employment and free speech. >> that is enforcing the law of promoting respect for the lot. her speech to me is that, undermines its, and is inconsistent with the functions that the agency is attempting to perform. >> the patriot act passed after the 9/11 attacks. now, with provisions of the bill ending this month, lawmakers are trying to renew the provisions. you contract the daily action in the house and senate with time lines and transcripts of every session. . .

let's take a look back at the remarks of some of candidates on the ballot. we'll start with mississippi governor and then the representative from minnesota's

michele bachmann. ♪ ♪ >> thank you. i appreciate our long friendship that goes all the way back to reagan in 76. and thank you for that warm welcome. speaking of warm, man, this global warming is about to freeze me to death. [applause] >> you know, i've spoken here many times and over the years this conference usually focuses on what's wrong with the left. to deal with that subject today, would take a month, not just a weekend. the policies of the left are why, since the last time i spoke, our political fortunes have changed dramatically. seven new republican senators, 29 republican governors

including nine out of ten of the key swing states for 2012. more than 600 new republican state lors. and the largest republican majority in the u.s. house of representatives in 65 years. [applause] you know what we call that in mississippi? a pretty good start. the 2010 election was the greatest repudiation of the policies of a president and a party in american history. november 2nd was the creshendo of a stunning rejection of a leftist political philosophy that's profoundly at odds with america's founding principles and our history of democratic self-government and entrepreneurial capitalism. for two years the obama administration tand democrat

congress pursued an agenda of every frustrated liberal at the expense of the public good and contrary to the will of the people. when america needed a growth strategy to revive our session-racked economy, the obama administration and the pelosi-reid congress gave us a $1 trillion stimulus bill that only stimulated more government. as unemployment soared to 10%, america needed and called for policies that would spur job creation. instead of focusing on jobs, the obama administration and its democrat congress spent a year concocketting a government-run health care system, one that stifles job creation as well as drives up the cost of health care. at a time when we desperately needed incentives to create new jobs, president obama and his congressional allies tried to impose the biggest tax increase

in american history on small business owners by letting the bush tax cuts expire. two years of their calling for these massive tax increases caused more uncertainty among employers, making them reluctant to hire anybody or spend more money. along the way, the president and the democrat congress pushed federal government spending to 25% of g.d.p., sucking trillions of dollars out of the productive private economy. they forget that every dollar taxed or borrowed by the government is a dollar that can't be invested by an entrepreneur or small business person in a job creating product or facility. [applause] a dollar that can't be saved by family hoping to send their children to college.

you know, in the liberal idea ology, every dollar earned belongs to the government. they believe reducing taxes is some kind of government give-away to the taxpayers. despite job creation as being the top priority for our country, this obama's policies have been more hostile to job creation than any other i've ever seen. now, after his policies have contributed to unemployment rate stuck at 9 plus percent for almost 2 years, suddenly president obama and the democrats are paying lip service to job creation. except this time they call their spending investments rather than stimulus. happily, the new conservative majority in the house understands that jobs are created by the private sector, not by government. [applause]

never forget a bigger government means a smaller economy. because of last year's election we've extended the bush tax cuts for another two years and -- and pluns have cut spending and take the first step towards restoring sanity to the federal budget. these are important accomplishments. but, as i said, they're only a start. we won an important victory in november but we don't control the government. our house majority only gives us control of one half of one third of our national government. our new majority can stop the worst excesses of exhaustive liberalism. we can stop funding for bad policies. we can push for less spending. we can use the highest house's oversight authority to expose

the damage being done by the blizzard of obama administration job crushing regulations. but we can't today do what needs to be done for our country. so as we prepare for starting today for the next 21 months, i ask you to remember the words of my fellow mississippien, fred smith, the founder and c.e.o. of fed ex. fred says, the main thing is to keep the main thing the main thing. [applause] and the main thing is electing a republican president next year. [cheers and applause] we can't put america on the right track until we elect a republican president in 2012.

and a republican senate, to join the republican house in enacting those crucial policies. we won't have the policies that lead to economic growth, job creation, smaller government, lower taxes, less spending, rational regulation, and a stronger american presence in the world in every dimension until we have a republican president to lead for those right policies, the ones that will achieve the right results for america and the world. make no mistake, the reckless policies of the obama administration and the left wing congress have brought america to a across roads. the congressional budget office informs us this year's deficit will hit a staggering record $1.5 trillion. for every dollar it spends, the

federal government will have to borrow 40 cents. much of it from the chinese government. and my generation's children and grandchildren, that's many of you, will be handed the bill , a gargant one debt for you to pay. in fact, coo reports that this year the federal government will spend $3.7 trillion but will only take $2.2 trillion. friends, our problem is not that we tax too little. it's that we spend too much. [applause] but washington needs to understand, the federal government can't spend itself rich any more than your family can spend itself rich. you know, i remember how the liberals used to mock my old

boss ronald reagan and his belief that lower taxes would spur economic growth and improve the nation's balance sheet. they laughed and said, we can't grow ourselves out of the deficit. well, let me tell you something. it's a lot easier to grow yourself out of the deficit than it is to spend yourself out of the deficit. now, let me give you a little first example. in my first four years as governor of mississippi we got rid of a huge budget shortfall because revenue went up by 40% without raising anybody's taxes. revenue went up because we had more taxpayers with more taxable income. that's the way to get your balance sheet where you want it. [applause] now, we've got to be honest with each other. the failure to control federal

spending occurred under republicans as well as democrats. though i have to say, it's gotten a whole lot worse in the last two years. consider this. it took about 220 years for the american government to accumulate $5 trillion in debt. under the obama administration, our debt will grow by $5 trillion in less than four years. to me, that's breath taking. and it's why i pray and believe that republicans in congress, republican legislatures, republican governors will be faithful to the will of the american people expressed in november. and from my experience as governor, i know congress can reduce spending. i watched mitch daniels give indiana's first balanced budget in eight years without raising

taxes. [applause] i saw virginia governor bob mcdonald come into office facing a deficit in excess of $2 billion. he canceled the big tax increase, got control of spending and now has a surplus of more than $400 million. [applause] and chris christy has shown us that responsible spending cuts -- [cheers and applause] spending cuts can be achieved and popular even in an unusually -- usually blue state like new jersey. a lot of people think while republican governors were attacking fiscal issues, we were ignoring social issues. well, that's not right. my first year as governor, my pro life agenda was adopted by

my democrat majority legislatures and americans united for life i am proud to say named mississippi the safest place in america for an unborn child. [cheers and applause] governors get elect to solve problems. and that's why, in the redrent years u you see governors focused on economic problems. and budgets, and spending. as i mentioned, that year that we passed the pro-life agenda, mississippi had a budget short fall, about 20% of the total general fund. it took us two years, but we eliminated that deficit without raising anybody's taxes. more recently, when the recession hit our state, as i am allowed to do by law as governor, i cut spending 9.4%.

about $500 million. [applause] we governors cut spending, including some democrat governors like tennessee. so i know congress can cut spending, too. and i know from my experience there's plenty to cut. [applause] when i cut spending by 10% in one fiscal year, i said i didn't think most people in mississippi even noticed. of course, the liberals and the advocates whind and moaned. our liberal media league especially criticized my savings in medicaid. our only big entitlement in mississippi. those savings have been very large, hundreds of millions of dollars. one way to make sure everybody -- one way was to make sure

everybody receiving medicaid was actually elincolnible. now, there's an idea -- eligible. now, there's an idea. under my democratic successor, medicaid rolls in mississippi had expanded from about 500,000 people to about 750,000 in just four years. the good news, he wasn't there after four years. a key reform we made when i got into office was to require recipients who aren't in nursing homes or immobile because of their health to reestablish their medicaid eligibility in person annually. it's funny how many people never even showed up. [cheers and applause] after my reforms, and this was a good economic times, the

roles fell from merely 750,000 to fewer than 600,000. a reduction of more than 20%. another change was to emphasize strong management. so our medicaid error rate is now the fourth lowest in the country. less than half the national average. about half of the error rate for the federal medicare program. now, why is that important? i will tell you why. our state taxpayers save about $50 million a year just because of our lower error rate. that would be tens of billions in savings for the federal government in medicaid and medicare if the national error rate were simply the same as that of the mississippi medicaid program. we can save money on

entitlements. you've just got to have the will power and the courage to do it. [applause] governors deal with problems. and voters have decided from here on out leaders should be judged not by their hopes or their intentions, leaders must be judged by the results they achieve. [applause] that fact is why president obama is starting to sound like ronald reagan for the last several weeks. i was political director of the white house for two years under president reagan. i can tell you reagan would have recognized this ploy as just another play from the democrat playbook. fake up the middle, then run around left end.

[applause] spending becomes investments, nondefense discretionary spending should be capped. but at a level 27% higher than it was just two years ago. the most job-stifling regulatory regime in history, that of barack obama and carol browner, will be reviewed. the president even told bill oh riley sunday that taxes hadn't gone up during his first two years. what he failed to mention was that the lack of a huge tax increase was solely because he couldn't get any republican senators to vote for his proposal for the largest tax increase in american history. and then, he told us in his own state of the union address that he would push for that gigantic tax increase in this congress. you know, the gipper would have

chuckled and shook his head, because he's seen the left trot out this old movie many times before. americans have told us they want responsible government, one that respects the limits of government enshrined in our constitution. they want policies that enhance individual freedom, not expand government control. they believe in personal responsibility, not government dependency. if republicans are not saying these principles, i'll tell you, we'll be defeated as quickly as the democrats and we'll deserve to be. [applause] the obama policies of raidsing taxes, explosive spending, sky rocketing debt and government-run health care are probably subjects that you're

pretty familiar with. let's talk about another job growth killer you don't hear about as much. the obama energy policy. and i'm glad to hear my old friend speaker knut gingrich also talk to you about energy. just as obama care will increase the cost of health care, the obama energy policy driving up the cost of energy, and not by accident. and remember, while health care is 18% of the american economy, energy costs affect 100% of our economy. you remember the cap and trade tax? well, in november -- in 2008, before he was elected in november, then senator obama told the san francisco chronical under my plan of a cap and trade system, electricity rates would necessarily sky rocket. and if senate republicans hadn't killed the cap and trade

tax, the electric bills for working americans would have sky rocketed. except there would be even fewer americans working if that happened. american manufacturing would be crushed by obama's energy proposals. but he hasn't given up. his moratorium on the gulf of mexico oil drilling has become a perm torium. more alaskan oil has been placed off limits. the technology hydraulic frackturg that makes possible the huge increase of natural gas production from shale formations is under attack. permits to mine coal are harder to get in america than a heart transplant. the "wall street journal" recently reported u.s. domestic oil production will fall 13% this year and that is part of obama's strategy. the obama administration is trying to achieve by regulation

what it can't pass through congress. [applause] in one sentence, the obama energy policy is this. increase the price of energy so americans will use less of it. they're pursuing that policy to reduce pollution. and to make extremely expensive uneconomic alternative fuels cost competitive. that's not an energy policy. this is an environmental policy. so as gas blows by $3 a gallon on its way to $4 and more, remember what energy secretary steven chew, a member of the obama plrks' cabinet today, said in a 2008 speech. somehow we have to figure out

how to boost the price of gasoline to the levels in europe. gasoline in europe is $8 or $9 a gallon. secretary chu may think we need that, but i doubt it's going to get many votes in this conference. these energy policies are catastrophic for america's economy. such policies would destroy our ability to compete in the global marketplace because of cost. what we need is more american energy. [applause] the american workers could compete with anybody in the world if we don't tie a millstone around his neck. and we're not going to allow the obama administration to do that through energy policy.

[applause] fellow conservatives, 2012 will be the year of decision. last year americans didn't give the g.o.p. a mandate to govern. they gave us a chance. a chance to earn their trust and support. so now let's make the most of it. as we prepare to complete our victory by electing a republican senate in the white house in 2012 let me remind you what i said at this conference last year as chairman of the republican governor's association. i said at the 2010 campaigns were about issues republicans would win a huge victory. that's because the american people agree with us on the issues. it's why they massively repudeyate obama's policies last november. the left and their allied and

the liberal media elite like to describe conservatives, especially tea party activists as somehow out of the mainstream, a bunch of unsophisticated know-nothings. the leftity media says the tea party is a problem for republicans. now, this is a case of the left whistling past the graveyard. [applause] americans motivated to participate in the tea party movement were upset by the very same policy issues as republican volunteers and leaders. jobs and economic growth, reckless spending, sky rocketing deficits and debt, an energy policy that drives up energy costs, and a government-run health care system that drives up health care costs. rather than divide us, these are the issues that unite us, unite us as conservatives, as

republicans, and unite us as americans. the left -- [applause] you know, psychiatrists say that it's bad to stifle the urge to applaud. if it's not bad for you, it's bad for me. so i appreciate the perseverence. but what the left doesn't want to admit and what the news media doesn't want to write or broadcast is that the average american agrees with us on policy and issues. that's why republican candidates last year won the votes of independents by 20%age points. and -- 20 percentage points. as i promised you last year, if

the 2012 campaign is about issues, independents will again join us in getting our country turned around and back on the right track with a larger economy and a smaller government. lower taxes and more americans working. a deficit as we have more taxpayers with more taxable income. obama care repeals by an improved system where you and your doctor control your health care choices. [applause] we know prosperity results from an economy base odd on creating wealth, not redistributing it. and if you truly care about

[applause] now, i assure you, if we offer this conservative vision next year, it will be embraced by main street business owners and wal-mart mothers. by american workers, corporate executives, and mama grisleys. by tea party activists -- by tea party activists, rank and file republicans, and independent voters. our agenda is america's agenda. and with your help, our team will be america's team. the winning team. in 2012. let me close by remembering today would be the 202th

birthday of abraham lincoln, father of our party and the first republican president. lincoln saved our country one nation indivisible and he established our party as the party of freedom. and so we are today the party of freedom. so that every american is free to work hard and make the most of his or her god-given talents, to stand equal before the law, to pray to their own god, or no god, and to have a government that is of the people, by the people, and for the people. rather than a people controlled by their government. these are the reasons lincoln said america is the last best hope on earth. and so shall she ever be.

[applause] thank you. thank you. and god bless you. thank you very much. ♪ ♪ >> good morning, cpac. how is everyone doing? you're looking great this morning. thank you for the invitation. wait a minute. someone told me i needed to find the right camera. so let me see.

ok. all you s and l fans, i know where it is. i think we're good to go. good morning, cpac and thank you again for inviting me to be here with you. doesn't it feel great? it's a new day in washington, d.c. [applause] we have so much to be grateful for, and i want to commend you. dade, i understand this is the most astounding attendance you've had, 11,000 strong and growing over the weekend. our movement is a growing movement, it's a big movement and i'm excited to be a part of the family because i am looking right now at the problem-sovers of america. that's who you are, you're an exciting group of people. you believe in problem-solving, and i can feel your energy that's here. it's real. it's exciting. and it's something that's going to continue building all weekend long because already,

after everything we do in the last election, you've already changed america for the better just having the house of representatives go into conservative hands was a huge down payment for bringing our country back. and i thank you from the bottom of my heart for everything that you've done. [applause] we're also a very broad-based coalition, and some of you who are gathered here today, you are all about your passion is about fiscal conservatism, and i am one of you. and for some of you who are here, your passion is about defending the moral values that grounded this country, and i am one of you. and some of you who are here are all about national security and making sure that we continue our legacy of peace

through strength, i am one of you. this is something we need to be proud of and be thankful for. we are excited how we've worked together in this three-legged stool of ours, and so many of you got off the couch in this last election and you decided that you were not going to take it any more. and i just want a show of hands. how many of you before this election were just so-so about politics in our nation? how many of you, this was the first time you ever got involved in politics? let's see a show of hands. stand up. stand up. let's take a look and let's give you a round of applause. thank you for joining the family. thank you for what you've done. you're amazing people, and i want to thank you because, because of what you did, you have been a part of the down payment on bringing back liberty in this country.

and look what you accomplished. you helped to win 87 new seats in the house of representatives . 87. it's a record. [cheers and applause] and you helped pry that big gavel out of speaker pelosi's hands. did anybody see that? she wasn't real willing to let john boehner have it. but he got it. he got it. we're thankful. not only did she give up that luxurious private jet of hers by the way, that you all paid for, and john boehner, by the way, is flying commercial these days. oh, yes. it's a new day. it's a new day. but more importantly, speaker pelosi gave up the national credit card that had an unlimited balance on it, apparently, and no atm fees.

it's out of her hands. she doesn't have it any more. and as well as we did in the house, it was also awful what happened in the united states senate -- awesome what happened in the united states senate because you helped deliver victories in the senate like kentucky senator rand paul. florida senator marco rubio. pennsylvania senator pat tomby. utah senator mike lee. arkansas senator john boozeman. indiana senator dan cothse. kansas senator, jerry moran. missouri senator roy blunt. new hampshire senator kelly yotes.

north dakota senator john hoben. ohio senator rob portman. wisconsin senator ron johnson. yea. illinois senator mark kirk. that's 13 new republican senators in this last election. we only need four more senators and we win the united states senate. [cheers and applause] and then harry reid will have the very rich opportunity to join speaker pelosi, now nancy pelosi, in the new minority. yea. [applause] and, more importantly, common sense and a new hopefully conservative majority will run the united states senate. and don't think a conservative senate wouldn't be a huge change from decades of

leadership here in washington d.c. but it gets even better. take a look at the governor seats in this last election. after these governor seats, we have 29 out of the 50 seats are in republican hands. 29 governor seats. [applause] 20 are democrat and there's always an independent out there somewhere. so even more good news. and i think this actually might be some of the best news of all. in our state house seats, in our state senate seats, because of all the work that you did we flipped 680 seats in the same house and same senate in this country. that's a record number, by the way. and what's even more elect if iing about these numbers is the

fact that all the work that you did paid off this year in the once every ten years redistricting cycle. so the governors and all of the legislatures that control the political lines that will determine these races for the next ten years will be drawn this year with these new governors and representatives controlling the chambers all across this country. if there was ever a time to make a change, this was it. and you did it. [applause] because you not only surprised the brain power for a lot of these elections, you were the hands-on and the feet-on that actually went and did the door-knocking. you drove people to the polls. because this was a historic change election. and this was the change that we were hoping for, and you did it.

[applause] so give yourself a much deserved round of applause. i do. and i think, after all that work, it's altogether fitting and proper that we throw ourselves a huge party. so here we're going to party. so conveniently enough, i'm throwing you a party today at 5:30. so come one, come all. the bar tab is mine. come to my party. it starts -- you're all welcome. all 11,000 of you. so one drink per limit. so come at 5:30 today. tonight shake your hand though. and i personally want to thank every one of you for everything you did. it paid off. so let's party hearty today, because after this weekend we need to start focusing on step two of taking the country back. as much as we're patting ourselves on the back this weekend, and we were

successful, now it's step two. and step one will be for naught if we don't successfully complete step two. are you savvy? because we have to win a conservative senate. the same type of rand pauls and marco rubios that came in this year, we need more of the same to come in to the senate so it's a conservative senate, not just a republican senate. can you hear me? a conservative senate going forward. [applause] and we'll all -- the all-important must have for 2012 is this. making barack obama a one-term president. [cheers and applause] stand up. stand up. stand up.

i think you're up for it. i am too. this is it. this is the real world. this is when it counts. you're up for it. that's why it's important. that's why all of our chips are on 2012. this is it. you're up for it. i'm in. you're in. so why is it so important? why are we on our feet? why are we up for 2012? it's important for this reason. because your future is personally tied in to the results of the next election. it's that important. i want to give you just a few facts. when the liberals took over the house of representatives, the national debt was $8 trillion. that was january of 2007. $8 trillion. even for liberals that's a lot of money. that's how much it was.

but during the next four years that the liberals held way, here in our nation's capital, the nation's credit card, get this, the liberals drove the debt up another $6 trillion to now $14 trillion. and we're being asked once again to raise the debt ceiling. you heard about that? raise the debt ceiling. now, think about this. think about the context. it took this government 230 years from 1776 until 2006, 230 years from the inception of the nation until 2006 our national debt was a heart-pal pi tating $8 trillion. we were all biting our finger nails very worried about it. and in only four years time, with the speaker pelosi, a hairy reid, the liberals increased that amount by a whopping 75%. what it took us 230 years to

accumulate. and that's spending spree caught the attention and the imagination of everyone in this country last november. it caught their attention. and thanks to you and your enthusiasm, the american people, independents, libertarians, even democrats went to the polls and said, stop. enough. we're not going to go down this road any more of debt accumulation. and the numbers, people, over at the office of management and budget are now telling us that if president obama wins another four-year term -- now, is that going to happen? ok. let's be clear about that, cpac family. let's be clear. we will be in debt to the tune of $21 trillion. that's six years from now. remember, four years ago we were $8 trillion. six years from now we'll be at

21 if barack obama goes on his trajectory. but as troubling as all of these figures are to us, there is one segment, however, who is not worried about this high level of debt accumulation. and that, you might say, are our friendly chinese bankers. they're not worried about this. you may know that the president of china is named huh. his name is president hu. and with all the money that we owe china, i think we might rightly say, who's your daddy. [applause] now, let me just give another living example of what a million, a billion, a trillion sound like because i'm standing up here waving a red flag saying it's a way amount of money. well, it is.

if you take $1 million and you concert it to seconds of time, 1 million seconds equals 11 and a half days. if you take 1 billion seconds and convert 1 billion seconds into time, that equals 32 years. there's a difference between millions and billions. but there's an even greater difference between billions and trillions. if you convert 1 trillion seconds into time, that equals 32,000 years. so when we're talking trillions, going from 8 trillion to 14 to 21, this is a stunning level of debt that we have never even imagined before. in the calculus of recent history. so let me explain what that level of debt could mean to you personally. according to the national center of policy analysis, in 2009 they said that college-aged students today, do we have any college-aged

students here today? yes. yes. you'll all be at my party today. in your peak -- one drink limit. in your peak -- i mean, too. i really mean it. in your peak -- got to save something here. i am a conservative. in your peak earning years, you will be looking at paying 37% of everything you make to the government just to satisfy social security and medicare. 37%. that's more than a third of your income just to pay for that. but now wait. just realize, that doesn't include what you will owe to the federal government for your federal income tax portion. and that could easily be another 25% of your income. and if you can do the math, that's 62% of your income. just your federal income tax and your medicare and social security portion of what you make.

but now that doesn't include your state income taxes. and that could be another 8% for a lot of you. but that doesn't include what you pay in sales taxes. that won't include what you pay in gas taxes or local property taxes or telephone taxes or cell phone taxes. you want me to go on? this goes on and on and on all the way to death taxes. they get you coming, they get you going. and if you add all of this up, you college students that are here today, you are looking at 70 to 75% of your income taken away by the government in taxes in your peak earning years. i'm a federal tax lawyer. that's what i did for a living in the real world. i have a doctorate degree, i have a post doctorate degree in tax law. all i did was practice tax law and i saw the devastating impact of high taxes on individuals, on business people, on farmers. this is real.

these are real numbers. this isn't just something that somebody is trying to be in a mellow dramatic way conjur up and scare you with. this is your future. this is your reality. that's why this isn't like the green bay packers or the steelers, like the republicans and democrats and whose team is going to win. that is not what this is about. this is about the kind of america we're going to have and the kind of life you will have and the kind of future you will have if 2012 goes other than what all of us are hoping in the next few years. because with 75% tax rate means for you quite literally is that three-fourths of your workday will be spent working to pay uncle sam, and you'll be lig off 25% of your salary. so let me ask you a question. how are you going to pay for a home mortgage on 25% of your

salary? how are you going to pay for your car payment on 25% of your salary? or buy food on 25% of your salary? or pay for your energy bill or your electric bill or more importantly how are you going to pay for your i tunes downloads on 25% of your salary? then there's this monstrocity called obamacare. oh, yes. i'm there. i'm with you. that created 159 new regulatory boards and commissions. so just realize this over 2,000 page bill that nobody read, by the way, nobody read this bill, this 2,000 page bill that the president signed has already generated over 6,000 pages of new rules. so don't think that we already have a law. this is a law that will never end. it is going to grow and grow and grow. and it won't be 6,000 pages of

rules. no. it will be tens of thousands of pages of rules. because just like we hear liberals talk about the living constitution, you heard that? these laws are, quote, liing laws. so it isn't what we vote on any more when we put our little card in the machine and we go red or we go green. it's what are the bureaucrats behind the curtain continually conjur up. and obamacare is the never ending liberal gift that keeps on giving towards liberalism. and as bad as it is, it's only the beginning. which wouldn't be a problem, apparently, if you're one of the more than 700 people who have gotten a waiver from obamacare. have you heard about this? this is not exactly equal just tiss under the laws. over 700 privileged unions or companies have been given a waiver under these crippling mandates. so i guess under president

obama's way of thinking some of us are a little more equal than others. and i'll tell you what i'd like. i'd like to have a waiver from the last two years of the obama administration. are there any takers out there? i want a waiver. i want a waiver. [applause] there is no question, and i have no reservation in saying this. we have seen president obama usher in socialism under his watch over the last two years. and obamacare is quite clearly the crown jewel of socialism. and repealing it is the driving motivation of my life. the first political breath i take every morning is to repeal obamacare. [applause] you, too. repeal now.

repeal now. [cheers and applause] thank you. and i think the reason why we are all so terribly moat strite make sure that this terrible piece of legislation gets repealed is because probably more than any other piece of legislation passed this is the legislation that has the potential for diminishing our quality of life quite literally making life and death decisions for all of us for the rest of our lives if we don't repeal this bill. because president obama's socialist program of bailouts and takeovers puts bureaucrats in charge of more of the private sector giving us more regulations, more laws, more mandates, more burdens on the nation's job creators and owners. i'm a job creator, my husband and i, we created over 50 jobs in our state. we are so proud of that that

we've been able to do that. and you've been able to do that. and we want to make sure more people across this country can realize that dream of starting a business and doing what they were born to do. because unfortunately under this regime that president obama has put into place, it is a formula for destruction of job creation and it's an agenda that does jeopardize our free market system, because it does two things. it attacks our core values of incentives that drive growth and personal responsibility. can you imagine what do we get by taking away people's personal responsibility for their actions? all we have to do is look at the clinton administration. say no more. i only say that because president clinton came out last night and told me that i lived in a parallel universe when it comes to my understanding of

obamacare. do we want to talk about paralevel universes for a moment? socialism kills job creation everywhere it rears its ugly head except for government. it rears its ugly head. and we are witnessing unemployment for over 20 months in excess of 9%. in fact gal will you please came out and said the current -- gal lups is said it's at 9.9%. and when the only jobs that are growing in government. when that music stops it is game over. and the game doesn't end very well. exhibit a, greece. take a look at greece. here you have people in the streets rioting because they wanted more government. and why were they rioting? because their retirement age was going to go from age 61 to

63. all those evil bureaucrats. that is the end result of socialism. when the demand equation knows no bounds. or exhibit b. spain. spain has the highest unemployment right now in europe. remember, president obama told us early on in his administration, we have to be more like spain. do you remember that? we've got to be more like spain. we've got to put into place the wind generation and all the thing that is spain's about because that's the future. i don't know about you, i don't want 22% unemployment in the united states. that's spain's reality right now. we don't want to be spain. we want to be america. we are the indispensible nation of the world. [cheers and applause] the indispensible nation of the world is america. [cheers and applause] and socialism might sell well in a harvard faculty lounge, but when it comes to finding a

job, not so much. and the moral tragedy i believe personally of president obama's agenda is not only that his tax and spending agenda is consuming most of what your parents and grand paverpbts took a lifetime to build up and what the current workforce is producing. i think the most egregious moral wrong of all is that today's government is intentionally consuming the future labors of generations of americans that aren't even born. this is unbelievable what's happening. because you need to consider that no previous generation, not the heroes of the revolutionary war, not the heroes of the civil war, not the survivors of world war one or world war ii or the great depression or korea or vietnam, none of these previous generations has left any

subsequent generation so tied up in debt that their very suss tenance was already spoken for before they even had a chance to come into this world. and it's baffling to me. it's baffling that this wasn't just any nation that did this. this is our nation that's done this, a great nation like ours. one that has reached the absolute unparalleled height of the world's lone super power status. we are one that is the world's leading innovator in invention, with the largest economy, the finest universities. we would choose an option for the future that's anything other than putting the best interests of this generation first? could we be so selfish? no generation has been more selfish than the current generation that's been running washington d.c. and it's time we said it.

that's not compassion. that's selfishness. [applause] and this is what i believe. it's that you and your future are what matters to us now. and it's not about building a welfare state. i think it's building your state of well being. that's what we need to focus on. because i think that you deserve no less a shot at life than what your parents received, than what your grand parents received. and that's all why 2012 is so all important. because if you do well, then america will do well, and we'll be strong and we'll be secure. and you know, it's not all doom and gloom here. because we certainly aren't without solutions. in fact, i have just a couple of suggestions that would go a long way towards fixing our economy. first of all, the president could stop the e.p.a. from implementing a cap and trade system that will destroy the

future of energy creation in this country. [cheers and applause] the president could easily support a balanced budget amendment going forward. i've signed on to it. he could sign on to it. [applause] you saw the time magazine cover that had barack obama and ronald reagan. not so much. maybe a little short. if the president wanted to prove he was ronald reagan, he could sign a balanced budget amendment. [applause] and maybe we would agree. the president could agree to an energy policy that actually increases american energy production. we're sitting on a gold mine here in the united states. we are the saudi arabia of energy right here. it's just illegal to access it. so let's get off of our dependence on front royal. we've got all the energy we can -- foreign oil.

we've got all the energy we could use here in the united states. . .

we need to remember and we cannot forget there are other threats that loomed as well, threats to the moral grounding of this nation and threats to our national security. a wise man once said that a court of three strands is not easily broken. any car porter will tell you that a three the tool is strong and stable and it will not tip over very easily. twe would be unwise to recall the and not forget that for our

conservative coalition to be victorious, it will take every one of us and then some, pulling together, to bring the three legs of this conservative stoll ol together. to work together. we cannot shunned each other for 2012. [applause] the structural integrity and political appeal is not only are rooted in this fiscal discipline but the social values and philosophy of peace through strength. some will have you believe that the rise of the tea party and the outcome of last fall's election means that conservatives stand for only one thing and nothing more, and that is reducing our deficit and

shrinking government. while that is absolutely vital, i strongly disagree that that is all there is. i believe that most conservatives agree with that as well. [applause] as important as the spending cuts are, and by the way, we need a lot more of them. such a narrow lead-based political agenda is not politically conducive to a broad-based appeal that will determine our future success. we are all about winning in 2012. i am here to call on our movement beginning here with you. you are the all important cpac base, all at 11,000 of you, to affirm our winning platform that rests equally on all three legs. i believe in this coalition.

i believe in the three legged stool that is a winning combination. i believe you are incredibly talented. i believe you are filled with excitement. i believe you are motivated for 2012. i believe that we need to win the triple crown of 2012, which is holding on to the house of representatives, when a conservative senate, and winning the white house in 2012. the triple crown. [cheers and applause] i also believe we can do this. i do not think this is standing up -- i do not believe in standing up here and blowing smoke. for one thing, you are all incredibly good-looking. [laughter] i am up here and i can see this.

that fact alone, plus you are talented and very excited, that needs to motivate us for 2012. i just want you to know that we can do this. we can't mess up though. one thing we have seen happen to frequently is being pulled from the jaws of victory. it will not, it can not, it simple can not happen for 2012. we need to take the gains we have and add to them. that is how we will get our fiscal house in order, stay grounded in our historic moral values, retain peace through strength. we live in a very different world today. we have this tiny window of opportunity called 2012. if we do not take back the white

house and win the triple crown in the 2012, that window of opportunity for repealing obamacare may slam shut. it may slam shut. just like the great people of new hampshire, live free or die. that needs to be our watchword as well. are we going to stand up? are we going to do this? is this our moment? is this our time? do you believe? do you believe? do you believe? it.well then let's do let's roll. 2012. thank you, cpac. thank you. [cheering and applause] >> rep michelle bachman is one

of two women at the meeting. continuing today, we will bring you results of the pole here on c-span. for now, a look back at speeches made by some of the others including former house speaker newt gingrich and indiana gov. mitch daniels who talked about lessons from being the governor of the hoosier state. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] well, thank you all. thank you very much. i am delighted to be here i want to thank dave bossie. callista and i have a great working relationship with dave and we have made a number of movies that we're very proud of and the new reagan book that we're proud of and all that he did at citizens united both in the lawsuit last year and in the hard work he's done to help

elect conservatives across the country is really, truly remarkable so i'm glad to be back with you. i also want to thank david keane who, while he has retired from that job, held together both the acu and cpac since 1983 and he deserves a big round of applause. [applause] now, as all of you know who have been here when i have been at cpac over the years i almost always start by going back to the very 2nd cpac, 1975, at a time when the republican and conservative prospects seemed at their very bottom, when the country seemed to have lost its way and when governor ronald reagan, recently out of office, came here and said that we have to have bold colors, not pale pastels. and he laid out a policy which, in a very short time, defeated the soviet empire, re-launched the american economy and rebuilt american civic pride and american exceptionalism.

20 years after that, i came to cpac as the first republican speaker in 40 years and i outlined a series of very bold ideas: welfare reform so people would go to work and school instead of being dependent on the government, a balanced budget, tax cuts for the first time in 16 years to stimulate economic growth, strengthening our intelligence capacity against terrorism... now i'm back. here we are 16 years later and what's happened? well, just two stories from yesterday: the germans are buying the new york stock exchange, and in fact the german exchange is bigger than the new york stock exchange so they will have 60% control of the exchange. this marks a major decline of new york as a center of world finance; it is a fundamental blow to our capacity to lead the world and to create jobs and in fact what's truly astonishing is that the german government, that germany as a country, pays 50% more for manufacturing than we do. you earn more money in germany and they have the lowest

unemployment rate since 1992. so it's not always cheap labor- sometimes it's just terribly bad government. let's look at the case: the german government is pro jobs, the german government is pro manufacturing, the german government is pro worker training, the german government is pro exports. and now let's look at the obama government. why are we falling behind? why is the new york stock exchange taken over by frankfurt? why are we in a mess? why do we have over 9% unemployment? well, the obama administration is anti- jobs, anti-small business, anti-manufacturing, pro-trial lawyer, pro-bureaucrat, pro- deficit spending and pro-high taxes...what do you think is going to happen? my favorite political governing slogan for the next 20 years is 2+2=4. [laughter] simple, basic, honest facts. if you want to kill jobs you can and democrats prove it all the time.

now let's look at the second big story from yesterday. yesterday, homeland security secretary napolitano said we have the most heighted threat since 9/11, that after 10 years there are more terrorists in the united states who are indigenous terrorists, recruited through the internet, than at any time in the last decade. and yet this is the administration- we did a movie, callista and i did with david called "america at risk: the war with no name"- this is an administration which doesn't even have the courage to tell truth about who wants to kill us. [applause] i know that i would get attacked for telling the truth, so when somebody whose nickname is jihad jane confesses in court to being a terrorist, it would be inappropriate to suggest to you what patterns might have lead her to that. when you have a nigerian who trains in yemen, who arrives over detroit on a christmas day seeking to blow up an airplane over the neighborhood to get

collateral damage; when you have a pakistani who lied, who says to the judge, when the judge says "how could you have sworn an oath to the us" he said "you're my enemies. i lied. " the judge was suitably shocked. [laughter] when you have a man jump up at fort hood, with a card in his wallet that says "warrior of allah", yells allah-hu-akbar, kills 13 americans and wounds 33 and the president of the united states and the chief of staff of the army urge people not to jump to conclusions. do not generalize. when you have mayor bloomberg after they pick up a car bomb from the pakistani in times square, whose first comment on television was "let's not rush to judgment: it could have been someone who's opposed to obama care. " now do you know how willfully, deliberately you have to hide from reality to assume that after thousands of radical islamist terrorist suicide bombers that your first thought is it's somebody who's oppose

to healthcare? i mean this would be a psychological problem if it were not a public official. [laughter] [applause] the obama administration is wrong on terrorism, wrong on iran, wrong on the muslim brotherhood, wrong on hezbollah, and being wrong on that many national security items is an enormously dangerous thing. [applause] but, the president's popularity remains relatively high because the media loves him. as one liberal analyst said, "my leg shakes thinking of him". [laughter] time magazine just did a cover on reagan's 100th birthday: "why obama loves reagan". now i want you to know first of all my leg doesn't shake. [laughter] and i want the elite media to know something: i knew ronald reagan.

[laughter] [cheers and applause] i began working with ronald reagan in 1974 when i first ran for congress. and i hate to tell this to our friends at msnbc and elsewhere: barack obama is no ronald reagan. [cheers and applause] however, the media wants us to be responsible. the media wants us to be bipartisan.

the media wants us to bring a new, positive tone to washington. you. in the tradition of ronald reagan's 1975 bold colors proposal, i want to suggest that cpac do something very bold. and let me say, by the way, for those liberals who think 2010 was the peak, the fact that we have 2000 more registrants this year ought to tell them "oh no. 2010 was the appetizer, 2012 is the entre. [cheers and applause] " so what i'm going to say is so bold, i just want to ask you to hear me out before you react. i want us to offer president obama the opportunity to be the keynote speaker at cpac in

2012, if he earns it. now let me explain. many people write about moving to the center. many people cite bill clinton as moving to the center. just as with reagan, i was actually there. clinton signed welfare reform and 2 out of 3 people either went to work or went to school. clinton signed the first tax cut in 16 years and, as art laffer pointed out in the wall street journal this morning, it included the largest capital gains tax cut in history designed to create jobs and unemployment went down from 5. 4 to 4. 0 % and that was the largest single step towards a balanced budget. we kept spending down to 2. 9% a year for 4 years: the smallest increase since calvin coolidge in the 1920s. bob livingston, as chairman of appropriations, had a huge spending cut bill, the first since 1981. john kasich, as chairman of the budget, authored a series of

changes leading to the first 4 balanced budgets in a row in 2 generations. the house gop moved fast. in fiscal 1995, the democrat's deficit was $164 billion. we brought it down a little bit the first year, but the second year, we had it down to $22 billion, from 164. the following year we had a $69 billion surplus in our third budget that we were in charge of. over a four year period, we paid off $559 in federal debt, by controlling spending, cutting taxes, and increasing economic growth. [applause] the number one job today is to create jobs. america only works when american's are working. and nothing would do more to balance the budget than to go from 9. 2 percent back down to 4 percent unemployment, taking 5 percent of people off of

unemployment, off of food stamps, off of medicaid, put them back with a job, paying taxes, giving their family a future. [applause] and let me emphasize something that republicans all too often, and conservatives all to often fail to be honest and direct to talk about. at a time when we have forty- five percent black teenage unemployment in january, that is not acceptable to anyone in america, and we should be the people to drive for the policy changes so every young american can get a job, no matter what the ideological bias of this president. [cheers and applause] and i'll be candid. we did not need a deficit commission. we needed a jobs commission who talked with people who only create jobs. i am sick and tired of congressional hearings, where people who have never created a job show up to explain what their theory is of doing something they have never done. [applause]

i am going to outline two large strategies that will move us towards job creation: an american energy plan and an environmental solutions agency to replace the environmental protection agency. [cheers and applause] but first, let me discuss how president obama could move to the center, and could be bipartisan, and could be invited to keynote cpac. there are seven steps...there are seven steps, we have just convinced every liberal of what they have always feared, i think there are seven steps to the center for obama. first, sign the repeal of obamacare. [cheers and applause] now let me make a point to my news media friends, 58 percent

of the american people, in the most recent poll, favor repeal of obamacare. now, 58 percent ought to be the center. i mean, where is the center if it is not with the majority of americans? i know, for some people, the center is the faculty club at harvard, or it is the new york times editorial board, but that is just not factually correct. so if the president would like to truly be a part of the american middle, sign the repeal. two, sign tort reform for doctors. he said the other night he would like to do it, let's let him do it. [applause] the congress should pass him, based on texas and other reforms, the strongest possible tort reform bill, and let him become president and know, by explaining that he didn't actually mean what he said, because if he said what he said, he wouldn't have actually meant it, because he couldn't actually mean it, cause that's why he needs the trial lawyers, so we should have understood that he actually meant something else he forgot to say, cause the teleprompter wasn't working at that moment, and it is not his fault. [laughter]

[cheers and applause] three, sign the permanent repeal of the death tax. [cheers and applause] 78 percent of the american people favor the repeal of the death tax. that has been consistently a large majority for the past thirty years, and i would say to the new york times, and to cbs news, and even daringly to our friends at msnbc, if 78 percent isn't the center of this country, where are you going to find it, and what are you doing when you get there? [laughter] [applause] fourth, sign a new hyde amendment, so no tax payer money funds abortion in the united states. [cheers and applause] fifth, sign a new paul ryan

drafted conservative budget act, to control spending and move to a balanced budget. [applause] sixth: sign a law to decisively control the border now. [cheers and applause] seventh: sign a tenth amendment implementation act returning power from washington to the states and to the people thereof. this is not about shipping it from washington to atlanta or washington to sacramento. remember, the amendment actually says "and the people thereof," so the power ought to go back to local people, local communities and then they can decide what they want to give to state government. and that act should include - to [applause] prove how real it is - block- granting medicaid so that states can control the cost and improve the quality without interference from washington bureaucrats. [applause]

now, i hope you'd agree with me that a president obama that did those seven things would have come to the center and would deserve the invitation to be the keynote speaker next year. [applause] i would not bet a lot on that ticket. but now, think about my two major policy proposals and the context for that centrist program. first, we need an american energy policy. at american solutions, we've discovered over the last few years that 79% of the american people think that we need an american energy policy to create jobs in the united states. 79% of the american people believe that we need an american energy policy to keep the money here rather than in china. 79% of the american people believe we need an american energy policy for national security reasons. no matter how you ask the question, it consistently comes out better than four to one. so wouldn't the center of american politics, the base of bipartisanship, be doing what

the american people actually want and having an american energy policy. [applause] now by contrast what you have from the obama administration is a war against american energy. they just can't help themselves. even in the state of the union, at a time when we're facing rising oil prices, what does the president want to do? he wants to raise taxes on oil and gas - in america, not in saudi arabia, not in iran, not in venezuela. so, callista and i were at the reagan hundredth anniversary, which was a wonderful event at the reagan library, which by the way just had a brand new wing opened that is marvelous. if you get a chance to visit simi valley, it's remarkable. we have lunch with secretary of state george schultz, and i was asking him about what's happening in egypt and does how he thinks reagan would approach it, and he finally said to me, if you go all the way back to 1973 and the very first oil shock, done deliberately by the arab countries and you look at reagan's state of the state

address in 1974, where he called for american energy policy, schultz looked at us and he said, "it makes us wonder how many times you need to get hit over the head with a two-by- four to figure out this is serious. [applause] cliff may of the foundation for the defense of democracy wrote me the other day and he said, "lenin in the communist era said, 'capitalists will sell us the rope to hang them. '" he said, "but it never occurred to lenin that we would give them the money to buy the rope with. [laughter] " and that for thirty years, we've followed an energy policy which makes the saudis richer, the iranians richer, the venezuelans richer, which allowed them to subsidize madrassas across the planet teaching hate, which allows them to subsidize people that want to come and kill us, and for the last thirty years we've had the worst possible national security policy in energy and it's time we've stopped it, and it's times we've an passed aggressively pro-american jobs, aggressively pro-american energy. [applause]

in 2008 when gasoline was at four dollars a gallon, american solutions launched a petition drive: drill here, drill now, pay less, which frankly, up until the collapse of wall street was actually working and the week before wall street collapsed, john mccain was ahead by 3 points and the republicans were ahead by 5 in the generic ballot, because the left couldn't survive in a world where we had the courage to say, "why don't we find american oil and why don't we find american gas, and why don't we have the next building boom in the united states, not in dubai. and why don't we make sure that the terrorists run out of money?" and that ought to be our approach to this, so let's do it now. first of all: reopen off of louisiana which by the way, this administration, with utter total hypocrisy, said they were going to lift the quarantine, but then said, "oh but by the way there's a new regulatory policy and we don't issue any of the new regulations. " so they have effectively stopped everything they

promised us last fall everything they would allow to happen again. governor jindal wants it to happen. the people of louisiana want it to happen. they understand that 80,000 dollar a year jobs aren't all that available in the united states and they understand that shipping the rigs to egypt and the congo because they're more politically stable than the united states is not a good sign for our future. so let's reopen the areas off only those states that want to reopen them, but if a state wants to go and find oil and gas and wants to create more jobs in that state, and therefore wants to help the american balance of payments and keep the money here, let's let them do it now. [cheers and applause] we should end the environmental protection agency's war against american oil and gas. for example, shell won in 2006, five years ago, a lease to allow them to explore in the beaufort and chukchi seas off alaska.

three billion dollars later, the epa has refused to allow them to move forward and they announced last week they're stopping it. now, this wasn't the alaskan wilderness area. this was an area that was totally, legally open for exploration in which the environmentalists inside the government and the environmentalists outside the government deliberately conspired to stop a company from creating american oil and american gas in the united states in a way which can only be helpful to the saudis and the iranians. and i for one am tired of being told that we ought to cripple our companies in our country on behalf of people overseas, and you don't see any lawsuits over there because they don't frankly allow it. and so you have a situation where every time you stop americans, we strengthen our enemies and we weaken our own economy and this is a perfect case study [applause] we should also stop the environmental protection agency's efforts to cripple the

development of gas found in shale. we now have technology that let's us go down as far as eight thousand feet, reach out as far as four miles horizontally. we can now produce commercially available natural gas from shale. we have an 11 hundred year supply. and the answer is, "but you don't know what's happening 8,000 feet down. " and therefore your epa is going to protect you from the possibility that 378 years from now something bad will happen. well let me tell you something bad is happening this morning with all the people who can't find a job because the government is killing their industry keeping the cost of energy high. [applause] we need to develop effective clean coal pilot projects that prove the concept we can use coal because we have more energy in coal than saudi arabia has energy in oil and it is utterly, totally foolish to say to say that the united states is not going to aggressively

develop clean coal. the department of energy promised in 2003 they would have a plan done by 2008. they then studied it to death. they now hope to have one done by 2016. at the current direction, the chinese will have built, patented, and licensed new technologies worldwide faster than our bureaucracy in washington can figure out how to issue the permit to even try. that is fundamentally wrong and we should cut through the red tape and we should maximize the ability of our own electricity industry and our own coal industry to develop new plants in the most rapidly possible way. [applause] and for example the obama administration just a few weeks ago reversed a permit that had been given for a coal mine in west virginia because the new epa bureaucrats decided the old epa bureaucrats were wrong. how do you invest? how do you create jobs? how do you have any sense of energy production when you know that the next left wing, ideologically-committed, anti-business bureaucrat could

in fact take away every single thing you've ever done. and so they ought to reverse that decision. they ought to go back to keeping their word. they ought to allow west virginians to have a job and create energy for the rest of us. they should also streamline the nuclear regulatory process to enable us to build nuclear power plants. there is something fundamentally wrong. [applause] i always say to my environmental friends, "if you really wanted to get carbon out of the atmosphere and if we produced as much electricity from nuclear power as france, you would take 2 billion tons of carbon dioxide a year out of the atmosphere. " and they'd say "well, that's not the right solution. " because there's never a right solution if it's a solution because then our economy would grow, free enterprise would work, and that would be wrong. so what they always want is a technology that doesn't exist but could exist someday if only you were patient long enough. and in the meantime, why don't you ride a bicycle to prove you're a patriot because they're not going to permit you to do anything else. [laughter] there are two things about

nuclear power. one, we should dramatically go through and streamline the regulatory process for the big plants, but two, there's a whole new generation of very small nuclear power plants, that are very, very safe, that should not come under the certain kind of regulatory design for a huge, giant multi-million dollar plant. and we could go to a much more effective nuclear power, very fast and have a very big job creation technology. [applause] we should also insist on flex- fuel cars and blender pumps, and hear i just want to say a word, because some of my friends i think are confused about this issue, frankly. the person who first got my attention on this is former director of the cia, jim wilson, who said, "this should be seen as a national security issue. " brazil went to a flex-fuel car model years ago, the very companies, by the way, that will come and testify here that they don't know how to do it, are building the cars in brazil. cause the brazilians said, "either you are going to build them, or you are not going to be here. " they said, "ok we will learn how to do it.

" that cost less than putting in a seatbelt. and the fact is, it allows the consumer to choose. it is not a question of dictating what you want to do, it's about giving you a range of choices about what you want to do. brazil today is totally energy independent, by a combination of offshore discoveries, flex- fueled cars, and the use of sugar-based ethanol. and they don't pay a penny to saudi arabia. they don't pay a penny to iran or iraq or venezuela. now, i just think we ought to be clear about this, let the consumers have the opportunity to choose what they want to do, and most of them are going to be economically rational, and it is a step toward us getting away from relying on foreign fuels. finally, i do think, cause i used to...i'm a futurist, i believe in the future like ronald reagan and i think you ain't seen nothing yet. i believe in investing in and developing new technologies, if the investments are made largely by the private sector, without the government picking winning and losers. [applause] and, i am happy to say to many of my friends, look hydrogen matters, bio-fuel matters, solar matters, wind matters, but the truth is, in the next

twenty years, what is going to matter the most is oil, gas, coal, and nuclear, cause they're simply and statistically going to remain the bulk of the supply. so we need to move forward on every front, not stop the biggest, most successful fronts, while we wait around someday for a better future that may or may not come fast enough for any of us to be either employed or safe. now in order to have an american energy policy, we need to replace the environmental protection agency with a new fundamentally different environmental solutions agency. [applause] for my friends in the media, i would like to emphasize replace. this is not about tear down, destroy, eliminate, walk away, let the environment be destroyed, sell out to corporate interest, and all that bologna. this is a different question. and terry maple and i wrote a book called "a contract with the earth" which outlining the model of a green conservative. the question is could you in fact develop a better solution

than a washington based, command in control, top down, bureaucratic, regulatory, litigation model? now i believe, and by the way about 75 percent of the american people believe that relying on science, technology, markets, and incentives, is a better future, with better solutions, than relying on bureaucrats, trial lawyers, litigation, and regulation. this is a very fundamental question about can we do it better? i want to replace, not reform epa, because the epa is made up of self selected bureaucrats, who are anti- american jobs, anti-american business, anti-state government, anti-local control, and i don't think you can reeducate them. i think you should allow them to go home, get a college job, write their memoirs "what i did before the revolution", and just go on with what we are doing. [laughter] [applause] epan't think the bureaucrats, who are dedicated to a washington centered, top down, bureaucratic control by

litigation and regulation, are going learn a new dance, a new approach, and a new model. what we need is, and by the way this is double true because obama wants to use epa to control carbon, so he can control all of the non-health economy to match his control of the health economy through obamacare. and it is the two of them together that is such a fundamental threat to freedom in this country, by centralizing power in washington, dc. now a new environmental solutions agency, i believe, would do a better job of both protecting the environment and the economy. the principles are straightforward, localism when possible. i believe local people who actually live there, may have a higher value for their environment than a washington bureaucrat who has never visited their town, and may never have even been in their state. i believe that state governments can be very reliable partners, in that there ought to be a cooperative attitude from washington, seeking to work with the states, not a dictatorial attitude, seeking to tell the states the limits of some bureaucrat here, based on

paperwork. [applause] i believe that incentives, innovators, and entrepreneurs will solve environmental problems, and improve the environment better than the bureaucrats, regulators and litigators. i believe the new environmental solutions agency should see communities, states, and industries as partners, not adversaries in solving problems when one approaches. the environmental solutions agency should look for new science, new technologies, and new approaches to get more energy, more jobs, and a better environment simultaneously. as an american, i reject the idea that you have to choose one or the other. we have never done that in our history. we have always believed that you can create a better future, and in my mind, a better future as a healthy environment and a healthy economy, and healthy local control, within a constitutional system of a limited federal government, and we americans should be able to do that.

[applause] i taught in the second earth day forty years ago. i was director of an interdisciplinary program at west georgia college on the environment. terry maple and i, as i said, wrote, "contract with the earth" to outline a green conservatism. i believe you can love nature and be a conservative. you can love the environment and also love american energy and american jobs. so i want to close by asking you to do this, call your congressman and your senators. ask them to introduce a genuine american energy plan to cut through all the red tape, and all the litigation, and get us to energy and jobs this year, for american national security, for the american economy, and for a better future. and urge them to introduce and pass american solutions, i'm sorry, environmental solutions agency this year. and then let's give the president a choice, does he really want to be president and know? does he really want to veto every good idea that comes up from capital hill? or does

he want to work with us, in a cooperative, bipartisan, common sense, centrist majority absolutely supported by the american people, doing the kind of conservative, sound things that the american people want even if the washington elites hate them. let's let him choose. i don't actually personally believe he'll make it here next year, but still, it's a goal. we are all having a good time, why shouldn't he get to come and have a good time too? thank you all very, very much. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [cheers and applause]

[applause] >> phyllis schlafly, david keene, george will, good friends, thank you for the enormous privilege of this podium. even a casual observer of american public life knows how many great ideas have been born here, how many important debates joined here, how many giants of our democracy appeared on this platform. when david broached the invitation, my first reaction was one i often have: "who

cancelled?" but first choice or fifteenth, the honor, and the responsibility to do the occasion justice, is the same. i am seized with the sentiment best expressed by hizzoner, the original mayor richard daley, who once proclaimed a similar honor the "pinochle of success." honor, the penuchle of success. [laughter] we are all grateful to our co- sponsors, the reagan foundation d reagan ranch. how fitting we convened under their offices as we close this first week of the centennial. i am so sorry to have msed 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 nstant respect for the presidency and whoever occupies it, but the term they president tends tconnote 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 meaningfu 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 -- tt 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 ratr than raising xes 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 pfound duty to use that dollar carefully as possible else we should hav 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 collting 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 worksor the benefit of private life. we see govere'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 lal 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 rit 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 o 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 appearefore. i would love to be shown that i do. any who thinks so please see m 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 st 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 ste. 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 congssional earmarks. i was also the first to get nowhere in reducing them. first to rail and first to fail. they should be stopped, but the cause of solvency they are a trifle. talking much more about them trivializes what needs to be done. it misads 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 missioof government, our national security can get a free pass. i served in two administrations that elevated peace through strength. it has served america wh 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 rsonally 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 wod 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 opportity 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 expansionf 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. [lauter] 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 rulbook. 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 i 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 dit 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 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 ito 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. govement we will ask our fellow citizens to trust to make huge changes. i urge a similar thohtfulness about the rhetoric we deployed in the great debate ahead. i suspect everyone here regrets and laments the side, crude coarsening of our pular 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 nastess 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

afrmative, 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-governmen 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 th 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]

>> the omb will hold the budget proposals. we will hear from director and chairman of the council of economic advisers. that is live monday at 12:15 p.m. eastern on c-span2. today in washington, a political conservative action conference continues to hold its meeting. this will be its last day. before we get the results of the straw poll, we're looking back at some of the speeches made this week, including from tim pawlenty, ron paul, and it mitt romney. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] [captioning performed by national captioning institute]

>> thank you. i appreciate it. thank you very much. i want to >> thanks a lot, i appreciate it. sean, i know this crowd. i want to ask you one big favor, bring the budget ax and swing it hard, baby. iet ax and swing it hard, baby. [applause] i want to give a special cell al to my minnesota college republicans. where are they? [applause] these guys drove over 20 hours in a bus. thank you for coming. [applause] are you fired up and ready to take this country back?

[applause] that is great. we really need you. do you know why? president obama has succeeded in doing the impossible. he has proven that somebody can deserve a nobel prize less than al gore. [laughter] now, i am not one who questions the president's per certificate or the existence of his birth certificate, but if you listen to his policies, do you not at least wonder what planet he is from? [laughter] [applause] i mean, really, on what planet do they create jobs by taxing the daylights out of the people who grow jobs? on what planet do they reduced

the deficit by spending even more? on what planet do they make healthcare better by putting the bureaucrats in charge? [applause] i do to get the cat to president obama in one area -- he has been really good at duping the mainstream media. [applause] in fact, you may have noticed by some of them have been reporting that he is behaving like ronald reagan. [catcalls] can you believe that? ronald reagan knew how to stare down our enemies. ronald reagan understood the price of freedom.

[applause] and ronald reagan also understood that putting our people back to work means the u.s. has to be open for business, not open to more taxation, more regulation, and more big government strangulation. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, barack obama is not behaving like ronald reagan. he is behaving like jimmy carter. [applause] the individual mandate in obama care is being paid -- is a page out of the jimmy carter playbook. the left simply does not understand. the individual mandate reflect completely backwards thinking.

they, the bureaucrats, do not tell us what to do -- we, the people, tell the government what to do. [applause] we are blessed to live in the freest and most prosperous nation in the history of the world. our freedom is the very air we breathe. make no mistake, the policies of the left anchorage -- encroach every day on the very freedom that has made this country great. we will never, ever stop fighting for our freedom. [applause] if we compromise on this bedrock issue, we are in danger of losing our age. for some, there is a real concern that we are losing our

edge. did you know there was a recent survey of americans were they asked the question which country will be the dominant country in just 20 years. guess what the answer was. that is right. china. begin the what i say to that? no way, no how. [applause] not the america we note and not the america we love. america's rightful place is not lagging behind china. america's place is leading the world. [applause] my friends, we need to restore american confidence. we need to restore american optimism. we need to restore america's "for the future. we need to restore the american

dream by restoring american common sense. [applause] as a washington bruce time and time again, not everyone is born or elected with common sense. we need a leaders to remember where they came from and what made this nation the greatest country the world has ever known. [applause] for me, that is a real world experience that started in my hometown. it was a place with good hearted people, strong families, and a rock-solid -- and the rock-solid values of the heartland. when i grew up there, it was all to some of the world's largest stockyards and meatpacking plants. many families in my hometown

rely on those big plants for their paychecks, for their family's well-being, and for their future. but those plants shut down and so did a big part of the spirit and the soul of my home town. my mother died when i was 16- years old. not long after that, my father lost his job for a while. the foundation of my hometown and my family were shaken really hard. at a very young age, i saw up close the face of loss, the face of hardship, the face of losing a job, and i saw in the mirror is something else -- the face of a very uncertain future. so i know americans are feeling that way today. i know that feeling. i have lived it. but in those moments, we learn

some things. we see some things. we remember what is important. one of the most important things that we should always remember is the motto of our country -- in god we trust. [applause] we should stand on that foundation as our founders intended. a few weeks into the constitutional convention in 1787, benjamin franklin addressed george washington and the other convention members, speaking to the bedrock importance of seeking dodd's guidance as they pursued the sacred task of creating our nation. he said this, "i have lived a long time. the longer i live, the more

convincing proof i see of this truth that god governs in the affairs of men." he went on to say, "if they spero cannot fall to the ground without his knowing it, is it probable that an empire can rise without his aid?" ladies and gentlemen, we as a nation need to turn towards god, not away from god. [applause] the solutions to our problems are not easy, but they are not out of reach. we need to remind each other what made this country great and restore america's greatness by restoring american common sense. we need more common sense and at

last obama nonsense. -- and less obama nonsense. [applause] let's start with this one. this one is kind of complex. there may be some democrats in the room, so i will say it real slow so everyone can understand [laughter] ] are you ready? we cannot stand more than we take in. [applause] you cannot do it as an individual. you cannot do it as a family. you cannot do it as a business and we cannot let our government do it anymore. [applause]

the big spenders in washington, d.c., have us on a course of a trillion dollar deficits as far as the eye can see. the federal government spends our money the way keith olbermann talks -- too much and without a point. [applause] 8 leaves the whole country confused. -- he leaves the whole country confused. it is not a matter of right versus left, it is a matter of sixth grade mathematics. it is not going to work, it is irresponsible, it is unsustainable, it is reckless, and just because we followed greece into democracy does not mean we need to follow them into bankruptcy. [applause]

of course, we have these big spenders on the other side of the aisle. they come with all of their excuses. "governor, how do you do that? it is really hard. the politics are difficult in the interest groups are tough." i know something about the big spenders and i know something about difficult. i come from the state of mccarthy, mondale, humphrey, wellstone, and now, united states senator al franken. [catcalls] but we cut government in minnesota and if we can do it there, we can do it anywhere.

the naysayers say, "we cannot cut spending. we cannot prioritize. we must raise taxes." i drew a line in the sand and said, "absolutely not." [applause] we are going to live within our means just like our family, just like businesses, just like everybody else. it was not easy. as shaun mentioned, i set a record for most vetos in my state again a year. i was second overall. i vetoed billions of dollars of tax and spending increases. we had the first government shut down in my state in the 150 year history of my state. [applause] we took one of the longest in transit strikes in the history of the country to get public

employee benefits under control. [applause] in the last budget. , we cut spending in real terms for the first -- in the last budget period, we cut spending in real terms for the first time in minnesota history. i hope you'll agree with these things. we'll see what you think. we should not raise the debt ceiling. [applause] we should pass a constitutional amendment to finally balance the budget. [applause] here is one i know you agree with. we should repeal obama care.

[applause] while we are at it, let's do one more thing. let's through the tax code overboard. [applause] let's start that last one by doing this -- i do not mean any offense to you personally on this one, shawn -- but let's require under penalty of perjury that every member of congress complete their own tax returns without the help of a tax preparer, accountant, or lawyer. [applause] let them experience fully first- hand the moronic, burdensome,

intimidating piece that our tax system has become. -- intimidating beast that our tax system has become. [applause] here is another common-sense principle from the heartland that president obama clearly needs to learn. it is best -- people spend money differently if this is their own money. -- if it is their own money. maybe in your busy life you have time to read papers, go to seminars, stay up all night and watch tv, read public policy journals -- i hope you do. it is valuable and important. but if you do not, here is all you really need to know about government reform. you can do it in one weekend. do this -- go to two weddings. but to one where there is an open bar.

-- go to one where there is an open bar, where the drinks are supposedly free. [laughter] on the next night, go to another wedding where they have a cash bar where people pay for their own drinks. you will see a very, very different behaviors. [laughter] [applause] i said this on wall street not long ago and somebody yelled out on the back of the room, "to the hat has a cash bar any more -- who has a cash bar anymore?" that question from a wall streeter tells you all you need to know. if you have a system where people can send stuff without

any scanned in the game at the mirage is created that the bill and manages to go on somewhere else, that is a system that is doomed to fail. [applause] unfortunately that describes most of our government. whether it is education, health care, housing, or anything else, we need to put people in charge. we need to give them the power to make their own decisions, not government. the best thing we can do to empower people is to make sure they have access to a good job. that means remembering this next common-sense principle -- the private sector, not the government, is the answer to job creation peri. we should not be looking to

washington, d.c., for how to create jobs. we should be asking the people who actually provide the jobs. when you do, they give you some pretty clear answers. they say this -- reduce my cost and get the government off my back. [applause] by the way, in minnesota our unemployment rate was significantly lower than the national average. since the crash, we have helped lead the economy toward recovery. america needs job growth, not government growth. [applause] this and next and last one you may have learned on the playground. you may have learned it in sports. you may have learned it at work.

you may have learned it in a back alley somewhere. but no matter where you learned it, it is always true. bullies respect strength. they do not respect weakness. [applause] when the united states of america projects as national security interests here and around the world, we need to do it with strength. [applause]

[crowd chanting u.s.a.] we need to make sure there is no daylight between us and our allies around the world. this current administration does not seem to understand this important principle. we undermine israel, the u.k., poland, czech republic, colombia, amongst other of our friends, meanwhile we appease and accommodate iran, russia, adversaries in the middle east including hamas and the muslim brotherhood -- mr. president, might makes right. [applause]

we need to get tough with our enemies, not our friends. one more thing -- mr. president, stop apologizing for our country. [applause]

the terrorists and tyrants of the world have a lot to apologize for, america does not. [applause] my friends, this is not going to be easy. prosperity -- at prosperity was easy, everyone around the world would be prosperous. it freedom was easy, everybody around the world would be freed. if security was easy, everybody around the world would be secure. they are not. it takes an extraordinary effort. it takes an extraordinary commitment. it takes extraordinary strength to stand up to those whose opposed -- who oppose these principles, but we can't do it -- we can do it. [applause] valley forge it was not easy. settling the west was not easy. winning world war ii surely was

not easy. going to the men was not easy. this is not about easy. we have had enough of the height and speeches filled with rhetoric that takes the country in the wrong direction. this is about rolling up our sleeves, standing tall, and getting the job done. [applause] this is the united states of america. we are the american people. we have seen difficulties before and we always overcome. we can and we will do it again. we will rise up as our forefathers did with the assurance of our time-tested conservative values, the wisdom of the american people, and the courage of our convictions.

thank you, god bless you, and god bless the united states of america. [applause] ♪1

♪ >> well, ladies and gentlemen, i am proud to come before you as

the leader of the largest growing conservative news organization in the country -- young americans for liberty. [applause] like the generation before us, another anti establishment republican candidate, barry goldwater, inspired a generation that led to the reagan revolution. today our next distinguished speaker has lost a revelation of his own. he has given a voice to a new generation, a generation ready to rise up against government takeover, bailouts, unconstitutional war. [applause] infringements on our similarities -- and frenchman's on are similar -- in first men on our civil liberties. rise to your feet and join me as i introduce a champion of the constitution, congressman ron

paul. [applause] >> thank you very much. it is great to see everybody. i am black tuesday the revolution is continuing. -- i am glad to see the revolution is continuing. we saw some results of this revolution in november. we at youtube thank you for it. i want to take a moment to say

we also have a new senator from kentucky. we like that, too. [applause] there is a lot of exciting things going on. there is truly a revolution going on in this country. we have been dealing with this and encouraging it because i believe we live in a time where we need a change in attitudes and ideas. we do not need to just change the political parties, we need to change our philosophy about what this country is all about. [applause] this past week we had a pretty good victory for the freedom movement. we had something to do with the patriot act. it has nothing to do with patriotism. they always blame it opposite of

what it is. the patriot act is literally the destruction of the fourth amendment. that is what it is all about. [applause] the one thing in washington they do not understand is what is happening in grassroots america. they assume that everybody loves be paid yet act. they will pass it automatically. we did not get a majority vote, but they did not pass it automatically, sending a message that the country is waking up and we want to protect our civil liberties as well as our economic liberties. [applause] this week i was scheduled to be on a financial program. i had been on a few of those lately talking about things like

the federal reserve and a few other things. i never got around to talking about this program about the federal reserve because, all of a sudden, there is a speech given by mubarak about his potential resignation. of course, he resigned today. that was the subject. a lot of people say, "what should our position be about fighting the next dictator of egypt?" we need to do a lot less a lot center, not only in egypt, but around the world. [applause] some people want to argue and say we have a moral responsibility to spread our goodness around the world. it is our obligation to do this.

but let me tell you, fiscal conservatives should look at this carefully. how much should we invest in that dictator over the past 30 years? $70 billion we invested in egypt. guess what? the government is crumbling and the people are upset not only with their government, but with us for propping up that dictator for all of those years. [applause] to add insult to injury, would you think the money went? a swiss bank account. new baruch's family has $60 billion -- mubarak's family has $60 billion of your money stashed away in other areas. it used to be the conservatives were against foreign aid. i am still against foreign aid for everybody. [applause]

i have a saying i used to describe foreign aid. foreign aid is taking money from the poor people of a rich country and giving it to the rich people of a poor country. [applause] and there cannot be a better example of that than what we did in egypt. we made people poor and contributed to our debt -- billions and billions of dollars and all we get is chaos and instability. there is nothing wrong with what the founders talked about. they talked about having -- getting along with people and staying out of the internal affairs of foreign nations when it is not of our business .redicte

[applause] we have been doing it for a long time. you have periods of relative stability. there was relative stability we were propping up the shot. we ended up with the ayatollah. all of the middle east is unstable because of this. it is going to keep going because all the problems are there because the people do not like us propping up their dictators no more than we would like it if a foreign country came in here and prop up a dictator in our country. [applause] but the real danger is that this will most likely spread. when a guest to saudi arabia and

there is a destruction there, we'll have a big problem. there will be a partial boycott events -- partial consequence of our policy. we just flat out do not have the money and we should not be doing it. [applause] just remember the soviet system did not collapse because we had to fight them. they collapsed for economic reasons. guess where their final plunge was on their empire? it makes no sense for us to think we can keep troops in 135 countries, 900 basis, and think we can do it forever. no matter how badly we want to do that, it is time to reassess

our politics. we have troops in japan and germany. why are we paying for their defense? [applause] you know, there has been a lot of talk about the budget deficit. that is something i was concerned about just a few years back, like 1976. [laughter] that is why i have not voted for any appropriations bills. it is bad. we have to do something about it. unfortunately, even in spite of the improvement in the economy right now, we do not have the votes. it is tragic. it is going to continue. we will continue to bail out and spend the money. nobody wants to cut. i am sure half the people in

this room will not cut one penny from the military. the military as not equated to defense. defense spending is one thing. military spending is what is here -- eisenhower called the military industrial complex peri. [applause] government, as you would all agree, is out of control. it is hard for us to get a handle on it. let's say a miracle happens and we balance the budget where we are today. it would still be a disaster because we are spending too much money. it would not change a whole lot. when a crisis comes, guess what happens? guess who does the bailing out? the federal reserve eased $4 billion with al congressional -- without congressional approval.

it is our job to check up and find out what the federal reserve has done, audit them, and find out who their buddies are they are taking care of. [applause] the federal reserve creates money out of thin air. they can loan to other governments and international financial institutions, and we are not allowed to know. they resent the fact that when i ask these questions they do not have to give the information. that is why a bill to audit the fed is the first step to ending the federal reserve. [applause] the federal reserve will distillate the dollar.

-- will destroy the dollar. they had eliminated 98% of the value of the 1913 dollar. believe me, there is an economic law that says you just cannot continue to do this. congress has the responsibility. they need to protect the value of the currency. that means we have the moral and legal authority to put checks on the federal reserve system. [applause] there has been a lot of talk about bipartisanship after the election. "we need bipartisanship." in some ways that might be true. i tell you what i think about it. i think and i believe that we have had way too much bipartisanship for about 60 years. [applause]

we have of bipartisanship on medical care. the current administration is a given medical care, but what has happened with the other administrations? it is the bipartisanship of the welfare system, the warfare system, the monetary system, the challenge to our civil liberties -- it all goes through both parties. this should be a challenge in the issue of philosophy -- good philosophy versus bad philosophy. [applause] agree oncan't something you should make coalitions with whoever agrees with you and come together, but i would like to see it is the big conservatives to like to

spend money and get the big government liberals and let them get together and say, "it is time. let's have a little bit of bipartisanship and cut both." [applause] there has been talk lately about american exceptional ism. we like to talk about that. we certainly will in an exceptional country. we have been blessed. we had the most freedom and those prosperity. my concern is i am afraid we are losing it. we have given up on our devotion to liberty. that is where our problem is. where i think we go astray on is thatceptional as soism there are people who are neo

conservatives who believe we have more responsibility to use force to go around the world and tell people to do it our way or else. force does not work. it never works. [applause] the best way to get people to act more like us if we are doing a good job is for us to have a sound economy, a sound dollar, treat people decently, have a foreign policy that makes common sense, treat people like we want to be treated and maybe they would want to emulate us as a free and does work and we ought to try it. but you cannot force it on other people. [applause] there is one general rule about what we should expect from government. the first amendment is a great amendment. freedom of expression is protected. the government shall write no laws in reference to our freedom

of expression. it does not say that we can only have the expression of the noncontroversial ideas. it is freedom of expression. [applause] most people are pretty good on the first amendment, but where they slip up is they say government should write no loss about the freedom of activity. the liberals want to talk about how to regulate your economic activity and how you spend your money. others want to legislate your personal life style. government should not be regulating us. we should adapt one other principal for that to work. we should swear off the use of violence against our neighbors. [applause] the purpose of all political activity from my viewpoint is to

promote liberty. liberty is the most important element. liberty comes from our creator, it does not come from our government. if we have a free society, we can go about our business and do our very best, work towards a virtuous things, and work towards excellence. when government takes over the role of making us virtuous and excellent and redistributing wealth, they only do it at the expense of liberty. that is why we are in such terrible shape today because we have allowed the government to be so much involved. government should never be able to do anything you cannot do. [applause] if you cannot steal from your

neighbor, you cannot have your government steel for you. there should be no redistribution of wealth. [applause] the exciting things that are happening today get me energized. coming to events like this and meeting with young people and going to campuses and finding out what the young americans for liberty have done. if the ideas and principles of liberty are alive and well in the next generation. there is every reason i did it -- in the world for us to be optimistic about what is coming. [applause] i would like to make one suggestion before i close for you to think about. it is not a perfect solution. what if i could if i had the authority to do it -- what if i said we are not doing such a good job.

we make promises and we do not know about the future. but would you consider opting out of the whole system under one condition -- you pay 10% of and you take care of yourself. do not ask the government for anything. [applause] tragically, you'll probably have the opportunity because government is in the process of filing and they cannot deliver on the goods. we will have the same problems and that russia had. we face serious economic problems. let me close with comments from sam adams. "do not worry about it if we are not in a majority, all we need is a minority came on spreading

the brush fires of liberty." that is what we need to do. believe me, the brush fires are burning. they will not be able to squelch the brush fire. they are burning and they are spreading and people are getting excited because they are starting to separate out what true liberty is all about, what personal liberty is, and what it means for the american tradition. the constitution confers and confers with what i am same. there is nothing in the constitution about having a federal reserve system, no authority for the welfare state, and no authority for the police state. it is not there. [applause] we should all assume personal responsibility for promoting the

ideas of liberty. one thing that samuel johnson always advise when we were in the dire consequences of the problems of the revolution, "we cannot present long faces to the people because it will make them realize how tough things are." we should not have a long faces. we do not know exactly what tomorrow will bring, but i do know that you can have a lot of fun extending liberty. if you understand liberty and understand it is the only humanitarian system that has existed since mankind -- if you study it and fight for it, i can guarantee you will sleep better tonight. you enjoy your life and feel like you are doing something worthwhile. defense of liberty. -- defend liberty.

[applause] >> hey there, how are you doing? wow. thank you. thank you. thank you. cpac. i've been in that woman's shadow ever sinceur first date in high school. and over the years together she's waged some pretty impressive battles. but among her many

accomplishments, there's none been more important and rewarding to us and frankly to the country than her accomplishment as a very successful mother of five sons and grandmother of 16. thank you, sweetheart. thank you. [applause] the other night, from opposite coasts of the country, ann and i wereatching the president's state of the union address. and she figured out pretty quickly what was going on. she sent me an email saying that what he was saying sounded just like he was reading my cpac speech from last year. [lghter] now, what we were hearing was not just a new and improved barack obama. it was an entirely different barack obama. sliwinski, he was out. jeffrey immelt, he was in. the president went fromhange you can believe in to can you believe this change? [laughter] [applause]

it sounded like he was going to dig up the first lady's organic garden and put in a bob's big boy. [laughter] but as the speech went on, it became more and more clear that this was the appearance of change. his answer for americans out of work was more government spending. and a $50 billion high speed rail project. he replaced his chicago politician chief of staff with a fresh face from chicago. named daley. make no mistake here, folks. what we're watching is not brache new world. -- brave new world. what we're watching is groundhog day. [applause] two years ago, this president faced an economic crisis. and increasingly uncertain world. an uncertain world has been

made more dangerous by the lack of clear direction from a weak president. [applause] the president who had touted his personal experience as giving him special insight into foreign affairs was caught unprepared when iranian set zens rose up against oppression -- citizens rose up against oppression. how did that nobel peace prize wo out by e way? iran is arming hezbollah and hamas and is rushing toward nuclear armament. north korea, fired missiles, tested nukes, sunk a ship and shelled a south korean island. and then there was his reset program with russia. that consisted of course of our abandoning, our missile defense in poland. and in signing a one-sided nuclear treaty. the cause of liberty cannot endure much more of his they

get, we give diplomacy. [applause] the world and our valiant troops watch in confusion as the president announced that he intended to win the war in afghanistan as long as he didn't go beyond august of 2012. and while the taliban may not have an air force or sophisticated drones, they do have calendars. [laughter] [applause] it is my sincere hope that at some point in the near future, this president will finally be able to construct a foreign policy. any foreign policy. that will be change. now, here at home, the president's response to the economic crisis was the most

expensive failed social experiment in modern history. he guaranteed that unemploymt would stay below 8%. as he watched millions and millions of americans lose their jobs, lose their homes, lose their hope. his response was this -- it could be worse. it could be worse? this is the free world leader's answer to the greatest job crisis since the great depression? what's next, let them eat cake? [applause] excuse me. let them eat organic cake? [applause] it's often said that the presiden of the united states is the toughest job in the world. fair enough. undoubtedly true. but how ditch is it to take office -- difficult is it to

take office in the middle of a raging economic crisis and understand that the economy should be your number one priority? the president who took office on january 20 of 2009 should have hadne central mission, put every american back to work. fight for every job. because every job is a paycheck. and paychecks fuel american dreams. without a paycheck, you can't take care of your family. you can't buy school bks for your kids. you can't keep a car on the road or help an aging parent make ends meet. president alabama -- president obama has stood watch over the greatest job loss in american historand that's one inconvenient truth that will haunt this president throughout history. [appuse] today, there are more men and women out of work in america than there are people working in cana. and in the month of january,

canada created more naoup jobs than we -- new jobs than we did. when ronald reagan ran for president, remember, he hung the misery index around jimmy carter's neck. today's miserys real unemployment, home foreclosures, bankruptcies, this is the obama misery index. and it is at a record high. and it is going to take a lot more of the new rhetoric to put americans back to work. it's going to take a new president. [applause] [cers and applause] let me make this very clear. if i were to decide to run for

president, it wouldn't take -- [applause] it sure wouldn't take me two years to wake up to the job crisis threening america and i wouldn't be asking timothy gehner how the economy works or larry summers how to start a business. i know. [applause] 15 million. 15 million americans are out of work. and millions and millions more can't find the good-paying jobs they long for and deserve. you've seen the heartbreaking photos and videos of the job fairs around the country. where thousands show up and stand in line all day and just to have a chance to compete for a few job openings that probably aren't as good as the job they held two years ago. these job fairs and unemployment lines are

president obama's hooverville. and they got to end. make no mistake about this. this is a moral tragedy. a moral tragedy of epic proportions. unemployment is not just a statistic. 15 million people out of work is not just a number. unemployment means kids can't go to college. it means that marriages break up under financial strain. the young people can't find work and start their lives. the men d women in their 50's in the prime of their lives fear they will never be able to find a job again. liberals should be ashamed that they and their policies have failed these good and decent americans. and so president is trying to show that he finally gets it.

that he really isn't a liberal after all. but his idea of conservative economic policy is to invite some corporate c.e.o.'s to the white house for an evening of table talk. i'm sorry, mr. president. but that's not a policy. it's a dinner party. [applause] we've seen the failure of lebral answers before. -- liberal answers before. liberal welfare policies. condemn generations to dependency and poverty. liberal education policies fail our children today. because they put psions and privilege ahead for the union bosses ahead of reading scores for our kids. [applause] liberal social policies. those have failed to otect the unborn. and now -- and the hollow promises of liberal economic policies have failed to provide

millions of americans with the dignity of work. now, under the pressure of a crisis, peop turn to what they really believe. with our economy in crisis, the president and his fellow liberals turn to europe for their answers. like the europeans, they grew government. they racked up bigger and bigger zists. they took over health care. they pushed cap and trade. they stalled the production of our oil and gas and coal. they fought to impose unions on all america's workers. and they created over 100 new agencies and commissions and hundreds of thousands of pages of new regulations. theirs is a european style solution. to an american problem. it does not work there, and it will never work here. [applause] the right answer, the right

answer, isn't to believe in european solutions. the right answer is to believe in america. to believe in free enterprise, capitalism, limited government, federalism, to believe in the constitution as it was written and intended by the founders. that's the right answer. [applause] my father never graduated from college. he apprenticed as a plaster carpenter. and he was darn good at it. he used to brag that he could put a handful of nails in his mouth and spit them out nail or pointed nail end first. and then on his honeymoon he and mom drove across the country and they sold aluminum paint to pay for gas and dad believed in that america, and he could work his way up to

running a little car company called american mots and governor of the state where he once sold aluminum paint. [applause] for my dad, america was the land of opportunity. where free enterprise and small business and entrepreneurs were encouraged and respected. the spirit of enterprise propelled america's economy and our standard of living past every other nation on earth. i refuse to believe that america is just another place on the map with a flag. i believe that america is an exceptional nation of freedom and opportunity and hope. we are an exceptional land. [cheers and applause]

the america that you and i believe in has a goodness and a greatness. that creates a unique american genius and that genius has blessed the world. led the world. even saved the world from the unimaginable darkness that could have occurred. we didn't originate the concept of liberty. but our founding fathers redefined it and shared it with the world. from the sands of omaha beach to the dark valleys of the hindu kush, we have fought with an unmatched courage and determination. not to conquer territory, but to give others the chance to experience the liberty that is hue -- humanity's destiny. given all that america has done to lift others from poverty, given the millions of afflicted we have helped to heal and comfort, and given the hundreds of thousands of america's sons and daughters lives that have been sacrificed and are today sacrificed to demand freedom, i

will not and i will never ologize for america. [applause] i don't apologize for america because i believe in america. we believe in freedom. and opportunity. we believe in fe enterprise and capitalism. we believe in the american drm. and we believe that the principles that made america the world's leader, yesterday, will make america the world's leader forever. we love this land. we believe in america. this is who we are.

these last two years haven't been the best of times. but while we've lost a couple of years, we have not lost our way. this is fundamentally what conservatism is all about. we sing for god to bless america. he already has. he does now. and thanks to the goodness of the american people, and the principles that guide us, he will do so for generations to come. believe in america. our freedom depends on it. thank you. great to be with you. thank you.

♪ >> today the conservative political action conference is holding its last annual meeting. the group conducted a poll for peasant candidates. we take you there live.

>> some of those questions are more important to us than the headline grabbing question. we move into a new era now. i am going to take a second to introduce someone from "the washington times." it has become and will be the sponsor of the cpac poll. it is now "the washington times "/cpac poll. we could not think of a better partner anywhere to do this bad "the washington times." [applause] >> thank you, david. it is a pleasure to be a.

congratulations to david -- it is a pleasure to be here. i do not know how many problems millie has to deal with at home. ralph is who you want to read in "washington times" online and in print. you are to be commended for your patriotic, intellectual, and your grassroots and engagement. god bless you for what you do. "the washington times" was founded in 1982. it was the height of the cold war. washington had only one newspaper, "the washington post." there was no internet available. -- fox news did

not exist. neither did sean hannity or rush limbaugh. since then, the american conservative union has shared a profound concern to move this nation in the right direction. that is why i am glad to announce the "washington times" /cpac poll. i want to break an exclusive and important piece of news to you right now. our reporter is going to take this down and put it on the third -- on the front page. on 21st, " washington times "-- on march 21, "the washington times" will introduce a new

sports section and entertainment section. we will introduce print properties and digital, radio, and television to all 50 states and in 120 countries. [applause] you can hear us every morning in the washington market on america's morning news on 730 am, wtnt. you can check talk radio for the affiliate near you where you can hear us. we want to build "washington times" presence in all 50 states with you as leaders in each congressional district. we recognize there is immense conservative and quality domestic talents throughout the country. we are currently engineering the means to give boys and showcase to this talent.

the huffington post/aol coalition need some competition, don't you think? [applause] we also recognize the power of coalition marketing. we look forward to forging partnerships with hundreds of like-minded organizations and like yours throughout the next two years. i am sure you are excited as i am to hear the results of people. bless all of you and bless america. >> i will turn this over to tony for the results of the straw poll. this was a poll taken by you voluntarily. there are about 11,000 people here this year from -- up from about 20,000 -- up from about

10,000 last year. it would have been cheaper for tony to do the work. it is a voluntary pool. not everyone fills it out. 30% of those in attendance fill it out. some people are more dedicated than others. some people are not focused on the presidential race. it is what it is. it is a straw poll. it is not a dalymple. it is a strong -- it is not a galloping -- gallup poll. we are interested because it tells us thing. it is important to us because it tells us what conservative activists are thinking about a lot of different things, including the people they look to as leaders. tom?

>> thank you for having us do this. i would like to say there are a bunch of cells that do this. but there are people like david in my shop who spent two days running around collecting the straw poll and being yelled at by every presidential campaign. soon, we are going to have to hire a truck and carry around armed guards. this year, they tell me that this might actually work. this year, i have to tell you that i have been doing this straw poll as long as there has been a straw poll at cpac. this year really shattered every single cpac record in history. [applause]

there were, on average, the four straw polls completed every single minute. the straw poll ballot places were open as cpac this year. that is phenomenal. 3742 people participating in this straw poll this year. that is more than twice the amount of people who participated in 2007, which we will show you. let's go to the next slide. the way the straw poll is conducted is that we conduct the straw poll from thursday morning until mid afternoon on friday. we take all of the paper ballots and they have to be input into the computer and tabulated. when all this paper showed up at my office over the last two days, can imagine the groans i heard from my employees who had

to stay to tabulate them. 3742 participated. in 2007, the year before the 2008 election, 1700 participated. a 56% increase from last year alone. more than 1300 people more participated this year than last year. applaud your cells that you are participating. when you see this, you say -- a plot yourselves -- applaud your cells that you are participating. who are the people who are participating? are they different people? [catcalls] [booing]

i am not getting in the middle of that one. we say -- we take several demographic measures in the survey. there was no major change. when you look at it by age, it was basically the same by age from last year to this year. when you look at it by gender, it was basically the same by gender. i am interested in the 16% of people who refused on the gender question. i am always interested in that. it is always different when we do it by telephone and we can guess with the gender is. we asked another series of questions. the headline is, who did everybody prefer for president. we ask other questions that gave us insight as to what the activists is important and what they are focused on. what i can tell you is, as this

next slide shows -- this resonates with what's most voters are concerned about. that is the size of government and the role it had in your life. [applause] that does not mean there are not other important issues. it means that you all are focused on that now. that is what is important to you now. as you see in the next slide, we ask what is the most important issue -- what is the second most important issue. the top four issue concerns have to do with the size of government and economic concerns. the top would be reducing the size of the federal government. [applause] reducing government spending, lowering taxes, creating jobs. [applause]

every one of the top 3 have the same impact. that is getting government out of people's lives and letting people grow. [applause] american samoa you can see, last year, the results were almost identical -- as you can see, last year, the result for almost identical. this is what voters voted on in 2010. that is why we picked of so many governorships and so many senate seats. this is what democrats do not understand. [applause] we asked the question, which of the thought we should be done to reduce the federal death. -- reduce the federal debt. the 1% who said raise taxes,

raise your hand. you are at the wrong conference. overwhelmingly, you want to see government's and taken out of your pockets. [applause] the republicans in congress, the ones you worked so hard to elect me to take that to heart. we asked a series of questions about whether or not you thought the republicans in congress would be able to accomplish several things. i would say i was shocked by the tepid response. you are not convinced they are going to do what you sent them there to do. they should heed that warning. only 50% of you said you thought they would rein in federal regulations. less than half said they thought

they would cut taxes. a plurality said they thought they would not be able to repeal obamacare. if i am and republican in congress, i pay attention to this. my base is not ready to buy in that you are going to be able to do it all. now for the moment you have all been waiting for. i know you have the results on your iphones and the rest of it. it is the result of the presidential straw poll. this year's was one of the lager less we have ever had. we had a number of -- one of the longer lists we have ever had. there were a number of right -- of right in candidates.

the winner of the straw poll this year is congressman -- [applause] [catcalls] [ron paul chants] congressman ron paul got 30%,

former massachusetts governor mitt romney gets 23%. as you can see, there are a number of candidates who got 6%, 5%, 3%. of them are prominent. there is 5% listed as other. there were a number of write-in candidates. donald trump was one of them. [booing] for those of you who are big u2 fans, -- youtube fans, dale peterson got a number of votes.

interestingly -- by the way, these numbers are almost exactly the same they were -- almost exactly the same as they were in last year's straw poll. finally, we ask you if you are satisfied with the republican field or aren't you satisfied. 56% of you said you were satisfied with the way the field is. 43% said you were not. this is slightly higher than it was last year. for republicans in congress, the word that needs to be taken away from here is that your base is watching. they are hopeful you will do the things that you will -- do the

things you say. but they are not sure you will do the things you said. who the winner of the next cpac straw poll will be. no, it will not be obama. thank you. [catcalls and applause] >> tony, thank you once again for all the help that you get us in putting together this straw poll every year. it is appropriate we are following up on that. one of the questions he asked in that poll and the answers he received from those who cast their ballots this year goes to

the nature of what this conference and what we are about, what the tea party is about. that is making certain that those we lacked follow-through on the promises that they made during their campaign -- making sure that those that we elect follow through on the promises they made during their campaigns and that they actually began the task of righting this ship that is the united states. it is clear that what the american people want done in public polls, what we want done in this straw poll, what the audience here has wanted done based on their reaction to speaker after speaker and panel after panel is to rein in this runaway government, stop the headlong rush for

bankruptcy and make it possible to pass on the country we inherited to those who come after us. the instructive question that was asked in the poll was the question of whether we think republicans in congress will do what they said they will do. i said before the election that i knew republicans were going to win when one of the pollsters was asked what they thought and firm that 2/3 of the people who -- posters were asked what they thought and they confirmed that 2/3 of the people who were bothd if they deplored b parties said they would vote for the republicans. that can be turned into future

taxes -- if that can be turned into features success, it will be dependent on their performance. the early indicators of their performance is pretty good. going over the results of your straw poll questionnaires, it should not be over the comforting to republicans to know that even in this group, which contains many people who are partisan, even in this group which contains hundreds and even thousands of people who man the telephone, walk the streets, and worked for the election of this new congress, even in this group, you doubt or have significant doubt as to whether the new majority will be able to deliver or will try to deliver on the promises that were made in the the election campaign of last year. those are disquieting, or

should be disquieting, results for congress. as i said at the onset of this conference, we at cpac are optimistic because of the sorts of people who were elected of the ball -- elected in the fall of 2010. we are optimistic because we know that throughout the country people are ready to hold the newly elected congres'' feet to the fire. we are optimistic because there are so many new people in congress today as opposed to a couple of years ago. one of the things that you know is that if you ask somebody who has been around too long what can be done and what cannot be done, you will get a long list of things that cannot be done because they have not been done to this point. if you get new people who know what the problems are and to listen to their constituents and have not failed, they will go

out and do what the veterans thought was impossible. we saw that in the house last week with be back in committee that said it wanted to deliver on their promises. the new man and women in the congress said that is not enough because that is not what we promised. they went back and in spite of their misgivings, they found that they could cut more. they went back and took that look because of the people who did not know they could not do it. we need those people. we need a core within that new group of people so dedicated, so convinced that the mission they have adopted, the instructions they have received from the voters are so important, they will not be deterred, they will

not be seduced by this city, they will not fall into the logrolling that has made so many members of congress who have come here to do good satisfy themselves by doing well. they will not fall into the error of thinking the single most important thing in the world is that they be reelected. instead, they will realize the single most important thing in the world for them is the reason they were elected and the ooath took when they were sworn in to the job with which they were entrusted by the voters of their states. [applause] that is why this year, we decided that this conference should be closed by a member of en.t new class of congressm as we look through it, there are

a lot of good men and women, some of whom you have heard here this weekend. some of form you will hear from a great deal in the future. -- some of whom you will hear from a great deal in the future. as we looked the list, we thought about congressman allen west of florida's 22nd district. [applause] many if not most of you know the story of allen west. a decorated hero in the military who, upon retirement, decided to teach school. he realized the country was on the wrong track and decided to get involved in politics. this will be his third time here. the first time he was here, we

invited him. i had not heard of him being a washingtonian who does not get out much. he came here and he knocked our socks off. then he decided he was going to run this time. they said, that is one we are probably not going to win. they had not heard allen west speak. they had not had an opportunity to look into this man's eyes and see the dedication to the mission for which he was volunteering that we all knew those who is votes he was seeking would see. it was a dedication that we thought they would respond to. today, we have chosen colonel, congressman, american hero, allen west of florida, to close this conference.

allen? >> thank you so much. if you keep standing up and singing, i may not make my flight. it is a great honor to be here. before i get started, there is a special young man who has come up on stage with me.

he is from virginia. he has served in iraq with the second infantry division during the surge. he now serves in the third infantry regiment. he now trains those men and women who guard the tomb of the unknowns soldier. -- of the unknown soldier. [applause] before i say a word, i want to best.uce one of america's >> thank you. we don't have enough time. may i just say something really quick. the reason i am here is because i have a bigger fear for my future than i had back in baghdad. the reason i am here is because i believe in the kernel.

thank all of you and god bless america. [applause] >> to chairman king and to each and everyone of you out there. what a year it has been. congratulations because your hard work and efforts have paid off. thanks to you standing on street corners waiting blacks and signs, we have a gop house majority -- waving flags and signs, we have a gop house majority. [applause] we have the largest conservative compensate have ever seen. we have 87 new freshmen, an

historic achievement. you also closed the gap in the u.s. senate. you made your voices heard and reminded washington d.c. that this is a representative democracy made up of the consent of the government. you endorsed the relentless and hostile attacks from the liberal left, such as being called racist. perhaps they should see who is standing here as your keynote speaker. thank you. [applause] you stood by your principles in the face of these horrific

politics of character assassination. you said you would not allow your country to be cast into a perpetual dump or remain silent while the sun set on the ideals of american exceptionalism. i, too, had to endure the politics of ugliness. the liberal agenda offered no solutions. countless name calling, saying you were the number of an all white motorcycle gang. been called the worst person in the world five times. -- being called the worst person in the world by times. and he got fired for it. [applause] having your best friend attacked. the dccc has already started running attack ads against me and i have only been sworn in

for 30 days. they said i was one of the most vulnerable congressman before i had been sworn in. politico put me out as one of the top most vulnerable representatives. standing here before each and everyone of you, i do not feel so vulnerable, do i? [applause] how is it that we in this past year stood against such a vile onslaught. i go to isaiah. no weapon formed against you shall prosper -- shall prosper. you are a servant of the lord. that is where they become so important. [applause]

even more important than your is an o an oloath, it ath i took for the first time in 1982. it is an oath that i took again on the fifth of january of 2011. it has no statute of limitations. it is an oath in which we pledge that we will lay down our lives for this great constitutional republic. i gave the oath to be a guardian for the conservative principles that made this nation great is the world has ever known. [applause] but, today, as we are gathered

here on this momentous occasion, i believe that we are standing on the verge of the dawn of a new america cure it if we adhere to the most fundamental conservative principles and goals constitutional ideals -- conservatism is the interaction between life, society, and government to promote the enhancement of the individual by a hearing to the basic constitutional republic principle of liberty. alexis day tocqueville said socialism 6 equality in restraint and servitude. abraham -- socialism seeks restraint and servitude. abraham lincoln was asked, what is socialism?

i would say this is president lincoln was standing here today, liberalism has been tried. it has repeatedly failed all over the world. why would we think it could be successful here in our united states of america? [applause] thank you. here today, let us be reminded of the pillars of conservatism which will lead us to the new dawn of a new america. the first one is simple. it is effective and eat fish and constitutional government. thomas jefferson said, my reading of history convinces me that most bad government result from too much government.

let me ask you a simple question. do you believe america can survive as a bureaucratic nanny state? >> no. >> you are absolutely correct. the framers of our constitution had one true intent. to put a restraining order on big government. fiscal conservatism is a derivative of constitutional government, which understands its proper mandate. that is why next week we are going to cut $100 billion of spending from the federal budget. [applause]

we cannot continue on with the record deficits we have seen in the past three years, $1.42 trillion, $1.48 trillion, $5 trillion in new debt in the past that years. we cannot continue with a public sector that is out taking the private sector. we cannot continue and america where we are making more and more people wedded to government by subsistence checks or unemployment checks. there are hard decisions to be made right now. we cannot continue on with the policies of behavior modification through excessive taxation and overburdensome regulations. that is why we will be cutting from the epa.

the waste will stimulus spending, the federal bailout, which leads to the nationalization of production and health care. if health care is so great, someone explain to me why over 200 democrat political groups are going to the president and asking for waivers. i say this to the president, the good things in the patient protection affordable care act, closing the donut hole, making sure we take care of people with pre-existing conditions, keeping people, our young kids on our insurance, i can probably fit that into 5-10 pages.

it is the other 2000 pages with one on the 59 new government ages -- a government agencies and iraq receives that the united states of america does not want. -- it is the other 2000 pages agencies thatew the people of the united states of america do not want. [applause] thank you. we are tired of failed policies like cash for clunkers. we are going to add a program that will be announced on monday when the government will hand out money for people to buy electric cars. mr. president, did you hear the american people?

2008, why did we have the financial meltdown? study the community reinvestment act. when government gets into the mortgage industry, when we create an agency like freddie mac and fannie mae, when we lower the standards for living, when we get rid of glass- steagall and securitized mortgages and sell them off throughout our industry and oversees -- if government gets out of the way of the private sector, it would not have happened in 2008. [applause] as i sat at the state of the union address and heard the president use these words, " investment and innovation," those words are not part of the public looks upon. they're part of the private sector. they're part of our free market and free enterprise. the private sector is where we

will have long-term sustainable economic growth, job growth, financial certainty, predictability, and viability. it will not be from president obama as version of investment. it comes from your version of investment. that is what we must set the conditions for. the dawn of the new america means we must listen to the words of abraham lincoln when he said that you cannot escape the responsibility of tomorrow by evading it today. [applause] now is the time to reform our individual tax code. now is the time to cut our corporate business tax rate from 35% down to 20%. [applause] now is the time to eliminate capital gains taxes and dividends taxes. now is the time to cap federal spending at 18% to 20%. [applause] now is the time to develop a

balanced budget amendment. now is the time -- [applause] thank you. now is the time to eliminate redundant, failed, and duplicitous government programs and agencies. make the hard decisions. we must implement fiscal responsibility based upon the constitutional role of the federal government. i say we start looking at every government program and agency that has been created in the last 10 years. let's start making some hard examinations. now is the time. [applause] the second important pillar in our conservative principles is peace through vigilance, through

resolve, and through strength. [applause] a new america means we must remember the words of sir edmund burke when he said that all that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing. [applause] in the art of war, it tells us to know your enemy, and know yourself, know the terrain of the environment, and in countless battles, you will be victorious. piece begins with courageous leaders willing to identify and define our enemy and their objectives. political correctness has no place in our national security strategy. [applause]

thank you. [applause] i find it appalling that someone mighken done down american solds and we treated like workplace violence. -- ken done down american soldiers and we treat it like workplace violence. the truth is not objective. the facts do not live. those who failed to learn from history are doomed to repeat it. a new america, a secure american means that we can ill afford to have a 21st century sir neville chamberlain moment. [applause] yesterday, we witnessed an historic moment in egypt. i applaud the flames of freedom finding its way into this arab

nation. however, let us be reminded of the lessons of the revolution in iran. let us also remember there was a certain group that came into afghanistan after the soviet union departed and the country fell into civil war. that same group promised to bring in civil society and stability. that group was recognized by the clinton and the station. the foreign minister was brought here and posted in the white house. that group was named the taliban. history as a way of teaching you a very bad lesson if you do not pay attention. many shared the departure of hosni mubarak, but i would have rather seen the departure of mahmoud ahmadinejad in the end of the theocratic raieign. [applause]

thank you. a week america has never proven good for the world. we must ensure that our men and women in combat have clear objectives, the tools for victory, and the rules of engagement that enabled them to seize and maintain the initiative from the enemy. [applause] yes, i do have a problem with granting american constitutional rights to terrorists while we attempt to and have him present our own war years for killing terrorists -- have imprisoned our own warriors for killing terrorists. [applause] thank you.

the dawn of a new america means this. secure our borders and enforce our laws. recognize the emerging threats on the career in principle, the threats coming out of south and central america. confront the radical islamist who transport the seventh century ideologies that is anathema to the values of america and western civilization. [applause] h.d.. -- thank you. a new dawn for american means never surrender in our nuclear capabilities because of a naive trust of those who subscribe to machiavelli.

it means recognizing that our strength is part of our national security and that china is still a communist country using capitalism as a weapon against us. [applause] never allowing anyone to believe that our greatest ally in the middle east, israel, shall not have this nation ready to stand with her. it means -- i say this to my friends in the state of israel -- i shall never let israel down. [applause] thank you.

there is the third pillar. in many ways, i believe this is the most important for the dawn of a new america. that is to never abandon our values. this may be a hot topic here at see pat -- at cpac, but without this, we're in complete as an american people. we must honor our language and realize it is the most important, most basic common and common bond that makes us an american. [applause] i believe that we should celebrate the diversity of the

melting pot called america but never allowed multiculturalism to grow on steroids and make american culture subservient. yes, there is a definitive american culture. [applause] thank you. we must respect and honor the unborn. [applause] i want you to tell me this. what kind of person would support legislation that states that an american child that survived a late term abortion procedure does not deserve to live? i will never support late term

abortions or the use of abortion as birth control because i do not believe that having a baby is punishment. [applause] thank you. we must hold sacred the privilege of the institution of america -- of marriage as a bond between a man and a woman to promote the promulgation of our society. we cannot allow the destruction of the american family. senator daniel patrick moynihan talked about this. he said the breakdown of the american family will haunt the america region united states of

america. if you break down the family, that leads to government dependency. that leads to the growth of government. it results in greater government spending. the strengths of america is in the strength of the bonds of the american family. when america expanded westward, it was men and women with children going across the mississippi river and spread in this great nation. do not ever forget the bond of this great nation. [applause] if we are to have a new dawn in america, it means proclaiming our judaeo-christian face heritage -- reclaiming our judeo-christian faith heritage.

our constitution was made only for moral and religious people. it is adequate to the government of any other. this is not about the separation of church and state. it is about making sure we do not separate base -- faith from the american individual. you must never forget that the american model is "in god we trust." [applause] -- the american motto is "in god we trust." we welcome the presence of others but our coexistence must be based on a simple premise. when tolerance becomes a one-way street, it leads to cultural suicide. american cultural values show never be subjugated to any other

as long as i have air in my lu ngs. [applause] in tribute to president state and black history month -- intra- need to presidents day and black history month, let me share -- in tribute to presidents day and black history month, let me share this. we must act as a nation that has national objects to promote and the national character to support. if we are not, let us know longer act a farce by pretending to it. george washington. america will never be destroyed from the outside if we lose our freedoms. it will be because we destroy ourselves. abraham lincoln. abraham lincoln.