have eight more months in my term. i plan on finishing up my term. there is some legislation i would like to get done. . .

>> he is nodding his head. s are, that coach. he knows exactly how that is, right? >> [inaudible] >> no. in fact, -- first of all, we have a large majority in the house, the senate, and a democratic president. now is the time to go. am i worried about it? i have seen the republican field, and obviously i am not impressed. it is one of the weakest fields i have seen in my time. unfortunately, michigan, we have term limits. i think it is terrible. the voters have the right to limit a term, not some arbitrary law. we have good democrats for a term-limited to are in their second third term, and they

could not hold this seat. i am excited about the democratic prospects. i am sure they will do well. i think we have it tilted this district so that democrats will get more than a second look. i think we have shown them that democrats can hold this seat and provide greater representation in washington, d.c., for the first congressional district. people like my quality -- people like mike lotte could do a great job. one more question. we have a couple more interviews today. we have some friends here. we did not try to build a crowd. i just want to say thanks for coming out. it has truly been an honor to serve you. the thing that drive is extra hard, but you see the people that you are representing and how much you mean to us. that is why my family did do it for all those years. but we want to thank you for giving us the opportunity, and thanks for being here today.

thank you. [laughter] [applause] >> michigan congressmen bart stupak @ @ out in his retirement after serving nine terms in the u.s. house. he says the travel back and forth from his michigan office was wearing on him. he wants to spend more time with his family. congress then stupak not running for a 10th term. on the heels of this announcement, the associated press reported today that the supreme court's oldest justice, john paul stevens, will be retiring. he said today he will be stepping down in late june or early july. >> live pictures from the new orleans this afternoon where our coverage continues of the southern republican leadership conference. you'll hear remarks from the family research council president possibly, sarah palin, and louisiana governor bobby jindal. this is live coverage on c-span. we expect this to get underway shortly.

>> hello, everybody please take your seat. the program is going to be started momentarily i am the director of the southern conference.

while we're waiting to start, we have a few people that need to report to stage west. executive director of the republican party of louisiana. ronald, steve, dave roberts, paul, in frank store, please report to stage left. thank you.

>> we are just a minute or so away from the start of the general session of the southern republican leadership conference taking place at the hilton riverside hotel. we will hear remarks from alaska governor sarah palin this afternoon. also louisiana governor bobby jindal. and texas governor rick perry. we expect this to get underway in just a moment. live coverage on c-span.

harapp

>> again, we're live from the hilton riverside hotel in new

orleans where we are awaiting the start of this other leadership conference this afternoon. we expect remarks from alaska governor sarah palin, louisiana governor bobby jindal, and texas governor rick perry, among others. from the associated press, of course, this afternoon, we have heard the supreme court justice john paul stevens, the court's oldest member, is retiring as he turned 90 years old. president obama will now have his second high court opening to fill. the senate chair, who oversees the mid court nominations, will over the best chance to avoid partisan fighting over justice stevens replacement. a vermont democrat telling the this is yet press he will suggest the timing to president obama, who has not announced a nominee.

>> hello, everybody but a welcome to larry is a and and to new orleans, my home. thank you all for coming. -- welcome to louisiana. i am state senator from the state of louisiana and district 9, which is in the parish of jefferson. for those of you who do not know

louisiana, we do not have counties. we have parishes. we have a lot of other interesting things as you'll find out as we go through this week. it is my great pleasure at this time to introduce johnny green, the pastor of the healing plays church in that larouche. >> thank you. let's pray. father, we love you. but we pray a blessing and every single person who helped put this event on. we thank you for their hard work and dedication. while we thank you for men and women that will stand up and fight the fight of faith, but we pray that over the next few days to continue to give us wisdom. god, give us guidance, and give us your heart and spirit so that we can lead those for whom you died. we ask all this in the name of jesus christ. amen. >> amen. >> thank you, johnny. please remain standing. we're going to have the pledge of allegiance led by our national committeewoman. ruth.

>> will you join me as a pledge of a flag of the greatest nation on this earth. [cheers and applause] >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. and if you will now remain standing, it is my delight as a mother to introduce you to a young woman will be singing the national anthem. ♪ >>oh, say, can you see, by the dawn's early light, what so proudly we hail'd at the twilight's last gleaming?

whose broad stripes and bright stars, thro' the perilous fight, o'er the ramparts we watch'd, were so gallantly streaming? and the rockets' red glare, the bombs bursting in air, gave proof thro' the night that our flag was still there. o say, does that star-spangled banner yet wave

o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave? ♪ [applause] great. ladies and gentlemen, that was fantastic. can we have another round of applause? [applause] >> this is a great honor for me. i am new to the stage in national politics. but i would like to say that this is the opportunity of a

lifetime, because i believe the event that we are all at today is the first event on the path to taking back the congress of the united states and the white house. [cheers and applause] our next speaker is president of the largest conservative family advocacy organization in washington, d.c., the family research council. prior to his position as president, national media call them alleges that of pioneer for scrap in passing innovative legislation during two terms in the louisiana state legislature. he's a veteran of the marine corps. and our next speaker brings unique perspectives to the challenges facing the pro-family movement. i like that word, pro-family. please join me in welcoming tony perkins. [applause] >> welcome back good afternoon.

i tell you what, the only thing better than coming home to louisiana is coming home to a conservative gathering in louisiana. [applause] you know, just a couple weeks ago, my wife and i celebrated our 24th wedding anniversary. [applause] thank you. i applauded from my wife, too. it happened on the same weekend that congress narrowly approved the government takeover of health care. now that weekend, when all of that occurred, i was reminded of a phone call that my wife made to me on our 21st wedding anniversary just three years ago. i was in the office in washington, and she was here at our home in louisiana. she said, i have some news for you. that is usually not good. she says i hope you're sitting down. i said, at my desk, tellingtell. she said, we're going to have a

baby. now i looked for guess that you get for the 21st wedding anniversary, and that was not on the list. i have to admit that the words that i ended at that moment were probably not the most profound words that i have ever spoken. [laughter] i said, how did that happen? [laughter] i was in shock. [laughter] well, about three months into this, we decided that we needed to tell our other four children. at the time, we had three girls and one boy. we gathered them all into the study and said, we're going to have someone else living with us. [laughter] and they all wanted to know which grandparent was moving in. [laughter] i said, no, mama is going to have a baby. well, the girls were so excited. there were beside themselves. they were going to have a

little when they could dress up and carry a round of play with and my son, david, was 8 years old at the time and sat across the room, looking at me, not moving -- [laughter] when it was all over, he looked in me and said, dad, if it is another girl, i am out of here. [laughter] well, happy to say that, with the arrival of samuel adams perkins, david stayed. [laughter] [applause] i share that with the because i was reminded of that despicable weekends ago. because there are some that are hoping, because of what is happening in washington, d.c., and the policies that are being shoved it down the throats of americans, there those hoping you and i will pack up, and we will leave. and i think it is absolutely critical that we send a message that we are not going anywhere.

[applause] let me ask you, are you going to give up? >> no. >> are you going to go away? >> no. >> we are here to stay, and they need to know it. >> yeah. [applause] >> i have to remit advice president joe biden is more perspective -- perceptive than i thought [laughter] ] mandating that every american purchase government approved health-care that grows the size of government, limits personal freedoms, tramples upon the constitution, and forces every american to subsidize abortion is a big deal. [laughter] in fact, the majority of americans oppose this government health care takeover will show him just how big of a deal is come november. [applause]

the white house has had their chance to celebrate, but americans will celebrate in november when they replace this in solid majority. [applause] once we replace this congress, we must repeals this socialistic timebomb and restore constitutional restraints to washington, d.c. [applause] we should accept nothing less than it replaced, repealed, and we store. -- and restore. the day of politics as usual must end. the time to take back our country from the politicians who care more about advancing their political careers than adhering to the constitution of the united states. [applause] congressmen like the one from illinois questioned by constituents about the constitutionality of health care says he does not worry about the

constitution. well, if that is the case, he should be made to worry about finding a new career. [applause] now, my friends, take this from a friend, a word of caution. the republican party must resist the temptation of thinking the president can woes of the democratic party translates into an automatic political windfall for the gop. [applause] republican candid its and the party must regain and retain the trust of voters. how can we be -- how can we accomplish that? how can we go forward as americans, as conservatives, and as republicans? i think we could dry inside from the father of america, our first president, george washington. in his farewell address to the nation in 1796, he give guidance to the inhabitants of this young republic on how to build and

sustain a great nation. he said a record of all the habits that lead to political prosperity, religion and morality are indispensable supporters. in vain with men claimed the attributes of patriotism who worked to destroy these great colors of human happiness. and let us caution and to indulge the supposition that morality can be maintained without religion. we must ensure that these great pillars continue to uphold our republic. we are right to focus on the economy and shrinking the ever expanding size of government. but we must realize, we can never shrink the size of government without first strengthening the american family. [applause] in the absence of strong families, the chaotic landscape becomes prime real-estate for

big, interests of government. an environment that fosters strong, vibrant families is of help of public morality that george washington spoke of. and nothing, my friends, is more fundamental than public policy that upholds the sanctity of human life. [applause] later today, about 100 miles north of here at my home church, our pastor will be conducting a funeral. he will be burying a newborn baby who died this week. this baby has no name. little baby boy was found in a sewage ditch. discarded by his mother at birth. the discarding of innocent human life, the discarding of a baby. whether in a sewage ditch or and unsanitary planned parenthood clinic is not a choice, it is an indictment against the character

of our nation. [applause] >> this week, the center for disease control released the latest statistics on childbirth in the u.s. the good news is, teenage pregnancy has declined. bad news is that for the first time in our nation's history, over 40% of births were to single mothers. why should that be of concern to us, who are pursuing a strong economy and smaller government? well, while welfare reform accomplished a lot, many government policies continue to discourage marriage and encourage out of wedlock births that result in a fatherless children.

you realize that almost a third of america's children are growing up without any contact with their fathers or little contact. now while we welcome and applaud the heroic efforts of a single moms, the empirical evidence shows it is not enough. children who grow up without responsible fathers are significantly more likely to experience poverty, performed poorly in schools, engage in criminal activity, abused drugs and of all. this results in both the tragic loss in human potential and an increase in societal cost of which we all pay for. we are right to focus on the threats to our national security. whether a broader at our borders. this administration is undermining our national security with a foreign policy of apology and appeasement, and it must stop. [applause]

in fact, how many military veterans do we have here today? what all of our military veterans stand up? let's thank them for their service. [cheers and applause] thank you for your service to our country. this administration is seeking to advance a radical social agenda that and not only threatens our domestic well- being but our national security as well. the president's efforts are repealed don't ask, don't tell, forcing the military to embrace sexuality must be stopped. [applause] a few weeks ago spoke to eddie i served with in the marine corps, and he told me he was going to retire, and i asked him why.

he said, well, when i first joined the marine corps, homosexuality was illegal. when i reenlisted, it was optional. i am going to get out before it is mandatory. [laughter] america has the best equipped, the best trained, and the most experienced military in the history of the world. and we owe it to these men and women -- [applause] we owe it to these men and women who have been shown cannot speak for themselves in this environment to not let this administration turned them into camouflaged guinea pigs for radical social experimentation. [applause] we are right to focus on fostering job growth and educational opportunities. but we must remember the true

wealth of an individual or a nation is not measured by the material things they acquire. the bear stearns and lehman brothers did not implode, sending our nation's economy into a tailspin, because there were not enough luxury hybrid driving i believe graduates on wall street that did not understand the markets. it was because there was a shortage of men who understood the meaning of honesty and integrity. [applause] we are right to focus on personal freedom and liberty, but we must remember the inside of our founding fathers. james madison, our fourth president, and the architect of the constitution, said, we have staked the whole future of american civilization not upon the power of government. far from it. we have staked the future upon the capacity of each and all of us to govern ourselves, to sustain ourselves according to

the 10 commandments of god. [applause] we must pursue and defend the freedom not to do what we want but to do what we ought to. [applause] we must be the party that aggressively defends religious freedom, and that includes america's judeo-christian tradition. [applause] a french historian who traveled the united states in the early 1800's said, i do not know whether all americans have a sincere faith in their religion. for who can surge of the human heart. but i am is certain that they hold it to be indispensable to the maintenance of its republican institutions. finally, we must not forget, nor apologize, for the fact that america is an exceptional nation. and we must not allow these pillars, george washington spoke

of, that provide the foundation of this exceptional wasn't to be removed or to be disregarded. another time of great uncertainty in our nation's history, there was a great american who challenged us with our responsibility. the words of ronald reagan, in another day and another time, still challenge us to that responsibility. he said, you and i have a rendezvous with destiny. we will preserve for our children this, the last best hope of man on earth, or ruble sentence them to take the first step in to 1000 years of darkness. if we fail, at least let our children and our children's children and say of us, we justify our brief moment here. we did all the could be done. [applause]

my friends, we and i believe our children have a future. a future that is as promising as we are willing to work to make it happen. let's git er done. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, our next speaker is an active leader on the local and national scene, president and ceo of the new life network foundation, as well as finance chairman and treasurer for the republican party of louisiana. please welcome william p. mills iii. [applause]

>> thank you very much. it is my honor here today -- our next speaker is somewhat of a phenomenon, a captivating the hearts and minds of millions of americans from the outer banks of north carolina to the far reaches of the alaska and the aleutian islands. [cheers and applause] she is one of the most compelling figures in modern american politics. following her mediocre rise from the relative tranquillity of america's final frontier to the forefront of the national discussion during the 2008 presidential election. she is quite frankly nothing short of a marvel. for her astonishing life story, she has come to represent far more than just the vice- presidential nominee. she provides a voice for

millions of women who, for so long have been misrepresented and taken for granted by the left and the now gang. [applause] she is a best-selling author, an oppressive leader, and the mother of five beautiful children. she has held the title of both mayor and governor, each in her respect and experience. she has invoked fear and even outright panic among the inclined those to liberalism. [applause] while at the same time, growing prowled the downing supporters, remembering the tens of thousands including two days ago, congresswoman michele bodman in the state of minnesota. [applause] she has championed conservative values, has gone above and beyond the call of duty, dealing

with the challenges of the day's sober political condition. call for a truly unique. call her a hero to many, especially the unborn. a woman who has undoubtedly made and will continue to make an impact on the national scene. so without further ado, it is my distinct pleasure and privilege to introduce you to the governor sarah palin. [applause] >> hello. thank you, new orleans.

thank you so much. it is so good to be here in the big easy. [applause] thank you so much, and please have a seat. i am so honored to get to be here with this nice crowd of friends. good to be here in the big easy. enjoying getting to know the people of new orleans. last time i was here was for an oil and gas conference. and now being here, hearing of the inspiring stories and people who have rebelled and revitalized and restored after katrina, it is very inspiring. i want to take a moment to thank this amazing city, especially the people who represent new orleans who are working here with public safety and the wait staff, making us feel so at home. thank you, new orleans, thank

you. [applause] good, patriotic people, too. i knew i should say you betcha after that. but who dat? there you go. good, patriotic people here. and i know this crap, too, patriotic people, and do you love your freedom? [cheers and applause] >> did you love your freedom? then we think of that. in other people here who have served in the past, may be serving today in uniform. raise your hand. we want to thank you from the bottom of our hearts. thank you, sir. we salute you. god bless you. thank you for your service. yep, last time i was here, and oil and gas conference. now it is april 9 on america tax freedom day. have the tax freedom day. there is a good piece written in "usa today" about this, explaining that american

citizens now spend about 100 days of the year working for their government before they start earning our own money that we get to spend. that just does not sound right to me. it sounds like we're working for government instead of government working for us. trying to reverse that. but we have the american tax freedom day here on april 9. well, folks, it seems like we're really learning what the president met with this slogan, yes, we can. when huge in the sunlight into a sentence, you did, yes, we can -- spread the wealth around. yes, we can -- spend the money that we do not have on programs we do not need, and we're going to stick the next generation with the bill. and yes, we can, put our country back on amtrak that is not a good track because this track is going to quadruple our national debt. and yes, we can let the government take over 16 the the private sector economies with the mother of all unfunded

mandates, c, are. these are just a few of the domestic policy accomplishments and informed policy. now we have the makings of the obama doctrine. the obama doctrine. which is toddling enemies and alienating allies. the administration it sided with chavez against honduran democracy. they will not bring up human rights with china because they "they already know what they're going to say." they offered tepid conditions and sanctions on north korea and gold stars and cookies to the sudanese president. they sent letters to iranian morale laws that can barely muster a word of support for the green movement, those in iran seeking freedom and women's rights, barely a uttering a word of support for that. now the president, with all the vast nuclear experience that he

acquired as a community organizer -- [laughter] [applause] and as a part-time center and as a full-time candidate, all that experience, still no accomplishments today with north korea and iran. meanwhile, this administration alienates our friends. they treated the afghan president karzai poorly, and then they seemed surprised when he reacted in kind. they escalated a minor decision into a major breach with israel, our friend, our closest ally in the middle east. let's remind our president, jerusalem is not a settlement, and israel is our friend. [cheers and applause] and the critical nuclear concerns of our time is north korea because they have nukes

and iran because they want nukes. so yes, we can, criticize allies, vacillate -- yes, we can, but somebody needs to tell the president just because we can does not mean that we should. [cheers and applause] now they are revising the 2008 slogan for 2010 and having ran through more than a $2 trillion health care take over, flying around the country now on the taxpayer funded victory lap, proudly saying yes, we did. well, you know, i would not be so quick to slap that on a bumper sticker, not just yet. a lot of common sense conservatives can relate the slogans that the majority of americans like a lot better than that. like repealed and replaced. [applause] and the bumper sticker -- how

was that hopey cahngey thing is working out for you all now? but my favorite, do not retree, reload. and that is not a call for violence. [cheers and applause] that, of course, meaning, take an opportunity to engage in debate and vote is not a call for violence. no one is calling for such a thing, and the media is a desperate to discredit the people's movement and the tea party movement that they will make that up. but nobody is calling for violence. whether breyer talking about foreign or domestic policy, the obama-pelosi-read agenda defies logic and common sense and will

leave as less secure and more in debt and more be sold to foreign countries and under the thumb of big government. it is out of touch. it is out of date, and they are running out of time. [applause] because americans across this great country, they're standing up and speaking out for common- sense conservative solutions. and they're telling washington to just back off. some of us, registered republicans, some from the tea party movement, some used to be called reagan democrats, and some are like my friends and family, independents, lovers of this great country, so proud every day to be americans, and very, very concerned about the path we're now on. all of them deeply concerned about our country. and frankly, some of them are little bit skeptical, concerned about our party, about our own gop.

for years, the federal government grew and individual freedom shrunk for americans to believe dying conservative first principles. this was quite concerning and disheartening to watch some republicans stopped putting the first. i lived through that. i vetoed some of obama's stimulus funds in alaska that had strings attached that violated the 10th amendment to our constitution. my veto of those funds was overridden by republican-what legislature because too many people did not want to believe this is all free money. somehow it will all magically work out, the words of bill clinton. remember, he kind of paraphrase did well. if this ain't the biggest ferry tell i have ever seen. [laughter] of course, that was before obama was elected. so we do not know what context -- well, i will take it in the context that i want it in. [laughter] [applause] today, the grand old party has

its eyes wide open. do we not? and we are realists. we know now. we know. we know. [applause] we're getting back to our grand old roots. and when the other party is wrong, we're stiffening our spines, and we're saying so. because there is no shame in being the party of no it the other side is proposing an idea that violates our values, our conscience, violence our constitution. what is wrong with being the party of no doubt? we will oppose it. [applause] or better set by the good governor of this state. he said, well, you know, we're the party of hell no. [cheers and applause] now going board, we have to keep supporting those republicans in congress or leading the loyal opposition. let's help them. they're putting the liberal elite on notice.

government overreached did not begin with the obama administration, but it will end with the obama administration. [applause] because, friends, surely the party of abraham lincoln, the party of reagan, is back, and we have our eyes wide open going into these midterm elections. we're not just the party of no. we're the party of ideas. with articulate our turn the tips, we will prove a better way for america. let me hit on something that has been making headlines lately. i know it well. it is very important to all of us, and it is energy policy. energy is not just about heating our homes and filling our rigs in keeping the lights on. it is an issue that touches every challenge that we face from the value of our paycheck to the interest abroad. there's an inherent link between energy and security and energy and prosperity and energy and freedom. [applause] we need affordable, domestic,

reliable, environmentally sound energy, and there is such a big difference between how the republicans and democrats want to accomplish that goal. there was a much different war on conventional resources. and this administration proposed billions, tens of billions of dollars in new fees on domestic production because they evidently think we're overproducing oil and gas. liberals in congress want to stop things like hydraulic fracturing to produce cleaner- burning natural gas. the administration is locking up even more federal lands that are filled with this god-given huge reserve of oil and gas and uranium. even if a producer is lucky enough to finally be prevented to drill and mine, well, good luck transporting that resources to where it can do the most good. want to build a pipeline? it can take years to get a federal permit. in the transmission line to take a decade. when it tends to consumption,

the laughs plan is very devastating -- the left plan is devastating. it is simple. at least they are honest about this. they do want you to pay more so you will consume less. they called it, this new scheme, cap and trade. i, cap and tax. whatever you call this scheme, it will kill jobs. it will kill production and productivity and work at the guy in this industrious america that we have grown to love. it will pass an even greater burden on to the next generation, on to our small businesses, on to our working families today. that sounds like a bad idea in a bad economy. well, yeah, the left thought he would think it is a bad idea. so what they want to do now is just skip the legislative process and go right to the regulatory agency. let the epa, which some are calling the economic punishment agency -- [laughter] let the epa do the dirty work then. like so much of the left agenda,

the have decided what is best for us. even if we do not like it and cannot afford it and it makes no sense, they are going to do it anyway because, yes, they can. now if you watch some of the news or may be on the white house e-mail list, it might all come as a big surprise, all this energy staff. the smoke and mirrors is going on. but we know it is because the president can give some pretty nice speeches, and they sound like he's finally getting it. and he is going to enact energy policies that they overwhelmingly it -- a majority of americans can support. but when you tune in and the applause dies down, he stands by why the administration and democrats in congress to block those things one by one. it is a lot of smoke and mirrors. take nuclear power. he talks a good game about supporting it. but where was he when his interior secretary went for 1

million acres from uranium production in arizona. we all know that harry reid opposes safe storage of feel at certain amount. we did not expect the administration to back him up on that for purely political reasons but not safety, not environmental, or a geological reasons but political reasons. they cannot have it both ways. if you can akron to support development -- a development of clean nuclear security and then got our options at both ends of the fuel cycle. [applause] likewise, the left me tell you that they are for renewal resources like wind and solar power and hydro, and that is just great. i got for did -- god forbid you try to put a windmill in nantucket sound or a solar panel in the desert somewhere. because somebody may see it. or a lizard may run into one. oh you , my. last week we saw this bait and

switch, and had to do with offshore drilling. you have to pay attention to this one. the president gave a big speech at andrews air force base with all the fanfare you come to expect at this time with his speeches. the only thing missing from the ceremony was the soundtrack from "top gun" and joe biden in a flight suit. [laughter] that is next. since then, the spenders have been spending that one is a huge victory for energy security. anything sounds good when you say it in front of a fighter jet. the stop and think about what really happened that day and then the next day when we cut through the hype and talk about what really happened. after inheriting a good pro development gop plan that open up both coasts for drilling, the obama administration halted development. the last week they opened virginia's coastal areas for offshore drilling. but mostly delayed until 2012. you know the environmentalists

who have more time to sue, up until 2012, in our mail list source of concern about the world's environment that they would rather see less responsible countries develop resources and ignore our stringent environmental regulations. they would rather see the other countries develop. this gives them more time to sue. meanwhile, the northeast atlantic coast is closed. the number alaska rich area is cancelled. drilling along the pacific coast with 10 billion barrels of oil and 18 trillion cubic feet of cleaner-burning natural gas waiting to be tapped, now that is prohibited. now we're going to study the south atlantic in parts of the gulf of mexico and a couple other areas. my goodness, these areas have been studied to death. apparently, the interior department reviewed almost 50 studies and decided government needs even more to collect more

dust on the shelves, more studies. as a governor and as an oil and gas commissioner a desk chair of the nation's oil and gas compact commission, i have seen so many studies. i say, let's send the white house this message that -- no, we can sit taxpayer time, said monday, and announced there is oil and gas in down there, and we can produce it safely and responsibly. we do not need more studies. we need more actions. [applause] because energy produced in america is security for america, and it is jobs for american workers, jobs that cannot be outsourced. let's drill, baby, and drill. not stall, baby, stall. [applause]

and i had to remind myself that when i had to throw that one in their one last time to remind you guys. .

>> it is more the status quo. reagan said that is latin for the mess we are in. when a comes to energy, as some total -- the stakes are too high to wait for the next presidential election to get it right. our country needs the jobs, we need a security.

we rely on these domestic sources that production here will provide now. that is why republicans need to hit the road in 2010 and show americans what a real energy policy looks like. a gop plan puts all the options on the table. relying on foreign regimes to meet our energy needs makes us less secure and it costs us billions of dollars, hundreds of billions of your dollars circulating in these foreign countries. we have to say no more. we need to give it all we've got. that means drill here and drill now, and the ocs must be open for development for revenue sharing for the state. [applause] and on short, it is time to stop ignoring the obvious.

that includes my home state and the people in alaska want to see drilling. i love the way ann coulter put it. she says they are breeding and thriving. the caribou are fine, but she said we are in a time of war. you may have to take one for the team. [applause] no matter where the drill bit is, we have to streamline the permitting process and cut the red tape and licenses needed to deliver this to hungry markets. as we produce more here at home, yes, we must waste less. we can encourage people to use energy efficiently through tax

incentives and consensus standards with companies and consumers understanding that need. with a renewable, let's encourage innovation. washington should not be in the business of picking winners and losers in this energy debate. they have technologies we should allow to compete against each other for the best projects, instead of competing for washington's affection. let's empower states to find the best solutions. they need flexibility. they need respect for the 10th amendment and the flexibility to see what works best. i said shoot, i'm sorry. [laughter] look at texas. [applause] that approach in texas is already paying off. can you believe they are home to the world's largest windfarm?

the largest producer of wind energy. they are doing it right in texas. [applause] finally, we can create a competitive climate for alternatives that are doable. nine of the snake oil science stuff based on this global warming his stuff that came down where there was a revelation that the scientists were playing some political games. i sued the heads of governor for some bogus listing and almost got run out of town, but now we feel a little bit vindicated because we have seen there was some snake oil science involved. a green energy that will replace conventional resources is not here yet, but it will be someday. until that day, we need domestic resources to meet our needs.

when the alternative is discovered it will be here and it will be americans who will find it. [applause] because we invented the modern oil well. we invented the telephone. we invented the airplane. we put a man on the moon. we invented the internet, unless that was another goregate thing too. it was the american ingenuity that made this country the envy of the world. it will be americans pioneering a new era. we have the resources and best workers of the world. now all we need is the political will. in other words, there is nothing stopping us from achieving energy independence. nothing that a good old- fashioned election cannot fix. [applause]

[applause] >> and the election is only seven months away. [applause] the time to articulate the alternative is now. and from now until november when they say yes, we can, we say no, you don't. [applause] when they tried to restrict freedom and grote government, which will prove that the republican party has a better way, because this is a party of lincoln and reagan. [applause] this is the party that put an end to slavery. this is the party -- [applause] that declared it is morning

again in america. this party let us to victory in the cold war with the firm directives, we win, you lose. this is the party in knowing that america's men and women in uniform, america's finest, this is their source for good. that is nothing to apologize for. we realize frieden is a god- given right and worth fighting for. -- freedom is a god-given right. [applause] this is the party that stands for competition and responsibility and respect for life and liberty. this is the party that will usher in a new era of prosperity, new opportunities for all. this is our party and we are writing a new chapter in this proud history. it starts with us, and it can start today.

we need to stand together and take our country back. thank you so much for being part of these solutions. god bless you. god bless the united states of america. thank you, guys. [applause] [applause] [applause] [applause]

[applause] [applause]

[applause] [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, if you could please take your seats. that was governor sarah palin. [applause] thank you. thank you, governor.

our next speaker is treasurer of the patriots pact, an organization to line to bring real americans back into the political process. patriots pack helps people find their political voice in a system often dominated by corrupt politicians. i am proud to introduce mr. curt landry. curt. [applause] craigslist i have a tough act to follow. bank -- >> i have a tough act to follow. my name is kurt landry. my kids often asked me, why are you leaving? where are you going? why are you spending so much time doing that other stuff? i have to answer them, i am trying to save our country from

an administration that is out of control. it has moved from taking care of business with terrorists to putting the full frontal assault on the american people. [applause] this administration would have you believe that mr. president obama, nancy pelosi and harry reid would have you think the very people sitting next to you or aren't, t,hey are amed fanatics that storm the white house grounds every chance they get. the reality is their biggest fear is that we are armed with knowledge, the power of the pen, with whit and tenacity to not sleep our way through a socialist move in our government. [applause]

what the president should be focusing on instead of what the word is is or whether extremist terrorism is extreme or not, he should be focusing on jobs. mr. president, spend time on jobs. i have a request for you, how are you ready for november? are you ready for 2012? are you ready for 2012? [applause] that is what i wanted to hear, and so am i.. i have a request, sent the president a pink slip. send a pink slip to harry reid and this november. send a pink slip to barbara boxer. let's take back our country, moving in the right direction and get away from the politics

of doom and gloom, falsehoods, and disingenuous actions. one thing that we all know here is we know that being disingenuous to people is the same as lying. they would have you believe that mean something else as well. it is what is. one thing we like to do, while our president is building the wall of bureaucracy we have to work our way through, there is one famous man i remember well. we don't want a wall of bureaucracy of medicare. we don't want a wall of bureaucracy of the irs sticking their hands in our parties. -- sticking their hands in our pockets. my challenge to you and everyone following the tea party folks, both the democrats who are with us now and cannot believe what

his own president is doing, asked this president to tear down that bureaucratic wall and support the american way of life. not the socialist way of life. [applause] i thank you for your time. god bless you. god bless america, and keep on fighting the good fight. [applause] >> thank you very much. that was great. our next speaker is executive director of the louisiana family forum. he is an ordained minister bringing experience to our session here. please help me welcome rev. gene mills. [applause] >> what an exciting opportunity to talk about the future of this nation.

i want to welcome those who are from outside of louisiana, welcome to louisiana. my home and the home of the who dat nation. it is an honor to host our southern regional guests. as i was growing up in a small french community as the grandson of an old grandmother, she used to tell me about you guys that lived outside of the borders of southwest louisiana. she would say, then people up north, they are not really bad. [applause] they've just hungry. [laughter] i hope you have been accommodated and well-fed while you have been here. [applause] i invite you to consider making this your home. seriously, at least for the 2010 census purposes.

we have congressional delegates that have located census forms in each of the exit's for your completion. [laughter] originally, new orleans was named by the french. it was referred to as the isle of orleans, because we are surrounded by islands. but it is not likely to capsize, like guam. [laughter] american political history is chronicled numerous long winters and bitter nights in our history. we are in the midst of one of those long winter is now. we suffer together through many different seasons, but we have made it through every single one. i am confident we will again. [applause] many of us in this room suffered

through the long night of jimmy carter's presidency, but guess what? that long night gave us the birth of a brand new president, ronald reagan. [applause] i can remember when he stood stately edney brandenburg gate and demanded to tear down this wall. if reagan could stand before you today, he would say something similar. he would speak strongly and would be right to demand of us to repeal that bill. [applause] in louisiana, we had endured the long winter of governor edwin edwards and his four terms in office. sadly, he is referred to in may -- but that long winter has

given us reformers like governor bobby jindal. [applause] today in louisiana, six out of seven congressional delegates are republicans. [applause] we had elected our first-ever republican u.s. senator. [applause] we enjoy the most conservative state supreme court out of anywhere in the nation right now. [applause] sarah palin and that guy that she ran with the scored 60% of the votes in 2008. right here in louisiana. [applause] did i mention our texas governor, bobby jindal banks --

bobby jindal? the good book tells us weeping may endure for the night, but joy comes in the morning. our president, bratt hussain obama has had extraordinary accomplishments himself. -- barack obama has had extraordinary accomplishments. he has done what we have never been able to do, he has united the republican party. he has energized a massive leaderless grass roots movement, probably the largest and american history. they call us the teeth party. [applause] -- the tea party. he has busted the myth of the pro-life blue dog in dc. he has united 14 attorney general's to litigate against his on constitutional obamacare.

[applause] because i get the chance to talk to people in the street, he has convinced many libertarians it may be cool to vote conservative in 2010. [applause] it was thomas jefferson that taught us, when the people fear their government, that is tyranny. i don't know if you have tasted the taste of tyranny, but that is what it tastes like. when the government fears its people, that is the liberty. [applause] i remembered liberties first sweet taste when as a high- school senior entering into college in the early 1980's i had the chance to cast my first vote. i heard the arguments of the existing president and the upcoming wannabee.

i listened there -- watched their lifestyles and i cast that first vote for ronald reagan. [applause] because he made me believe again in something of your, and honest -- believe again in something pure. reflected on that moment 25 years later when i was witnessing the historical account of the conclusion of his life. the 40th president died on june 5, 2004. it was at the anniversary of about my 40th year. i was contemplative of legacy and the impact we have on this earth and what we are called to do and its impact on others. i watch the seven-day international affair that brought heads of states together. our president made a national

day of mourning, flags were flown at half staff. on june 11, 2004, reagan and his personal library was laid to rest. his arch enemy, down his friend, sat in the audience, mchale gorbachev, as did the prime minister of israel and heads of states and dignitaries. they were there to pay their last respects of a life well spent. as i watched that a beautiful sunset come down over the clouds and the valleys, and i saw the casket lowered into the ground and friends and family gathered, it occurred to me as a young son of louisiana. i was born in a sunset, louisiana. i reside not in a community called sunrise. [laughter]

it dawned on me that for the first time, the sun has not set upon america. our best days lie ahead. we made commit this man's body to the ground as his soul goes to the lord, but the sun is just rising on his core values, what he communicated. they came alive in me that day. i began the impact that he had on my life, but life as he knew it. it eliminated for the world to witness the things that this man loves, his faith, family and this thing called freedom. [applause] it has been a long winter and bitter night. but the sun has not set on america. it is not over.

this great nation has many great days ahead. if you glance over the horizon and you can begin to see the sun beginning to peak over the edge of the horizon. it may not be the end of the long winter night, but it is the beginning of the end of that long winter nights. [applause] it is rising over louisiana, rising over america. it will eliminate the path that we should take. reagan concluded in a speech that my good friend tony perkins offered a moment ago with these thoughts. you and i have a destiny. we really, really do. we will preserve for our children this last best hope for a man on earth. churches said it this way, never, never give up. the apex of the sunrise will

appear about mid november 2010. [applause] it will eliminate for a new generation of freedom fighters the direction this nation should take. from this liberty lover to you, i encourage you pray for this nation, pray for its leadership, act, it is not enough for us to talk about, but we must participate in finally engaging. may god calls -- cause his grace to shine like a thousand sun rises -- like 1000 sunrises. god bless you and god bless america. [applause]

>> thank you. i have to laugh. our next speaker is saying it is tough to follow a preacher, so our next speaker is part of the republican delegation elected to serve on the louisiana public service commission. he has fought for transparent ethical regulations and fair practices. he serves as a member of the parish executive committee. please join me in welcoming eric. >> good afternoon, everyone. thank you for being here in my home town. it is important we think about one thing, and in eight months we all get to do our donald trump imitation and tell nancy pelosi and harry reid, you're

fired. that is it. [applause] ay in the public service commissioner for southeastern louisiana -- i am the public service commissioner. i want to thank you for being here for this meeting. it is my honor to address this assembly. i am humbled before i stand before you. i grew up in a small neighborhood. it is only a few miles from here. my father is a hard-working man who turned his machinery business into a world-class food-processing plant. my mother was a dedicated homemaker who taught her children to respect others. they were my foundation and moral compass. on the day i registered to vote, i registered as a republican. the meetings were very small.

with every fiber of my being, i knew the ideological match was perfect for me. i have never been disappointed with that decision. at a young age i joined the staff of the louisiana republicans. [applause] i discovered my passion to serve. but the family business called and the private sector demanded my attention. i became ceo of our small family business, but the family business call. in a prospering world, our family turned this business into a worldwide concern. i became a strong proponent of supply-side economics. that is when i became a supporter of an american hero named ronald reagan. [applause]

i never lost my appreciation for that man's great common sense. we need more of its head. as ice -- we need more of it today. in 2008 the republicans took control of the commission. it is a great step forward. i am happy that while i try to regulate public utilities, i make the effort to bring the conservative approach to government. i am even more happy to share this podium with another great republican in louisiana. today you will hear from governor bobby jindal. [applause] and last night we got to see state party chairman roger, and they are but tremendous leaders for our state. -- most tremendous leader. i am a strong proponent of

senseless acts like cap and trade, but i will not or you with the technical aspects were the nonsense of environmental extremists. i want to share with the principles that guide me as a republican. i want to enlist your commitment to bring this party together to save america. you know in health care reform we all wanted the same thing. we wanted health care at a lower cost, lee available to all people. as a party, we propose common sense reforms that would have reduced premiums and help small businesses, but democrats found a way to create a bill laced with the bureaucratic red tape that will cost us over $1 trillion. it expands government with over 150 boards, is heavy-handed and

burdensome to america. democrats say it is only a bitter pill for republicans to swallow. i believe in it is a legal bill for america and our economic future. america is bitterly divided for a good reason. there is only one action left to take. it is time to replace it. [applause] i am so proud america is making its voice heard. the tea party movement is one of the most inspiring efforts in my lifetime. [applause] props to the tea party. it is the most inspiring effort in my lifetime. what makes the tea party movement so special? it is not manufactured. it will mac easily fade away. it is people over politics that

is wrong and a heart has it because it comes from the soul of caring americans like you and me. [applause] our nation is fed up with beltway shenanigans. it is evident when you turn on the national news. republicans views differed dramatically from democrats on a number of issues. there is too much wrong with the direction of the democrat leadership. there is a faltering financial plan proposing failing school systems and over bloated government. but a chief concern is national security. when did our commander in chief began battling to dictators? when did our nation began -- began bowing to dictators? where are the reagan days?

when we went through peace through strength, and the power of our nation and nothing less? it is time to take aim at the democrat's defense strategy, because it will fail us. it is time to demand we stand as the superpower we are and not yield to the pitiful politics of personality to lead our foreign policy. [applause] i say strengthen the sanctions against iran. turn up the heat on north korea and shore up our borders against the threat of terror. never let our guard down and diminished the nuclear deterrent that protect this country from sea to shining sea. [applause] we must stand up, speak up and hold fast for what we know to be right. that is freedom.

that is our message. we believe the authority of government comes from the people. the left believes the authority of government is to be applied to the people. [applause] thank you. a 40 to derive from a government is not a democracy. -- authority derived from a government is not a democracy. i don't know about you, but in the coming elections, i plan to export a little louisiana politics to what ever candidates need it. my friends, i will stand with you any day as a loyal conservative republican who will work along side each of you in any state to gain the victory over the left that our nation needs. look for me in november somewhere in america waving signs, because i will be looking for you. [applause]

i want to offer a heartfelt thank you to all of you who are visiting our great city. this is my lifelong home. yes, we fell to our knees, but we are rising. we struggled through one of the world's greatest disasters, but we are emerging stronger for it. we have indoor paints of recovery and are feeling like our old selves again. -- we have endured pains of recovery. please enjoy your stay in new orleans. it is a majestic city. when you go back to your homes, go with a smile and fond memories of your visit. proudly proclaimed that new orleans is back and she has never looked more beautiful. [applause] i would be rife that to finish with telling you that the

democrats say it will take a miracle for republicans to win in november. as i can remind all of you, new orleans is the city of miracles. i would ask you, in honor of my darling debby, would you please join me in a who dat? thank god. god bless you and your family and most of all, may god save the united states of america. thank you. [applause] >> thank you. we are about halfway through our agenda today. let's take about two seconds. everybody stand up and stretched, meet your neighbors and get some blood flowing. it is kind of cold in here.

♪ ♪ >> ok, let's get back to it. our next guest is mr. david james. he brings some members of his company fls to give us information on the importance of emerging technologies and new media. he previously served as consultant to the republican national committee. he continues to lend his campaign experiences as a leading instructor of republican campaign manager is. why don't we all give a big

round of applause for david james? thank you. [applause] >> thank you, conrad. it is always hard to be the operative that does nine give public speeches and follow sarah palin. i can tell you all are motivated about the message this year. we have the honor of working and sponsoring the new media challenge. on behalf of our partners, at the much more famous partners, tony and rich, we would like to thank all those that participated in this challenge. a few years ago campaigns were run much their family. when i was the -- they were run much differently. we were very part -- proud to have a web site.

we were proud to -- when people were looking for information, they might find our web site. times have changed. the new media challenge that we put together really put state parties to the test. we need to find voters. we need to mobilize our base. we cannot just hope people come to our web site and find out what great candidates were running in the republican party. we have to go out and find them and drive them. we need to stay up with technology. this panel consisted of a number of leading new media strategists from around the country. on my right and my left are two folks that were able to join us today. [unintelligible] and nathan from the new media.

we are also joined by todd. he used to be the former chairman of the michigan republican party and is currently serving of the chairmen of the technology committee. matt, who could not be with us today because he is launching new gingrich -- new gingrich's new site. there is a class right there. -- a clap right there. this past week we released the finalists in the categories that we were judging. each panelist reviewed all of the work that the state parties submitted and offered up a candid score and discussion about what we saw.

weaver able to then craft the results together -- we were able to craft the results and choose a winner. they were website, viral video, and overall network, e-mail, facebook and twitter. i will introduce both folks, and they will recover -- cover some of the categories. when we do that, don't come running out on the stage. we don't have a check to had you, that would violate the election law. after the presentations are done, we will have a certificate for you over at the fls booth. just a little bit of a plug here, fls is primarily a telemarketing company. we have always been on the cutting edge and look people in new highways -- looking for new

ways to win elections for republicans. we have a product that we call the volunteer connect. many of you who i have met had used you for the election of scott brown in massachusetts. it invoked the rating edict of trust, but verify. -- in stokes -- it invokes the reagan edict of trust. we have a special election for congress in may, where we have the opportunity to win a vacancy left by the passing of john murtha. it is a democratic seat, but in western conservative pennsylvania. [applause] we have a great candidate. he is a successful young businessman, never left the

area, just a fantastic person. this will be the first public election following the health care vote. so i think it has a chance to be the loudest reverse since the election of scott brown. [applause] i always have won applause line. it is always very weak. curst i will introduce nathan. he is the president of ngi new media. he has experienced in the on- line world -- experienced in the on-line world. he does work for the house republicans, a lot of work a lot of you are seeing. he will announce the winners of web sites, viral video and overall networks. [applause] >> thank you very much, david.

first off, a web site category. it website category was one of the most difficult for us to judge. there were many excellent web sites we reviewed. the finalists were louisiana, mississippi, north carolina, south carolina, and west virginia. [applause] it was exciting to see most of the parties we reviewed have taken digital communication seriously and develop advanced platforms. the winner of the best web site is south carolina. [applause] congratulations. next up, a viral whether video. an -- viral web video. it is critical for a message to get out and hopefully catch some sloppy mistakes. the winner of the best viral

video campaigned close to virginia. -- goes to virginia. the next category is independent social network. the winner kept their site up- to-date, spark competition and gave users the opportunity to build their own profile and interact with fellow republicans. the best state party independent social network goes to north carolina. i will now introduce zack to announce the rest of the awards. >> the first category i wanted to discuss is e-mail marketing. in this day when people are seeing twitter coming to the forefront, it is easy to overlook e-mail. what most people don't realize is in 200866% of solicitations

for obama came through e-mail. -- in 2008 66% of solicitations. the winner for the challenge was the state party of alabama. [applause] they did a very good job of making sure it was easy to find information, and different types of templates and it was easy to follow. they also did a great job on the twitter his challenge, which is difficult to do because it requires you stay visual. you have to make sure you are following people who follow you and making sure you are sharing that. the alabama tea party also won the twitter challenge. the final challenge was facebook.

now, more people are spending time on facebook and they are on google or yahoo!. it is important you treat your facebook group like an incubator. >> people are doing things in their day-to-day lives. the state party of west virginia did a great job. we want to congratulate them. [applause] i thank everyone for their time. we had a great job of managing this. it has been impressive to see what the state parties have done it and it is a testament to what the state party chairman is doing. thank you for being part of the challenge. [applause] >> there are two things that i missed and i am sure all of you are sitting back and waiting for the final announcement. zack, just to give you some of his experience, this year two of

his clients are marco rubio in florida and one from arkansas. so he has some big racist. they have a smart guy working for them. -- so he is a big races. the overall think that they talked about combined. we are in louisiana, and there was one thing that was between every single category. that was that the louisiana republican party did an outstanding job in every category. therefore, they are the winner of the overall category. [applause] that concludes the new media challenge. thank you for having us. we have had a food challenge

here and we have to go back to mothers for round two. so thank you. [applause] >> all i can say is thank god louisiana won the last one, because i kept hearing alabama, alabama. i had to. i have the pleasure of introducing our next speaker who is a critical public opinion research consultant. he has done much work for the republican party. i am pleased to introduce mr. chris wilson, an opinion research expert. [applause] >> thanks. we have had the good fortune of being engaged to conduct the straw poll going on.

colorfully everyone here has voted before. it started to that -- hopefully everyone has voted before. it is in the fountain room up on the third floor. all attendees are eligible to vote. just show your credentials to one of the volunteers. they will punch your ballot to make sure you cannot vote twice. this is not like chicago, you only get one vote. so they are not copied or anything like that. go through the motions on voting. once you make your selection, you can put in the ballot box. it is the only thing going on in the fountain room. then tomorrow around 6:30 p.m. we will announce it. and a little bit of information about yourselves. we appreciate you taking the

time to vote. it would be great to have 100% voting record. we hope everyone takes the time for the september elections. please don't forget to vote. [applause] >> ibarra next speaker is delayed for a couple of seconds, so it -- our next speaker is delayed. a long time ago the city of new orleans was once the most powerful part of the united states. what you see today is the remnants of what was one time the number one economy in this country. unfortunately, our economy has fallen under the spell of

populist policies. they were brought on 100 years ago. to a great extent, these are the same policies we are seeing coming out of washington today. if you like what you see here, if you would like to see a health care system that is cratered, even though it has been long time in trouble. if you like to see an economy in trouble because we don't have enough people that believe in hard work and family values, this is what you will get if you allow the democrats to pull off what they want to. the state of louisiana has made a huge turnaround. we brought on a new governor. we brought on a basically new legislature. this legislature passed some of the most impact will ethics reforms in the country. we went from the bottom of ethics. everybody was laughing at

louisiana because there was so much corruption, but under the leadership of our governor, we passed the number one ethics reform package. today, we are ranked number 1. we will use that -- [applause] that is the first death in recapturing the glory -- the first step in recapturing louisiana. we intend to be number one in this country in the next few years. we have to attack our health care system. we have to attack our education system and our economic development system. we are working on this one step at a time. if i have stalled long enough maybe our speaker is here. [applause] [applause]

>> i will not say another word. [applause] >> thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you. thank you for that very warm reception. thank you very much. thank you. conrad, i want to thank the generous introduction. i appreciate his work in louisiana. i want to welcome our guests from all over this great country and the great state of louisiana, home to the eworld champion new orleans saints. -- home to the world champion new orleans saints. we invite you to enjoy this beautiful weather and are great food and culture. spend a little bit of extra money in our hotels and restaurants. we have a warning to rnc

staffers, you may want to stay away from bourbon street. just a word of advice. i want to speak candidly about the situation our country finds itself in. here is the good news. i want to make an important announcement. as part of my family's concern, i am not running for president of united states. i have the job that i want. [applause] i am happy to report louisiana is doing better than ever before. since i am not running for president i can speak directly to you without fear of offending you. i am under no pressure to make anybody happy, other than the people of louisiana. [applause] all i have to do is be the best governor of louisiana that i can be. [applause] people who know me know that i

like lists. i started off with the top-10 list of things that i need -- things that need to be shared in the open. it is only a top eight list today. the first item -- the first thought is that bill clinton is wrong. i know you probably are surprised. bill clinton was wrong. he said the era of big government is over, but the era of big government is over, it is upon us. america is suffering through its worst recession since the great depression. in the face of this crisis, the obama administration with the help of nancy pelosi and harry reid, are making problems worse. let's be honest, president obama ran a great campaign. it was brilliant. it had rhetoric that intoxicated millions. the promise of the change we need and change you can believe

in caught on fire. they spoke relentlessly about bottom up solutions, involving people in those solutions. people bought it. here we are over one year into it and boy, are we paying the bill for it now. the change they had in mind was the largest expansion of the old industrial age top-down government any of us has ever witnessed. we need to bring truth to bill clinton's words. we need to end this era of big government. [applause] the second thought i want to share with you, power breeds arrogance. one of the most important jobs at any leader is to listen to the people. it means from time to time, you may have a notion that makes sense to you but the people don't agree with. when that happens, you try to

persuade the people, but if you fail you accept the will of the people. it is basic civics class 101. [applause] this group in washington may have failed 63 it they completely failed to convince the american people that there health care overhaul was a good idea. they know they failed. they do not care. they did it anyway. it to me, that is the arrogance of power. failing to listen to the will of the people is not leadership. it is arrogance. they basically told the voters, we know better than you. you small people who do not realize the genius of our health care plan, you did not matter. we're going to do it anyway and there is nothing you can do about it. we may not be able to take away

their arrogance, but in november, we can take away their power. [applause] the president is very wise and he is not up for reelection this fall. but he has -- nancy pelosi is from san francisco. she might actually get votes for bankrupting america. harry reid, he may just be collateral damage to the white house. my third point is this -- there is a debate going on. i have heard this debate in these very rooms, to repeal or not to repeal. one of the things that got the republican party in trouble in 2006 and 2008 was the failure to stand on principle. [applause]

railing against the growth of government while you are actually in fact growing government was not such a good idea. it turns out that the american people are not much for hypocrisy. the american people said to the republican majority, it basically fired us. the republican majority got fired and the republican majority got caught -- got fired because. the started defending spending we never would have accepted. let's go back to the debate we are hearing today, to repeal or not to repeal. we've spent the last year doing everything we could to try to stop this experiment with their systems health care system. we filibustered, we rallied, we protested, we presented alternative ideas. we have done everything we could. now they passed it. there are some in our party who

do not want to repeal this government experiment. we spent a year working and rallying against this bill and some actually asked the question whether we should try to repeal it. only in washington would this be a hard question. [laughter] it is pretty simple to me. let your yes b yes and you're no be no. -- be yes and your no be no. this health care experiment was a bad idea the day before they cram it down our throats. it was just as bad the day after. this is no time to the tenant. -- tended -- timid. timidity is not leadership. we cannot give up, we cannot give in. we must repeal this bill. [applause]

that brings me to my fourth thought that i want to share with you. nancy pelosi likes to call the republicans the party of no. some of us do not like the way that sounds. it hurts our feelings. let's be honest. elections have consequences. we control approximately nothing in washington right now. our ideas are not going to get a fair hearing until november. in the meantime, we are the loyal opposition. we have a duty to stand up to what -- stand up for what we believe in. the republicans need to be the party of a. he is right. when it comes to real-world solutions based on conservative principles, we have to be the party of yes. we have offered many ideas for real health care reform. without cutting medicare or

jeopardize think the quality of our nation's health care. those ideas have been pushed aside by the democratic majority. a bad idea is a bad idea, shame on us if we are free to say so. when it comes to this experiment, i agree. we should not be the party of no. we should instead be the party of hell no. [applause] the debt we have accumulated as a nation is an immoral concept through it this is an inconvenient truth if there ever was one. as individuals, you have to borrow money to give you an opportunity to get ahead. there is a difference between an

individual being willing to take risks in order to pursue his dreams and the government that endlessly borrows money cannot repay. we're not his burgeoning our children, we are burdening their children as well. every generation of americans had left to their children more opportunities than we had inherited from our parents. we must not become the first generation that leads to our children fewer opportunities than we inherited from our parents. where is building our children's and grandchildren's inheritance today. -- we are spending our children's and grandchildren's inheritance today. [applause] enough is enough. it is time to cut up washington's credit-card credit is time to stop this debt. -- a credit card. it is time to stop is debt. it is the spending.

it is the economy, stupid. i know you've heard from the better half yesterday. the famously said it was the economy, stupid. today, it is the spending. and it is certainly stupid. politicians talk about slowing the rate of growing government. that is not enough. that will not work. to make america prosperous again, we will need to have leaders who have the courage to order to find words -- cut government. -- two fine words -- cut government. this course of action will cause me some popularity. it would give my opponents opportunities to attack me. there were only three options. we thought about printing money

like they do in washington d.c. turns out that is not legal. we cannot do that the state level. we were not going to do that anyway. there is always the option of raising taxes. if you hear nothing else, i hope you'll remember this. as long as i am the governor of louisiana, we will not raise taxes in louisiana. [applause] if you come from a state today that is considering raising taxes cut i hope you move down to louisiana. we would love to have you here. what is our plan here in louisiana? we thought of forcing government to cut back, just like families have to do. this is the way to go. have you ever noticed that the government wants you to adjust your life? it wants you to do more with less will it continues to grow.

no state, no country has ever taxed, spent or borrow its way into prosperity. america will not become the first country to disprove that. the spending has got to stop. [applause] states are being crushed by the federal government. as a governor, i can tell you about the hidden cost in this health care that they have just passed that are being shifted to the states. this is just the beginning. we have a crowd in washington that ignored the second amendment. i do not think they have even read the 10th amendment up here we did up there. they have no problem trampling on individual and states' rights and they are not going to stop with health care. even the governor schwarzenegger has spoken out and said the ramifications of this bill are completely unsustainable for his state or any state. it was a clever way of shifting the burden.

they want the state to do with it. many state will deal with it on -- by raising taxes on their citizens. move here. we have great food, whether -- weather. it is about 70 degrees year- round in louisiana. my final thought is that the growth -- the entitlement spending threatens to kill the american dream. medicare is in the near state of -- is a state of near bankruptcy. washington passes a brand new $2 trillion spending bill. what we have well over time more for itself into a new federal entitlement program. do not worry. nance is below sea -- nancy pelosi assures us that the bill will save us money. if anybody here believes that,

please raise your hand. we have a couple of louisiana and bridges that i would like to sell you. this growth in spending will lead to more taxes, less liberty. it is another step toward a european style of government. we have to stop this. [applause] i would like to finish up by giving a small taste of what we're doing in louisiana. every state, every government across this entire country is facing challenges. every government has a fundamental choice to make. do we make the hard choices, the hard decisions within government or do we transfer the burden into the working families, the businesses in our states and in our great country? we have made the decision here in louisiana. we're not going to transfer this burden. instead, we will make the tough

choices within government. [applause] make no mistake, that is the fundamental challenge that everyone of us faces. we proposed a balanced budget current 18% smaller than last year. we will have 6000 fewer government funded positions. we have set prioritize. we have consolidated functions and agencies. we're finding the things that need to move our state forward. there'll be some that would argue that there is another way. that we do not have to make these hard choices. there is an example of how you avoid making these hard choices. it is called the washington way. they continue to print money, borrow money from china. the national debt will exceed $14 trillion. by the end of this decade, $26

trillion. what does that mean for us? that is $45,000 for every person in this room by the end of this year. it will almost double to $26 billion. we cannot keep printing money and borrowing money from china. we know what will happen. we will see interest rates go up. we will see inflationary rates up. we will see the value of our dollar go down. this is not a sustainable path. here, we're doing everything we can to adopt a different way. we're not going down the washington way. we're also fighting for people's rights, despite what they do washington bridge we have filed -- what they do in washington. we are supporting legislation to search our peoples and our states 10th amendment right to object to this federal health care bill that has just been

passed. [applause] let's not doubt what is at stake. for the first time, our federal government -- that has never been done before. the 10th amendment -- the commerce clause is not going to be allowed to be construed to allow the federal government to do whatever it wants, we must challenge this legislation. we're not stopping there. we're supporting legislation to make sure that louisiana's tax dollars are not used to subsidize elective abortions. [applause]

we must take a stand for innocent human life. we must respect the several decades -- it is not right to take taxpayers' dollars to subsidize abortions that they disagree with. we will continue to work -- we will continue to go forward in our state with a conservative solutions. our state is recovering from hurricanes. we did go from -- women from being 44 the worst -- we went from being 44 worst to being best in the country. [applause] we have sent who you know must not be more important than what you know when it comes to being

-- doing business in our state. i have sent dozens of bills. we signed the largest income tax cut in our state history in our first two years of office. [applause] we revamped our workforce training programs, offering a guarantee. our students will be ready to work on the first day or community technical colleges will train them for free. what has been the results? louisiana was the third best state in the country for creating jobs last year. [applause] portfolio.com said we had the second best economic performance during the recession. our unemployment rate has been lower than the southern and national average every single month of this recession.

i could give you a long list of numbers and statistics. they just upgraded our credit ratings. here is the number that means the most to me. after two decades, after 20 years of our people leaving the state, we have now had three years in a row of more people moving into louisiana rather than leaving willies -- rather than leaving louisiana. [applause] that means our children, our grandchildren are returning home. others are coming home as well, realizing their opportunities to pursue the american dream. the reason this is happening is that we have started with the recognition that government does not create wealth or jobs.

it is our job to give our people a new louisiana. if conservative ideas can work here at home in louisiana, i know they can work in every state across this great country. [applause] we have great challenges, but we have great opportunities. i know there are skeptics out there. to the skeptics, i would say this, just look at what our own at new orleans saints have done. [applause] after 43 long years, we had never even been to a super bowl. most of those years, we did not even go to the playoffs. despite the skeptics, despite the odds, the st. show that through hard work, perseverance, timor, they could come back and make it to the super bowl and win the super bowl to become

world champions. if they can do that, louisiana can continue to help lead the country in economic development. we can come -- we can become number one in education and in quality of life and health care. if we can do that in louisiana, every state can adopt these kinds of conservative solutions. we live in the greatest country in the history of the world. [applause] if i -- i want to thank you for coming to this conference. i want to thank you for your support. i wanted thank you for your enthusiasm, your time, your hours of effort to make sure that this november, which puts our country back on the right track so that we continue to be

the greatest country in the history of the world so that we leave even more opportunities for children and grandchildren they got continue to bless each and every one of you. maine continue to bless the greatest country in the history of the world. -- may he continue to bless the greatest country in the history of the world. thank you very much. [applause]

>> if everybody could please take your seats. we have great speakers today. it is really difficult for a state senator from the state of louisiana to ask the governor of the state of louisiana to leave. [laughter] thank you. thank you, governor. earlier, we touched among -- touched upon the emergence of new media. we have a man who has shaped and defined what the term new media at mean-spirited -- what

determine new media means. he gained greater notoriety when his second block endeavor, big government, broke the now famous acorn scandal. please join me in a welcoming and drew. -- andrew. >> thank you very much. i am a two-lane graf, 1991. -- toulaine grad. this is the first time i have been in new orleans suburb. i can see you. i can enunciate. i love this town.

i am so happy i can be here to speak to you. i have to modes. mode want is jocularity. -- mode 1 jocularity. mode 2 is right this indignation. -- righteous indignation. why is it that the left is allowed to throw around the dangerous accusations of racism without any evidence as a means to malign half of the country? [applause] yet if i want to use the word " socialist," i have to go to the dnc and having a republic sign

something for me. what is the burden of proof here? right now, we are watching the emerging strategy of the post health care bill of the democratic party and it started the day before the bill was signed. tthe most controversial most -- members walked among the tea party participants with cameras in the air, with players in their eyes. sheila jackson lee gave the victory sign down to the crowd. barney frank walked around. they all had cameras. they were also -- they were all the fishing for hate and i got nothing. what did they do? they went to the mainstream media and said that the in-word -- n-word was said 15 times. to our wheat eight months into

the acorn -- are we eight months into the acorn story? the mainstream media goes into a two week struggle to get to the heart of the tea party movement, to get to the heart of the conservative movement and they're asking themselves, is there racism in the tea party movement? is there races -- is the racism in conservatism? are these people on the verge of violence? no, they are not. 14 months, a billion cameras, they have been searching, fishing, and they have got nothing. this is an attack on the american people. this is to the left is in this country. this is why they will -- we want to fundamentally change and because they think we are inherently terrible and we need to be socially engineered. political -- political

correctness. we are not experiencing political correctness right now. we're not experiencing the double standards of the media. they're accusing us of things that have no basis in fact. yet this is what the strategy is you'd better go get -- strategy is. we are living in this world and it is or well -- orwell. the greatest thing that the left does and it uses the media to do it, it is it accuses you of what they are doing to you. ok? [applause] i am not sure if anybody saw the video. i am jewish. shalom, new orleans. if i sensed the slightest tinge

of racism in conservatism, i would not be going to these he parties. these people, the media wants to find it. they are looking for it. i will show you where it is. i will show you were the racism is. can we go up the mississippi for a little reverse mark twain tour to the day when the white house started to recognize, oh my goodness, the people are upset with this health care bill. they want to ask questions of their elected leaders. some of those elected leaders say, i am not going to read the bill. more people came out of their houses. they found that to be offensive. that day, the day that barack obama and his administration sent out a memo that basically said, if it punched you, punched back twice as hard. the same day that they wrote a

letter out to its 11 million followers, members of organized labor, to go down to these protest and to get into these faces. what happened that night? in tampa, fla., and especially in st. louis, the union at the news came out wearing -- union goons came out and made sure that nobody could ask any questions. the confronted a black man and what did they do? two guys went up to him, who is about 130 pounds, in remission from leukemia and has diabetes, and they called him bthe n-word.

it is captured on video. it goes against an area -- a narrative. the mainstream media -- the mainstream media wanted barack obama collected. bebel go with any lies set against the opposition and they will cover up anything that went the other way. thank you for new media. [applause] i will take whatever i can get. again, by the book, they accuse you of what they are doing. you can go to the press with a video and they go, we're not interested. they were not interested in the acorn videos because it goes against the narrative. the democrats are helping the poor create -- they accuse you

of what they are doing to you. i decide to go to the moon. searchlight, nev., it is the moon. if you cannot afford the moon, searchlight is the best facsimile i have seen. i am driving into town and we stopped in front of the nugget casino. not the golden nugget. it is a one room casino in harry reid home town. i think i am in search light. what is going on here? i was just disoriented. i saw a line of harry reid supporters. as i am standing there, one of the guys is holding up a sign

that says, searchlight and pointing to traffic from out of town down the wrong highway. he's sending them down the wrong highway. has anyone seen "the river's edge." you are doing what? i walked up to him. i love confrontation, by the way. by the way, you should, too. it is the only way we're going to win. we have to confront these people. we have to videotape them. we have to put it on the internet and we have to shove it in the mainstream media's face. they are the racists, they are the intimidators. they are the ones that are caught on tape being violent. we are the peaceful protesters.

anyway, i walk up to said iraq misdirecting of traffic guy and as i am standing there trying to ask him why he is misdirecting traffic. oh, my goodness. they are throwing eggs at the tea party express bus. can you believe it? i walked toward its because it is so fun. you have to try it. these people started seating. they had blood coming out of their malice. they were from and analyze a novel. -- ann rice novel. i have not done anything or said anything to him. another guy says, the demographics are changing. it is over.

that is racism, body -- buddy. it was caught on tape. did you see george stephanopoulos, that neutral participant in the discussion of our civic life, discuss it on sunday? they talked about us being a racist because in a sea of new media, they said that the n-word was said 15 times. they're not skeptical, they are on the other side. they are on the other side. [applause] do you understand that we have video and we got the police report and there were no charges filed? they put the best lawyers in st. louis on these thugs. the tea party people tried to,

this is a felony to throw objects at a moving bus. the las vegas metropolitan police department would not press charges until it went on hannity two nights in a row. what is wrong out there? we have done nothing wrong other than to do what they have done for years and that is protest. they think we should sit down and shut up and that is ending right now. [applause] is there anyone here, maybe i am prone to hyperbole, i am going to ask you another question. is there anyone here in this room, raise your hand. i am dead serious. that doesn't think that the institutional left has declared war on you? does this feel a little different than the democratic party of our youth, of our

parents democratic party, of the democratic party that i was a member of in 1992 and 1993. i finally said, enough is enough. this is insane. the mainstream media, as they're losing subscribers and viewers, they are doubling down on the democratic party. they're doubling down on spending on the absurdity. it is almost as if they are intentionally trying to turn us into greece. not the summer loverss "grease." the bad grace that isn't that right now. -- greece. i am going to end of this because there has to be a governor back there waiting for me to end. i went to harvard last night and

the night before. i was to speak to a group at the harvard school of government on propaganda in politics. you should have seen me. i was writing on the desk in front of these people propaganda? i will show you propaganda. congressmen was the person who invited me. he is a fellow there. he is teaching. he said, i want to take you to a speech that is being given over at the school of government. you have seen it on c-span when the habit brith very official c- span cameras all over the place. rows and rows of people. i walked in. i swear i had no idea that the new president of the -- new president would be there. that he would be introduced by

former head john sweeney. he takes me into a green room and we are just standing there. this is true. a photographer by the name of martha stewart -- i said, this is so unbelievably of court. -- awkward. please admit that this is awkward. this is so awkward. i am at war with you guys. we decided to make small talk and i went and sat down. i said, andrew, be good. this is his special day. do not say anything. i got up there and i started to listen to him say, the other side is a homophobic and violent

and racist. we're good. i am dizzy. is he really going down this road with me sitting here? does he think i am going to sit on my hands? after he spoke, i may be line and i got in front of here and i said the only racism that exists out there on camera is you guys intimidating us. going after us on race. you guys attacking us. i offered $100,000 to anyone who can show a video where a ththe - word was uttered once. i totally trust him.

here is how i want to end this. they declared war on us. we did not declare war on them. [applause] i had been very impressed with how the republicans be paved over the last six months. not giving a single vote to that unconstitutional toxic documents. nobody has read it. we have an obligation to fight back. this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to take on the institutional left. they took over the democratic party because the democratic party did not have the backbone

to fight these type of hardball violent tactics. we cannot allow for country to have the same thing. please join the fight. thank you very much. [applause]

>> ladies and gentlemen, would you take your seat? with guys like that on our side, how can we lose? [applause] by now, you guys know that i am from the great state of louisiana. next door to us, there is a small state called texas.

our next speaker has been the governor of that little small state for nearly 10 years, having taken office in december of 2000. he is the second longest serving governor in the united states. he has made job creation a top priority. that is probably the most important priority to any -- that any governor can tackle. it has served him and his home state very well. let me introduce governor rick perry. [applause] >> hello, louisiana. my dream job, following andrew.

we had him down in texas about six weeks ago and he tore them up. let me say thanks to you, conrad. welcome to the fun world of elected politics. as the state senator here, you are going to be having great fun. it is good to be back in the big easy. i tell folks that last time i was here, it has been a little while. there was a certain republican governor who was being sworn in for the first time in louisiana. it was good to be here. it he is a guy with a bigger vision for a remarkable state. we're all celebrating the impact that bobby has had on louisiana. i am not giving him credit for

the super bowl victory. i am sorry, bobbie. i cannot just give it all to you. when you think about it, it is hard to believe that it has been five years since our states experienced a 1-2 punch of hurricanes katrina and rita. i remember that telephone call very vividly. knowing that the people of louisiana were being displaced. she called up and said, would you agree to take some people from louisiana? about 25,000 people from louisiana that we have got to move out of harm's way. the fact of the matter is, we're all human. the bible tells us to love our

neighbors as ourselves. i told her, bring them on. bring them on to the state of texas. [applause] my goodness, did they come. the evacuator by plane, by car, by bus. i'm sure that some of them hitchhiked into the state of texas. what they found there was a state with open arms, a state that by the grace of god, it could have been on us. it could have been the governor of texas calling the governor of louisiana say, can you help us? that is what makes this country great. having men and women like that. all those folks came over and many of them went back to louisiana. it is amazing how many people who came over and saw how things are in the great state of texas.

you are fixing to get a state of commerce -- a chamber of commerce speech about how great texas is. to get ready because here it comes. i want to talk about why that is important from the standpoint of having people like bobby in office. an individual who really understands the importance of competition between states, why it is important that on your eastern border, where you have a great governor who is putting in some powerful changes in that state over there. we love to compete against each other. i want to give back to bobbie. i truly admire him. he is one of these leaders who proves that a great things can happen when you cut problems down to size and then you address them with common-sense. you devise solutions that are based on the essential

conservative concepts. you refuse to compromise on them. that is the type of leadership that we look for across this country in the republican party. this state is showing that type of principled conservative leadership. i think one of the roles of the governor, and one of the roles of people who are engaged in this business of governing, we remind folks on a regular basis that the role of government, what the government's role is is as servant, not as master. it is as protector, not as provider. as the citizens of our country work to feed their families and pay their mortgages and set aside something for the future, they are being told today that big daddy government has all the answers. that is what we are hearing

from a washington d.c. that is absolutely out of control. they are saying, do not worry your pretty little head about it. we will take care of all your needs. you just sit back and let us take care of it. washington is telling us, we will let you know what medical procedures you can have, how much of your earnings we're going to take to pay for it and we will tell you how to educate your children. that is what we are hearing out of washington d.c. today. there is this endless struggle going on. he gave you a great example of its. between the left and right. the conservatives and liberals, between socialism and democracy. that is what is going on in this country today. i will tell you, this country is definitely tilted in the wrong direction and we need to be staying focused on what really matters. [applause] i want to make sure i have this

out. type in the words "fired up" and text into nine once -- 95613. we will keep you into earned in how you can continue to fight what is going on in washington d.c. americans need to -- here is what has happened. let me put this into some perspective. america is finally -- is starting to emerge from a fog that it found itself in. i was a pilot in the united states air force in the early 1970's. one of the great and beautiful things was flying out of that fog and falling those instruments and saying that runway show up just like it was supposed to. that was a very comforting feeling.

america has been flying in a fog for two long. listen, -- too long. republicans got frustrated. they got frustrated because we elected men and women who said, elect us and we will go to washington d.c. we ended up not being able to tell the differences between them being a republican or if there were a democrat. that is what happened to the republican party. [applause] we should not be -- we should not sugarcoat it. we need to identify men and women today who really understand what the republican party is all about. now tell people -- i tell people, governing is pretty simple. i think. there are some people in washington d.c. that they think

they need to do a whole bunch more than what i think they need to be doing. a republican needs to be about having a strong military. let me tell you, one thing about it, we got that right. we have the finest young men and women defending our freedom around the world than we have ever had. my father was part of that group that they called the great generation. we have young men and women that are every bit as sacrificial, every bit as good every bit as selfless as those who came back in the 1930's and 1940's. secure our borders and deliver the mail on time. [laughter] that is it. those three things.

one out of three is all we're getting right now. that is for sure. until you can get those three things right, how about leaving everything else alone? [applause] i want to get back and talk about texas. the reason i want to do that is because i think there is a great story to tell here. as you look across this country today and part of my job is to make other governors uncomfortable. think about it. i believe in the 10th amendment with all my heart. it is a powerful part of the constitution. what it says is that the federal government was created to be an agent for the states, not the other way around. the 10th amendment says we ought to compete against each other.

those principles, those conservative republican principles that have been put in place in the state of texas have created a powerful economy there. i think it goes without saying that in the state of texas, we are at the epicenter. we are at the apex of the states when it comes to the economy. when you look at what we have created their -- there -- i get it. i did it about the principles of governing. you do not have to be a ph.d. from harvard in political science to understand the principles of governing. number one, do not spend all the money. have a tax and regulatory policy that are fair and predictable.

have a legal system that does not allow for over suing and then have accountable public school system. it says to the job creators that this is a place that has a skilled workforce. those are the four things. heavy tax structure that is fair. a legal system that does not allow for over suing and an accountable public school system. then get out of the way, government and led the private sector do with the private sector does best. create jobs. to create wealth. that is how you do it. [applause] in 2003, we had a $10 billion shortfall in the state of texas. the first time since reconstruction -- that goes back to the 1870's. we had in texas for the first

time all republican leadership. we had a major issue with the resources coming in the did not meet the previous budgets level. we had to make hard decisions. they were calling for state income tax in some of the major media markets. twe said, we really believe that ronald reagan knew what he was talking about. we believe that ronald reagan and his economics worked. if you'll cut the spending, the job critters will flourish. that is exactly what we did. . .

i go to california on a pretty regular basis. the governor of california is tired of seeing my mother in california. arnold knows that i am going out there to recruit businesses to bring them back to the state of texas. [applause]

i want that type of competition all across the country. i will suggest to you that the governors that have that type of principles -- let me share this with you. that is a very small economics 101 book. there is a hard part about this. the hard part is finding men and women who have the courage to implement those principles. that is what we have been blessed about in the state of texas. today, we have men and women who understand and we have proven that, if you will have the courage to implement those principles, your state will flourish, your street can -- or state can grow. i don't stand up and tell people that we do not have challenges. you cannot have the type of economy that we have, this

international scope, and not be affected by this economic crisis. it is an all-consuming thing. you bet we have been impacted. but if there is a place in the country that will help lead america out of this recession, it is texas. it is those principles that we put in place. i challenge governors all across this country. if you believe in this country, if you believe in the principles of the free market and capitalism, put those principles in place and help lead america back to the principles of promise that we made to the people. [applause] we can be preeminent in the world again. but it is going to take principles, leadership -- is going to take men and women going to washington, d.c. and saying no. i hope there are a host of men and women who will stand up and run for office in 2010.

those are incredibly important elections. one of the things they say is, "elect me and i will go to washington, d.c. and make it as inconsequential in your life as i can make it." [applause] i am thinking that maybe a good thing. it takes principal leadership -- it takes principled leadership. don't tell me you are a republican and then go and spend all the money. do not tell me you are the republican and do not protect the innocent. [applause] .com you are a republican -- do not tell me you are a republican and you work against job creators in this country. we have a lot of work to do. you know, one of the things --

what is it that we could do? if you were given a one end were told that you had one wish -- a wand and were told that you had one wish to change america, what would you do? i would tell you what mine would be. i tell you what one would be. it would be to pass a constitutional amendment to the u.s. constitution that requires a balanced budget. [applause] there is nothing more powerful to this country than to say to those in washington, d.c., "this is how much money we have and this is all you can spend." this is what needs to happen in this country. people are starting to wake up. thank god. we have come out of the fog. we have not landed it, but we see the airport down there. the work that you all are going

to do -- and these 2010 elections are so powerful. there has never been an election that is more important to us as a people than 2010, let the men and women who are going to go to washington, d.c. and say no to this administration, men and women who are going to be principal followers of those simple -- to be principled followers of those simple principles. americans just want you to keep our tax structure low, our regulatory climate fair and balanced, a legal system that does not allow for over-suing. as a matter of fact, those things need to happen in the states. let the states compete against each other. if there is some gov. or legislature somewhere that thinks that it is important to

raise their taxes high, they need to have a regulatory climate that is burden some, you need to halt the trial lawyers to shoot at every whim -- you need to help the trial lawyers to sue at every whim, and an educational system -- i should not talk about california in a regular way like that. [laughter] you need to call them up. people do it. they do it because they vote with their feet. people are moving out of those states that have high taxes. boc what the detroit, michigan looks like today. -- go see what detroit, michigan looks like today. they're moving to states that has an environment that allows them to be free. that is what 2010 is really about. it is about freedom and about

men and women will go to washington, d.c. and tell washington that we will know longer take the freedoms away from the people. and get back to the constitution. have a strong stand on republican [unintelligible] the momentum is building. ralph, if you had told me a year ago that we would see this powerful resurgence -- let me tell you, in january 2009, i had my head under my wing. i was feeling unwell whether, politically. i thought we were in deep, deep trouble. and something really interesting happened. on april 15, t parties all across this country, men and women saying, "read the

constitution." [applause] i want to say thank you to everyone of you who went to every tea party were involved in. you're bringing back america to its rightful place. that is what this election is about. god bless you and, through you, may god continue to bless this great country that we live in. thank you. [cheers and applause]

[no audio]

>> please take your seats again.

>> will you all please take your seats? we have one more speaker.

>> as governor of new mexico, he eliminated the state budget deficit, something we could all do better this year, cut the rate of growth in state government in half, and privatize half of the state's prison system. experience the longest time of no tax increase in its history. please join me in welcoming gary wilson. [applause] >> people last may, "what is it like being a former governor?"

the biggest difference today in new mexico as opposed to when i was in office, of people wave at me with all five fingers, not just one. [applause] i would like to take this opportunity to tell you a little bit about who i am. i am an entrepreneur. i started a business in 1974 as a one-person handyman, me. in 1994, i had 1000 employees, electrical, mechanical, plumbing, tight fitting. it was a dream come true. running for office was on for an oral also. i had never been involved in politics prior to running for governor of new mexico. i introduced myself to the republican party a couple of weeks before i announced. what they said was, "hey, we like you. we like what you have to say. but you need to know that you will never get elected governor.

you cannot come from completely outside appalled 6 commen-- comf politics and get elected." i did get elected by bringing a common-sense approach to government, promising best product, the best service, lowest price, promising to put the issues that should be on the front burner on the front burner, regardless of the political consequences. and i got reelected. i think i got reelected on the basis that actually delivering on this notion of stewardship of taxpayer money. again, new mexico is 2-1 democrat. how did that happen? i took line-item veto to another

part form. there were thousands of line- item vetoes. again, it is about politicians giving. but i saved taxpayers billions of dollars. the people of new mexico saw that it was about everybody. it was not about individuals that were well-connected politically or well-connected corporations that god had politically. it was about doing right by everyone. -- that got ahead politically. it was about doing right by everyone in that process. i was more outspoken than any governor in the country regarding school choice. i believe that we need to bring competition to public education. [applause] for six straight years, i proposed that every single student in the state of new mexico get a voucher that would have brought about competition

to public education. it did not happen. but i have to tell you that i think it would have made and will make a huge difference. i think that we get locked into this notion of what schools should be. the school of the future might be a video game where kids are locked in the morning and they have to play this game and they have to know languages and they have to know mathematics and they have no history to a dance in the game. i think is wrong to predict what educational entrepreneur would do for this country, would do for education and fun least, to be able to deliver a better product, a better service at a lower price. in keeping with my promise to put the issues that should be on the front burner on the front burner, as governor, i really wanted to take a hard look at the war on drugs. [applause] i came at this issue from the

standpoint that i wanted to crack down on drinking and driving. that was something that i wanted to crack down on but i went to law enforcement. they do not have any resources. i went to the courts. they are clogged. the prisons are full. it turns out that half of what we spend all law enforcement and a couple what we spend in the courts and half of what we spend in the prisons were drug related. and to what end? do you know that we are arresting 1.8 million people a year in this country on drug- related crime. that is the population of new mexico. i wanted to look at the war on drugs. i wanted to include legalization as a potential alternative to what we are currently doing. in doing that and setting it up that way, the first thing i need to do is look at holland.

holland, from all government reports, has this extreme drug use and crime was out the roof. it turns out that holland has 60% the drug use of the u.s., kids and adults, marijuana and hard drugs, and they have not legalized drugs. but they have effectively decriminalize drugs. that is not an argument the other argument is that marijuana is a gateway drug. a government study conducted stated that marijuana is not a gateway drug. so i really look at this issue. i really studied it. i urge all of you to look at this issue. at the result of looking at this issue, i came to educate and continue to dedicate to this day that marijuana should be

legalized, that we should tax it, that we should regulate it, that we should control it. it is never going to be illegal to smoke pot, become impaired, and get behind the wheel of a car. it is never went to be legal to smoke pot, become impaired, and hurt others. i do not know why we cannot make the correlation between alcohol and marijuana. it is looking at the problem first as a health problem rather than a criminal justice problem, looking at harm reduction strategies, reducing debt, -- reducing death, disease, corruption, the things we really care about. crime is a function of prohibition. the violence on the mexico border today is a function of prohibition. i have come to the conclusion

that 90% of the drug problem is prohibition-related, not used- related, and that is not to discount the problems with use abuse. but that ought to be the focus. i got out of office in january 2003. i was term-limited. i believe in term limits. i believe that an individual should get in, make a contribution, and get out. i did not want to have a say in what was going on in this country and in the state of new mexico. but i found myself 10 months ago or 11 months ago becoming really upset with what is happening in this country. i formed an initiative -- "our americas initiative." i would not be standing here say what i am saying if it was being said or if i did not believe it

needed to be said. this country is broke. we are bankrupt. 43 cents out of every dollar out that we're spending in this country today is borrowed. the notion that we're going to have this bill over to our kids or to our grandkids is crazy. it is here and it is now and it has got to be addressed and it is not being addressed. it is getting worse and taxes are going up across the board. we see it every single day. entitlements need to be slashed, medicaid, medicare, social security. i think the only exempt group are those individuals who are currently receiving social security. but we need to be committed to reducing costs like medicare. medicare was estimated to cost -- when it was adopted in the mid-60's -- the mid-1960's, it was estimated to cost $10

billion in 1980. it ended up costing $100 billion. today, it is $500 billion. it has not begun to see the pressures that it will see with the baby boomers just now becoming eligible for those benefits. when social security was adopted, the average age of an american was 55 years old. so you don't collect it when your 62 or 65. nobody would live to collect it. today, you can start collecting social security at 62 and reasonably expect to live another 20 years. we are broke. we are bankrupt. this has to be addressed now. it will never be easier to address this issue than now. it will be extremely difficult to deal with it now. but it has to be addressed. it is not being addressed. we are moving further away. the health care bill that recently passed -- for starters,

we cannot afford it. we are going to drop 30 million more people on the system with no added capacity? to me, that is what to result in rationing and higher costs. i was thinking free-market reform when it came to reducing health care costs. real free-market reform, blowing the lid off of supply, something that the free market does do. the government could eliminate the impediments that exists for health care entrepreneurs that are committed to delivering better product, better service at a lower price. looking at national security, i believe that this country has an obligation to provide for a strong national defense for strong security. but i would argue that our national defense, that our security is not being threatened in either iraq or afghanistan.

i went on record prior to going into iraq and said, "you know, we have the military surveillance capability to see them rollout any weapons of mass destruction and we could have gone in and militarily and surgically addressed that situation and if we went into iraq would be mired in a civil war for which there would be no end." i supported as going into afghanistan. that was about going in and getting osama bin laden and al qaeda. but they are not there anymore. we are borrowing 43 cents out of every dollar that we are spending. we are building roads, schools, bridges, highways, and hospitals in iraq and afghanistan. we are bankrupt. we are going to be of no good to any country in the world bankrupt. we're not when to be any good to our citizens as a bankrupt nation. our americas initiative --

ouramericainitiative.com, there's nobody out there that is going to fix this. there's nobody out there that is going to help us or save as. we need to address this now. i want to thank you so much for allowing me to speak to this afternoon. thank you so much. [cheers and applause] >> thank you, governor that was wonderful. this is the end of today's program. i want to thank you all for coming. i have enjoyed it personally. i want you all to enjoy the sights and sounds of my city, new orleans. have a great time and we will see you tomorrow.

♪ >> c-span's coverage of the southern leadership conference continues tomorrow at 1:00 p.m. eastern. we will hear from michael steele, rick santorum, and ron paul. you can see that live from new orleans here on c-span starting at 1:00 p.m. eastern. our week-long coverage facebook

tv prime time concludes today with jonathan crown on his book called "defining conservatism." matthew crawford talks about his book as well. there is a part of the brain that impacts the way humans vote and shapes the way we respond to tragedy. we will revisit the 1990's presidential scandal involving bill clinton, monica lewinsky, and kenneth starr. that is today at 7:00 p.m. eastern on c-span 2. >> this weekend, on book tv, on afterward, npr for the correspondent talks about what happened to the cities after the fall of saddam hussein -- happened to the sudanessunnis ae

fall of saddam hussein. then we look at foreign policy. finding the entire weekend schedule act bootv.org. >> looking for more about the financial crisis? at the news c-span video library, you can search it, watch it, click it, and share it. there is more than 160,000 hours of video. it is every c-span program since 1987. it is cable fleetest get to america. ♪

>> what in the world is more ridiculous right now than american politics. quest for the past year, using clips from various -- >> for the past year, using clips from various media outlets, they have become hit makers. we will talk with them on sunday night on c-span's "q&a." >> earlier today, president obama returned from pravda. he also spoke on the retirement the john paul stevens after the announcement came to him in the form of a letter. from the rose garden, this is about 10 minutes. >> good afternoon, everybody. i want to say a few words about the tragedy that took place this week in west -- yet. first, i want to comment on the

news that john paul stevens will be retiring from the court at the end of his current term. when president ford was dealing with the supreme court vacancy after the watergate scandal, he wanted to the was brilliant, not ideological, pragmatic, committed above all to justice, integrity, and the rules of law. he found that nominee in john paul stevens. [no audio] during the tenure [no audio] he has worn the judicial robe with honor and humility. he has applied the constitution and the laws of the land with fidelity and restraint. he will soon turn 90 this month

but he is certainly at the top of his game. he will be sorely missed here and i had an opportunity to speak with tampa and i told them, on behalf of a grateful nation, i thank you for his service. i will move quickly to name a nominee as i did with justice sotomayor. i view the prospect of selecting a nominee as one of my most serious responsibilities as president. while we cannot replace his experience or with them, i will seek someone in the coming weeks with similar qualities, an independent mind and my record of excellence and integrity, a fierce defender of the rule of

law. it will be somebody who knows that powerful -- that powerful interest must not be allowed to drown out the voices of ordinary citizens. i hope the senate will move quickly in the coming weeks and confirm my nominee so that the new justice is seated in time for the fall term. let me say a few words about what happened in west virginia. this has been an unimaginably difficult week for the people there. mining workers were inside when an explosion broke on monday afternoon. two were said. 25 were lost. for the four that remain missing, we are praying for a miracle. i want to offer my deepest condolences to the friends and families, the fathers and husbands and nephews and sons

who were killed. rescue teams risk their lives over and over this week for the chance to save another. they have worked around the clock. this nation owes them a debt of gratitude. mining has a long and proud history in west virginia. for many families and communities, it is not just a way to make a living. it is a way of life. the jobs they do in these mines help to bring heat of an electricity to millions of americans. it is a profession that is not without risk and danger. the workers and their families know that. the government and their employers know that they owe it to these families to do everything possible to ensure their safety when they go to work each day. when i was in the senate, i supported the efforts of senator byrd and rockefeller to try to improve mining safety, but it is

clear that more needs to be done. that is why i have asked by cemetery of labour and the head of mining safety to give me a report next week on what went wrong and why it went wrong so badly so that we can take the steps to prevent such an accident in the future. mining is a tradition that is often passed down through generations. it is not uncommon to see an entire family to choose this line of work. sadly, when a tragedy like this occurs, it is also not uncommon to lose an entire family all at once. i spoke with some surviving members of one such family on wednesday. this week, tim davis and two of his nephews, josh and corey, were killed in the explosion. rescuers have reported that tim and his two nephews were found together. two other members of their families that worked in the

mines were able to escape unharmed. before he left for the mine on monday, judge wrote a letter for his girlfriend and young daughter. in it, he said that, if anything happens to me, i will be looking down from heaven at you all. i love you. take care of my baby. tell her that the lesser. she is beautiful. she is funny. just take care of my baby girl. josh's mother pam simply said, "is just west virginia. when something bad happens, we come together. when something bad happens, we come together." through tragedy and heartache, they have sustained in this country for more than 200 years. as we pray for the souls for those we have lost and the safe return for those who are

missing, we are sustained by the words of the soil that is particularly poignant right now. "you, o lord, keep my lamp burning. my god it turns my darkness into light." thank you very much. >> that was president obama of the coal mine tragedy in the u.s. -- yet. it was also on the retirement of supreme court justice john paul stevens -- tragedy in the west virginia. it was also on the retirement of supreme court justice john paul stevens. >> what has the administration

said about the cup of nominee they will be looking for to replace justice stevens? >> the president spoke about that this afternoon. obviously, he wants someone who is going to be respectful of the law and so forth. but the most significant thing he said is that he is looking for someone who understood the needs of the average american and would uphold their rights to participate in society against powerful interests, suggesting he is going to sound the same thing he did at the state of the union when he criticized the court's decision. >> were some of the potential nominees that will get serious scrutiny? >> the president went through this drill last year. the white house has some experience with it. the three names at the top of the list are two federal appellate justices and yelena kaydin. she has never been a judge.

-- and elena kagan. she has never been a judge. others have served without having been a judge. at 49, she is relatively young for such a position and can be expected to serve for a long time on the court. another justice under consideration who was interviewed last time is diane wood. she is on the second circuit court of appeals in chicago. she has known the president from the time that they were both teaching add the chicago law school. he was in the state senate at the time. she worked in the justice department in the clinton administration in the trust area. then there is the judge here in washington in the district of columbia circuit. he was in the clinton administration as well.

like other judges on his court, he had a lot of national security and federal regulation related cases. >> senator leahy said that the confirmations, he would like them by mid-summer. how has the political climate changed since justice sotomayor? >> there is one a democrat in the senate. that means that the power to stop it filibuster is no longer present among men. -- among them. also, the republicans feel far more emboldened than they did last year in stepping up the task on all kinds of obama policies and judicial nominees. they have been asserting that they are unacceptable because of philosophical approaches to the law. so republicans are much more emboldened and they believe that the judicial vacancy question

plays well with their supporters, that the message they have when it comes to the federal bench motivates their side and might bring over some independence. traditionally, it has been something that republicans and conservatives get more motivated by then the democrats and liberals. >> will he be remembered in his legacy as a liberal judge? >> he will. justice stevens is a republican. he considered himself to be a moderate conservative when he was nominated in 1975. his patron was another moderate republican from illinois, senator charles percy. but the justice stevens has said that, while he stayed in the same place, the court has moved to the right around him. in relative terms, yes, he will be remembered not just as a liberal justice, but someone who came by the end of his tenure on the court to embody some of the

liberal themes of jurisprudence that really dominated much of the 20th century. his last years on the court, writings and his general opinions were presidents and doctrine that he had already established. >> covering the retirement of justice stevens, thank you for joining us. >> my pleasure. >> injustice stevens announced his retirement earlier today -- justice stevens announced his retirement earlier today. this is an hour and 10 minutes. [applause]

>> how does it feel to be back at your own water? >> i feel wonderful. it is like i never left. i come back here every football we can without fail. [laughter] we were appear for the carolina game. i think this is really going to be the year of the gators. [laughter] [applause] >> it feels nice to be in florida. it reminds me of chicago today. [laughter] >> this first question is for justice stevens. you have been a regular visitor to florida for some time. you have a home in south florida. journalist jeffrey rosen has

described you as the first telecommuting justice, first with fedex and with computers, of course. i was hoping you could tell us this morning about how you do the work of the court from our state. >> i do it pretty much the way i do it at home, to tell you the truth. i work on opinions that home and i do the brief readings at home often. i communicate by way of the e- mail and so forth at the office. of course, federal express plays a role in getting messages back and forth. but the work down here is not really all that different from working in my office. >> thank you. >> justice stevens, a judge gonzalez, i am delighted to have this opportunity to have this conversation with you. i am thankful that you are both here. i was wondering how you got to be such good friends.

it is so inspiring to see a friendship between two federal judges. i am wondering if that helps to reform your friendship and other interest you might have. >> let me tell you about justice stevens here. [laughter] my wife and i and justice stevens said his wife had dinner sometime ago and he said to me, "i just got this letter from the dean of your law school and he has invited me to come up to gainesville." isaac, "you should go." he said, "i will only go on one condition. you have to note." i said, but i do not want to go. then i thought i'd better go. it is a great honor for our school for justice stevens to be here today.

i wanted him to come up here and make him a gator for at least one day. it has been 25 years ago that we met, when he came to town chief justice burger who was on the court. we met at a luncheon that they had in miami. then he was good enough to invite us to dinner at his house and then he had dinner at my house. we have been seeing each other on a regular basis both in fort lauderdale and in washington over the years. >> i think their wives have done a great deal to further our friendship, too. we have had a good time together. >> we spend a lot of time discussing washington redskins football, florida football, and judicial salaries and benefits. [laughter] >> i have a question for both of you.

it is also my honor to be here for this event. do you think that legal academics plays too much emphasis on supreme court opinions and not enough on the work of the courts of appeals and the district courts? >> yes. [laughter] >> a one word answer will not do. >> i think they do, as a matter of fact. more emphasis should be given to what state supreme courts say. as we all know, there's a lot of innovation going on in the state courts as contrast to what happens in the federal system. i do not know what goes on in moscow now. it has been a long time since i was there. -- in law school now. it has been a long time since i was there.

>> we are criticized very severely for paying attention for goes on -- for what goes on in other parts of the world. from time to time, they've advise us on these things that we're not supposed to read. [laughter] >> i should have added earlier my appreciation of your presence here today and my excitement is included and it is an honor as well. i have a question about clerking. i am going to click next year. justice stevens, you clerked for justice rutledge. my question for both of you is this. how was the work of your core casclerks changed?

also, do you have any particular recollections of the courts considerations of shelley vs. kramer? >> that is an interesting question. shelley vs. kramer was onthe mot important case in that term. justice rutledge very much wanted to participate in that case. when i went down to washington in september to be his second clerk, i had not met the justice because i got the employment through recommendations of two members of faculty that he had done before. the first assignment was to go down to the district records --

property records and the duet title search on his home because he had a restrictive covenant on his home and he wanted us to figure out some reason, as a matter of ordinary law, that it was unenforceable so that he might be able to sit. it was a different and original assignment, more than i anticipated when getting to washington. we spent quite a while down their stumbling through the records, which were pretty unintelligible to us and came up with nothing. we then provided him with a theory that he was looking for to be able to sit on the case. he was very concerned that it might come out the way it did. i think he had very strong feelings on the issue. anyway, he did not said.

-- he did not sit. the work of belloc work when i was a clerk is somewhat different than what it is -- the work of the law clerk when i was a clerk is somewhat different now. he would write first address on long yellow pads of paper with his own handwriting and would sometimes have entered- lineations here and there. -- in to lineations -- inter- lineations here and there. i still follow the practice of writing the first draft on my opinions. i have to confess that my law clerks spend a lot of time

fleshing out arguments and doing the work that a law review editor does when articles come in and try to improve them. another difference is this. when i was a clerk, when an opinion was circulated, only one copy was circulated usually to the chambers and the justices would read it. if he agreed with it, he would ride on the back of the opinion, "please join me, "and send it back to the author. then the author's opinion would have the various drafts that they would go through and then they would discuss what they are doing. today, the opinions are circulated with two copies to the chambers. it is sort of routine for one copy to go to the law clerk who is working on the case and the other copy to go to the justice and the law clerk always has

suggestions and thoughts to comment on the draft. there is more participation by the law clerks in the process of reviewing and editing drafts and opinions. again, if i read it over and i am satisfied, i may go ahead and join without having the law clerk giving me his or her views. but there is more participation that way. and there is much more written exchanges of views among the justices about opinions then i can remember during that time that i was a law clerk and there were discussions about possible changes. so more paper flies around then was the case when i was a clerk. but it is still essentially the same job. it is the justice that makes the decisions and the law clerk helps them in the process. >> can i ask justice stevens a question? >> sure. >> as a consumer of these zero

opinions, do you not think that these opinions are getting excessively long these days? [laughter] >> i have to confess, yes. possibly responsible for that, too. the length of the opinion may be a attributable to the law clerks having more of an input on the process than they did before. i have been told that justice black dictated an opinion. he wrote it out and that was pretty much it with some minor changes. now it is more -- >> do you find that the word processor has contributed to that as opposed to the day when judge rutledge used to write them up by hand? >> i think it probably has. it is a lot easier to touch something out that it is to write, especially if you have lousy hand writing like i do. >> do they limit foot notes? >> no. [laughter]

my colleagues disagree with that. i think footnotes are optional reading. you do not have to read them, but sometimes you can spell let in more detail something that is important to your thinking but does not necessarily fit into the rationale. i am a footnote person, even though i have colleagues who are in agreement with you. >> that is the response to get from people who love footnotes. [laughter] .

i probably give more deference to some of my colleagues, and i even considered, in this rather uniform body of decisions and the lower court and which he general and public -- i believe that is the decisive effect. they have to be reexamined sometimes. i apply a very strong presumption, sometimes there are

considerations that are important to require -- it is definitely on the person that wants to change. >> i have a follow up before i get to my question. if you are on the losing side, do you find it difficult to give up at that point? or do you look forward to another opportunity to bring back what was overruled? >> i might give you one example. for all sorts of reasons that i don't want to waste your time with, i would never suggest that that would be overruled. i think the country has accepted it, is part of a lock, and it should remain the law.

it did not give adequate value to the tangible value that associated with the flag. that is an example of where it should probably really be answered. the court has quite seriously misinterpreted the relationship between the federal government and the state. i have consistently disagreed with some of the sovereign immunity, and there is a fundamental misunderstanding between the correct relationship that is entitled to continue the examination. it is a very important doctor in --

>> the washington post published a letter to the editor. he stated he was quite concerned that the man or woman chosen to fill his feet might not be a staunch as his or her predecessor. you are that justice. how conscious were you of the william douglas -- douglas legacy? >> it is kind of a mixed legacy. one civil liberties issue that was fairly prominent in some of the cases we had was the scope

of a reasonable search under the fourth amendment? there were four justices that were very strong advocates of giving a broader duplicate -- interpretation. justice murphy, justice frankfurter, justice jackson -- that included justice douglas. his reputation as a defender of civil liberties which was very important as part of his legacy was one side of the issue. he was a very strong supporter of the government in a number of areas, regulation and so forth. i was conscience -- conscious of his legacy. one of the more memorable

fittings about justice douglas was his decisions. he was a tremendously fast worker and wrote some of the toughest opinions. he was really a very brilliant lawyer. it was not the single-minded legacy did you had in mind when he wrote a letter. >> i was just a law student. [laughter] >> the professor looks like he could be a student canal. i rise to speak on behalf of justice douglas who wrote in brady vs. maryland what i take to be a model of what a supreme court opinion ought to be. it is very short, it is very brief, it is very concise, it has no footnotes -- [laughter] it sets forth a very fundamental section of

jurisprudence that if the prosecution has evidence that might exonerate the defendant, the prosecution has to turn that over. that is a very important case, it is only a page 1/2. you could read it while standing on one leg. >> could use since justice douglas's add since -- absence when you joined the court? >> i don't know how to enter that because you sense the absence of all of your predecessors. i don't think it stood out in any way, and justice jackson and the others.

here is a very eminent justice who did not occupy the singer -- the single focus. >> can you tell us your thought on whether or not the supreme court is a political body? that it has always had a political act -- aspect to their work? >> is not a sense that it is not a political body -- they are committed to be decided by the executive or legislative branches. our decisions have political ramifications, and they sometimes lead a legislative change, but i never think of the term political as early applying

to the court. there's a separation of powers and the government is a fundamental part of the structure. it is our job, and most of us do it conscientiously and routinely. trying to decide what the law really requires. people call it a political institution, but i don't like to think of it as a political institution. >> the supreme court follows the election results, and he made that observation in connection with the debate that was raging at the time about a question that still has not been settled today, does the constitution of the united states follow the flag? that issue was raised in connection with the united states occupation of the philippines after the spanish- american war, and whether or not we were going to apply the

american constitution in the philippines with them being occupied by american military forces. the question is kicking around even today it has never been definitively answered. the election results had a great bearing on the way the issue is treated in the way it was considered by the court. in that sense, the supreme court follows the election results because who gets to be the president has a very important part to play in the composition of the court and how matters are decided. >> in 2000, that got a different meeting, didn't? >> i didn't really hear the question. >> the year 2000 was different.

>> there's a difference of opinion about that. [laughter] >> this is somewhat related to the court being a political institution. as you know, article 3 provides that the supreme court justices should enjoy if tenure and salary protection. they wanted to provide them with as much independence as possible. is there a growing threat to egyptian and independents, and what might be done about it? >> we did not hear the question. >> is there a growing threat to judicial independence in modern times? and if so, what might be done about it. >> i have been thankful that i did not have to worry about being reelected.

it makes a tremendous difference in the way you approach your job. in other words, you tried to do the best you can to decide the case before you and you don't have to worry about the protesters outside and what will happen to you on re-election night. i have been conscious of the fact that i don't have to worry about those things. i just do my job to the best of my ability, and i always thought that the framers got it right when they decided to have judges serve for a term of good behavior rather than stand for reelection. the states have taken a different view, but ever since i have been on the bench, i have written about the fact that i think is a very important part of the judge's ability to do his or her job conscientiously and

thoroughly, it just get the right result in a difficult case. it would be wonderful if we have your elected judges. the system has produced some very fine judges. i describe this from my own personal experience as a judge on the court of appeals when i first went on. it is a tremendously important part of our work. >> i was a state court judge for 14 years, and luckily was reelected and reelected each time. i am now a federal judge with a life tenure. i think that is a better system, but i don't think the electoral system -- maybe i am a bit -- idealistic, but the only thing the public and the voters

really want from you is your best effort. if you do what you think is right, people will say, that was really stupid, but he did what he thought was right. if you don't get paid to be right all the time, but you get paid to do you think is right in the fall of a lot. as long as you follow that principle, i think it will be alright whether you run for reelection not. on the issue of judicial independence, there is a corollary issue that this will sound like special pleading. it is the issue of judicial compensation. if we want to attract the best people to the federal bench, you're going to have to pay them, it is as simple as that.

federal judges are not paid what they're worth. just recently, the congress before the recess for the election gave a cost-of-living adjustment to all federal employees and to all members of congress, but not to the judges. we're the only people that did not get a cost-of-living adjustment this year. judges make a lot of money, they knew what the salary was when they took the job. i knew what the salary was, in the fact of the matter is, if i got the same salary today adjusted for inflation, it would not hear me complain, but that is not what is happening. every year, is going down, and in terms of take-home dollars, i am making less money today than

i was 30 years ago. if you want people to keep private practice in you want the best people, take a judicial position, they have bills to pay and when a college education -- my children are grown and i don't have to worry about it, but if you want people that have to send kids to college, it is a lot of money. no matter how dedicated he or she is, they can't afford to take that job because they can't pay their bills. that is something that we are spending billions of dollars on a war in iraq and we can't afford to compensate a handful of federal judges. that is just crazy. we need to rearrange our priorities in get the money where it is going to produce long-term benefits, one of them

is getting the best people on the bench, and the other is to adequately fund the education system. that is the end of the sermon. [applause] the ushers will pass the money for the offering. -- pass among new for the offering [laughter] >> i tried to make a statement, not nearly as eloquent, but that the disparity was existing land, -- then, and it is far worse today. he is absolutely right. >> over the last few years, many critics have asserted that --

and you think this is a fair criticism, and if so, what advice would you give to new academics and students that are mapping out their scholarship agenda? >> i have to confess that there used to be only a few law journals. there is just a handful. they are now in competition of a very large market of law reviews. they are kind of overwhelming. if you just can't read all the stuff that comes out. i've been perhaps in some of the reviews, there is more interested in intellectual

subjects that are not of factual use. and they're trying to find things to write about in esoteric areas of the law that may not be as useful to the judge's the you might hope. for those of you the work of law reviews, this past week, i actually read a law review article that was very helpful. it doesn't happen very often, but this was a very esoteric subject of whether not the clean hands doctrine is available as an affirmative defense. guess what? nobody knows the answer. there is a very interesting law review article about 3 inches thick on that subject. >> a lot of footnotes. >> a lot of footnotes. thousands of footnotes.

the study basically said, who knows? the law was unclear on this point before your lordships pope, and the law is that the doctrine of unclean hands is not available as an affirmative defense. >> can you think of occasions, either one of you, other occasions that may be influenced by a law review article? >> lot of the top of my head, but there are no doubt cases where you get valuable insights. i don't mean to suggest otherwise. there's a lot of good thinking that goes on. >> justice stevens, it was reported in said timber that justice aledo has joined you in

not participating, i was hoping the explain to the audience what the pool does, why you do not participate in it, and whether not the entire court should consider adopting a different approach that might involve two or more clerks reviewing petitions. >> he did not really join me, he just decided to himself that he would rather do his own search then continue to participate in the pool. a word of explanation about the pool. when i came on the court, chief justice burger invited me to join what was then a pool of i think five justices that shared their law clerks, writing memos that they would share. he gave me copies of the memos,

and i looked at him and i thought to myself, i had been a law clerk. part of my job was to go through petitions and write memos for my boss. i had some familiarity with the search, and i thought this can't be the most efficient way to go through this pile of payables -- papers. they're very stylized documents where they say the petitioner claims such and such, and there is an analysis of every case. very often, you can decide in tedder 15 seconds that that is not a case that is worthy of attention to the court. i did not join the pool because it thought it was an inefficient method for the particular justice going to the petition. those that followed may have made the other decision, and they have made it 8 justice pool

rather than a five justice pool. it is not the most efficient way to process, but it is a thorough way. they'll get well advised about the matters, and they are equipped to vote on the cases, but it is just a matter of personal efficiency i think maybe they are feeling the same way, rather elaborate memos on all the petitions is such a time-consuming process that he thought he could do it in a more efficient way in his own chambers. >> is doing so also give you or your clerks and nectar feeling that you have actually taken yourselves within your own chambers, take a look at the petitions themselves, as well as

a being more efficient? >> i trust them to be able to identify those that are candidates for serious consideration. and they write me memos in every case that they think there is a reasonable argument for taking the case, and i often use that memo as a starting point. i very rarely vote to grant the case unless i have looked at the papers myself, but i have all looked at a small percentage of them. a very large number are really not serious candidates for consideration. on the whole, the process has perhaps tended to lessen the

number of cases that are taken because i think a clerk writing for several justices tends to be risk averse and as hesitate -- as a tent to recommend a grant, a case that turns out not to have been worthy of appearing, but in the process has a depressing effect on the number of cases, but my colleagues disagree with me about that. >> we have an outstanding moot court program, and they spend a lot of time improving their moral advocacy skills. we were wondering how a important oral arguments are to you when you've been on the court of appeals, and if you have any advice you might give to our students as to what you're looking for when you have

oral arguments? >> oral arguments are one of the most underrated part of advocacy these days. as a trial judge, and i was a state court with the district courts of appeals, and to me, the oral argument was as important if not the most important part of the case because the first thing you have to do as an advocate is gain the attention of your audience, and you can do that orally much easier than you can with the written word. i was waiting for my case to be called in a lawyer from tampa got up and made the argument about whether or not the soldiers in the civil relief act ought to apply for a mortgage foreclosure case.

i can remember that argument as if he gave it five minutes ago. he said -- i said, if he doesn't win, this is an injustice. i don't know anything about the law, but he talked -- and uncle had stolen property from his knees while his father was overseas serving in the war. he told a human story, talked about the law and he talked about the people. that was very effective, and i am happy to see that the law schools are promoting oral advocacy because if anything is happened in the 40 years that i have been on the bench, there's been a tremendous diminution of the ability of lawyers to do that.

>> it is a little different because the oral argument is more structured. you have more leeway and longer arguments if you need them. we generally follow a rather rigid pattern. i think it is a mistake that many people make to assume that they are not important. oral arguments are very important. every case is different that we get. some of them are fairly clear gotten, the answers are fairly clear when you look at the briefs. there are many cases in which, by golly, that is absolutely right. you read the red brief, you go back to where you started from, and again, there are different facets of cases. the argument is really an

important part of the process because is the first time, at least the ones i have sat on, where a judge has a chance to talk about the case among themselves. it is as though the advocates are having an opportunity to participate in the joint consideration when the judges finally get to the case. you will often learn from questions that your colleagues asked during the argument, and you will have a different line of analysis after you hear the argument. there are many cases in which the result has been changed by the advocacy that we get. it is a mistake to assume that it is not a very important part of the process. >> you served with two very successful oral advocates who joined the court justice, they

were both very successful attorneys. did that in form their decision making as justices? you think it for the decision making process they had as justices as well? >> the chief -- when he was on the other side of the bench, we had confidence in him, learning that you get to recognize advocates that are trustworthy both with the law into the record. we had complete confidence and respect, that he still has our confidence and respect as we work together. that was true of thurgood marshall, too. it is interesting, i was telling my law clerks the other day, when i heard thurgood argue in two different occasions, i remember that he was very respectful, he made his position

perfectly clear. justice frankfurter had not always read the briefs. he would find out about the case and ask the questions. i remember him badgering thurgood in one series of questions, and the justice marshall said that mr. justice, that is not the way i read the case, sir. i don't interpret it that way. very respectful, but equally firm in holding his ground. the solicitor general was just the opposite. his response to the question was, justice frankfurter would say, i criticize the answer. the solicitor general would repeat his answer in a slightly louder voice. the third time, he would make it even louder.

but no more informative. he is not the most effective or helpful advocate, but thurgood was a great advocate. >> i have a question as well that has to do with the workload of the court. the number of cases decided by the united states supreme court has declined significantly over the past few decades to the extent that today, you and your colleagues are rendering full decisions, and roughly half of the number of cases and when he first joined the court. the see that as a positive or negative development? >> from my own personal view, it is definitely positive. i think we were taking too many cases when i joined the court. we heard four of them a day, and it was really not just a full- time job, but full-time for three or four justices, and i

think the workload was much too heavy. it is still a full-time job, but if we had to have the same kind of workload today that we had then, i would never as aren't 10 years ago. it really was too heavy. i think we can perhaps take more cases, it might be less than it should be. it is much better than it used to be when i started. >> you get a lot of the -- you get rid of all lot of the mandatory jurisdiction. , i think that is exaggerating. they're doing a good job of taking care of the cases that need to be resolved. there were more circuits when i first came on the court that there are now, and that may be

missing something, but they really do a good job in that area. >> what is your feeling about a number of cases the supreme court takes? >> i think they have gone down since mandatory jurisdiction has been adopted, and i think it is for the better. we had too many decisions that did not merit the can separation by the supreme court. the more there is, the less it is worth. better to have a few decisions that really are meaningful than a bunch of decisions that are only meaningful to letters -- to the litigants. >> justice stevens, the road the chevron opinion almost 25 years ago, the most visible precedent

in administrative law, and i wanted to know if given the probation reach of the administrative state from drivers' licenses to let you will, the chevron continued to strike the right balance between letting agencies assert their expertise and protecting the rights of regulated parties on the other? >> i am not sure if it is the right balance, but i think it is a correct exposition of the law. a couple things about the chevron case that might be of interest to you, that was a case that i think probably most members of the court would, as a matter of their own personal philosophy and policy have decided the other way. the judges did their best to follow what the law required,

and i am particularly proud of the case, not that it has been cited so often, but it stayed -- stated some lot that i learned from my professors, an article that pretty much said the same thing. the reason i am particularly proud of the cases that when we considered it at conference, it was not unanimous. chief justice warren burger and bill brennan who is the senior associate justice of both voted the other way, and byron white assigned the case to me to try my hand and see if we can make sense out of the case, and i ended up getting a unanimous court. when you start out with a fractured court and get a unanimous court, you're always very happy.

that is a particular feature that i do remember. i don't know whether it strikes the right balance are not. i can't really speak to that. but it was the correct exposition of what a reviewing court should do what in the administrative agency has resolved and ambiguity. >> this is for both of you. the you have any advise that you would give our students as they finish up -- and finish up their law school careers and think about heading out there into the real world. >> two weeks ago, i was at a bar meetings and a middle-aged lawyer came up to me and said, you probably don't remember me, but when i first came to practice in fort lauderdale, i introduced myself and ask for your advice. you gave me advised that i have

followed this day. you said, what ever you do, don't sue people that don't have any money because there is no future in it. that is a good thing to be guided by. [laughter] >> i have one piece of advice that i have passed on more than once, and comes from something that was said to me what i was a law student. you're going to be in the law practice for many years, not just today or tomorrow. you're going to be associating with them in a debating into negotiating with a number of lawyers over and over again. when you graduate and become part of a profession, one of the most important assets that you have is your word.

if your word is good and have a reputation of being trusted by what you say, that will pay more dividends than you can possibly imagine. remember that your reputation as a person of honor is something that is very hard to achieve, but nothing is more valuable to a lawyer than his word. >> when you first get into the practice, you will find out that you don't know what awful lot. don't be afraid to admit that there is something they you don't know. the last something -- somebody with more experience than you, and you'll be surprised how happy they will be to help you out and how much time you will save and how much money will save in getting an answer from

someone that would be delighted to help you find the answer. >> my students know that i don't know a lot. [laughter] both of you in for a confirmation process. justice stevens, you were unanimously approved the 13-0 by the senate judiciary committee. in the 98-0 by the full senate after what was reported to be a full five minutes of discussion. he sailed through the confirmation process, but a few years before, there were problems with confirmation with a couple of supreme court nominees. in the past few years, we have seen some contentious supreme court nominations. you think the confirmation process has become more politicized and less defensible when -- and then when you joined the court?

>> it did not seem like i was sailing through at the time. i was on the stand being questioned for two or three days, and the questioning was very similar to the questioning that you see on television now. one of the interesting features was that roe vs. wade had been decided. at the time i went through the confirmation process, that was not a political issue. it became an issue later. the principal issue that was involved at the time was the constitutionality of the death penalty. i expected to be questioned about the death penalty when i went through the hearings, and i had made up my mind that i had not sat on in the cases or studied the issue, and i was going to say that i don't think

i should answer the questions because i would wait till i read all the briefs and become familiar with it. i had a long speech made out about how often i change my mind uncases after reading briefs. but i did not get a single question about the death penalty. i did get questions when i went around and let the senators before the hearing started, i remember strom thurmond taking the his office, and i shook hands with all the people and went into his chambers. he said judge stevens, i want to talk to you. i want to talk to you about the death penalty. he said i am not going to ask you question about it because that would be improper. but i want to tell you about how i feel about the death penalty. he gave his views about which was a perfectly proper thing for him to do.

the hearings have not changed as much as you might think. one of the differences is, they were not televised. it started right in with questionings, and on television, the first morning or most of the first day is spent by senators exploiting heliport to the hearings are instead of just really going to the questions. i think television has made them more of a political event that was true before, but i still think they're a very important part of the process. the senate as a job to do in deciding whether not to confirm appointments, and that is as it should be. they are more political innocents because as i say, they are televised and there are more speculation about the justices

and so forth. >> the confirmation process that the district court level has changed enormously in the past 30 years. i was nominated in 1978 by president carter, they send you a lot of forms to fill out, and i call that vetting. that word wasn't around then. they say please be in washington on such and such date for your confirmation hearing. you get another letter from a fellow that says, i work at the department of justice and i will be your escort officer. meet me at my room and i will take you to the hearing. as it turned out, the fellow turned out to be a fraternity brother of mine and he says i will meet you at the lobby of the senate office building and i said, that is very nice of you,

but is not necessary because the senator says he will take the over. he says he would be there anyway. i got up and i went down there, we went to the hearing, i sat down, there was one senator there, and i don't remember out who that was, but the senator from alabama had died and his widow had been appointed to replace him. she just said how wonderful it was to have somebody from florida nominated, people from alabama at think of people from florida as our cousins. does anybody object to any of this? nobody said anything, and that is it. now when people get appointed, the department of justice is very heavily involved. nominees have to go to washington and talk to the department of justice.

and the justice department decides whether these are good people or bad people. the federal government is the biggest litigant in the federal courts. i don't think the department of justice ought to be vetting candidates for the federal judiciary. somebody has got to do that, but used to be done and out of the white house. the president has every right to determine how he is going to interview people in what question he is going asked. the department of justice is a litigant, is not the president. they do and they don't work for the president, and we have zero adult -- we have had a lot of discussion over what the rulers of the attorney general. i view the department of justice as a litigant. you probably don't hear it in your court, but when they get a ruling, one that they don't like, they say with all due

respect, we represent the government. and i say, that is very nice. i don't work for the government. i work for the people of the united states. the government is an institution, and the department of justice is a branch of government within that institution. i find it very unfortunate that the department of justice dallas is so heavily involved. they ask a very political questions, and people have been asked very pointed political questions about if this issue comes up, how are you going to vote? i don't think that is any of their business. [applause] >> at the time when through the process, nobody asked me any of those questions. >> believe it or not, we're at our final round of questions.

>> this is the lightning round? [laughter] >> final jeopardy. >> if each of you could speak with any supreme court justice in our nation's history, who would you choose and why? >> i don't know, it is a difficult discussion. it is -- he was a very interesting and attractive person. there are a lot more recent ones i would like to speak to, too. >> i would say john marshall because he was the first chief justice, not the first, but the great chief justice. and also because he was a very interesting man that lived in

very interesting times, if he had a very interesting personality. my favorite john marshall story tells about one time the supreme court was still in the capitol building, the justices would all get together for dinner at night, and they decided that they would only drink water and on days when it rained. they advised the waiter, please don't serve any white unless it is raining. the next night, they sat down and the waiter said, i suppose you don't want to have any wind tonight because you see the sun is out. john marshall thought about it and said, it must be raining somewhere within our jurisdiction. [laughter] i would like to discuss that matter further with him.

>> justice stevens, you mentioned it you feel a sense of everybody's sitting on the court before you, it is a small number of people that i've had such an influence on our nation's history. is there anything else you would add about what it would be to be a part of an institution? >> i guess it is a part of the institution that i am conscious of every day. it is a wonderful place to work. you work with five people that you're very fond of even though you may disagree with them very profoundly on things from time to time, but it has its own tradition of respect for one another within the court, and i often think that the first

amendment flies with full force, everyone can say whatever they think is relevant to an issue without any concern about hurting someone's feelings because we all understand that we all have the same rights. it is an institution and that is very important, in a lot of it is a continuation of what has been going on throughout our history. >> justice stevens and judge gonzales, would you like to be remembered for in terms of your role as federal judges? are there specific opinions you have written, particular areas of a law that you have helped shape td? >> it is a hard question to

answer. i like to be remembered as a good lawyer, and have done my best to decide cases correctly. there are some opinions i am more proud of that others, but it is a great question. >> i could quote you the book of micah, but he was always a loyal supporter of the gators. [laughter] >> this is, i guess, our final question. the federal judiciary is not only a set of tribunals, it is also an institution. in your estimation, as an institution, does the federal judiciary function efficiently in justly? >> i think it absolutely does.

i hope that the american people realize and recognize what an outstanding institution the federal judiciary is. as contrasted with other agencies of the government, i think it works unbelievably well and has unbelievably qualified people that work very hard and would that the other branches of government -- i am obviously prejudice what i say this, but if other branches were half -- >> it is a mistake to think that the supreme court is the answer to all the question. i don't think people realize how strong the federal judiciary is. we have dozens of superb justices out there, and it is a far stronger institution that it was when i was a law student.

i think that it is the backbone throughout the judiciary is primarily responsible. >> on behalf of the students, faculty, staff, alumni, and friends of the university of florida college of law, the key for spending this time together in what has been an enlightening conversation. as we're fond of saying around these parts, go gators. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

[no audio] ♪ >> what in the world is more ridiculous right now that american politics? >> for the last year, using various media outlets including c-span, the gregory brothers

have become viral hit makers including " auto-tune the news." we will talk to them on c-span's q&a. >> high-school students create a 5-8 minute to video. here is one of the third-place winners. ♪ >> i am a 13-year-old living in the city known as bend kidded in oregon's high desert. i live in a neighborhood that most would consider to be an average can -- average american neighborhood.

there would be so many buyers of the house itself for well over the asking price. people would literally fight the buyers in my neighborhood. that same house is now empty. they're full closure notices, rental signs, and for sale signs. when i moved here seven years ago, my neighborhood was the best place for the holidays. at christmas, -- and now, you're lucky to see what house on the street with christmas lights or a christmas tree and the window. -- in the window. it was also a special place for halloween. kids would come by the

truckload, and my mom would easily go through five bags of candy. this year, we barely got through what regular sized back. my neighborhood used to be full of kids. now there are only a few of us left. many have left in search of work or to live with relatives. most are feeling the effects of the economy pretty heavily and have made cutbacks. many are looking for work and are behind on their house payments. >> until about 2011 or 2012, we have a long ways to go. >> one thing that people forget to think about is that the challenging economy affects more than just adults. the kids in school district -- the number of homeless kids is on the rise.

the number of homeless students grew by more than 2000 in the last school year alone. the majority of these homeless students were enrolled in the elementary school level. ♪ in just a five-year span between 2003 and 2008, the number of homeless students had already increased by 10,000 students. ♪ the federal government defines homeless students as those students that lack a fixed, regular and adequate nighttime residentce. ♪ . .

more families rely on schools to help feed their hungry children. having proper clothing force didn't, such as corn closed -- four students, such as warm clothes, hats and gloves, is essential. people are finding it more and more difficult in the current

economy to get their kids' and their own basic needs met. these basic needs include shelter, food and clothing. i am just one boy in one town. but this is america everywhere. >> to see all of the winning entries of this year's competition, s studentcam.org. up next, a michigan democrat bart stupak announces his retirement from the u.s. house

of representatives, after serving nine terms. he recently told the "detroit free press" that he loves his job, but that travel back and forth and michigan was beginning to wear on him. reps' tupac is best known for including an amendment in the health-care law banning federal funding of abortions. >> bart and i met on a blind date approximately 37 years ago. i had just graduated from high school. he was a young police officer. we were married one year later. i knew from the start that bart was special. he was tall, dark, handsome, confident, kind, trustworthy, and brutally honest. i am glad to say that 37 years

later, he is still the same guy i married, except maybe a little more gray. throughout our lives together, he has always been a loving and devoted husband and father, and a dedicated public servant. his word is his bond. he loves his job in congress. he loves the people he represents. he often tells his colleagues and friends in washington, d.c., that he represents the most beautiful congressional district in the united states. i agree. but it is also one of the largest, most diverse districts in the nation, covering 31 counties, bordering three of the five great lakes, bordering a foreign country, and encompassing two time zones. he carefully studies legislation, and he loves helping, advocating, and

fighting for his constituents. he is not afraid to cast the tough vote. he stands up for what he believes in. he stays true to his convictions. he is a man of outstanding integrity, and he never backs away from a fight. he loves serving as chairman of the oversight investigation sub- committee. his background in law enforcement, the investigative skills, and dogged determination to make him a perfect for the job. the american people are better off because of this. as a right to life democrat, a somewhat rare breed in washington, but not as rare here in northern michigan, he sometimes encounter is pushed back from members of his own party. but he has always held firm with his belief in the sanctity of life, from conception to natural death. during the recent health care debate, our offices and homes or

deluged with calls. many are in favor and many were against health care reform. unfortunately, some of those calls were vulgar, cruel, profane and threatening. we were saddened and disappointed by the cruelty and hypocrisy of some of the callers. over 95% of those calls came from outside of michigan. they were from people who did not know, or who had never met bart. he has always been pro-life, pro-gun, and pro health care. the people of northern michigan know that. he has never sought the limelight international fame. he just did the best job he could possibly do for his constituents, at the people of our great nation, and the people of northern michigan. public service has always been a family commitment. i served on the the city council

for four years. our sons were involved in student leadership and other public-service organizations. we travelled to this district as a family. we shared each other's sorrows and joyce. -- joys. we have met some wonderful people along the way, and we thank them for their friendship and support. we are truly honored to have been given the opportunity to serve. now, please, let me introduce my husband, my congressman, your congressman, of whom i am very proud, bart stupak. [applause] >> i told them not to let her go last. she does a great job, and it is

hard to follow her. thank you to all of my friends and supporters who out -- throughout the years who are here today. the people of northern michigan have provided me with the honor of representing them in congress for the past 18 years. i am truly grateful for their support. i have the distinct honor of serving four years -- serving as your congressman for longer than anyone else in the current times. when i first ran for congress in 1992, i campaigned on a pledge to make affordable quality health care a right, not a privilege, for all americans. i promised the people of the first congressional district that i would not accept the insurance and that members of congress received until all

americans could have access to the same quality of care. for the last 18 years i have kept that promise. since the day i took office, i have fought to improve the quality and accessibility of health care for people throughout northern michigan and our great nation. this was despite many setbacks, partisan divide and washington gridlock. i never give up hope, and i never gave in. as a result, we have made significant progress. here in northern michigan, we have a love and community-based outpatient clinics to provide a veterans with the care they need and deserve. broadband access for northern michigan hospitals served as a model for this country as how to improve quality and efficiency in health care while lowering the cost in our rural areas. we provided updated diagnostic

technology, leading to improved medical treatment and critical prevention services. last month, we finally accomplished what i set out to do 18 years ago. we passed comprehensive, national health care reform. throughout the past year, i have worked alongside my colleagues to achieve health care reform, and i am proud to have helped get us across the finish line. as a result of that work, today we are on the path to provide health care insurance for 30 million more americans, including 38,000 people living here in northern michigan. today, because of these reforms, all american families, including 197 families here in northern michigan, will see their costs lower, and receive important consumer protections, so they no longer have to live in fear of being one injury or one illness away from bankruptcy.

today, children can no longer be denied care because of a pre- existing condition, and no insurance company can drop you or your family from care, or cap your insurance coverage due to serious injuries or chronic illness. today, seniors will be able to afford their prescription drugs, and receive the amount of care they need. today, all businesses can receive tax credits to make employee insurance coverage more affordable. after 18 years, it together, we have accomplished what you sent me to washington to do: health care for all americans. my friends and family know that during the last few election cycles when it seemed like health-care reform was impossible in washington, i considered retiring from congress. i wished to spend more time with my family and begin a new chapter in my career.

but in each of the last few election cycles, i chose to continue serving the people of this district, because i felt we still had work to do. in two dozen for, after i voted against the war in iraq, and worked -- in 2004, after i voted against the war in iraq, and worked for john kerry to get this country back on the right track. i became chairman of the most fascinating sub-committee in all of congress. over the past four years, on our committee, we have launched investigations into high-profile issues such as the border security, nursing home safety, breaches at our nuclear weapons labs, food and drug safety regulations, discriminatory practices in the health- insurance industry, and the

recent toyota a sudden unintended acceleration problem. two years ago, i saw an opportunity to finally enact health care with the election of a new president. thank president obama and speaker pelosi for finally making health care reform and reality in this country. perhaps the thing i am most proud of over 18 years is helping you, my friends, my neighbors, and my constituents. my staff and i have helped tens of thousands of constituents resolve problems and cut through red tape, problems such as helping secure benefits through the veterans or social security administration, or helping with a tax problem at the irs, or securing the middle of a service member who valiantly served our country. we have helped people secure

local mail delivery service, and obtain the funds to weatherize their homes. these may seem like small things, but to me and my staff, they are some of the most important things we do. i want to thank the members of my staff. but here in northern michigan and in washington, d.c. some of you have been with me since the beginning of my congressional career, i chief of staff, my district director, and others. i thank them for their dedication, loyalty, and hard work. i have spent more than 30 years in public service, as a police officer, a state trooper, a state representative, and now a u.s. congressman. my service to the people of michigan has been one of the greatest honors of my life, but

it is time to begin a new and exciting chapter. last night and early this morning, i informed democratic leaders and key supporters that i would not seek reelection to congress. i will always serve the people of this district, but i have chosen not to continue to serve as their congressman. i am committed to helping democrats retain their seats, as i believe we must continue to fight for working families and small businesses. we must fight for our great lakes and our quality of life. by announcing my intention here today, potential candidates will have ample opportunity to organize campaigns and collect the necessary signatures before the may 11th filing deadline. i want to thank the people of northern michigan for putting their faith in me. for 18 years i have travelled this district. i have heard your concerns,

shared in your joys, and your disappointment. i have enjoyed almost every minute, and i fought for you and your families each and every day. but now it is time to spend a little more time with my wife. we have been married for 36 years. our love and commitment has sustained me through the years. thank you, and thank you for all of our years together. thank you very much. [applause] >> dana. >> [inaudible] >> that really came about in the last 36 hours. as i said, i struggled with this decision. i wanted to leave a couple of times, but i always thought

there was one more job to be done. health care was always a major issue. some of my friends will remember is that the pamphlet from my first election and said "health care reform right now." it took us 18 years. i felt that my main goal, my main legislative goal, was accomplished. i am young enough, i am at a crossroads in my life where i can do other things. i look forward to those new challenges. it was not one thing, it was a number of things. about 20% of my district will understand. when i come home, my biggest regret is not seeing my family. i am in a different hotel every night. i fly out of different airports.

either i run again, and i will be there forever, or it is time to make a break. it is time for me to move on. >> was there a conversation you had with laurie between then and now when you said you had made your decision? >> yes, we spent this last weekend at the n.c.a.a. final four. my son was the general manager of the team that won the championship. we were down there. my son flew in. my family, the three of us, were able to sit down, and we had a lot of time to talk. we do it every year.

we compare notes. what do you think? is it time to step aside? my son said, "dad, it is time. you have put your time in. do something else. " so, after the disappointment in indianapolis, it took me a day or two to get over it, i made the final decision. really, wednesday night, this was it. i talked to party leadership. we have been struggling with this for about six years. yes? >> was any of this because of your vote on the health-care bill, the death threats etc.? >> during my extraordinary time in office, 18 years, i have seen everything.

in 1993 when we did president clinton's deficit reduction passage and it passed by one vote and al gore broke the tie in the senate, that was my first vote. we had the impeachment vote. i know i have taken on the national rifle association and i was not really popular when i did that. i was against the war in iraq which was not popular with a lot of media. i am not afraid to cast a tough vote. as laurie said, those threats and 3:00 a.m. phone calls, that was people outside the district. that is not my district. if you look at my elections, a win by huge margins. i know these people. i sort of just ignore it and move on.

it did not really play a big part. this was a decision my family made based on what is best for us. i want to go forward with new challenges and new opportunities. >> some republicans are taking credit for forcing out of this race. >> everyone is going to take credit. i wish they would take credit when i don't do things as exactly as they would want it. if you know me, if i get a challenge, i am going to be there. many times, in the last person standing. i do not run away from a fight. but for me, getting back and traveling this district, as much as i love the people, has become a chore for me. when i get home from washington on thursday night -- how long

did it take me to get here? eight hours? i have an 8 hour commute. then i have to get up at 6:00 a.m. and hit the road again. is it the benefit there? is it the pleasure there? the traveling is what really got me down. no one can take credit for it, but you know what? they are wrong. i am not looking for a fight. that is not me. i am comfortable. i am at peace with the decision i have made. it is the right decision for us. they know they are wrong. i do not have to tell them that. >> [inaudible] >> no, i still have eight more months in my term. i plan on the finishing out my term. there is still legislation i would like to get done regarding people who want to run for

public office being disqualified if they have received a grant. there is a resolution i am working on to protect the great lakes even more. i want to get that passed. no, i will finish out my eight months, and then we will see what happens after that. >> do you know what you might be interested in doing? author? football player? [laughter] >> all of the above. no, i have no plans. we will see what happens. maybe i will sit on my deck and look at lake michigan. the olympic coach is nodding his head. he knows exactly how that is, right? >> there is a lot of concern

that this district is going to go to the republican party now. do you think you are emboldening the republicans? >> no, i think i am a emboldening democrats. i have seen the republican field, and obviously i am not impressed. it is, in my estimation, one of the weakest field i have seen in some time. i think there are many democrats that could hold my seat. the voters have a right to limit the term, not some arbitrary term. we have a good democrat who are in their second or third term, and they could hold this seat. i am excited about the democratic prospects. i think they can do well. i think we have shown this district that democrats should get more than a second look.

they can hold this seat and provide great representation in washington, d.c., for the first congressional district. there are all kinds of people who could do it. one more question, and then i have a couple of more interviews today. i have some friends here. we did not try to build a crowd or anything. i just want to say, thank you for coming out. it has truly been an honor to serve you. after a hard day, you look at the people you are representing, and how much you mean to us, that is why we could do it for all of these years. we want to thank you for giving us the opportunity, and thank you for being here today. thank you. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2010]

>> and now, national intelligence director, dennis blair. this is part of an event marking the anniversary of the creation of the department of intelligence. it lasts about one hour. >> could i have your attention? first of all, i want to thank all of the participants for what i think was an excellent program this morning, when i learned a lot from, and i hope you did also. at the office of the director of national intelligence, we are approaching our fifth anniversary. we are very pleased to have the director here today.

the christmas day attacks in the skies over detroit reminded us that it the threat from al-qaeda and other radical groups remained very strong. the threat from weapons of mass destruction and of course, home- run terrorist is also a real. as we consider these threats, we are reminded of the need to establish this department to begin with. we have been charged with breaking down barriers to make the intelligence community more of a joint enterprise. this includes improving management and information sharing, so that we are in the best position to meet whatever these new threats happen to be. i remember as we discussed the position of this early on.

the difficulty in figuring out all of the things we wanted to do was how would we ever find the right individual to do all of those things, and to do them well? well, we have the right person here today. his background makes him highly qualified to meet every one of our challenges. he served as the director of national intelligence in 2009. he was commander in chief of the u.s. pacific command in the navy, the largest combat command. during his 34 year career, he served on a guided missile destroyers in both atlantic and pacific fleets. ashore, he served as director of the joint chiefs -- the joint staff, as the first associate director of intelligence for military support at the cia.

he has also been part of several major navy staffs. he earned his master's degree in history and languages. he was a rhodes scholar. please join me in welcoming, admiral dennis blair. [applause] >> thank you very much, tom. when i received the invitation to this group and i saw the list of panelist who would precede me, i felt sort of like the character that robert duvall played in "lonesome dove" who said "if you are going to be hung up, it might as well be by friends." [laughter] this is a serious discussion ago. it is anythin