states, we will get that pipeline from canada and get energy independent. [applause] this president believes in crony capitalism. he did that with solyndra and tesla. we will turn once again to a nation that believes in free enterprise and free markets. based on the innovation of the american people. [applause] you will have to ask yourselves and ask your neighbors and people across michigan and across the nation, what do we want in our next president? we know what we have now. a guy who is an eloquent speaker and made a lot of promises he has been unable to keep. i believe you want someone who understands how to get the

economy working. who understand how to get jobs again. who understands what it takes to get rising incomes again. the median income in america has dropped 10% in the last four years. this president has failed the american people. i believe we need a president to get the economy going. if we have a strong economy, that means kids coming out of high school and college will have jobs waiting for them. [applause] it means if you are in the prime of your life and you need to move you can find a new job right away. it means that if you are in your retirement years, you know your savings are going to be growing because american enterprises are growing in their value. if we have a strong economy, we will provide for a military that is second to none in the world. because this economy is

faltering, this president is saying, where can i cut? there is only one place he is willing to cut, that is our military. we have fewer ships in our navy at any time since 1917. we have fewer aircraft and older aircraft in our air force than any time since 1947. this president wants to cut our active-duty personnel by 50 to 100,000. we no longer have the capacity to engage it in two conflicts at once. we want a strong america to prevent war from occurring. no one would test america. [applause]

it comes back to an economy that is strong that can maintain a strong military, an economy that is strong so people have good jobs. when people want to change places in the country, they can find work wherever they want to go. i happen to believe that if we want to have a strong economy and good private-sector jobs, it helps to have a president who has had a private sector job. and i have. [applause] i think the reason i will beat barack obama in michigan in the fall, this will be a contest about who can strengthen the economy. we will look at his record and we will look at my record, and that will be able to talk about

the economy with credibility that he does not have. my commitment to getting america working will be second to none. for that reason, i am going to win in michigan and across the country. [applause] i have to be our nominee. to get that job, i need you guys to get out to vote. we used to say, get out early, and vote often. you cannot do that, of course. get your friends who have not voted, take them to the polls, ask folks in your neighborhood. we have to get that done. i want to mention one more thing. we grew up here. we were born and raised here. we are back asking for your help.

we love the beauty of this place. we love the character of the people of michigan. i have had the chance to see a lot of america. my dad took us around the country when we were kids. he showed us the national parks. i love the hymns of america. i love the beauty of america. i love the people of america. will our veterans and armed services personnel raise your hands? thank you, sir. thank you. thank you. thank you. [applause]

there is another verse i love. the founders of this great country did not just write for their time. they saw beyond the years. the principles they put in place in the declaration of independence and the constitution are enduring principles. when they said we were endowed by our creator, they did not say we were given those rights by our government. [applause] life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. in america, we would be free and we would have the occasion to pursue happiness as we choose. we could not be told by our government but we would be doing. we would not be limited by the circumstance of our birth.

this would be the land of opportunity. for hundreds of years, people have come here from all over the world, seeking the opportunity, not seeking checks from governments. if you want somebody who will promise opportunity, vote for me. [applause] i will keep this country strong. i will keep this country strong. i will get our economy working again. i will put people back to work and i will make sure america remains the hope of the earth by restoring the american principles and values. [applause] the other day, i got in my car and i drove out to a home of a fellow who lives in this area. he loves michigan, he loves

detroit. he has recently made quite a commitment. he will raise a million dollars for the detroit symphony. [applause] he had a piece of paper in front of me. he had written down some questions. first of all, if you are elected president, will you help me help the state of michigan? i said i would. if you are elected president, will you help me help the city of detroit? i said i would. i turned to him and i said, by the way, given the fact i am willing to do those things, will you perform a concert for my friends? he said he would. i am happy to introduce a friend -- kid rock.

[applause] ♪ ♪ i rough road ridinglike a new moon rising wandering out into this great unknown i don't want no one to cry ♪

but if i don't survive -- i was born free i was born free born free free like a river raging strong is the wind i am facing changes time after time♪ like the greatest canyon wild like untamed stallion on can't keep those chains me

i was born free i was born free i was born free ♪ , not that good at long goodbyes but look into my eyes -- i was born free ♪ yeah ♪ ♪ yeah yeah yeah ♪ ♪ do you feel good tonight,

people? i'm facing danger of loan -- alonelike an unknown stranger grateful for my time with no regrets close to my destination frail and aching waiting patiently for the sun to set i was born free i was born free i was born free i was born free ♪

i was born free i was born free whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa free yeah ♪ born free ♪ [applause]

♪ [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012] >> a recent poll indicated michigan that mitt romney is slightly ahead of former senator rick santorum. he campaigned in the southwestern part of the state in kalamazoo. this is about 45 minutes. thank you. nice to see you here. >> thank you.

it is great to be in kalamazoo. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. wow. thank you. [applause] it is great to be in kalamazoo. [applause] all right. thank you. thank you, pastor clark. i want to thank all the organizers for this event for putting this crowd together. you guys did such a great job. there are people that cannot fit in there. we had to set up a second room. we will have two town hall meetings going on at the same time. my daughter, elizabeth, is here. she is the oldest of our seven children. i want to thank the duggars for being here. they have made over 1000 phone

calls for us. i want to thank them for their help. my daughter has been traveling with me. we do a lot of traveling together. my son to be in college but he is taking a year off. my wife is coming and with another couple of the kids tomorrow morning to be here for [applause] this is our oldest, elizabeth, our 20-year-old. we have a 19, 16, 14, 12, 6, and three as the rest of the family. she is going to sneak out and do her own town hall meeting for the people who could not be

here. go right ahead. [applause] to the members of the press, you might find that more interesting. she will have to answer all the personal questions about me. you might find some dirt. it is great to be here. we have had such a great day in michigan. we have been traveling all over the state. these last few days -- up in the up. i feel like i'm initiated. i had a pastee for breakfast yesterday morning. we have been down to flint, lansing.

we have been traveling all over the state and we are excited about the response. i think we will surprise a few people tomorrow night. [applause] the reason i believe we will surprise people is because we have been talking about a positive vision for our country. something that can get people excited about the future. we have a president right now who is the divider and chief. now working on trying to be honest with the american public and bring us together in a way america works best. i want to go out there and put forth ideas and the vision that reminds us who we are. ronald reagan, when he left office, his last words to the american people, he expressed concern about whether america was going to do as well in the

future. the reason for that is because he was worried about american children not learning about the real american history is. the real origins of our country. what holds it together as a nation. in america, i am a first- generation american. my dad came over on the boat. when my father came to this country with his grandfather when he was 7. when he came to this country, he stepped on american shores and because he came here to be part of this great experiment, that day he became an american. america is not about a race or ethnicity. it is about an ideal and a set of values that make us a country.

we forget that. we forget that somehow, america is an enterprise. it is constantly changing the basic core of america is the same. it is what makes us exceptional. that is our founding document. barack obama said about nine months ago, he listed a whole bunch entitlement programs. everything from medicare to unemployment insurance. america is a better country because of all these government programs and then he read from his teleprompter, i will go one step further. america was not a great country until these programs were passed.

[boos] that is a view of america that is foreign to most americans. that is the view, i think, that most other sovereigns have of their country. what makes our country great is what the government does for the people. instead of what makes our country great is free people. having the opportunity to do for themselves, not the government. [applause] i believe america was founded great. there may be a few tea party people here. there may be a few tea party people and i want to thank the tea party for resurrecting a document that had been out of fashion and favor for a long time.

a document called the constitution of the united states. [cheers and applause] the idea that this document is the operator's manual of our country. it has worked well in establishing and building the framework for a great country. the most prosperous, most transformational country in human history. from the standpoint of not just freedom, the advancements of humankind. at the time of the declaration of independence and the constitution, life expectancy was about 35 to 40 years of age. just what it was at the time of jesus christ. the human condition did not change dramatically.

41800 years. -- for 1800 years. and then america happened. right? we formed a government. we declared our independence and in that document, which is not the operator's manual, but the heart of america, the core of america is, i would make the argument that it is what makes america exceptional. we hold these truths to be self-evident. all men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights>> life, liberty, and the and among them pursuit of happiness. >> there you go. that is who we are. [applause]

that sentence changed human history. that sentence changed the whole concept of governance. the whole idea of what the government was there to do. when this constitution was drafted, it was drafted for the purposes of protecting and managing government to make sure the individual, the family, the church, the civic organizations, the little businesses, were free to be able to thrive and prosper from the bottom up. not some ruler to order society from the top down. our founders trusted the great unwashed of america. they trusted all of us. this is not fly over country.

this is the heart and soul of america. [applause] in 235 years, life expectancy went from 35 to 80. the dynamism of the economy, because of america, because of liberating people to pursue their wants and dreams, and not have a government or a leader condemning them for success, at breeding envy between the 99 and the one. when people achieved greatly, we held honors and dinners for them. we build statues because we knew with great success of an individual brought great success for everybody. employers hired employees. right?

people who take risks, people who strive and do great things, that is the greatness of america. we do not envy each other. what has been going on in this country, this divisiveness, condemning certain sectors of our economy, taking other the other sectors of our economy, it is not what america is about. that is why there is this angst in america. what is happening around us, our freedoms are being taken away. obamacare -- anybody want to repeal obamacare? [applause]

in swing states, which includes michigan, 75% of voters in swing states believe obamacare is unconstitutional. believe it or not, the people in the white house who think this is normal course to do what ever they want to do, whether it is passing unconstitutional laws, trampling first amendment rights, this administration does not have any concern that this document has any constraints on their power. i do not know if you saw the other day, ruth bader ginsburg, supreme court justice, was asked the question, whether she would recommend the united states constitution for a

country that was starting a government. she answered, no, she would not. it is antiquated. it is dated. we need something new that reflects the new truths that have been discovered. she suggested the south african constitution. the united states supreme court justice suggesting that the document that she has sworn to uphold cannot defend it. we need somebody in the oval office and someone in the courts to revere this document and understand its greatness and adhere to it. [applause]

obamacare does not adhere to it. it would shoved down the throats of the american public. if they could get this done, they did not care whether they lost the next election or not. they thought, the economy by 2012 will be good enough for obama to be reelected. once that happens, they have delayed the implementation of obamacare. they do not want you to experience obamacare before the election. they will wait until after that. then they will bring the hammer down. they will bring the hammer down just in time and everybody in america will be used to having government run their lives. it will not be for three years. you will have a chance to vote out that president. get you hooked.

i will never forget going to the green room at fox when obamacare -- this was after the massachusetts senate election and when scott brown was elected. the president decided to shove the senate bill through the house. i remember going to fox and i ran into juan williams. i said to him, what are you guys doing? you will get killed in the next election. this is what he told me. i just talked to the white house and they said, we believe americans love entitlements. and once we get them hooked on this entitlement, they will never let it go.

a group of people to be hooked like mindless fish. that is how they see this country. not people who are free and independent, and have the ability to provide for themselves. a group of people who need them and they need you and your votes to keep their power. this is the state of affairs we find ourselves in today unless we are able to win this election. that is why this issue of obamacare is so vital. it is about taking away your freedoms. it is about destroying the business community by overregulation. it is about micromanaging the health-care field. we will be denying care because

there is a budget we have to keep. all those things that you see in socialized medicine will come to the united states. you will be dictated to. all the other aspects of it. it is not just your economic freedom that will be dictated by the government. once the government says they will give you a right, and they will tell you how to exercise that right. as we saw with the catholic church, where they said to the church, you will do what we tell you to do. even though you object to it morally. i just saw an article yesterday. if obamacare is implemented, there will be no catholic hospitals in america within two years.

they will be sold, but we will not comply. [applause] you hear the left with their constant drumbeat, separation of church and state. separation of church and state. here is the proper definition of separation of church and state. it does not appear in the constitution. what does is the term of the free exercise of religion. those words do appear. religion is to be free from the dictates of government. but the government is not to be free of the influence of faith

and people of faith. [applause] this is a basic constitutional law. this is basic constitutional law 101. to the elite in our culture this is some kind of cultural war. that people of faith should be able to go out and express their opinions in the public square. they should be able to advocate. according to them when someone of faith as that, they're trying to impose their morality. no more than anyone else who is allowed in the public square tries to impose their morality on anybody else. that is what the public square is for. it is for a healthy debate. [applause]

what are they afraid of? are they afraid to go in there and make their arguments? according to the courts in this country, they are afraid of people making their arguments even korean court. -- even in court. i will give you an example -- proposition 8 was unconstitutional. marriage should be between a man and woman. it passed in california by a vote of the people. the ninth circuit said that is not constitutional. they said this is -- there was no rational basis for anyone believing that marriage should be limited to one man and woman.

let me explain what that means. anybody who thinks marriage should be between a man and woman is irrational in their beliefs. there is no legitimate reason other than this is what they said. hatred and bigotry. if you believe marriage is between a man and woman in is because you're a hero or a bigot. -- a hater or a bigot. that is a court telling people they're not allowed in the public square to voice these things. if you do, you are a bit. -- a bigot. here we go. this is the tolerant left, right? folks, fundamental liberties are at stake in this election. first amendment rights, economic liberties. we have an opportunity to paint a different vision. one that is a welcoming public square. that says to people of faith, no faith, and the faith, come on

in. talk about it. make your case. make your argument to the people. i do not have to agree with you but i respect the fact you're here. just because you have a different opinion of me does not mean you hate me. or that i hate you. and that is what america's about. [applause] the candidate who can go out and articulate a vision of freedom. first amendment freedom. someone who understands what is at stake here. limited government and free people. obamacare -- the could not be heated up better for us. and yet you have a decision here in michigan tomorrow between two candidates who are -- have a chance to win. one has a strong and long track

record. of economic liberties in the area of health care. have you heard of health savings accounts? anybody want to take a guess, you can guess as i am asking the question, who were the first bill on health savings accounts? you talk to any conservative free-market person in health care. they will tell you the core of getting it right on health care is consumer involvement. that is health savings accounts as a policy idea to give people the power back in the health- care system. right? i have been a people first, free market health care advocate for 20 years, since 1992 when i introduced that bill with a guy you might know, jon casey from ohio. -- john kasic from ohio. there is a person who has a different view.

>> romneycare. >> that would be a different view. massachusetts was the first state in the country to take over the health care system. they have to -- amending everyone has to purchase health care and how much it would be fined if they did not do it. how much businesses would be fined if they did not do it. they set the limit of any business over a certain amount. obamacare is 50 employees. romneycare it is 10 employees and you have to provide health care. they put a specific four different plans to could choose from. obama's five different plans you can choose from. they have a dramatically expanded medicaid to cover folks, obamacare expands medicare. you get the point.

the use of insurance exchanges subsidized by the government. the idea that governor romney said i stand by what i did in massachusetts but what obama did was wrong. why is it wrong? it should not be done at the federal level. that is a big difference. health care. you want to have the state to do it. so much for freedom. governor romney imposed on catholic hospitals of requirements to have to provide the morning after pill. so much for the religious liberty argument to make against the president. governor romney uniquely disqualifies himself on the biggest issue in this general election. the ability to go after barack obama on a government takeover of health care. why would that people of michigan put an nominee forward who takes away the most

important and salient issue for 75% of swing states for what governor obama -- romney and, did was wrong. how about putting someone who stands on your side with no government mandates? [applause] we have an opportunity in this election to put forth someone who has a bold vision for getting this economy growing. written by washington insiders. does not make any changes to the tax cut. governor romney lowered taxes a little bit. cut them by 20% to the rate i suggested. it is nice to be copied. take that as flattery. we have a bold plan to get this economy going. we take the corporate tax for

corporations, 35%, the highest in the world as of april 1. we cut in half and make it a flat tax, expensing everything. a flat tax that a small business will take -- pay the same rate as the biggest businesses in america. a level playing field for the big guys versus the little guys. [applause] accept of course i focus, you have seen in my tv commercials. i focus on one area of the economy that does not just compete here but has to compete some -- against a ruthless competitors in china, mexico, and others. we need to make sure that american jobs stay in america, right? where we can compete in vital sectors of our economy.

that we create a level playing field the government is not the reason and the cost that government imposes on businesses is not the reason that we lose manufacturing jobs in this country. i put forth a three-part plan that nails it. three things. number one. we 0 out all taxes on manufacturing activity in america. if you manufacture here you do not pay taxes because we want you to make your things here. [applause] secondly, if you made the business judgment you had to move overseas to keep profit to keep your business open and you made profits which many of them dead, reported $1.57 trillion profits are sitting in overseas banks.

were they sitting there and not coming back to america? they are subject to a big, hefty tax, up to 35%. the reinvested in those endeavors in those countries. we want that money to come back to america. here's the deal. if you bring it back to america, mr. or ms. manufacturer, you invest it and plan here, create the jobs here in america. and you don't pay any tax [applause] finally, the regulatory burden. not just on manufacturers, but general. this administration, i hear it from small businesses to large print the level of uncertainty about what the government will do to as next is truly chilling and harming people to put their capital out there and grow their businesses. they are afraid.

already, this administration has put on a record number of large regulations come out large cost impact on the economy. the measure them in anything over $100 million is singled out by the government. barack obama last year did almost as many regulations as bush or clinton did in four years. in one year. 150 regulations. this is a president that is going to set the record book on micromanaging the private sector in america. whether it is the epa or the nlrv or fda, you name it. they are regulating everything because government knows best. on the one, i will repeal every single one of those regulations. [applause]

people ask me when the economy will turn around. i said, if michigan hopes -- because what i hope they do on election night, 11:00 p.m. is wendy economy will start to spur because we will have -- when the economy will start to spur because we will have a brand new president. [applause] we will get jobs, good paying jobs, not just in the major cities. but where the manufacturers go. they go where they have always gone. almost every little town in america across this country has a little manufacturer plant -- manufacturing plant. imagine what you will be able to do here in this community to

attract businesses because of the workforce to have. because of the tradition you have. and the ability to be able to produce good, high-quality american goods. it can be profitable doing it again. we will transform all these little towns across america. we will create opportunities and be able to rise in society. there are far too many people who do not have the skills necessary and not have jobs that require skills so they can rise in society. it is not a matter of going to college. college is a great thing. i encourage people who want to go to college and upgrade their skills but there are a lot of people who do not want to go and have other skills that need to be upgraded. they can produce in this society. in manufacturing is the perfect place for them to be able to exhibit those skills that we can turn this country around

for everybody, from the bottom up in america. [applause] i have a record that can go out and take on barack obama on this issue and build support in those key areas of our country and the swing states like pennsylvania, ohio, michigan, wisconsin, missouri, indiana. the states if the gulf for rick santorum you can go to bed. -- if they go for rick santorum, you can go to bed. we need someone who can take it to the president on the issues where the president has fallen down. as i have said before, we can do that better than anybody. we have a clean and clear record on issues of government control of your life where there is health care, whether it is the takeover of wall street,

where there is cap and trade and the imposition of carbon restrictions, co2 restrictions, which, believe it or not, you might find this easy to believe. as the grandson of a coal miner. i did not buy into this global or climate science which from the very beginning -- [applause] which from the beginning if you look at the data and the science, it did not look like climate science but political science. i stood up and said we're not going to go along with this. it is another attempt by the left to use some sort of junk science to take more control over people's lives. we're not going to do that. i was alone in this field, other than ron paul. i was alone in this field than standing up and saying i'm not going to buy and to cap and

trade or man-made global warming but unfortunately, governor romney did. as governor he proclaimed loudly and probably they had put the first carbon cap in place for power plants in massachusetts. so much for the contrast on that issue. we're not going to win this election because we're going to have the most money and we're going to be up president obama in state-by-state by spending four or five times as much money as he does. he will have more money and he will have the media on his side. so let's look at the canada who -- candidate who had the least money and did the most with it in winning an election. [applause]

that is who we're looking for. someone who is able to win based on ideas and a positive vision. someone who did not go out and attack your opponent and tear them down personally or misrepresent their record. just the facts, ma'am. just the facts. that is what we're running on. the facts of what i want to do for this country and our policies to create the opportunity to create jobs. we have an opportunity here tomorrow in michigan. here in kalamazoo to go out and do something big. shock the establishment. [applause] they are all worried, this guy is too conservative. all the pundits are saying to conservative but romney runs ads i am not conservative.

those that fall short as a contradiction? i do not know if i am too conservative or not, depending on who i am talking to. my daughter was talking to me about the story of the three bears. maybe i am just right. not too hot, not too cold. we have an opportunity to do in a sense what happened in 1980. in 1980, everyone was saying, you cannot elect the sky reagan. he is too conservative. he is a movie actor. he colors his hair and puts on makeup. why would we elect someone like that? he will be a disaster. we will lose and we have to beat jimmy carter, he was the worst in history. until now. [applause]

jimmy carter was a disaster, no question and we had to win. but the american people realized, the people in the republican primaries realized that replacing jimmy carter with something better was not enough. it is good. do not get me wrong. it is not enough. we need someone who is going to as ronald reagan did, remind us who we are, spur the american public to do big things, to believe big thoughts in themselves, why? we are big, we're great. we are americans. we can do anything. [applause] so, let's rally behind someone who is not running for president because they want to be the most powerful person in the country or the world.

because they're running for president because i want you to be the powerful people again in this country. [applause] so, tomorrow. i am asking to walk out of here and i will spend some time getting around and meeting and greeting everybody. if you have got your cameras, you got to put meat on facebook tonight. -- put me on facebook tonight. [cheers and applause] i cannot spend a lot of time because i have to do hannity at 9:00 p.m. so i do not have a ton of time. i will take some time to do that. thank you for coming here. i really do appreciate it. thank you. [cheers and applause]

thank you come lago bless you. -- thank you, god bless you. thank you so much, god bless you. thank you for all your help. >> i will be there. >> thank you. >> make sure you get some people about.

-- to vote. thank you. >> what would you do about personal taxes? >> cut them 20%.

[captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2012]

>> we will have results tonight from the primaries in arizona and michigan and you will hear from the four major republican candidates and you can call in with your reaction. our campaign coverage in march includes the washington caucuses on the 3rd, super tuesday on march 6 and a continuation of the wyoming caucasus. more than 1100 delegates are needed for the republican

presidential nomination. according to the associated press, a republican delegate count stands at 123 for mitt romney, 724 record santorum, 32 for newt gingrich, and 194 ron paul. this can't includes the republican national committee delegates who can support any candidate regardless of the primary results of the state. in a few moments, we will look at today's headline and take your calls live on "washington journal." the house is in session for general speeches at 10:00 eastern with legislative business at noon. today's agenda will include a bill on how to dispose of excess federal buildings and properties. in about 45 minutes, we will talk about the congressional agenda and the 2012 campaign with a d