed to nato, did not like the united nations. we casually accepted this. but who was at that point the words military-industrial complex? it was eisenhower that told us that. there is every reason for us to think seriously about what we really believe and what

conservative actions really mean. in 1956, i thought a draft was coming, because the french and british got in a fight over the suez canal, the egyptians wanted their canal. so i was worried because i thought i would be drafted. i was not drafted for 10 years after that, but i thought i would be. they went to eisenhower and said take care of us, they are taking the canal, and eisenhower said, i will have no part of it. [applause] back 100 years ago, speaking of woodrow wilson, what happened in this country is we took freedom and chop it into pieces. there is only one kind of freedom. liberty comes from our creator.

it has nothing to do with government. you want small government to protect liberty, that is good, that is what the founders believed and what the constitution was written for. but if we have some group over here saying that economic liberty as good, we are all the keynesian snout -- dickensians now. [applause] if liberties come to us as individuals, freedom does not come in groups. you have freedom because you're an individual, and that should be protected. [applause]

but i do not believe freedom can survive and we as conservatives who can contribute if we still think freedom only comes in pieces, that you can protect economic liberty but not personal liberty. i imagine everybody in this crowd would say yes, protect our right to religious values. but as soon as it comes to putting something in your mouth or in your lungs, you say you do not have enough sense, so we will use the heavy hand of government to protect against yourself. [applause] we have not on a long way from the constitution. it says the only under the declaration of war and we go to work, but we are in war now, and

it will take a long time until we go bankrupt. but we have done a few things that are endorsed by both parties, and one is that we have endorsed the principle of preventive war. another term for presentive worse is aggressive wars, because someday somebody might do something to it. that is not part of the american tradition. just last week there was a hearing on the hill, and the subject of assassinations came up. the administration was there and explain that yes, they endorsed the idea of assassination. and they asked if they would endorse the idea that we have an

obligation to assassinate american citizens, and the answer is yes, they do. they claim they have right to assassinate american citizens. what are the conditions? somebody makes a determination that that individual is a threat and can be assassinated. he is probably a bad guy. but the principle is important. there might someday be six or eight or 10. what about the fact that eugene debs might not have been put in prison, but assassinated. this is not radical liberalism. this is about protecting the integrity of our country and constitution and the rights of the individual.

we have now as a country accepted the principle that habeas corpus is only worthwhile in a limited fashion. some people do not deserve it. if there is a design, they can be held for an unlimited time. they can be subjected to torture. that is not what we are all about. we are much better than that, and we as conservatives have to realize we have to bring the spot again. good conservatives can believe personal liberties are of the utmost value. we all more easily agree that the free market is a good way to go, and yet we still have a lot of people reject the notion of regulations and benefits and bailouts for wall street and the

federal reserve system and paper money. all of those things have to be worked in. but there is nothing wrong with being a conservative and saying republicans, as recently as the year 2000, we won elections by saying we should not be the policeman of the world, and we should be nation-building. it is time we got those values back. [applause] i believe we are on the verge of something significant. i have spoken out quite a few times on college campuses, and reception is fantastic, and they want all package. they do not want bits and pieces, they want economic liberties. because the government has failed, and they know they will

lack of social security, and they do not want cupful -- perpetual war. [applause] so let us take this opportunity, and for those of you who disagree, all i ask you to do is think seriously about it. think about it, read it, and study it in context and say, maybe that has -- you know, during the presidential campaign, often the corner, laugh at him, all of this stuff, and all of the sudden the crash and said we were beginning, it came. now, fox news network went about 60 times it was over.

but let me finish by saying i think it brings people together. i do like different people coming together, because they always say to come together on your terms as long as you do not mess around with me. the one thing -- there are to the bureau rules i have. one is that of what a lot of change, i want resistance. but the other fang have to keep reminding myself and will remind others is that in the process of pursuing your goals, but we should remained tolerant. people who disagree with you or have different views, we have to

allow freedom of expression. that will bring us together. otherwise, you cannot win. [applause] so i thank you very much for this opportunity to visit with you. i hope it is challenging because we're in challenging times. but quite frankly, if we do the right thing, we can pull out the economic mess and be better than ever, and i believe that is what this type of an organization and a group of people coming together -- i know you what what is best for america, and we work together, we can achieve it. thank you very much. [applause] ["we will rock you" by queen plays] ♪ \

>> thank you for speaking for your heart. it is the u.s. constitution, not de unconstitution.

-- not the u.n. constitution. ♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010] >> the conservative political action conference in d.c. continues tomorrow. newt gingrich speaks, scheduled for 2:00 eastern. and fox news channel host bland -- glenn beck speaks tomorrow

at 6:00 eastern. we will also have live coverage of his comment. this weekend on c-span, michelle obama on preventing childhood obesity, and secretary arne duncan on education policy, part of our coverage of the annual meeting of the government's association, live throughout the weekend on c-span. >> we're working overtime to figure out how to get conservatives all the content they want on any platform they might own as quickly as possible. >> this weekend, the head of the national cable and tele- communications association on what is next for the cable industry. ñi"the communicators," saturdayn c-span. >> this week, the dow clay lot -- dalai lama visited the united

states. up next, the national endowment for democracy presents him with an award. from the library of congress, this is about 90 minutes. [applause] n c-span. [applause] >> your holiness, mr. gershman, friends all, library of congress friends all, library of congress is very pleased and honored >> we are pleased and honored to present the medal of service to his holiness, the dalai lama. he is no stranger to the library, having been received here previously. it is a very special honor to be able to welcome him back to date

in his return to the library of congress. with collections numbering in the millions, the library sustains the largest and most wide-ranging collection of human knowledge and creativity for the benefit of current and future generations, particularly on lawmakers and constituents, but really all people everywhere. congress has been the greatest patron of a library in history by creating and sustaining this library for 210 years, the oldest federal cultural institution. it represents the democratic belief that truly representative government must be based on knowledge and the freedom to use it. the tibetan collection revisited

some treasures and reflects all large spectrum of culture, history, art, and this collection promotes into cultural awareness and understanding and also helps preserve tibetan culture and heritage. tibetan collections have historic affiliations within spiritual traditions, including a tibetan hand painted religious scroll or cloth presented to william brock held by the 13 dalai lama in 1908. the former u.s. minister to china donated this entire collection of tibetan books acquired in to that between 1888

and 1892. they also include a volume on the protection of wisdom, also a gift from the 13th dalai lama. presentation of these gifts, the 13th has been described by a story and as probably the first direct cultural contact me into bed and the united states. we feel especially honored to welcome him today, and your presence highlights and pays tribute to preserve and the cultural and historic legacy of the tibetan experience. thank you for maintaining your friendship with this library, for your freedom of speech and access to knowledge on which all

libraries depends, i am sure the great culture you represent, the freedom of worship, to sustain culture, and for your own inspirational presence in a troubled world. and now, with banks to our special guests were gathered here todayxd to honor you, it is my pleasure to turn the program over to the national endowment for democracy and honor and thank him for his and during witness to human rights and democratic values. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome judy shelton, a distinguished vice chair of the endowment. >> thank you, james billington, our distinguished librarian of congress, for those warm words

of welcome, and what a marvelous privilege is to be here this morning and the largest library, our nation's oldest cultural institution, dedicated to preserving a universal collection of knowledge and creativity for future generations. it is my pleasure as vice chair of the board of directors of the national endowment for democracy to likewise welcome you all to this very special presentation today. our chairman, richard gephardt, was unable to be here, to his great regret, as he woulde1 have loved to greet our guest of honor, with whom he has saw opportunityçóñi to meet during several occasions in the house of representatives. chairman gephardt has long been a voice for fairness, justice, and tolerance, and is committed to the belief basic human rights are not of your cultural preference, but rather a

reflection of universal aspirations. the national endowment for democracy was founded in 1983 and since then has supported the work of democrats throughout the world, with a small d. the endowment is absolutely bipartisan, truly bipartisan. funding comes from the american citizen -- and is provided to us through the u.s. congress by which we are most grateful. our cramps' program today supports over 1200 products annually, covering a full range of activities related to democratic development and the establishment of democratic institutions. i am proud to report that net, the acronym by which we are known, has supported democratic aspirations of the tibetan people for over 20 years. our products have been related to building democratic awareness and institutions on the part of both, and increase

meaningful interactions between tibetans and chinese. in short, it is nepos mission world wide to help people who embrace democratic values, peaceful advocates for human rights, sharing a common desire to live in the world that is free and democratic. the democracy service medal was created by the board of directors of the national endowment for democracy. . the board of directors of the national endowment for democracy to recognize individuals who have made significant contributions to the progress of democracy around the world. it was first presented in april of 1999 at the roundtable agreement that led to poland's peaceful transition to democracy. the medallion is made of cast bronze. the engraving on it is -- read

the engraving on it is -- read simply, "in the service for the democracy. , it was awarded to the founder of the solidarity trade union movement who became president of poland. and to the afl-cio president who was also the principal founder of the national endowment for democracy. the metal has since been awarded to a very select few of exemplary individuals here and abroad who have dennis -- who have demonstrated their dedication to the advancement of freedom and human rights and to the expansion of democratic institutions, such as freedom of the press, freedom of assembly, honest and open elections, rule of law. and now, before proceeding to the presentation of the metal to our honored guest, i would like to take a few moments to recognize some people in the audience today, and to express

our deep thanks to the hereford foundation for sponsoring this event. we're honored to have with us the foundation's president, robert miller, who was also a member of n.e.d.'s board of directors and an officer, and we would like to say thank you to jane hersman, who serves on the hereford foundations board. will both of you stand and be recognized? [applause] i would also like to work -- to ñirecognize will taft, the chairman of the board of directorsçó of freedom house. if he would please stand? [applause] will taft is a man who has been at the center of u.s. decision making. he is a principled advocate for freedom. for the past two days, freedom house has been cosponsoring a human rights summit together

with the organization human rights first, chaired by williams able -- ablesable. are you here, sir? [applause] we also have jennifer windsor, the executive director of freedom house. [applause] and alyssa macimino, the president of human rights first. [applause] we offer a warm welcome to the human rights defenders from around the world who have gathered to the summit and honor us with their presence today. [applause] i would also like to recognize alan winds dean -- allen

weinstein, the distinguished former archiver for the united states. if he will stand, please? [applause] allen weinstein has done so much to ensure free and fair elections in the philippines and central america and throughout the world. helping the striving democracies to meet the standard of the electoral integrity, and he played an importantñi role in te founding of n.e.d. paula dobrionski, a remarkable woman, please stand. [applause] she was the under secretary of state in democracy in global toçó to thousand nine, during which time she was also special coordinator to tibet. paula is a recipient of the state department's highest honor, the secretary's distinguished serviced we are proud to nt

served as vice chair of the n.e.d. board. thank you so much. i would like to mention, too, that will taft's late wife, julia, was well known for her work related to refugees and disaster relief. she served as u.s. special coordinator to to bed and she was a valued member of n.e.d.'s board of directors and 1994 to 1998. finally, ladies and gentleman, i would like to recognize someone who isñi instantly recognizableo millions, the esteemed actor, richard gere. [applause] he also happens to be one of the most loyal and influential activists dedicated to the well- being of the tibetan people. richard gere chairs the

international campaign for tibet, an organization that works tirelessly to promote human rights and democratic freedoms for the people of tibet. a well-known humanitarians, richard gere is a poignant speaker on behalfñr of human rights, cultural preservation, and helping disadvantaged communities worldwide. it is wonderful to have you here with us today and we appreciate working closely with our good friends at that ict in organizing these events. -- this event. there are many distinguished guests in our audience today. it is an embarrassment of riches, and i hope you will forgive me for not been able to ñrproperly acknowledge your presence, but we have a very special purpose before us today. we now proceedñi to the presentation of the democracy service medal to our most honored guests, his holiness the dalaiçó lama, who has very kindy consented to take written

questions after the awarding of the metal, and following his initial comments. the president of the national endowment for democracy, carl gershman, will offer the democracy tribute for the ceremony, and it is very fitting that he do so. for under curls leadership, n.e.d. has grown to the premier of democracy organization in the world. carl gershman is the epitome of grass-roots democracy activist on a global scale, quite literally. he is one of the founders of the world movement for democracy, and is himself a past recipient of the light of truth awards presented by the international campaign for tibet. and in accepting the award five years ago, carl made this observation, "there has sometimes been a tendency to

rñifundamentally a moral locatin -- but aiding democracyñi is fundamentally immoral location, and our connection to the is wholly llama -- his holiness the dalai lama, helps remind us who we are, what we are all about and why we do what we do." anyone who knows curled gershman knows that he does what he does out of deep compassion, steadfast commitment, and an innate sense of justice. carl, if you would please come to the podium now to make the award. [applause] >> thank you so much, judy.

it is a very great honor for me to read n.e.d. 's tribute -- the n.e.d.'s trivia to the dalai lama, after which judy and i will have the distinct pleasure of placing people medal of around his neck, just as he has placed the traditional scarf are run the next of so many people throughout the world. we are gathered here today to honor the contribution of the dalai lama to the principles, values, and cause of democracy. this contribution is neater well understood, nor by the recognized -- is neither well understood, nor widely recognized. the leadership of the tibetans

to preserve their culture is world renowned. and he is honored as a man of peace. but his contribution to democracy has not received it -- the attention it deserves. our purpose today is to shed light on this dimension of his beliefs and purposes, one that makes the dalai lama especially relevant to the future of the world in which we live. even as a very young man, years before he fled tibet in 1959, the dalai lama sought to implement significant democratic reforms in tibet's system of government. not only did he seek justice for the tibetan people, but he also saw -- sought such reforms in the areas of taxation and land

idling as a way to mobilize the tibetan people against the chinese attempted to approve the tibetan society through forced collectivization, a program that was already under way in the early 1950's under the orwellian rubric of democratic reform. for reasons beyond his control, the dalai lama was unable to implement these reforms in tibet. but once in exile, he proceeded almostç?$rssq"iately to developa democratic system for the tibetans living in india. the first elections among tibetan refugees were held in the summer of 1960 in india. just months after his holiness arrived in the arm saw -- a darmstadt -- dharamsala.

today, the tibetan community in exile is overseen by an independent judiciary. a charter adopted by the assembly in 1991 transferred from the dalai lama to that body the power to elect the cabinet', including a prime minister vested with day-to-day powers. while a charter is modeled on the constitutions of established democracies, it reflects the unique nature of tibetan culture by placing special emphasis on protecting freedom of religion, upholding the principles of nonviolence and emphasizing the moral and material welfare of the tibetan people. in 1992, the dalai lama announced new guidelines for tibet's future policy the

pending in negotiated summit with the chinese government give them major responsibility for determining tibet's future governance to the tibetans living in tibet. that responsibility, in his view, should include even the power to determine if the institution of the dalai lama should continue to exist. the dalai lama's commitment to develop a democratic polity for tibet is based on his belief enunciated in a lecture is sponsored by n.e.d. in 1998 that the old system was "outdated and ill-equipped to face the challenges of the contemporary world." this commitment to democratic reform and modernization, important as is, is but one

çódimension of the dalai lama's contribution to democracy. . . it gives people a sufficient understanding of their rights and responsibilities as citizens of a democratic society. hear, the dollar on mama -- hear, the dalai lama echoes john dewey, who said that the real heroes in a democracy are the philosophers and teachers who molded the citizens' intellectual ideals and social attitudes, without which they cannot exercise self-government or realize the promise of democracy. this commitment to imparting knowledge as the foundation of

democracy is at the core of the library of congress, where we meet today. it is also -- it has also inspired the extraordinary tibetan children's village and the array of other educational institutions established throughout india, including the dalai lama institute for higher education, which was inaugurated a year ago this week in bangle alore. the dalai lama has defended democracy as a universal ideal, in response to asian leaders who have claimed it is a western concept that undermines the so- called "asian values" of order, duty, and stability. speaking as a buddhist monk, he

has argued that buddhism, wall born on the indian subcontinent, is compatible with democracy, in that both are rooted in a common understanding of the equality and potential of every individual. in addition, he has attached great importance to the fact that democracy is now well established in india and other non-western countries, and is the cherished goal of brave activists in burma, china, and elsewhere around the globe. burma, china, and elsewhere around the globe. the institutions that thrive from democratic values, he has said, are nothing less than the necessary conditions of a civilized society. in addition to defending democracy, his holiness has

given us all but a model of how to pursue democracy and with according to its values. are refusing to relinquish the principle of nonviolence despite the terrible violence that has been inflicted on the tibetan people, he has preserved the moral integrity of the tibetan struggle and the possibility for an eventual reconciliation with çchina. by demonstrating moral courage and selfxd assurance in the face of perked force and abuse of insult -- in the face of bçrute insult -- in the face of bçrute ç in keeping with his belief in universal responsibility, he has awakened the spirit of human and international solidarity that

animates all those around the world who are struggling for democracy and human rights. not least, the dalai lama has been a consistent voice of solidarity for other democratic dissidents. his holiness has called himself "the unluckiest dalai lama" because he has spent more time as a refugee living outside his country than he has living in tibet. but with characteristic optimism, he has said that his exile has been rewarding and that it has given him the opportunity to live in the democracy of india, suggesting that he now has a greater capacity to bring the gift of democracy back to tibet.

çówhether he will have that chance depends in no small measure on the faith of chinese democrats like the imprisoned men who have supported the call for dialogue, as well as the dalai lama's belief that a negotiated settlement granting full autonomy to the tibetan people will enhance china's stability, unity, and its standing in the world. thus, the circumstances that have made the dollar llama -- made the dalai lama and exile have also linked his struggle to the survival of tibet, to the future of democracy, and the world's largest country.

his holiness has also said that his exile has enabled him to learn about the world in a way that tibetans had never been able to do before. it has given the world the opportunity to learn about the dalai lama and the people of tibet in a way that might not otherwise have been possible, and to have become enriched in the process. to have become in rich in the process. -- to have becomeç enriched in the process. he has transformed exile into a platform from which to defend his people and to teach moral and democratic values to the world, and an achievement that inspires people of goodwill

everywhere and helps us all look to the future with hope. çxdçççqw3qñrfor its contribr çadvancing the institutions, çadvancing the institutions, he did as a model of how to practice democracy as a way of world -- as a way of life. he has extended the survival of tibet in a way that has contributed to world peace and human understanding. national endowment for democracy is proud to present its democracy service medal to his holiness, at the dalai lama. [applause]

[applause] [applause] [no audio]

i think most of you know i do not know how todle most formal -- i do not know. brothers, sisters, and those people who give me this, thank you very much. [laughter] i really feel, given this kind of thing, a recognition for my small contribution for

betterment of 6 million human !jqje%jjtç to promoteç democr. democracy -- i did not learned the value of democracy through education but through experience. i want to share witht( you that. firstly, when i was young, a buddhist young, a rather stupid young monk, i never paid

attention about study. just only pleasure. i think one example -- i think 42. that meansç at age 7. i received a very important sort of letter and a gift from president roosevelt. at that time, my only interest was the gift of the watch, not the letter. at that time, i had no thought about the letter. actually, i do not know where that letter has gone. after 68 years, just yesterday,

president obama gave me a copy of that letter. [applause] [laughter] so, actually, at that time, the container of that letter was very beautiful. so that, i remember -- for a few weeks, i played with that. [laughter] çq so at that time, by nature, t was only interested in ordinary

people, particularly sweepers. the sweepers treated me as their own family -- an equal. so that is really the source of joyful lesness. in a ceremony, i sit on a throne. in real daily life, a completely mixed with these people. -- i completely mixed with these people. through that,, i learned of a lot of injustice in society and a lot of gossip about the leaders of regentions. so then, i myself had a lot of complaints from these ordinary

poor people. it was so bad. i think it was not as bad as the chinese say, but anyway. there was a lot of injustice or drawbacks. eventually, in 1954, i went to china, peking, as the one member of a tibetan delegation for the chinese parliament -- as a parliament member. but there, i said a long speech from authority. many parliament members copied

said they all fell asleep, showing no interest. on one occasion, after a long session, some small group of officials and also some members of parliament had some discussion. i remember very clearly one chinese gentleman stood. i did not understand, at the time, what she said. her expression -- she was complaining about something. that i know. then the leader told her to shut up. [laughter]