the oc cupy des moines movement? >> we are tired of the corporate corruption on wall street and political corruption that is part of that problem in achieving a decent thing summit so that the banks that defrauded so many americans are held accountable, not just given a slap on the wrist. our list of grievances is long, and we are articulating it clearly. if people want to say they were

not being clear, i do not think they are paying attention. >> what will your group be doing between now and january 3? >> after the presidential preference groups that we broke into yesterday, the affinity groups, each will determine what kind of action it wants to engage the particular candidate with. you could see people go to their headquarters and maybe just showing up and dialing up the dialogue, getting clarity on where the candidates stand on the grievances of the occupy movements, or you may see people staging a sit-in, gathering outside the headquarters, maybe they will be pitching to get -- tents. making that corporate connection that there are the affinity groups going to other

institutions that are the corporate poster children of the occupy movements. >> several of the article this morning talked about the fact that your group may look for disruptions, and that the police will have to be called. is that part of your goal? >> we have a good rapport with the police department, and i hope that model can be replicated across the county. the mayor here has been aimed ally, to the extent he has been willing to find a park for the operation to operate out of. the police were at our operation last night. they know some of us are risking arrest. we know it makes sense for us to do so in the way that does not put them at physical harm. this movement -- nationally, i cannot speak for them -- but my sense is if it is strongly

committed to non-violence. the last thing that we did last night, we read in unison the pledge that we had made to maintain nonviolence in this movement. there may be a arrests. it will not be disruptive, in the sense that there will not be violent or activity that will cause police on necessary concern. we are certainly not going to disrupt the iowa caucuses on january 3. in fact, i will be prepared to say -- participating in them myself. we are just disappointed in the selection of candidates we have this year. >> when you serve in the state legislature, was that as a democrat or republican? >> a democrat. that said, i will be going to the republican caucus. >> i thought you had to be registered as a republican to participate? >> the democratic party has left me. it is not the party that i once

thought represented people's values. it is a huge disappointment. president obama, who i supported, is a huge disappointment. i feel like the system is open, you can register as a democrat or republican, and go to the party's caucus. >> can you register that day? >> yes. i feel like i can have a bigger impact on the republican caucus. i know there are people going to the democratic caucus voting uncommitted, and that is good. it shows the president that his base is unhappy about his policies on iraq, the patriot act, environmental concerns, keystone pipeline, along with other things that people are concerned about, but on the republican side, we have a bunch of candidates, some in the occupy movements will be going

uncommitted. i will be looking for the candidate and as the best job in a field that is very dissatisfying, try to articulate the particular concern that this movement is raising. >> let's get to the phone calls. first one is from new york city. >> if you are the face of the movement, maybe you should have a jacket and tie. >> do not try to be my mother. >> i am talking about pulling in more people that saw many people across the country are on your side, but for one silly reason or another, not feeling it.

i understand, people need a place to stay, but it seems that there is an image problem, and i am not the image consultant expert. that is the first thing i want to say. the image thing needs to be stepped up. ross perot, if you look closely at what he was talking about, a campaign finance reform, etc., i think he had it right. i am disappointed in obama for a couple of reasons as well. i think he should have led the bush tax cuts on all of us expire because we have serious bills to pay. i do not know why he is going back and forth and just targeting the wealthy, when i think it should have gone back to the mir 39.5%. >> what is your reaction? guest: certain things that the

movement as a whole could do differently, but for the record, i obeyed this morning, and i have a job. i am a talk-show host. most of the people with the occupy movement work and are respectable. i did not wear a suit and tie today because that is not my style. i wanted to be relaxed. i also think this is a cool shirt that focuses on our movement. a lot of the bad image stuff that you hear is coming from right wing talk-show hosts, and others who are defenders of the corporate agenda, who did not want us to succeed. they will continually harp on isolated incidences that have -- mr. presented the movement. they will continue to harp on the fact that we have no goals or objectives. we have to put that behind us. jim, if you really believe there is corruption in wall street and

washington that is unprecedented and needs to be addressed, but the small differences behind us. do not worry about what i'm wearing, do not worry about a few isolated incidences of the misbehavior. let's focus on the fact that we need to change the country desperately. host: c-span has a live camera at the occupy headquarters, a few blocks from the state capital. did people spend the night there last night? guest: at stewart square park, yes. where we have our encampment, it is about 10 blocks away from the headquarters. there are people there every night. there is one woman in her 40's, muslim, a health-care worker, she has spent every night there since we started. there are a handful of people that have done that, others that come in and out on a regular basis. that is an important symbol of

this movement. there may not be many people who can make the commitment to sleep out in the cold, but they are as important to this commitment as anyone else. they manage calls, manage the website. they are so involved in creating a movement out of this chaotic event that has energized this country. it is exciting to see it all coming together and hopefully moving to the next stages. host: that was inside the food tent at the occupy headquarters. next phone call comes from pocahontas, iowa. john, go ahead. turn down the television volume. we will have to put you on hold. a reminder, just listen to the program through your telephone. union, missouri. greg on the republican line.

caller: i was going to ask, what is your main goal in this occupy situation? it does not seem like they have a goal. they just make it up as they go along. is he being supported with money? supported with other funds? guest: have you seen that church mouse? if so, i am envious of his wealth. most people in this movement are struggling, living lives that are very middle-class or marginal. george soros, by the way, is not funding this campaign, and i suspect elsewhere. there are so many myths being put out by people who want to discredit this movement. you need to look at the facts

and pay attention to what is going on. i know there are some people that become the poster child for the opposition, the dirty guy, the homeless out, the person who does something violent. that is not the primary person involved with this movement. i can say it until i am blue in the face. we have goals, objectives. some of them are brought, some are specific. reinstating glass-steagall would be a huge benefit to the country. reinvesting the bank settlement appear that would be huge. i will keep saying it, and i may turn blue in the face. we have specific goals, objectives, we are not funded by some left-wing conspiracy group, and many of us are public to get by, as much as you, and many people in the country are. host: drawn from pocahontas,

iowa. go ahead. caller: but we love you up here, you know that. i find it funny and amusing, the last caller, a man that rides his bicycle to work every day, amusing. trust me, you are not wealthy. i did not even know about this occupy bemoaned movement going on. obama also failed us. -- des moines movement going on. he has taken a lot of money from wall street. he will be passing this unbelievable presidential power that will give him a right to lock up american citizens. i am going to ask you two

questions, if i could. the first question is, where can i sign up? the second question is, can i get one of those t-shirts if i show up? guest: one of our local occupiers put together these shirts. i am sure we can get you one. there are various ways to sign up. there is an occupy dsm website. also have my own web site, where i have information about their. there is also an occupied caucused webpage. plenty of ways. most of it is on-line because that is the best way to communicate. great to hear from you, we hope that you can stay involved and get more engaged. host: more live coverage.

next phone call for ed fallon, one of the organizers for occupy des moines. ritchie, go ahead, we can hear you. we are going to move on to el paso, texas. david is a democrat. good morning. caller: good morning. your guest, going to the republican caucus is kind of hypocritical. 99%ers should know that the republican party is only for the 1%, and a 1% of that 1%, and they are not going to change. it is like newt gingrich telling the gay person to vote for obama's because we are not going to do anything for you.

start another party or vote democrat, stop being hypocritical. guest: i do not think i am being hypocritical, or the thousands of other people going to the republican caucus who may be independent or democrat are hypocritical, just as i do not than the tens of thousands of individuals who went to the caucus for obama years ago or hypocritical. we have an open process. we value the opinion of the electorate. right now, i am very dissatisfied with obama. i look at the republican candidates -- and i do not know what will happen in the general election -- but i would like to see a healthy debate. fred carter would provide a good conversation about the importance of equality for gay

and lesbian americans. gary johnson would provide a good debate on the more intelligent immigration reform policy. ron paul would bring the troops home from afghanistan, close military installations around the world. he would also not a sign the detention act. i am not sure which one i'm going to support. jon huntsman, he has a more reasonable position on climate change. you look at those republican candidates. even though they are not somebody i would support in the general election, i would love to see one of them move forward in the election so that we can have a healthy debate. host: chichi55 tweets --

guest: that is something we have not discussed in detail. my guess is any movement for social change has to embrace every tool you have, non byerly, of course, whether it is protest, education. we have been having marches, rallies, and also going to vote, helping to elect candidates that actually represent the majority of americans. but some point, there needs to be a discussion about a third party. maybe more. we have an interesting event coming up on friday, here in des moines. groups are organizing to discuss that very question. jake -- jesse jackson will be here, as well as terry nichols from "the nation." that helps to be in the conversation of how we move

beyond a two-party system that has created a stranglehold on our system and has prevented us from moving forward substantively. host: how would you measure success or achieving your goals by next tuesday? guest: this is just in the first month of the movement. 650,000 new credit union accounts were opened. people moving their money from big, national banks to local credit unions. bank of america had instituted a $5 monthly charge that was dropped. that is a success. how do we measure success in this case? trying to get the candidates to do a better job at indicating their position on key issues. i do not know if we are going to succeed much in that realm, candidly, but that is a step. hopefully, more people can understand the confluence between corporate corruption and

political corruption, continue to make those connections in new hampshire, florida, nevada, other states where presidential candidates will soon be coming up for of vote. let them know constantly throughout this primary cycle, the issues of the people in this country, the issues that are really hurting people because they have been neglected for so long. we do not want to continually hear about abortion and gay marriage, all of these other issues that may be important to certain people, certain constituencies, but they are not the issues that are going to sink or swim america, like financial concerns, environmental concerns, the health care crisis, foreign policy. these things have to be addressed. the candidates need to address them. maybe what will come out of our work is encouragement to other

states to continue to make these issues part of the primary process. host: minneapolis, minn. it is our next call. richard is a republican. caller: two things. when you were at your caucus last night, did you have a dislike obama? if not, why not? could i also suggest that you occupy minneapolis? they put up a similar $5 fee for our water bill because they are not making enough money after their high taxes, high regulation, high fees. why not occupy a few cities that are driving us out of our home because of high taxes? host: mr. fallon? guest: i urge you to get

involved with the occupy minnesota movement. i do not know the details, but i know there are plenty of occasions where city and state governments, and the institute taxes that are unfair. here in des moines, we are battling tax increments for hotels. we do not think that is appropriate. there are plenty of local issues that people could focus on as well, not just national things. sometimes, that is the best way to build a movement. fein does financial transgressions, shall we call them, to mobilize around and perhaps have an impact on. host: and fallon is in the "washington journal" studio in des moines, iowa.

how far are you from the state capital, about 1 mile? guest: a little over 1 mile. host: williamson, georgia. stu, you are on. caller: i am a proud member of the georgia socialist party and i want to applaud you for your support of our platform. until we take down the corporate giants that have control over america and get back down to a proletariat, we will never achieve our goals, from each, according to his ability, to each according to his lead. please fly the red flag above your camp. we need people to know that the socialist party is a very viable option. host: mr. fallon?

guest: candidly, i am not a fan of the socialist party. i do not like how they organize. i agree with them on some of the issues, perhaps. i do not think america needs a socialist party. no offense to others who feel otherwise. i feel the free market works pretty well, if it is free regulate -- if it is regulated. unbridled crony capitalism is the problem, which is what we have. actually, we have something worse than that. we have a government that has become an ally of crony capitalism. people need to be able to take their dream and turn it into economic success, without the help of tax subsidies, but with a regulated remark that allows them to succeed and compete fairly. that is a much more sensible strategy than trying to embrace

the socialist workers party agenda. host: jim tweets in -- guest: meaning -- host: i think he is talking about the caucuses. guest: we have no plan to disrupt the caucuses. i have spent the last 20 years registering people to vote, benefiting from people who may have voted for me when i was in office. the system is really a mess. that does not mean it is not unworkable, but do not throw the baby out with the bath water. there are things that we can do to make sure boding happens responsibly -- boding happened responsibly.

a big part of the problem is people do not feel like they have a candidate for the voting for. -- voting happens responsibly. i would not to disregard the value of voting, but let's challenge the validity of candidates that do not truly represent the people, because they do not run a campaign that are connected with people. they are connected to their donors, lobbyists. that is what is driving the country in the wrong direction. host: that video we showed you was from last night, where the occupy movements on their organizational meeting. bloomington, indiana. george. a democrat. good morning. caller: how are you? host: please go ahead with your

comment. caller: this country of ours was founded as a rebellion against corporate power. they can be a holding company, retail outlet, a dozen different things, and they can pick and choose between what community they want to go to, because they can afford the higher rent. you are putting the community against corporate interest, they can pay the high rent. host: where are you going with this? caller: they can submerge -- some further free-market system because of their ubiquity. you cannot throw public and traded corporations in the realm of the free-market. that is why you have to regulate corporations different from sole proprietorships. host: any comment from that?

guest: i like to compare a regulated free-market to a football game. the green bay packers, a great team. but if you do not have rules or regulations in terms of how the game is played, people will be tearing people down with face masks, the violating rules and regulations, people will be hurt. it will be chaos. similarly, if you take any regulatory framework out of the economy, you have chaos. right now, we have something worse. we have conglomerations, this consolidation of power, because of the ability to use money to pay for pricey lobbyists to by politicians, to get our tax dollars in the pockets of corporations. they will say sometimes they need a subsidy or will have to go somewhere else, but by and large, if you look closely, it is because they know they can

get it, the reason they demand it. host: its bird. nicole. -- pittsburgh. caller: it seems the more politician go into wall street's, banks, the more loopholes and crap they keep spewing out. i do not understand, in one breath he won it, in another, you do not. we have zero jobs. i have not worked for seven months. i do not understand what the goal is. i like what you said about the free markets, not done with socialism. but what is your goal, what is your economic goal? host: ok, nicole. guest: i am for minimally regulated the market.

an example here in western iowa. there is a small farm where two women are raising goats for milk. they have been classified as industrial, required to jump through ridiculous hoops, paying $800 to upgrade their equipment. yet, these big, multistate corporations get away with all sorts of things, and much more minimally regulated requirements. you see it with small business owners, restaurants that have to pay a ridiculous rate to have a table on a sidewalk. those kinds of regulations are over the top. we need a framework that allows people to compete without having to be crushed by some corporate competitor that can crush you, not only because of its size, but because of its cozy relationship with political power. the problem is so big and deep,

it has taken so long to dig ourselves out of this whole. it will take awhile to dig ourselves out, a lot of initiatives. -- out of this hole. we could reinstate glass- steagall. a fair bank settlement. the attorney general's are working on a bank settlement. right now, it is a slap on the wrist. it need to be significant, to hold the banks accountable for what they did in the financial crisis. lots of policy change is needed. but it will take time, and we need to have patience, and we need to form the kind of coalition that can truly match big money. the only way we are going to beat big money is with organized people. host: a few minutes left with e fallon. stella tweets this --

-- ed fallon. guest: i cannot speak for what has happened elsewhere in the country. and we have done a good job picking up the ladder in the park where we are occupying. we have even helped to the playground equipment fixed when it was broken. the one time we had snow this winter, we shoveled it before the city crew could come out and do it. maybe we have saved the taxpayers some money. certainly, it is all right to have access to public places to make our voices heard. we have less and less opportunity for that. sometimes, cities will create these so-called free speech zones, or a mall. that has replaced public

squares, but that is really public property, so you cannot really do that. we have an obligation to behave responsibly. i am confident we have done that here in the des moines. you can ask that to the mayor and police. host: did you have to get a permit, put down a bond to get that space? guest: we had to submit a permit. we pay every week for the electricity we use at the park. host: how much is that? guest: $25 a week. the space we are using, we raised the money to rent that space. the activity we are generating is probably helping local business communities. i think that is another way of

dismissing the relevance of what we're doing, to say that we are costing the taxpayers money. actually, we are exercising our first amendment right in ways that are intended by the founders of the country, for purposes that i think are needed. host: tim is on the independent line. caller: good morning. happy new year. i would have preferred to give this to you in the form of a mic check. i am a ralph nader supporter, and i am also a wealth producer, the people that supposedly create jobs. everyone that i have supported has ended up a millionaire. i am serious. because i belong to a union, i earned a strong middle-class wage.

i would just like to say, i am sure you have never heard of rick, jimmy, diane maconzick. if it was not for people like them, uaw people, who built the cars and created the wealth, without them and millions like them, you would have never heard of henry ford. they were 99%ers that made henry ford and a 1%er and made his name. guest: when herman cain was still a candidate, i would get tired of his claim to be a self- made man. how many people had to work in low wages to help them become a millionaire? what about the cheap flour

that he used to make his crossed? what about the roads that were subsidized that he used his delivery trucks on? you do not get to be great and powerful and wealthy on your own. it takes a lot of other people. hopefully, you do so in a way that respects the integrity of other people, pays them well, give them a decent working conditions and benefits. remember, we are in this together. there is so much work to do. if the wealthiest sliver of the elite in the country continue to stomp on the working people of the country, continue to take advantage of our taxes through government subsidies that benefit them and hurt the rest of us, the country will be in big trouble. we will continue to struggle and see our status globally decline. i think this movement -- in my

30 years of fighting for social justice, this is the best thing i have seen come along. there will be differences, struggles, conflicts, personality clashes, but we have to stick together to make this movement viable. it is what i think will be poised to change america's direction for positive reasons. host: when does your radio show air, the fallon forum? guest: monday through thursday, 7:00 eastern time. you can hear it on www.fallonforum.com. we take callers from all over the country as well. host: jonathan martin writes in

"the politico" -- what are your thoughts about that? guest: that is more crap, i am sorry. i get tired of hearing them say that we are going to disrupt the caucuses. we could not do that if we wanted to. it is not physically possible, not politically productive, not desirable in terms of what we want to accomplish with this movement. we do not want to disrupt people's right to vote. i am going to go to the republican caucus, not to disrupt, but to vote for the candidate that is least offensive among a field of candidates are are out of touch with the grievances that are raised by the occupy movements host: ed fallon has been our

guest. thank you. >> this is homer's deli and bakery from clinton, iowa. we are waiting to hear from mitt romney, who is scheduled to speak to folks here about jobs and the economy. this is the second of three stops for mitt romney and his door -- tour of iowa. earlier today, covering newt gingrich in mason city. just a report from the scene. from "the washington post" -- mitt romney draws a big crowd outside of the bakery. 10 minutes before he arrives. "the politico" writes this morning, after advertising for more than one month, romney's

camp has increased its spending in the quad cities area, increasing mailers, positive about romney and negative on newt gingrich. the polls in iowa show that ron paul is still leading the pack, according to the public policy poll, with 24%. mitt romney, a close second, with 20%. newt gingrich with 13%. we are waiting for mitt romney here, in clinton, iowa. live on c-span.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> it looks as if it would be a few minutes before we hear from mitt romney. we want to let you know about our coverage later today. we have ron paul tonight at 8:00 eastern at his salute to veterans campaign. also at 8:00 tonight, a look back at previous caucuses on "american history tv" on c-span 3. then, 2004 democratic presidential debate. also, a republican debate from iowa from 2000, with george to be bush, john mccain, and steve forbes.

again, we are waiting live in the clinton, i was to hear from mitt romney. while we do that, we are going to bring you part of the event that happened last night in des moines. we will show that to you until mitt romney arrives. >> this is amazing. i have been with the movement since october 9. my personal experience is, i graduated in 2006 from the university of northern iowa,

two bachelor's degrees. i was laid off in march. i have not gotten a job yet. i have been working every -- looking every day. it is not right. $67,000. that could buy a small two- bedroom house in the city. education should be free to every man, woman, and child. i do not care if you want to get a master's degree, a ph.d., or half a dozen phd's. if you want to be a career student, you should be able to be one, period. the second reason i'm up here, we all know what the bill of rights are. franklin delano roosevelt tried, before his death, to establish the second bill of rights. there were eight core rights that he came that close to

getting passed. believe it or not, we went to war with several different countries, and all those countries all had those eight amendments added to their constitution, plus additional ones. in japan, you cannot form a company unless you form a union to go along with that company. it is in their constitution. [applause] the third reason i am up here. it has been said earlier tonight, and i wish i could take credit for the expression. the minute texas puts a company to death via the death penalty, then i will believe they are a person. until that happens, they are not a person. thank you very much. [applause]

>> my name is kent and i am with occupy des moines. i want to remind us, the politicians and media have told us, the terrorists hate us because of our freedoms. that is where a lot of our money goes to, the military. i would like to suggest there is a slight possibility that they hate us, number one, because we are occupying their nations, their land. number two, a lot of these people have had family members and people they know killed at the hands of our military. period. thank you. [applause] >> i am renee.

thank you, everybody, for being here. we have a federal was hurt bank that creates money out of thin air and is backed by debt and war. we have this war economy, and it is not going to go away unless we tackle this corporate stuff. we have unmanned drones everywhere. we have a 10-1 ratio on those attacks of civilians to combatants. we also have economic or felt elsewhere. the imf, world bank. anyone else who went to the mall who went to buy an article of clothing, chances are, we have all supported slavery. the bill of rights, those kinds of things, are not going to be

tolerated, because you cannot sustain this stuff any longer without degrading those. it is happening. our current president is first and foremost in all of this. he did not have to sign the pitcher act, ndaa, and he did. i'm going to encourage that we have to grab this bill of rights stuff back. there is a generosity in our brothers and sisters around the world. when you are living in a country where you cannot grow at a garden, because you have to grow green peppers for export, that is not right. [applause] >> dave gooner, des moines, iowa. there are more than 250 people in this room right now.

[applause] des moines is 10 times smaller than new york city. if this were new york city, there would be 2500 people. that is pretty good. that is more people that have been in a des moines event since we were at the state capital. this is a chance to grow our movement, to make it broader and deeper, and to take it to the next level, going into 2012. if we had a real democracy, every presidential candidates, including president obama, would be in this room. they would not be on stage talking. they would be in the back of the room with their mouth shut, listening to the will of the people. and when they left, they would actually go and implement our ideas into public policy the next day.

we do not have a functional democracy in this country, and i will tell you why. it is on the front page of the "des moines register." super pacs spend more than $10 million. i suspect they will spend more. we have one, too, and it is all of us in this room. but if we really want to go to where we need to be, all we have done is formed the super pac. the time to spend our money is tomorrow, on the streets, thursday, on the streets. we need to go to the campaign offices, wells fargo, the insurance companies, other corporations, and make our views known. it is not enough to get in a ro andom -- a room and air our

grievances. we have to go out there. [applause] >> my name is marty doyle from linden, iowa. i am a first time activist and i have five good reasons for what i am here. [applause] these are my five grandchildren that i love more than life itself. i want things to be better for them. i want them to have the chances that my generation had. i want them to be able to have a decent paying job that is safe. i want them to be able to go to college and not come out with so much debt that they cannot afford a home. at the very least, give them the

same interest rates that the banks got. [applause] i want them to have leaders again. i want them to be able to vote for people they believe in, and can believe. i want them to know that their voices are heard. some day, when i am sitting there, with my great great grandchildren, i want to probably say, i was here tonight, and that we worked hard and change happened. [applause] >> thank you. ed wallsy.

starting my fourth decade working on renewable energy here. a lot of the opportunity right now to produce 20% of our electricity from wind right now is woefully inadequate, if we are going to contribute to where we need to right now, to what is going on in the energy industry. the reason we are not exporting electricity right now out of iowa has to do with public policy and who controls that public policy. in my industry colon it is a handful of large corporations that control that policy. the only way that i can see, in my industry, that we are going to get anywhere near the benefit from renewable energy we need right now is to get the money out of politics. [applause] when i look at a lot of the

other issues that people have here, they come to this place with a wide variety of issues, but the common denominator that we could rally around is to get the money out of politics. all of a sudden, the good ideas in my industry are allowed to rise, at that point. i also think if we're going to be victorious in doing that, we are going to have to form coalitions across the aisle with people we do not normally have coalitions with. that will be hard for us to do because we are not used to doing that, but to form those coalitions, collaborations' across the aisle, is what we will need to do to counteract the influence of that money on both sides of the aisle. leadership on both sides takes a large amount of the money. in order to win this, we have got to have the other side, learn what language they are speaking, and we have to learn to speak their language.

we cannot scare them and they cannot scare us. and we have to respect them. i hope we can make a good presentation this week. i will be switching my party for the day, because but i would love to see a debate between ron paul and obama. [applause] >> hello, everybody, my name is heaven. i was criticized for being in this movement because i am not 18, but my girl scout troop is. my mother called up and told them to die in a ditch. the last time i checked -- to make sure that she knows this -- i do not need to be 18 to say

that this country is screwed up. when a 16-year-old from des moines knows that the country is screwed up, that is sad. when i have to give up my dreams to be a rocket scientist, working at mission control at nasa, that is sad. fund nasa. a few weeks ago, i was doing research for a debate tournament. i learn if we invested in the clean energy, wind turbines alone -- a $400 billion market. we could be the leading producer in the world for parts for turbines, but as congress care? no, they are all concerned about opec. we have to put our interests, as a country, and as the 99% before we submit to terrorists who hate the fact that we are occupying their country because our government cannot realize that

we need to get out of there. we need to stop submitting to the terrorists in congress who are holding our rights hostage, so that they can make a quick profit from opec. when a 16-year-old can say, 20 years from now i will be running for president, and i want all of your grandchildren to vote for is meat comingthis out and say that i will run for president in 20 years. [applause] >> is this iowa? no, it is heaven. >> my name is lynn wood. those of you who know me, know that i talked about this issue, social security. i have worked for 25 years.

they tell me social security is an entitlement. medicare, and entitlement. i put my hard-earned money into these two programs. i want it to be secure. they tried to put fear into me, saying it is not secure. this is my proposition. it can be secure. lift up the cap, have everyone pay in. i know there are people in this room that use it. my parents used it. i want it to be there for my children. thank you. [applause] >> my name is levi, i am 18 years old with muscular dystrophy.

i have been very upset with the government lately. when i was at home, i was not getting enough medical care and i have to move into a group home. i was not being treated well there. i was getting bruises, hurt every day. then i moved to another group home, and i am still getting hurt. my sister, when she was young, she was a premy. if we have the health care that we did not have now, she would not have made it. i just want everyone to make sure that they know, i want that back. [applause]

>> my name is ed bloomer. i am a veteran for peace. i am sure this will take off like the cio union, congress industrial organization, and like the civil rights movement in the 1950's, 1960's, the anti- war movement that brought our men and women home. stop the war. double the wages of our workers so we can have full employment. [applause] stop the war on the poor. stop the war on the poor. [applause] >> hi everybody.

my name is jonathan. i am from des moines, doing what i can hear. for me, what is important to keep in mind, democracy itself is never attainable. it is always property that we are seeking after. it is just a function of how involved and empower the people are, how sovereign this nation is to the people that live here. focusing on citizens united is increasingly important, getting money out of politicians is important. there are a infinite amount of reform that we need to continually pursue to enhance democracy. we want more choices on the ballot. we do not want this false choice. we need multi-member districts, so we can have a diverse community represented by true, diverse representation. there is no limit to these ideas, that we need to

continually advocate for, to promote our sovereignty of this nation. i do not know why we suddenly stopped increasing the number of representatives in the house after our population continues to grow. i do not know why a state like iowa only gets four representatives in the people's house. i think that four representatives and the people's house. one thing i think about a lot lately is the federal reserve, this high and mighty shielded vestige of the federal government that has so much power over the monetary policy but that really has no oversight. i am not sure about this, but there may be vacancies on the board of governors that our president is charged with failing, and that means the bankers, they are electing their members to the board of governors, and that means they have their choice. that is assuming they have not

already bought and paid for the people getting placed in there, representatives of our government. so, i think we really need to challenge that in every area where we can improve upon the ultimate ideal of true democracy. otherwise, every battle is just going to be up a giant, steep, muddy hill. we've got to get together and do it. [applause] >> hi. i am here because my dad has to pay for school -- >> we want to remind you this event will air in its entirety later on our schedule. we will take you live over to clinton, iowa, and pam romney speaking ahead of mitt romney. >> thank you all for being here. of the governor is across the street and he is headed over

here, but as we know, a few more of you showed up than planned. he is talking to them and he asked us to come over here and get the show started on this side of the street. i am a congressman from illinois. my home is peoria. i am here because, like you, i want a nominee who can win, who could do the job, and retire barack obama as president of the united states. [applause] i tell you, my siblings scratch their heads and say -- said, where are you going over the christmas holiday? florida, california? no, iowa. it is because i believe how important this election is and i know all of you want to do the right thing in nominating the right candidate for our party. we all know how critical this election is, not only for our party but for the future of the country, the direction of the country. could any of you in this room

have imagined what could have been done in our country in three years in terms of the optimism and proceed opportunity for current americans in the next generation? i certainly couldn't. i fear for what another four years of an obama presidency could mean to the future of our country. living in iowa, you know a little bit about chicago politics, right? when i say this to somebody in florida they say, what you mean chicago politics? i know many of you have kind of joke with some of us in illinois about our former governor, ron blagojevich. you joke and say how did that guy ever get reelected in illinois? do you know who his campaign manager was? david axelrod? do you know who has been running the statewide elections -- the obama for american team. and i would submit to you that the presidential cycle we are

about to go through, for many of you it will be the nastiest presidential campaign you have ever seen, because that is exactly how guys like rod blagojevich and his cronies got elected. running very incendiary and negative campaigns. why is it important? it is important that we nominate a candidate that can hold the banner and go toe to toe with barack obama and withstand the furnace of attacks and political rhetoric, who is trial tested, who is not prone to gaffes, for whom the election will not become about their personalities but rather the principles and values they stand for. mitt romney has been through a few elections. he is time tested and you know where he stands and he is not prone to gaffes, and he is the right guy to be the candidate. but second, winning is not the only thing that is important. i will hold up who is in the

oval office today, that just winning does not mean you can do the job. being in congress my third year, i can tell you there are no shortages of great ideas in washington. there are some people i serve with who give wonderful, floury speeches about what ought to be done and what the right policies -- policies it would be. but they are not too good at executing, delivering. likewise, we have candidates on the stage right now wanting to be the next president will have some really good ideas. but we need somebody who has the track record of delivering, of working in very difficult circumstances. when you look at a guy like mitt romney, he has an impressive record in the private sector, in the furnace of adversity, of trial and error and starting companies -- some successful, some not. that is a track record of success. you see what he did with the olympics and turning around a very dysfunctional organization

and making it successful, making it profitable. then you see what he did in a state like massachusetts which, like iowa, is kind of a swing state -- a few democrats in iowa, a few democrats in massachusetts. maybe there are more in massachusetts. 85% -- think about this -- 85% of mitt romney's legislature was democratic. 85% in the house and 85% in the senate, and as governor, he not only have the vision, but more importantly, he could accomplish the goal of cutting taxes 19 times, balancing the budget in that little state of four years and leaving them with a $2 billion rainy day slush fund of savings. as the governor of massachusetts. you give us that guy in washington, d.c., as our president and we could turn this country around. he's got the good ideas, but equally important, he's got a track record of getting things

done. finally, there's one candidate that has the white house worried. think about this -- what do they know that we all know? writ -- mitt romney is the guy that could win. why else would joe biden in the middle of our primary, when there are ups and downs, why would joe biden take mitt romney to go after in the newspaper with is op-ed piece? why would it only be mitt romney's bus that the democratic operatives are trailing all across the state? because you know what they know, which is mitt romney is the guy they fear most. so, let's give them something to worry about next tuesday. let's send them a message that iowa is about to do what every other state in this nation is, which is to send the white house a big message -- it is time for you to go, time for us to restore confidence, and time for us once again to believe in america. thank you all for being here

today. and it is my pleasure to introduce to you the next first lady of the united states of america, anne romney. >> thanks, aaron. you are going to get along version. when i go out on my own, i tell the longer story about our life and the personal side, which is a whole lot more fun, by the way, then talking about politics. this is fun for me. i would just keep on talking until mitt it's over here. i will tell you the personal story and the side of mitt some of you may not have heard about or seen, which is how he is like as a husband and father. we have been married for 42 years. we met in high school. we are high school -- were high- school sweethearts and we still are sweethearts. five wonderful sons and 16 grandchildren. i think some of you know the other, satyr tougher part of my

life, and some notes -- sadder, tougher part of my life. i was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis in 1998 and it was a devastating thing in my life. i went from being a very active, involved, and hands on mom to hardly been able to take care of my self. i could not get to the store, could not cook full -- could not cook food. was in bed most of the time. during this time, mitt was helping me out and recognizing that i had sort of given up on life in many ways and thought my life was over. i so appreciate how he stood by me in my darkest hour. and he rallied me to the point of saying, look, i don't care whether dinner did on the table every night. it does not matter to me. i am happy with peanut butter sandwiches. i remind him of this often now. but he meant this and he said,

look, i love you -- not that i love that you make dinner, i love you, and we are going to be ok. i really appreciated that. he gave me the courage to start fighting the disease and to struggle on. i did, and it was a struggle. i have to say one thing about having gone through this. i was in a pretty dark hole, a pretty bleak. and one thing it has done for me, it has tempered my heart, recognizes that all of us have struggles. mine happened to be physical. i see in this country right now, people are struggling. people are afraid. people are out of work. we all have our struggles. if so, -- so, we are all going to learn from these experiences. it looks like there is more commotion coming from across the street, so we will shut it off than when mitt comes in.

i appreciate the fact that he stood by me and my darkest hour. i will also talk about how great he was as a young father. boys were not easy. aaron, how many in your family? >> four. >> ok, just two boys. but five boys is not easy. they were rambunctious and they were naughty. it being a grandmother is the greatest thing in the world. when my grandchildren misbehave, it is the greatest day in my life. i just love it. i love to look of my boys and say -- you guys deserve it. you deserve it. mitt was great during those early years because he would remind me when i was exasperated that my job was more important than his job. and i loved that. and the whole thing was, he actually meant it. he was a big hot shot consultant in those days and he was well paid and everybody thought he was the smartest guy in the

room. but when he came in the door, he knew that i ruled. [laughter] [applause] and, you know, he gets reminded of that often. so, that is great. we so appreciate him. here he comes. i see the press is all crowding in. we will let the show keep going here. it looks like the press is proceeding. here he is. [applause] sweetheart, i am going to give you just a little background. we all told everybody -- everyone that you are the most marvelous in the world. aaron has introduced and given his spiel and i have given mind. it looks like the press is still flooding through the doors. [laughter] leave them out there. >> it is warm out there.

>> it is a bit brisk. i will just conclude by saying it has been a wonderful adventure to have been married to this man for 42 years. and i am excited about what he is going to do when he gets his hands on those reins and the white house, because we are all concerned about america and the direction it is going. we will turn it around for you guys. thanks. [applause] >> thank you, suite. -- sweetie. you are so kind to turn out for me. where is homer? [laughter] you don't look like homer to me. you are so kind to turn out like this, in clinton, and i really appreciate your generosity. the time that people in iowa take to get to know the candidates running for president, you have a big say in to who are nominee is. and you and people in new

hampshire likewise take the time to get the know the candidates and to know the issues. i just want you to know how much we all appreciate that, and i appreciate that personally. you get to know us, you make an informed decision, and that helps the entire country that does not have the same opportunity to see the different candidates. so, i appreciate you being here today and being so supportive. i will say a few things and allow you to ask a couple of questions, if we have time. we are kind of in a hurry because we have done this twice. the other side of the street there is another restaurant. which one is the better restaurants? i thought you might say that. i mentioned over there that i had been thinking about some patriotic songs. i love the patriotic songs. i love, of course, the star spangled banner. the fact that we are the only people on the world who put our hands over our hearts during the planning of the national anthem. do you know fdr began that

tradition? he did it in honor of the men and women whose lives are being shed in far off places, in honor of the blood being shed. i love the song, "0 beautiful, for spacious skies, for amber waves of grain." does corn qualify? the other part -- "heroes proved in liberating strife." this man here is retired u.s. air force. not so young anymore. how many veterans in this room? thank you for your service -- gentlemen, ladies. [applause] that i another verse sort of breeze over as i sang it as a boy -- "o beautiful, for patriot dream, that sees beyond the years."

the idea was the patriots' that found that this nation had a vision that was beyond just their decade or decades, but, frankly, would see beyond the years. that the principles they put in place would be principles that would sustain america and build a great nation. i do not think they could possibly imagine what kind of nation would actually be built by virtue of their wisdom and their dreams. they crafted a country based on a number of principles. one was written in the declaration of independence where they said that the creator and out of with rights -- not the king, not the government, but the creator. that we as individuals become a sovereign, not the government. the government is the servant. that is one thought they had. [applause] they went on to say, among

these rights were life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. and we cherish life, and respect the sanctity of life. we have fought and died as a nation over history of our liberty, and we shared it with others. the term pursuit of happiness, that was carefully chosen by the founders. and you wonder, what were they referring to? it is really this -- in america, we would be free to choose our happiness, choose our course in life, regardless of the circumstances of our birth, regardless of the decisions of government telling us what to do and how to do it. we would be free, free to choose our course in life. this would be a land of opportunity. and by virtue of that reality, people from all over the world who wanted freedom and opportunity, they came here. they knew that in america, they could achieve their dreams through education, if they could afford it, hard work, risk-

taking -- not always easy to pursue a dream without taking some risk. maybe a little luck. and by virtue of people coming here who saw opportunity, we created what i will call an opportunity nation. where the people who were successful in realizing their dreams helped employee the rest of us. and they lifted the entire country. we are now the wealthiest nation among the major nations in the world. did you realize the average income of an american, gdp per capita, is about 50% higher than the average income of the european? these are the european nations from which many of us sprung, and yet we are far better off. why is that? not because our dna is different. we've got the same dna. it is because these founders had such an extraordinary dream, such an extraordinary vision. now, i look at america today, and i relish that vision and i am frightened we have a president that does not

understand america, that does not understand what makes us unique. he says he wants to fundamentally transform america. he is doing it. i don't like what i am seeing. he has been in office for three years. we have 25 million americans still out of work or stopped looking or not able to find the employment they need. home values continuing to go down. we have median income in america that has dropped 10% in the last four years. it has not worked so well. he said in a speech in davenport about a year ago, he said this is our moment, this is our time. he has had his moment. now is our time. [applause] i think he wants to change america by it changing the nature of an opportunity society into, i will call it, an entitlement society where everyone is entitled to whatever they would like. of the government takes from some and gives to others. in a society like that, hard

work and education and risk- taking is not necessary. the government will do all of that for you. i believe an opportunity society. i did not want to fundamentally transformed america, but i want to restore the principles that made us the hope of the earth. i do not want to substitute nd for ambition. i did not want class warfare to poison the american spirit -- i do not want class warfare to poison the american spirit. i believe in the unity and passion that exists in the american people. in this campaign is not about replacing a person as president, but about the soul of america. it is about a very different course for america being taken by our present. he will transform america. i will restore america. i want to restore the page me dream. i want freedom. i want the opportunity. i want our kids to grow up in a place where the dreams can be realized. i want america to remain the hope of the earth and the hope of americans. i love this country. when i was a boy in my dad and

my mom drove us from national parks and national park. we were in the back of the rambler -- my dad made ramblers. i saw the beauty of the land and i heard from my mom and dad the stories about the founding of our country. i believe in america. i believe we got it right. i believe in the principle that the founders espouse. i don't want to change america into something we did not recognize. i want to restore to america of the economic vitality, the power and passion of the american people to ensure this country remains, as it has always been, the strong mission of the earth, the hope of the earth. thank you so much. great to be with you today. [applause] here is a question already. champions -- whose champions? st. louis cardinals. >> of the strait of hormuz --

>> at if ahmadinejad decides to block the streets of hormuz -- i will not tell you what military action will be taken in each circumstance because there are a lot of factors. but it is not acceptable in my view for iran to have a nuclear weapon. for those who say, well, the soviet union had a nuclear weapon. the difference was we have mutually assured destruction and the soviets were not suicidal. the mullah and the ayatollah's are suicidal and talk about wiping out people and the plan. no question in my mind that the risks fissile terry could find their hands -- their way into the hands of hamas. i would pursue, understanding the options to prevent iran from becoming nuclear.

diplomatic options, economic options, as well as military options. it is incumbent upon the president of the united states to recognize our interest and not to engage in military conflict unless absolutely essential and in the interest of the united states. i can say this as well -- which is, i know there are some who think we should shrink our military and think it is just too big. the world has not become safer in the last few years. it is a more dangerous world. and i want to maintain a strong military that is so superior that nobody else in the world wants to test us. [applause] and so, i am going to take our shipbuilding from nine a year of to 15 a year. i am going to restore the growth of our air force, to update the fleet of our aircraft. i want to add at least 100,000 active-duty personnel. and i want to make sure we treat our veterans in the way they deserve to be treated. thank you.

yes, sir. >> our republican party right now is really fractured in many different groups. i consider myself a moderate republican. as republican, i feel it is time to cut spending. as a moderate, i feel it is not a sin to have to pay taxes, but i do think it will be a sin if we have to ship the crisis of this debt to our grandkids and great crash and kids -- great grandkids. when you are president, what will you do to take care of this, that we pay our bills and not the future generations? >> i happen to think it is immoral for us to keep spending money we don't have and passing on to our kids our obligations. we just can't go on like this. in the past we said what i just

mentioned, which is it is wrong to just keep pushing these bills off and having these kids having to pick up these bills because we will just crush them with debt. interest rates are low right now. when they come back a little bit, the interest payments and principal payments will just kill the future generations. it is not fair, it is not right. but there is also something even more immediate, which is right now, businesses around the world are thinking about where to put a new building, a new factory, they look at america and say, gosh, are they going to get in trouble like greece and italy? that is a good question. because if will stay on the course we are on, that is where we are headed. we are headed on a course where people do not have confidence in america's currency. and there is no one big enough to bail us out. and we simply cannot go on. that old line, and if so -- that if something cannot go on

forever, it will not. we cannot keep borrowing -- spending more than we've taken. i will pull back federal spending. i will not just slow down the rate of growth, i will reduce federal spending. i will cut $500 billion a year. and i laid out how i will do it. it is not impossible. there are three major streams. one is to stop certain programs. stop them. close them. turn them off. even some you like. why do i say that? my test is, is the program so critical it is worth borrowing money from china to pay for it? so, some things you might like -- i like the national endowment of arts, pbs we subsidize it. i am going to say pbs is going to have to have advertisement. i am not going to kill big bird. but he will have to have advertisement. we will have an endowment for arts, but i have to be paid by

private charity and not by taxpayers. and the biggest and easiest one to kill, obamacare. we will get rid of that on day one. and then i will take some programs that grow out of control -- federal programs that grow fast where the waste and abuse is excessive. a program like medicaid, which is health care for the poor, and send it back to the states and say to iowa, here is your money, which will grow at inflation but 1%, and you manage it for the way you think best for your own people. doing that saves $100 billion a year. and then what is left of government, i will cut employment by 10% through attrition and then i will link the pay of government workers to the pay of private-sector workers. i don't think people who work for the government should make a lot more than the people who are paying for them. [applause] to get america working again, to get good jobs again, to be able

to afford a military that is the strongest in the world, you have to have the strongest economy in the world. and we are not going to have a strong economy if we keep on borrowing ourselves into oblivion and crushing the next generation. high on my priority list is to balance the budget, cut spending, cap spending, to see a balanced budget amendment. we've got to get that done or bankamerica prosecutor is not one we will be proud of. i will take one more question. then i took a long look at perry -- >> i took a long look at perry -- [inaudible] you raise the benefits for the national guard -- raised the benefits for the national guard and also gave more for ice

training. >> i wish he had been given a microphone. i will repeat it. i want to make sure they hear it. >> doubled the national guard benefits in the massachusetts, and that is a big deal. when perry is allowing in state benefits for illegals, this man is raising the benefits for the national guard. as a former recruiter, that is a big deal. thank you, governor. >> we wanted more national guardsmen. people said, how are you going to get more people to join? we said, we will make them a better offer. if you come and join the national guard, when you come out -- actually when you are still in, you can go to any massachusetts public institution of higher learning, tuition and fee-free. and that brought more people into our national guard. i also did and how our state

police to enforce our immigration laws and ensure it they encountered people who were here illegally, they got sent back. we followed the kind of conservative principles that you would expect the governor to follow that is republican. i know you might think, wow, you are a republican governor in massachusetts? how could that be? there are people in both parties who love our country. even though we disagree on some issues, we could find common ground. the legislators agreed we should not raise taxes, they agreed we should have secure borders. i had a bill that came to my desk that said we would give in- state tuition breaks to illegal aliens in my state. i vetoed that bill. 85% of my legislature was democrat but i got a lot of people to uphold the veto. there was a movement to get driver's licenses to those here illegally. i said, no way. we are not going to do that. let me underscore, as we talk

about those things, by the way. i like illegal immigration a lot. i like people getting in line and winning to come to america. i like those particularly who speak english, who have degrees, still vein -- we need. i want to stop illegal immigration in part to protect legal immigration. and i want to say thank you to our soldiers and others to protect our nation. [applause] this is an extraordinary welcome in clinton. i will not forget it. i thought if i was coming to a place called clinton, i would have difficulties. at least you are not called obama. but we received such a warm welcome and i am so pleased to be with you. i am so optimistic about the future. this country is an innovative, dynamic nation. we have a spirit of opportunity and enterprise and merit. we will overcome our challenges, as long as we have a leader who will tell the truth and will live with integrity, who knows how to lead, who has actually

lead in the private sector, understands how the economy works, and is willing to draw on the patriotism of the american people. we love america. americans, when we are asked to sacrifice, we will do it. i ask for your help. we will get america back on track. thank you. [applause] my goodness, thank you so much. you got my name on there? do you have another one? you are very kind to be here. good to see you. thank you for being here. very kind. how are you? good to see you, marc.

wonderful. look at that. the only place i consign it is on your sweater. -- can sign it is on your sweater. thanks for being here. thanks. i need it. if i get elected, those things will be --

good to see you. take care. thanks for being here today. thank you. how are you? good to meet you. this is iowa state. are you a wrestler? >> i wrestled in high school. >> nice to meet you. do you want me to sign that for you? thank you. how are you doing? is that your dad? is he a good guy? appreciate you being here today. you bet. it is this your wife over here? come over here to have your picture taken. thank you. good to see you guys.

could not resist it. thanks so much. you are kind to be here today. really appreciate it. thanks. good to see you. you've got one of these, too. what is your name? morgan? you are 12? great. seventh grader. good to see you, morgan. thanks for your question. >> could you take a picture of my former congressman and my present congressman? >> when you said your former, did not know what was going on here. good to see you. that is great. there is a proud mom.

they are back for the holidays. all three boys -- >> all three boys are with me this year. >> thank you. sure, you bet. hi, how are you? nice to see you. there's a hawkeye sweatshirt. thank you. nice to see you. hi, there. got to be careful. how are you doing? thank you. you got a camera?

there you go. is that your dad over there? look at this. did that work? what a miracle. i appreciate you being here today. very kind. i appreciate that. how are you doing? >> i am really concerned -- i could not bring it here today because my battery is down and i have to replace them. it is 100% american made car, and i would like to replace the battery roof -- with an american made battery. 25,000 american made, 10,000 chinese. >> what a huge disparity. >> and a friend of mine who

wrote the words to "god bless america" -- "got less of the usa,"excuse me. >> lee greenwood. >> are we going to have to buy our -- from china? >> we are getting higher and higher productivity. >> part of the mix. >> you got it. perfect. thank you so much. you are very kind. exactly right.

there he is right there, there's the guy. thank you for your service. >> can i take a picture? >> you bet. absolutely. appreciate your service. very kind. great, thank you. nice to see you. yep. thank you so much. you are very kind. you bet. i will do it. thank you. how are you, sir?

>> spur of the moment. [laughter] [inaudible] i have been doing it for 20 or 30 years. [laughter] >> hi there, how are you? good to see you. appreciate your help today. how are you doing? 18? you are going to get to vote this year.

you are very kind. going into college, the military? >> military. >> the navy? appreciate your service. san diego? >> mississippi digging -- >> say hi to your fellow sailors. [laughter] >> i am a legal immigrants. >> thank you for being here.

there we go. thank you. good to meet you. you bet. hi there, sweetie. good to see you. >> thank you. >> thanks, guys. good to see you. thank you. >> can i get a photo? >> sure, you bet. there we go. >> beautiful. >> nice to see you. yeah. darn good question.

thank you. nice to see you. thanks for being here. how are you, sir? good to see you. appreciate you being here. you bet. who's got the camera? >> perfect. >> good to meet you. wonderful seeing you back there. thanks so much. [laughter] take care. >> mr. president? >> i hope i get that title. what is that? potato soup? >> last night we made a mistake and didn't -- >> we will get there.

very kind. there you go. there's the camera. thank you. good to see you. take care. one more time here. thank you. good to see you. thank you. good, thank you. you are homer? >> part of it. >> how are you guys doing? good to see you. how are you doing? good to see you guys. good to meet you. we are running off. you bet.

>> mitt romney in clanton, iowa , getting a couple of congressional endorsements but the illinois representative opening the advent and also the endorsement of former north carolina senator elizabeth dole. and we are asking you on our facebook page a poll about what you are hearing from candidates, specifically whether policies and issues are being adequately discussed. if you can check out our facebook page and cast your vote at facebook.com/cspan. later this evening we will take you to des moines, for an event with ron paul, a salute to veterans. 8:00 p.m. eastern. on american history tv tonight, a look back at previous iowa caucuses. at 8:00 p.m. eastern, barack obama, hillary clinton, and mike huckabee. then, in 2004, the democratic

presidential debate. and in 2000, the republican debate in iowa with george w. bush, john mccain, and steve forbes. all of that coming up tonight. "the des moines register" this hour is writing about occupy iowa demonstrators, demonstrating outside of mitt romney's campaign headquarters. they want to draw attention to campaign donations that wells fargo has made to the mitt romney campaign, and some said they will risk arrest. last night, though, members of occupy des moines gathered outside the state capital and called the meeting a people's caucus and discussed their activities ahead of next tuesday's caucuses in iowa. more than 200 activists attended the meeting in the

techout building in downtown des moines. -- teachout building in downtown des moines. chanting] >> this is what democracy looks like. tell me what democracy looks like. >> this is what democracy looks like. >> tell me what democracy looks like. >> this is what democracy looks like. [cheering]

>> hello? >> hello. >> friends, neighbors, members of the press, visiting occupy delegates, honored guests, welcome. my name is aaron briggs from occupy des moines. i would like to begin tonight with words from a great american leader of the past. he wrote -- "i see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. corporations have been and throned, andnhron

working on the prejudices of the people until the wealth is aggregated into a few hands and the republic is destroyed." these words of president abraham lincoln in 1864 resonate loud and clear tonight in des moines, iowa in 2011. we have gathered here tonight because the political system in the united states no longer represents the values of the american public. [applause] just as president lincoln predicted, the money power of the country now reside in hands of a tiny portion of the population, the 1%. >> that is not right.

>> that is not right. we are here tonight to overthrow money power with people power. [applause] we are here tonight as citizens and patriots to preserve our democracy from of the corrupting influence of wall street and big corporations. [applause] we are here tonight to raise our voices in defense of the american dream. we are here tonight to restore the american political system and american society, to make it human-centered, not profit- centered. [applause] we are here tonight to follow through on the vision of our founders and the visions of the great american social movements

of the past, the movement that ended slavery, it gave women the right to vote, and did racial segregation in our communities -- ended racial segregation in our communities, established safe working conditions and good wages for hard-working americans. we are here tonight because our political leaders are no longer able to lead us. now is the time for us to lead. [applause] it is time for the people of the united states, the 99%, to rise up and restore america to be created a truly as a nation of opportunity, equality, and justice. [applause]

honored guests, members of the 99%, we are here tonight because of you. join us, we cried, and you have answered. and for that, we thank you and we did you welcome to the first in the nation people's caucus. [applause] >> hi, i am lisa. i am from occupy i was city -- iowa city.

i am excited to have you all here. this is our space where we get to have our voices heard. every four years, politicians come to iowa and travel around the state campaigning. this culminates in the democratic and republican caucuses on january 3. for years, we have been told that the iowa caucuses are the essence of american democracy, that this is where we get to speak our mind and show our support for our favorite candidate. but how can this be a democratic process when the candidates we are supposed to choose from have already been preselected for us? [applause] they have been selected by previously held money and power, the corporate-owned media, and by their corporate donors. where is the people's voice in

this? nowhere. we are program from elementary school onward to believe we are the greatest country on earth, that we have more freedom here than anywhere else in the world, that we have a government of, by, and for the people. i am here to tell you, we have been lied to. we do not have a peep -- government of, by, and for the people. and we know it has gotten worse. corporations are now considered people, money is now speech. [booing] >> that is not right. >> because money is speech, my voice is getting fainter and fainter all the time. all of our voices grow fainter as the unemployment rate keeps climbing. our voices grow fainter as we piled up student loan debt. our voices grow fainter at help

-- as health care costs continue to rise. i am sick of it. i am sick of watching and worrying that there is nothing we can do to stop this downhill slide. i am here to have my voice heard. i am here to hear your voice is. i am here to see what we can do together. [applause] been so, i can't wait to get out into the streets with you this week and raise some hell. this year, the media spotlight will be on the 99%. of the nation will be watching regular people using our voices and our bodies to remind those bought and paid for candidates that it is us that they are supposed to be representing. it is going to be a fantastic week. i can't wait. [applause]

>> hello, my name is paul. i am from los angeles. i am from occupy l.a. [applause] i also grew up in des moines, iowa, and i have participated in the past and the iowa caucuses, which i find an amazing tradition of democracy in the united states and iowa. and i am actually very disappointed that wall street has given so much money to the candidates that are in our caucuses and wall street's monee has corrected this prowl the democratic tradition. >> that is not right. >> and, in many instances for what the american history and tradition, when this happens,

we use nonviolent tactics to enliven and strengthen our democracy. we have done that -- our founding fathers did that when they started this country with actions like the boston tea party, and martin luther king used those tactics in the civil rights movement when black people were disenfranchised and could not vote, when the democratic system did not represent them. we are here to use nonviolence and the tactics of nonviolence to enliven and strengthen our democracy. [applause] we are not here to disrupt the caucuses. we are here to make the caucuses a true representation of the american democratic tradition. [applause] and we are doing that through nonviolent means. and we have a non-violent

pledge. we have come to consensus about that. our movement as a whole is nonviolent. occupy wall street is nonviolent, occupy l.a. is nonviolent. every occupation i have been too has a clause of nonviolence, and here we are non-violent, we are peaceful. we believe in nonviolent tactics, those tactics are about getting a new voice in it the democratic process. -- in the democratic process. they are not about disrupting it. the real disruption is how much money is put into the democratic system from wall street. that is the real disruption. people speaking non violently out to candidates and asking them hard questions is not a bad or destructive thing. asking questions is actually what we need.

>> that is right. >> thank you. [applause] >> good evening, everybody. my name is danielle brian and i am a student and a member of occupy des moines. i was raised with the understanding that engagement in the electoral process was the most basic principle of maintaining my place in the great american democracy. i first experience was at the age of 14 when my parents took me to their precinct to gain firsthand knowledge of the most grass roots democratic process, the iowa caucuses. community members came together not only to select what delegates -- excuse me -- who there'd delegates would be presenting at the national convention, but more importantly, to establish the

party platform, a device dedicated to voicing united concerns and ideals of caucus goers. the reality learned in my adulthood is one of corrupt politicians, but the lives of corporations, and the adamant denial of the voice of the 99%. the two-party system forces upon us candidates who are so entrenched in a crony capitalism that they often ignore the very platform on which they run. those candidates to deviate from the corporate agenda are shunned by their party and the american public is left to believe that they have no other recourse than voting for the lesser of 8 evils. caucus,ng the people's tonight we refuse to acknowledge any process that ignores our voice and instead we take the first step towards regaining empowerment for the people and

be engaging in the democratic process. ours is truly of the people, by the people, and for the people. [applause] >> my name is dutch. i have become increasingly french -- disenfranchised with our political process. i would write letters to the editor but i felt like a voice in the wilderness. my son is involved with occupy wall street in new york city. [applause] he is the one that first

brought this movement to my attention. my tent was the first tent pitched at the state capitol grounds. [applause] it was the last tent taken down at the state capital. it was my name that was on the note when we got it at the capitol. i don't want to miss one single minute of this movement that has changing the world. i am so excited and thankful to participate in this. [applause] i'm here because my voice has been silenced by the corporations that bought our politicians, but the politicians that sellout to the corporations. i want my voice to be heard, dammit. [applause]

i want your voice to be heard. our voices together cannot be ignored. sooner or later, the politicians have to live to us. there must be something wrong, those people in iowa are camping out over the winter. take you for being here. [applause] >> it is exciting to see this hall filled for the people's caucus. [applause] my name is ed fallon, i am a recovering politician. i have been going to caucuses

since 1988 and this is the biggest crowd i have seen yet. [applause] we wanted it to be clear to the political and corporate establishment that we are tired of going last and we are tired of seeing the people's issues pushed aside. while the caucuses are important and i will be going and i hope the people go, it is time for us to be first. we will jump ahead of the official caucuses just like florida always tries to do to iowa. we will make sure that our grievances and concerns are heard and that is what we are doing tonight. we will actually go through the process did you expect to engage at an actual caucus. the caucus chair passes the hat

for donations. i have a feeling that this might be more appreciative hear that in an average caucus. we will pass on to sam's hat. someone can get that going. this is entirely grass-roots volunteer. they're always expenses that incurred. feel free to do that. while the hat is going around, i will kick off -- there are two key elements to a caucus, one is the resolution of the platform. we will invite people to come up throughout their rant here and on the stage and in two

people -- two minutes, we will have a fishes timetable. it want to give everyone a chance to be heard but we don't want this to take on lead. if you have grievances, issues, relevant to the concerns of the occupied wall street movement, now is your chance to let your voice be heard. the way it would happen in a caucus would be a discussion, a vote, but we are not running a party platform so you can just come on up. come on up. do not wait for -- just start filing out here. we have 45 minutes for this, if you have something burning in your chest, don't wait too long to get in line.

>> hello, everyone. i spent the last two and a half months camping downtown and i found a lot of other people who are homeless and they lost their homes not through defaults or mistakes of their own but through the tough economic times that we have faced where companies can increase budgets, can increase bonuses, but can't seem to hire any workers. if our money goes to bellow out the banks come in they should not be able to take our homes. -- if our money goes to bail out

the banks, they should not able to take our homes. [applause] >> hello. my name is jeff. i am from fremont, calif.. i am privileged to be in false in the occupied oakland movement that shut down the poor -- to be involved in the occupy oakland movement that shut down the port. there was a movement in this country in this 60's and 70's. there was no taxation without representation. we of than a 9%, we don't have representation. -- we of the 99%, we don't have representation and we can afford the taxation. -and we cannot afford the

taxation. >> good evening. as a citizen of this fine country, i would like to see money and campaign to be separated. either a limit on campaign spending or the government provides money and cash for the campaigners to spend. the money that is spent and given to candidate is absolutely ridiculous. [applause] >> you will have to forgive my voice. i am here as part of st. louis occupy. [applause]

they roll this up on veterans day and they did a great job. i have a statement which is a convergence of all of the statements that i received. we stand in solidarity with the 99% occupy wall street and all of those here and abroad. we stand in solidarity with all the people who are oppressed, disenfranchised, poverty- stricken, or affected by destruction. we are looking to change the system through nonviolent means. we are leaderless, inclusive, not religious, and consensus based. no one can represent more than their autonomous voice. we do not if you each have their own ideological constructs but

only through the eyes of love, understanding, and ethical behavior and character. we believed that rights and freedoms are responsibilities that must be taken up by all in order to battle corruption. we believe every grievance against the system is worthy of a collective response and so we commit to offer practical and credit support and protests against that corruption and greed. we reject the idea that corporations are people and money is speech. [applause] we call for the qualification of the system, citizens united verses the fcc. [applause] we reject the culture of

corporate welfare in the form of tax breaks. tax subsidies while the elderly, veterans, and needy population are consistently under cared for. we reject the idea that small fines paid by corporations and financial institutions are sufficient recommends and we called for penalties for the heinous and reckless actions they have committed. we demand that they be thoroughly investigated, tried, and held responsible to the public for their deeds. we support the idea that all persons be allowed to use only public funds to finance their campaigns.

we want state and local financing to follow the same rules and regulations. we support organizing and enlisting the ability and energy of that community to reach a common goal in self-sufficiency, clean and green energy infrastructures, all aspects of community, at self-government. we demand housing and fair housing loans and restitution to the hard part is a fraud and other misconduct is proved.

we demand free and equal quality education for all people and college to be available without obscene debt upon graduation. [applause] we demand total overhaul of our tax system. we want the closure of loopholes that allows the rich to pay more than their fair share. thank you. >> hello, i am frank from the des moines catholic worker. we sponsored an occupation of

president obama's office. as most of you know, we were locked out. we were not listened to. that is not right and we have been three days in front of that office. i bring to you demand that the veterans for peace made for the president. maybe someone will be listening. this is important. there are two sides of this point. one side are the occupied wall street demands about money in our lives and putting people last over money. that is one side of the coin. we have to turn the coin around and look at the u.s. military empire. these veterans tried to tell the veterans -- tried to tell the president, we know that the u.s.

military budget almost equals every other's countries budget for military combined. that is not right. we know that there are over 600 military bases in over a hundred countries in the world that say usa. that ain't right. we know that if we are going to a supplier to what we want to see happen on wall street, we will need a president who will talk about dismantling the u.s. military empire. we have demands for any man that occupy -- for any person that occupies the white house, cut the military budget in half

and start using as your basic foreign policy premise the dismantling of the u.s. military empire and the rejoining of the u.s. government with other nations to make this world a better place to meet our needs and to save our planet. thank you very much. >> on the caucus day, i am looking to be a republican for the day. i go win, i have a captive audience. they have to listen to me and vote my proposition is up or down. they have to hear my opinions on all of their candidate. can i hope that all of you who can qualify would go into the same thing. go work on the inside.

one other caveat is, the republicans are fond of their guns. if you see one, caldecott. -- call a cop. the guns are held in a school of some sort, guns are not permitted in the school, guns are not permitted in this caucasus. carry permit or not. if you have a question, call a cop. >> i am with the the morning chapter of democratic socialists of america. -- i am with the des moines chapter of the democratic socialists of america. the crisis was greeted by tax cuts for wealthy corporations. our school teachers, public workers, firefighters, police officers did not cause the

budget crisis. corporations and the wealthy who enjoy paying lower taxes are trying to divide ordinary people and make us blame public employees. the wealthy want taxpayers to blame unions rather than corporations which in their assertion that once public- sector unions are destroyed, a private unions will fail. all across the country this spring, the public will be hit with budget cuts at the state and local level. be it therefore resolved that the occupy wall street groups in iowa and their allies learned that we cannot cut our way out of recession. rather than dragging down the standard of public employees, occupy wall street groups in a iowa and their allies demanded that public employers raise standards for all of us. be it therefore resolved that

occupy wall street groups in iowa and their allies reach out and work to challenge the expected budget cuts coming this spring. thank you. [applause] >> good evening. i am cathy from seattle. i would like to think occupy des moines before doing this. i ran across the discussion group on the web and i started y desing about occupi moines. and this is what the first

things and need to take place, this is about campaign contribution. america needs to look at the strict regulations of countries such as france that have political campaign finance reforms. if -- in france, all forms a paid commercial advertisements are prohibited during three months preceding the election. instead, political advertisements are aired free of charge on an equal basis for all candidates on a national television channel and radio station during the official campaign. campaign donations and expenditures are capped. [applause] candidates must appoint an independent financial representative to handle all

financial matters relating to the election. campaigns accounts are audited by special commissions. candidate to campaign accounts may be reimbursed by the state if they meet certain conditions the limit on campaign contributions will be one of the big firsts steps. thank you very much. [applause]

>> [speaking spanish] >> my name is tony and i am with occupy des moines. i stand against corporate greed. thatgainst corporate greed finances predatory loans against heartwarming families. -- against hard-working families. i am against greedy politicians in bed with our politicians. i am against these corporate

bankers and our politicians going out and collaborating with each other like a cheap free -- cheap friday night date and asking us to pay for the dinner. i stand against politicians who say the same things like corporations are people, my friend. i am against courts to say that the amount of money that you or corporation is able to raise is equal to the free speech that you or i have. that is what i'm against. i care about my fellow people. i think that hard work should pay off for us, the 99%. their interest and tikrit and money should no longer dictate our democracy.

-- their interest and their greed and money should no longer dictate our democracy. [applause] >> do you remember the phrase as you were a child, honesty is the best policy. apparently, at this can get you tried as a war criminal. this happen to brad demanding. he revealed what had been happening to civilians all of the world. -- this happened to bradley manning. people can get away with atrocities and they will not get tried as criminals. rather they are seen as people. i think that these people should be arrested and tried in a court and these people should go to jail.

[applause] >> i would like to thank everyone for showing up. this is an awesome turnout. i graduated in 2006 from the university of iowa. i was laid off in march of this year and i have not found a job yet. i have been looking every single day. it is not right. $57,000, that could buy a small house in this city. education should be free to every man, woman, and child.

free. i don't care if you want to get a master's degree, ph.d., or half a dozen ph these. if you want to be a career student, you should become a career student, you should be one. franklin roosevelt, we all know what the bill of rights is. he tried before his death too established a second bill of rights. there was 8 core rights and he came that close to getting past. believe it or not, we went to war with several different countries and all of the countries that we went to war with all have those 8 amendments added to their constitution plus additional ones. in japan come on you cannot create a company unless you create a union to go along with that company.

it is in their constitution. [applause] the third reason why i am up here and i wish i could take credit for this expression but the minute that texas puts a company to death, then i will believe they are a person. until that day happens, they are not a person. >> i am with occupy des moines. some of the politicians have told us that the terrorists hate us because of our freedoms and that is why the military is

where a lot of our money goes to. i would like to suggest that maybe there is a slight possibility that they hate us because we are occupying their nations, their land. [applause] a lot of these people have had family members and people that they know that have been killed at the hands of our military. thank you. >> thank you for being here. but the federal reserve bank come on leave have a federal reserve bank that is backed by debt and war. we have this war economy and it will not go away unless we tackle some of this corporate

staff. this plays out a couple of ways, one is that with his bomb everyone. we have a 10 to one ratio of civilian too so-called combat and death. interesting that the first quotation -- that ain't right. the bill of rights and those kinds of things are not going to be tolerated because you cannot sustain this stuff for very long without degrading them. it is happening. our current president is first and foremost in all of this. he could have not signed some of the patriot act stopped. -- stuff. we have to grab this bill of

rights stuff back. when you are living in a country where you cannot grow eight garden because you have to grow a green pepper for export, that ain't right. >> how are you guys doing? there are more than 250 people in this room right now. des moines is 10 times smaller than new york city. if this were in new york city, there would be 25 pondered people. that is pretty good -- 2500 people. this is our chance to regrow our movement. to make it bigger and to take it

to the next level moving into 2012. if we had a real democracy, every single presidential candidate, including president obama, would be in this room right now. they would not be on stage talking. they would be in the back of the room with their mouths shut listening to the will of the people. [applause] when they left, and they would go and implement our ideas and the public policy the next day. we do not have a functioning democracy in this country. it is on the front page of the "des moines register" today. i bet they will spend a couple of million more dollars on attack ads in the next couple of days. we have a super pac, too.

if we really want to go to where we need to be, all we have done is formats. we have not spent any money yet. the time to spend our money is tomorrow on the streets. and thursday on the street. and friday on the street. we need to go into all of that campaign offices, wells fargo and the corporations, and make our views known. it is not enough to get together in a room and form a group like this. we have to take action. god bless you, thank you. [applause] >> my name it is marty doyle. i am a first time activist and i have five very good reasons why i am here.

[applause] these are my five grandchildren. i love the more than life itself. i want things to be better for them. i wanted to have the chances that my generation had. i want them to be able to have a decent paying job. i want them to be able to go to college and not come out with so much debt that they cannot afford a home. at the very least, i'd give them the same interest rates at the bank's stock. -- banks got. i want them to have leaders again. i want them to be able to vote for people they believe tin. to know that their

voices are heard. someday, when i am sitting there with my great-great grandchildren, i want to proudly say, i was here tonight. we worked hard and change happened. [applause] >> thank you. i am starting my fourth decade here in iowa. it has to do with public policy. a lot of the opportunities right now to produce 20% of our electricity from wind is woefully inadequate if we will contribute the way it we need to

contribute. the reason we are not over 100% has to do with public policy and to controls the public policy? in my industry, it is the largest corporations that control the public policy. the only thing i can see in my industry that we're going to get anywhere near the benefits out of renewable energy is to keep the money out of politics. when i look at the other issues, we come to this place from a wide variety of issues. the common denominator is to get the money out of politics. all of a sudden, the good ideas are allowed to rise at that point. i also think that if we're going to be victorious in doing that,

we will have to form coalitions across the aisle. that is going to be hard for us to do. to form those coalitions, those collaboration's across the aisle, that is what we will need to do to counteract. the leadership on both sides of the aisle takes a large amount of this money. in order to when this, we have to let the other side. we have to learn the language they are speaking and we have to speak their language. they have to respect us. you know? i hope we make a good presentation this next week. i would love to see a debate between ron paul and obama. [applause]

>> hi, everybody. a few weeks ago, i was criticized because i am not 18. my mother called up my leader. last time i checked i do not have to be 18. to stand up here and say that this country is screwed up. when a 16-year-old knows this country is screwed up, that is sad. this is 16-year-old has to give up her dreams to be a rocket scientist, that is sad. a few weeks ago, i was doing

research for a debate. i learned that if we invested in clean energy, wind turbines alone is a $400 billion market. did the people in congress care? they are all concerned about opec. last time i checked, we had to put our interest as a country and as the 99% before we submit to terrorists who hate the fact that we are occupying their country. we should not submit to the terrorists in congress who are holding our rights hostage. [applause] when a 16-year-old is up. saying -- i will be running for president and i want all of your grandchildren to vote for me.

listen to the 16-year-old for once. [applause] >> hi, everyone. occupy desthe moines movement. i have worked for 25 years and they tell me social security is an entitlement. medicare, at an entitlement. i put my hard-earned money into these programs. i wanted to be secure. they tried to put fear into me saying that it is not secure a trade -- secure.

have ever when pate en. -- everyone pay in. i wanted to be there for my children. thank you. [applause] >> my name is levi. i am an 18-year-old with muscular dystrophy. i have been very upset with the government lately. when i was at tom, i was not getting enough medical care and i had to move into a groupon. i was not being -- a group home. i was not being treated well there. i moved into a another group, and i am still getting hurt. >> that ain't right.

>> my sister almost died when she was young. if we had the health care than that we -- if she would about the health care we have now, she would not have made it. >> i am a catholic worker and a veteran for peace. i am sure this is going to take off like the union in the 1930's. the civil-rights movement of the

1950's and 1960's. and the anti-war movement of the 1960's and 1970's. stop the war. double wages so we can have full employment. stop the war on the poor. [applause] >> hi, everybody. i am from des moines. what is really important to keep in mind is that democracy itself is never attainable. it is always a property that we will always be seeking after. it is a function of how involved the people are. house sovereign this nation is to the people that live here.

-- how sovereign this nation is to the people that live here. citizens united is increasingly important. there is a definite amount of reforms that we need to continue to pursue. we want more choices on our ballot. i think we need to have multi member districts so that we can have a diverse community represented by a diverse representation. you know, there is no limit to these ideas. we need to advocate for them to promote car sovereignty of this nation. i do not know why it we have suddenly stopped increasing the number of representatives in the house after the population continues to grow. i do not know why a state like iowa gets four representatives. it is ridiculous.

the federal reserve is a high and mighty, but shielded kind divested that has so much power over our monetary policy, but has no oversight. i am not sure about this, but there may be vacancies on the board of governors that our president is charged with killing. that means that the bankers -- charged with filling. that is assuming they have not already bought and paid for the people placed in there. i think we really need to challenge every area where we can improve upon the ultimate idea of true democracy for this nation. otherwise, every battle is going to be up a giant kelp. hill. [applause]

>> i am not here because -- i am here because my dad has to pay for school. he still has to support the things that he loves. that is not right because they are stealing their money and our rights. [applause] >> my name is chlooe. i am eight-year-old. my cousin has leukemia and i do not know if her family has enough to pay for her to get better. i hope she gets better soon.

i love for and i want to help per. i want to make her better. >> my name is frankie. i was here the first time occupy des moines stayed out at the capitol. i want to say how much my heart is warmed by how much this has ground and by people having the courage to get out of their comfort zone and speak their mind. i also want to say that the government was created to protect the people. yet our people are out there diene. if they do come home, they have some mental issues.

our government is treating us like we are disposable, like it is the case if we die. because we are not oil or money. [applause] we deserve respect, not only because we are human beings, but because we are the people who give them the power they have. i am really nervous, i am sorry. >> you are doing great. [applause] >> it is not fair that the people at my school or anybody is so worried about -- people my age have to worry about if their family can stay in their homes. it is not ok. it is not ok that our money is

bailing out here corporations. yet we can barely lift. any government that puts profits before people really needs to get their priorities checked. [applause] >> we have a few more people to introduce. then we will move on to be candid focus groups. -- ken did focus groups. debate -- candidate focus groups. >> i applaud the creativity and the energy of this movement. i appreciate all the good comments that have been made here today. we have to provide for our own community and we have to stop the wars overseas. i want to bring somebody else up here. a friend of mine, a doctor, has traveled to different parts of the world to try to treat some

of the areas of the world that suffer from diseases. this person recently returned from africa. as we talked about the occupy movement, he talked about how happy he was when somebody came to see him in africa who had only and your infection, because he could treat back. so many other diseases he could not treat. they did not have supplies were moneys. he said to me, remember this occupy movement is about those people, too. [applause] we call for support here at home and we call for an end to the wars, and remember the silent wars that are going on. thank you.

[applause] [laughter] >> i believe i was already introduced. my name is congo. it was requested of me to tell a short story out of my life. when i was 17, i joined the marine corps. i was proud to be an american and a patriot. when i was 20, i was given a dishonorable discharge from the united states marine corps for failure to fire under direct orders. normally, this sounds wrong. in this circumstance, i failed to fire because in my line of fire, there were three children kicking a soccer ball. this was seen by my squad. this was seen by my squad leader.

this was seen on video by the platoon sergeant. i was still given a dishonorable for failure to fire. my question is, i was told that anything that moves is an enemy. can you explain to me how three children with a soccer ball is my enemy? that is all i have to say. [applause] >> we will have to cut off at this point. we have to move on at some point. here we go. >> my name is steve. i am here for three reasons. two of those reasons are the government. one of the reasons is corporate personhood and the other is

phallicism -- fascism. the third reason i am here is because there are good people here. [applause] >> i am from occupy des moines. last month, i walked through funerals. my father was a military man. this government gave him a flag for everything he had done. the funeral home said it was, you have to have money to pay for funerals. one of the things they had been

there was you could buy a policy from wells fargo 4 $3,800 a month. they would give you so much interest on your money. they had a choice to pay your fuel off or not. it is interesting. my father had that policy. they have not paid a dime. we have called them daily. they said, we have no choice, but your father was in a car wreck. that is what caused his death. my dad had a brain aneurysm. the doctors confirmed dead. wells fargo says it is a car wreck and able not paid it. >> that ain't right. >> as much as this company wants us to support them, what are

they doing for us? they are taking our money and keeping it for themselves and never pay a dime back. my mother had great life insurance for a company that she worked for. they paid off instantly. no trouble there. we have a bill to date in the mail -- i lost my job thanks to chrysler when they saw me on television. >> that ain't right. >> thank you. [applause] >> my name is kevin.

over the last week, i have heard a few things that our legislators are using their time and energy on. one of them comment -- one of them, i had to bring to light, so to speak. what was a pressing issue for our legislators? 100-watt light bulbs. yes. they are going to be taken off the market, but now we have saved them. >> hallelujah. >> anyway, that is my thought. i just wanted to bring into light, so to speak. thank you for coming.

[applause] >> save the people, not light bulbs. >> supporting the lifestyles of the privileged is destroying our planet's ability to protect life. it is destroying our planet's ability to sustain life. none of the candidates are addressing these issues. none of the candidates deserve any respect. [applause] car political system has never represented poor people.

our political system has never represented people of color. our political system has never represented indigenous people. our political system has never represented or respected life. [applause] ♪ >> my name is steve. we hear all the time now, what are the demands for occupy? the demands are in this room. the politicians, the pundits are not bright enough to get it. we listen to people all evening talk about the things that are important to them. they do not listen.

now we will spend this week, we will be taking our message to them, because they will not listen to us. wednesday, thursday, friday, let's take a message to them. let's tell them what our issues are. thank you. [applause] >> my name this heidi. we came all the way from new york city to be with you today. a nice woman from des moines came and said we're going to occupy the caucuses. we want to think are really good friends who are putting a stop. -- us up. about three years ago, we were

with a group and we formed the anti bank band. just for you, we put together a special holiday song. ♪ >> santa baby, put an end to corporate greed for me. ♪ and hurry down the chimney tonight ♪ keep going. all thebaby, an end to drone attacks, too ♪ wait up for you, dear. tonightdown the chimney

think of all the things i've done think of the occupation ♪ littleyear, i give a rest if you check off my christmas list ♪ really baby, there is one thing that i need close guantanamo bay ♪ what theye the people really need just a little less greed i do believe in you me's see if you believe in

♪ ♪ i forgot to mention one little thing i can't do it alone hurry down the chimney tonight ♪ come on, people. ♪ hurry down the chimney tonight ♪ [applause] >> they have talented folks in the big apple, the new? -- who knew? this is the part of the caucus that is probably the most interesting. before we do that, i want to take a second to thank the leadership in pummeling -- in

des moines. [applause] the police department have been good to work with. it is important to recognize that and recommend that to other occupations to do what you can. try to work with the people, not beat them up. [applause] figure it out,t have them call -- [inaudible] [applause] >> normally, you will break into candidate preferences. this is of the democratic side. this is according to the candidates that you want to vote for. it is a gesture of democratic participation. tonight, we will break in the candidate preference groups or

different groups. -- dispreference groups. the candidate's headquarters the u.s. like to occupy in the next three days. maybe they have not got the message yet. if we take it to them directly, there will be a much more powerful statement made and it is much more likely that they will begin to hear what we are trying to say.

>> obama is right here in downtown des moines.

thank you for mapping that out. we will break into candidate preference groups. normally, you break into the preference groups and realign. you're not viable and you have to go to another group. once we break and a preference groups, we will see what we have and if there is only five people that want to go visit rick perry, those people to negotiate with one of the other campaigns and tried to get other people make the group a little bit more viable. caucusave the romney over here, the gingrich people over there. who's going to raise their hand? romney people. gingrich over there.

bachmann is back by the pool table. the far right corner of the building. santorum is back by the restrooms. ron paul by the food. and obama by the quick exit. even if you don't plan to get arrested, that is not a big deal, if you plan to support that group, we encourage you to go to those caucus groups. no matter what your role is, if you're getting arrested, paying a visit, or to support someone that is going. remind me now, perry, gingrich

-- sorry. romney, gingrich, bachmann, santorum, ron paul, obama, perry. i knew i missed somebody. in the chaos is a natural part of this process. mic check. let's gather together. it is like family gathering on christmas day, you might hate each other, but please gather. pretty please.

>> we have a few quick announcements. other wanted to make a pitch. one more pitch for gingrich. a i don't think gingrich got pitch, so i want to make sure everybody realizes how important it is that we target newt gingrich, he almost single- handedly shut down the government which may not seem like a big deal, but when my husband was going to school, it made a big deal the him because he no longer got the gi bill. he had to drop out. the gi bill had expired by the time he went back. i hope everybody will surely consider how much of a devil newt gingrich is.

if he wins the state of all iowa, that will be a huge boost to him. he works for the lobbyists, as he basked freddie and fannie but took their money, over $1 million worth. and he is an arrogant correct. -- arrogant prick. >> for president. we have heidi and brian looking for musicians. steven has the numbers to read in terms of preference groups. and we will talk about where it goes from here. >> we have over 100 people in this room right now have

committed to occupy. we hope the rest of you join us, there is more than 250 of you here. a this is an unofficial tally at this point. romney 20, gingrich 10, santorum had one. ron paul 18, obama 30, and perry had 10. >> mic check. tomorrow morning at 10:00 a.m. is when we come back and start planning the direct action street protests. right here in this room. we're going to get back in the groups and figure out how to make this happen on the street

tomorrow, thursday, and friday. if you have to work, come after work. we will occupied in the afternoon, at night, all day long until we get change in this country. >> we get a sense of how unpopular candidates are. the nose by -- who knows why someone might be for a candidate's occupation. ha we want people interested in helping to build issues that might be introduced to the actual caucuses on the third. the dow by the really bright light. we want to reiterate tella important is that this movement

remain non-violent. we have a statement that has been drafted but that we have referred to. we will read it in mic check form. >> you don't need to use the microphone. >> mic check. >> mic check! >> the occupy iowa caucus is committed to nonviolence and non-violent actions. all participants in the event fostered by occupy iowa caucus

are expected to share this commitment to non-violence and non-violent actions. while nonviolence is defined in different ways by different people in different contexts, while there exists in the need to continue discussion and debate on how non-violence and non-violent actions is conceived. in the first of the nation not to apply -- occupy caucus is

adopting the following principles for this particular campaign. we will act with love, openness, compassion, and respect towards zero who we encounter. -- all who we encounter. we will not be violent and our actions, words, or other was to work any person or property. we will act fairly and honestly. with people regardless of the situation. for the role they play. we will remain called and aware at all times.

we will prepare ourselves before we act. and we will recognize our operation is to a system of greed, and economic exploitation, not to individual members of the system. we will keep a clear state of mind, refraining from the use of drugs or alcohol other than for medicinal purposes. and we will not bring any illegal drugs or alcohol to any occupy iowa caucus events.

we will carry no weapons. we will seek dialogue with those who may disagree with us and maintain a spirit of openness, friendliness, and respect for to all with whom we engage. we will gather and act in a manner that reflects the world we choose to create. [applause] >> again, thank you, everybody, for coming. everybody has worked so hard to make this happen and it is amazing to see it come this far.

let's keep the ball rolling. we need people to make sure that they follow through on the energy and commitment and issues that we raised tonight. be here at 10:00 tomorrow. right here, the occupation campaign central. thank you, everybody, for coming. >> the uncommitted group, we are going to hit all of the candidates, we are focusing on issues. we will put a piece of paper and we will take a valid.

we will try solutions. >> all winter, all sprang, occupied everything. >> all winter, all spring, occupy everything. all winter all spring, occupy everything. >> thank you. [applause]

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2011] >> word this afternoon that police have arrested seven campaignrs at romney's offices. they locked the door before protesters arrived and began banging on the glass windows and begging to be let in the building. some played musical instruments. for more coverage of all i know what's coming this evening with ron paul. a couple of polls show that the race is tightening, showing ron paul and mitt romney dead even. mr. romney moved ahead of ron

paul. this is live on c-span and on c- span radio. >> with the iowa caucuses next week at new hampshire, south carolina, and florida primaries, the contenders looks back at 14 candidates that ran for president and lost, but had a long-lasting impact. tonight, barry goldwater. then hubert humphrey, george wallace, and george mcgovern followed by ross perot. every night at 10:00 eastern on c-span. >> a look back at previous iowa caucuses starting at 8:00 with speeches from barack obama, hillary clinton, and mike

huckabee. thent he 2004 -- then the 2004 presidential a democratic debate. and the republican debate contenders, all of that beginning at 8:00. we will be bringing you live coverage of events on the campaign trail. we will take you to mason city iowa where newt gingrich spoke at the mall there, and afterwards, took a few questions not only from the audience, but from reporters in the campaign as well.

>> it is wonderful to have a great turn out this morning. that is wonderful. it is my honor and my pleasure this morning to be able to introduce the former speaker of the house, newt gingrich. the 2012 election is going to be about ideas and solutions. helping us get back on track to rebuild the america that we love. there is no better person to get that job done and then speaker of the house newt gingrich. >> thank you all for coming out today. she has been absolutely the heart of our campaign, and we are proud of her. the first woman to ever be majority leader in the state house. they worked without tax increases and they worked very hard and diligently. washington can learn a lot of lessons from the republicans in

the legislature and the governor on how to get things done that would make washington a lot better. part of my campaign is to try to figure out how to educate washington and be more like iowa rather than how viola become more like washington. we are delighted to be here in the closing days of the campaign, let me just ask the question, i am curious. i want to make to commitments to you. you will see ads from us for the next six days, and they will be positive. and there are ads from the super pac that will be positive. other than a

campaign of positive ads. we want to defeat him, not to help them. i will talk briefly and take questions. if you want to ask about negative ads, you have a right to know. in fact, a state representative is around here somewhere. he and his daughter who joined in participated. we have 9700 people, and i am happy to answer any question about some of these totally false charges and exaggerations. i want to focus on jobs and the economy. the united states is the

economic engine which pulls the world economy. there are very troubling signs out there and think there is a very real danger that the world economy can take another step down word. and having a healthy who, vibrant, american economy is key to getting us ahead. i think the disaster of the president and the congress passing a two-month extension is really embarrassing. i do not think i have ever seen washington more dysfunctional on a bipartisan basis than it is right now. [applause] i think this is very serious for the country. it is a mess. no family knows how to plan. you know there'll be another

crisis in february and another one back in may. this is an absurd way to govern. i was a junior member when ronald reagan was elected. tip o'neill was speaker of the house. we needed 1/3 of the democrats to pass anything, and we did. we worked and we got bill clinton to sign a welfare reform, the first tax cut in 16 years, the largest capital gains tax cut in history. we passed welfare reform. child poverty declined because parents were working. the democrats split. we passed the tax cuts in the largest tax cut, unemployment dropped to 4.2%.

we were able to balance the budget for four straight years. i have twice participated in serious bipartisan reform work you have to reach the american people with the idea to get the american people to reach their senators and congressmen to get things done. this is the cost of amateurism. barack obama has no idea how to negotiate. the leader of the democrats in the senate is partisan. you have a log jam. i was fortunate in the reagan years and the clinton years to have somebody rational to work with. we fought pretty hard but with an understanding that the country is bigger than our ideology and we have to find a way to get the country to work.

america only works when americans are working. that's a key principle of this campaign. we're focusing on jobs, the economy. i first worked back in the 1970's when richard, jack kemp were working on a supply side economics. you solve problems by having more things -- more oil, more corn production. it was a fundamental argument that focused on the demand side. many people thought we had won the argument. there was a fascinating book in

which it would describe how economists had won and the demand guys had lost. it was untrue. it puts control with the politicians. they don't like the ron reagan supply-side approach because it puts power in the hands of the people. if you believe in markets, that means you have to make decisions and you have to be in charge. you have to be in charge -- the president does not create jobs. they can create conditions that favor or hurt jobs. the american people create jobs. the hard work of americans create jobs.

we're back in the same competition between a supply- side approach that we popularize 30 years ago and the much more timid, washington- centered approach which will not create jobs. obama represents the extreme version, which kills jobs. consider the reagan model. cut taxes, cut regulations, strengthen energy production, and appraise the people who create jobs. to the important to shop for work on monday and to save and to invest. look at the obama model. higher taxes and class warfare that attacks people who create jobs. i don't think the white house has a clue.

take the xl keystone pipeline. 20,000 jobs immediately. a generation of money coming to the u.s. from canadian oil on the way to worldwide distribution. the president postpones it. the alarm of the extremists are against building the pipeline. we built pipelines all the time. they do not want canadian oil on the world market. they are trying to find a way to keep canadian oil in canada. it is one thing to route administration that cannot play chess -- it is one thing to have an administration that cannot play chess.

it is another thing to have an administration that cannot play checkers. the want to build the pipeline and not a penny will come to the united states and not a job will be created in the united states. the oil will be used by the chinese. that's what the president is faced with. so he goes to brazil and says, "i want to be your best customer." he praises the brazilians for drilling offshore. he says we can guarantee to billion dollars in equipment for it george soros-invested company. this is backwards. we do not want the president of the united states to be

purchasing agent for foreign countries. we want him to be a salesman for american products. we need a president that opens up markets for american agricultural products because we produce more than we can absorb hero home. i think obama has it exactly backwards. we have an economic plan. it is straightforward. cut taxes. favre people who create jobs -- favor people who create jobs. we have zero capital gains. we go to a 12.5% tax rate. it means that companies will compete worldwide. this will give us a lower corporate tax rate with canada.

it means general electric will actually pay taxes. we have 100% expenses. all new equipment gets written off in one year. if we are going to compete with china and india, we have to have the most modern equipment in the world. we need productivity. i favor changing the unemployment compensation. you have to sign up for training program by a business so we are creating better skills and a better work force and not paying people for 99 weeks for doing nothing. [applause] so the new equipment would be

better trained work force means we will be the most -- the best country in the world. some politician can take half from your family when you die. we abolished the death tax. [applause] finally, we provide a flat tax auction. you can keep the current code with all of the deductions or you have a single page, list how much you earn, lister dependents and pay 15%. you have the choice, not a politician. part one is taxes, part 2 is

regulation. i will ask the new congress before i am sworn in tuesday and office and repeal obama care, repeal dodd-frank -- [applause] repeal obama care which is an anti-small business bill. housing dropped again yesterday, some middle-class investment lost value again yesterday. you help small business and the value of housing in the health independent small banks that are currently being crushed by red tape. the bill has huge red tape that produces no information of any value. those three things will start to liberate american business. i would like those three done before i am sworn been so that the day after i am sworn in, we

will sign it and have that part of it bought in january, passing the reforms to replace the ones we have repealed. we will have a one plan that we will published by october 1 of next year. two hours after i am sworn in, i will sign between 102 hundred executive orders. the very first will abolish all of the white house czars as of that moment. [applause] in addition to repealing those bills, i would ask the congress to replace the environmental protection agency with an environmental solutions agency. i believe the current bureaucracy is so radical and anti-jobs and anti-local community and lacking in common sense that you cannot reform it. everywhere ago, small towns tell

me that they are being crushed by epa bureaucrats that have never visited their town, have no idea what they are demanding, and the economic cost to small towns in america is extraordinary. and businesses have a proposal of electricity which will almost certainly lead to brought out in a time where we're trying to compete in the world market and will raise the cost of electricity. senator grassley spent a year fighting dust provisions. it takes the general ability to link a particular matters and clean air and turns it into a bureaucratic study on whether or not you plow the dirt from your field and if it will drift to the neighboring field. in the wind is high enough that the dust from the ploughing will go to the neighboring field, you should not allow that day. do you know how hard you have to

work to be this stupid? this is some guy in a washington area with a high-rise apartment, he goes downstairs to have air-conditioning, a high-rise office where he sits and contemplates dust. i was in arizona. whereas the that is a desert. you get natural dust storms. they said u.s., would you should do is water down the dirt to you don't get these dust storms. the reason it is called a desert is that we don't have any water. i would like to replace the epa with an environmental solutions agency. i would like to modernize the food and drug administration so that it is in the laboratory, understanding science, and getting it to the patient so we

can be the leading developer of new medicine and new technology. health is going to be the best producer of high-value jobs. let me say unequivocably, with ronald reagan in 1984, i voted for a thing called gasohol. it was getting away from saudi arabia and the middle east. i voted to renew mfn all. in 1998 when they go tried to kill ethanol, senator grassley said he was the person that saved it. there is a practical reason. if i have to choose between money going to iran and i know what, i choose iowa. this morning, they are

practicing out a close the straits. i had lunch with secretary of state george shultz. he said to me, home to the two of us, how often do we have to get hit over the head with a to buy for realize we need a national energy policy that maximizes american energy production. if those rates close, you will see a catastrophe, a depression in the industrial world. we had 30 years to prepare for this. we know exactly what the danger is that the requirement. the bullet and field has 25 times, 2500% more oil and gas.

if they were pro-american energy that would develop oil and gas in shale oil and next- generation fuels, which would develop land and rival only denmark. we would develop all the different aspects including coal, nuclear power, and solar. it would be a surplus of american energy. my goal is to be able, as president, never bowed to a saudi king or walk arm in arm. we don't need your oil and we will not tolerate your support of terrorism. [applause] let me say one last thing and i will throw it open to questions.

i don't think even the president of the united states can get this country on the right track by themselves. i am here to ask you to be with me. we need you to be with us for the next eight years, to stand side by side. remind the congress what we're trying to get done. the city council, the county commissioner. if we do all the things we need to do to get america back on track, we will make mistakes. we need to have social media where you can say that isn't working. here is a better idea. i of the 537 elected officials can fix this, but 335 million americans can fix it. if we shrink government in washington, we have to grow citizenship in mason city. we have to be in a position where everybody understands that

citizenship has to rise as bureaucracy francs. i would love to have your help next week. i believe we can win a general election decisively and i will challenge the president to debates in the lincoln-have list tradition with a timekeeper but no moderator. i will let him use a teleprompter. if you had to defend obama care, wouldn't you want to use a teleprompter? i will out open it up for questions. >> given the reason instability, the potential for instability in the korea area, how would your position be different than obama? >> you have to have a rapid development of a ballistic

defense. we need to defend ourselves, you need to rebuild the intelligence capabilities. the person i met recently and loss angeles -- in los angeles, our intelligence committee understands that north korea is very limited. you have to have a much better standing in the have to avoid -- and this regime is going to be shaky for a while. the sun that is taking over is very young. all of the old generals are going to be very suspicious of this young new leader. we should be careful about what we do. you don't want to cause them to react out of fear. we should constantly pressure them and our goal should be ultimately to replace the dictatorship. they waver between whether there are more frightened of a north

korean military or that north korea will collapse. look at how expensive it was to preserve these and germany, and north korea will be more expensive. we have to have a strong national defense and we need a ballistic missile defense that can make it impossible for the north koreans to attack us directly. >> what do you perceive to be the role of the national government [unintelligible] >> i think we should dramatically shrink the department of education. eliminate the testing model, i would return power to the states. but i also think we should have a lot less power in the state department of education. i think we should get to where parents are the primary employment as of education and where parents talk to the local

school board. as president, you are both leader of the country and manager of the federal government. i can say things about america that we can't do out of washington. you need discipline in the classroom and when i was young, if you got in trouble with the teacher, i got in trouble at home. the parents say they will sue you. we have to get serious. the reason they are called the teachers is that they are supposed to be in charge in you are supposed to learn from them. we need to reassert discipline in the classroom if we are going to have any opportunity of that kind of education we needed this country. [applause] >> a welcome to iowa, maybe you

expected this question. i represent a good amount of americans that believe in god and country and the foundation are our principles. i want to know what you do to be able to support got in america and definitely promote our heritage. >> it is a very good question. and there is a buck kelly wrote called hurry discovering got in america. there is a paper that is a little controversial on rebalancing the judiciary. the primary threat to our belief in god has come from judges have are secular and believe as though they are dictators. i was drawn into this in 2002 when the circuit court ruled one nation under god was unconstitutional in the pledge of allegiance. i thought it was such a radically anti-american position that i got entry and without the court to become so radical.

we spent nine years knowing that this was the primary author. if you look at the constitution, this is one of the great examples of how low the change has to be. the constitution says there is a balance of power between the three branches. the way they wrote it, legislative comes first, executive comes in second in the judicial comes third. explain the judicial branch alexander hamilton writes, it will always be the weakest of the three branches and it would never pick a fight with the president and congress because it would inevitably lose the fight. in 1958, they totally subverted the american constitution and said the supreme court is the final the final of the constitution. the texas supreme court of the

of the legislative and executive branches. what that has done, and the nineteenth century, power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely. judges today are drunk on power. in san antonio, he said not only could high-school students not read their graduation, they could not use the word in vacation, -- invocation, not mention god. if any of these things were violated, i will put the superintendent in jail. i believe that as a bigoted and anti-religious dictator who that is not appropriate for the federal bench. [applause] the first step will be to ask congress to consider impeachment

of judge berry which would require him to come to the congress, totally under the constitution, and defend his position and explain why he would issue such a radical statement. just the act of getting him to defend it will be helpful. you cannot explain america with of the declaration of independence which is a political document. you can't explain the declaration of independence without understanding that it says that we are endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights. he comes to each of you personally and we have to have a position that says we're going to defend in the public square and we will rebalance the courts have to understand that they are one of three branches, not the dictator to the other two branches. [applause]

>> considering that we have a fairly dysfunctional congress, what is your stand on an amendment to the constitution to limit congressional terms? >> i am less favorable that was in the 1990's, and that is the experience of states like california. term-limit did people never figure out what is going on, so lobbyists from the states. i am in favor of a very dramatic and election law reform. i would make it legal to make any the nation as long as it was reported every night who is donating two. and you have a much more competitive environment. as late as 1890, half of every congress was brand-new. elections were straightforward.

we have built these incumbency castles were the first thing the incumbent does is raise money to try to be so invulnerable that nobody can run against him. millionaires by seats and that is very dangerous for the future of american democracy. i was a college teacher, and we don't come out of a background where we can buy a seat or mayor bloomberg the bison and the mayor of new york. he just wrote a check and bought it. i think that is wrong. finding a way for middle class candidates ha, he will be lobbying every two years. i thought as i had done. >> mr. speaker, given the reaction you have drawn, would

you revisit your comment about poor kids working in public schools and please don't skip over child labor laws. >> by newsletter today, gingrich productions and human events today is about new york city -- they are paid more than new york city teachers. you can make over $100,000 a year as a janitor with a contract that doesn't require you to mop the floor more than once a week. if you took about half the janitors for $100,000, you could hire 30 kids have $3,000 a year to work part-time in the school. they could work in the library, the cafeteria, the front office. they cut off the floor. i have the liberal's jump up and

holler and suggest and trapping them and then being janitors. my younger daughter reminded me her first paying job was at the baptist church where she was cleaning of the toilets. i mentioned this the other day, an editorial board was in a state of shock. children actually deal with things like that? if you talk to iowa farm families, they will explain what they have their kids do. it turns out that they encounter real work, some of them get dirty. the encounter dealing with animals, and it is amazing on farms what you encounter. nobody seems to be horrified and said the epa is proposing a rule where children can work on the farm unless there are part of your immediate family. this is the kind of mindless

left-wing thinking. liberals used to save you don't want to flip hamburgers, and i was working with the mcdonald's people, one of the most successful franchises in the world. the largest trainer of new workers in the world. the first thing they have to train people is to show up. the second finger, you can't leave. the people that grow up in middle-class families, this makes sense. if you grow up and the poor neighborhood, two out of three children have nobody in their family working. you're not acquiring the most basic habits. the goal is not to get them traffic, the goal is to get them to start rising high learning the habits of work. i don't know if this is responsive to you or not, but the leftists went crazy.

we were in new hampshire last we, manchester, and the young man who was 16 years old and walks up to me and owns his own the company which he started at 11. his father who is an investment adviser was trying to get him to understand free enterprise. his father is thrilled because now he can deliver his own data sets without bad having to drive the car. he is out there baking and 40 -- baking 40 donuts at a time, in business for five years. this is wonderful. gallup reports 50% of kids would like to own their own business. if we have one