i lead the discussions within the joint political group which includes representatives from the state department and foreign and defense ministry. the policy advisory group provides -- this only reflects what we have been doing publicly with our israeli partners. our regular meetings have recently been supplemented by an unprecedented numbers of --

these small sessions allow us to discuss a wide range of security concerns. these consultations provide an opportunity for governments to share perspectives on policies, and identify areas of cooperation. let me turn to another area we are deepening our relationship. the rocket threats from hezbollah represent the immediate challenge. this is a daily concern for israelis living in border towns and know a rocket can come crashing down every minute.

senator obama met with families whose homes were destroyed by rockets. the president understands this threat. that is why this prank the president asked congress to authorize $205 million to support the production of a short-range rocket system. this has been authorized in the house and is above the $3 billion that the administration requested for israel. one of my colleagues had a chance to see this and was able to witness the new capabilities. it will be a part of a defense against the threat of a short- range rockets fired at the

population. this will allow israel to accelerate production and provide timely improvements. this demonstrates the strenth and show how serious we are this translates in actions. israel has conducted thorough tests and and and valuation. we are confident this will provide improved defense. helping to make the population more secure is not only the right thing to do, but is teh step that is good for israel's security. bolstering the security will not

facilitate a solution to the conflict. aid to state solution will not bring an end to these threats -- a two-state solution. u.s. support for security is much more than a simple act. we are committed to their security because it enhances our own security. we cannot entrust israel's future to the status quo. we will continue to support our words with concrete actions. the relationship is too important to be anything less

than a top priority. our commitment to the military edge has never been greater. under the leadership of president obama, our relationship will always receive the time and focus it deserves. thank you for your time and attention. [applause] >> thank you. it is a pleasure to see you here in your new position. it makes me feel very old. [inaudible] i don't think anybody would it met you referenced twice the

tough decisions israel will make. that this it sounds like the presumption of your approach is that you make israel a strong in order to take risks of peace. there are others recently who have made the argument that israel is not a strategic asset of the u.s., they call them a liability. all the support we give israel does not take those tough decisions and engages in activities that create problems through some strategic level.

i wonder how you respond to that counter argument. >> i think the administration projects that you. we think our relationship is important not just because they share our values but they are a strategic benefit. i think that type of argument is a zero some argument. i don't think it is a zero sum for us. we have relationship with allies in the gulf. a lot of the threats they are concerned about are the same once israel is concerned about. the notion that there is zero some nature to our relationship with israel and mrs. our

dynamics in the region and the possibility that common interests can bring this together. it does not have to be either or. >> you also talked about commitment to maintaining the military edge. that is clear in the conventional area. to insure that it [unintelligible] there is a potential for a nuclear challenged to israeli security that comes from iran's efforts to acquire nuclear weapons.

i wonder how you -- what the commitment means in this nonconventional context. >> i think the potential for iran to develop nuclear weapons is not just a threat to israel, but the u.s.. there are important reasons for i s to address the nuclear program -- reasons for us to address the nuclear program. our policy has been designed to put pressure on them through sanctions and diplomatic efforts to choose their security calculus so they understand their security does not benefit by developing nuclear weapons. we have had success in building

consensus through security council resolutions. there is a consensus it would not be desirable for iran to develop nuclear weapons. the issue is broader. all efforts have been geared towards putting pressure on them. >> one other aspect of maintaining teh qme relates to armster sales -- arms sales. this was a delicate balancing act. we have commitment to the security of our arab allies in the region.

that also requires arms sales and security cooperation. how do you balance those competing demands in the current environment in the middle east? we have not seen the arms sales battles on the hill in a 1980's when we battled the reagan administration. we are not seen major arms sales to the aerospace, or is it because israel understands there is a real commitment to maintaining the military edge, but there is a more common

interest between israel and these arab states, then used to be the case. >> we want to make sure our partners in the gulf and the region -- in another region have the resources they need and the ability to defend themselves. there are not susceptible to iranian pressure -- they are not susceptible. there is a commonality when i had these discussions with israel and they are concerned about threats to the region. they can deter aggressive action by iran or counter threats.

there is a development of commonality of interests. by law locke, we have to take you up -- take the military edge into account. that is part of our consultation with our partners is to try to fully understand what are the threats that they face andy what are the best means to be able to address them? >> israel is more sensitive to our needs? >> i don't want to get too much into this, but the proof is in the pudding. we have been able to provide our partners with what they need. and we are continuing to engage in discussions to ensure we know

what future needs will be. >> one last question. that relates to your remarks about the thousands of rockets that are built up by hezbollah. they confirmed that being provided to them, which crosses some kind of pink line, in terms of israel's security concerns. how do you view that rocket build up? is there another conflict in lebanon? is it stirring up tensions? >> we are very worried about that.

they were concerned about the transfer of weapons from syria to 11 on. the transfer -- from syria to let non -- labanon. and we very much think it is not in either nation's interest to add fuel to the fire. we raise this in our diplomatic discussions with both governments. >> let's go to the audience. please identify yourself and actually ask a question, which means you actually have to have a question.

>> [unintelligible] >> identify yourself. >> [unintelligible] 4 these strategic interests of the u.s. in a strong relationship with israel, you also referred to the [unintelligible] i would like to emphasize -- would like you to emphasize of the thinking of the u.s. in the two-state solution. can you give the complete assurance given to israel [unintelligible] the painful concession that -- will it make it easy for israel to not make those tanks -- make those? .

this administration from the beginning has -- the very first day secretary clinton was at the state department they announced george mitchell as special envoy for mideast peace. we have made a commitment to reenergize the middle east peace process and go towards a two- state solution. we believe it is good for parties and regional partners. senator mitchell is at the region right now. in terms of the way you characterized our assistance, it is not an inducement in my view. israel's security is important for u.s. interests, but it is

also important for -- if we are to engage in a peace process if they feel confident in their security they can make tough decisions that will be required in any peace agreement. it is not either or. >> [unintelligible] >> thank you very much. congratulations. i wonder if i could build on martin's first question, asset liability and ask you if you could clarify your view on whether the u.s.'s relationship has any negative impact for what

the u.s. tries to do in iraq, afghanistan or other security interests elsewhere. >> i think that in a certain sense -- it does not matter because there are commitments to -- our commitment to israel is rock-solid. part of our effort is to try to get the parties to understand that peace is in everyone's interests. it will enable us to make progress towards building a better future for all people. from our perspective, to other countries talk to us about it? yes, but we also make clear that our commitment to israel is

unshakable. that is a fact that it is a reality of our engagement. it does come up in discussions. there are a number of nations eager to make progress. we point out that we are here to make progress as well. >> george. >> i have a request and question. can we get [unintelligible] h[unintelligible] sensed our initiative with israel is so generous and effective, [unintelligible]

do you have an explanation for that? [laughter] >> on the first one, i have talked in other contexts about what we have done in the gulf dialogue, the relationship with our gulf partners, but it is a good idea for a speech. i may have to give another one about what we are doing. one of the things -- we are providing a lot of assistance for security forces which is an important building block for a palestinian state. we do a lot with our gulf partners to provide weapons systems and consultations, so i will take that under advisement.

i am not a student of israeli politics. martin is probably better able to answer questions. the president was asked about it himself. no one could speak better on channel 2. i would leave it to the president to describe his own views and not to second-guess what the president said. >> i would just say it is more about love and substance of the strategic relationship. they feel they have been abandoned after 16 years of unrequited love by american presidents. >> we had a good business between the president and prime minister netanyahu. there were positive comments

back and forth. whenever the secretary has gone from let israel has been warmly received. -- secretary has gone, israel has been warmly received. those types of feelings may be emotionally-based, but the strength of relationship is quite strong. >> let's take one down the back. >> i am with radio free europe. i saw a report saying if israel did a pre-emptive strike against iran that it would lead to a long war. would the united states support such actions if israel were to strike against iran? >> i will not get into

hypothetical. the bulk of our strategy is to avoid going down any path that requires military action. our hope is our pressure and sanctions will enable the iranians to understand it is not in their own interests to pursue nuclear weapons. we have worked with the europeans on additional sanctions. they hope is that that will work and we will see the results of that strategy true. >> we are very glad to have the syrian ambassador in the audience. >> i have two questions. why is it that whenever [unintelligible]

and the cutting edge of technology that they never discussed the israel nuclear arsenal that exists. they never mention this. everybody in the world knows israel possesses the world's largest arsenal in the whole world. what is your position on when israel uses the same weapons you have described to kill civilians in palestine? thank you. >> just a quick answer, i will not be the first u.s. official to discuss israeli nuclear capacity. [laughter] on the second point, i would say

that when we sell weapons to any country we require any assurances that they will be used properly. we take seriously any suggestion they have not been used properly. i will just leave it at that. we require commitments to not miss use them with all our partners. >> i am with the group code pink that has been trying to push for a real peace process. it pains me to hear you sound more like an agent of the israeli government then a u.s. rep. you see the special relationship in dangerous us and makes us more hated are around the world.

-- it endangers us. i will if you would be willing to go to gaza and see the results of the israeli invasion, talk to people in gaza, at talk to the elected government, which is hamas. i also wonder if you have spent any time with people in the west bank and east jerusalem to feel -- see what it feels like for these people? given the financial crisis here at home and the needs of the impoverished nations, couldn't you think of it better use of $3 billion and giving it to a wealthy country like israel that is abusing human rights of palestinians on a daily basis? [applause] >> you raised a number of issues.

the u.s. from the very beginning has been committed to a peace process between israelis and palestinians which will lead to a two-state solution. we have provided a great deal of economic and security support in the west bank and for palestinians in gaza. if it is very much on our minds the human plight of those who are currently in gaza. the u.s. has made commitments to provide resources to that plate. the administration has taken seriously its desire to invest in the building blocks that will be necessary for the creation of a palestinian state. we will continue to do so.

>> he did not answer. >> thanks, gary mitchell. there is probably no element of american foreign policy that is more like groundhog day and the israeli-palestinian situation. you come to these meetings and you listen and you have a hard time remembering whether you have been there before. in looking at the history of the relationship, it seems there is one thing that is clear. that is that the only times when there have been genuine breakthroughs in israeli-arab

relationships is when a strong leader broke from old. i am thinking specifically of king hussein. i think if it is an understatement to say we don't enjoy that situation today in the middle much to deal breakers or elements that could change the valence.

if the united states agrees that iran is the last -- that iran the nuclear is the last thing we want to see, in exchange for iran agreeing to halt all of its efforts on the nuclear weapon range, we will do two things, finally admit that we got them and that we are willing to disarm if we have the same agreement from the arab states in the region.

>> the second one is a hypothetical that i am not in the position to respond to. from our perspective, you never know when the opportunity is going to rise. that is where you have to keep in gauging and working at it. it can take a long while. he was able to make progress. the secretary, when she was in her confirmation hearing, she talked about how effort is tremendously important. it can enable you to

opportunities that may arise. general mitchell is out there, trying to take steps to talks, and who knows where it will lead. we hope it will lead to good things in the peace process. we will continue to work at it. >> i want to come back to something you talked about in your speech. it is a strategic dialogue is taking place between the united states and israel. you talk about the committee, the defense bill dialogue. at the beginning of the clinton administration and then in the bush administration, there was what was referred to as a strategic error log. strategic -- a

dialogue. >> there is still strategic dialogue. we went to israel for a strategic dialogue talks. the talk about security. it is talking about energy, water, other issues that encompassed the whole range of issues in the region that the united states and israel want to exchange views on. the dialogues are referred to are more security, military and assistance-focused. obviously, there is some overlap, but it still exists. the conversations that i attended in israel were quite robust and useful. >> what is the point of all of this dialogue?

the chairman of the joint chiefs and the army and the national security advisor talked with the defense secretary and the defense minister. there was an awful lot of talking. >> the u.s. government is big. we have a lot of people who are involved in this. there is no substitute for talking with your counterparts on the other side, understanding their concerns, and understanding their challenges. by the same token, there is a lot of decision-makers and their government. the israelis find value to be able to interact with that number of decision-makers. there are a lot of challenges in the region right now. we have iran, we have hezbollah a loshamas.

it takes a lot of people throughout our government to make sure that we are in full sync. >> as you think about the comprehensive peace we're trying to achieve in the region, would we be prepared to play a role on the ground, guaranteeing the implementation of that agreement should it come down to it to? >> first of all, we are already involved with general dayton who is involved with training of the palestinian forces. i think we just need to see how the process develops. hopefully, this will have to be a decision between the parties

themselves. how we get to a place where each side feels comfortable that their security needs are being met, that is a discussion that takes place in this process. it is not something that has come up thus far. i think we just have to see how the process plays out. >> my question was related to what brown -- to what martin brought up. does the administration still supports sending an ambassador back to syria? are you prepared to make what would be a significant amount of capital investment to move that border on the hill?

premature, it is still with the confirmation. yes, we do support sending an ambassador. an investor is not a reward. we send them to discuss some of our shoes. we would like to build on that progress. we are interested in a regional peace. we would like an ambassador with [unintelligible] this should not be used as we are ok with them. it is a tool to use that raises concerns that a higher level.

we are encouraging the senate to act on the nomination of our ambassador nominee for this area. >> [unintelligible] i agree with the general proposition. this will have to be our last question. >> i am going to be a graduate student at george washington university. we just heard you speak about how the relationship between the u.s. and israeli security is a rock-solid. it would not make any sense to stop that corporation and the u.s. cannot withhold a missile system for israel, for example. what other examples of carrots and sticks can you use?

does it mean israelis moving out of various a and b? >> i think that is the very essence of diplomacy. senator mitchell is engaged in discussions with both parties to try to bring them closer together. ultimately, it is in the interests of both parties to make peace. i made the point in my speech, something that the administration is doing. this is a peace process and ultimately the peace agreement would benefit from both sides. the goal of the negotiation is to try to resolve those issues and it will take dialogue and discussion. the goal right now is to move into the proximity of direct talks show that we can move

forward down the road using that kind of dialogue between the parties. crushed andrew, -- >> andrew, i think i can speak on behalf of kevin pollak and say that we would love to have you back. secondly, thank you for your prepared remarks and your answers to some very tough questions. you have done very well. we're very grateful for you taking the time to share your thoughts with us. thank you. [applause]

the candidates are seeking to replace the democratic governor who was terminated. that is it 8:00 eastern on c- span. >> c-span is now available in over 100 million homes. the public service created by america's cable companies.

>> next, arizona primary debate. the hour-long debate is being brought to you courtesy of a phoenix, ariz. television station. the primary is august 24. >> before this trio of kennedy's face the voters, who they are in a live tv debate. mr. hayworth is a former congressman. he has served six terms. he was a television sportscaster and had a radio

talk show. he is the buyer -- he is the author of a book on illegal immigration. john mccain has served four terms in the u.s. senate. he is a graduate of the naval academy and is a navy veteran. he was his party's nominee in the 2008 presidential campaign. he is the author of several books. gm began is also a navy veteran. -- jim deakin is also a navy veteran. tonight's debate is a formal debate. each candidate will have 90- seconds to answer. the original candidate will then have a 30-second final response. the questions were formulated with input from our partners at the "arizona guardian."

not to be candid its have been given the questions in advance. let's begin. the first question goes to mr. hayworth. dick armey called your congressional career mediocre. can you give arizonans a list of reasons why they should send you back to washington when their effectiveness has been question? >> thanks to you for taking the time to join us. you face a crucial decision when it comes to deciding your next united states senator. you can choose between haleh convenient conservative for a consistent conservative. when it came back home, listen to you, and is ready to go back and serve his sentence. their remarks are interesting. dick armey is not a student of

history. i have spent 12 years in the united states house. i had an active hand in writing the bush tax cuts in 2001 and 2003 that john burkett against. i am also the author of a land grant that has been vital. i stand by my service even though mr. army may have other ideas. >> as you just heard, congressman they work is a persuasive fellow. he was voted out by his constituents. he became a lobbyist. after that, he became a talk- show host.

he has certainly had an interesting career. of course, you will hear him continue to criticize me tonight. but that the conservative organizations that are supporting me. arizona right-to-life, the national rifle association, 11 of our 15 sheriffs, several of our mayors in arizona -- all or supporting me. >> just let my opponents, thank you for having us on today. i would not say that either of my opponents careers have been unremarkable. they have voted for things like no child left behind and medicare part b -- those are not conservative values. >> thank you very much, mr. deakin. >> it is interesting to hear

john on the attack trail. he claims he is a ronald reagan republican. the fact is, i did make a mistake in making that video presentation. i am willing to make -- use only willing to admit to my mistakes. -- i am willing to admit to my mistakes. you continue to support amnesty that would cost the american taxpayers $2.60 trillion. >> mr. hayworth, thank you very much. some have said the financial collapse of 2008 was more devastating to the united states banned 9/11. people have lost their retirement home and their faith in the economy. >> i oppose the legislation.

both parties have used the tax codes to manipulate our economy. we have to get a fair flat-tax. the repeal of the 16th amendment is very important to getting our government and economy back to a stable path. but the the sentiment but to repeal several bills in 1999 that changed the mortgage industry and allow the derivatives to be created. we have allowed the carbon market to be -- we have to stop sending career politicians to washington, d.c.. we need to send people who understand our economy works. we need people who know how to create a job and maintain best jobs. we have to get back. >> thank you very much. mr. hayworth. >> i believe the question had to

do with the legislation just passed in the united states senate. as far as our i am concern, which is like handing a book of matches and a can of gasoline to a pyromaniac. it is the wrong approach. john and voted to bail out the wall street investment banks. the kind of spending he claims he opposes. he did not oppose that huge buy- out. this bill will guarantee more -- this bill will guarantee more bailouts. >> the last financial bill that was just passed is a travesty. it will in no way to address the problems brought about by the financial collapse in 2008. the institutions who were the

catalyst to this financial meltdown. in 2006, i and others fought to reform thready and fanny. -- ought to reform freddie and fannie. >> mr.deakin, you have the final word. >> you did support and the sea. fannie mae and freddie mac or the problem. we need to get rid of them. when people are willing to invest their own capital, then we have a solid economy. we cannot rely on the taxpayers to bail out big corporations. >> the next question goes to senator mccain. general george casey has said american forces could still be fighting in afghanistan for a

another 10 years. you have said we need to stay in afghanistan until we win. are you willing to stay for another 10 years that that is what it takes? even as some in your own party are calling for removal? >> we will know how we won in afghanistan the same way we won in iraq. when they have a government that is functioning for the people. everybody else says that john mccain was doomed because of my support for the surge. i said that i would rather lose a campaign than lose a war. afghanistan is long, hard, and tough. i spent the fourth of july with

general petraeus in afghanistan. the problem is the president's announcement for having a set date for withdrawal. you cannot win a conflict that he set a date for withdrawal. the taliban as it. we can succeed in afghanistan. never again can we allow afghanistan to allow attacks on the united states of america. that is one of the great american tragedies. we can succeed, but we need to have the president tell the american people that we will stay the course. once we have succeeded, then we will be able to withdraw. >> mr. deakin. >> we did not declare war on afghanistan. eight years is too long to have

an army in a politically fractured country. we have afghanistan, pakistan, yemen -- they have to stop terrorism in their own country. >> mr. harris. >> we have problems in afghanistan because we have a commander in chief to does not understand the situation. we need to change the rules of engagement that our troops confront. if a sniper drops a rifle and tries to blend back into a crowd, our troops cannot engage. we should define victory as the eradication of the taliban and any al qaeda or pronounced within the land known as afghanistan. those two conditions must be met. i think that will bring success. >> senator? >> of course, congressman

hayworth is misinformed or does not understand. i do not know which. the rules of engagement set by general petraeus had been tweaked. general petraeus will do whatever is necessary. he has had the experience and is one of the great leaders. this is long, hard, and tough. we agreed that the loss of american lives. july has been beat up this month ever. august will be tough, as well. we can succeed and bring them home with honor. >> next question for mr. hayworth. when you were in congress, your name was brought up with a questionable firm. your questionable -- your character has been questioned.

how you respond? >> what is really sad is to see john mccain who should be revered as a statement basically reduced to a political shape shifter. maybe i will set up an extra podium for you based on which john mccain will answer which question. i invite everyone to go to my website to see extended explanations. let me explain, this should be about the issues, not mr. mccain's record. yes on amnesty. yes on cap and trade. of course, no to tax cuts to help invigorate our economy. john is engaged in attack ads. it is unbecoming to you, john. you are simply a political shape shifter. >> mr. mccain?

>> there you go again. congressman hayes worth was one of the big spenders. he told people who were fighting against the earmarks he called them a jihadist. this is corruption in washington. that is one of the reasons why he was voted out by his constituents. republicans led spending get out of control. i fought against my home majority to eliminate your mark spending. i am pell of my record. >> mr. deakin. >> both of them are the same. the net benefit themselves in the same position. if they would stick to the united states constitution and spend more time in arizona ban in washington, which would not

get caught up in this system. i want to campaign on the u.s. constitution and the issues facing our nation. it is much more important than slinging mud. >> john, if you had told the truth about barack obama, you might be president of the united states right now. john mccain has been caught in a cynical attack politics in washington, d.c. never did my name come up. shame on you. arizona deserts better. >> the next question is for you. tea party activists are suggesting that you dropped out because your candidacy, they claim, is hurting the conservative cause. >> i think it is great. the american people are

expressing their opinion. that is what politics are about. that makes our government better. we are a government of "we the people." we the people should stand up and say that is not acceptable to us anymore. then we can make changes in washington, d.c. i do not care if anyone tells me to drop out of the race. i have a constitutional right to be on the ballot. if my opponent says that by their voting record, i would not be here today. >> jim has the right to run as we all do. the fact is, mr. mccain has unfurled all sorts of attack ads. he has spent millions of dollars. he has spent at least $6 million. there is a form of collusion or coordination because every bill

that goes to gm will be one less vote to retired john mccain. that is what he tell me months ago on the radio. apparently that has changed. he said that he never expected to get the%. >> center. >> many a vote for mr. hayworth would detract from the chance for mr. deakin. . .

. you've coverage on c-span. >> it is great to be up here

because five years ago i was in the same position as all of you. i had just come to washington, d.c., to intern for the first time for senator lugar fm the state of indiana were i am from. i spent a lot of time involved in politics and run political people and talking about issues and legislation but i reall enjoyed it. i found a lot of conservative women in the sea and loved hanging out with them and talkg about issues together. so when i went back to the owners did that -- university of virginia for the third year of college, i saw out a silar environment to what i found in the washington, d.c. smart, ambitious woman, who were also conservatives and wanted to talk about issues from a conservative prospective bid up mature schools are like my university, there probably hundreds of clubs. archery clubs, belly dancing clubs, rugby clubs get your name and activity, and there is a club for it. i figured there were be something like what i was looking for on my campus. but there was not at the

university of virginia. i looked at campuses around the country, and again there was nothing. so one day on my walk home from class, i walk by building that was called the women's center. now the women's center -- you would think it would be openo all women, right? so i scheduled a tour with one of their directors, and she showed me around and really tried to recruit me to join their feminist magazine and their feminist reading groups and their feminist this and that. by the end of the tour, of getting the impression that there were more just there for more libal women. but i decided i might as well ask the question. so i asked -- would you be interested in cosponsoring a group for conservative young women? she just looked at me like i was crazy, chuckled, and said "not here. that is when i decided to do something about it. so i started the network of

enlightened women or new, as opposed to now. i started new as a book club for conservative college women. if your campuses like mine, there are some and you divert clubs to get involved in enjoying. sometimes a gooto these organizations. you eat some pizza, and you leave. you wonder what you just got out of it. i did not want it to be like that. i wanted everybody to come to it and leave knowing they learn something concrete and really got something out of the hour that they were there. so we started the book club. so the first track is a book club. this gives us structure every week or every two weeks when our chapters me. we know they culberson something. the books provide a great springboard for discussion. some of the recent books we have read are, what our mothers should have -- should have told us," the politically incorrect guide to women, sex, and en as in," and the war against both

ways" is. a lot of great books. but as you probably found out, when you get a group of women together, they want to do a little bit more than just read and discusd book so then we decided to expand beyond just educating ourselves and our book club to try to educate our larger campus community. so whether that is hosting a panel on how to balance work and family, getting involved in the philanthropy of events, hosting debates -- we actually posted a debate. how many of you guys have women's studiedepartment at your universities? a lot. well, we actually co-sponsored a debate with the femist groups on campus called "are women's studies departments necessary anymore?" and had quite a debate on it. we brought in speakers and got some discussions going. onef our chapters actually out

in arizona state university, two years ago, did this event that they called a gentlemen's showcase, where they honored at the top gentlemen on their campus because they thought the gentleman were not treated well and that behavior was not encouraged. canal they continue to host these gentlemen showcases to honor a mutual respect between the sexes. so a lot of great events. the mission statement of new is to cultivate a community as conservative young women and to expand intellectual diversity on college campuses. this group really started as a group of friends, but the idea took off. others heard about new and wanted to start a chapter, so i went to williamsburg to go to their first meeting. within six months, more chapters were popping up. "time" magazine ran a story on us, and that led to a lot more interesting people wanting to start chapters. that is really how this

grassroots organization began and how it has grown. now we are on over 20 college campuses andeally spreading all over the country. we have especially strong chapters in virginia where it was founded but all the way to arizona. so we continue to spread all over. now because many women have appreciative the message of new, and we are culturally conservative women, unlike our feminist counterparts. we reject the victim mentality that is in dominic feminism. we recognize that their natural differences between the sexes, and we embrace our femininity and recognize there is a role for women and men in society. because this messages resonated with so many women, new has been successful and growing. we encourage you to go to our website. is www.enlightenedwomen.org. or you can visit our blog, which is a link to there, too, were we

have our young leaders from around the country commenting on issues about pop culture and political issues as culture recored -- culturally conservative young women. i encourage you to reach out and get involved in some way. i hope if your school has a chapter of new, that you'll become involved. if your school does not have a chapter of new, i hope you'll start a chapter. all you really need to get this started as women and books. it is a simple project that translates very easily. so after the speeches today, if you're interested, feel free to come up and introduce yourself. i would love to say hello and give you my business card and give you more information that you're interested. i am in washington, d.c., now workings an attorney, so if any of you would like to get together to talk about it, i would be happy to do that. i hope you get involved on your campus in new or some other way because you have to stand up and make a difference. it is the most important thing you can do is a young college

student interested in making a difference, get society interested in the issues and to stand up and speak out. five years ago, was sitting in the crowd, going to a lot of debris conferences, and i found a way to stand up and make a difference on my campus. and i encourage you all to do so was well. [applause] >> we will take two questions. anybody? >> thank you. what was the main thing that just started the organization? what was the catalyst, i guess i would say? >> it was finding a group when i was in the washington, d.c., of ambitious men and -- women who were like-minded and the talk about issues together, and then going back to campus and realizing that contrast where all the women's groups are

catered to more liberal women. and i realized that there was a niche that was not being filled, and i really wanted something like that. i really wanted this environment, and i decided to create it. >> when you started the conservative group, didou have a lot of criticism from liberal groups? and just about having a debate with the feminist group. >> we did. i think phyllis can relate to this bill within two weeks of us starting new, the feminist magazine on campus put a picture on the cover of their magazine ad depicting what they thought new and conservative women stand for. it was a picture of a woman in a perfectly pleated dress with an apron on and holding a recipe in the one hand and the other hand, staring tricky badger. then she is connected to this machine that was popping out 12 babies. she was a baby-making machine. that is how they portrayed as a

the beginning because they saw us as a threat and wanted to cut us off from theeginning but we really showed them. we have grown. [applause] >> i hope that any of e young women here can go and do likewise or join up with new and start a chapter on your campus. our next speaker is kristan hawkins. and she has worked for pro-life most of her life. she started volunteering when she was in high school. she was president of west virginia teenagers for life. when she went to college in her native west virginia, she started a pro-life group on campus and graduated summa cum laude. now she's the executive director of students for life, a great organization, a great and growing organization. please welcome krian hawkins.

[applause] >> good afternoon. thank you for being here. i know it is friday afternoon, and we are all looking forward to great weekend and private weather in the washington, d.c., hopefully. i want to start up with a quote. there may be times where powerless to prevent injustice, but there must never be a time when we fail to protest. i love this quote. despite a holocaust survivor, and i think it kind of sums up a lot of how -- gino, a lot of what we do in this movement. i cannot go to supreme court today and demand that roe v wade be overturned, but that does not mean i cannot do anything. this resonates a lot with college students. there are things that we can do on our college campuses, and that is what students for life of america strives to do.

abortion is the central issue in the conservative movement, and i know i will get questions about that statement. it is so important. if you look at the queue for ahmadinejad -- pew forum to a dozen in the study on millennial. what is the issue we are winning with this generation? abortion. life. because we see life, abortion, fetal rights as human rights. because the unborn person is a human. as phyllis knows, working in the conservative movement, use are always the trouble spot when it comes to voting. w're always the liberal use of the votes in the democrats. but i am here say that times are changing on the college campuses, and barack obama is helpin us a lot with that -- thank you, mr. president. but we're winning this issue of abortion.

it is so vital we are out there on the college campuses. it is vital that you are out there, not being afraid to say that you are pro-life. i hope that 99% of you in this room are pro-life and you understand the importance of the right to life and how it retes to all the conservative issues. that is how important it is. we need you to be on your college campuses speaking for life and defended the unborn. even if you are a man, you can save the unborn. you can help women. 52% of all abortions occur on high school and college age women, 52%. planned parenthood, the nation's largest abortion provider, a $1 billion industry and recipient of the many tax dollars, over 3 hitter million dollars this year, they target college campuses, both women and went -- and men, for other services. we have had abortion now for over 37 years in this country.

er 50 milln babies have died. what is interesting about us is that we were actually born after roe v. wade. your mother could have terminated you for $300. you could have not existed. you could have not been here today. it is pretty scary stuff if you think about it. your mother could have aborted you. and many people now in the pro- life movement are recognizing this. and our students . . . we need you to do. students for life of america is a natiol nonprofit it organization. we're in arlington for the headquarters, but we are across the coury would field seven volunteers. we believe the most important thing you can do in your college campuses to start a prolegs to the group. to have a voice for the unborn. it is apparent that it is a

separate groups of you can bring in people of different faiths and religions. he would be surprised damage converting those on one somebody enters the pro-life movement. stt a pro-life group and provide that support for women on campus. -educate your peers and to tell ur administration that you're not going to take the pro- abortion policies any more. there are many things you can do. you can shut down an abortion clinic. with all the people in this room, you can go to one abortion clinic. if we focused all our action to the washington, d.c., planned parenthood dentistry providing abortions, which could shut it down. abortion clinics operate on about 10% to 30% margins. all you have to do is hurt their business by 10%. and it is a business. that is important. if abortion is not possible, the one on be any abortion clinics inmerica you get an abortion clinics at your campus. you can sponsor school-led

initiative is. have dper decks and the bathrooms. have you seen those befe on campus? is very important. if a girl is facing an unplanned pregnancy, she is panicking. she's thinking she cannot do it. she cannot go to school and be a mother the same time. there is no support. you need to have reminders on campus that yes, it is going to be difficult, and we're not saying this is an easy step, but you can be a mother and be in school. that is a very, very important. we need -- we need you to go to your starting government associations. it is important that pro-life people are in the sga. make sure the rerds are getting the nding they need and are not getting discriminated against. we need you to hold a debate for elections. this year, the fmer president of aclu will be debating one of the prayer pro-life ecologists.

we are arranging a tour of six stories -- schools this year for them to go around in tore and debate. these are high turnout event that your campus do not let anyone tell you that nobody ever shows up to the to the pro-life evens, they're boring. have a display. has anyone ever seen crosses our flags to represent the unborn? as a very powerful images to have on your campus. in need to have those images a constant reminder. this is a visual society, and we need to be showing people exactly what abortion means. in addition, you can hold them best balls. has anybody seen the movie "juno"? it is very popular. itill be on usa netwo. conservatives are cool, too. it will be on usa, and you can take that movie enjoyed on your campus. you can probably get your campus to sponsor buying the rights for that. we had groups this year

spsored a brought it like it's hot roast at the screening. it was the biggest event they did all year at tulane university. they were able to take a potive pro-life message that was so relevant in our society, and basically turn out their entire school for a drop it like it's hot smore roast and "juno" screening . there are lots of things to do. the possibilities are endless. have these groups on campus, and we can see how we can attack those groups and make sure it is known that they are not the only voice on campus. most importantly. we need you there on the college gibbs is to save the lives and help the mothers. if you are not there providing that support, the voice for the unborn and the women, no one is doing it. she just said, what is the women's center all about. they are about advancing the principles of feminism. they are about abortion. they're tied in with planned

parenthood. we need you out there and you're groups supporting health centers and saying here is a center you can go to that is free and confidential. and everyone there is going to support you and love you and give you the actual resources you need. i was in an abortion clinic last octobe i was pregnant with my second son. any time as a pregnant, twice now, i make sure that i am going undercover. i was in under cover, just feeling it out. i went to a federally funded planned parenthood in new jersey, and i asked them, i said, you know, i am thinking about having an abortion. i do not know what too. what resources can you provide? i am new to the area. i need a doctor. i am considering abortion, you know, what this is they look like. we do not have any of those resources, ma'am. >> does this baby feel pain? i tell them i was 22 weeks. >> we're not really sure the baby feels pain. >> you have resources for local

ob/gyn in case they decide to keep the baby? no, ma'am, we do not do that. >> do have resources for adoption? we do not dohat either. and this organization is called planned parenthood. that is a little irony for you. they only do one thing there. contraception and abortion. stop pregnancy and then end the pregnancy. that is what they do. we need to expose this injustice. i want to remind you of that quote. their times more powerless to prevent and justice, but there are a lot of things you can do on your college campus. just because you're in college does not mean you cannot impact the future you guys are here to capitol hill this year, which means a lot of you are already interested in the politics, and many are probably thinking you'll run for office one day. be thinking about that every step of your career. you can make a difference. when you finally get back here on your own terms as a

congressman and senator, i will be knocking on your door to make sure you do things the right way. >> thank you. we will take two questions. >> i have a comment. i looked up the word person in the dictionary, and it said a human being. i look up the words human being in the dictionary, and it said person. i think that is our greatest hope, the personhood amendment and stressing that the person, the baby, the human being, is that from the moment of conception. >> well, yes, certainly an unborn baby ia person. but now you have raced a political issue on that, and i think it is inadvisable to put those amendments on the ballot because no state in our system

of government can overturn a supreme court decision. so be careful about that. >> we just do not support the amendment. >> that is right. any other question? >> hello. thank you. i was talking to ariend, and apparently st. louisniversity raised something like $40,000 and made this whole new program on health and pregnant women. have you seen that? and that's been recreated? >> no, they were our group of the year last year. there were $61,000 prize. they created a scholarship fund, so the race $25,000 the first year. that is up to $40,000. it is for pregnant women on campus. we have gone request in our office for women who have seen the block, and they have been asking if we can get mon for my school, too. hardis what we're working

to get other schools to commit to. we're definitely going to get there. i am challenging a lot of catholic judgment schools to be in the competition. if st. luke's can dot, why can you not do it? that is my goal right now. >> i also wanted to ask, what her programs at the scene that have been the most effective? that would be the easiest. >> there have been a couple pregnancy research forums on college campuses in the past few years retake the pro-abortion groups, the pro-life groups, the administration, and you put them together on the panel you say we will not talk about abortion but talk about what we provide to women. it is really telling. the administration does not know what they offer, which is very scary. i said, those types of events are good today. it takes a lot of court for the pro-life group because you have to do the digging. you have to go to the dean of

students and say, ok, the woman is pregnant. where can she live? can she take a semester off? you have to ask these questions proaively and get the information out. we have one group in miami that made a website is for pregnant women on their campus. they gathered up all the resources that the campus provided, and actually provided a lot. except no one knew. they put it on the web site and in sidewalk chalk. it is letting women know there is help if you find yourself with an unplanned pregnancy. i can give you a list of all the questions to start asking and start digging up information. but the possibilities are endless on campus. once you start thinking about how to help women and help save babies, there are a ton of things you can do. >> thank you very much. [applause] >> all right, our next speaker is alyssa cordova. she attended george mason university where she had some fund projects that i want her to

tell you about. she worked diligently to bring conservative speakers to campus and to stir of conservative activism on th campus. she was at one point named one of the top conservative student activists in the country by young america's foundaon. please welcome alyssa cordova. [applause] >> thank you so much, phyllis, for inviting me back here today. yes was so honored. and i worked for it and policy institute, unless your honor to present phyllis with our lifetime achievement award for all she is done for the conservative movement. so i would like to give her one round of applause for everything. [applause] like a six-08 the lecture director with the clare boothe luce policy institute. our mission is to prepare and promote conservative women leaders. i did that by working with college students, to help the most conservative speakers at the campus.

yes was so grateful to have this job. my favorite part of college was my own conservative activism. i graduated from george mason in 2000 -- in 2009. i have been an outspoken conservative for my entire life. even though i went to a conservative high-school in the one of the most conservative towns in the country, which oddly enough is in the california, i started a conservative group at my school anyway. i always loved talking about politics and getting involved and paying attention to current events, but it was always just a fun hobby, something i enjoy talking about. but it was not really anything more than that. it was just sort of my thing. but when i went to george mason university, my attitude did not change much at first. now if any of you know anything about george mason, you probably do not associated with one of the crazy liber campuses like berkeley or the ivy league. in eect, you might even think of it as a conservative school. i know i did at one point.

after all, it is the home of some of the greatest free-market thinkers like walter williams and brendan smyth. there is in even a free-market think tank on campus. it was easy to me to be duped into the idea that school was different, that was open-minded to conservative ideas. but of course, i was wrong. i found this out my second year and may send when i signed up for an art class, of all things. now the class was art as social action, which i knew was not going to be conservative necessarily, but when i found my first assignment was going to be to watch "and inconvenient truth," i knew it was going to be an interesting semester. so about halfway through the semester, the professor told us that as a class on halloween, we would be marching around campus dressed in costumes representing the earth, made only a recycled materials, and protesting global warming. i think actually laughed out loud in the middle of class

because there was no way of is going to do that. i approached her after class and told her, you know, i think it is fine if that is what you guys want to do, but i do not believe in this and did not feel comfortable margin for something i do not believe in. and the look on her face was priceless. i mean, she had no idea what to say. if you do not believe in the global warming? that is what she said to me. well, not really, i told her. i mean, i would be happy to write a paper explaining why. she said yes, yes, you better write a paper, any betr his lot of scientific facts. so somehow, i was assigned a science paper in the maya art class, but i did it anyway. and i even fnd a statistician who had testified before congress against al gore and the intergovernmental panel on climate change and included all of his facts in my paper. i turned it in. i was so excited to just show her how wrong she was. and she turned it back and get back to me with a three-page typed response to my paper.

and the crux of her response was that since the son of a scientist, i should probably avoid using scientific facts, even though she specifically demaed that i include lots of scientific facts. but it did not upset me or bother me or offend me at all when i got this back from her. it actually really excited me. because with this one statement that i was not going to march in her parade, i had totally ruffled her father's. so much so that she called me into her office the next day because she told me she was fascinated with me because she had never met someone as conservative as i was. this was my first real experience as a conservative activist. it was no longer a hobby to me. i can understand that it was a necessity that i speak up for my views. this professor, who was probably in her mid-60s, had never in her life met someone as conservative as me. now i am extremely conservative,

and even though janet napolitano might put me a lot -- might put me on the terrorist list as of the like that, i am sure i am not any more conservative than all of you in this room. but as professorid not go through rural life with a meeting someone as conservative as me because they do not exist. she went through her whole life because people like her, professions and administrators, used their positions to intimidate conservative students and to keeping quiet and not speaking up for their beliefs. after that experience, i did everything i could to speak up for my views. i used my time in the classroom to speak up for free enterprise, a strong national defense, traditional values. and every time i did, at least one of my peers would come up to me after class and thank me and tell m how really they were that there were not the only person who felt that way. outside of the questi, i helped organize several events as a vice chairman of the college republicans with the help of young ameca's

foundation, another organization you should know about a week organize the 9/11 never forget project, freedom we, which honors veterans day, and the anniversary of the fall of the berlin wall. no more che day which exposes the evils of communism. and we held conservative speakers. however, mvorite activity of all my activism was two things all college students can appreciate. it was free, and was really easy. it did not take that much time. i created a fake petition asking the school's administration to authorize the redistribution of gray. averages. i went to all of my peers. i just went out on the quad and ask them and they would sign this petition. when i did, they looked at me like i was crazy. why should we take carter earned grades from people just because other people are lazy? so i sent them a lot of the same lines will hear from liberals

when it comes to things like welfare and that sort of thing. well, some people do not have a lot of money, and have to work their way through college, and they do not have time to study, or they are discriminated against in the classroom, and it is not their fault they have low grades. but none of this matter to the students. they thought it was the most ridiculous idea they had ever heard. obviously, i agree, but i was undercover, cannot say anything but when i turned the conversation to taxes, their attitudes completelyhanged. that is different. those rich people do not need that money. my friend and i recorded the whole thing, and you can find it on youtube. it was even discussed in a recent book called "obama is on the." you can check that out, too. by the time i graduated from mason, people knew me on campus as a conservative activist. i am not telling youll of this to highlight my own accomplishments. i am telling you because you need to know that your peers are not going to hear about conservative ideas and the

things you heard about today from their professors or administrators. they are only going to hear them from you. being an activist on your campus is a lot of fun, and it will give you some of the most memorable experiences of our college careers. but it is not just a hobby. we have a responsibility to share the truth, the truth that is being stifled within the halls of academia by those who control it. i have a bible verse that always encourages me, and i want to share it with you in hopes it will encourage you as well. it is from perverse timothy chapter 4, burst open d do not let anyone look down on you because you are young. but be an example to other believers in your speech, behavior, love, faithfulness, and purity. so i hopell of you wiluse your positions on campus to be an example to your peers and spread the truth of freedom. thank u. [applause]

>> you even sound like campus activities are fun. we will take two questions. >> yes, what was the worst, like, the worst opposition you ever got? li, what was the hardest that they never pushed against you for what you're doing? >> the worst i ever got, well, it was the funniest actually, so i will tell youbout that. it was the women's studies and the lgbt, you know, the gay and lesbian group. they had a mting to discuss what they should do about me. [laughter] because i was putting of flyers. we celebrated something and is said conservatives should come out ofhe closet. we did i during the gay groups out week. they did not like that. one guy posting stuff all over his facebook. he was the leader of the gay

group. was saying that we need to figure out what to do about these fires and about alyssa cordova, mr. is being mean. that is their favorite argument, by the way. you are mean. that is pretty good. a means you are winning. >> i have a quick question but i also a kind of the the same situation. it is more advice than a question. i go to a small catholic campus, and i wanted to start a republican group on campus, and will not allow me because this is too controversial. although we have a gay-straight alliance and had a gay senator speak in our champ bulls -- in our chapel on the altar. i kind of thing that is blasts of a mess. how would you face the kind of adversity to your administration -- a kind of thing that is blasphemous. how would you face the kind of adversity to your administration and by teachers as well? i just want to know if you have any sort of advice. >> well, if you're campus

distant -- does not allow political groups, you couldo a campus conservative group. but a situation like that, you have to make as much noise as possible you write articleso your school newspaper, your local newspaper. call me. this is what we do. we help students get through their schools administration's and all of the roadblocks that they put out. we can help you, you know, get an op-ed submitted. sometimes we have town halls and events. we have a lot of students right for us. justontact me. i will be here. you can get my car. and it can sound scary, but that is the best way to fight back, just to speak up. because they did not want anyone to know that they are stifling your free speech. a lot of times the only thing you have to do is threaten to go to the media, and they will usually back down. but they just rely on you getting nervous because they use their position of authority to keep you down and to scare you.

you cannot let them do that. >> all right, thank you. [applause] >> the next portion of this session of our collegiate summit is to hear from a couple of young women who have been working for eagle forum, to tell you what it is like to have a job, a fun job, working on conservative activism in the washington, d.c. and i really took a plunge in a couple of years ago by hiring a young woman from wellesley college. i have to tell you, that is hillary clinton's college, and several years ago i was invited to give a speech there. one of our members had worked for four years to get them to be willing to iite me. and finally by her senior year, she did succeed. i went, and they picketed all afternoon before my speech. it was a very cold day, but they

valiantly picketed outside the auditorium all afternoon. but the most interesting part was a pre-scheduled counseling session for after my speech. [laughter] so they could recover from the trauma of my lecture. [laughter] nevertheless, despite knowing what wellesley college was all about, i took the plunge and invited colleen holmes to be our executive director. i took her away from the christo -- the christian legal society. she not only got her bachelor's degree at wellesley, but she got her law degree at regis university where she received the national association of women lawyers outstanding graduates award. so i assume that what ever bad stuff wellesley taught her was shaped up when she went to regent university for law school. i want to welcome our executive

director of eagle forum on our capitol hill office, colleen holmes. [applause] >> i hope you do not mind my dig at wellesley. >> no, thank you so much. actually, i really appreciate wellesley because that is where i learned about phyllis. i was told how awful it was that phyllis was defending women election wanted to stay home with their children, and i was hearing all kinds of terrible things i looked into phyllis and i thought, this woman is amazing. she is run for congress twice. she has written 20 books. she really started a national grassroots organization that proved to the grassroots can have success beyond anythin that they never could have imagined or could be accomplished by something that a natial party did. so it was wonderful. and they looked to her writings at wellesley to fight the feminist. so i do credit wellesley with my

being here today, and i am so thankf for that. phyllis is absolutely right, and yes was so thankful because i think i have the most fun job in the washington, d.c. i want to thank those that are still here. i notice friday afternoon, but i think you're hearing from some of the best speakers today. i appreciate that. i want to take a few minutes to tell people about how fun it is working in the washington, d.c., and sure is. but to summarize what we do, that is kind of difficult. but to put it bluntly, we want to bring moreeople here to washington, d.c., that you heard from yesterday and stop all the bad things that you heard about today. i hope that helps a bit of money to tell you more about eagle forum. i hope you will. we did not really have a chance to get it to out eae forum got started at all that phyllis has contributed to this country. but i hope that you will look at our website at eagleforum.org. we also have a dvd called "

doing the impossible" the bus through the history of how bill was put together eagle forum in the wake of biting the equal rights amendment. that was a grass-roots thing that really showed america and, even more important, should washington, d.c., what can really happen when americans unite and lead their members of congress and let their representatives know what they really believe and what they're going to demand. that is the message now that we're taking to the tea parties. i will tell you more about that. but please check out our website. i like to get a copy of the dvd to you. it is funded here in the list's own words how that meant. and in the wake of putting equal rights amendment, phyllis trained and brought together a group of really dynamic, mostly women, but grass roots -- grass- roots activist, mommsen grandmothers who were really concerned about the direction of our nation and concerned about their children's futures, mostly

people of faith, and got involved politically, and it shook up the nation. phyllis taught those ladies, once theattle was over, to keep fighting, to go back, stay active. and now we have state leaders. we have leaders in every state. very active chapters in almost every state. those leaders are involved at various levels, a lobbying their state houses. we have several republican committee when men a several people who are really involved, some in the tea party movement now. so it is very helpful to have the network of grassroots activists or plugged into what is going on in the states and who can let us know here in washingtond.c., what is going on. i will tell you what we do in our washington, d.c., office. we put out legislative alerts. you'll hear from our legislative director in a few minutes. we go to a lot of the meetings and i know what is happening. i know a lot of you are capitol hill interns. we find out what is happening in

the washington, d.c., this week. i started in september 2007, so it was read before the shift happened. since president obama was elected in since our new congress came in. unfortunately, the theme as then what do we need to stop this week? how terrible is it? what do we need to let people know about this legislation coming up, and what, if anything, we can to stop it? unfortunately, because of the numbers in the congress right now, there has not been a lot we been able to stop. but getting the grassroots activated and by letting them know what is in all these bills, that has forced the debate that is setting as have to be in good position to elect members of congress who will defend our freedoms and who will really stop the agenda that we are seeing being advocated right now. now because of the situation that we have public -- politically, where unfortunately, the liberals have the numbers to be able to force through a lot of freedom-

killing, economy-killing, and i- family legislation. phyllis gave us our marching orders last year that we absolutely, as john number one, need to elect a new congress. thankfully she had the foresight many years ago, before most -- i think it was one of the first conservative organizations. she started a political action committee that enabled us to raise money and mobilize support behind good conservative candidates who share our values but most of my dog has really been focused on interviewing candidates -- most of my job has been interviewing candidates. we have kind of a triple threat at eagle forum. we have grass-rootbut we do lobbying. then we had our political action committee. so we can elect the right and it is, hold them accountable, and have their constituents hold accountable. we can go back to our state leaders and find out who the good people aren your area, who the true conservatives are. people come to washington, d.c.,

and might want money and support. but it is nice to have our state leaders out in the field who can let know what their reputations are in the area and who is really doing good work, who we can really count on to stand up for our values. another thing that we do, too, is we work with other orgazations and other pro- family organizations. we're thrilled to do a lot of work with students for life to get the word out about pro-life legislation and to the good pro- life candidates are. right now, a gulf war, our motto is leading the pro-family movement since 1972. that traditionally has been defending life and marriage. but as we see now, the family is being attacked from some many dierent perspectives. really, this exorbitant taxation is such an attack on their families. the cap and trade and all the legislation you heard about earlier is really taking -- all of these policies take a

tremenus toll on families. it will take a toll on our economy. so we're working together with taxpayer protection groups, with groups groupscei where chris horner works. it is fun to have the opportunity to go to meetings and to dock with the dedrick organizations. it is just thrilling. nobody can do it all. but to hear fr people fromchris horner and all this brilliant analysts and to be about to take what they're doing and get the word out from our grass-roots network and to she the information with groups like students for life, we're able to multiplied the impact that we have. that really is a joy to be able to attend meetings with like- minded organizations throughout the weeks. one of the biggest joys this year since the tea party movements have arisen is to be about to take the information and take what we're hearing in the shington, d.c., and go back to the grassroots and let

them know that their voice is really are being heard. calldiscouraging when you your senators or representatives and you do not get an answer. or you keep calling and keep calling and the said legislation keeps coming through. i just want to let all of you know, like we're trying to lead the two parties d activist groups know, that all of the activism that you all are taking part in has had such a tremendous impact, not only in the continuing the discussion. look at the health-care bill. that was supposed to have been a done deal last summer. because the with the grass roots get activated, because people attended at town hall meetings, because of the way you were able to put pressure on some of the democrats and some of the republicans as which then might have voted for it, we were able to carry out a bit long enough for the american people to realize what was in the bill. this might be the only time i agree with nancy pelosi, but i

think she was absolutely right, they had to do the health care bill for us to know what was in it. now they can start lying about it. now we see what is in it, and the american people do not like it. so the first order businesses that want to get this thing repeal. that is putting us in good position to elect members of congress who we know, and to the american people areuestioning and saying will you, as your first order of business, repeal obamacare. this is very, very helpful. in drawing up the debate in getting out the inrmation about what is really happening, even though we lost that battle of fighting the health-care bill, i think we're going to win the war in letting the america people see how absolutely crucial it is to take a stand and to be careful about who you are electing to congress, to get involved, to vote in the primaries, and to not take for granted -- to know that you really need to get involved and to stay engaged.

the other great victory we have had their grassroots really coming alive and getting engaged is the quality of candidates that we are seeing run for office. that has really been a great joy. i had the privilege of interviewing over one header fitted canada's. i cannot believe it. people are starting to come in and decided to run for congress soon after the new congress was sworn in. but i have to tell you, because of what all of your doing, getting engaged and staying focused, letting you representative of snow that you will get involved, that you'll votes, working on campaigns. because people have seen that the american people are rising and demanding better government, we'reetting better candidates. one of the greatest things that i am saying is the people who were the good can it is, people involved in their communities and who really realize that what is really important is not washington, d.c. people are not coming to washington, d.c., because the

one to fulfill some dream to get congressmen. they're not coming here on an ego trip. people are saying they would rather stay home with their family and grandchildren and run their business, but i realize i have been involved in my community and might have something to contribute. they see it as a sacrificial service to step up and running for congress. that has been a tremendous victory that the grassroots has realized. i does want to thank phyllis for the opportunity she has given me to work with some of these candidates and to encourage you all that all of your participation, wheer it is callg members of congress are getting involved in the campaigns, it is making a difference at every level. please help us continue, and please keep fighting. [applause] >> we will take two questions. but i just want to mention one thing. one of her jobs is to go to all these coalition meetings, because we do believe in cooperating with other

conservative organizations. but wouldn't you say that eagle forum is interested in the working in a greater variety of issues than practically any other conservative organization? >> absolutely, and i would encourage everyone to sign up for our e-mail alerts and to read phyllis' column. she just wrote an excellent column about the artificial divide between social and fiscal conservatives. that is one of the issues we have always had a holistic approach t conservatism. if you are a social conservative, you are a fiscal conservative. if you consider yourself a fiscal said herbert -- conservative, you should be a social conservative. so much of the spending we need to get this country back on an economically responsible path, all that money is spent on the social issues. so i encourage you to read her columns. >> pt of your interview

process for the candidates -- is that part of the eagle forum questionnaire like where they stand on the issue? >> we have a 75-question questionnaire. it is a virtual history of the eae forum. it really goes through legislative battles that eagle forum has fought throughout the years. >> ty are all current issues. >> that is right. and they are very informed issues. it is a great indicator of where the candidates are, but it is also a great teaching opportunity to let members know some of the questio that they will face and with the conservative positions are. but we also interviewed. we did not just in interviews here. we make sure we know what the situation is on the ground, but the reputation is, how they have been involved in their communities. because part of the problems we face as we do not want decisions about who is being elected out in america being made in

washington, d.c. we want those to come from local organizations, so we make sure we bring them into the process. >> is there another question? >> i was just wondering if you have any ideas -- and in my state, eagle forum is notell known. we dhave a state leader. but ideas of how to get people to get involved with a goal forum. we have young republican groups, which are notecessarily all conservative, but they are republican. i was wondering if you had any ideas on how to get people involved in the gulf war. >> well, advise them to our annual conference coming up the second week in september in st. louis. they will meet all of our wonderful leaders and the excited about all the projects we're working on. so you will get notice on that, and i hope you'll invite them to come. l right, thank you. [applause]

>> our next speaker is suzanne, the legislative director of the eagle forum. she works on of alerting all the people in the grass roots about important bills that are coming up and what to do about it. she came to us very young, just shortly out of college. but she was part of the press than in george w. bush's motorcade while he campaigned for the pennsylvania senator. i thought that was kind of exciting. she oversees the public policy action on all the federal issues, and we want her to tell you about the very exciting expensive system that we have so you can know what is coming up in what you can do about it. please welcome suzanne. [applause] >> thank you, phyllis. i wi try to be brief because i

know we're getting close to 4:00. good afternoon. i currently serve as the legislative director in the the washington, d.c., office. i am from just outside philadelphia. i graduated from boston university in 2005. after almost a year of searching for a job in the washington, d.c., in the 2006, i found one after applying for the legislative assistant position with eagle forum. believe it or not, i actually did not know what eagle forum was or had not after frantically it reading about all the columns that i could, i figured out that this could be a pretty good kick. i was right. colleen and i are the only two staffers in the eagle forum office in d.c. it is five blocks away from here, right behind the capitol building and the supreme court. we are in the middle of all the action

i want to discuss how fun it is to work in politics in washington d.c. every person you meet will ask you, who do you work for? colleen and i always have a good answer for that question. everyone is excited for us in the conservative movement. if you work for conservative organizations, you've probably been pretty busy since january 20, 2009. every policy issue under the sun has come up in some form of legislation, but our goal has remained unchanged. our goal has to -- has been to oppose every single piece of legislation under the obama agenda.

it is my job to monitor a legislation on issues that it go from cares about. stang updated and in the loop by attending college in meetings -- stayi updated. writing letters to elected officials, explaining our policy positions. visiting with congressional staffers, sending urgent action alerts, advocacy messages to our grassroots members in order to target congressional offices so that elected officials know that voters are paying attention. getting a goal for mississippi message into the media through press releases and radio interviews. to compile a scoreboard to assign each memberf congress and annual vehicle for immigrating. i keep track of key votes on a wide rge of issues, like pro- life, health care, cap-and- trade, immigration, you name it.

the annual ratings are really important because they are a reflection of how conservatively it or not so conservativelthat member of congress has voted in a given year. for example, -- we have r own listing of votes that we used to decide someone score. when we announce that we are scoring a particular vote, members of congress pay attention. they want to ve a good score with us. back in the fall of 2006, when i first arrid in d.c., i was only here for about one month before the gop lost in the 2006 election. their 12 year reign of the majority ended. for that one month, there were still in the majority. i had noticed that most of the issues that came up between september and october, we have

to actively lobby on the issues that we supported. we had to drive calls into offices. it has been very partisan, b we really needed to push the republicanin order to vote the right way. that is one aspect that has changed in the past two years. these days, we tend to work within a broad coalition of groups who all come together to unify and oppose whatever issue it is. typically, it is a center-right coalition of groups that come together. but sometimes, would be disclosed act, a the liberals' response to the supreme court's citizens united ruling and they aim to silence political speeches -- that was one issues

where conservative and liberal organizations opposed it. unfortunately, it passed anyway. but is a rare occurrence for both sides to come together. there was really only one built that eagle forum strongly opposed that there was not a broad coalition of groups united in opposition. i do not wt to go into all the details of the bill. the native it was the pr democracy act. it was one of the only groups that was actively opposing it. it made the challenge greater. most of the bills coming out to receive very little -- the time to act isinimal at best. during this brief lively debate, there was almost -- i found myself wrestling with what would be the best way to get to our

message out beyond eagle forum members and starch healing members of congress away from supporting the bill. it hit me. i knew we really needed to get glenn back to talk about it. -- beck to talk about it and he has enormous influence. once we succeeded with tt, he communicated how bad the legislation was, the fellas on capitol hill started ringing off the hook. -- the telephones on capitol hill started ringing off the hook. they picked our action alerts and our message made its way to the tea party movement. from all of this spontaneous grass-roots aion, eagle forum gained about 2000 members in one

day and we slept about 35 votes. we were fighting a little known issue that no other group was. unfortunately, the bill did pass nearly, but it has been stalled in the senate. this legislative battle really taught me that you do not have to have lots of money, tons of staff, a lot of power, or years of experience to have -- to be influential in washington. it is a young conservatives, like alice, who are leading the biggest fights. that is the best part about being a young conservative bloc -- working in d.c. he definitely had it right when he said that power is not only what you have, but what the other side? you have. did you go about doing your job in the city from that friend of mine, the powers to influence the political process are relentless.

thank you [applause] . >> i want you to tell them how they can participate. >> we nd out advocacy messages. something is coming up on the hill and it will get a vote, we will send out an action alert. the only way you can get the action alert is if you are registered on eagleforum.org. hit the subscribe button. as long as you are subscribed, you will get the action alert. you will receive them and they will be personalized so that you can contact your representative specifically. >> the message can go directly from your computer io your own member of congress. if there is a town hall meeting your distrt, you will get

an e-mail about that. the message that goes to your congressmen is basically a form letter that susanna rights. you can adjust it. you can edit it and put your own personal relationship with the member of congress in. >> there is the option that you can afford it to your friends. the town hall meeting ones are really good because that really made our list grow. nobody wants to go to a town hall meeting themselves. they want to bring their friends and their family. coxa my question for you at -- >> you mentioned all of the ises that eagle forum works for. is there a particular issue category that is hardest to get the word out about? hardest to rally support for the struggle with? >> i used that one example of

the pr debate. there is a cluster of three issues that i ha noticed that our constitutional issues. they have come up every year for the past decade. the d.c. voting rights act, the hawaii reorganization act, puerto rico democracy act. they come up every year, but they are not well understood. they're very quick. they come up and want t vote on it. there is never a large debate. those are three that are very difficult. >> one more. you have answered all their questions. >> this is about your job. w involved argue with the specific legislation? do you read it? do you have another group that

you rely on to do that? >> there are other groups that rely on audits. -- on us. >> phyllis has her weekly column. and she helps as well. -- angie helps as well. a lot of the issues that come up, they have, so many times in the past, we know what is there. we may have to look at specific language, but a lot of things are really repetitive. this is the first time they have been successful. yes, we do look at the language and analyze it. >> thank you, suza

>> it was shock being to me. i to do to a pretty conservative skam puss. we decided to vi a global beach warming

>> some liberals on the campus had a problem with us using a mascot for the event. we did get about 40 people to show up. its what great. it was mainly an evening of fellowship of like-minded students. >> about a week afterwards with our next meeting, we had 15 new members.

the advice i would give young people is that couldn't verse ji is not a bad thing. we have done other events. we have played capture the flag with obama's birth certificate.

we shouldn't be ashamed or embarrassed to be conservative. liberals use college campuses to indoctrine ate students an tt it was the youth vote that helped ghetto alabama you elected. when we remain sigh lent, we are allowing their message to be sent.

we can no longer and we should no longer remain sigh lent. >> thank you.

>> the marriage mill. for a reason. we have the center yoe type for a reason. >> a very conservative chris your honor college. i started going there and first of all, i'm going to address as christians and conservatives we can testify to hold some fundamental believes that there is an absolute moral truth. the bible is true and god is the universe

>> the concept of responsibility towards society. it's really short. >> how long is it? >> it is about a minute. >> several years ago, i was in the living room. i saw my son go to the closet and get something out. i noticed something. he said, stop, i noticed something. when he opened the closet door,

it got light in the closet. have you ever noticed that? have you ever wondered if the light goes out in the refrigerator. i got out and observed the living room. i discovered this principle. darkness does not overtake light but light overtakes darkness. if there is darkness spreading thrute land, it is not because somebody went out to the middle of kansas and opened up a box of darkness. no. if darkness is spreading across the land, it's because somebody is hiding the light or worse than that, just has been

removed. >> i was talking about how just redirect examination moving the lamp stavend from society. i want you to think about the implications of this video. i'm assuming the majority of us here at least have christian believes and foundations. we are the light and truth. if the nation is enshrawded in darkness it is because somebody is hiding the light. we bare responsibility for society's fate. conservative act vix is vital and nothing we should give up. we must first start here.

we must go back to its source and living out our world view. we must reach out to other conservatives and christians to stand upon. if you look at the problems, you see republic cans and conservatives that are unresponsive because they don't practice what they preach. we are the next generation. if you see passionate conservatives. if they don't practice what they preach in areas of life, nothing is going to change in america. you are here today because you are excemptional, passionate and motivated. ultimately, not only knowing

our believes but the foundation of why we believe them is going to bring back our foubdation in the political belief of its own. i believe true change ultimately begins with the heart. thank you. >> i have a bit of a different twist to put on all this. >> i am from milwaukee, wisconsin. we are trying to figure out how to raise the pull pit. >> very good. thank you very much. that's good. thank you. in milwaukee, i am not currently enrolled in any college. you were so frashese to allow

me to come. many of us because we are conservative we come from more of a bib lickly based background. because of the beliefs we do have, many are based strictly out of the bible. does anybody know where the three branches of government come from? >> the old testment. isiah 33:22. for jehova is our judge, our law giver and he is our king. our founding fathers knew they could most -- how do you say, have the most success going through god's laws.

i think that's pretty cool. but we need to go back preach that i'm prolife you but people got to know why. it comes from the bible. even though i'm not currently involved in any specific college, i am going on a mission trip. i've been accepted to the world race. i'll be going to 11 countries in 11 months. i'll be leaving in october. i get to practice what i preach. as a follower of just, i can

say all i want but if i am not saying what i should be doing but i don't actually do it myself, how hypocritical is that? i would encourage those who are christians, chatholics. it doesn't matter. be that light as aaron said. the light penetrates the darkness in such a way that darkness has no power over it. in conclusion, be strong in your faith, pray for government leaders. pray for one another. pray for phyllis. these are important things. i do believe god answers prayer. don't be afraid to be open

about your faith. there's nothing to be afraid about. take a strong stand in what you believe. if you take a strong stand, you may be standing alone, but others may join with you. juns once you stand up, somebody else will stand up with you.

i've heard that princeton was the most conservative ivey league. i was skeptical of ta that. i found it to be very

conservative. >> i wrote an essay that was against darwin and it was very well received. we are we have tricked tha the liberal that's this is this hook up culture myth. i got involved in the princeton prolife group. we started off the year in october with respect life week, which is a week where we have various prolife events.

we started off with prolife sunday where we had wreedings in the chapel with readings from all religions and speaking events throughout the week and conclude with a candle light vigil. we have a set up of images of a fetus in different points of development. it's very important event to have. our other huge event was the march for life. we filled an entire bus