or as nancy pelosi said, first you have to pass it and then you get to find out what's in it. well, as a doctor, i'm disturbed that the law is going to require more i.r.s. agents to investigate all of us. to make sure we actually buy insurance. but it fails to deal with the shortage of doctors and nurses in the country to help take care of us. there's going to be a shortage within the next 10 years of about 90,000 doctors, much higher number of nurses. and it's not just family doctors. it's family doctors, it's surgeons. all across the board. so we have introduced a number of wayso go piece. in addition to trying to ce house and in the senate and ntduced in the specifically the -- taking it apart component in the senate. to repeal the individual mandate, to repeal the employer mandate, to restore the 10th amendment.

we have a wonderful bill called the health care bureaucrats elimination act. and the one i've just introduced, along with lindsey graham, the state health care choice act. state health care choice act. let states decide. let states decide. after all, isn't that what the 10th amendment was all about in the first place? one size does not fit all. never has. so under this state's health care choice act, states can opt out of the different major provisions of the health care law. the medicaid mandate, which is going to bankrupt the states. the individual mandate, mandating individuals have to buy insurance that's government approved. allowing them to opt out of the employer mandate and allowing them to opt out of the benefits mandate.

because what states ask for and 33 governors wrote to the president recently, what all of our states want, is flexibility, freedom, and choice. and that's why this law, i think, is going to be so effective if we can get this -- get this through. seven states you know have already written laws or had constitutional changes to say you can't come into our state and make us buy a product. medicaid is breaking the states. when they have a big story in -- in "the new york times," and it shows jerry brown, and andrew cuomo talking about the impact of this, i mean, you got to imagine how really bad it is. that's what we're dealing with. it's break being the states. even the former governor of tennessee, a democrat, called this the mother of all unfunded mandates. medicaid is a program that is about hatch of the doctors in the country won't see medicaid patients. because the reimbursement is so

low. and the president continues to talk about giving people coverage. there is a huge difference between coverage and care. [applause] and just because you give somebody a medicaid card doesn't mean they can get care. it like giving somebody a bus ticket when no bus is coming down the road. and so i think it's critical that we work on this piece of legislation because 2012 is going to be a remarkable year. i think a very good year for republicans at the senate level. 33 senators running again. this time. 33 seats that are open. 23 democrat seats, 10 republican seats. of those 23 democrat seats, 10 are in states that john mccain carried in 2008. so it is a very rich

environment for us to ask those individuals if they're running. these are people that voted for sbome care. who knows better, washington, or the people in your state? they are going to feel the discomfort. they know -- look at missouri. 71% of people last year in the primary election, 71% said they didn't want the individual mandate in their state. they're the show me state. they know what they believe. and they're right. they have a senator who voted for this. so the question for the people of missouri is ask that senator the question, who do you believe in? missouri or washington? and we know one size doesn't fit all. well, in addition to what we're doing in the senate, the house is going to continue to hold oversight hearings. and when you're in the majority, you get to choose the witnesses and plan the hearings. and you are going to hear week after week additional problems with this law. you're going to hear from

business owners who are hiring fewer employees because of the mandates. you will hear from people who are unable to keep the coverage that they like. you will be hearing from people with increased insurance costs due to the law. and you'll hear about taxpayer money being used to pay for misleading ads, tv ads, mailings, to try to persuade people to support this law. but you and i know all of this misleading propaganda has not worked. the american people realize just how bad this law is. and no matter what the community is you go to, you can find people with these stories to tell. and it will get worse. because more and more regulations are going to continue to come out. the thing that's so interesting is when -- when the president says if you have -- if you like what you have, you can keep it, and you go to those two pages. law, then you find that kathleen sebelius has written 117 pages of rules and

regulations and if you go through all of that, hatch the americans who get their -- half the americans who get their insurance through work won't get it and 80% of people who get it through small business won't be able to keep what they have if they like what they have. the other things you're going to hear from, you're going to hear it from the elusive dr. ber wick -- berwick who got a recess appointment to have medicare and medicaid without ever having a single hearing in the senate. you remember him. he's the one that said he loves the british health care system and any fair and equitable health care system redistributes wealth. you remember that one. and then you're going to hear from kathleen sebelius. you remember her. she's the waver-granting secretary of health and human services giving wavers to friends in high places. last week, the department of health and human as much as granted more than 500 -- and

human as much as granted more than 500 waivers. they don't have to live under the law that everybody else needs to live under. you know who got a lot of the waivers? union members. union members who actually supported, lobbied and contributed to work to get this law passed. ia, why don't they have -- yeah, why don't they have to live under the law? they're the ones with the waivers. union workers are 7% of the private employees in this country yet they've gotten 40% of the waivers. if kathleen sebelius can give waivers to 2.2 million people who have friends in high places, i think everybody in america ought to be given a waiver against this health care law. [applause] on election night, the exit poll said 59% of american

voters wanted this law repealed. people know what they want. and they don't want this. now, my goal as a doctor is to get people the care they need from the doctor that they want at a price they can afford. that's the bottom line. obamacare completely fails this test. if obamacare was a car, it would be a lemon. you take it back to the dealership. you go to a new dealer. you buy a different car. americans listen to the president. they heard his promises. and now a year later almost a year, and yearbooks coming out on the anniversary, the one-year anniversary of signing that. a year later, people remember the broken promises. but it's up to all of us to continue to remind people of the broken promises. i still remember the one, health care reform won't add a dime, won't add a dime, he said, to the deficit. they used every trick, budget gimmick, double counting, six

years of service for 10 years of taxes, people absolutely get it. americans fundamentally understand that you can't subsidize coverage for tens of millions of people and simultaneously reduce the deficit. people get the fact that this law is bad for patients. it's bad for providers. the nurses and doctors who take care of their patients and it is bad for tax pairings. -- taxpayers. people understand this. they understand that if you take $500 billion from medicare, it's going to make it harder for people on medicare to get to see a doctor. they understand that 33 governors have written a letter to the president, that they don't like it. they understand that the president's own debt commission looked at this class act, which has been described by a democrat senator as a ponzi scheme that bernie madoff would be proud of. even the deficit commission said this part should be repealed. the deficit commission also said if you're going to cut $500 billion from medicare,

don't use that money to start a whole new entitlement program. so while the number of americans on election night want this -- who want this repealed is 59%, if you actually poll people who have talked to a nurse or talked to a doctor or talked to a physician assistant, the number is actually much higher. because the more they find out about this law, the less they like it. and that's why he have week i go to the senate floor to give a doctor's second opinion about what is wrong with this health care law. and as new rules and new regulations come out, week after week, there is every week something new to share with the american people about what is wrong with this awful, awful law. well, i have to tell you, though, realistically, there is going to be significant opposition to our collected efforts to repeal this health care law. the white house is dug in.

we are going to be opposed every step along the way. the administration is dug in. kathleen sebelius continues to talk about one person being helped by the law as opposed to the overall impact nch law on our nation -- impact of this law on our nation, on our freedom and on our future. democrats in congress are dug in in the fight. and as a matter of fact, pete stark has come out with a pamphlet about -- calls what we're trying to do dangerous to americans' health and continue to spend taxpayer dollars as they've done with the andy gingrich ith tv ads, talking about -- andy griffith tv ads, talking about how good medicare is and a misleading mailer to every medicare patient in america. and outside groups are going to be involved. the democratic national committee is going to be involved. there was an article in "the washington post" just a couple of days ago about this whole thing about all of the groups that are putting money in to

defending this failed health care law. but the truth be known, the liberals, the real liberals do want obamacare to fail. so they can get what they really want. they can say, well, we tried. we listened. now we need a single payer health care system like the one in canada, or the one in britain, which is president obama's preferred approach. as he has said on many occasions. well, that's why we need to be focused. we need to be active. and we need to be persistent. ladies and gentlemen, let me close with this. the democrats have been fighting for over a half a century to get this zast russ bill in place. -- disastrous bill in place. he remember ted kennedy running against gentlemeny carter on this in 1980 -- against jimmy carter on this in 1980. this has gone on a long time. it will not take us a half century to repeal this law but

it won't be done overnight. they never gave up. we will not give up. but it's going to take the jaws of life to save the life of our country from this wreckage of obamacare and we must and we will never stop, never stop, in our effort to repeal this dangerous, disastrous and broken health care law. thank you very much. for letting me be with you today. thank you. ♪ [applause] >> obamacare, you got to love it. at least obama would say, you know, at least the seniors

won't die as fast with the long lines. we have to destroy it. it has to be taken into frankenstein's laboratory and dismembered. next, we have james higgins. he is from the monday meeting new york, which is an awesome influential economic journal. and he's going to be introducing senator john thune who has to catch a plane so we're going to move on. ♪ >> hi. it's been three years since the great william f. buckley left us. his presence is very much missed. but his legacy and his wisdom remain with us. in the last year, and particularly as the tea party has emerged as a major national force, there has been a lot of

discussion as there should have been among conservatives about what kind of candidates should conservatives nominate? as was so often the case, bill buckley had wise words on this subject. what has come to be known as the buckley rule says that conservatives should nominate the most conservative candidate who is electable. conservatives and electable. [applause] our next speaker is senator john thune of south dakota. senator thune is a proven, principled conservative. his most recent a.c.u. rating was 100. look at his a.c.u. rating over his years in congress and you see a lot of 90's and 100's. and how does senator thune do at the ballot box? first elected to the u.s. house in 1996, by 1998, he was

re-elected by a south dakota record margin in a house race. he made good on a promise to self-term limit after three terms and left house in 2002. he came within 500 votes of winning a senate seat in his first challenge to an incumbent liberal democrat senator. then in 2004, he took on senate democratic leader tom daschle. [applause] and john thune won. for any here who may think it's easy to defeat an ultra liberal senate democrat leader with the resources that leader has at hess disposal talk to our friends in nevada and their efforts to unseat harry reid. harry reid started his re-election polled only slightly ahead of the ebola virus but by lks day he was reelected with a republican candidate not even managing 45% of the vote. but senator thune did beat the democratic senate leader. and if you think south dakota

is an easy republican state, consider that before senator thune was elected to the senate his seat had been held by either george mcgovern or tom daschle for 36 of the preceding 42 years. by 2010 the democrats could not even get a challenger to john thune who became the third republican since the direct election of senators which began 100 years ago to win a senate race unopposed. [applause] senator thune enters this year focusing on getting government spending and the deficit ubbed control. -- under control. so to review senator thune and the buckley rule. conservative, check, electable check, let's hear what he has to say. our friend, senator john thune. [applause]

♪ >> thank you all very much and thank you, james, for that very generous -- thank you. thank you for that very generous introduction. and thank you for the warm welcome. before i go any further, however, let me introduce my wife, kimberly, who is somewhere down here, right here, in the front, as a matter of fact. my dad told me the day i got married that a man who says he isn't afraid of his wife will lie about other things. so always important to remember to introduce the really important person in your life. i want to also just say what a great honor it is to be here at cpac with the largest gathering, annual gathering, of conservatives anywhere around the country. and i know that as we gather here in february of 2011, there's already a lot of

speculation about november of 2012. and i hope, and i'm betting, that 2012 is going to be the year when we not only take back the senate but also the white house. [applause] so cpac, are you ready? are you ready to go to work to make sure that we elect a conservative senate and a conservative president in 2012? it is an honor for me to occupy the stage with so many of our party's great leaders. fair to say that i don't have the same national name recognition that some of my more famous republican colleagues have. i never had a book signing. i've been to iowa plenty of times but it's usually on the way to south dakota. and the closest i've come to being on a reality tv show is c-span's live coverage of the senate floor.

it's not the most exciting television. but it did have a good ending last year because a number of my liberal colleagues got voted off. [applause] the truth is i spend most of my time either back in south dakota talking to the folks who elected me or out here in the united states senate working hard on their behalf. my family's roots run deep in south dakota. back in 1906, two brothers named nikolai and matthew yelstick boarded a boat in norway in search of the american dream. when they got to the shores of america, the only english words they knew were the words apple pie and coffee. the immigration officials thought that their name, which was spelled gjelsvik would be too difficult to spell and pronounce for people in this country and so they asked them

to change it. and so the two brothers picked the name of the farm where they worked near bergen, norway, which was the thune farm so nikolai gjelsvik was my grandfather. with his new name and country my grandfather set tout build a new life. he learned english, got a job building the railroad across south dakota and when he and his brother had saved up enough money they started a small business. first the merchandising company and nen a hardware store. norway was their homeland but they made america their home. [applause] my grandfather had three sons, including my father. and he instilled in his boys midwestern values that my parents in turn pass along to me and my four siblings. they taught us to live within our means even if it means going without. they taught us to help our neighbor and to serve our community.

to work hard and to pull our on weight. they taught us about the importance of family and the value of life. and they -- [applause] and they taught us to appreciate our freedom and liberty gifts that come from being fortunate enough to live in the greatest country on earth. because of my upbringing i believe in things like limited government. fiscal responsibility and personal accountability. i believe in the wisdom of our founders and the sanctity of our constitution. and i believe that in order for our values to have meaning, our actions must match our words. if you're blessed enough to serve in public office, then you shouldn't just talk a good game about your values. you should cast your vote according to them. back home in south dakota, that's not a radical agenda. that's just common sense. but for those of us who value liberty and freedom,

washington, d.c., has been a pretty lonely place in the last couple of years. so i want to thank you for sending me some new friends this past november. [applause] in the house, in the house, republicans now hold 242 seats and the speaker's gavel. in the senate, we may not have a majority yet, but we have the kind of moat vated and conservative -- motivated and conservative minority that can make a big difference. in november you sent conservative leaders to washington and you sent the president and his allies a message. the liberal party that they've been having on the taxpayer dime is over. to think that the elections in massachusetts and virginia and new jersey and our mid-term victories across the country, that president obama would rethink his agenda and modify his approach. i was listening for a sign of that in his state of the union address last month. now, as you know, this year in the state of the union address

we did things a little differently. democrats invited their favorite republican to sit with them. so i sat with senator gillibrand from new york and senator karpe from delaware. -- carper from delaware. apparently it takes two democrats to balance me out. [applause] but let me make one thing perfectly clear -- a new seating arrangement is not bipartisanship. and new rhetoric is not a new agenda. the president -- the president last year, for example, talked about -- excuse me -- the president talked a lot about supporting clean energy. and he kind of started by recycling his speech from last year. if you look at his speech last year, the president talked about a three-year freeze on spending. this year, he talked about a five-year freeze on spending.

last year, he talked about pushing through trade agreements with south korea, panama and colombia. this year, he talked about, you guessed it, trade agreements with south korea, panama, and colombia. last year, the president talked about spending. this year, he talked about investment. for those of you who don't have your obama state of the union decoder ring, investment is just another washington word for more spending. when this administration talks about making an investment, i think a lot of us know by now what kind of return we can expect. more government, more debt, fewer jobs, and less freedom. [applause] if the state of the union address is any indication, 201 is shaping up to be more -- 2011 is shapinge up to be more of the same.

these are the folks who took over auto companies, insurance companies and banks. they jammed through obamacare, a $2.5 trillion entitlement that we don't want and can't afford. and when members of their own party won't support this legislative scheme they try to do it without them by executive power grabs. they couldn't pass the cap and tax bill. so they got the e.p.a. doing their dirty work. they couldn't pass the card check bill, and so now the labor relations -- national labor relations board is trying to take away a worker's right to cast a secret ballot. and now the obama f.c.c. is trying to take over the internet. since 2008 we have witnessed the largest expansion in the size of government since the 1960's. all that government means a lot less freedom. and it comes with a hefty price tag. it took 43 presidents more than 200 years to rack up the first $5.8 trillion of publicly held

debt in this country. under the obama administration's last budget, we will double that in five years and triple it in 10. and we're paying for it with borrowed money. last year, over 40 cents out of every dollar the federal government spent came from places like china. president obama likes to talk about winning the future. but someone needs to tell him you can't win the prosperity of tomorrow if you're mortgaging it to pay for the big government programs of today. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, we live in a time of serious challenge. unemployment is 9%. we're running huge deficits as far as the eye can see. the federal debt is now more than $14 trillion. in fact, admiral mike mullen, the chairman of the joint chiefs of staff, the highest ranking mill tar official in

this country -- mill tar official in this country, said a few months back that the greatest threat to america's national security is our national debt. now, that speaks volumes. because the threats that we face abroad are great, and grave. islamic extremism and unstable middle east, potential will he nuclear -- potentially nuclear iran and china and their growing military capability and a dangerous north korea armed with nuclear weapons. the only thing more alarming than these threats is the president's weak response. we can't win the peace with apologies and reset buttons and deep cuts to our national defense. and we can't win the peace. if we don't tell it like it is. and an act of terrorism is just that. terrorism. calling it a -- it only makes

us question this administration's will. to defeat it. we face serious challenge that require solutions. can we live in any other country in the world, i would be worried whether or not we were up to the job. but the american way is to turn adversity into opportunity. for those who came before us, men and women like my grandparents and my parents, two world wars, they weathered a great depression. they took down an evil empire. and they brault the light of freedom to the darkest corners of the world. they turned this country -- they turned this country into the greatest nation the world has ever known. not by reinventing themselves but by holding fast to america's most sacred values and defining principles.

we don't need to fundamentally transform america, we need to stay true to we are. despite what president obama believes, we don't need a new foundation. our old foundation works fine. reagan assumed the presidencyhahaha, and so am i since i cant s -- there can be great hope and in the midst of great despair. there can read -- great joy at great sacrifice.

what a contrast to our current president. president obama claims to admire president reagan quite a bit. he seems to understand who he really was. this is not our people and ideas. this is about how much our government can achieve. his leadership is 8 guiding example for today. he once said there are no easy answers but simple answers. we must have the courage to do what we know is morally right. we should start by performing the way that washington d.c.

does business. do away with the backroom deals at a become part of the administration. the people have a right to know what goes on there. instead of freezing the levels up to date, let's go back to 2008. let's concentrate on how much we can save, not how much we can spend. congressional new committee whose sole purpose it is.

there are 26 committees in congress, committees or subcommittees that spend your money. is it time that we have at least one dedicated to saving your money? [applause] if american families are making tough choices to live within their means, the government should show some fiscal discipline. the time has come to finally pass a balanced budget amendment in the united states constitution. we will need to reform social security and medicare and medicaid. that requires and bold leadership and a bipartisan approach.

president obama talks a lot about both but he does not capable of either. we will elect a conservative president in 2012. the courts have recognized that this costly mess is constitution got is not constitutional. we can and should be funded. if this administration can grant waivers to its favored friends, we should allow every state in the union to opt out as well. [applause]

when it comes to the issue of energy, we need to stop sending billions and billions of dollars every single year to foreign regimes for resources that we can and should develop right here at home. [applause] we need an energy plan that encourages all forms of american energy, one that produces american resources and creates american jobs. [applause] when it comes to the issue of national security, let's win the war as of today and prepare her for the threats of tomorrow. let's stand by our troops and make sure they have the resources needed to complete their missions. those who areth risking their lives for freedom.

let's stand up for our allies like israel. [applause] enemiesand up to our like the radical islamic extremists and to seek to destroy our way of life and harm our friends. [applause] despite what some in this administration think, our soldiers are fighting in global war on terror. that is a fight that we need all elements of our national power to win. we need it to use lawful interrogation techniques to obtain actionable intelligence.

we should give them their day in court in a military tribunal, not in an american court room. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, we have a tough road ahead for your point to get america back on track. we have faced some hard choices and we need to make some right decisions. there will be opposition to our agenda and to our ideas. as i look out of what lies before us, i am reminded of my first senate race back in 2002. it was a tough, hard-hitting campaign and i ended up losing by 524 votes. it was the kind of experience

that would make you want to pack it in. i remember sitting in our living room in south dakota with my wife kimberly, she looked at me and said, i am not going through another campaign unless god himself comes to the door and says that you have to run. [laughter] i said, i probably don't think that is going to happen, honey. as the year when don and people started talking about the 2004 election, he would run against it the senate minority leader, we were having a discussion as we were contemplating that race again. my wife looked at me and said, i have finally concluded and realized that what we went through in losing that the 2002 senate race wasn't just about the winning, it was about the race. hat?, w

of course it was about the winning. i am in this to win. she made an important observation, ladies and gentlemen, that it is important to be in the race, in the arena, out of their standing up and fighting for the things that we believe in. she was right then and she is right now. [applause] i know that everyone here, you have chosen to get in the arena and fight. you have made your conservative convictions or call to action. in the battle between more freedom, you are calling for freedom. you are fighting for liberty. [applause] together, we have come a long way but we have a long way to go and more to do. we need to get this country back to the values that made my grandfather and somebody like

him risk it all to come and reach our shores. we need to protect the principle that men like my father fought for and battlefields in faraway places. their legacy is are called action. we need to ask ourselves today, what sacrifices are we really need to make to secure america's future? what will we do to ensure that the great american experiment does not end on our watch. the answer is that we have got to get back in the trenches and fight for the values and the ideals and the principles that made this the greatest country on the earth. [applause] for my part, i will be using every tool our founders gave us to expand liberty, to expand freedom, and to stop the growth

of government. when the democrats try to regulate what they cannot legislate, i will throw every obstacle and can in their pass. -- i can in their path. when they tried to increase spending and pushed their liberal agenda, i will be on the front lines voting no. [applause] on monday, after this celebration is over, i am going back to work and i hope that you will as well. i hope to go back to your communities and keep speaking out, keep holding washington accountable, and keep making your voice heard. we might not win every battle every time. as winston churchill said, successful is not final, failure is not fatal, it is the courage to continue that counts. [applause]

let's make our convictions or calling, let's get back in the arena, let's have the courage to continue our fight. let's expand our movement and together, let's make 2012 our moment. thank you, god bless you, and may god continue to bless the united states of america. thank you. [applause] ♪ >> we are relieved about the new house but we have seen some senators that can take some duty. we have a few announcements.

be sure to vote. make sure that you vote. we want to see your vote. we will get our country back. it will take a lot of worked and, yes, some of us have noticed that it looks like road kill. i know that we can come back and be a light on the hill because we must. the world needs us. we will come back. don't come back and your country. it will take some work. it is hard to come back because we will.

i was two minutes from death after a der jump on me on my motorcycle when i was driving. i was in a,, i broke my job in three places, it crashed my job, my i saw it, the corner of my mouth. i was drooling for a year and no one ever thought i would to talk radio again let alone know my husband and kids. and so, i remember 10 months later -- [applause] i remember 10 months later, much to the chagrin of the liberals, i was on the air again. i am an american. i have a will. i wanted to lives. i wanted to talk again and stop drooling and remember things and walked.

i am back. thank god for prayer, life, work. we have to use the same spirit to get this country back -- will, vision, discipline, work, and thguts. otherwise, we will be a victim. we have ken blackwell coming up. he is a member of the civil american union. he is quite the guy. put your hands together. bu[applause] ♪ >> good afternoon. ladies and gentleman, we are at a point in our nation's 234 year history where we are facing an

economic, moral, and security challenge like none other. with art that being what is, we have a situation and a problem that is a moral challenge. it is a national security challenge because of the people who hold our debt, china. it is an economic crisis when total government spending is 41% of our gross >> product. -- gross domestic product. as we are told in hebrews 12, 1, "there is a cloud of witnesses watching how we run this race,

how we meet this challenge." and for such a time as this, god has blessed us with a set of leaders that are willing to tackle this crisis, these challenges, these problems. among the tallest, among the best-prepared is center mike lee from utah. -- senator mike lee from utah. he is a constitutional scholar. he is a superb lawyer. he is a grassroots, tell it like it is politician. he is a favorite among the tea party years and he is a favorite among movement conservatives alike.

-- she is a favorite among the tea party. ladies and gentlemen, we are blessed to have a man who was willing to tackle this nation's debt crisis. he comes to bring a breath of eath ofir, a bra determination to create an american century that stand up along the standards expected by that cloud of witnesses. he is a family man. he and his wife, sharon, are the parents of three wonderful children. he is a full portfolio conservatives. he is a social conservative, a national security conservatives, an economic conservative, he is a standard american, i present to you senator mike lee.

[applause] ♪ >> thank you. thank you for that kind introduction. can and a few other friends have founded a group called -- which is at the forefront of the movement for a balanced budget amendment in this country and that is something we will talk about here in a moment. it is a pleasure to be with you. i have many fond memories. i have just recently announced my candidacy for the u.s. senate in the state of utah. my candidacy was one that was

considered a long shot. i had a small ragtag but hardworking group of volunteers that spearheaded my campaign effort. we were told over and over again as we set out a most impressive is the type of campaign, one that focused on principles of federalism, the idea of limited powers in washington. over and over and over again we were told, what you are trying to do was impossible. after a while, they just said that it was improbable. a few months later, they saw that this ragtag group of volunteers had become absolutely unstoppable. i thank each of them for their efforts on my behalf. it is good to be back at cpac and see the momentum we are

making. it was not very long ago, not quite a year and a half ago, that a reporter from cns news asked nancy pelosi, we're in the constitution does it give congress the power to adopt an individual mandate? to tell every man, woman, child that they must purchase health insurance. not just any type of health insurance but a the kind that congress in its infinite wisdom would deem appropriate. she looked at the man and said, are you serious? painful scorn was evident in her face. she intended your statement, i think, as a strong statement. i wonder though whether or not there was not another aspect to why she asked the question. perhaps, she was asking herself,

nancy, are you serious. can you serious maintain that congress has this power? we answered that question for her in november of 2010. [applause] we can now say to speaker pelosi, i correct myself, former speaker pelosi, yes, we were serious. [applause] it reminds me of the original two-party. not the one that took place on february 19th, 2009, the one that took place in december, 1773. american merchants upset over what they perceive as overreaching by their national government, another national

government based in london. they were fed up with the government for taxing them too much, for regulating them too much, for being removed from them and slow to respond to the needs and demands. as the americans boarded ships in boston harbor and seized crates of tea casting it into the water, slowly, the news traveled across the atlantic and eventually made its way to the ears of king george the third and his ministers. they might have heard that and said in their distinctively british accents, are they serious? could they possibly be serious in wanting to stand up to what was then the world's only superpower. we showed them that we were. it took us 14 years to get to that point in 1773 where we as

americans started proclaiming what we did not want from our government. taxation over regular station and the realization that they can tax any aspect of our existence. it took us 14 years to get from boston harbor to philadelphia where, in 1787, we as americans came up with a document in which we laid out what we did want from our national government. we understood then just as we understand now that national governments, by their very nature, have a certain tendency, unavoidable, unfortunately, to increase their power. to become tyrant's. we see this is true whether the government in question is headed by a king, on the one hand, or by a president, on the other. or, as turns out, by an elected president who thinks he is a king.

[applause] you see, we understood then that it was important to put in significant restraints and constraints on the government's ability to exercise power so, we came up with a list of powers that we wanted to lodge in congress. we said that congress would be in charge of just a few basic things, not everything. most of the power would be left to the states. congress would be in charge of regulating trade in the states, declaring war, establishing a uniform system of weights and measures, and a few other powers, including my personal favorite, the authority to grant letters of marque and reprisal. i am glad i got a few chuckles at about one. that is my favorite power of congress, one that i hope one day to exercise is a member of the u.s. senate. for those of you who are yet and schooled in this practice, and letter of mark and reprisal is essentially a call pass set of titles the bearer to act in the

u.s. named to engage in state- sponsored acts of piracy on the high seas. -- this is essentially a hall, er thehat igives the bear ability to engage in state- sponsored acts of piracy. i'm going to get a ship and an eye patch and you are all invited to join me. [applause] we showed the british that we were serious and we stopped their piracy. we adopted these limitations and we prospered as a result. another form of usurpation has overtaken us to some extent in the intervening years. after those limited powers and their boundaries, they were respected for the better part of one headed 50 years after we adopted this blessed document. -- they will respect for the

better part of 150 years. we stopped looking to the document itself for the limits. we became content, for whatever reason, to look across the street from the capital, to the supreme court of the united states, where nine men and women tell us what it means but they don't always have the right answer in so far as how much the power should extend. there is a difference between what the supreme court says it will not get involved in and how far they will allow the congress of the u.s. to act in adopting new legislation. on the other hand, deciding what can be reconciled with the original understanding of the constitution. this sparked the constitutional debate that needs to be restored to the u.s. congress. it is for that very reason that i ran for the senate. it is for that very reason that i am standing before you today.

the voters in my state, like in utah, understand this principle, it resonates with them and it rings true and i will fight every day that i am privileged to serve in that body to restore that debate and remind us that that is limited. [applause] over the course of time, because of limitations on congress's power have been so widely, so broadly, so deeply ignored, it is time to put an additional constraint on top of congress's constitutional authority. we give congress the power in clause 2, article one, section 8, to borrow in the name of the u.s.. this power has been abused. this has led to the unfettered

expansion of the government. congress decides to raid at the treasury not only of today but the treasury that belongs to our children and our grandchildren and their children and grandchildren after them. we have amassed a debt that astoundingly is now approaching 15 trillion dollars. some people don't make that much money in a whole year. [laughter] this is sad but true. even when you divide that figure, 15 trillion dollars, it will account to about $15,000 a head. many people don't make that much money in a year and yet that is what the youngest infant alive today goes to the federal government on a per-capita basis. this is wrong, it is a moral, and it passed and. this is hurting us and killing jobs. -- this is wrong, this is not moral.

study after study demonstrates that the economy will suffer to the tune of losing as many as 1 million jobs a year. to the tune of slowing economic growth by 1% or more every single year. we cannot afford to continue to do this. we cannot allow this to happen. we have to allow the economic growth to resume. that will not happen until we stop transferring wealth from one generation to another, especially as whereas here degenerations from who we are borrowing from include people that are not born or those who have parents they are yet to meet. this is wrong and we have to stop it. the way we stopped it is to adopt a document that is difficult to change that hasn't constraint on the ability of

government to operate in this fashion. -- a document that is difficult to change that acts as a constraint on the ability of government to operate in this fashion. i urge all of you to support my legislation. [applause] let me tell you briefly what it says. the senate joint resolution 5 tells us that once a it is approved and ratified by 3/4 of the state as a certain it will be because the state's balance their budgets just like individuals, families, and businesses. once it is approved, it will tell congress that they may not spend more than 80% in each year, more than they bring in each year, they may not raise the debt ceiling, they may not raise taxes without both houses of proving that measure. [applause]

the senate joint resolution 5, the balanced budget proposal is the only of its kind that contains each of those elements. if you love of freedom, if you love the become a life, property, please contact your senator, contact your congressman, and tell him or her to support the balanced budget amendment and to get it passed and to end this form of modern day tyranny once and for all. [applause] there are those who still doubt, there are those who still insist what we are trying to do is impossible. jet, i was here a year ago and i can see that our numbers have swelled, perhaps doubled or

tripled. i can sense as i speak to groups across my state in washington, d.c., and across the country, our movement has not stalled, our movement has not slowed. our rate of growth is increasing every second and it will continue to do so. what happens in the 2012 election cycle will make what happened to our democratic friends in 2010 look like a sunday picnic. [applause] are we serious? you bet we are. we have never been more serious. we will fight and we will win because this is a battle that we can win. >> the conservative political action conference continues tonight in washington, d.c. the group will hear from

indiana gov. mitch daniels. he was asked yesterday if he would resign to run for the republican political -- run for the republican presidential nomination. >> our first head table guest coming out tonight was reagan's director of the u.s. office of personnel management. he is a member of the board of directors of the acu. please welcome -- [applause] 4 years, we have celebrated ronald reagan's legacy and involvement with cpac. we are proud to have the ronald

center withidential campaig us. our next guest is president of the 60 plus association, a hard- hitting organization dedicated to preserving tax rights for seniors. he played a significant role in electing about 75 new members of congress last november. please welcome -- our next guest campaign for ronald reagan when he was governor and then for him during his presidential campaign. and especially for about 75 members of congress last year.

please welcome my friend pat boone. [applause] our next guest is the u.s. on the veteran who served in operation desert storm and operation restore democracy. he serves as the chairmen of the acu board of directors. please welcome -- our next head table guest has been a champion for academic freedom for over 20 years, please welcome university of delaware professor --

our next guest went to west point and he is on the conservative national committee. he is chairman of the linda and harry bradley foundation. welcome -- to alig our next guest is the longtime guiding force behind ronald reagan's favorite newspaper, "human events," here is the editor-in-chief, tom -- our next one served in various positions in the reagan administration and is currently chairman of the reagan ranch board of governors, please welcome -- [applause]

next, we have a news man who was recently named one of america's top 20 most influential news media personalities. let's welcome the ceo and president of nesmaxx, -- next is a reagan conservative who helped to make a virginia a red state. he is the president and ceo of the free congress foundation, former virginia gov. jim gilmore. [applause] our next guest is a very special friend. she was the architect of the ronald reagan coalition bringing together for the first time in the white house evangelical catholic, jewish, and other traditional orthodox religious groups to promote the sanctity

of human life. she was also ronald reagan's ambassador to switzerland, please welcome ambassador -- [applause] ronald reagan once said that the nra believes that americans' constitutional liberties are just as important today as two centuries ago. welcome the great defender of the second amendment and ceo of the nra, -- [applause] our next guest is the national chairman of the conference on racial equality which played a very important role in the civil-rights movement. please welcome, mr. roy -- [applause]

next, we have a senior adviser to president reagan and tonight's keynote speaker who will get a more proper introduction later. join me in welcoming indiana gov. mitch daniels. [applause] please welcome george will. our next guest started out her career as a democrat. we're glad that she decided the good side to be on.

please welcome the american conservative union foundation chairman, -- [applause] ronald reagan chose this man for his 1980 transition team and then appointed him to chair the president's commission on small and minority business affairs. later, he was a special ambassador to -- when that nation got its independence. welcome -- joining us is the southern regional coordinator for why the reagan in his 1976 campaign, -- for ronald reagan in his 1976 campaign.

please welcome, cpac chairman david king. [applause] fellow conservatives, this is your head table for the ronald reagan banquet. these are some of the people who worked with ronald reagan that and still working for him and the conservative cost. please stand for the presentation of the colors from the citadel preservation society and seven carolina -- in southern carolina.

>> please remain standing for the pledge of allegiance, led by -- and remain standing for the national anthem. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states america and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> [singing] o say, can you see, by the dawn's early light what so proudly we hailed at the twilight's last gleaming whose broad stripes and abroad stars through the perilous fight over the ramparts we watched were so gallantly streaming

and the rockets' red glare the bombs bursting in air, gave proof through the night that our flag was still there oh, say does that star spangled banner yet wave del land of the free and the home of the brave [applause] >> please retire the colors.

[applause] >> please remain standing for the indication by the rev. michael -- -- invocation by the rev. michael -- >> good evening. we are all here because we love america. not only that, we believe that god loves america. [no audio] -- [applause]

i believe that god is listening. several years ago, i was introduced to a man and woman who had began walking the width and breadth of this country pray for america, praying in a simple prayer of repentance. asking for god's blessing upon america to continue but knowing that we would only continue if they would repent. changed our mind about the way the act and conduct our business. this is no empty prayer, this is a prayer for america that god would continue to bless america. i asked you to join me in that prayer this evening. almighty god, we thank you and praise you for your kind and the mercy and grace poured out upon our nation. you have delivered us in times of war, reunited us among

conflicts amongst ourselves and filled our lives with such abundance, your blessings have overflowed our borders. yet still, we take you for granted. we come before you now in desperate need of your forgiveness. we confessed that the liberty that you have so graciously gave us as become a license to do as we please. our culture mach's you, our highest courts are esteemed above your word. -- our culture mocks you. we teach our children self indulgence and yet stand mystified of the blood on their hands. we lost after material things and yet wonder why our souls are empty. revive us, oh, lord. your presence is our only hope.

in part to us or passion for good over evil. -- in part to us -- impart to us your passion for good over evil. bring us back to -- we are free to search you and one another in genuine love to. we ask these things in the name of the god of abraham, isaac, jacob, in the name of jesus we pray can met a man -- in the name of jesus we pray, amen. [applause] >> please be seated and enjoy your dinner.

our program will begin in a little while. ♪

fi

♪ ♪ ♪

♪ a police last seven months of the fiscal year waltzed and even buy more penn dollars. discussed forza his past year. according to the committee chairmen, legislation includes saudi production at discretionary spending and a history of the country. soft spot fuhr -- legislation

includes spending reductions and discretionary spending. the house is expected to debate the bill next week. while the group breaks for dinner, let's take a look at some of senator rand paul of kentucky's remarks. [applause] >> no one will accuse our last speaker of sucking up to an audience. i look forward to the day in november of 2012 when every

single one of us can experience what it is like to be donald trump when we, the american people can say to barack obama, you're fired. [applause] in austin texas, there is a terrific mexican restaurant -- every weekend they have a sign that has a commentary with what is going on in the world. i remember the sign the date that the health care bill passed. the sign read,, on in, enjoy the obama is special. order everything you like, the next table place.

-- pays. to next speaker, i'm going go out on a limb and say that there are a few guests of rand paul out here. [applause] rand paul is a remarkable man and a remarkable senator. he has proposed a budget that cuts 500 billion. [applause] i am reminded of the old movie, crocodile dundee. this is a knife.

for those of you that our fans of spinal tap, ours goes to 11. rand paul understands the fight is about liberty. [applause] my father came to america from cuba a fleeing oppression. when i was a boy, he used to say, when we face depression, there was a place to flee to. if we lose our liberty here, where do we go? that is what this fight is about. i am very glad to recognize the kentucky tea party activist still moffett to introduce the great senator ran popov -- rand paul.

>> it is a great day to be conservative, isn't it? do we have any liberty lovers out there? i have the tea party backing just as rand paul had when he was running. we believe an economic prosperity and replacing the income tax with a consumption tax. using the 10th amendment to get the government out of our backyard.

[applause] changing our government education system to something that a student achievement focused and gives >> last but not least, quit piling debt on our children and grandchildren. i have a primary this may 17 and i invite you to join us to fight and kill off another rhino and put another tea party republican in office so that we can move this country forward. it is my pleasure to introduce our next speaker, dr. rand paul.

they assailed him as being abstract, too crazy for kentucky. he responded with a message. he said i have a message from the deep party. we are here to take our country back. ladies and gentlemen, when he introduced his budget to cut half a trillion dollars out of current spending, he made me smile, and i thought to myself, thank god for rand paul. thank god he is doing what he said he would do, and we have not seen anything yet. it is my pleasure to introduce center dr. rand paul. [applause]

is there is anybody here from the tea party? are we going to let washington: of the tea party? will you fight for and help me defend the constitution? [applause] at the turn of the last century, the chaplain for the u.s. senate was edwin hale. they asked him, do you pray for the senate? he said well, i look at the senators and i pray for the people. [laughter] when i was elected to the senate, a fellow senator called me to congratulate me and he said the first six months, you will pinch yourself and say how did i get here?

the next six months, you pinch yourself and say how the hell did the rest of these guys get here? i brought with me today to examples, gross examples of government ineptitude. there are probably thousands of others but i brought these two that i learned about recently from senator collins. it is not that government is inherently stupid, although that is a debatable question. i have at two examples that make you wonder if this is an inherent right of government. the energy department has and energy star program. you have seen the stickers for energy efficiency. senator collins got wind of this and said you know what, i matt -- nothing maybe they will prove anything. this is an air freshener. i am not kidding. i am not making this up. this is the actual air

freshener that was sent over to the energy department and it got a sticker, approved. we also have -- this is a near facsimile. this is a smaller version, a gasoline powered alarm clock. it is going to save electricity. [laughter] early on in my campaign, i stopped by a book publisher in kentucky near louisville. this book publisher had published barry goldwater's " conscious of the conservative" -- the first edition. he said i have little interest and streamlining government are making it more efficient for i mean to reduce its size. i do not propose to promote

welfare, but rather to extend freedom. my aim is not to repeal bills, not to pass bills but to repeal them. my aim is not to inaugurate new programs but to cancel out old ones that do violence to the constitution. [applause] oh, well not ask or try to discover whether legislation is needed before i have discovered whether it is constitutional. and if i am told that i have neglected my constituents' interest, i will tell them that i was informed as the main interest of my constituents was liberty, and in that cause, i am doing the best that i can. [applause] barry goldwater mentions one

supreme court case in that book. many of you know it. there is a former in california who wants to grow corn 20 acres of wheat. the governor says you can only grow 10 acres of wheat. he says by what authority do you tell me this? they said the commerce clause. he says i am not even want to sell the wheat, i am going to feed it to my cattle. they say to him, my. activity, by not doing anything, you can indirectly affect the price of wheat. and they enforce this. the ruling was in the 1940's. for 60 and 70 years now we have been working with this notion that the commerce clause says that our government can do anything, until obamacare came along. they scoffed at us when we set it was not constitutional. nancy pelosi looked like a deer in headlights. she could not believe that anyone would question the constitutionality.

judge napolitano asked about the constitutionality and represented cliburn readily admitted most of the things we do in washington have no constitutional authority. it is amazing and appalling. the supreme court case will be much more than health care. it is going to be about whether or not we believe that our government should be restrained at a 460 or 70 years we have been gradually going down this road of becoming more of a majority rule, a democracy. shearson said a democracy would be nothing more than moral. our founding fathers knew the difference between a republic and a democracy. [applause] our understanding of the commerce clause has become so broad that often will say if my

shoes were made in tennessee, that will regulate my walking in kentucky. recently, center coburn in one of the committee hearings ask elena kagan, do you think the government for the commerce clause could regulate that you eat three vegetables a day? her response was yes. it is important to the next president will be. it is important who is on the supreme court, and we better make darn certain that we get the right person in 2012. [applause] we face a looming debt crisis. it is worse than you could imagine. it really is coming upon us quickly. i went to a presentation this week where they said japan is passed the point of no return. they don't think japan will come out from under its debt. they say when country gets to

wear its debt equals its economy, your total debt is about equal to your gdp, that you approach a point of no return. we are quickly approaching that point. what kind of leadership or we getting? the president of the united states wants to sound like he is not conservative, he is going to freeze spending. he is going to freeze this much of the budget at inflated levels of spending, and in over five years he is going to add 3.8 trillion dollars to the debt. it is unacceptable. but you are the conservatives and you drive the debate, so what i am going to tell you next, you may not want to hear, but it is true. the house republican proposal will freeze this month to the budget at 2008 levels and will add three trillion dollars to the debt over five years. it is too little, not enough, too timid, and we must be more bold.

[applause] they are talking about cutting $35 billion. we have 30 by -- we add $39 billion to the debt in nine days. it is not enough, and we will not avoid financial ruin in our country unless we think more boldly. we must cut more spending. we must cut out the unconstitutional programs that we never intended to have here. we is to set as republicans that we thought education was for the states and localities and we have a department of education that is consuming $100 billion,

and it is time to go back to the republican roots that says we believe in abolishing the department -- [applause] there is one compromise we will have to make as conservatives. there is one compromise you have to make. this is the compromise, and you have to think this through. we have always been as conservatives against the domestic welfare, the abuses of domestic spending, but you have to understand that that is this much of the budget. you cut out all discretionary nonmilitary spending, you do not balance the budget. you cannot get there unless you look at the whole budget.

that means we'll have to have entitlement reform. [applause] but here is the compromise that conservatives will also have to make. we'll have to look long and hard at the military budget. i knew there had to be some dissension somewhere. the thing is, the most important thing that our government does, the one primary and most important constitutional thing our government does is our national defense. absolutely. but you cannot say that the doubling of the military budget in the last 10 years has all been spent wisely and that there is not any ways in id. if you do, if you refuse to a

knowledge that there is any waste that can be culled from the military budget, your baby government conservative and you cannot lay claim to balancing the budget. with regard to entitlement reform, and has to happen. there is not any question that it will happen. is whether we do it gradually, in a rational manner, or whether we wait until there is a collapse of the country and we have to do dramatically. everybody knows the answer. i said it in my campaign and the republicans' attack before it and so did the democrats. the age of social security will have to gradually rise. i got a note from a young man who worked in the campaign and he may be here today. he said thanks for proposing

the $500 billion in budget cuts. as an afterthought he said, i would not mind opting out of social security. is there anybody here who would like to opt out of social security? our country stands at a press abyss. america's greatness and exceptional as some are because we chose economic and political freedom -- our country stands at precipice. thi we can maintain that exceptional

listen, that freedom, the constitution, but it will not happen lying down. we must choose bold leadership as we go into 2012. we need bold leadership. we cannot have this incrementalism. it is not going to be enough. you need bold leaders who will stand up and say this should be done in washington, but this should be left to the states and localities respectively. one person can make a difference. i think we are shaking it up. i think the tea party has had an enormous influence. this town is not talking about the debt and deficit constantly. the tea party brought that to washington. you can continue to pressure them, but don't let up. it is not enough to have

republicans in charge. we are not inherently exceptional as republicans. keep the pressure on. let's choose bold leadership in 2012. thank you for having me. [applause] ♪

>> kentucky senator ran all speaking at the cpac. it is ongoing tonight here in washington d.c. he was speaking earlier this week to the group. the conservative political action conference continues tonight. phyllis schlafly made some opening introductions and we expect to hear from indiana governor mitch daniels who has been asked whether he would leave his governor seat to make a bid for the republican presidential nomination. the conference is supposed to get underway again at around 9:00 p.m. eastern. in the meantime, let's take a look at some earlier speakers. >> what you are still clattering with your silver, i want to thank [unintelligible] publishing for tonight's, rent free book by newt gingrich,

which is available on your way out. we also would like to thank the sponsor of tonight's vip and participating organization reception. we also want to thank sarah pack and hsbc iraq who were the sponsors of tonight's diamond reception. we are very grateful to those who are backing cpac. now if we get a little quiet, i am going to turn back to david keene for his announcement. >> thank you, phyllis. this year, as you know, this bank would is dedicated to the memory of ronald reagan on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of his birth. i would like those of you in the audience first of all, anyone in

the audience who was involved in ronald reagan's 1976 campaign for the presidency of the united states and his nomination with president gerald ford to please stand. [applause] and with those of you who were involved in his 1980 campaign, either in the primary or the general election, please join them by standing. [applause] and then, would any of you who served in the reagan administration in either his first or second term join them by standing. [applause] it would seem to me that this is a group that can not only honor

ronald reagan's memory and legacy, but is made up of many people who helped build that legacy. thank you. you can be seated now. >> our program continues. at this point we want to honor those who are or have served in the military as well as their families. please stand and recognize each branch. i think we are going to have a little music so you may not even need me to announce which services it is. we will star with the u.s. army. anybody who served in the u.s. army, please stand so we can

thank you. ♪ ♪ >> thank you for your service. next up want to honor those in the marine corps. ♪

and next, special to me because my husband served five years in the u.s. navy, we thank you. ♪ ♪

and next we honor the air force. ♪ and now we want to honor the coast guard. ♪

we thank you all very much for your service. i want to call to your attention that there are some thank you cards on all of your dinner tables. tonight's laurell arrangements will be donated to walter reed army hospital. please write your note of thanks to our wounded and recovering heroes, and volunteers will take your cards on the way out and deliver them with the floral arrangements. thanks for honoring those who served our country. we will have another pause while discontinue with your dessert -- while you continue with your

dessert and resume in a moment. ♪ >> we are bringing you some of the live cpac meeting here in washington d.c., and while the group takes a break, is to let you know on capitol hill tonight, the house appropriations committee introduced a bill to fund the government was some of the largest discretionary spending cuts in history. it would cut president obama spending request by more than $100 billion. the house expected to debate that spending bill next week. back here at cpac, let's take a look at some of the speakers from earlier this week. majority leader john boehner received an award and spoke to the group yesterday. we will show you as much of this as we can while we wait for the

cpac to resume their event. >> thank you. some of you may remember a certain tv commentator who shall remain nameless, about two years ago, reflecting on his party's newly named nominee and the physical reaction that he had to get. i don't know about you, but at the recent state of the union, when i looked up to my right and sought a dignified, classy guy sitting there, i got tinkles of both legs. how great is it to have john boehner third in the succession line? [applause]

john boehner is just a regular guy, second oldest of 12. he grew up mopping floors, waiting tables, and tending bar and his dad's tavern just outside cincinnati in a blue- collar town. while working his way to pay his way through night school, he met his wife, debbie and has been married 37 years. he started his own small business. john got involved in state and local politics after seeing firsthand how high taxes and red tape impact on trippers. unlike president obama and nancy pelosi who have never had to meet a payroll or sign the front of a check. in 1990, voters in southwest ohio said john to congress in just reelected him for the 10th time. he took a strong stand against

corporal spending and as part of the gang of seven, expose corruption in the house the establishment and for politicians to live by the same laws as everyone else. he played a leading role in the republican revolution in 1994, helping draft the contract with america, a very bold agenda. he went on to cheer the education work force committee and got elected majority leader in 2006. john is a principled leader, and now as speaker of the house, he is leading the new house majority in keeping their pledge to america. they are focusing on removing barriers to private sector job creation and economic growth. they have cut government spending, voted to repeal obamacare, and taken meaningful steps to improve transparency and accountability in congress. and they are just getting started.

john is a tireless worker, committed to making the tough decisions to get our country back on track. his life story is living proof that the american dream is still alive. only in america can you go from mopping floors of a tavern to becoming speaker of the house. we are fortunate to have a principled, reagan conservative like john leading the house, and they'd all that he could be with us this evening. by the way, he handled the stunning victory in november and the tucson tragedy in a very statesmanlike manner. john ash brooke would be proud to have a fellow ohio and like john leading our parade. let me just quickly with the word. the ashford award is intended to recognize and honor individuals in politics and related fields who exemplified the ideals so splendidly up held by the late john ashbery.

and so well symbolized by his career. these include integrity of thought and conduct, the knowledge of what is right, and the determination to do right. they include a firm dedication to principles, the conviction that politics must be based upon sound doctrine and objectives and not merely on winning elections. they include a rock what conservatism based on a profound understanding of the nature of human beings and civil society. and all the perils and possibilities. they include a determination to fight, alone if need be, for were the goals. it is our hope that the award will encourage others to follow the example of john ash broke and serve to honor their achievements when they do so. the trust that its recipients will better understand from the honor in which we hold the brrok. of john ash broke

it is my great honor to present the award to the speaker of the house, john boehner. 2 ♪ [applause] >> thank you, thank you, thank you. let me say thank you to david again for his leadership over

all these so many years that he has led the acu. congratulations, and good luck experience friends cleta mitchell for her leadership in this organization and always being there when i need her. and me also say a special thanks to my good friend and mentor, the former speaker of the house, newt gingrich. [applause] that me say to all of you that i am honored by this recognition, but as it is with the of with that i hold, it is not about me. i would not be speaker of the house if americans last year had not stood up and reasserted control over their government. and many people in this room

were involved in helping to lead the uprising, i should be thanking you for a job well done. our new majority is intent on offering the commitments that we made to the american people. we pledged to the american people that we will listen. we pledge that we would do things differently if given the opportunity to run the house. we pledged we would focus on stopping the job crushing spending that was going on in washington d.c., and we place that we would focus on jobs and spending and stopping at the massive regulatory assault that has led to massive uncertainty in the private sector. let me tell you, ladies and gentleman, we are going to keep our word. [applause]

i have seen firsthand how government makes it hard for small businesses to create jobs and make ends meet. our majority will pass a resolution to inventory and review all federal agency rules and regulations that make it harder to create jobs and to grow our economy. [applause] this is of the wire are new majority is going to pass my colleague act which would require congressional approval of any new regulation with the economic impact would be $100 million or more. let's let the congress and the people decide whether we need more regulations. [applause] excessive government spending

that crashes jobs by printing and barring all this money, the government is creating uncertainty and crennel private capital in the bargain. every tax dollar the government takes in is a dollar that americans are unable to invest in themselves, their family, their business, or their community. the american people finally get this. the problem is, we don't have all the politicians in washington who quite understand this yet. i want to read a couple of quotes to you which i got from a great article. i would encourage all of you to read the article if you get a chance. unions and their liberal allies want more welfare, which will push up the deficit. that also want a national health program which will push up the deficit with more deficit borrowing. this hurts workers most of all.

liberal economic theorist argue that a large budget deficit will stimulate the economy and create jobs. in reality, large deficits destroy jobs. these are comments that i could have made or eric cantor or mitch mcconnell could have made, and we could have made them yesterday. but these words were actually uttered nearly 40 years ago by the late great congressman from ashbrook.n ashcrof he was not just directing his comments at the left, but some in his own party that had begun to subscribe to the left pose a way of thinking. he was taking on the establishment of his own party, urging republicans to reject the idea that we can borrow and spend our way back to prosperity. the party only heard it all and

the result was the presidency of ronald reagan. ashbrook and reagan understood that the american economy does not run on government spending, it runs on freedom. a generation later, we are experiencing a similar realignment. today is the tea party movement calling us to our senses, courtesy of president obama, americans have witnessed a grand failure of the notion that massive spending and borrowing our government will jump-start private sector job creation. when drew in dollars of wasteful stimulus spending left americans asking the question, mr. president, where are the jobs? and now president obama is asking us to raise the national

debt ceiling without any commitment to cutting spending at the same time. instead of offering a budget that is the spending binge, the administration is preparing to offer a budget that will destroy jobs by spending too much, taxing too much, and borrowing too much from the american people. with all due respect, this is not winning the future, this is spending the future. [applause] what we need is a path to prosperity, one that unleashes the greatness of our people and the awesome potential of the american economy by getting government out of the way. americans see that the spending binge in washington is hurting job creation, not helping it. they are calling on leaders to stop the job crushing spending binge and cut spending. based on his budget and the state of the union address, it looks like the president still

is not listening, but we are. we got the message. the american people have directed us to cut spending, and we will. there is no limit to the amount of spending that we and our team are willing to cut to help get our economy moving again. let me be clear about this. we are going to exceed our pledge to america. next week we are going to cut more than $100 billion in discretionary spending on this year's account. we are not going to stop there. what we have got -- once we have got the discretionary down, you will see more cuts. it is not just about how much we spend, it is also about how we spend it. every committee has been tasked with the job of doing real

oversight, something that congress has long forgotten how to do. you are going to see us fight to end taxpayer funding of abortion once and for all. the other side says that are spending plan drafted by paul ryan will cause pain and suffering. baloney. what is really going to cause pain and suffering in america is if we do nothing. leaving the spending process on autopilot means wonder if our nation's future. our majority will not stand for that. our goal is to liberate our economy from the shackles of debt, excessive regulation, and over taxation. >> we have to move away from john baker speech. you can find the rest of it online at c-span video library. we will take you back live to the conference under way.

>> now i am going to introduce -- i wanted to keep quiet and listen to him. to make a special announcement, please welcome stuart mclarin from the reagan presidential foundation. where are you? >> you did a great job, thank you. on behalf of mrs. reagan and the trustees of the ronald reagan presidential foundation, it is an honor for me to be here this evening at a podium that was very familiar to president reagan here at cpac. 2011, as everyone in this room knows, is president reagan's centennial year. we are honored to put together a year's worth of activities, celebratory and substantive,

starting with the ronald reagan theme of love in the tournament of roses parade on january 1, the first time that a president of the united states has been represented. last week we had an extraordinary weekend at the reagan library with a concert on saturday night. are recognized many faces of friends who were there and went late into the night. the next morning, a great tribute to the president with the keynote address by secretary james baker, a flyover, and mrs. reagan laying a wreath at the graveside. we have a series of partnerships with four great american universities. last week we were with the university of southern california that focused on leadership by biography of the president and what made him over the course of his life a great man and a great leader. yesterday and today we spent

with the university of virginia, which focused on the international accomplishments and achievements of the president, and later this year will be at the university of notre dame and then the u.s. naval academy for additional conferences. we also opened a renovated museum at the library. you have never been our have not been recently, now is the time to come. it is an incredible place with interactive exhibits and a true trivia to president reagan. there is a tribute to the president at the super bowl on sunday. next week we are at the daytona 500 where they will give a tribute to president reagan. the most important aspect of this centennial is not reflective ornis doubt it. we also everyone in this room who worked so hard with and for

president reagan. it is about the future. it is not just about him, but it is about the young people in this room, young people involved in our centennial he did not know ronald reagan as a living president. it is not just a historical president that we are focusing on, but one who is relevant today by example and by leadership, and not just in policy but also in character and in vision. we are doing many things with young people in education. we are working with 14,000 high schools to distribute educational curriculum's. a partnership to bring high school students from every state of the union to spend a week on ronald reagan close up. that is just the top tier of the things we are doing this year. we have a great website or it is not just events that we are

doing but the events you are aware of are doing in your communities and organization. this summer we will be doing events in europe as well. we believe that ronald reagan inspired freedom and changed the world, and that is what this centennial is about. [applause] in closing, we have one very exciting event that i did not mention. on may 2 of this year at the reagan library in california, we will have the reagan centennial presidential debate, the first in the nation of all republican candidates for president will be at the reagan library on may 2. we have had a drawing today, and jeff from kalamazoo, michigan, won the drawing of a trip for two or the debate at the reagan library on may 2. we hope all of you will visit the museum during the centennial year and bring a friend.

thank you very much. >> you are doing a great job, stuart. how soon are you going to get ronald reagan on mount rushmore? [applause] next, we welcome to this podium michael greebe is going to prevent the jeane kirkpatrick academic freedom award of the year. [applause] >> we are living through a remarkable time in history of our nation. even a few years ago, i doubt many of us could have foreseen where we are today. confronted with a rapacious and rapidly expanding federal government's, over the course of the next two years we are poised to determine whether we will

continue to be free men and women or vassals of an increasingly large state. the spontaneous and powerful popular uprising of the tea party tells us that freedom of expression, freedom of thought, and an environment which genuinely is tolerant of dissent is absolutely essential to who we are as a nation. [applause] tonight we honor the memory of jeane kirkpatrick for his defense of academic freedom and freedom of speech. in identifying the recipients of the kurt beck award, we look for intellectual warriors. jan blitz has been such a warrior for 20 years. on behalf of the american

conservative union foundation and the bradley foundation, it is my pleasure to present the 2011 jean kirkpatrick award to professor jan blitz. [applause] >> thank you, michael. it is a great honor to receive this award. i deeply appreciate it and i want to thank cpac, the american conservative union foundation, and the selection committee for their recognition. threats to academic freedom or threats not only to academics but to political freedom in general it directly threatens what we are and what we will become as citizens and as a country. they should be everybody serious concern breaks the 19th century

abolitionist wendell phillips once famously said, eternal vigilance is the price of liberty. that is certainly true of academic freedom. over the past 25 years, i have witnessed one threat to academic freedom after another. at my own institution, some threats tried to curtail politically unpopular research. others to restrict what students they say. the aim was always to advance the censors, political agenda, by stifling their critics. in recent years, the threat has changed. censorship is not any longer the only threat. some colleges and universities have begun what could fairly be called brainwashing, coercing not only obedience but more alarming yet, in word

acceptance of particular political views. let me tell you what happened at my university just a few years ago. all in the guise of teaching citizenship. in 2007 at the university of delaware, the office of the a administrator in charge of dorms established a mandatory re-education program for all 7000 students living on campus. the program was not -- the program combined humiliation and intimidation, coercion and indoctrination, to inculcate a hard left, anti-american stance. in the first week on campus, freshmen were required to have one-on-one sessions in which there resident assistants to

control their lives in the form for your ask them questions about their personal thoughts and lives. when did you discover your sexual identity? when was the time you felt oppressed? when one student protested, that is none of your damn business, but she was written up by her r.a. as a troublemaker. staff members kept files on all students enter so they could monitor how well they were altering their thinking. also required stitches to interrupt their studies to attend group sessions. in those sessions, the r.a. insisted that this did is take stands on hot-button social and political issues and not allow

them either to explain themselves or to abstain. is it is approved of m.r.i. rights, for example, they were told to move to one side of the room. if they disapproved, the other side. no one was allowed to stay in the middle, because the r.a.'s ric instructed to say the real world as polarized like this. in addition, white males were also sent -- often singled out and shame for their privilege. when the one on one sessions intruded on the private lives of the sessions, the group sessions publicly pressured them to adopt specific political views. publicly, the administrators claimed that the program was teaching only democracy, stability, and citizenship, the usual reassuring buzzwords. but in the internal documents, one administrator problem stated that the program was meant to

leave a mental footprints on the students' consciousness. another said his aim was to turn the students, convert them into allies and change agents, of all list of heart left causes, and yet another described the program as a treatment through which pacific attitudinal or behavior changes will occur in the students. the residents live officials had trained a cadre of nearly 200 r. \a. enforcers. their training manuals instructed them to teach students that all whites are racist, and only whites can be racist. in one of the dorms, the freshman year program rested on the explicit premise that the u.s. is an oppressive country.

starting from this premise, students were told to figure out how we can get rid of the oppression. i am glad to say that at least one brave, right, we stated, bill rivers, who is here tonight, answered loudly, by getting rid of programs like this. [laughter] would you stand up? [applause] working together with students like bill, and linda, a colleague and co officer of the

delaware coalition of scholars, where were able to force the administration ultimately to end be aggressive program. the delaware experience revealed that many administrators running college dorms these days are no longer interested in the traditional matters of campus housing like dining, safety, homesickness. there professional organization proclaims the new, grander mission for them. the administrators that promote themselves as educators. fact, as their institutions real educators. while they belittle the fact that they do nothing more than filling the students with facts, they claim that t.a. professionals should shape the whole human being. courses meshed careers, but

residents live seems to shake souls. in the view of these and administrators, the college or university has no higher mission than hard left residents like professionals are best prepared to " we do to fulfill. liberty requires constant vigilance, because liberty does not protect itself. nor are laws and rules enough. we all must be liberties waffle, devoted defenders. the most insidious threats to liberty are not tyrannical institutions and we did officials. the most insidious threats are complacency and acquiescence on our part. we must not take for granted that we will enjoy liberty tomorrow because we enjoy it today. on the contrary, complacency invites aggression, acquiescence accepts it. citizens must be alert to encroachments, strong and

resisting them, confident in their love of liberty and resolute in stepping forward to protect it. we must not fear challenging political correctness in all its forms, especially when it claims the moral high ground as it always does, and which it certainly does not enjoy. [applause] one of liberties great glories is that it frees each of us, but our individual freedom obligated each of us to defend its. estacada is at my university learned, liberty can easily slip away, but we need not and we must not let that happen. thank you. [applause]

professor.ou, pasto we appreciate you. let's give him another hand. [applause] now, we also want to thank bradley foundation for their support and leadership on this front. i would point out that mr. bradley was a great supporter of the conservative cause back in the 1950's and 1960's when he was supporting our efforts to teach the american people about the evils of communism. it certainly is encouraging that that is one foundation that has not been taken over by the liberals. thank you.

it is now my pleasure to introduce george f. will. you have some fans here, george. he is one of the most widely recognized and widely read writers in the world. he has 450 newspapers that carry his column, and his biweekly "newsweek column. he has late appearances as a political commentator on abc. george will is the pulitzer prize winner and he serves as a contributing analyst with abc news. he has been a regular member of abc on sunday mornings ever since 1981. please join me in welcoming the very influential writer george will, who will introduce our speaker. [applause]

>> in the midwest, where men are men and i am from central illinois. [applause] also known as the land of lincoln, except in the print six to our east-indiana, where a number people insist while lincoln was born in kentucky the ashley spent his formative years in spencer county, in vienna. -- spencer county, indiana. indiana itself has become a pretty good nursery of conservative talent.

[applause] i first became interested in our speaker tonight not just when he was working at the budget office in washington and was known for his ferocity in cutting spending, but when i heard him tell the only predestination joke i have ever heard. as said at one point he felt like the presbyterian who fell down the flight of stairs and said i am glad i got that over with. i am convinced all the humor is based on a sense of incongruity and a sign of intelligence. the media with eds instinct for the and essential was focused on three things, the fact that he

rides a motorcycle, is not as tall as abraham lincoln and is not as charismatic as is normally understood. he rides a harley made in america. [applause] probably a cinema reference to many of you but some of us think of him as a modern man's marlon brando. our speaker tonight is a lot taller than james madison. never has there been such a high ratio of minds to mass. [applause] that can be said of our speaker tonight. i am not here to talk about the presidency but i would point out the 23rd president benjamin harrison from indiana was called

little ben. now about charisma. there is such a thing as the charisma of competence. our speaker tonight exemplifies this. [applause] the state of indiana has the fewest state employees since 1978. it has the fewest state employees per capita in the nation. [applause] it has the lowest property taxes in the nation. in five years it has risen 11 places to third ranking for the lowest per capita spending in the nation. [applause]

that is charismatic. so is maturity. i remember 1960 at the chicago convention when barry goldwater said we can take back this country. i want to give you an example of conservatism for grown-ups. our speaker was a baby boomer candi had the following to say to the graduating class. he said we are likely to be remembered for our numbers and little else that is admirable. it has been all about us. we were the me generation. we have been a self-centered and just plain selfish. our current president has written two elegant books about himself.

[laughter] we have spent more and save less than any other americans. we never summon the political maturity to put these programs on anything resembling a sound footing. our parents save it to provide us a better living standard than theirs. we borrowed and splurged and will leave you bills to pay. turning to the social issues. our parents formed families and kept them intact even through difficulty. we often divorced at the first unpleasantness and gave birth to children with that the nuisance of marriage. if you are thinking of standing on the shores of the past generation, please don't. that is conservatism for grown- ups.

the conservatism of a man who understands the appurtenance of the passage in hemingway's novel in a character said how he went bankrupt. he said gradually and then suddenly. [laughter] our speaker tonight understands the patience of politics. he no government has become something it cannot be. he knows that it takes time to turn but he has been turning it. in 2010 the american people went to the polls and did not embrace republicans. they said whoever goes to washington, stop the obama administration. now we need a national agenda

that looks a lot like indiana's agenda. winston churchill who loved his country said the american people make the right choice. after they have exhausted all the alternatives. [laughter] our speaker has twice been the right choice for indiana. some people think the other 49 states deserve a chance to make eight same choice. i give you the governor of the state of indiana, mitch daniels. [applause] >> good friends, thank you for

the enormous privilege of this podium. even a casual observer knows how many great ideas have been born here, how many giants of our democracy appeared on this platform. when david broached the invitation of my first reaction was who cancelled? [laughter] but the first choice or 15th, the honor and responsibility to do justice is the same. the sentiment best expressed by the original richard daley who proclaimed a similar honor, the penuchle of success. [laughter] we are all grateful to our co-

sponsors, the reagan foundation and reagan ranch. how fitting we convened under their offices as we close this first week of the centennial. i am so sorry to have missed the opening of the centennial. what an inspired choice, the beach boys. it is the beach boys centennial, too. [laughter] those of us who served president reagan were taught to show constant respect for the presidency and whoever occupies it, but the term they president tends to connote just one of those 44 men with whom god bless america 100 years ago this week. god bless his memory. [applause]

the co-sponsor is meaningful tonight. it is no secret that they two foundations have not always been cooperative or collaborative, sarah it is a tribute to the diplomacy of -- that they have come together to produce so warm a moment as this. yes, the israeli-palestinian conflict will be solved. [laughter] well done. nobel peace prizes have been awarded for far less. [applause] i bring greetings from a place called indiana. [applause] they may think of it as a fly

over state or one of those "i" states. perhaps a summary would help. we hold to some quaint notions. some might say we cling to them, bowknot out of fear or ignorance. we believe-paying our bills. we have kept our state-the black while cutting rather than raising taxes by practicing an old tribal ritual. we spend less money than we take in. [applause] we believe is wrong ever to take a dollar from a citizen without unnecessary public purpose because each taking diminishes the freedom to spend that dollar its owner to prefer. we feel a profound duty to use that dollar carefully as

possible else we should have never taken in it at all. [applause] before our general assembly is my proposal for an automatic refund of tax dollars beyond a specified level of state reserves. any time bhajans are balanced -- budgets are balanced the government should just not collecting taxes. [applause] better to leave that money in the pockets of those who urged its than to let it burn a hole in the pockets of government. we believe government works for the benefit of private life. we see government's mission as in tabling the important morale of businesses, churches , to flourish. our first thought is always for those on life's first rung.

every day we worked to lower costs to vehrs to those creating wealth for others. we have new sources of home energy at record rates in order to have the strongest possible backbone so people can build their dreams. when business leaders asked me what they can do i reply make money. [applause] go make money. that is the first act of corporate citizenship. if you do that you will have to hire somebody else and will have enough profit to help nonprofits. we place our trust in average people. when we cut property taxes to the lowest level in america we

need flexibility for local realities -- localities to raise them. we design our employee health plans as health savings accounts. now these citizens are proving they are capable of making smart choices about their own health care. [applause] we have broadened the right of parents to select their best place for their children's education to include every public school regardless of geography. before our legislature adjourns, we intend to become the full state by saying to every middle income family if you think a non-government school is the right one, you are as entitled to that as any wealthy family.

[applause] we believe in government that is limited but active. within that narrow sphere of legitimate action we choose to be the initiators of new ideas. we have labeled ourselves the party of purpose. we are the change. on election nights we remind each other victory is an instruction. it is not an endorsement by an assignment. in national elections carried an instruction. the friends of freedom as an -- the american project is menaced

by a survival level of threat. we face an enemy and even more applicable than those america has defeated before, we cannot deter it. we cannot negotiate with it anymore than with an iceberg or great white. it is the new red men as, this time consisting of ink. we can debate its origins endlessly and research on a ideological grounds but the reality is arithmetic. no enterprise can remain a self- governing or successful as we are about to be. need i illustrate the consequences of prosperity and

personal freedom are as clear to this audience as anyone could appear before. i would love to be shown that i do. any who thinks so please see me- the hallway afterwards. and bring your third grade math book. if a foreign power advanced an army, everyone would drop everything and look for a way to help. we would set aside all other disputes as secondary and repel the threat. that is what every possible allied we can persuade to join us are called to do. it is our generational assignments. it is the mission of our era. forgive the pun when i call it our raise on debt. i should have cut that line. [laughter]

every conflict has its draft dodgers. there are those who will not in list with us. some who can welcome the ballooning of the state regardless of the cost of liberty and the slippage into a gray parity with other nations of this earth. some who believe history moves in fits and starts always in the direction of a more powerful state. the people who coined the term, the reagan interruption. the task of such people is now simple. the federal spending commitment will bring about the state they have always sought, the healthcare travesty will engulf private markets and induce a

single payer system. our fiscal ruin will in their eyes not be a tragic event bud a desirable one. fortunately, these folks remain few. they are vastly outnumbered by americans who sense the presence of the enemy but are awaiting a call for volunteers and a battle plan for saving our republic. that call must come from this room. but we are relatively few in numbers. if we cannot unify around a realistic program of fundamental change, one that persuades a broad majority of citizens, big change will not come. it will come but of the kind

they skeptics have predicted. those naive societies believe government could long endure. we know what the basic elements must be. a thank-you to the major social welfare programs of the last century. the creation of new social security and medicare contracts with young people who will pay for their elders and deserve to have a backstop available to them. they should reserve fund's most in need of them. they should be updated to catch up with americans' increasing good health. medicare should restored to the next generation the dignity of making their own decisions by delivering dollars directly to the individual based on medical

needs. [applause] and empowering citizens to choose their own insurance and pay for more of their routine care. our morbidly obese federal government needs not just behavior modification by surgery. [laughter] the perverse presumptions that places the burden on the challenger of spending must be inverted back to the rule that applies everywhere else. prove to me why we should not. in my omb assignment i was the first critic of congressional earmarks. i was also the first to get nowhere in reducing them. first to rail and first to fail.

they should be stopped, but in the cause of solvency they are a trifle. talking much more about them trivializes what needs to be done. it misleads federal citizens to believe easy answers are available. in this room we know how hard the answers are that means nothing. not even the first and most important mission of government, our national security can get a free pass. i served in two administrations that elevated peace through strength. it has served america with the success. if our nation goes over we will not have much strength and will not have peace. we are borrowing the entire defense budget from foreign

investors. within a few years we will be spending more on interest payments and national security. that is not a robust strategy. i personally favor restoring and pounded power to the presidency on an emergency basis. having used this authority with the vigor, i can testify to its effectiveness. you would be amazed at how much government you will never mess. [laughter] the nation must be summoned to general quarters in the cause of economic growth. friends of freedom always favor a growing economy as individual opportunity and against the domineering state.

debates are unnecessary here. the arithmetic tells it all. we don't have a prayer of defeating the red threat of our generation without unprecedented duration. every other goal must be tested against to actions that spurred the expansion of the private sector on which all else depends. a friend of mine attended a recent meeting at the nba leadership were a small owner who is also a member of the u.s. plea for morea sharing of revenue by the more successful teams. at a coffee break, new russian owner murmur to my friend, we tried that you know. [laughter]

it does not work. [laughter] americans have seen these last two years what does not work. [applause] the failure of national economic policy is costing us more than jobs. it has begun to weaken the spirit of risk taking and optimism about the future. we must rally to rebuild our national morale and prosperity. the room abounds with experts and good ideas. just to name three. it is time we add a tax system that looks like someone designed it on purpose. [laughter]

the purpose should be private growth. lower and completely flat is best. [applause] tax compensation but not the savings-investment with it -- without which the economy cannot grow. the regulatory rainforest through which our enterprise attacks their way is blading the future of millions of america. epa should be named the employment prevention agency. [applause] after a two year -- two year orgy of new regulations, the recent executive order was a wonderment. as though the number one producer of rap music have expressed alarm about profanity. [laughter]

do you need a minute on that one? in indiana where our privatisation of a toll road generated billions for reinvestment in infrastructure, we can build in half the time at two-thirds the cost when we are free from the federal rule book. the moratorium is a minimal suggestion. move to a self certification regime that lets america build and explore and higher now and settle up later. finally, treat domestic energy production as the necessity it is and java creator id can be. [applause] drill and license, unleashed in

every way the jobs potential. [applause] the enormous energy resources we have been denying ourselves. help our citizens held to understand a poorer country will not be a greener country. it is freedom that has enabled us to protect god's kingdom. [applause] if this strikes you as a project of unusual and asian -- unusual ambition, you are right. if it strikes you as to bold, i believe you are wrong. seven years as a practitioner tells me skeptics are wrong. americans in a vast majority are

still a people born for a self governance. they are ready to summon the discipline to pay down our debt as they are paying down their own to put their future before the present. our proposals will be labeled radical but this is easy to read but. starting a new retirement plan is all opponents will expect us to be defensive. but they have the backcourt. -- backward. if government spending prevents, why are we suffering so much of it? [laughter] [applause] if you want to experience a real pain, stay on the track we are on. when they attack us for our social welfare reforms, we will say the true enemies of social security and medicare are those that defend an imploding status

quo. the arithmetic backs us up. they will attack our program as the way of despair. we will say, america's way forward is brilliant with hope. as soon as we have dealt decisively with the manageable problems before us. 2010 showed that the spirit of liberty and independence is stirring anew. their number will have to grow and do so swiftly. change of the dimension we need requires a coalition of the dimension that no one has recently assembled. unless you disbelieve what the arithmetic of disaster is telling us, time is very short period i wish to be very plain spoken. it is up to us to show specifically the best way back to greatness and to argue for it with all the passion of our patriotism.

should the best way be blocked, while the enemy draws nearer, someone will need to find the second best way it, or the third. the nation's survival requires a. purity and martyrdom is for suicide bombers. winston churchill set aside his lifetime loathing of communism in order to fight world war ii. when the safety of britain was at stake, his conscience became a good girl. we are at such a moment. i, for one, have no interest in standing in the wreckage of our republic saying, i told you so. we must be the vanguard of recovery, but we cannot do it alone. big change requires a big majority. we will need people who never to an end to -- tune in to rush or

glenn. pac, ey ever heard of cspa they would assume it was a cruise ship accessory. [applause] the worst would be to win the election and prove ourselves and capable of turning the ship before it went on the rocks with us at the helm. [applause] we must unify america cup. -- we must unified america. we must display a hard for every

american and a special passion for those still on the first round of lives latter. all probability from the bottom is the crux of the american promise. the stagnation of the middle class is becoming a problem. our main task is not to see the people -- our main task is to see that those without much money had the chance to earn some. [applause] we should address ourselves to young america at every opportunity. it is their future that today's policies most in danger. -- endanger. we should distinguish carefully skepticism about big government from contempt for all government. after all, it is a new government we hope to form. government we will ask our

fellow citizens to trust to make huge changes. i urge a similar thoughtfulness about the rhetoric we deployed in the great debate ahead. i suspect everyone here regrets and laments the side, crude coarsening of our popular course -- popular culture. it has a counterpart in the venom of the political discourse of the day. when one of us got a little hot headed, president reagan would admonish us. remember, we have no enemy, only opponents. the device. then and now -- good advice. and then and now. [applause] our opponents are better at nastiness then we will ever be. [laughter] it comes naturally. power to them is everything, so

there is nothing they will not say to get. the public is increasingly disgusted with a steady diet of defamation. am i alone in observing that conservatives -- a more affirmative, the better angels approach to the voters that is less an aesthetic than a practical one. i submit its debt as we asked americans to join us on a boldly different course, it would helped -- it would help if they liked us just a bit. [laughter] critically, i urge you not to

drift into a loss of faith into the american people. we remind each other how many are dependent on government or how few pay taxes or how much civic education have -- all true. all worrisome. we must never yield to the self- fulfilling despair that these problems are insurmountable. all great enterprises have a pearl less faith at their core. this must be hours -- americans are still people born to liberty. they retain the capacity for self-government. addressed as freeborn, economist, men and women of god- given dignity, they will rise yet again to drive back a mortal enemy. histories assignment for this generation of freedom fighters

is more profound than the test of our proud past. we are tasked to rebuild not just the damaged economy, and a debt-ridden balance sheets, but to do so by drawing forth the best bet is in our fellow citizens. if we would summon the best from americans, we must assume the best about them. if we do not believe in america, who will? i do believe i have seen it in the people of our very typical corner of our nation. i have seen it in support of ltd. the government. -- of limited government. i have always loved john adams diary entry written in grew to pencil -- to philadelphia.

it was all well worth it because, he said, a great things are wanted to be done. when he and his colleagues arrived and over the years ahead, they practiced the art of the possible, they make compaq's and concessions and compromises. they made deep sectional and other differences secondary in pursuit of the grand prize of freedom. they each argued passionately for the best answers as they saw them. but they never permitted -- they gave us a republic, if we can keep it. keeping the republic is a great thing that is wanted to be done in our time bios. in this room -- bite us. -- by us. to keep our republic, freedom

means every friend they can get it. let's go find them and be a friend of them and welcome them to the great thing that is wanted to be done in our day. god bless this meeting and the liberty with which makes it possible. [applause] >> that trust this portion of tonight's conservative political action conference. the conference continues tomorrow and we will bring you the annual cpac straw poll.

we will also hear from freshman congressman alan west of florida during tomorrow's conference. that all gets underway at about 5:15 eastern. you can watch a live coverage here on c-span. next, the egyptian vice president's announcement concerning the resignation of president mubarak. the statement by the head of egypt's ruling council and the reaction by president obama. after nearly three weeks of protest by the egyptian people, president mubarak has stepped down. the announcement came from the vice-president. >> my fellow citizens, these hard circumstances our country is experiencing. president mubarak has decided to waive the office of the

president of the republic and instructed the supreme council of the armed forces to run the affairs of the country. may god guide costs. -- guide us. [chanting] [cheers]

>> the following the announcement that egyptian president mubarak was stepping down in handing power over to the military, the leader of the egyptian armed forces council gave a statement to the nation on state television past -- that group is currently rolling egypt. this is courtesy of all jazeera network. -- al jazeera network. >> statements -- state and number 3 from the supreme council of the armed forces, at this historic and defining moment in the history of egypt and after handing down, president mubarak gave up the post of the president of the republic. we are all aware the gravity of

this matter, in the face of the demands of our great nation, to implement radical changes, the supreme council of the armed forces is examining this matter and has taken a support and assistance from god in order to materialize the aspirations of our great nation. the supreme court -- the supreme council of the armed forces will hand down a solution defining the measures and actions to be followed, emphasizing at the same time that there is no alternative but the legitimate -- the legitimacy of the egyptian people. the supreme council extends all greeting an appreciation to the president for what he has delivered in his career.

his patriotic stand. the supreme council of the egyptian armed forces will extend appreciation and select the memories of all the marchers -- martyrs who have fallen. to all of the nation worldwide, we seek guidance and assistance from god. >> president obama praised anti- government protesters in egypt for using non-violence to end the rule of president mubarak. the president called on the military to conduct a fully inclusive transition process, that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day. the president's remarks came several hours after mr. mubarak 's decision to resign was

announced in cairo. >> good afternoon, everybody. there are very few moments in our lives where we have the privilege to witness history taking place. this is one of those moments. this is one of those times. the people of egypt have spoken, their voices have been heard, as he did will never be the same. -- and egypt will never be the same grade president mubarak responded to the egyptian people's congress for change. this is not the end of egypt's transition. it's the beginning. i am sure there will be difficult days ahead. questions will remain unanswered. but i am confident that the people of egypt can find the answers and do so peacefully,

constructively, and indeed -- in the spirit of unity that has to find these last few weeks. egyptians have made it clear that nothing less than genuine democracy will carry the day. the military has served patriotically and responsibly as a caretaker to the states, and will now have to ensure a transition that is credible in the eyes of the egyptian people. that means protecting the rights of egypt citizens, in listing the emergency law, revising the constitution and other laws to make this change irreversible. above all, this transition must bring all of egypt's voices to the table. for the spirit of peaceful protest and the perseverance of the egyptian people have shown

can serve as the wind on the back of this change. the united states would be a friend and partner to egypt. we stand ready to provide but never assistance is necessary and ask for to present a credible transition to democracy. i am also confident that the same ingenuity that the young people of egypt have shown in recent days can be harnessed to create new opportunities, jobs, that allowed the extraordinary potential of this generation to take place. i know that a democratic egypt can advance its role of responsible leadership, not only in the region, but around the world. egypt has played a pivotal role in the ministry for over 6000 years. all the last few weeks, the real history turned out at a blinding -- the real of history

turned at a blinding case. we saw mothers and fathers carrying their children on their shoulders to show them what true freedom might look like. we saw young egyptians say, for the first time in my life, i really count my voice is heard. even though i am only one person, this is the way it real democracy works. we saw protesters chante -- "we are peaceful." we saw a military would not fire bullets at the people they were sworn to protect. we saw doctors and nurses the rushing into the streets to care for those that were wounded. volunteers checking protesters to ensure that they were unarmed. we saw people of faith praying together.

we know that the strains between faiths still divide to many in this world, no single event will close that chasm immediately, these scenes remind us that we may not be defined by our differences. we can be defined by our common humanity that we share. above all, we saw a new generation emerged. a generation that uses their own creativity and talented and technology to call for a government that represented their hopes and not their fears. a government that is responsible -- responsive to their aspirations. most people have discovered the last few days that they are worth something. this cannot be taken away from them any more. ever.

this is the power of human dignity. it can never be denied. egyptians have inspired us and have done so by putting their to the idea that justice is gained by violence. while the sights and sounds that we heard were entirely egyptian, we cannot help but hear the echoes of history, that goes from german staring down a wall, indonesian students taking to the streets, gondi leaving his people down a path of justice. as marlee 13 except -- as martin luther king said, there is

something in the soul that cries out for freedom. those were the cries that came from liberation square. today belongs to the people of egypt. the american people are moved by the scenes in cairo and across egypt because of who we are as a people. the kind of world we want our children to grow up in. it is a word that speaks to that something in our souls that cries out for freedom. it will remind us of the egyptian people. of what they did, the things they stood for, and how they change their country and the world. thank you.

>> vice president biden and others have issued statements concerning the resignation of president mubarak great to see those statements and more, good or website, we did go to our website, c-span.org. >> robert gibbs met with reporters for his final white house briefing. we begin with remarks by president obama. this is just over an hour. >> obviously, his departure is not the biggest one today.

[laughter] having said that, i thought i would come into the briefing room to say a few words about my departing press secretary. as some of you know, robert started very early with me on this wild ride that i had been on. i had run for the united states senate. i was not expected to win. when i won, the democratic primary in illinois, i realize that was going to have to start stocking up a little bit. at the time, i only had six or seven people working for me. i did not have a lot of money, so all that i could afford was robert gibbs. [laughter] robert came to work with me and

we had a pretty significant general election. and then alan keyes came in, and so that ended up not being our primary focus. we then had this incredible opportunity to speak at the national convention. i know that a lot of you think that probably most attention was devoted to the speech that i delivered in boston. in fact, the most challenging problem was what tie to wear. this went up to the very last minute. but couple of minutes of -- a couple of minutes before i was supposed to go on stage, will still having an argument. i brought five or six ties. michelle did not like any of them.

somebody turned and said, you know what, what about gibbs's tie? that might look good. frankly, robert did not want to give it out. eventually, he was able to take one for the gipper. he took off his tie and i put it on and that is the time that i wore at the national convention. -- tie that i wore. he has not said anything about this all these years. but i have to tell you that i know there is a simmering resentment that he never got it back. as a consequence, i wanted to

bring here today -- on the record, on camera, i am finally returning roberts tied. if he chooses to break the glass, he can. this will be a reminder to me that robert has been a great friend. you could not ask for somebody better in the foxhole with you during all the twists and turns of my candidacy. the incredible challenges we face over the last two years. i am so proud of him. everybody here loves robert. he will be working closely with us. i do not think we could have a better press secretary. jay will do an outstanding job filling roberts shoes, but i certainly could not have a better friend at the podium each and every day. [applause]

>> is it signed? >> i did not actually signed a tie. he may decide that he wants to wear it. you hope to be distorted. thank you, -- you helped me get started. thank you, brother. [applause] >> did you notice, by the way, that he bought one just like it? [laughter] >> i like that tie. let me get a few -- let me say a few things before we get down to talking about what we have every day. that is the business of the country.

it is a tremendous honor and privilege to do this each and every day, to serve and to take part in days like today that are so momentous. i want to thank the president and all of this team for the privilege to serve. i do not want to spend a lot of time doing this. i do not talk about myself well. i would be remiss if i did not talk about a group of people that do not work for me, but i have a great privilege and i'm lucky enough to work with. i would not want to do this job,

as amazing and as exciting as it is, without them. i would not have made it through it without them. i do not intend to today or tomorrow to tell any of you could buy. i do not intend to go anywhere. you are forever a part of this experience for me. you have the, a -- you have become a greater extension of my family. we have shared a lot of extraordinary times. i will miss boring days like today at the white house. [laughter] for all of you that are looking for help on your morning shows, at j. likes to call around 4:15 in the morning. if you do not get through the first, keep dialing.

it has been an extraordinary privilege. i will have more to say to these guys and to those in the back of the room that of men some much to me and continued to mean some magic to me. before i lose it, we should start the briefing of the obama administration. >> thank you, robert. first of all, congratulations and best wishes. >> i would have lost that. >> shifting to egypt, a few questions. can you tell us whether president obama was surprised by the news this morning?

>> look, throughout the morning, we have got indications that the last speeches may not have been given. the last changes, particularly this morning when -- would everybody reporting that there would be a statement from the office of the president to -- the president was in a regularly scheduled meeting in office when a note was taken into him to let him know what had been announced. since then, prior to giving the statement, he spent an hour with his national security team from about 1:30-2:30 in the situation room talking about what is going on there now and what we have to plan for now

going forward. >> so he learned with the rest of us? >> healer and precisely what had been said. -- he learned what precisely had been said. i do not want to get into what other information he might have gotten. >> is this change helpful or harmful to the interest of the united states? >> anytime that a government changes based on the popular response of its people is important. all governments have responsibilities to those they represent. there will be many bumps along this road. this transition continues toward free elections.

i do not doubt -- there is much work to be done. this was the beginning of that process, not the end. >> does the president have any concerns about the unknowns? the instability? >> the partnership that we have had with the people and the nation of egypt for 30 years has brought regional stability and has brought peace between the countries of egypt and israel. it is important that the next government of egypt recognized the accords that have been signed with the government of israel. a lot has yet to be determined, but it is clear watching the events unfold over the last

couple of days, that real friends of egyptian society that has been out seeking the type of change that we saw happen today. this is not dominated by a single group or a single ideology. >> robert, since the protests began, all the statements about egypt have been very carefully worded. last night's statement from the president was especially carefully worded. mubarak was not even mentioned proposed. >> luck, it is safe to say that the very same context that we have in egypt are some of the very same context that many of you all have. they seem to tell everyone that a different speech may be what

we would hear. we did not hear that last night. at that point, it was a missed opportunity for the government of egypt to take the necessary steps toward that orderly transition. that has been building throughout the week. you have seen as the government failed to take the necessary steps, to broaden the coalition, to make some fundamental reforms that would signal to those of the opposition that they were serious, the problem grew larger and larger. there is no doubt that this is a situation where there is writing the needle.

-- threading the needle. there are a lot of equities and the country and the region. ultimately, this is something that started it, was driven by, and will ultimately only be solved by the people of egypt. i think that is true in the lead up to the historic announcement today, and be even more important in the days ahead leading to elections. >> can you talk about any [inaudible] >> the president has not made any phone calls either to those in the region or heads of state. >> [inaudible] what kind of assurances can you give israel and jordan about how this may affect them?

>> throughout this process, we have wanted to see protests that were peaceful. are all, and this process, we wanted to see how it happened in an orderly way to ensure some of the very stability. i think that is what has guided us this entire time. the president has not spoken with anybody. i do not believe, at this point, there has been any contacts. we had pretty good relationships on a military to military bases. it is remarkable to watch how

iran is dealing with this. we saw a week or two ago, they made some provocative statements about what these marches meant. we now know how they are responding to the images that we see in the square. they are arresting people in iran. they are blocking international media outlets. they are turning off the internet. for all of the talk about egypt, if the iranian governments, the government should allow people to exercise the very same right to peaceful assembly and the ability to demonstrate and communicate their desires. we have all seen their response.

the head of the revolutionary guards said today that -- we will severely crushed any of their movements. what you have seen in the region is the government of iran scared of the will of its people. >> thank you, robert. good luck. i hope you get to spend a lot of time with ethan. i've also taken the liberty of looking over questions that you said you would get back to last with an answer. when was last time president obama spoke with president mubarak? >> i think it was right before

he spoke -- it was monday, right? the monday he spoke. >> under the obama administration state department, it did not directly fund civil society groups for the last two years as the bush administration had done. it also lowered how much civil society groups were funded. in retrospect, does the administration regret that? >> i can get you a little bit longer -- our commitment to the universal principles that the

president has talked about throughout this process in countries are around the world are best exemplified by what he said standing in congress. saying many of the things he has said over the last several days. obviously, we are watching the situation. we will, as members have testified in the last day or so, tailor our assistance to a changing situation. >> lastly, egypt has been a tremendous allied to the united states, according to the government, on the issue of counterterrorism. where are you concerned that there might not be as much support in the next government, whoever it is? >> obviously, we are going to watch the events as you and

many others will. in the days and months ahead. i can say that the important relationships that we have at different levels and our government with their government, the president was assured continued. >> thank you, robert. can you talk to us about the role that the vice president played and what ended up happening in egypt? he he sent a strongly worded letter to his counterpart to days ago. can you describe -- >> the vice president -- he had a counterpart to counterpart relationship with the vice president omar suleiman, and has spoken with him directly.

he reiterated the very same set of points that you have heard us may publicly. the genuine step that needed to be taken to address the concerns that the people have had. he has been on the phone fairly regularly. obviously, he has brought to meetings and the situation room and the oval office -- last evening, quite a bit of knowledge and experience in foreign affairs and foreign policy that has helped guide the administration along the last 18 days or so. >> was that phone call -- digital readout of some of the

demand? was that a pivotal moment? >> it is probably hard to go back and penpoint all of them, it was hard to be any clearer and more blunt than the vice president was on that call. the international committee and the people of egypt needed to see happen. that has helped move this process along. >> when the president made his -- at the top of his remarks in michigan, was the white house fairly optimistic at that time that mubarak was going to step down yesterday? >> i think any of the same contacts are many of the same

contacts you had in reporting what might happen in egypt yesterday. i think the president talked about his -- we have seen them play out each and every day. but what is important now is we have to look forward and work through a process to get us to a free and fair election. >> finally, this notion of concern from the white house as to what happens from now until the elections. is there concern about what the structure will be like? what could potentially happen before the people get to start voting?

>> i do not think we have to fear democracy. i think the international community upheld the to the international committee has laid out a series of steps they need to see taken. it is important to understand that this was a group of demonstrations and protests that were -- demonstrated a concern across egyptian society. i do not think you can look at it and say, this was a group that to did this or these are the people who -- again, you have seen mothers and daughters. you have seen this process led by somebody that works for one of the larger companies in

silicon valley. what you have seen is a brat and cause of concern that had to be addressed and needed to be addressed by the government. what happened today was the very first up in that process. >> thank you, robert. congratulations. i hope the was as good for you as it was for us. obviously, there will be some bumps in the road. what is going to be the role of the president and vice president and secretary of state publicly over the next weeks and months? did they now hold back? did they keep up the public pressure would statements? >> first and foremost, this was always about the people of egypt.

it was always going to be solved by the people of egypt. no statement here. no comment that was made here was going to bring the fundamental change that people were looking for in egypt. the people of egypt have their concerns and they're not going to be the definition of how to solve the concerns is not going to be solved here. we will continue to try to play a constructive role in helping this process along. this started with the egyptian people and double into the egyptian people. -- it will end with the egyptian people. >> do you think they will be as publicly you out there? >> add every step, we have been

very clear about the response of all the islands. i think it is -- about violence. i think it is remarkable. " we have seen in terms of the types of sweeping changes unlike anything we have ever seen in a short period of time. the next process of this is going to play out over a much longer ark. we will continue to be involved and to ensure that the transitional government in egypt and the government that the people choose to represent them, if they take the steps that necessary to meet the concerns of those in egypt, this government will be a strong partner to all of our friends in the region. >> why did the president choose not to call for an leaders in

the region? >> let me go back and see if there is -- he has not talked to anybody today. i think we are watching events and monitoring them. i do not doubt that the president will reach out to those in the days ahead. this is an egyptian story today. >> is there any hope of the white house that the example of egypt could inspire another uprising in iran? >> there is quite a contrast between the way the government of egypt and the people of egypt are interacting and the government of iran is threatening its very young people. if the government of iran were as confident as they would have you believe, they would have nothing to fear. with the peaceful demonstrations like those you

have seen in cairo and throughout egypt. they are not that confident. they are scared. that is why they have threatens to kill anybody who tries to do that. they have shut off all measures of communication. i think it speaks volumes about the strength and the confidence that they have in the killing the wishes and the will of its people. >> are the images from egypt somehow getting into iran? is there a chance that the message is getting and somehow to iran? >> we of all seen reports that over the past many days, those in iran want to march and demonstrate peacefully.

the government of iran has met those concerns of its people with a threatening to kill them. it speaks volumes as to what the group that they have, or lack thereof, on the popular beliefs of their own people. >> he talked about the vice president's role at this point. is he still in a key role or is he on his way out as well? >> that is a question for the transitional government in egypt. >> talk about the communications challenge with this event unfolding halfway around the globe, try not to get ahead of the message. how challenging was that? >> there are a lot of different

audiences. the bottom line was that this started in and will be solved by the people of egypt. we spoke throughout this process about the universal values that went into the creation of our country and what those marching fought needed to go into the creation of their new government. i think -- it has been challenging and there has been -- we have one topic takes up so much space over the past 18 days. it is a challenging topic for us to discuss.

there are challenging days ahead. for those in egypt to construct what our country will look like. >> do you mind giving out your personal e-mail address? >> i probably should not set it on tv. >> you don't want the american people to have? [laughter] >> that is the thematic of the briefing, is in it? >> the events of yesterday or today -- which are the bigger surprises? >> everybody was surprised yesterday. you can go look at my transcript from yesterday. i was on the cautious side

because it was clear that things were happening. again, it is remarkable to stand here or to sit there or anywhere in our country and watched what has happened over the span of the 18 days. it is a remarkable art in human history. many people were surprised yesterday. >> how much -- is there a sense of relief versus trepidation? >> i do not think we need to fear democracy. i think that whenever the will of the people shapes the demands of those that government, that is what we had in mind the democracy and representation.

that is an important step. this is about -- and about its people. >> does this change middle east politics? is it fair to say that this is going to change america's foreign policy in the middle east? >> we do not know the ultimate outcome of what free and fair elections will be. we do not have a sense of to the next leader will be. we do not know that person's exact identity, i should say. i think we will continue to have important relationships. this is a volatile region of the world. relationships bring some measure of stability and peace

to the region. obviously, there is still great work to do to bring peace throughout this region. the president has worked tirelessly with the team to work on that. there are many days ahead to see what comes next. i also think it is important. we will continue to talk about the universal values that we hold dear. >> you made a decision to do something. [inaudible] >> [inaudible] >> you guys have always wanted this line with iran. you do not want to look like america is interfering. talk about that line today.

>> we are not interfering. a week or 10 days ago, i said, if that is what they believe, that they would not have any problem letting their people demonstrate about the concerns that they have. now we know they did not really mean that. now we know that what they really are scared of is exactly what might happen. they are scared of that and they're threatening those who might do it with death. it is strange, to say the least. it is a strange reaction that the government and military are poised to protect their citizens. the government of iran is quite

-- >> [inaudible] plenty of college football. >> auburn will be here in mid april and i will be back. >> i am following up on -- are there any regrets that the administration did not do more to support the revolution in iran at the time? >> what we said then is true now. we supported universal rights and we support the ability for those to exercise them. it is up to the government of iran to allow that to happen to happen. there are different degrees of

development in society. >> on a different subject -- on the budget, do you think that what you put forth on spending cuts will be enough to be credible in the eyes of the republicans? the things you can have a credible budget without taking on entitlements? >> it is important that we not just talk about cuts. we need to talk about the impact on the deficit. i make that point because i think the seriousness with which anybody approaches this has to be taken at some to task. we will have a debate for a number of years about tax cuts

for those who make over to enter $50,000. -- $250,000. we have had a debate that takes us back to the debates over the last two years about whether or not we should repeal health care. we know the impact of both of those is to had far more than anybody pledges to reduce and cut. i think that what the president would put forward on monday will certainly make the measure of credibility. the five-year spending freeze that results in a 10-year reduction of about $400 billion. i think the president has been clear that there is more that we need to do. that will be part of the conversation.

>> i bet you'll be following every path of that budget process. >> i will e-mail j. repeatedly about that. >> looking back at the full scope of everything that has been said, starting on january 25, when secretary clinton talked about the stability of the mubarak government. the think that you have been proactive or reacted to what has happened there? >> we have spent -- i think we have been fairly steady in what we have said. you can charge what the president said today and what and when he talked about publicly the first time, and when i talked publicly about this. the measure of what we were for, the fact that this was about the people of egypt, i do not doubt that there are some

people in the region that saw us as too much on one side and others wanting the same statement. the president and his team showed steady leadership that continued to voice the concerns of those that wanted greater rights and greater opportunities. >> what happened today -- is of the results that the president desired? >> the president and the team desire to see greater recognition of the rights that he talked about in cairo in 2009. those who have marched in cairo in 2011 saw. i do not think we have to fear. those that are in government

have the opportunity to represent the will of the people. that process, that long transition has just begun in egypt. >> which led to see what happened in iran today happen in tehran? >> if the government of iran did not hear the voices of other people, and they would do that. >> [inaudible] >> we have conversations with governments throughout the world in this region and in other regions about adhering to

universal values. >> following on karen's question earlier, how concerned is the administration about unrest spreading to jordan? how closely are you looking at that? >> to allow this process, we have watched throughout the region. i reiterate that when we have meetings with rigid bilateral meetings with these countries, we discuss the universal values that we discussed on many occasions with the government of egypt. >> are you concerned about unrest spreading to jordan? >> i am not going to get into that. >> can you talk a little bit more about the role of the egyptian military?

>> i am not going to go through each and every step of this process. the president was cleared and the responsibilities as a transitional government that they have, some of the changes that are necessary and that need to take place and the importance of the steps that have to be demonstrated and the constitutional change that we need to see on the road to free and fair elections. i think they have those obligations. >> best of luck, robert. are you going to recommend today that there is a pattern of a very heavy questions from the first two or three rows? i have been here for 43 years.

>> i am only moments away from not having to wade into the politics of the rose in this room. -- rows in this room. i know that you guys will solve all these problems together. >> will you recommend that you have some prearranged questions? >> we do not have a prearranged list of questions at the press conference. >> questioners, i think. >> is that what you meant? i think we bring some order to how the president calls on you guys. i want to be clear. does the president have a prearranged list of questions that the press conference? i will leave that aside.

the president does not have a prearranged list. >> dana is writing all this down. he is absorbing all this. [laughter] >> i cannot remember my last question. [laughter] will you keep your excellent press staff? >> absolutely. these guys -- there is no better group that i have ever worked with. i took my first job in politics february 14, 1994. i will walk out of here on february 13, 2011, at 17 years. i have never worked with a

greater group of people. they are terrific. each and every day, they make the president and all of us look good. they are, and will continue to be, the backbone of the white house press office. >> this is a prearranged question. what is the president's message to people in jordan and saudi arabia who are looking to egypt and saying, we want to have the same non-violent revolution. >> i do not think is -- it has

not been during the 18 days here and it is not our role to make that kind of statement. it is important that we have bilateral relationships. we said publicly and we say privately that governments throughout the world -- we did this when the government of china was here. they have to recognize individual and basic freedoms. that has been true for this administration and previous demonstrations. >> thank you, robert trent now that you have more time, you'll be returning telephone calls and e-mails? [laughter] no comment. i will departure from the egypt questions.

the house republicans have been very divided among themselves over how much cutting to do. conservatives are pressing for additional cuts. the president met with speaker john boehner earlier this week. how closely is the president watching this debate among the republicans? will it make it more difficult for him to reach some kind of agreement with republicans on the budget? >> i think the president is a pretty big consumer of news. i have not heard and discuss and the past few days the articles about the pressure that house republicans have come under from different entities in their caucus. at that lunch, and even well before the lunch, we had a -- we're able to make some important decisions for the

people of this country to take some important steps like reducing our deficit. it only can be done when we both seek common ground. that is what will be the end of this. there will be some agreement. i think there'll be some tough decisions along with the way. . i think that in the end,, you will see that two parties have to come together. >> [inaudible]

>> i think there is probably some serious concern in the republican caucus of not wanting to repeat that. i think you have heard the notion of -- we have to make some tough decisions and some tough votes on the debt that require us all to the adult. >> the government has mentioned today -- >> what was clear in the bilateral talks that quickly broke down earlier this week

between south korea and north korea was that north korea genuinely lacked the seriousness to be involved. before we return to six-party talks, north korea has to demonstrate the seriousness to employ to live up to their commitments. when talks broke down earlier this week, it was clear that they had no real intention of entering into a constructive dialogue. i think it results in further isolation of north korea. they can make a conscious decision, but it will require that a conscious decision in. >> [inaudible]

>> the broadest thing is that they have to show a willingness to live up to their commitments and to denuclearize. that is what we have said due out this process. they need to demonstrate how serious they are. >> thank you. egyptians can change the world. it looks liked your administration has not yet to -- could you walk us through -- >> i think i gave this answer a couple of times. i will repeat it. we spend time in public and private with governments throughout the world.

i am not sure what that noise is. there we go. sorry. i thought that was in my head. [laughter] i felt much better when you guys recognized the noise, too. there are certain basic universal rights that people during forth throughout the world. and that is exactly what the president talked about. that is the responsibility of government, to meet those rights. >> he ultimately said, grow and change. has any kind of policy change can we see dealing with this state?

>> again, i want to try one more time. we have these conversations directly with the governments throughout the world. i mentioned what happened not too long ago with the government of china that resulted in the leader of the chinese saying that there was much work to be done. >> you worked for the president -- as we move toward the 2012 campaign, will we see you again sometime during that period? do you think he can make governmental decisions and leave politics out of bed? -- out of it? is he the kind of person that can make governmental policy decisions without always thinking about his own political future? >> like that brilliant auto

bailout? i think part of that is because we had a calendar of elections and a recovery that may not aligned with an interim election. this is a president who has made a series of unpopular decisions to make sure that we did not go from a great recession to a great depression. i think -- you will see a lot more of the president trying to tell the story of why we are

making these decisions. that is one of the threads that we lost in the first two years. we made a series of decisions that had to be made quickly and we forgot to tell the larger story. >> i will tell you that i remember being in the final decisions around what to do about the auto companies. it is a tremendous story. people have done a tremendous job. i remember sitting in that meeting. the notion was, even if you give -- if you make some of the required management changes and give them a lifeline, it was still a 51-49 proposition. it will go down as one of the best decisions that we made. now you see companies that are fundamentally restructured and

capable of surviving and thriving in this economy and double only get stronger. >> can you talk about how much the recommendations from the budget commission are going to be reflected in the budget we see on monday? >> that is a good question for someone next week. i can use that more often in the next few minutes. >> mitt romney call the president a weak president who lack clear direction. tim pawlenty ask what planted the president is from. do you want to take a shot at responding to potential rivals for the president? >> i think the president, though he did not talk about it a lot,

what governor mitt romney did on health care was one of the decisions that was just alluded to that was a tough decision, but it was a series of the right decisions. we will see the two words health care come out of his mouth in the next two years. >> do you want to just ask for this whole thing? -- fast forward this whole thing? >> the chicago elections, do you know how the president plans to vote? >> the last time i checked, first lady had voted and the president had yet to. i think the last time i checked

was yesterday. i think she has voted some time in between. i don't know whether the president has voted, but i will check on that as soon as i get out of here. >> on your departure, how would you assess the president's relationship with the press corps at this point? >> somebody is going to pay me a lot of money to give that assessment and i look forward to sharing that in april. if you could see the size of the every single face day when he does that. i don't mean to stir the pot. >> for the last time, [laughter]

you promised wednesday you were going to call me at home. >> i promised i would call you at home? >> he said he would call me at night. >> the were you talking to that promised to call you? >> i have an interest in that answer, too. >> a lot of people do. >> on the economics of egypt, now that there is a change in leadership, let's talk about the american pocketbook and gas prices. should we expect to see some change in prices of a barrel of oil now, is there still volatility to push the price of?

>> i think inherent in the price of oil -- as much as i would like to tackle those issues, i should not do that in the last reeving i have. i will say this. -- in the last briefing i have. on a daily basis in the deputy committee meeting that has been taking place around egypt, we have discussed what is happening with transportation at ports of entry in the suez, and we continue to monitor that and do not see a disruption. >> congratulations on your new chapter. on monday, it will be different

for you. the think you will be going through news and information withdrawal? >> no doubt. >> i wanted to follow-up on mitt romney east during a mission in his remarks today. has the president been watching the cpac coverage? did think it is important for mitt romney to talk about his health care plan, and why? why would that be important? >> i don't know why it would not. >> i have and egypt one, believe it or not. have the secretary klan and the samantha towercam gotten together reject the secretary clinton -- have the secretary

clinton and samantha power camp gotten together? have the white house and the administration been on the same page? >> we have been on the same page for quite some time. >> robert, congratulations. you have been talking about jordan and saudi arabia, the bilateral relationships and what the president says privately and publicly. at this moment, isn't there more that he could be saying publicly? does the plan to play a greater role in terms of trying to empower the people of other countries, like the egyptian people are now being empowered? ofagain, i don't know anything that he has plan to do that. i think what is important to remember about all of this is

that it did not start -- we did not start its, we did not finish it. this is an issue for the people of egypt and the countries around the world to petition their governments. >> the president said just now that the egyptian people pushed change through peaceful means and not terrorism or violence. is the administration argue now that the presence of democracy can drain the swamp from which extremists find recruits? >> dewpoint to is one with some very specific meaning -- will line that you point to is one with some very specific meaning. there are those that seek to change by building and those that seek to change by blowing

up and destroying. i think what we have seen in cairo goes greatly in contrast with entities like al qaeda that have killed people that share their belief, their religious belief, in order to scare and to terrorize. >> in that case, will we see more push for democracy in the middle east -- >> i think we will see the president continued to hold up his concerns of those throughout the world of those who seek greater recognition. i am going to do the week ahead, and then i am going to go. before i do, i am going to give you my week ahead. on monday, the former press secretary will be traveling ease

than it gives to school. in the morning he will get some support center and a bike ride if the weather holds up. in the afternoon, he is hoping for a nap before walking several hundred feet to the bus ethan.d to greet each tha fortunately burmese i do not anticipate any further public events for the remainder of the weekend. the president on the other hand, he will travel to baltimore county, maryland. he will speak to the students at park wville middle, the center of technology. arne duncan will join the arne duncan will join the president for the