caller: with this insider- trading. they should not have been able to do it anyway because there are already laws against it. guest: i think daniel is right from the article that you just read from the front page of "the washington post." it is illegal for members of congress to do it. there is an investigation going on with one of the house members who has done allegedly something that fits into this category. host: dan, last call from tennessee. caller: i have a question and comments. everyone is blaming barack obama for the situation in the economy and it has not recovered fast enough. i have not heard one republican running for office make any kind

of a statement whatsoever to except what the republican party would have done in the same situation that he inherited to prevent the whole world, so it would seem, from going into utter chaos. it is an extremely bad situation in the united states. also, talking about all war is costing so much money, i did not believe he was in office when they started and i believe he's done a lot toward bringing it closer and to the key players of the terrorist organizations. guest: the president had exactly what he wanted, a democratic controlled house and senate for his first two years. the economy was in a tough spot

and he wanted to focus not on what the american people were interested in but instead on a health care law that is even more unpopular today than when it was passed. the stimulus plan which was really a failed effort to reward some of his pet projects, so he got what he wanted and now we are left with this obama economy. if you want to hear but republicans say, i would say do not touch that dial because c- span will be covering cpac today and a lot of the candidates will be there speaking. c-span is the place for you to be all weekend. host: are you happy with the state of the nominating process, the primary so far? guest: there's a lot of energy and excitement. people are talking about it. there are a lot of people at cpac that expect to see the

next president of the united states. they have plenty to choose from. it is a long wait between now and the end of august in florida. host: thank you for being here. we will see you later on our coverage of the conservative political action committee. senator barrasso from wyoming. we will sell you a little bit of the cpac meeting. we have been covering it for the last 28 or so of its 39 years. then we will have 50 minutes of open funds free to call in on any topic. clicks' the sanctity of life should not be a tangential issue in this year's election, especially with president obama's assault on religion.

i invite each of you to the screening of this film just after gov. huckabee's speech today at 10:00 a.m. in the thurgood marshall ballroom. gov. huckabee has been an incredibly strong defender of israel. right now, iran is on a path to develop nuclear weapons in the very near future. thanks to the policies, to the timid policies of the obama administration, iran will be nuclear power unless we help our friends in israel. gov. huckabee understands the challenges american bases in the middle east and has been a tireless advocate for the state of israel and in defeating the nuclear power of iran. please give a warm welcome to gov. mike huckabee. [applause] ♪

>> thank you. thank you very much. thank you and welcome to the second day of cpac. what an honor it is to be here. i want to begin by doing something you probably thought would not happen here. i want to say a great big thank- you to president obama. i know that may seem totally out of place at cpac, but i want to say thank you because you have done more than any person in the entire gop field, any candidate, to bring this party to unity and energize this party as a result of your attack on religious liberty and the attack from the personhood of every human being in america. thank you, president obama, doing what apparently none of

the republicans could get done. [applause] single-handedly, the president's attempt to trample over the constitution and the fact that there is a very explicit wording there that he apparently did not get in ninth grade civics that the most of us -- the rest of us heard read the first amendment says, "congress shall make no law respecting the establishment of religion or prohibiting the free exercise thereof." obamacare precisely does that and it is time we tell him and congress, "no, thank you." we will elect a new president, a new congress, and stand up for liberty for every single american. [applause] host: that is the former arkansas gov. mike huckabee, himself a candidate for president in the last election

cycle speaking to the conservative political action conagra's. three of this year's contenders will be in front of the conference today. here is the schedule. romney does before 1:00 and newt gingrich at 4:10 p.m. you can see all of it live on c- span or stream live from c- span.org. seven minutes past 9:00 and we will have a be minutes of open phones. we welcome your calls on any topic. the phone numbers are on your screen. coming up later on, america by the numbers. today, we will look at how the government stops inflation and how the numbers are used to set important policy decisions like

social security and military pay raises. that is coming up in about 10 minutes from now. here are some reports from this morning's newspapers. lightheartedness at the cpac gathering in "the washington post." in "the washington times," the delegate count is on the front page. also in "the new york times," santorum adjusting to start treatment on the trail talking about the crowd of well-wishers surrounding senator santorum after his triple win in the latest primary fight. let's take some phone calls. conn, lisa, a democrat. caller: think you're taking my call.

i had a comment about what the senator was talking about regarding unemployment. i was on unemployment for almost one year. i have six page documentation of the jobs that i have sent applications out four and sent resumes to. the responses have been negative or no response is, i support myself, i love alone, are responsible for any other programs. how does he expect me to pay my bills i cannot find a job, number one, and i do not have the unemployment? would you like to pay my bills for me? i get almost half of the regular pay that i got when i was working. believe me, it is extremely difficult to make it.

i am trying very hard. host: how many weeks have you been collecting? caller: i am in the second set of 20 weeks. host: what is the limitation in connecticut? caller: the something is not passed by the end of this month, i am at the cut off. host: lots of discussion about the white house religious organization dispute over the health care law contraception role. here is a story this morning.

next is a call from baltimore. on the open phones, an independent. you are on the air. caller: that senator either fought that the people out here are fools or that we have [unintelligible] the reason why he talks about the senate rule, i remember that it used to be 50-50 in the vice president was used to break a tie. am i right? when he comes on tv and a bully in allies, he did things his constituents or all of us are foolish or that he can deceive

us. host: next up, republican from warren, ohio. you are on the air. caller: we do need the name calling by the last caller from maryland. the wealthy are the ones that provide jobs. no one ever got a job from a poor person. when obama attacks religion like this, this is his plan so later on he can change his mind and compromise with everybody. we do not have time for this no more. it will be a long year. thank you. host: fort lauderdale. what is on your mind today on open phones? caller: i have been watching c-

span since the late 1980's. i retired in 1994 and i watch every day. i have a problem with your programming. when you bring on one republican advocate, then that senator, and the calls behind it keeps giving you this normal republican talking points and they are spinning things and getting it wrong, just like he talked about the 60% in the senate, will it used to be 50-50. you do not have an opposite person like you used to have. there is no opposing view. they just get on there and spin. you do not learn anything because it is a repeat of the normal talking points you do every day. it is set up there and tell blatant lies. you need to go back to the programming like before obama

came in when you actually had a republican and a democrat at the same time. host: we have been around since 1995 and the majority of the programs do have two guests. there is a lot of back-and-forth and not a lot of your interaction, said the idea is to allow the public to send in their phone calls come emails, and treat -- tweets. it allows us to get more of your voice is in. we do occasionally do two voices, but it did not change a new wave with the arrival of the obama administration. next up is westchester county, new york. caller: i'm a little disappointed in the republican party. they just seem to blatantly lie the distort the policy that

president may be present. i'm not affiliated with any party, but i would never be a vote for someone who deliberately starts something someone says to gain office or to make a personal look bad. even with this birth control. , this was a republican idea from 2001 that eric cantor and speaker john boehner, these guys voted for this thing and voted for it, brought up by republican -- what is her name olympia snowe from whatever state. these guys make the political decisions and make this an issue that they themselves create. how low can not the republican party go from now? please explain that to me. host: olympia snowe is the

senator from maine. miami, fla., last up from open bonds. republican, you are on the air. good morning. caller: good morning. i always enjoy the show. my concern is that this is deja vu all over again. it is the buildup to the war in iraq, weapons of mass destruction, nuclear weapons, the same thing we're doing currently in iran. we are already at war. this is just taking up the central bank of iran, taking up the scientists. we have a covert cia operatives in iran and the only difference is we have not physically launched a bomb. there are psychological, covert operations, political warfare, regime changes.

this is the only country with nuclear weapons in the middle east. thank you. host: that was grady from miami, fla., the last of those on open phones. when we come back, america out by the numbers of looking at how this country measures inflation. >> here is that wonderful moment

when senator lott revealed his nostalgia for the states' rights, segregationist south. >> when strom thurmond ran for president, we voted for him. we are proud of it. >> publisher josh marshall on the internet and his website emergence into the breaking news business. >> the media ecosystem is such a different world today than it was 10 years ago. it's hard to believe. things like that happen all the time now. there are very big story is that tpm has had. we now have an editorial staff of 20 people so we are breaking stories right and left. i think the thing is that it has almost become commonplace and it is not nearly as surprising today as it was back then. >> more about tpm and joshua

marshall sunday night 8:00 p.m. eastern and pacific on "q&a." >> what i started the book, i thought it must be an american story, a country that were shown some -- warships self religion. it turns out that we're lagging when it comes to living alone. it is much more common in european nations, especially in scandinavia and japan. >> in "going solo," the growing trend of american adults choosing to live alone. saturday night at 10:00 p.m. eastern. sunday at 3:00, the second cousin of former secretary of state condoleezza rice on her work to reduce gang violence and starting a dialogue between gang leaders and police. hergetown university's on

book and play, "revenge of the women's studies professor." host: it is time for our friday segment, america by the numbers. we're going to focus on how the government measures inflation and how the numbers are used to set important policy decisions such as the cost of living adjustment for social security. often when we get into discussions like this, we hear from you than you do not think the government measures inflation the way that you feel that at home. we thought we would get a better explanation of how that is done systematically. let me introduce you to our two guests. michael horrigan is in the bureau of labor statistics prices and livings condition. bought -- barry bosworth is a senior fellow in the economic studies at brookings institute.

what is the consumer price index? guest: it measures the inflation experience of consumers and what they paper goods including the taxes that they pay. it is used in a wide variety of contexts from research, policy, to understand what's going on in the economy. for example, cost of living adjustments are made top of the consumer price index, contract escalations. the move by cpi as well as the federal tax brackets come in the year and then come tax credits are all indexed through it. it has a great many uses in terms of macro-policies as well as the public policy programs that affect millions of americans. host: how long has the government been measuring it? guest: since 1913. host: as an economist, how

accurate a picture it is the cpi on the real state of inflation? guest: it is pretty good. it is hard to measure the prices that they individually experience. it is an average. there is a huge variation in the types of things that people buy. and also where they live. it can also be true that people do not feel it measures up to their experience, but it is intended to measure all the people across the whole country and with a lot of different economic circumstances. host: we will open up the phone lines after we let a few charts about how the cpi words. -- works. but even like to look at some of the policy decisions, we will welcome our calls. i want to move to this one right here, a look at the cpi from january 2008 until december

2011. guest: what is really striking is 2008. gas prices have gone up to $2.16 per gallon in the price of a barrel of oil was $142. to go to the end of the year come you see a steep drop, a curve. as prices have gone down to $1.71 and the price of a barrel of oil was just under $33. there's quite a bit of volatility in the market during that year. after that, there is still volatility in energy prices, but what we of the old in inflation was the middle of 2010 until about september. we of actually moderated quite a bit in terms of our moderation experience. host: what is inflation averaging right now?

guest: last december, the actual overall cpi was 0. guest: a want to show a clip -- host: 01 to show a clip with ben bernanke and paul ryan about inflation and what the government can do to help address it. let's listen in. "washington journal -- [video clip] >> 2% it is our target for inflation. market policy forces are lagging and mckenna achieve it every day or week. we want to -- and we can achieve it every day or week. we've are not seeking or actively seek to raise inflation. or to move away from the target. we always try to bring inflation back to target. the only things in which there is a balance is in looking at the two sides of the mandate.

the speed may depend, to some extent, on the balances of the objectives, but we are always trying to return them back to the mandate. we do not seek higher inflation. we do not want higher inflation. we will not tolerate it. host: the dual mandate is a big subject of debate. give us a sense of the magic target. guest: we would like to measure to accurately as to say it is zero. there are some views in the economic profession but a little bit of inflation is a good thing. when you think prices are going up it is an encouragement to not hang on and hoard your money. host: why have the inflation been hovering in the 1%-2% area?

guest: mainly due to the policy of the federal reserve. it. think of it falls too far below that we could get into a downward spiral. japan is a good example of the country that was involved in a dropping level. if you think prices will go down, you wait. that could have a strong because of a effect on the economy. they're trying to hold it in that range. companies have very little ability to raise their prices. host: if we look of the chart when we actually had deflationary, it was as low as 2.5% in 2009. if that would have held on for an extended period of time, it would have been dangerous. guest: if people think they can wait one year to get a car a lot

cheaper, they will hold back. i can quite destabilizing to the economy. but we want a high rate but not a negative rate. we do not think we can measure it quite that accurately. host: we have a question off of twitter. guest: there is no close connection between interest rates and the cpi. what this person is saying is that interest rates are quite negative. we are a very depressed economy. nobody wants to buy our money. there is a lot of it to lend. i'm not surprised that interest rates are very low. host: is it because we need to bring more people into the

system? guest: who wants to buy money these days? he did not have a burning desire to borrow money. we are in a tight situation. and districts are always very low. host: minnesota, ronald. you are on the line. go ahead, please. good morning. caller: 1 question. i do not see it on c-span, but what does it mean to you peo ple? what does this mean, years -- only? -- usary fee only. we would not have this problem if we would have usary fee only. do not call it capitalism or

socialism. do it as the bible says. host: do you have anything for that caller? guest: i do not. it is not written into our constitution and we do not operate our economy that way. host: let's go back to the cpi and how it is measured. we talk about what the basket is like in this chart. guest: one of the things to know when we look at the cpi, the goal is to measure the cost of living. in that, we have a number of ways to resent that. on the left, we have the eight major categories. there are 211 price indexes that fit in. housing, apparel, etc. this is one way to present this in terms of detail. another way to look at it is on the right hand side. the one that is reported on is the "all items" cpi where we

abrogate the mall into an average. we also have a separate one for food and energy. then we have the final category, what we call on all items less food and energy. there is the belief out there that we do not include food or energy in inflation measures, that at some point in time we took it out. that is not true. that is not true. i think the confusion is that some reporters tend to look at one versus the other cannot buy our headline index, all items include food and energy. host: earlier, we showed the items and the cpi. right below it, if we could show both. and it is the energy cpi over that same period of time. they look similar but not

identical. why is that? guest: if you take a look at the overall change. between -- let me look at 2008 to 2011, that whole period. energy has a relevant importance of about 9%. in terms of what percent of your budget is spent on energy- related products. host: is that gasoline or -- all energy. part of the exercise is to take a look at these components. we have seen from the previous charts that energy prices are pretty volatile. over a period of time, they can contribute to the inflation. energy accounted for about 36%

of overall inflation change. so they moved similarly because energy has such a large share of the explanation but it is not the only one. as well as shelter. host: in this chart, it looks like energy costs went up more quickly into a deflationary or lower price index and stayed there longer than the overall economy. guest: i think by a little bit but pretty much there is a fairly quick reaction to changes in energy prices. you will see that the timing is about the same. host: on retail gas prices, this looks at 2008 to 2012. how do they compare with each

other? guest: this is what people know. they know what prices they are paying for gasoline. if you take a look at the -- it is the month to month experience. this is the weekly experience. you come all the way down to december and you see that prices came down to $1.71. that was the deflationary period of energy of prices falling. since then, we have had really basically consistently increasing prices of gasoline. there was a real acceleration at the beginning of a 2011. it looks like a wind up above 350. -- $3.50. it has been climbing pretty consistently ever since. host: what are some of the

factors that affect what prices are at the gas pump? guest: another one is crude-oil prices determined at a world level. there is not much influence in the united states. there is a little bit of variation in the refiner's margins. they do not line up completely. when oil prices fall sharply, the refiners do not lower the prices quite so quickly. the third one is the dealer margin at the retail level. there is some fluctuation. pretty much come gas prices at the gas pump go off been done -- pretty much, gas prices at the gas pump go up and down with world oil prices. host: how did that affect consumer use of gasoline? guest: in the chart, they just

plummeted. from $4 down to $2. not just here in the united states. the whole world got hit by that recession. it is not just the drop in mileage here in the u.s., but it is the plunge in demand of energy worldwide. host: this is a tweet and part of the answer wilquestion will e answered later. we are going to show that later on. guest: as i was saying, there is a lot of volatility in energy prices. anybody taking a look at 2008 would see that energy prices have gone up significantly. it was a very large upward trend. there was a big fall off

between july and december. since then, energy prices have gone up consistently. food prices have slightly a different pattern but they have contributed to overall inflationary increase. host: let's take a call. bob, you are on. good morning to you. caller: thank you for taking my call. c-span is really so important to the american people. with that, i would like to take the opportunity because of your two guests and what i am seeing in front of me. i am seeing no relationship between the outcome. all of the academia in the world, to me, nothing personal, do not fix problems. they talk about issues that are

completely unrelated to the american people. it does not get to the heart of the issue. it is jobs. the fact that no one -- i take exception to that. if i had a purpose for the money, it would generate the kind of businesses that i am working with our operating, i will borrow money. there is no doubt that will be the case. 42% of people are on food stamps in this country. this is about jobs. not about painting pictures with charts. they have a purpose. if i am buying stocks. but they do not serve made as an individual running a business who goes to the bank and cannot borrow $30,000 or $40,000 to

grow my business. i would recommend to c-span to see the movie "the iron lady." i think it addresses what this country needs in leadership to bring it out of its current situation. thank you for taking my call. host: "iron lady" is a profile of margaret thatcher. currently playing in theaters. guest: i agree. i think the whole focus of economic policy has been on this recession and the loss of jobs. i think he is right. i just do not understand why no one else has been focusing on this problem. we have enormous budget deficit because of the efforts to stimulate the economy than the congress spends most of its time debating over what to do -- to stimulate the economy.

congress spends most of its time debating over what to do to fix the economy. it is proving very difficult to fix the financial disaster that hit the united states. host: this is over 2008 to 2011. we are seeing a steep decline in food prices in that same period. it is coming back up fairly quickly in the past two years. of food: in terms prices, they are affected by a lot of different things. looking at the prices of corn and wheat, which are also pretty volatile, in terms of the range, what we are seeing is i think really a reflection of declining demand following with the

recession. since then, there has been a steady increase in food prices going through mid 2011. since then, they have moderated quite a bit. so it has been a real mix over the last couple of years of both positive and negative inflation rate. host: this is the one that you mentioned. what does this tell economist when they look at it? guest: this is one of the things that i mentioned before that is often the source of confusion or perhaps some criticism in the sense of why are we looking at something that excludes food and energy. food energy costs affect our bottom line and what we spend every week. it is what we see with the price of gas and prices at the food store. there is a question of is the

volatility of energy prices affecting things that go into all of the other commodities that we are purchasing in the retail market? the cost of transportation -- is that causing inflation to go up for things that we buy at the retail level? one of the things we see with this chart is those of volatile prices have not translated into large increases of all items less food and energy. it has varied between 2.5 and a little over 0.5% over the last three years. they have not translated into higher and higher inflation rates for all of the other goods and services we purchase. tot: i am going to turn you. having looked at the inflation chart --

guest: payroll collections have dropped mainly because of the loss of jobs. i assume you are comparing it back to before the recession. also, in the recession, there have been no big wage increases. prices have gone up. who got the money? in the short run, it has been corporate profits. host: we did just show at the beginning of the program "u.s. today" a single digit wage increase for earners. are things starting to move in that direction? guest: very, very slowly. with the level of on employment,

we do not expect to see a significant rise -- with the level of unemployment, we do not expect to see a significant rise in wages. they are worried about jobs. just like what the previous person was trying to address. host: the next call is from new jersey. john is on the line. you are on the air. caller: good morning. i want to make a short statement and then followed it up with a question. the increase in food and energy prices affects people in lower income groups much more severely than higher income groups. you can cut back in a lot of areas, but you have to eat. if you have family commitments, you have to drive and heat your house. do you take into account the

reductions in weights and volumes which is becoming much more common? the chart that you showed with declining food prices during the depths of the economic turmoil. i noticed a lot of cutbacks. ice-cream was reduced by 25%. born juice, 8%. some effort to reduce -- orange juice, 8%. cereals, chips, and snack foods. if it goes on and on and on. do you take into account these reductions? host: we have a series of slides talking about how you collect the data. guest: for low income people, energy prices and food are a larger portion of their budgets.

we do not want to overlook them. no one has ever suggested that we would leave energy and food prices out of the adjustments that we make to social security or other programs. i think he is right that it is crucial but we have to adjust for the average. not just a couple of items. host: let's answer that question of how. walk us through how you do the sampling. guest: we have 87 geographic areas that we cover. there are 31 large cities and 56 smaller areas that we divide into seven geographical units. there are 38 distinct areas for which we collect 211 items. every single month.

host: what does this show us? guest: it shows the large sized cities that we have. because of the number of people that live in chicago, l.a., and new york, we have a fairly large sample size for those cities. boston, atlanta, cleveland, and dallas. so, basically, if you look at some of the yellow ones, those are the small area -- the smaller areas that we combine to represent the smaller areas of the u.s. the goal of this is to reduce our price index for the nation as a whole. every month, it is a pretty amazing operation from a production standpoint. we have 450 data collectors that go out. one of the things they do when

they encountered a reduction in the package is they account for that by looking at the price per ounce. we priced it not in terms of a box of cereal, but we calculate the price per ounce. they verify every characteristic of the item. if they priced the box of cereal and go back a month later and find that the amount has changed. they collect prices for approximately 83,000 items per month. that is done in a per threeaperiod -- that is done in a three-week period. it is a very large scale and dedicated operation. we can look at the items that we are pricing. host: i know that you go with the people are, but our rural

people not tracked? guest: it is also defined for the rural population. host: is a logical that we would only look at urban populations? guest: realistically, it is the only way we can get the data upon a reliable basis. rural families are probably pretty similar today to small cities. they are pretty similar to rural people. remember, rural people provide a lot of their own food on their farm, for example. there is no way to take account of that. host: this viewer writes to us -- call.take our next phone pensacola, michael, you are on the air.

caller: i would like to ask your guests about how familiar they are with -- it seems to make a professor from stanford has a realistic look at the economic situation and how government interference usually winds up doing the opposite of what it should. in some cases, every economic act has an equal and opposite reaction, much like the 6. recently in alabama, -- much like physics. recently in alabama, farm labor in the birmingham area, farmers that raised -- so many mexican immigrants moved away from that.

that is very near birmingham, a large urban population. none of the people who are on a social welfare system want to go out there and pick tomatoes. the social welfare system in many cases makes these people so idle and gives them a high- calorie food, they end up being unable to very productive at such things. it is a good start for teenagers to learn a good work ethic. i learned all kinds of things which gave me an ethic and now i enjoy a nice standard of living. host: anything for that caller? guest: the adequacy or excess of social programs is an issue of enormous political dispute in

this country. i do not think there is a right or wrong answer. people have different political opinions. we are talking about our ability to measure the economic circumstances that people are in. host: how would you respond to this the work on twitter who asks -- onrespond to this view weer twitter who asks -- guest: as far as the official poverty index, the thresholds are updated each year by the cpi. there is a role in terms of looking at how poverty is measured. there is also of the research has been done for a number of years that looks at another one of our data sets and looks at what people spend on food, shelter, clothing, and utilities what they need to get by.

as far as the middle class is concerned, it is a tough concept because it is a cultural concept, a social concept, and an economic concept. there has been a lot of research done to try to define the middle class using datasets such as the population. there is no easy answer. we do not have a firm definition, but we have data that exists. there is a tremendous amount of data that helps to inform what people earn at every level of income distribution. host: we are talking about how the government measures inflation. we have about eight minutes left in a program. mary on twitter --

would you capture that? guest: absolutely. she is quite right about coffee prices. we collect food prices for a wide variety of items. host: i would imagine what goes in your market basket is the subject of enormous debate. guest: actually not. what goes into the market basket is determine scientifically by what consumers spend. we have a second survey were over a two-year period, we have about 25,000 diaries where people write detailed information about what they buy at the grocery store and about 60,000 interviews for what they purchase on everything else. all that information feeds into what proportion of spending is on food, beverages, and all the different categories that i

talked about before. we determine how important the price of one item versus another through this survey. host: mississippi, clyde is up next. caller: susan, how are you doing this morning? i just got disappointed because we do not have people who really understand what the problem is. i believe i have told you my story before. a farmer for 30 years and the federal government took it. the problem is purchasing power for farmers. prices received by farmers have been below the 1932 level adjusted for inflation.

to have the same purchasing power, i would have to grow 90,000 paper dollars to have the same purchasing power as 1971. agriculture growth in come from the 1950's went up 200%. all other sectors of the american economy went up up to 3000%. until economists understand what one said back in the 1930's through the 1960's, until you understand what he talked about, we are out of balance for all of the material prices. host: thank you so much. guest: i would think that the caller is exactly right. farming has not been a high return occupation for the last 100 years. i do not see it changing in the short run.

a lot of people need farming. this is someone who involuntarily lost farming because they lost their farm. farm prices have been depressed for some time. it reflects the technological changes in farming. and open markets and competition. host: we had an earlier comment about social security. i want to make sure we get to. would you walk us through this? guest: the chart that you have defines two concepts. headline index. the reason i have the 'jww' there, the adjustments made for wage earners and clerical workers. the adjustment for social security was made originally in the 1970's.

since then, we have expanded in terms of the social security rules still adjusted by the cpi for wage earners and clerical workers. if you go to the slide here on cpi-e, we do have a research index that looks at basically the consumer price index for the elderly. it limits our view of expenditures to families in which the head of household or a spouse is an aged 62 or older. we do produce a cpi from that perspective. one of the things that we don't do is we do not track what stores the elderly and shop at or what they buy. host: so the 'w' subset is used for social security. wouldn't the 'e' be more

effective? guest: that is a policy issue that i cannot address. do you have slide 10? this is an important slide because i think one of the things that people have noticed, that people have argued passionately about is what happened to social security payments over the last few years. if you take a look at the rules that are set, the price index for wage earners, july, august, and september and take an average of those. 203.596. in 2008, it rose 218. that gave seniors an increase of 5.8%.

basically, the 2008 figure. it then fell to 211. it was a negative change. the social security rules are an increase for zero for that particular year. people are going to wonder comparing the yellow to green, it actually grew. the reason it fell is because the rule for social security is that the index has to be compared to the previous peak. 214 is compared to 213. it is always compared to the previous peak. host: you can see quite a difference in the two. guest: absolutely. host: explain to people why it has been zero.

what other beside social security do these measurements of fact? guest: if you take a look at poverty, the poverty threshold are used as eligibility requirements for a great number of programs. school lunch programs, breakfast programs, as well as the earned income tax credit that i mentioned. in addition, if you take a look at that triangle, there are a lot of retirement benefits that are indexed such as military retirement, railroad retirement, and the civil service system. host: we are at from the people at home receiving benefits, but confident should they have an elite the accuracy of the statistics that set the ocla? -- cola? guest: they should have a high

index. this is the best price index down in the world. it is an extraordinarily elaborate and next. there has never been a claim of bias in the united states of the index. economists have different points of view and they can see exactly what they're doing and we criticize them all the time. we're very open to revising when people come up with better methodologies. i think it is one of the best price indexes in the world. consumers do not like it because it does not fabricate exactly what they're experiencing but it is a good overall price experience. host: thank you so much for being here. michael horrigan, from the prices and living conditions from the bureau of labor statistics.

and barry bosworth, senior fellow in economic studies with a new book out. it is called, "the decline in savings -- the threat to america's prosperity." we are wrapping up on the "washington journal." we hope you'll be back with us tomorrow might 7:00 a.m. eastern time. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> news from the white house this morning.

news organizations reporting the white house plans to announce a compromise bill a the concerns about health and human services ruling requiring religious employers to cover birth control according to a senior administration officials. gabrielle giffords reportedly in washington today of the president will sign her a bill we will now take you live to the second day of the conservative political action conference. on your screen, the executive director for the american center of law and justice and will be introducing virginia gov. bob mcdonnell. live coverage here on c-span. >> we encourage illegal immigration, but to sue the state of arizona -- which is nothing new for these administration. when indiana decided not to fund planned parenthood, the aclu filed a lawsuit.

the federal government is telling the states who and how they must fund. to me, i find it absolutely abhorrent to the foundations of our freedom and from the standpoint of the republic. our republic rests on the idea of a limited government. it is an easy move to go from a situation in indiana to obamacare. we represent one-third of the u.s. congress in a series of three briefs before the united states supreme court. congress, michele bachmann, ron paul, paul brown. i gave you all 119, i would take up my remaining time. we represent one-third of the congress in the greatest power grab in our history. you think my grandfather coming over on that but would have

imagined the day when the federal government would tell him what he must buy as a cost of citizenship in the united states of america? i do not think he would've thought that is right and i do not think the founders would. now to the supreme court. i was never a particularly good math student, but i can count to 5. to win cases in the supreme court, you have to get to five. we piled three distinct and separate briefs on this, but the next president of the united states probably selects two supreme court justices. i want to put this in context. that is the supreme court i will be litigating in front of brother rest of my life. take the partial birth abortion case, 5-4. the challenge to the pledge of allegiance, a decision on staining to maintain "under

god" in the pledge, 5-4. this election matters. what we need to do is get into a situation where we are proud of america. here is what i wanted to end with. in honor of of my grandfather who fled soviet russia and and came to brooklyn and opened up a fruit stand, no compromise and no apologies for america. thank you very much. [applause] ♪

>> ladies and gentlemen, please welcome die stinson. >> good morning. how are we doing? i was asked to say this. laurene from's book signing has been moved to 2:00 p.m. in line -- laura ingram's book signign has been moved to 2:00 down stairs. thank you for going to hotair.com and we are at 50 million clicks per month. before i moved to the washington area, i was living in chicago, ill., known as the land of lincoln, but these days it is better known as the land of rahm emmanuel, pat quinn, dick

durbin, and barack obama. a state run by democrats. illinois has racked up unsustainable bills and despite enacting two massive tax increases, they were downgraded by moody's to the lowest state credit rating in the country. it was the worst local let go of our national downgrade under president obama. -- ti was the worst local echo. i have moved it to become a proud member of the commonwealth of virginia. under conservative gov. bob mcdonnell, $6 million biannual that does -- defiicit that he

"inherited" has been transformed consecutive budget surpluses. how did he do it? that's the important part. the governor accomplished this raising taxes but by cutting spending including the complete defunding of planned parenthood in the commonwealth. today, and employment in virginia stands at 6.2%, two full points below the national average and cnbc has right to virginia as the most business friendly state. virginians went blue in 2008, but they like what they are

seeing from governor mcdonnell. his approval rating is in the 60%'s and they handed him the biggest majority in that virginia house of delegates in history. he turned the state senate into republican state senate. quite simply, governor mcdonnell's virginium is proving that the principle of limited government conservatism works in substance and that the balalot box. if anyone at the white house would bother to look, the answer is across the potomac. please join me in welcoming a great leader, the chief executive of the commonwealth of virginia, gov. bob mcdonnell. [applause]

>> thank you. thank you. good morning. thank you. good morning, fellow conservatives. what a great turnout here in washington, d.c., today. great to see so many young people, the future of america, to be able to talk about what we need to do to get our country back on track. greetings from the commonwealth of virginia, the cradle of democracy, and we are thrilled that virginia is still contributing, as it has for so long, to the causes of a freedom of liberty in this great country. i am here with my wife of 36 years and i'm delighted that she has been able to join us today. thank you for a great introduction, and i appreciate what you do with town hall to get people together to talk about the important things in our country. this is a gathering of the

11,000 most conservative activists in one place at one time. thank you for coming. we are glad to have you. your presence here speaks volumes about your character, your love for this great country. 0.5% do what you are doing, showing up at a political rally, knock on doors, and work the polls, see you are to be commended for taking that freedom that our military fight for every day and putting it into practice by coming here. thank you very much for doing that. you aboutto talk to the american dream. you know what that is. it is a fundamental american thing, a belief that in this great country, if you work hard, dream big, if you are honest and pursue opportunities, if you use your god-given talents to the maximum degree possible that you

cannot be anything you want. that is the american dream. it is uniquely something our founders planted, but you and i know we have a battle to conserve that dream from big government obama's machine. it was planted on the shores of virginia at jamestown back in 697. -- 1607. it was given a definition in 1776 and i'm glad that that the nea have chosen for your convention. we still hold these truths to be self-evident because they are self-evident and we were endowed by our creator, not government. then there is the work of other great virginians, ga. madison

and james mason, riding the greatest political document the world has ever known, the united states constitution, giving further light to what we believe as a people. now there's a battle to preserve the time and principals -- the timeless principles in this is what the future of the american republic is about. are you ready to fight for those? i hope you are. [applause] i have a story like so many of you in this room. 100 years ago, my grandfather got off the boat from ireland, came through ellis island, may 25th, 1912. he did not come with much. he ended up in boston working in a factory. he had a bunch of kids and told my dad, "work hard, dream big.

this is a great country." my dad decided to enlist in the army -- in the air force in the army air corps. when my dad was raised in an average kid in fairfax county, he told me i needed to care about my country, defend those liberties that have made us the shining city on the hill. i spent 21 years in the military as an army officer in the reserves and on active duty. i passed that same thing on to my daughter. i'm sure this is the story many of you as well. my daughter was an army platoon leader in iraq about five years ago. [applause]

i have to say there were a couple of times she would call about enemy fire and countered and, yes, i did get emotional. she did not. she got the job done. [applause] that is the american dream that i have lived. i never thought that coming from a humble average grandfather that i would end up with the same job held by patrick henry and thomas jefferson, the first two governors of virginia. [applause] that is what this election is all about, all of us having that opportunity, what ever talent

god has given us to serve other people and make sure the principles founded on the banks of the james river are still alive and well for your kids in your grandkids. it really is a time for choosing. you remember that great speech ronald reagan wrote in 1964 supporting barry goldwater saying why he became a republican. the researchers is we need to make of the country, a division between the constitutional limited government and a constantly growing and expanded federal government. it is a choice between whether we really believe in increase in the free enterprise or we believe it is the private sector and people living in freedom, making the wrong choices, are the answer or the growing government and welfare state leading to prosperity. these are the choices i think we

have to make over these next 10 months and i bet i know where you stand. i'm asking you to make a difference so that the limited constitutional government is what our legacy will be for america. article one, section 8 of the constitution defines the box of government, yet they keep finding a bigger box. the 10th amendment, ninth amendment, all the other powers go to you, the people come and to us, the states. jefferson, madison, they believed was a government of the people. it that is the kind of government we want at every level. would you agree? [applause] we needed the formula wrong and you do not read the owner's manual, guess what you get?

$15 trillion in debt and growing. $3.50 billion in borrowing a day to keep the lights on. and 8% unemployment rate for the entire obama presidency. you get a failure to create policies that will actually stimulate the private sector, the entrepreneur, the job creator, the lover of free enterprise, the risk taker, the capitalist. you get more government programs that killed jobs and stifle job creation. that is why we need a new president of the united states, don't you think? [applause] we tried pay attention to that in virginia. there was a $2 billion tax increase and a $4 billion deficit when i came into office.

we killed that, cut spending by $4 billion over that time, and we did the same thing this year. guess what? fiscal conservative principles work. we have $1 billion in surplus the last two years. it works. the government has to do what you do every day. you have to balance your checkbook. you have to do it all the time. who does he blame? he blames you, wall street, the tea party, the american republicans. two days ago he blamed the founders. can you believe that? take responsibility. you are the commander in chief. take responsibility. stop making excuses. let's turn this country around. [applause] that is what we have tried to do in virginia. when it comes to creating jobs

and making sure we believe in the foundational principle of a free enterprise system, we have said we believe that success is good. if you make money because you have lived the american dream, we think that is a good thing and we will not tax you more, raise more regulations on you, engage in class warfare. that is the wrong formula. we want more success, not less. you tax and regulate it, you will get less of it. in virginia, we like the fact that we're the most business- friendly state and we want more people to come to virginia. we want to tell that story around the world with our 6.2% unemployment rate, third lowest east of the mississippi, so companies are coming to virginia because of that. i am thrilled to have the opportunity to be governor of

virginia and talk about these kinds of principles. thomas jefferson said, "is a wise and frugal government you need in order to respect the liberty of the people." ronald reagan said, "we have to reform government to be able to eliminate things like funding for planned parenthood, public television subsidies, and programs that do not work." we're back to 2007 spending levels in the general fund, but we have to make the tough choices to get rid of things that do not work. i love to talk about what reagan said in that speech in 1964 when he said, "a government bureau is the closest thing to eternal life we will ever see in this earth, "and he is absolutely right. what we have in washington right now is a surplus of rhetoric and a deficit of results.

what we need is results- oriented conservatism. the bible says something very important in the book of james." faith without works is dead." of young conservative principles that we have to stick to but you do not get results, you have an effective government. we have to be about problem- solving, can do conservatives. we need be with get things done for the people, because that is what people want. they want government to get the job done, stay out of the way, at let them pursue the american dream. you know what? that is a republican governors are doing all over the country. i had the honor of being the chairman of the republican governors association. there have been great work by hailey barbour, rick perry, and others and we now have 29

republican governors. [applause] republican governors are getting it done. 11 out of the top 15 states in america right as the most business-friendly, governed by republicans. seven out of 10 states with the lowest unemployment rate? governed by republicans. over the last year and half, while president obama has racked up new debt, republican governors have a cut $65 billion in deficit to around the country. that is result-oriented conservatives and what we need in washington, d.c.

[applause] you look at what people like scott walker is doing, is he not a stand-up guy in wisconsin? [applause] he has the courage to look people in the eye to cut spending, less taxes, less unionization of wisconsin will be more productive. that is what you're seeing in that state. they're getting things done. i have a goal to bump those numbers up dramatically in the next couple of months with your help because republican governors believe in getting results. that is why i am strongly supporting mitt romney for president because i believe he is a results-oriented conservative. [applause]

whether it was as governor of massachusetts, the head of a large private sector company and turning around the olympics, he is a results-oriented can do conservative. he is able to get things accomplished whether it is cutting $3 billion in deficits in massachusetts, creating over 100,000 jobs for people, to me, that is the kind of can-do responsible conservatism that we need for the united states of america. [applause] i want to close with a call to action. it has been purchased with the blood, sweat, and tears. people who are willing to go out and put on a uniform, badge, or gun to defend your liberties because they look liberty some much they are willing to give

their life for the cause of freedom. if they can do that, it should not be too hard for us in the next 10 months to take a call to arms to restore the founders' vision of limited government, and entrepreneurship, and god given individual responsibility in this country. are you willing to do that to be able to turn our country back around? [applause] i grew up 1 mile from mount vernon. my favorite president is george washington. he was an incredible general, patriot, leader, and he said something profound i want to leave you with in his first inaugural address. he expected it to ring throughout the ages as a sort of call for what we need to demand principles you need to

stick to america will be the greatest country on earth. he said, "the profession is smiles of heaven can never be expected to remain nomination the disregard the internal rules of order and a right, which have been itself has ordained." i believe washington was right. what was true and right at the founding of this country is true and right today. values matter. character counts. care for those that are in need it, having a strong national defense, have the limited government that respects the god-given talents of people to pursue the american dream without access to government regulation and taxation. that is what we planned -- planted on these shores.

remember the words of washington. stick to the eternal truths of order and a right that heaven has ordained. if you do that, there will be a conservative renaissance in our country and we will have a new commander in chief, a president, a conservative majority in the senate, a record number of conservatives governing the state of this nation, and america will be the shining city on the hill once again. if god bless you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you very much. [applause] ♪ >> life is so much fun and so filled with humor. there is a bar a few doors down. a conservative, a liberal, and a

moderate walked into the bar. the bartender said, "hi, mitt." [applause and boos] [laughter] people ask why i havsupport excedrin. he is a friend. he is competitive, he is a fighter. the minute i saw him speak, his authenticity, and what a nice contrast, about the authenticity of rex santorum with the current president. this is the combat of the spirit we will need to win, and he has the three legs of the reagan stool. i am not supporting him because he's my friend and i like him

and he loves god and his family. i am not supporting him because i agree with all his policies, because i don't. guys with the egos think they have to have their way all the time. here is why i support him. not only does he have the best chance of winning, but maybe the only chance of winning. why don't we learn? we cannot support these experienced, wonderful war horses, these veterans. it didn't work with bob dole, it didn't work with john mccain did the democrats learned it did not work with al gore and it did not work with kerry. how did the democrats win? they bring fresh faces, clinton and carter from nowhere, obama from beyond nowhere. [laughter] [applause] rick santorum was described by

-- "newt gingrich is a visionary. paul is an ideologue. mitt romney is an executive. rick santorum is a servant." as he goes around and speaks -- [applause] this is what resonates. as he gave his iowa speech, a pundit said it is the first time in history that the republicans won a blue color candidate. with 1 million more democrats registered against him, and he appeals to the blue-collar worker. the grandson of a coal miner has an advantage over a guy who makes a lot of money. the grandson of all coal miner as a huge opportunity to

identify with the guys working hard. the other thing you like about rick santorum, you never hear him say anything divisive. he will challenge positions, but he brings people together. we have to bring america together, rich, poor, catholic, and to, whenever -- catholic, jew, whatever. it reminds me of a cute story. a young fellow buries his car in a ditch and gets a farmer with a big hook, and he says, "pull, bill." nothing happens. "pull, homer." why did you have to call your

course -- horse 4 names? if it was all about pullijng, he wouldn't give a damn. [laughter] [applause] i have the greatest honor to introduce a man who will unite us all. i want you to welcome the next president of the united states, rick santorum. >> thank you.

thank you. [applause] thank you. thank you very much. you are eating into my time. thank you. this is not the von trapp family and we are not going to sing. [laughter] but it is great to be here at cpac. i'm not telling any jokes, i think foster cornered the market on that. thank you for that wonderful reception for not just me, but my family that is here. the folks walking in with me today and walking the journey with me are here with me today because this is who i am. they are here with me. i want to introduce -- most of

you have seen them before, but this is my wife, karen, the rock that i stand upon. sarah, patrick, daniel, elizabeth, peter, and john. [applause] and of course, the one who is not here with us but is home and recuperating well and doing amazingly well thanks to your prayers, our little girl. [applause] i came here back right after the 200010 election. i came to a lot of cpacs over the years, and i said that conservatism cannot fail our country. conservatives failed conservatism. that is what i believed then, and that we in fact lost p

heart. we listen to the voices who said we had to abandon our principles and our values to get things done, to win. we hear those same voices today, that we have to learn our lesson. we hear that we need to compromise and do what is politically reasonable and pushed some ford who can win. the lesson we learned is that we will no longer abandon and apologize for the policies and principles that made this country great for a hollow victory in november. [applause] the other thing we should

recognize -- as conservatives and tea party folks, we're not just wings of the republican party, we are the republican party. [applause] folks, i've been here before. we know each other. we have worked together. we have taken on the tough battles that confront this country. i know you and you know me. that is important. i think knowing the people who are the conservative leaders, no one the people -- knowing the people who bring the ideas and the breadth at wellspring of ideas to conservatism is important. policies are personnel.

personnel is what makes it. knowing the people to bring and to surround yourself with. the voices we listened to in the past were people we brought in who told us we cannot stand by those principles. this engine, and, as president of the united states, we will surround ourselves in this administration with people who share our values and are committed to the principles that made this country great, leaders of the conservative movement. [applause] we now there is a lot of excitement here, because this election is about very big things. this is not just about jobs, although it is about jobs. we need to do something about jobs in this country, and we put forward an economic plan that "the wall street journal" called supply-side economics for the working man. we care to make sure that every american has the opportunity to

rise, that the ladder goes down not just people who might be voting for us, but yes, the very poor, the people what and suffering and -- the people out and suffering and left behind. we want opportunity for all americans, blue-collar americans, to rise in society. we have a plan that reinvigorate the manufacturing base in our society. that is important. it is important that we tackle this huge, monsters in debt that we have in our country, a debt that is crushing america and our children, an immoral debt. [applause] i put forward another plan that says we will cut $5 trillion in five years, and every year we will spend less money than the year before, year after year after year until budget is balanced. no more cuts in the rate of growth. [applause]

we know it is about big things, though, more than just the economy. it is about foundational principles and we have seen that in the last few weeks. every speech i have given, from its 381 town hall meetings in iowa, i talked about founding principles. this campaign is going to be about a vision. it is about who we are as americans, because in essence that is what is at stake. it is an election about what kind of a country you are going to lead for the next generation. are we a country that believes as our founders did, that our rights don't come from the government, they come from a much higher authority? [applause]

there are those in our country and those in the oval office who believe that is not the case. they believe that rights to come from the government, and they have gone around convincing the american public that they can give you rights. the most important one they have been able to shut down the throats of the american public was the right to health care, the right to health care, obamacare. we see what happens when government gives you rights. when government gives you rights, government can take away those rights. one government gives you rights, they can course you -- coerce you enter exercising the rights they have given. i have talked about how obamacare will crush economic freedom and make people

dependent on government for the most important things, their very lives. as a result, government will own you because you have to pay tribute to washington. one of the reasons i am in this race, the major reason i am in this race, it is because i think that obamacare is a game changer for america. [applause] market thatcher said when she left the prime ministership of england that she was never able to accomplish what reagan accomplished. once people have that dependency, they are never really free again. we have seen this play out the last few weeks. we have seen the president of the and i is that it's not only tell you what insurance coverage you should have, how much you should pay, but he is now

telling the catholic church that they are forced to pay for things that are against their basic teachings, against their first amendment rights. interestingly enough, here is what they are forcing them to do -- in an insurance policy, they or forcing them to pay for something that costs a few dollars. is that what insurance is for? the foundational idea that the government tells you that you have to pay for everything as a business, things that are not really things you need insurance for, and still forcing on something that is not a critical economic need, when you have economic distress where you would need insurance, but forcing them even of the more to do it for minor expenses. ladies and gentlemen, this is the kind of coercion we can expect. it is not about contraception. it is about economic liberty, i

guess about freedom of speech, freedom of religion --. it is about freedom of speech, freedom of religion. it is about government control of your lives, and it has got to stop. [applause] this isn't the only place that president obama has tried to control your lives. one of the favorite things of the left is to use your sentimentality, and your proper understanding and belief that we are stewards of this earth and we have a responsibility to head off a beautiful earth to the next generation. they use that and they have used it in the past to try to scare

you into supporting radical ideas on the environment. they tried it with this idea, this politicization of an idea called man-made global warming. president obama, you may remember, tried to pass cap-and- trade and tried to get control not only of the health care system but of the energy industry, the manufacturing industry, two big sectors of this economy, and using this facade of man-made global warming. i stood up and fought against those things. why? because they will destroy the very foundation of prosperity in our country. you look at any country in the world, you look at their energy consumption and the cost of energy and the quality of life, their standard of living, the more energy consumption, the higher the standard of living. that is just the bottom line. we need in america, if we are

going to fuel a great and vibrant economy, we need affordable energy. this administration has gone out and not only has attacked us with cap-and-trade and global warming, but now that that has been slowed in the dustbin of history, they are going after hydro fracking. i come from pennsylvania. we are doing a little bit of that in pennsylvania, thank god. [applause] and guess what? of course, now that we are doing fracking near population centers, the bogeyman comes out. ooh, look at what is going to do to you. there have been wells fracking in the united states. 700,000, 800,000. where is all the noise? they it scare you and intimidate you to trust them and give them more power. we need somebody who is willing

to go out on these big issues of the day and draw contrasts. we are not going to win this election, ladies and gentlemen, because the republican candidate as the most money to beat up there on and win the election -- their opponent and win the election. [applause] we are not going to win this election with overt or lopsided many advantages. we won't have one in the fall. president obama will have more money, whoever our nominee is. it is going to take ideas, mission, contrast, a record of accomplishment that can go against the failed policies of barack obama. that's the winner. [applause] let's just take a look at in the republican field. who has the boldest contrast,

the record they can run on? who has the old plan -- the bold plans to turn this country around and support the institutions that provide the foundation for our country, faith and family? who has that strong record and that contrast? [applause] ok. i guess i can quit now, since you are convinced of that. [laughter] on the issue of obamacare, who has a record of supporting all the savings accounts, tort reform, bottom-up consumer- driven health care? who has supported the stepchild of obamacare, the person in

massachusetts who had the largest government-run healthcare system in the united states? someone who would simply give that issue away in the fall? give the issue a way of government control of your health? who would be the better person to go after the obama administration on trying to control the energy and manufacturing sector of our economy and try to dictate to you what lights to turn on and what cars to drive? would it be someone who bought into man-made global warming and a post the first -- imposed the first carbon cap in massachusetts, the first in the country? would it be someone who took on the other big issue of government control of our economy, the government control the financial services sector? we see everybody up on stage at the debate complaining about dodd-frank. two of the three candidates

supported the wall street bailout, the predecessor of which dodd-frank was based upon. who would provide a clear contrast? believing in the conservative and vision, bottom-up, free people, free markets, not government dependency, government control. we're not going to win with money. we are going to win with contrast, win with ideas, when by making -- win by making barack obama and his failed policies the issue in this race. [applause] we won in 2010 because conservatives rallied.

they were excited about the contrasts, excited about the candidates were put forth in that election. that is why we won. we always talk about how do we get the moderates. why would an undecided voter vote for a candidate who the party is not excited about? [applause] we need conservatives now to rally for conservatives to go into november, excite the conservative base, and defeat barack obama in the fall. [applause] as i close, i would just say this -- when i started the speech, i referred to where our rights came from, and that is in

the declaration of independence. i know a lot of folks like to focus on the constitution, and the constitution is obviously the operator's manual for america. it is the how of america, and it is essential that we return our government to the constraints of the constitution. but the why of america, who we are, is in the declaration. "we hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal and are in doubt by their creator with certain -- endowed by our creator with certain inalienable rights." the one thing government is to do is to protect those rights so that you can for families, churches, community organizations, civic groups, schools, and all the great and just society from the bottom up. that is the conservative vision for america. that's who we are.

at the end of that declaration, there's a phrase. the signers signed the declaration with this pledge -- state bank pledged their lives, their fortune, and there sigrid -- under th -- they pledged their lives, their fortune, and their sacred honor. man and woman steps forward every day and put the uniform of the military on every day. [applause] i am not asking for your fortune, although if you go to ricksantorum.com -- [laughter] a piece of that fortune would be very helpful. but i am asking for your honor.

honor is a term that is not used in america very often anymore, but it is exactly what is at stake. we are stewards of our great inheritance, and it is our responsibility to shepherd that inheritance and make it a greater and richer one for the next generation. if we fail to do that, we have failed our duty and our honor as americans. this is our opportunity. many generations come and go in america living in inconsequential times. you are blessed to live at a time when america needs you. [applause] please walk out of this gathering, choose the candidate

that you believe is the right person to lead this country not just to victory, but to the changes that are necessary for the victory to be won so you can say "i have done my duty, i have kept my honor." thank you, and god bless. [applause] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, i want to get in front of you pray

couple of minutes with house cleaning items. those of you who have been here for cpac before have gotten in the habit of voting for our presidential straw poll. we're doing it again this year. raise your hand if you have already voted in the straw poll. those of you who have not voted, raise your hand. leave the room. kidding, kidding. go to the front desk and get one of these slips of paper. go to room 8228. we got rid of the paper ballots. you are going to vote on a computer and will take you two minutes and it is great. another way you can do it is to it from your smartphone. there is a unique access code and it can only be used by you and you can only use it to vote once. we are doing this in conjunction

with "the washington times." "the washington times" is the only newspaper that the american conservative union leads and we hope you subscribe as well. thank you very much. the polls are open until tomorrow afternoon. thank you. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, al cardenas, chairman of the american conservative union. >> good afternoon, or good morning, everyone. great speech by senator santorum. we have a lot of great stuff going on. i hope you stay.

hey, if we could have a little quiet. shh. we have an ongoing program, so if there are some of you leaving, please do so as quietly as you can. shh. thank you. ladies and gentlemen, this the first time in acu's history -- 1971, thatory since we have started an award, which we will do yearly, and that is the international defender of the freedom award. as you know, we live in a dangerous world, and there are a lot of heroes who are trying to emulate the very same proven values that we encapsulate in american exceptionalism -- free markets, individual liberties, traditional values. there is one here that is particularly significant to me. this is of great personal importance, i may add if i can have that privilege, because my

family had to flee communism. we had to incur human losses and we lost everything we had, and a loss of the homeland by my parents. there is one person who fought for the rights and expected human beings to have the rights that any human being should have, the rights of freedom. someone i care for very much, and he passed in december. i will ask the ambassador of this country if he could join me so he can share the award, ambassador petr gandalovic of ladies and gentlemen, this award has been given to václav h avel. he is an incredible hero of the

velvet revolution in 1989, someone who worked alongside our president ronald reagan and the overcoming of the tyranny of the iron curtain. the last president of the country of czechoslovakia and the first president of the czech republic. now millions of people can enjoy freedom and liberty texting his courage and tenacity in freeing is people from the soviets. i want the ambassador to join me in getting the first award we have ever given, the international defender of freedom award, and it is presented to you, february 10, 2012. [applause] >> mr. chairman, ladies and gentlemen, it is a great honor

and privilege to accept this award on behalf of the late president havel. in these past few weeks, since is passing in december, it has become clear that he touched lives of many americans regardless whether it they are politicians in the nation's capitol or the cuban freedom fighter in the miami suburbs. he always held americans very close to his heart. he loved and respected the people of this great country that embodies the values and principles he fought for his whole life. freedom and democracy. this award is yet another proof that the feeling of admiration and respect was mutual. the fact that i am accepting this on this occasion makes this a very special honor for me. ,n behalf of president havel.

thank you all. [applause] >> thank you, mr. ambassador. thank you all freedom loving people. thank you very, very much. thank you. ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, matt kibbe. >> how is everybody doing? are there any tea partiers here? i have a couple questions. who thinks that government should balance its budget? about 100% on that one. he thinks we should raised taxes

one more time if they promised to stop spending after we do that? that is what we have to talk about today, how to balance the budget, how to get to a balanced budget amendment without raising taxes, and first i would like to introduce senator john barrasso from wyoming. he is an orthopedic surgeon, wyoming's position of the year, chairman of a caucus, and he serves on the energy natural resources committee. next, the congressman connie mack from florida. -- congressman mack happens to be a candidate for u.s. senate. with that i would like to ask

senator grasso to open with some remarks. >> it is wonderful to be back with you. last year i had a chance to talk about why "obamacare" is wrong for america, and today after hearing senator santorum, i can hear from all of you that that argument is still as important as it has ever been, that piece of legislation is less popular with americans than it has ever been before. today we will talk about another important issue, and that is washington's runaway spending. what is a fundamental step in getting it under control, which is a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. year fourw entering n

of the obama economy. washington's that is $15.30 trillion, 42% higher than when president obama took office. before there was a president obama, the good old days, we had never had an annual budget deficit of more than $459 billion. over the four years of his term, which will never see a deficit of less than $1 trillion. that is why for the safety and security and prosperity of this country, this has to be his only term. people ask, where it all the spending,? first, there is a trillion dollars worth of budget tricks

that are making it more expensive for private sector businesses to create jobs. under this health care plan -- a lot of town meetings, any place i go, i say, how many of you think you will pay more for health care under "obamacare"? every hand goes up. how many of you believe that the quality of your care will go down, and every and it goes up. that is not what the american people want come to expect, not what they will accept. then where did the money go? the so-called stimulus program. $800 billion, many turning to, companies like solyndra. remember all those shovel-ready products? all he did was shoveled millions

of dollars out the door on to the next generation. the president got absolutely everything he wanted in the first two years of his administration. he pass everything he wanted with the democrat-controlled house, democrat-controlled senate, and we know how that worked out. 13 million americans out of work, unemployment still above 8%, 36 months in a row. just last week the congressional budget office came out saying unemployment is going to get worse this year and even worse next year. to me it is not too complicated. president obama has failed because his only answers are higher taxes, or spending, and bigger government. we have a better idea. reduce spending, reform taxes, and removed obama. -- remove obama. what you have planned for this

year? at the scene at the budget? we have not seen it, when he comes up with it, it will not be a balanced budget. he has never submitted a balanced budget. the budget he submitted last year was so outrageous that harry reid would not bring it up for a vote, so mitch mcconnell brought it up for a vote. nobody voted for it. it failed 0-97 in the senate. that is saying something. it has been over 1000 days since the democrats have pass a budget in the senate. that is what we have gotten under the obama economy. the question we have is, do we need a balanced budget amendment, and yes, of course we do. we tried before in 1982. the senate pass the amendment

and it fell short in the house. at that time the total debt was $1.10 trillion. it came back again in 1997 under the leadership of orrin hatch. when the senate failed by one vote to pass an amendment, the debt was $5 trillion. today we're looking at a $15 trillion in debt. even obama's advisers realize what a threat this is to our security and our future. the democrats think it is a taxing problem. they think we are not taxed enough. it is a spending problem. we spend too much. the american people get it, 74% believe we need an amendment to the constitution. i hear it in my opening every weekend. , i will be there later this evening. a constituent said in wyoming we do not spend more than we make.

to do anything else would label won a full. we know what we have to do with families. we know what states do. conservative governors have been doing it right. but at indiana, ohio, new jersey, florida, and back home in wyoming. all these governors across the country are doing it right. wyoming has earned the reputation of being a great state. we had six young conservatives here from the university of wyoming to date during the crowd, and they will tell you we do it right because we believe in very low taxes, reasonable regulations, and every year by law we have to balance our budget at home in wyoming. that is what we are rated so highly, and that is why all of us believe it is important to have a constitutional amendment to balance the budget. 30 years ago, 1982, reagan gave a speech on the steps of the capital, and he was a favorite

of cpac. this is what he told the crowd. he said, there are elitists. he said there are elitists who resent americans like yourselves getting involved in the serious business of changing the constitution. he said, but our constitution was not written to protect the government from its people. it was written to protect the people from their government. [applause] 30 years ago the solutions today are the same -- a balanced budget amendment to the constitution, and he said all of them are not the same period a balanced budget that caps spending as a share of the economy, and we can get into a discussion of that, and requires a super majorities of both houses of congress to either run a deficit or to raise taxes. [applause]

we just cannot let a balanced budget requirement become what the democrats would want it to be, an excuse for the democrats to raise taxes and just keep on spending. that is the reason i co- sponsored the senate republican plan which does all of these things, and i will tell you all 47 members of the republicans in the senate have co-sponsored that pig is an amendment that has teeth, it is an amendment that we need, it is an amendment whose time has come. it also tells you what we need a majority of republicans in the united states senate, and for that what we are relying on each and everyone of you to go home and make sure we elect a republican majority for the senate. look, we -- barack obama may have inherited a tough

situation, but he has made it worse. and with ideas like a balanced budget amendment and a partner of everyone in this room, i believe we can overcome the about upcoming and start things better for a strong and prosperous future. i look forward to the discussion. thanks so much for letting me be with you today. thank you. >> next up, congressman connie mack from florida. >> thank you. thank you very much. good morning. how is everyone at cpac doing today? you know what is exciting about cpac? there is a roomful of people who believe in the constitution. there is a roomful of people who

believe that the answer to the future of america lies within its citizens, not another government bureaucracy. we have got a room full of people believe the way to the future is by cutting spending, balancing our budget, sending up with our allies. i have been spending time lately listening to some of the pundits on television, and they talk about how divided republicans are and how is this dangerous, is there any momentum. i keep trying to tell them, and they will listen to you, republicans are energized, and the reason is we have had that with big government -- had it with big ideas and liberal ideas coming out of this white house. [applause] we want a government that respects you, the individual. we want a government that relies upon and understands it is the risk takers in this country that

make america strong. people like you that are willing to get up in the morning, put it all on the line, i for yourself and your family, create a business, create jobs, and in the white house we have a president who believes the answer to all these problems is more bureaucracy, bureaucracyczars, government, and he thinks he knows better than you, what is best for you and your family. it is time we make a change in this administration. it is time we brought -- it is time we brought a majority into the united states senate. [applause] it is time that we put the american people first and the guiding light and decisions that we make in the government should be based upon the constitution, not based upon governments, big ideas, and big plans. i look forward to going to the senate and fighting for those principles that we all believe in, the idea of less taxes,

less government, and more freedom. we have an opportunity to change the relationship back to what the founding fathers are originally envisioned, and that is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people. [applause] this is a government -- let's take some examples. "obamacare." this is a government who came in and said we did not care about the constitution. we are going to force "obamacare" and the people of this country. we will tell you if you have to buy insurance. this is against what our founding fathers fought for. this is against the constitution of the united states. i do not know how some of these liberal senators, liberal members of the congress, how they can in washington, d.c., a vote as a liberal and go home

and say to their constituents, i do not trust you to make any decisions for yourselves, but can i have your vote? those times are over. there's a new way moving forward, and that is to look at the people in the florida, and say i trust you. i believe that you are the heart and soul of america. i believe that a stronger america comes because you want to engage in a free market, capitalist society that respects individual spirit that message, my friends, will sell, because people are what make this country, government. i want to talk -- [applause] i want to talk real quickly about this budget scenario, and let me give you a little history. i was first elected in 2004, and as a freshman member in the

congress, i had the honor to serve on the budget committee. this is when republicans were in the majority. i was the only republican to vote no on our own republican budget because it spent too much. whether it is president obama or even in times republicans who believe may be a little less government is not the right answer, i am willing to stand up and say we have to do the right thing, we have to balance our budget. today we're here to have a discussion about how to balance the budget. we will talk about a balanced budget amendment. how many of you are for a balanced budget amendment? we all are for a balanced budget amendment. why? because everyone of you have to do at that home. shouldn't the federal government have to do the same thing? in florida, the government, which have to have a balanced budget. we cannot spend more than we

bring in. this makes sense. some in washington did not want to put that kind of spending control in because they want to be able to spend money whenever and however they want. we all are wrong to work together to fight for a balanced budget amendment. here's my challenge to you. we cannot pass a balanced budget amendment unless we have a strong majority in the house and a strong majority in the senate. it is going to take you to get involved, to not only come to events like this, but talk to your friends and your neighbors, tell the importance of a balanced budget amendment, tell them the importance of making sure we been the majority back in the senate. i'm not talking by one senate never. we need a veto-proof type of maturity. we need 60 members of

republicans in the united states senate, and it is about you. if you will join hands with us, if you will join hands with those around this country that are willing to fight for mid it government, freedom, security, and prosperity, we can deliver a balanced budget amendment, but it will take hard work, working together to get that done. in the meantime, there is another idea that i am proud of. it is called the mack penny plan. there is another way for us to balance the budget. we can balance the budget by cutting 1% of spending a year. that is not draconian. 1%, one penny out of every federal dollar. you have had to cut at least one penny out of every dollar of your business budget. the federal government should be required to the same thing. if we do this for six years, we

can cap spending at 18% of gdp. in the eighth year, we balance the budget, and after 10 years we cut $7.50 trillion. this is how you balance the budget. [laughter] [applause] we currently have 71 sponsors in the house and i believe nine or 10 in the senate, of which my colleague is also a supporter of the penney plan picked we need you to get involved. we need to be part of the movement. we need to get you energized not only a balanced budget amendment, but the mack penny plan. i want to thank you for this opportunity. i am excited about the future, because i see people who are going to fight for what is right. i see people who are willing to engage in the process to ensure that we bring conservative principles back to our government.

this is exciting days. we should chairs this day, and let me finish with this. i am honored to have someone special here today with me. my wife, mary mack. we will continue to fight for america and to together we will win in november. whatever republican president, and the republic merger -- republican majority in the senate so we can have a balanced budget amendment. thank you very much. >> ok, we have a few minutes left and i want to ask a few questions. are there microphones in the audience? let me ask the first one. we all agree we should balance the budget and agreed we should -- which have a super majority to protect congress from

ratcheting up the tax base. takes time to pass a constitutional amendment. what do we do day one when the senate is republican, when the house is republican, and when the president is republican? all of you have run to balance the budget. >> assuming we do not get to the 60, which is where i would rather be, 51, 52, you have republicans, we use reconciliation to repeal "obamacare." that is number one. and i told the president to his face, this is going to bankrupt the country. the expenses are going to explode. the benefits are questionable. if you do nothing else, that is on to help you on the right path. about half of our time should be used in oversight and things that are being duplicated, waste. tom coburn has worked on this to get us on a path.

you get rid of "obamacare," work on oversight, it will take a long way. ultimately you need to have the big spenders, medicare, medicaid, social security, and work to -- >> we cannot hear you. >> can you hear us now? >> if we have 51 and less than 60 senators, use reconciliation to repeal "obamacare." it is a program that i believe is going to bankrupt the country. there's no way that the country maintains financial stability with the obama health care law in place. >> can you hear me? if i were president, this is going to shock you, but i would

pass the mack penny plan. >> great idea. >> but i am not and i am not going to be. if we work together on day one, when we have majorities in the senate, house, and president say, we can begin to move forward on the mack penny plan and a balanced budget amendment at the same time. it will take time to get there, but let's move that immediately, i get into the process so we can begin to get to that balanced budget. it has to get ratified by the states. in the meantime, at the same time, let's put forward the back penney plan -- mack penny plan, to balance the budget in the eighth year, and to cut $7.50 trillion, and we will do it in

eight years, and we will do it together. that may make sure everyone understands. you will hear out of what shouldn't about a baseline budget. everybody believes that a baseline budget is flat. in washington, d.c., a baseline budget is an increase of spending every year by up to 8%. we cannot afford to borrow money from china to pay for this. we have to flat line that baseline picked the can no longer continue to spend 5% to 8% every year. this is a common-sense solution. there is bipartisan support for this, and i think the reason it makes sense, but we know we have to try all the things we know is not going to work before we get to the things that will work. >> the balance -- the budget would be balanced by the time the amendment kicks in. >> great answers.

one question of like to ask both of you. senator, what type of balanced budget amendment matters, because when i got to this town in the 1980's, there was a liberal senator named paul simon, and he had a balanced budget amendment. i am sure no one in this room which support this plan to balance the budget. >> it is an excuse to raise taxes and do additional spending. i believe the democrats are always looking for a way to expand the reach of government. as i tell people in wyoming, you do not want to send them the money in washington because they will test spend it. we need to have a balanced budget amendment that ties spending to the size of the economy, and the republican -- co-sponsored by all 47 republicans in the center, is

18%. so the courts cannot mandate additional spending. you say you need to/3, supermajorities, to go through it or to raise taxes. which focuses on what the problem is today, which is the spending. >> if you do not understand, the entire senate republican caucus supported a good -- across the board. that is quite an accomplishment. >> it was tremendous work by michael lee and orrin hatch, both of utah. >> you keep hearing about 18% of gdp, and why is that number important? we did not just pick at number. historically, revenues in this country have been at 18% of gdp. what does that mean to you? if you make -- amount of dollars

, cannot spend more than you make. that is what the revenue is at historically to the federal government. we did not pick the number out of a hat. if you want to balance the budget, you cannot spend more than you bring in. >> ok, guy, give it[applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable jim inhofe, in 9 states senator. -- united states senator. >> thank you. ok, you are wonderful. i have asked for an additional

44 seconds, and i tell you why. they are tough guys back here. they have a big hook. this is not scripted. this come from the heart. i heard some comments right after rick santorum spoke. i want to share one thing with you. i probably know rick santorum better than anyone in this audience. we were in the house together, elected the same day, have gone weekly to a prayer breakfast together, bible study. i want to tell you two things. what he tells you is not scripted, it is from the heart. number two, he is the real deal. that is not what i am here today. [applause] let me introduce myself to some of you who may be new here. i am in the bad guy that dared to look at the sides of global warming back in the year of

2000. [applause] and i am the bad guy who, in 2003, -- and i want to read this to you to make sure i get it right -- "the concept that man- made gases are causing catastrophic global warming may well be the greatest hoax ever perpetrated on the american people." [applause] hence, this book. the last time i was here, five years ago, some of you were here. if you remember what was happening then, it was not very fun. democrats took over the senate, i was chairman of the internment committee. that was taken over by barbara boxer. al gore was on the top of the world. he had just released his science-fiction movie and everyone was talking about it. of course, the media fell in

love with al gore. they called him the man of our times. how quickly that came tumbling down. five years later, it is now on the credibility of the united nations intergovernmental committee on climate change. you know what that is. that completely collapsed. well, anyways. the american people, we won. by the way, i need to tell you about something you did not know. the united nations throws a big party every year for 192 nations to come in, like group therapy, how they will all comply with global warming. the last meeting was in copenhagen. i was very fortunate. the timing could not have been better. i went to copenhagen and i

spoke after four people. it was barack obama, nancy pelosi, hillary clinton, and john kerry. they said, we are going to send all this money to developing countries. i spoke after them and was able to tell the truth it is dead, gone, we have defeated cap and trade, it is not going to happen here. those 191 countries had one thing in common. they all hated me, but it was great. after that, the sites fell apart. you have to listen to this. -- the science fell apart. david bellamy would carry the banner in the uk for global warming. he converted and came over to our side. a socialist from france, a leader who later i changed over

and said proponents of global warming are being motivated by money. another guy, a young guy, outstanding. an astrophysicist from israel. he was with the global warming groups, but that he had a chance to really look into a study. he said, the sun can explain the 20th-century global warming. can you believe that? the sun is hot. [laughter] we started on my website, and on the senate floor, all of the scientists started to come over to our side. there is a guy that was a big help to me. mark morano -- i cannot see out there, but he has a website. climatedepot.com.

you can see how this thing is moving. it is incredible. i thought it was over. i had stopped writing my book at that time. obama and epa label -- give up their legislation. we had defeated the bills. we thought it was over until we discovered they would try to do something that i had not thought about. they would try to do it through regulation. you need to know about this. in order to do it by regulation, the epa, the administration has to have an endangerment finding. right before i went to copenhagen, we had the administrator of the epa in a committee hearing. i said, i have a feeling as soon as i get on the plane, you will have an endangerment finding. it needs to be based on science. what is the source of the science?

she says it is the united nations. this is where the poetic justice came in. the day after that, climategate took place, so all of that credibility was destroyed. this is what he said in england. attending this is not a real crisis is not going to make it go away. "the daily telegraph" in london said that this scandal could be the biggest scandal in modern history. that was pretty exciting. to put this in context, i want to share with you the four things that are the most destructive to our nation which obama is doing. as was articulated by john barrasso, it is the budget, the trillions of dollars. a lot of people do not know the budget does not come from the house or senate, it comes from the white house.

he has had four budgets. each one has had a deficit of more than $1 trillion. you do not need to be told that. the second thing, he is disarming america. i am the second ranking member on the bonds services committee. i would love to tell you what he is doing to the military. you already know that. he is destroy domestic energy. his battle against also feels. what we do not know is the overregulation taking place right now is probably greater, in terms of harm to america, the power plants, one. million -- 1.2 million jobs. every manufacturer in america has a boiler. jobs will be lost if they continue on with these regulations. i have to move on because of the timing. the crown jewel of over regulation.

regulating -- the epa will regulate co2. we are talking about more than $3 billion a year. i know you are not much more different than i am. i keep track of how many families in my state of oklahoma pay income taxes every year. that would be $3,200 for every family in america. however, this thing it will actually be more than that. that is based on the big refiners and manufacturers doing cap and trade emission controls. if they do it through regulation, it is a tough concept -- you have to listen to this. they would do it with the clean air act. that would be virtually every hospital, every school, every

church, all over the country. even the epa admits they would have to hire 230,000 people. they would need an increase of $21 billion in their budget to do this. how can we stop this? some of you are old enough to remember what i did on the discharge petition many years ago. we were able to stop that process. it was here where we were able to engender that support. we stopped cap and trade, all of this legislation. it is because of you guys. [applause] here is something you need to understand. there are three things you can do. i honestly believe -- because i have seen this happen. the combined magic of this group, you can actually make this happen. there is a book that should be required reading. "american political patterns" by

dan nemo. you will come to the conclusion that the decisions of this country are made by 1% of the people, and those decisions are driven by activists. i do not see 10,000 people here. i see 2 million people here. each one of you is an army of 200 people. first of all, you should learn how important you really are. if you do that, you have to have the issues, you have to know the major issues. you can either read the book or you can go to -- watch shot vanity on the 27th -- i will be on the program -- sean hannity on the 27 -- i will be on the program. also, remember that you are an

army of 200, each one of you. the third pen, right on time, if you are going to be activists, act like activists. do not be afraid. if you know what i have gone through over the last 10 years, you may not be willing to get out there, but i think you will. that is what is important. the world is full of appeasers. that is the guy that will throw his friends to the alligators, hoping that he will be in last. i love you guys. you can do it. do not do it for me, do it for future generations, do it for my 20 kids and grandkids. one of the foremost scientists in the world today said

controlling carbon is a bureaucrat's dream. if you control carbon, you control life. that is what this hoax is all about. if you join me in this work, the lord will bless you for it. amen. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, carly fiorina, vice chair of the national republican senatorial committee. >> thank you. good morning. great to be with you this morning. i began my business career as a secretary in a small business that employed nine people. eventually, i would become the chief executive officer of one of the largest companies in the world, hewlett-packard. having travelled all over the

world, i know that my story is only possible in america. [applause] and i also know that there are countless american stories just like mine. only in america can you start from nowhere and go anywhere. that is because our country was founded on a truly radical idea. that radical idea is that every individual has got-given gifts and potential -- god-given gifts, and potential, and that these rights come from god and cannot be taken away by government. here in america, it does not matter where you come from. all that matters is where you are going.

we called this the american dream. it inspires this dream of ours, inspires people of all races and religions and cultures. my story is also a uniquely american because i started in a small business. a small business is the first rung on the american dream for most americans. in the last 40 years, all the new net job growth in our country has come from small businesses. [applause] small businesses generate 11 times the number of patents that big but this is to -- businesses do. today, more small businesses are failing and fewer are starting than at any time in the last 40 years. i became involved in politics as

a volunteer, as a contributor, fundraiser, a candidate, because i believe we are making the american dream too hard for too many people. i ran for the senate because all the reforms that we believe in, real health care reform. as a cancer survivor, i know how important real health care reform is, how important the repeal of obamacare is. [applause] tax reform, regulatory reform, entitlement reform, energy reform, budget reform. all of these reforms require a republican majority in the senate. today, i served as vice chairman of the national republican senatorial committee. while i could not win in california, i, we, can help

other senate candidates around the country when and regain the republican majority. [applause] you just heard from my good friend senator jim inhofe. you know who the chair person of the committee on environment and public works is today? barbara boxer. there is more than one way to skin a cat. i could not beat her, but we can get her out of her chairmanship and put him in. [applause] as conservatives, we are engaged in a great battle of ideas. what will it take to reignite our economy, to bring the american dream back and read for more people? what will it take to make this a land of equal opportunity for all? how do we install the of entrepreneurial foundation of this country?

i am from california, the state blessed with an abundance of beauty and natural resources. california is also proof positive you can take one of the largest and most vibrant economies in the world, and you can bring into a tipping point. you can transform it into a state of persistent double-digit unemployment, yawning budget deficits, deteriorating public services, he constantly increasing tax rate with a constantly eroding tax base, and a dysfunctional political process. california has been brought to this point by that policy and that political decisions. the battle of ideas we are engaged in as conservatives has real consequences for real people and real economies. the battle of ideas is more or less government the answer matters more than ever. california is the proof point. i also come from the world of

technology. it is this world that provides us with our answers in the battle of ideas. in the internet age, in the 21st century, only conservative principles will work. [applause] allow me to explain. technology, the microprocessor, the computer. the iphone, skindell. the internet, social media. technology has brought us to the point where any piece of information, and the book, a piece of music, and the interview, film, any thought, experience, anything that humankind has ever known or experienced or ever invented, anything, can be accessed at any time by anyone from anywhere.

think about this. anything can be accessed by anyone at any time from anywhere. think about this in its truly revolutionary implications. for the first time in human history, anyone can know anything. of course, you have to have access to the right technology, but we have seen in real time the incredible power of 21st century technology. let's face it. it can be scary. a radical cleric in yemen can recruit new terrorist recruit here in this country simply by sitting in front of his computer. wikileaks can distribute massive amounts of previously secret information with the push of a button. but 21st century technology can also be incredibly empower ring and liberating. anyone can learn from anywhere. a small business can look as good as a big business.

customers can be found. connections can be made. movements can be borne. dictators can be exposed. the world can be changed. technology is an historic game changer because technology empowers the individual. technology means that more things are more possible for more people in more places than ever before in human history. technology unleashes everyone, from entrepreneurs to revolutionaries. technology unlocks potential. you have heard the old and true saying, information is power. guess what? information and power are moving from institutions to individuals. in fact, big bureaucracies, with their slow, deliberate decision making processes cannot keep up any more with the speed of

information flow. hierarchical centralized decision making is doomed to be constantly behind the curve. this is why every enlightened business work to decentralize decision making and empower individual employees with relevant technology and capability. this is why the military spends billions to put information into hands of every soldier, so that they are smart and empowered on the battlefield. so what do we, as conservatives, believe? we believe power and decision making 7 p decentralized as much as possible. -- should be decentralized as much as possible. we believe individuals make better decisions for themselves and institutions and bureaucracies can make for them. [applause] we trust entrepreneurs and risk

takers more than we trust regulators and bureaucrats. [applause] we know what president obama and the democrats believe. they believe more government and more government programs are the answers to our problems. they entrust power to institutions and regulations. their political philosophy does not work in the 21st century. every government agency and program is played by too much spending and 2 q results. this is because these ponderous bureaucracy and their ossified hierarchy's cannot keep up with the pace of change and the power of technology. i am not arguing there is no role for government. i am arguing government needs to be fundamentally reformed to be smaller, less intrusive, less s -- and expensive, and more effective. i am arguing the internet age shows us the way forward, decentralize decision making, and to empower and unleashed as

many individuals as possible. i am arguing that conservative political principles are the most modern, and the most pragmatic approach to every challenge we face. [applause] our ideas work better to solve real problems and to make a difference in people's lives. in closing, i will say this. if you look up "progressive" in the dictionary, you would find words like change, forward motion, advancing. if you look a conservative in the dictionary, you will read, opposed to change. the age of technology has turned these definitions on their head. it is progressives that fight to preserve a system of big government and institutional power that is increasingly anachronistic and ineffective, not to mention too expensive.

it is conservatives who are fighting to limit the power of bureaucracies and unleash the power of the individual. progressives are fighting against the tide of history and the power of technology. conservatives embrace the principles upon which our great nation was founded and upon which the new world of the 21st century must be built. empower the individual, unleashed the auctioneer, and truly on what the potential of this great nation. [applause] the 21st century should be, must be, can be, will be, with your help, america's greatest century. that radical idea, that every person has potential, and the right to fulfill it, that idea is now made more possible for more people than ever before in

human history. so let us read gather our strengths and fight on for fundamental reform, let us fight to restore the american dream. that it does not matter who you are or where you come from, or what your last name is. all that matters is where you want to go. history and technology on art -- are on our side. thank you very much, ladies and gentlemen. fight on. [applause] thank you, god bless you. thank you. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, ann

coulter, best-selling author. >> hello. [applause] >> greetings 1%ers and welcome to occupy the marriot. did you know that michael moore is only one person, and yet, he controls 33% of the world's cholesterol? [laughter] the system is broken, my friends. i know what some of you are thinking. aren't you the one that wrote that best seller "demonic?" no sooner did it come out that demonic liberals burst out into mobs across the nation?

yes, that is me, and i am sorry about that. the good news is, the next title of my new book is "nancy pelosi moves to luxemburg." [applause] one of the liberals most irritating active is very infernal slogans. it gives up the appearance of having meaning, but if you think about it, they mean nothing, like an obama speech. [laughter] bush lied, kids died, the census is patriotic, pro-choice, pro child. you cannot hide a child with nuclear arms. what does that mean? what does that mean you cannot hold a job with nuclear arms, and why is that particular bumper sticker all over jerry sandusky's car? [laughter] it was slogans that got obama elected.

hope and change. we are the ones we have been waiting for. hope and change barely beat out obama's second choice of slogan. i am going to raise the debt by $4 trillion and not create a single job. that was not as catchy. [applause] now we have this financial merkel that economists refer to as the carter years. we are $15 trillion in debt, and obama's plan is to spend more. was bernie madoff appointed spending czar when i was not paying attention? first, obama passed a trillion dollars stimulus bill that was supposed to create jobs, but most stimulated the government. now the democrats won another trillion, which they say is for jobs. they denounced republicans. you must be against jobs if you

will not give us the dollars. all republicans should say, what happened to the first trillion? i'm sorry. that trillion went for public- school teacher's pensions. the democrats are like your generous brother-in-law who borrows for the event and then spends it on crack and occurs and then comes back to say i need money for the event. no. what happened to the last trillion dollars? at least we have a lot of money lying around for all new entitlements like obamacare. obamacare is so fantastic and everyone is looking so forward to being in it that democrats if immediately gave waivers to 1000 of their best friends. since it became law, continuously, passing by

parliamentary maneuvers, a continuous majority of americans have opposed it since it passed. the only thing americans have agreed on this much is that oj killed nicole. obama also told the troops and brought us together. obamacare. -- told the truth. he also told people they don't pay taxes for the simple reason they don't have jobs. consider the lowest unemployment numbers since he has been president occurred the day he took office. since then, but up and a little dip. the unemployment rate was 7.6% when he took office. 8.1 the next month. then it went through nine and 10. now 8.6 and everyone in the

media is the landin -- is demanding that we do a haulier course. -- chorus. you go to the doctor with a fever of 100 to add it goes up to 104 and then three years later it falls down to 103 and we are all supposed to agree that is one good doctor. that includes our sneak preview of what american metal care -- medical care will be like under the obamacare. i'm just kidding. you will have to wait three years to see a doctor under obamacare. or maybe let's hope you get better by then, or you die. even with all this obama will be very difficult to beat this year. he is an incumbent. and, americans keep telling pollsters that they like him personally but don't like his policies.

he is our first black president. the non fox media is god, about him. he is not sleazy like clinton. probably would make a lovely next-door neighbor as long as you are not chinese, or he would constantly be borrowing stuff. [applause] voter with 40 years of politically correct education are ecstatic to have the first black president. they love the idea that even if he [unintelligible] when is it going to be ok in this country to admit that we elected a man on the color of his skin. i am talking of course about john boehner.

dark orange is in. look at how popular snooki is. republicans have managed to beat a sitting president twice. one time in 1912 and another time in 1980 with ronald reagan. i said a year ago that i thought chris christie was the only one who could beat obama. i was more pessimistic about any republican beating obama and chris christie is the kind of politician that comes around only once in a generation. if he speaks the truth boldly like no one else will, taking on the evil empire of rdi, by which of course, i mean the public- sector unions. [cheers and applause] but despite my herculean efforts, he has decided not to run. he will not even return my calls now. i thought we had something

special, governor. since last year, obama has gotten worse and romney has gotten a lot better. [cheer] i assume that this audience has been watching the debates. i think romney has been practicing, because he is a lot better if in the debates and than 2008.eight -- it looks like obama is not headed for reelection. no amount of charm will get people their jobs back. this time he has to run on his record. when ronald reagan ran on his record in 1984, saturday night

live did a sketch of ronald reagan or rather walter mondale in his war rom and looking district by district which ones they thought mondale could take and you pull back and you see the entire map of minnesota. -- war room. the only people calling for hope and change our us this time. obama esteban on his record this time. obama has hired another hard core leftie since i've been standing up here so that they can dream up new kings to regulate or tax. this is the only shot we have to repeal obamacare. if it is not repealed by -- in the next administration, that's it. people start receiving their treats. gingrich will have right-wing

social engineering and america begins. a decline in to western europe without the charming cafes and cobblestone streets. [applause] who are you willing to expect the future of this country on winning? -- willing to stake the future of this country on winning? if we are basing this on gingrich not being independent, i want my money back. on election day, every stupid woman in the country will be driving to the polls because she is afraid of newt gingrich. i also enjoyed people who annoy the media. i am that person. [applause] [laughter] this is a presidential election

that will decide the future of the country. to sink everything on alienating independence and get nothing else, that accomplishes nothing. keep your eye on the prize. the only question you should keep asking is who will have the most appeal to independents, to undecideds, to women? when reagan and was the first to take out a sitting president in 100 years, he did not run against jimmy carter by calling him a socialist. he did not call him a communist or a radical. he did not say anything about carter. he said that carter opposing policies or failed. that is how reagan took out a sitting president for the first time in 100 years. i feel like the godfather asking, nothing fancy, just get the job done, take out luca. [laughter] the democrats have many advantages.

one advantage they don't have is the element of surprise. the only way they ever run against any republican, call him stupid is what they do appear there is one presidential candidate right now who frustrates both of those. that is mitt romney. [applause] exactly what is, you cannot call him crazy or dumb, but you can call him square. that's what a lot of right-wing people don't like about him, that these kind of stiff. -- that he is kind of stiff. i think we have had enough of him. let's trine flair for a while. thank you. i will take your questions now.

we have microphones in the audience. greg thank you so much for being here. incredible speech. as a female college student, i'm often confronted with the question, how can you be able men and the conservative &? -- and conservatives at the same time? is there anything that you can speak to on that topic, how you can be both female and conservative and can they work hand in hand? >> i think all real females are right-wing. [applause] my bodyguards will back me up on this, all city girls are right- wingers. -- pretty girls. girls may not have politics, but

you cannot tell with men. some of my male friends have long hair and tattoos. pretty girl walking to your table, you know that she is [unintelligible] i think it is the feminist movement that has set us back. i don't write about it because it is so obvious and does not need my stunning skill or analysis. the reason why liberal women are little is because they have to date liberal men. [laughter] as we have seen from bill clinton and dominick strauss- kahn and anthony weiner, we see how liberal men treat women. i would be angry, too. i will take 69 cents on the

dollar just to never have to pay for dinner. that seems like a fair deal to me. [applause] what the liberals want -- again, as we've seen recently, secretary of hhs, birth control for everyone and we are going to jam this down your throats. who does that help? i think that it helps anthony weiner and bill clinton and the dominique strauss-kahn. [applause] you are much better off being a conservative. there's been this myth about feminism, they have been disproved in the person of phyllis schlafly. which i mentioned in my book.

she was debating a feminist who said that harvard law school has been admitting women for almost so long. then phyllis said that she almost went there. it turned out that harvard was not admitting women but they thought that she was so hot and there's going to make an exception for her. a conservative woman. >> how confident are you that when romney gets elected that that he will do what he says now and in the debates? i think the issue with him has been with the people that are voting no romney, the confidence level. >> right. i think you have to be insane to think that romney is not going to repeal obamacare. he's been clear and forceful on that since the beginning. if you cannot believe that, i mean, we may as well speculates,

what if obama starts reading milton friedman and becomes a free market theet. i guess it could happen. i guess there's nothing you could be more confident about. i've said this before, this is the place to say it. we should all be having extra cocktails' tonight. right-wingers have triumphed. in 2008, just four years ago, one of our candidates was pro- choice and another was against clinton being impeached, if one of them voted against the clinton tax cuts, wanted amnesty for illegals, and that was the one that we ran. there are no rockefeller republicans left. now it's a matter of degrees. if you looked at them only on the issues and not which one gets the audience excited by attacking the media or denounces

obama colonialism, romney of the four remaining is the most conservative, as the strongest position on illegal immigration. after obamacare, the single most important issue is illegal immigration. if we move back, the entire country goes the way of california, where no republican ever gets elected. the speaker before me is brilliant and beautiful. she's a woman. she cannot get elected in a statewide election in california in 2010. there is nothing that we were losing in 2010 except for where we had some people trying the high wire act. christine o'donnell in delaware and sharron angle in nevada and i forget who in colorado. christine o'donnell was more conservative than the

republican she was running against. not the case with gingrich. she is more conservative. second point is that this is not a senate election. this is the future of the country, no time to be, try this, that will be fun. >> last question. >> councilman from rhode island. i will hopefully run for romney, a delegate if i get. on the 10th amendment and respect for state, local, and county officials. >> i thought the constitution would have been more respected. i have been a little concerned recently that some conservatives seem to be adopting this liberal trade of calling anything that you like constitutional and anything you don't like unconstitutional.

[applause] for example, the following sentence makes sense to a liberal. bill clinton say to the constitution by repeatedly ejaculating on a white house intern. that is not supposed to make sense to us. [laughter] constitutional refers to the most brilliant documents ever conceived in the minds of men promoting freedom. it is precisely because of what you allude to, the 10th amendment. but it's not just the 10th amendment. the constitution is a limit on what the federal government can do. it's not just that the constitution and we will just say we liked the constitution. if it's because it is a fantastic constitution and there's never been anything like it in the history of the world. [applause] by allowing states and federal governments elected officials in states and local governments to

make all the decisions. as santorum has said, although i think that he has not explained it as well as could be explained, yes, states can ban contraceptives, states can pass a law that says you can walk around wearing a purple hat. there's nothing in the constitution that says zipit. new yorkers can vote for abortion on demand and peep show. in tennessee they can have guns on every walking human being and 85 mile per hour speed limits. [applause] that allows you --that allows the maximum number of americans to fashion the sort of society they are sortin, by breaking it down to as small a units as possible -- to fashion this sort

of society they are living in. the worst thing we just saw this week and it's just the beginning. kathleen sebelius -- and i'm glad we are ending on this -- this is not a catholic issue. this is a freedom issue. [applause] [cheers] the point is insurance is to insure against unexpected catastrophes. it is for fires, accidents, cancer, for someone married to a kardashian. you don't call up your state farm although policy for oil change. birth control, what they are doing is using insurance for

communism, because they are about to start taking over every single aspect of what you can do, what you can eat and they are calling it insurance. birth control, like $20 a month. an abortion is about $400 or $500. you don't get insurance for that. this woman, the title of the bill should been kathleen sebelius, feminist don't. every insurance plan in the country will have to cover everything that would be desirable in san francisco. crazy liberal stuff. my point is it is not insurance. every insurance company in the country has to cover 1 million things, restless leg syndrome, gender reassignment surgery, then you can buy insurance

across state lines. but every insurance plan in the country will have to recover all this. this is not insurance. this is a scam. it's not about catholicism. it is about the government taking over your lives. it's not romneycare. thank you. [instrumental rock music playing] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, a couple things. first, we are not doing seat holding this year. just a note for folks. a lot of folks are trying to get into the ballroom. if you did not had an opportunity, make sure that you vote in our straw poll today. you can pick up the

instructions. very simple. that's at registration. last, we are going to have overflow in the marshall ballroom for gingrich and romney speeches. if you have friends trying to get in, you can tell them there's overflow in the marshall ballroom. thank you. >> ladies and gentlemen, chairman of the american conservative foundation. miss mitchell. >> high. i guess it's already noon. i have a brief announcement. am, 1:153 2:00 p.m.

this is a great opportunity to introduce to you three great members of congress who came to congress last year as part of the wave that swept america. and so, we have a program with three house freshmen about mr. and miss smith come to washington. tell us about your first year as a member of congress. i would like to introduce them to you. pompeo frommike, pa the fourth district of kansas. congresswoman and murray berkel from the 25th district of new york. congressman tim huelscamp from the first district of kansas.

welcome all of them. [applause] so, you have all been in congress for a year. we want to hear about that. but first, we want you to tell us a little about yourself, about your district, and the moment or the issues that made you decide that you wanted to run for the house of representatives. i will start with you. >> thank you. it's great to be here this afternoon. i represent south central kansas, the district centered on wichita, where we build most of the country's great airplanes. the thing you should know about me is i am a deep believer in small government. it's why i decided to run for congress. i went to west point and served on active duty a little over five years. [applause] thank you. i then went to harvard law

school although i don't talk about that as much in kansas. and then had a real opportunity to start two small businesses in kansas. i spent 16 years before i came to congress 14 months ago running two manufacturing companies that employ hundreds of folks in the u.s. of america i decided to give up my day job because i became truly deeply concerned about the direction our country was headed with a government that says there's not enough freedom for individualism -- not enough room for freedom and individualism. i care deeply about the next generation. that's why i decided to do this. >> congresswoman. >> thank you. my district is the 2010 district of new york. [applause] i decided, i am a registered nurse and mother of six. when i was 40 years old i went to law school. for many years represented

upstate new york. that's the progression of what was going on in the last congress. i watched dodd-frank and the stimulus. it was for me the health care law, the terrible assault on our freedom with the health care law. it really propelled me into running for congress. i am the first -- my parents are the first-generation italian americans. i knew deepen my father, he was the hardest working man i know. he knew deep in his soul that this country offer opportunities that no other place on earth offered. in an effort to preserve those freedoms for my kids and grandkids, i have 13 grandchildren, i ran for congress. this is about preserving and protecting the united states of america, as my colleague said. >> congressmen.

>> from kansas, i think i speak for my colleagues in tangkansas. we want to apologize that kathleen sebelius was our former governor. no disrespect. i have ever for your young children who are adopted. for decades now this country, our people, have been under attack, our liberty has been under attack, coming after our families and the culture and the issue of life, coming after our businesses. it's not just the current administration. it has been decades of folks that have attacked our way of life, which is when i go to town hall meetings, i ask the question, do you think the american dream is still alive? this is in western kansas. i am a farmer. we are optimistic. two thirds of the folks in my district say the american dream is in jeopardy. this is the first generation of americans where people wonder

whether the next generation will be better off. that's why i ran and why we are here today. i appreciate that. >> ok. let's get to some of the questions that americans are wondering, about the tea party freshman who came to congress a year ago. you've been in congress a year. what do you wish that you had known a year ago that you now know? what is the one thing that you would tell us that you have learned the most about this first year and the challenge of being a member of the house of representatives? let's start with you, congresswoman. >> we came down here as freshmen. many of us were not career politicians. we came down here with a mission. you come down here because you are all fired up. we have detained things. so you come down here and it's like you hit a wall. that's the reality of what the

feeling is sometimes, because if we in the house recognize what we need to do in terms of regulation, in getting the government out of the way our economy and making changes. we pass bills with the house majority and then they go to the senate to die. the same situation with the budget and so many initiatives. that is the frustration for me and the surprise i had. i thought we could do more. but what it does is illustrates for me and for us the importance of taking back the senate and taking back the white house in 2012. [applause] >> ipad and asked the question, is washington everything you thought it would be? i say, oh, yes, and much worse. oftentimes i will say it's not a partisan issue, it is an establishment issue. under this administration another $5 trillion in debt and about four years. not much more than the last

administration and the last eight years. the problem in this town is folks that don't understand the american dream. you come to washington and and it does not take long where suddenly you'll used to be a smart person and all of a sudden you start to believe the american dream starts here. it is concerning to me. that is what elections are so important. tell us what your solutions are, what your visions are. it is not with the other guy is for or against. we need to hold folks accountable and both parties. when we are writing a $16.40 trillion debt, that is what our children and grandchildren will know. it is concerning how folks are not so urgent about solving that. >> what do you wish you had none a year ago when he first were sworn in, so you could have known that all the first year,

what is it? >> i wish i had listened to my friends that said, keep running that [unintelligible] these issues are difficult. in our first four weeks, you hear these folks in our first four weeks, we voted to repeal obamacare, like we said we would. [applause] the class of freshmen, we're all talking about the very things we campaigned on. in the same week we did that, i was on the hearing and the head of the epa came to testify. i knew we were in trouble, but i had no idea the extent of the disconnected nests of that agency from the real world. she talked about how jobs did not matter and how her regulations were going to create jobs. if you said, what did you know? i knew it was bad. by, it was regulated by the epa. i had no sense for the epa --

disconnectedness. most of the statutory issues were under the republicans. we have a big mountain to move. the conservative movement has to take the lead in moving that mountain. [applause] >> along those lines, you were a member of the kansas legislature before you came to washington, so you have been in a state legislature and something about legislating. compare your experience in the state legislature and how things worked compared to congress. are there things the state does better or worse? what can we learn from the state? what would you say about how to fix some of these things? >> the great question. it is never ending. if there is never a solution. it is like, we will do that tomorrow. four magic where -- words are

"after the next election." we're going to tackle spending. well, we will do that after the next election. we tend to put off today doing the right thing today for fear it will cost as an election tomorrow. that is not what the founders did. that is what i see different in the state legislature. they have to get something done. up here, it is always someone else's problem. that is like the debt deal in august. >> all three of you were involved in that. this is something conservatives all over the country were watching. tell us behind-the-scenes what was going on in the pressures from both sides. tell us what happened and why. >> folks had different opinions. republicans were to gather the most, when we were together the most is when we were conservatives. when we presented a vision that said, you know what? we cannot spend or borrow

ourselves to prosperity. we all say that, but do we vote that way? when we did cap and balance, that is when -- we have the president in a way he could not escape. we should of said, there is no debt increase unless there is spending increases. >> decreases. >> i have been here a little too long. [laughter] at least we force the debate. in the last congress, they did not even have any debates on it. >> the other time that a great showing from the conservative is when we presented paul ryan's budget to the house of representatives. [applause] literally, for the first time in my lifetime, we did something serious to protect and preserve the entitlement programs and fix them so they are around the next generation. you can criticize the plan, but you cannot do it with nothing. rationing health care does not work. the other side has no beef.

we got 240 votes for paul ryan's. we did the right thing and supported that piece of legislation. i think it is remarkable. >> i am a good follow-up to my comments because i came from one of this districts. do you know what it is like to be a conservative in new york? [laughter] i'm here to tell you i voted against or vote for cut cap and balance. the control act i thought was not the right way to go for this country. i think we need to do a better job of, and this is the challenge for all of you as well as for us, we need to let the american people know that our principles -- our principles, the principles upon which this

country were founded or the right way to go. it is what will get this country out of this economic quagmire we're in. what will energize this nation? what will instill the american dream for all of us and get that going? we have to do a better job. we are right on this issue. we're right on his principles. the whole argument with hhs, it is a first amendment issue. don't let anyone else to be otherwise. we have to do a better job. [applause] >> you spoke about being a conservative in new york. what do you hear from your constituents about how they view what has happened in the last year? we know with the media says, but what are your constituents saying to each of you and what do you hear from your freshman colleagues in terms of how to say -- what they hear from their folks back home?

>> i think, again, this is because of the media and because of our opposition is a much louder than we are, i think more people in america think like you do. in my district, which was the de plus 3 district on paper, but i think more americans understand the fundamentals about this nation. they have that sense of things are just not going right. i think if we can make the argument that we have the answers, we want a less government, reduce spending, i think if we could make that argument and make it well, we will get those people in the middle. that is our challenge. >> what do you hear politically from your colleagues? >> colleagues our constituents question >> both critics -- college or constituents? >> boat. >> no matter conservative, liberal, don't have a clue what

is going on. this nation is in jeopardy. $16.40 trillion debt. i talked about that with constituents, medicare being bankrupt in as little as six years. their eyes open up and they say, "we have not been told that." is president promised everything in the world and his delivered 6 million more people into poverty. millions of americans are out of work. it is pretty amazing. a lot of the folks bring their hands about people do not trust washington. get a clue. what is amazing, ronald reagan says, washington was the problem, not the solution. [applause] at the end of his eight years, the trust and washington went up because the american people understand that if you trust them, or trust the bureaucrats, take your pick, hopefully, that will be the decision folks see in this election. >> if you were speaker for a week, it if you could be speaker

for a week, what would you do? >> i think are trotted to the same thing i do as a very junior member of congress. -- i think i would try to do the same thing i would do as a very junior member of congress. speak the truth about commitment to the constitution and the principles of declaration of independence. i would use that opportunity as speaker to gain as much attention i could to be committed to those very things. when we get together and we turn our talk about those principles, we have an obligation, we have sworn to the constitution, right? it was the second time in my life i had the privilege to swear to an oath. educating folks about what it means to have enormous government where one out of five folks is dependent on the federal government. and what that means your life and institutions like churches and charitable organizations when some much of our resources or sucked into this big beef in

washington, d.c., and how much it impacts the matter where they are in life. >> what do you think is the biggest obstacle? what is the biggest obstacle to doing what you came here to do? is it the white house, the president, the senate democrats, the senate republicans? is it the house democrats? is it the house leadership? is it the media? what is it that you consider is the biggest obstacle to achieving what you came here to do? >> i think that probably all of the above. if i am honest. there are a lot of reasons. i think we fail as a

conservative movement to get our message out. we have got to do a better job. so when we talk about any issue, this hhs rule with been debating so feverishly the past few days, when we allow the opposition to take it to contraceptive issue, it is not. it is a first amendment right. it is talking about principles, our vision for this country. i think we do not to eat good enough job about that. the reality is, we're up against the media in instances. the spin put on a print which is what the challenge goes to each one of you and us to educate your neighbors, your family, your mother, your sister, your cousins. one by one -- [applause] this is the united states of america and we must fight to preserve her as we know and love her. >> what do you think the biggest challenges? >> mark twain once said, do the

right thing. it will gratify some people and astonish the rest. i keep saying, let's just astonished washington and do what we said to do. and we did. we said we would repeal obamacare. can we do that again? [applause] that is an issue we are winning on. let's talk about it more to the right thing. one thing bothers me the most is folks that go home and say, hey, we're going to do this, but they don't follow through. the pledged to america, said we cut $100 billion. that is a good start out of a $1.4 trillion. then we passes a budget where we cut about $1 for every american. that is not good enough. it is not good enough to say, "i tried." we got to keep fighting. this is not just about the next election, but about the next

generation. that is what we ought to focus on. [applause] >> clearly, the biggest obstacle to achieving with the 87 freshmen wanted to come to, absolute total absence of leadership. this hhs brings it up again, the president clinging to our guns and religion. i am a clinger. [applause] this is a prison where a deep antipathy to what we're trying to do the last this is a president with a deep antipathy to what we're trying to do. he has opposed every single limited government measure the house has put forward this year. some summitry even too timid to present them. we need an enormous change in the white house they go when you say too timid, you mean the

leadership -- >> you mean the leadership for fear of being attacked by the media? >> look at the payroll tax battle we have. the house put down -- it would not have been my first draft, but it was reasonable presentation that would have extended some of these crazy things for more than just a couple of months. while we did it, we took our vote, got it done and went home. within hours, the united states senate have collapsed. good conservatives voted for a two-month extension on a piece of ridiculous legislation. we all came back to washington, d.c., and said, "not again." i am concerned about what we will do the next deadline because we have not been able to successfully articulate our vision for how to move ahead with an employe insurance -- unemployment insurance and the payroll tax cuts critics i am a

former state legislator. i always thought it would be the house members, the conservative house members and the conservative senators working together to have a plan. do you do that? not just working across party lines, forget that, but working across the other side of the rotunda to get a plan that is the house and senate conservatives can all agree on and stand firm? do you do much of that? >> not nearly enough, in my opinion. >> you have done that before the state legislature. >> but that gets lost. oftentimes, it is not the divide between house and senate, but the folks that have been here a little longer. this place is just -- that is why we need you engaged. where are your principles? where are your solutions? paul ryan said last night, this election is not just about beating as president. it is about setting up a choice.

we have had 60 years of liberal policies that are broken down our culture, broken down our families, broken down our society. there are tough choices to be made. [applause] >> you are going to be seeing it as the republicans put out their budget. we will get into the same debate. it will be spun we want to get rid of medicare, we don't care about seniors. please, be aware and had attention to what will happen. if the republicans like plaster, the budget we put out his bold and is a realization it can no longer -- we cannot stay with the status quo. medicare, social security, all the rest, there bankrupt already. we need them to put out a vision. we did it last year and we will do it this year. our goal is to be educate the american people. the health care law is what will destroy medicare.

it cut medicare by $500 billion. that is the kind of education we need to continue to get out there and say, our vision is the right vision for this country. >> what are you as freshmen and what is the house going to do this year, an election year? what can these people here, people watching us, what can we do to help hold the house members accountable to the things all of you have said you came to washington to do? >> we will do a lot of important things that are narrow. i am confident we will pass legislation with respect to religious freedom. but i think one of the most important tasks we will take on is passing a budget. going to the process and articulating priorities. it is with the federal government has never done. it is never said, "this is how much money we have so this is how much money we will spend."

i am hoping we will take on another piece of an atomic reform. we can count votes again in the senate. i do not understand that institution. if anyone does, see me later. if we do not have the votes, we recognize that. but it is in port and we continue to march forward toward that objective. when we get the votes in the senate and white house, i am counting on the fact we will continue to do those things in the future. [applause] >> republicans had the white house, both houses of congress for eight years. so what do we say the-i guess, six years, basically. what do we say to people when we say, yes, you wait until yap house and senate or the presidency. not so much last time. >> i get that question all the time for my good conservative friends. what will be different in

january 2013, even if we're successful in the of the trial process, as we ought to be? -- in the electoral process, as we hope to be? we need to admit when we had the power before, we failed. the american people spanked us in 2006 and 2008. but we marched together in november 2010. we all need to be held accountable. it is easier to vote for some of these things, frankly, when you know they're not going to become law. it is my hope that when we have them, we will continue to do the right thing. >> i think he mentioned earlier about trust. we lost the american people's trust. thus the tea party. there was a lack of trust. i think what we need to do, if we're successful -- when we're successful in getting the senate and white house back, what we need to do is be faithful to the american people to do what we

said we would do. and that is restore principles. [applause] >> do you get a lot of pressure as freshmen? do you get a lot of pressure from the house republican leadership to say, hey, just go with this this time because this is the best we can do. or is there countervailing forces says, you know, we know we're not going to get this to the senate, so we're kind of put forth, strongest, conservative platform we can. which d.c., and most of the republican leadership in the house or senate? >> it seems to be a mixed bag. i learned early on if you tell them no, say i'm going to cut spending rather than flat line, they eventually say, well, we're not to lobby him anymore. i had 70 town halls last year. the frustration is incredible

because we're not doing what we said we were grounded due. we're not taking up the challenge to fight against this vision of the president, radically different than the history. we can fight it, but let's fight. that is what i continue to hear. that is what those in kansas tell me. >> do they say that in new york? >> they do. regardless of how liberal one perceives one of thing -- and it is -- you are seeing movement and york illustrated by how many seats we picked up in the last congress. we picked up six congressional seats. [applause] again, it is not a republican or democratic issue, but an issue of what works. we're losing to the congressional seats in new york because of the policies. we need to look at the business there and change the mindset and the principles upon which we stand and believe our nation stands on. that is what is going to turn

this around. even in new york, i think we will follow that direction. >> there is lots of pressure. in my mind, i take just a little joy in remembering each time i referred to her as a minority leader policy. it is one of my simple pleasures. i am counting on the same title next time. there's lots of pressure to try to get to the place which it's the best policy that you can achieve given the conditions in which you find yourself. it is one of the things i've heard my colleagues talk about. i characterize it a bit differently other than frustration, but we do recognize without leadership and the white house for the conservative movement, the enormous changes we need are just unlikely to occur. the battle continues. >> wrap up. a few seconds. what do chart this audience and conservatives to go out of here

and do? specifically, the sides believing strongly, what can they do? >> i firmly believe -- i have four young children. i want them to remember that 2012 was when daddy said, or you said -- the future of the nation was at stake and you want to be able to say, what did you do? you want to say, "i fought for the conservative principles." we need to save this country. it finally is about the next generation. that is what i would like you to think. [applause] >> i would echo his comments. this election is for the very united states of america. i do believe we have one last chance on the 2012 to reclaim this country and to get her back from the brink of which she teeters right now. each one of you, your here and engaged.

ronald reagan said, if you cannot find a hero, you're looking in the wrong places. i say, these are folks who love their country and want to want to make things right. we have to communicate our -- to others. get people registered to vote. help educate them on how to vote. we will get this country back. i am optimistic. americans spend of great americans, people just like yourselves. >> not much more to add print as a former soldier, -- as a former soldier, send us more. do not descend republicans, said ric--send conservatives. >> let's give a hand to the three freshmen. [applause]

guest: guest: >> ladies and gentleman, chairman of the american conservatives. >> hello. what a great day so far. i have been asked to introduce a month i believe all of you want to hear from. [applause] it is my pleasure to do just that about now. some of the in the hallways have

tommy they have not found a perfect candidate. -- some of you have time in the hallways you have not done a perfect candidate. i know we cannot do without this phase of the primary. we all want a some 20 time to go get the guy at the white house. -- we all at some point in time want to go get the guy at the white house. the reason why you're here and part is to hear from these three fellows today. and yesterday, from the other candidates. back-to-back, to make of your own minds. so we are here. it is my pleasure to introduce this one. we have braidings and members' votes. newt gingrich, rick santorum and ron paul of god could passing grades. we have analyzed mitt romney's

position as well. he passed the test as well. so for those of you still thinking about what you should look for in choosing a president to candidate, let me suggest a three-pronged test, which is what we do in our family. one, he should share my values. two, must be confident to lead and govern the greatest nation on earth. 3, must be capable of beating president barack obama. [applause] i wife and i know him at romney and his wife personally. i wife and his wife became even more kindred spirits when they faced similar health issues a couple of years ago. i am proud to report that they share a courage and faith that humbles me. i also know the 30 board of

advisers to the campaign, including five children, 18 grandchildren, five daughters and law. they are the real deal. god love him, hard-working, patriotic americans. one thing that stands out in his life as a businessman and public servant is that he worked in a hostile government long enough to know how government works or does not work, but not so long he only knows how to work for the government. jack wells recently said that ron is most qualified person to run for president in his lifetime. the rascal welch is a pretty smart fellow himself. i've heard concerns about governor romney changing some of his views over time. i checked, as i'm sure most of you have, and any instance it has been toward a true conservative point of view as evidenced by more than a decade

-- [applause] evidenced by more than a decade of leadership and executive action. that is the type of evolution conservatives welcome and enthusiastically embrace. like us, and gov. romney has received a tax for his conservative positions. many people, even some of fox news contributors, attack as for acu's support of traditional marriage. acu is not anti-anyone, but we also are staunch defenders of our culture of american exceptionalism, which includes our traditional values and traditional marriage. [applause] let me give you an example of how mitt handle the same issues before he ran for president or even thought about it. in his own words i was sure

would be set as governor of massachusetts in 2004 about the issue of gay marriage. this is his own words. given the decision of the massachusetts supreme judicial court, should we abandon marriage as we know it and as it was known by the framers of our constitution? has america been wrong about marriage for 200 plus years? has america been wrong about marriage were they wrong about marriage? are the philosophies and teaches -- teachings simply wrong, or is it more likely that four people among the seven dead set in a court in massachusetts -- that have sat in a court in massachusetts have erred? i believe that is the case [applause]

he said marriage is not solely for adults. he said marriage is principally for the nurturing and development of children. children have the right to have a father and mother. no mitt romney meets my tests -- he -- i know mitt romney meets my tests. my fellow conservatives, it is my pleasure to introduce to you, a great american, governor mitt romney. [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] ♪ i was born free i was born free free like our river raging ♪ >> great crowd. wow. thank you. please.

[applause] >> thank you. thank you. please. wow. great reception. great room. thank you. [applause] first, thank you to al for that warm and generous introduction, and thank you for this extraordinary crowd at cpac. it is the naked conference so far. for that, i suppose we -- great conference so far. for that, i suppose we should acknowledge president obama. here's the conservator -- conservative movement's best recruiter. it turns out he's a really good community organizer. [laughter] >> today, we really are poised for victory in november.

[applause] >> the ponds and the pollsters are saying we can win the election, but we have to tell the nation why we should win the election. his path to a loss to prove we are ready to step for which it is up to us to prove we are ready to step forward -- it is up to us to prove we are ready to step up and leave the country. -- lead the country. [applause] >> of course we him defeat barack obama. that is the easy part. november 6 will be the easiest day our next president is willing to face. this country that we laugh is in jeopardy. it is more an economic statistics. it is the pain that we feel in our hearts. for three years we've suffered through the failure of not only a weak leader, but a bankrupt

ideology. [applause] >> i am convinced that if we do our job, if we lead with conviction and integrity, history will record the obama presidency as the last gasp of liberalism's great failure, and the turning point of the conservative era to come. [applause] >> but, if it is not enough for us to show how they failed. we also have to prove how we will and deserve to lead. i am here to ask you to stand with me as we go forward to fight for america. as we step forward together, now i think is a time to reaffirm what it means to be conservative, and why this must be our greatest horror as conservatives. america is like no other country which it our as

conservatives. america is like no other country. the principles embodied in the constitution and the declaration of independence are uniquely powerful, foundational, and defining. some see the hand of providence. others are likely to credit the balance of the founders themselves. a lot of us, like me, both at play. conservatives all agree the departing from these principles would represent a departure for the greatness of america -- our freedom, our prosperity, our purpose. i know this president will never get it, but we are not just proud to cling to our guns and religion, but also proud to cling to our constitution. [applause]

prosperity is not a product of government, but as a product of pursuing happiness. the key to the american experiment is this -- america is not just exist for the people. it does in made exceptional by the people. [applause] it is this brilliance, a free people, pursuing their own dreams, achieving success in their own way, that is what has propelled america, and made us the most prosperous and powerful nation in history of the earth. a lot of politicians have forgotten that, if they ever understood it at all. they have fallen under the spell of washington. but politicians are routinely

elected by promising they will change washington, but when they came here, they become creatures of washington, and they see government as the answer to every challenge. they tried to substitute the heavy hand of government for free citizens and free enterprise is operating in a free manner. they think government knows better and can do better than a free people exercising their free well. if this president is the worst offender. barack obama is the poster child for the arrogance of government. [applause] >> so, as i say across this country, this election is about a battle for the soul of america, and it will come down to a choice -- a choice of whether we want a nation to be of and by washington, where a

nation of in by a free people, and we conservatives believe in freedom, free people, and free enterprises. [applause] >> bell, as conservatives, we are united by a set of core convictions. not everyone has taken the same path to get here. there are college students at this conference that our reading burped -- burke. [applause] >> when i was your age, you could have told me they were in- fielders for the detroit tigers. some of you work for think tanks or follow the writings of conservative writers. some of you probably worked in government or labored on the frontline of conservative causes.

i salute all of you in achieving your vision of conservatism. my parents came from my family, from my face, -- my path came from my family, my faith, in my life's work. my home was rooted in conservative value. my grandfather came to america from england. as a teenager, he was alone in this new country but risk it all for the chance for religious liberty and economic opportunity. you probably also heard about my father. he was born to parents living in mexico. his father was a contractor. my father grew up poor. he never had the chance to finish his college degree. he believed in a country where the circumstances of one. the birth were not a barrier to life's achievement, -- 1 politico birth was not a barrier

to life's achievement. he became the head of a car company, and then the governor of the great state of michigan. [applause] >> the values and allow my parents to achieve their dreams are the same values they instilled in my siblings and me. they are not values that i just talked about. they are values that i live every day. my 42-year marriage to my wife, ann, the life we have built with my five sons. [applause] >> the face that as part of our life -- these conservative constance have shaped my life, and then there is business. if you are not fiscally conservative, you are bankrupt. [applause] >> i mean, i spent 25 years balancing budgets, eliminating

waste, and by the way, keeping as far away from government as humanly possible. [applause] >> i did some of the things conservatism is designed for -- and started new businesses, and i turned around broken ones, and i'm not ashamed to say i was successful in doing it. [applause] >> my family, my faith, my businesses -- i know conservatism because i have lived conservatism.

as governor of massachusetts, i had the unique experience of the offending conservative principles in the most liberal state in the nation. [applause] >> are three people from massachusetts here. even with a legislature that was 85% democrat, we cut taxes 19 times, and balance the budget all four years. i cast over 800 video reaching vetoes, and i cut entire programs. higher wristed budget should -- id raced a budget shortfall. if there was a program, a department that meeting, and -- that needed cutting or elimination, we did it.

a television commentator said i did not go over -- after the sacred cows. mitt romney went after the whole herd. [applause] >> the mets skill, learned in the private sector, -- that practice, learned in private sector and in massachusetts, that experience of slimming down, cutting, eliminating, i want to take back to washington. i want to get my hands on washington, d.c. [applause] >> now, you may recall that during my our conservative values came under attack. less than one year after i took office, the supreme court found a right to same-sex marriage in the constitution written by john

adams. [laughter] >> i presume he would be surprised. i thought to have a stay on that decision, then pushed for a marriage amendment. we lost by only one vote. i successfully prohibited out- of-state couples from coming to our state, and getting married. we fought hard to prevent massachusetts from becoming the las vegas of gay marriage period been. [applause] 2 -- gay marriage. [applause] >> when i am president i will defend the defense of marriage act, and will fight for an amendment that defines marriage as a relationship between a man and a woman. [applause] >> during my term in office i

also stood up to those who wanted to call into question the definition of life. i vetoed a bill that would have opened the door for cloning. i fought for abstinence education for schools. i defended the right of the catholic church to serve the community to serve ways consistent with their conscience, through adoption programs that place children in a home with a mom and dad. [applause] >> my state was the leading indicator of what liberals are trying to do right now, and i fought against long odds in a deep blue state, but i was a severely conservative republican governor. [applause]

>> i understand the battles we must fight because i have been on the front lines, and expect to be on those front lines again. here, at cpac, i know you guys understand that. this gathering has always welcomed me and you have supported me not because of my rhetoric, but because of my record and experience in that deep blue state. over this conference, several candidates have been speaking or will be speaking, seeking your support to help them lead this country. what distinguishes us does not our opposition to president obama or our support but conservative convictions. what distinguishes us is the nature of our life experience, our perspective, our judgment. this election will come down to two different visions for america, but our more immediate choice will be between

candidates of very different backgrounds. i spent 25 years in business, starting at the bottom, creating a great american success story. i led an olympics out of the shadows of scandal, and helped turn around a state that was deprived of leadership. in each of these endeavors i work with a team of skilled people, but i was, after all, the chief executive, sell success or failure was laid on my shoulders. -- so, success or failure was way down my shoulders. leadership is about setting clear goals, building a terrific team, overcoming constant adversity, and achieving results. it is about sharing credit when times are good, and about taking responsibility when they are not. [applause]

>> i happen to be the only candidate in this race who has never worked a day here in washington. [applause] >> i do not have old scores to settle, where decades of coat room deals that i have to defend as conservatives, you have learned to be skeptical of this -- descent. if as conservatives, you have learned to be skeptical of this city. my husband -- my wife and i raised five boys. when you hear an excuse that does not make sense, it is because it does not make sense. any politician that tries to convince you that they hated washington so much that they just could not leave -- well, that is the same politician that will try to sell you a bridge to nowhere. [applause]

>> this is a moment when our country needs serious change, and dramatic reform. so, let me tell you exactly what kind of president i will be. to get america back on track, and to get americans back to work, we need bold and sweeping reforms. these are not managerial issues of changing this department or that agency. to change washington, we will need to change the very relationship between government and the citizen. these are moral choices that will define our nation and define us for generations to come. today, we are 40 cents of every dollar we spend. it is not sustainable, reckless, immoral, and it will end under my presidency. [applause] >> i will approach every

spending decision, every budget item with these questions -- can we afford it, and if not, is it really worth borrowing money from china to pay for it? on that basis, we will get rid of a lot of programs. as president, i will not just slow the growth rate of government. i will actually cut the spending of government. i will not just freeze government share as a percentage of the total economy, i will reduce government share as a percentage of the total economy. [applause] >> and without raising taxes or sacrifice in america's critical medical superiority, i will finally balance the american budget. [applause] >> and, and i'm sure you know, that will start with the easiest caught a ball.

i will eliminate obama-care. -- cut of all. i will eliminate obama-care. [applause] >> let me mention a couple of other things i am going to do. i'm going to dramatically reduce the size of the federal workforce. [applause] >> for the first time ever, i'm going to tie the compensation of benefits of federal workers -- and benefits of a federal workers with that of the private sector. public servants should not get a better deal than the citizens that are paying for them. [applause]

>> as important as it is, cutting spending and bureaucracy alone are not going to be enough. in their current form, we are going to have to recognize that social security and medicare are unsustainable, not for the current group of retirees, but for coming generations, and we cannot avoid these challenges any longer. i am the only candidate that has offered a sweeping, specific plans to save medicare, and to reform social security. there are those that say you cannot talk straight to the american people on these issues and still win an election. i say we can, we must, and i will. [applause] >> what i propose are sensible and critical reforms. under my plan, no one near

retirement age is going to see the changes i will describe, the people in their 20's, 30's, 40's, and 50, will see some changes, and by the way, tax hikes are off the table. [applause] >> we will slowly and gradually rage the retirement age for social security, and when it comes to medicare, tomorrows seniors should of the freedom to choose between traditional medicare and a range of private plans. [applause] >> if these future seniors choose a more expensive plan, they will have to pay the additional costs. [applause] >> take a look at the paul ryan plan. we are on the same page and the same birds. i know this president and his liberal allies will attack me

for where he has failed to lead. so be it. i'm going to stand and fight, but we're going to win on this. he will attack us with the usual fear tactics, but we will remind americans that during the president's term we have seen record high job losses, record home foreclosures. he will not be lecturing to us on values, as the man who is the ineptitude and failure has created some and the chicks so much on necessary pain for our -- has created so much unnecessary pain for our fellow americans. [applause] >> hours will not be the easy course, but it will be the right course, and i am confident that americans are yearning for a president who will tell them the

truth, and do what is needed, not just do what is expedient. that may also be clear on this. my presidency will be a pro-life presidency on day one. [applause] >> i will reinstate the mexico state policy, i will cut off funding for the united nations population fund, which supports china pulled the barbaric one- child policy. [applause] >> i will insure that organizations like planned parenthood get no more federal support. [applause] >> and i will rivers every single obama regulation that attacks our religious liberty and threatens and some life in this country. -- innocent life in this country. [applause]

>> you know this, of course. the presidency is more than public office. is a sacred trust. as president, i will honor the trust by insuring that america remains the greatest military power on the face of the earth. [applause] >> i will not be cutting our military budget. this is very simple. if you do not want america to be the strongest nation on earth, i am not your president. you have the president today. [applause] >> this election is a defining moment for america and for the conservative movement. make no mistake, we have an opportunity for greatness, but with that opportunity comes defining responsibility as well.

we cannot use this election to fight past battles and reward our friends. i know that fundamental change this moment demands that we take fresh, bold, conservative leadership with real-world solutions based and real-world experience. i will come to washington, and with your help, guidance, and prayers, i will change washington, then i will leave washington, and go back home to my family and the community that i loved. [applause] >> i believe this is the moment that demands that we return to our basic values and first principles. that is who we are as conservatives. we believe in the constitution, the declaration of independence, of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. we know the brilliance that suggests that individuals

pursuing their own dreams have made us the most powerful nation on earth. this is who we are. this is our moment. this is why we are conservatives. the task before us is to reconfirm the convictions that unitas come and go forward to an -- that unite us, and go forward to in short the america that we deserve. thank you. [applause] thank you. thank you. ♪ [applause] ♪

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♪ >> the second day of the annual conservative political action conference in washington. the group will hear of three of the four republican presidential candidates. newt gingrich is the one remaining and i will be later this afternoon. right now, as we take a break from our live coverage, we are opening up phone lines for your thoughts on which candidate conservatives will choose. here are the lines. if you are a supporter of mitt romney, meaning mitt romney will be the one chosen, call --

>> please make sure the new to your television when you call in, and if you have called in the last 30 days, and give others a chance to call. there's another way to participate. if you are on twitter, you can use the hash tag cpac. we of also posted this question on our facebook page. we will try to read some of those as well. here is a romney supporter. catherine in north carolina. you think he won over the conservative crowd? >> absolutely. absolutely. he said all of the hot spots, and he made a lot of sense. he is what we need. he is what this country needs. >> do you -- were you surprised

that he was responded to as well as the crowd did? >> was i surprised? now. i was standing up in my own living he makes sense and has conviction. i believe what he has to say. i think he is going to go all the way. i will do everything i can to make that happen. .> gene is in arkansas to r you are a supporter of newt gingrich? >> no, rick santorum. rick santorum will energize the conservative base like nobody has, probably since ronald reagan. he is the embodiment of conservatism. he is plain-spoken. he is articulate when it comes

to conservative principles and values. i am really induced about the guy. >> rick santorum spoke to the group earlier. we are hoping to take you live to a meet and greet with rick santorum happening in the same building in washington, d.c. we will take your phone calls and tweets in the meantime. this from twitter -- connie ino next to downtown colorado, who is a supporter of newt gingrich. >> i would like him to be the nominee. he has a plan, solutions, and he does not need a teleprompter when speaking to the audience. >> the question is for everyone

-- who do you think conservatives will support? romneyo back to supporter. >> i think he can beat obama more than anyone else. i like what he stands for. i thought he gave a great speech. i was glad to see the audience respond to him so much. >> los angeles, a rick santorum supporter. >> yes. >> hi, there. >> hello. >> make sure you mute your television. we are hoping to take you live to an event to rick santorum. we'll take you there live momentarily. we mentioned newt gingrich will be speaking just after 4:00

p.m.. los angeles. we lost los angeles. next up, rose in lancaster, california? reina in los angeles? >> yes. i'm supporting rick santorum because i believe he is a great person. he could be a great president. when he talks i believe everything he says. the rest of the candidates, i do not believe a word they say. i am with rick santorum. >> if you did not get through on the phones, we of opened up our facebook page. we are also reading tweets . here is a facebook posting.

>> you think mitt romney is going to be the favorite? barbara, in west point, connecticut. go ahead. >> a i think mitt romney will be our next and best president ever. >> thank you. let's go to sharon west, salem, n.c., and is a supporter of rick santorum. >> yes, i agree with all i've heard from rick santorum and i support him all the way. >> thank you for your call. mary, in tulsa, oklahoma. you think newt gingrich will get the conservatives support. >> if conservatives want a conservative, not someone who just gives lip service like mitt romney just did, because you can

go online and see his record. >> the audience responded favorably. what is behind the favorable response? >> i spoke with several of the bloggers there, and they said they had a bunch of them bused in for it. >> let's hear from a romney supporter. what you think about the comments? >> well, we think romney is the most electable. he is the pro-capitalist. he is been the only one out. the real world of business. we think he has a family background and a personal history that is just the best of all of the candidates. >> well, ken, he lost in missouri, minnesota, and

colorado over the weekend. what does he have to do to seal the deal with conservatives? >> those three states are important, i do not write them off, but no big shock. the most conservative we feel it is romney. he is the most pro-business. he is pro-capitalism. he has never been in washington. he is the best to run against obama. >> we are keeping an eye on the twitter feed. here is one from david in london, kentucky, who thinks rick santorum is going to win the conservatives' heart. >> well, i like rick santorum because for me he is the only one that has true conservative ideals.

he is the only one whose record really shows that he is a conservative, and also, in the national polls against barack obama, he is the only conservative candidates that consistently comes up winning against barack obama. >> david? >> yes. >> how old are you? >> 12. >> you are 12 years old? >> yes. >> how long have you been interested in politics? >> since the last election, but before that i had a passing interest. >> are your parents really involved in politics? >> sort of, they always vote. >> thank you for checking in with us. here is decatur, ill., on the line for those supporting newt gingrich. >> what a great call you just had their from david. i want everyone no need to know

that we have great conservative people running right now. if you give newt gingrich a chance to stand in front of that crowd, and listen to the principles he has stood for, then we can make our choice. this is his opportunity to let everyone know he is the conservative. i really believe he is going to make that known and everyone will be very energized. >> i will ask you the question i asked of the supporter of mitt romney. rick santorum just won the two caucuses and the primary over the weekend. what does newt gingrich have to do to seal the deal or make some gains? >> it is where he is going to be able to articulate his vision and his plan, and he can't do that. how can conservatives that sit there and listen to him speak -- he can get the points across to make this country great again.

>> newt gingrich's point to speak this afternoon to seize back. we will have -- is going to speak this afternoon. we will have that live for you. we have a tweet -- it is, house outside of the santorum meet and greet. he spoke this morning. we will show that to you later in our schedule. we have that in the video library. you saw mitt romney. newt gingrich is coming up this afternoon. two virginia, and marianne. good afternoon. >> good afternoon. >> you are on the air, marianne. >> the testing. >> good afternoon. >> i have to say i have not been a romney supporter, but i think he may have just won me over. i have been very concerned about more liberal standing,

but he is standing strong in speaking better today than i ever heard him do. i am very concerned that santorum does not have the charisma to go up against obama, and i am concerned about newt gingrich, who i really, really like, but i'm concerned about the way that he flies with different ideas. he is brilliant, but -- >> was there one thing mitt romney may have said that really sealed the deal for you? >> i think that he had more clarity of thought. he talked in the conservative ways and values, and gave examples of how he has done it in the past, what he is doing now, what he intends to do, and how to do it. i've never heard him be that

well-thought-out before. >> let's go to miami a supporter of rick -- and a supporter of rick santorum. >> i voted in the primary for rick santorum, although i like all of the candidates. i feel santorum is the most conservative. we need to return to our conservative values. >> another value mentioned his charisma. does he have the charisma? by the way, we are looking at the meet and greet. we are waiting to hear from rick santorum. >> he is very charismatic. i love also his conservative values. when it comes down to it, we conservatives, no matter who it is, we will rally 100% behind whoever the gop candidate will be. if that means shoe with thought

as the running mate, i will vote so long as we throw all of these social, liberal progressives we have in government right now. >> this is south carolina, supporting mitt romney. >> hello. mitt romney is the only candidate out of those four that is qualified and is an outsider the other three are all insiders from washington. mitt romney is a businessman. the others are all politicians. mitt romney is experienced. he has proven it. give him a chance. he is the only one that can beat obama. he is the only one that can lead this country out of almost the depression with the mess we are incurred >> is that it, -- we are in. >> is that it, harry?

thank you. which heard from newt -- we have heard from mitt romney, ron paul, and newt gingrich supporters, and we -- rick santorum, and newt gingrich supporters, but you can hear from ron paul supporters. the vancouver is next up. a newt gingrich supporter? >> i have been watching this whole process play out. i am a 45-year-old self-employed businessman. newt gingrich's the only one -- i mean, when he speaks, i get really excited. he really says the right things in all of the right ways. i just think he is the clear choice. >> let's go to mont -- mount

laurel, new jersey, and thises and marie. hang on, and marie. yet, off -- yes, ann marie. >> yes, good afternoon. i am supporting rick santorum. he is the only true fiscal and social conservative of the four. he is the only one with that record. he is consistent. what you says -- what he says you can believe. you know who we is. he says what he means and he means what he says. by the time the election comes up, the economy might not be the issue that it is right now. we are going to need a candidate that can go after obama on other things like obama-care, the contraceptive issue, the bailouts, cap and trade --

neither mitt romney or newt gingrich can go near those topics without walking away looking like hippocras -- hypocrites. >> there was the ruling of the overturning of the game marriage proposition in california, and also the change in the health-care plan announced by the obama administration today. a headline in "politico" the return of the culture wars, and he writes about a good reason for republicans to return to the fight. it is one of the issue said surge to the forefront and not the economy of the front page. salt lake, utah, a supporter of mitt romney. welcome. >> thank you. this election can be very strategic for conservatives. i think with obama, his

reputation on the economy is dismal, you know, and i think that romney can provide the best alternative to that. i think rick santorum is great. i think after mitt romney, i would love to support him as president because on social issues i agree strongly with him, and i think he can do great on that, but i think we need to be strategic, and first take care of the most pressing needs. >> some of the folks you are seeing on the screen are at an event at the hotel where the cpac gathering is happening, waiting to hear from wickes warrant -- rick santorum. hugo is a supporter of rick santorum. go ahead. >> and in the manufacturing, and we were getting killed with energy costs, and we were

debating whether or not to move overseas to china, because they are peddling, low tax rates and free territory. now that rick santorum has talked about a 0% tax rate for manufacturing, we will hold out and stay in the united states appeared >> -- united states. >> what do you manufacture? >> tools. energy costs are very high, and we use steel. we need a lot of fossil fuel to manufacture. >> we will let you go there. it looks like the candidate is coming into the room. it will stay here live on c- span. [applause] >> ok. it is great to be here. thank you, everybody.

with had a great reception here at cpac. we are very encouraged and induced by the support we are getting, and we're hoping to build on things here, and take that back out on the road. we are encouraged by a lot of things at this point. i'll ticket question number two. >> -- i will take a question or two. >> are you aware that c- span.org -- [unintelligible] >> senator, what are you trying to get out of this event, and how did you position yourself heading into the next two weeks where you will face, undoubtably, new attack ads? >> it is typical of governor romney to run negative ads instead of talking about his record and taking on president obama.

the most money -- the republicans are not claim to have the money to out-spend the president 5-21 in every state. republicans will look for someone that can go toe-to-toe with barack obama with hopefully been even at best when it comes to resources. that is the kind of canada they should look at, someone who can make the campaign about barack obama, and i think we have the best opportunity to do that. >> can you talk a little bit about the recent issues with contraceptives and gay marriage allow you to show your social conservative ideas? >> this has nothing to do with social conservatism. it has to do with basic, fundamental liberty. you can take the issue.

what the president is trying to do is force a religious organization, someone who has first amendment rights, to do something that's specifically violets those first amendment rights for no good reason. it is not that people should not have the access if they wanted to contraceptives. [unintelligible] >> this has nothing to do with access. this is having someone paid for it, and pay for something that is in the in an insurance -- insurance plan. this is something that is affordable, available. you do not need insurance for this relatively small expenditures. this is someone trying to impose their values on someone else with the arm of the government, and that should offend everybody, people of faith and no faith.

>> a number of republicans have been rejecting the white house put the mandate. >> i am one of them. >> what does the white house need to do to satisfy conservatives and candidates like you? >> barry simms altered understand that this is a -- very simple. understand this is a clear intrusion. there is no great value gained in forcing a provider to pay for something that is a rather small expenditure when it comes to healthcare, but to force them to pay for it just because they can. [unintelligible] >> forcing insurance companies to begin with -- [unintelligible]

>> a lot people say this is a war on religion. what would you do to fight the war on religion? >> this is the government trying to use its power. [unintelligible] >> we are getting everyone out. [unintelligible]

[unintelligible] >> one final question, what is it like to be twitter-bombed?

did you know you're being twitter-bob? -- twitter-bombed? [unintelligible] >> thank you, senator. >> we have to get to the back of the room. all the way to the back. [unintelligible]

>> guys, everybody has to move back. [unintelligible] >> who was the photographer? >> there you go. all right. >> you have to move over. >> people have their own cameras?

is this your camera? >> these are some of your people? >> i am from virginia. i fought to get a write-in on our ballot. [unintelligible] >> thank you very much. >> thank you for running.

[unintelligible] >> thank you. >> thank you. >> keep cutting -- keep fighting. way to go. way to go.