many of you know my father, rafael cruz. [applause] i am hoping in time i can encourage him not to be such a wallflower. [laughter] when he fled cuba 55 years ago after being in prison, after being beaten, when he came here seeking freedom, he did it because no nation on earth has allowed so many people to come with nothing and achieve the american dream. [applause] what does it take to win this fight? it takes the men and women in this room. each of you is called to be here. much like esther, you were called for a time such as this.

[applause] for 400 years, every generation of americans has given to their kids and grandkids an opportunity, greater prosperity, a greater future. if we keep going down this road, we will become the first generation not to do that, and every man and woman in this room believes that is utterly and completely unacceptable! [applause] as ronald reagan famously observed, freedom is not passed down in a bloodstream from one generation to the next. every generation has to rise up and defend it, or one day we will find ourselves answering

questions from our children and our children's children -- what was it like when america was free? none of us will ever have to answer that question, because together the american people, we are going to restore that shining city on the hill that is the united states of america. thank you, and god bless you. ♪ ♪

>> thank you, senator cruz. a couple of things i want to mention. if you would like to stand firm in our call to stop obamacare, we will post a phone number on the screen that you can write down and make those calls. you also have all of your congressional phone numbers in your packets. we encourage you to take advantage of that. i must say a couple of quick items before we introduce our next speaker. for those of you who paid full price only to be evicted, we would like to thank you for your donation to the values voter summit. and i do urge you to please restrain from interfering with any of the protesters. we do have security for that. so please, don't you get involved with any of that. or any protesters who are left we urge you to exercise decorum. this is a place for freedom of speech. i have never understood that those who stand for freedom and

him tolerance. we will mercifully flee past you. our next speaker is in his first term as senator from the great state of kentucky. he has so graciously carved out time, because he is rushing from here to a meeting with the president, so we are grateful that he could come ensure with you now. he has proven to be an outspoken champion for constitutional liberties and fiscal responsibility. he serves on the foreign relations, health, education labor and pensions, small business, and government affairs committees. will you please welcome a senator who represents your values in washington, d.c., rand paul. ♪ ♪

a >> thank you. does anybody have a message that i can carry to the president? >> [indiscernible] >> and i am in a toyota prius. if you need a ride back to the white house, we will take you along. today i want to talk about something that is serious. i want to talk about a war that the mainstream media is ignoring, from boston to zanzibar. there is a worldwide war on christianity. christians are being attacked around the world, but you will not hear much about it on the evening news, because the answer

is not convenient. it does not fit the narrative we have heard about it radical islam. the media describes the killings as sectarian. but the truth is a worldwide war on christians is being waged by fanatical elements of islam. ever since 9/11 commentators have tried to avoid pointing fingers at islam, which is somewhat fair. it is fair to point out most muslims are not committed to violence against christians, but it is not the whole truth. the whole truth -- and we should not let political correctness stand in the way -- the whole truth is a minority of muslims condone the killing of christians, but unfortunately, that minority numbers in the tens of millions. pew research did a poll that indicated 21% of egyptians, 15% of jordanians -- and many

jordanians are friends -- 15% of pakistani muslims find terrorism acceptable, if not laudable. the minority to be sure, but if you add up the numbers in three countries, it is over 40 million muslims sympathizing with violence against christians. you should not be understated. a survey indicated there were 100,000 muslims in britain who fully supported the london subway bombings. 400,000 said they had some sympathy for these bombings. this is not a little problem and will not go away quickly. in syria, there is an ancient christian city called -- where they still speak aramaic, the language that jesus spoke. they have been christians since the time of christ. they are a small outpost in the middle east for christians.

the town was recently overrun by islamic rebels. they swarmed into the town and demanded everyone convert to islam or die. a person stood up and answered them, and he said, i am a christian, and if you want to kill me because i am, do so. these were his last words. sister carmella of damascus said of him, his death is true martyrdom, a death in the hatred of faith. make no mistake, this is about your religion. elsewhere in syria, islamic rebels have filmed beheadings of their captives. they have filmed themselves eating the heart of their enemy. two christian bishops have been kidnapped, and one priest was recently killed. these rebels are allies of the

islamic rebels that president obama is now arming. we are now arming islamic rebels who are allied with al qaeda that attacked us on 9/11. does that make any sense at all? >> no! >> american tax dollars should never be spent to prop up a war on christianity, but that is what is happening now across the globe. as christians, we should fight against any tax dollars funding any persecution of christians. [applause] in zanzibar, a tiny little island off the coast of africa and a priest was recently shot in the head on his way to church by two muslim youths. a message by the muslim renewal said we thank our young men, and trained in somalia, for

killing the infidel. many more will die. we will burn homes and churches. we will not finish. at easter, be prepared for disaster. in kenya, muslims broke the legs of a pastor. in indonesia, the world's most populous muslim nation, three girls were beheaded on the way to their christian school. make no mistake, there is an element of radical jihad in this. in guinea, christians were killed. in egypt, 82 churches were attacked, leaving hundreds dead and wounded. earlier this year, i forced the senate to vote to defund the muslim brotherhood, and every democrat -- [applause]

and every democrat voted to continue sending your money to the muslim brotherhood. i can tell you one thing and though, as long as i am in the senate, i will fight against sending any money to the muslim brotherhood. [applause] in cameroon recently, two christians were murdered. in iran, american pastor is detained indefinitely, facing physical and psychological torture. they asked him to renounce his faith, the same thing they asked the person before he was killed. i have introduced a resolution that says we should do everything within our power and our voice, from the white house, from the state department, from our government, to release this man.

[applause] and i will not rest until the pastor is free. across the globe christians are under attack almost as if we lived in the middle ages or we lived under early pagan roman rule. it is almost as if that is happening again throughout the middle east. this administration does nothing to stop it, and it can be argued they are giving aid and comfort to those who tolerate these crimes. in libya, the country we freed from oppression, the militias that were guarding our ambassador have raided a christian church, rounding up hundreds of christians, accusing them of being missionaries accusing them of the crime of

having a cross or a bible. many were tortured. i in pakistan last week, 75 christians were killed them a several hundred were killed in a bombing of a church. and a pakistani christian sits on death row for blasphemy. she says it began when she drew water from a muslim well. as she was filling her bowl of water, a crowd formed and chanted, death, death to the christian. she pleaded for her life. she was pelted with stones punched in the face, and drugs through the streets. the local imam interceded, saying you must convert to islam. the crowd descended on her beating her with sticks. finally, the police stopped the attackers only to arrest her. she has now been on death row for the crime of blasphemy. what i say is until this person

is freed, not one dollar of u.s. aid should go to pakistan. [applause] many of you have heard of malala, the precocious 14-year- old who was shot in the head by the taliban for the crime of wishing that girls could go to school. she is not a christian, but even so, the radical islamists were not tolerant of this girl who seeks nothing more than an education, nothing more than a right to go to school. if you have not listened to her, pull up one of her youtubes and listen to her. she is amazing. what a bizarre distortion of religion, someone who would shoot a little girl and had to make a religious point? where is the rest of islam? why don't they stand up and

condemn this? [applause] the urdu poet shakir wrote they insist on examining the firefly in the daylight, the children of our age have grown clever. radical islam will end only when islam begins to police itself. only when islam allows her children to examine the firefly in the daylight, only then will knowledge and enlightenment begin to glow and grow and religious violence will recede. we should all pray for that day to come sooner rather than later. [applause] we send billions of dollars to egypt, to pakistan.

we help new islamic regimes in afghanistan and iraq. obama now sends arms to rebels in syria. and you will love to the embassy, climbed on top and burned our flag. i do not know about you, but i have had enough. [applause] i say not one penny more to any country that would burn the american flag. [applause] we must work to ensure that our country, our policies, our tax dollars are on the side of ending this violence rather than encouraging those who retreat it. -- perpetrated. this war on christianity is not

just abroad. it came to boston this year just in time for the marathon. two islamic radicals blew up dozens of civilians. i guess they thought somehow killing women and children would make a religious or political point. you might argue, maybe they were not targeting christians, but they certainly did not target a mosque. their motive, if you can perceive one, was not against our government, but against us as a people, a christian people. how someone could believe that killing innocent people could further one's cause is beyond me. shortly after the attack, i met one of the boston policemen who were there, one of the first responders. he described his feelings, his horror, his sadness as he raced to apply tourniquets, and the death and carnage in what he saw as he showed up. he described his anger as he pursued these two islamic radicals through the streets.

he described he felt it was justified, the shootout where one of them was killed, but he also said that after the last one, after we captured and disarmed the last bomber, he said he also described a special appreciation for american justice. after the bomber was apprehended, he said we did not drag into the street and beat him to death with tire irons. he will get a lawyer, he will get a trial. it is what makes us different from them. when i talk to our young soldiers, wife -- my wife and i helped build a house for one of our young soldiers -- i asked him what he was fighting for and what did it mean to fight for your country? he said the essence of what we

fought for was our freedom, our bill of rights, our constitution. we have to believe and preserve those, that's what we are here for. that's what we are here to fight for and that's what arm young men and women have put their lives on the line for. some politicians say this war on christianity means that we must fight a large conventional war against all of radical islam. part of my pointers to tell you there is 100 million, this will not be fought with a conventional war. it will require islam to police islam. there will be times and we will have to defend ourselves. we were right to go to war after 9/11. there are times when military action is justified and necessary. i believe we must be willing and able to defend ourselves against the jihadist's but we must also re-examine our policies because military action can and able and -- enable and empower radical

islam. going into syria could possibly enable al qaeda. it could make things worse. we have to be very clear about that. in egypt, libya, and syria, it is not clear whether the changes of the new regimes will be more friendly or less friendly to america. to me, it does not make any sense to send american arms, american planes, or american troops to aid syrian rebels or the muslim brotherhood, for goodness sakes. we should stop it. [applause] in the future, i see less and less conventional wars. i don't see the possibility of how 100 million radical jihadist art defeated and the have to be contained and we have to defend ourselves. make no mistake, we should actively defend ourselves. the ultimate answer i think is that the rest of islam that is

not radical has to police radical islam. [applause] the islamic republics see us as invaders and infidels. they will never accept us through force of arms. somehow, they must be made to understand that they must root out and destroy the sadists and killers amongst them, the ones who distort and contort religion to justify killing of civilians and children. islam needs to remember and re- create the good in their history. for centuries, the middle east was home to cultural and intellectual centers of ancient world. math and science flourished in the middle ages. tolerance and sophistication were the norm at one time in the middle east.

the great medieval physician identified smallpox and measles. the great politician made advances in algebra. there was a enlightenment at one point in the world. islam carried the light of learning and pave the way for our enlightenment. this history needs to be brought back to life again. innovation and muslim communities developed a magnetic compass, pens and printing. it was said at one time that books were printed in cairo, passed out in baghdad. at one point in time in the middle east, the world was really something that was very amazing. it needs to come back but they need to figure this out. the policing has to come from them. as late as the 1960s, books were printed in cairo and read in baghdad. there was a time in our history when islam was policing itself. most muslims described islam as a peaceful and tolerant

religion. at one time, they prized inquiry over the heads of infidels. the scientific method over fanaticism. i believe islam still contains some of the roots of this classical tradition and can return to them. in the meantime, we must defend ourselves. make no mistake, we need to understand the war on christianity is not being waged by a rare anomaly but by a significant minority that numbers in the millions. christians should be prepared for were but actively seek peace. reagan said we should strive for peace through strength and i agree. i urge us not to lose sight of either. too often, we have lost sight of these as the goal. the message of the gospels is not war. hopefully, the message of christianity, if listened t, can be part of a peace process. in the meantime take action, pray for solution and older

-- hold your politicians accountable for standing up and protecting life and standing up against the war on christianity. thank you and may god bless you. [applause] ♪ ♪ >> thank you senator paul. let's keep it going. our next speaker's faith and america's promise was shaped early on by his parents who left communist cuba under the castro regime. he was raised in miami and learned the value of diligence and hard work through his godly parents. that early training paid off big time as he came from a huge

underdog in his 2009 campaign to win the senate seat for his home state of florida. his mission, among other things, as a senator is to build a strong america that our children can inherit to reach their dreams just as he has reached his dreams. he has become a leading voice for values voters all over america, ladies and gentlemen, would you please welcome senator marco rubio? [applause] >> thank you. thank you. let me start off by saying -- i was listening to the news -- i hope all the protesters that came to scream you're left with ted because he did a good job with them. i appreciate it. i am honored to appear before you at this uncertain time in

our countries history. with all the fighting going on in washington these days, my biggest fear is that we are losing focus on the biggest issues facing our country. that's the growing sense by so many people across the country that we are losing control. that we are losing control of our nation and that we are losing what we've come to know as the american dream. why do people feel this way? because millions of them have been out of a job for months and maybe years at a time, because millions more are trapped in jobs that don't pay enough to live off of. when these people here on the news that the economy is recovering, when they hear that unemployment is down .1% somewhere, it makes them angry. because maybe wall street has recovered but for millions of americans, they are still stuck with jobs that do not pay enough to make ends meet. making all this worse is that while their paychecks are stable

or going down, it their bills keep going up. ask single parents and working families how much they are paying every month for child care. ask the thousands upon thousands of students who are saddled with student loan debt. when i graduated, i had over 100 thousand dollars in student loans which i paid off last year with the proceeds of my book which is available in paperback. [laughter] how do people make it through when they face the stuff? i faced a rough patch like that a few years after jennette and i got married and we faced difficult moments i got rid of the car and moved in with her mom for six months. sound familiar? from time to time, we have had to do that but we did that temporarily. now you have millions and millions of people who feel like they may have to do that as a new way of life. they asked their cells that this

-- they ask themselves is this the new normal? is this the way things will be in this country from now on? that's what people are wondering these days that maybe the american dream a member be what it used to be. we ask ourselves why this is happening and there are many reasons. globalization has changed the nature of our economy. you have all these jobs that have gone overseas because of cheaper labor costs. millions of jobs have been replaced by machines. go to your local grocery store and there are less cashiers and more self checkout counters. too many people never got the education or the skills they needed for the jobs that the new economy has created. big government is keeping our economy from creating the new middle class jobs that people desperately need to live the kind of life they want. all these things are contributing to our challenges. one of the major causes of it i think does not get enough attention and that is the fundamental truth that you cannot have a strong economy if it is not built on strong

values. no one is born with these values. these values have to be taught. the government cannot teach them. these values have to be taught by strong families and they have to be reinforced by institutions like churches and synagogues coaches and mentors, by civil society. we have countless children in this country today who are not eating taught these values. -- not being taught these values. because our society is breaking down. our families are falling apart. as a result of our country is paying a terrible price. the liberal answer to all of this is just a happy government spent more money. there is a role for government. no matter how much money the government spends, it will never be able to take the place of parents and strong families. [applause]

children born into broken families with no access to positive roles models and bombarded by popular culture the glamorizes violence and irresponsibility, these children will struggle to succeed no matter how much government spends. this is a serious problem. millions of our people are going to be left behind if we do not fix this. what can those of us in public service do about all of this? the first thing is we have to empower parents and we have two amp hours civil society and -- we must empower parents and civil society and that is what i believe, as most of you do,

that every single parent in america has the right and should have the opportunity to send their children to the school of their choice. [applause] second, we need to make sure our government for rims encourage work and not dependence. [applause] we support a safety net to serve those who cannot help themselves, to serve those who have fallen so they can stand up on their own feet again and try again. our people want jobs, they don't want a safety net as a way of life. it's why these programs need to be reformed. so that these programs encourage work and encourage education and they need to be reformed to make sure they do not punish parents if they decide to get married. [applause] by this point, i would've hoped someone could heckle me so i could sip some water. [laughter] that will get me through. the third thing i think we have to do and this is perhaps most important -- our leaders have to stop ignoring the impact that culture is having on our nation. [applause]

let me tell you the reaction i get to that from some. some say that this is nothing more than an effort to impose religious values on others. this is not about imposing values. these values don't work unless you really believe them. i have also been lectured about how we need to stop talking about social issues if we want to win elections. if we are serious about saving the american dream, we cannot stop talking about these issues. we cannot stop talking about the importance of our values and our culture. [applause] we cannot stop talking about them because the moral well- being of our people is directly linked to their economic well- being. [applause] today, we see a rising tide of intolerance in america. intolerance toward those who cherish these values.

in this country, we still have millions of people who try to live by these values. the traditional values they cherish, hard work responsibility, self control -- the belief that life does not revolve around us. who is harmed by these values? how does promoting these values hurt anyone? the millions of americans who share these values are tired of eating constantly told that they need to keep their opinions to themselves. [applause] on issue after issue, they are expected to be tolerant of others but increasingly our culture is intolerant of them. this is not about imposing our religion on anyone. in america, you have the right to worship any way you choose. that's why virtually every faith in every denomination on earth has a presence in our land. you have a right to not believe in god at all.

i believe that jesus christ is god. [applause] i believe he loved every single human being that has ever lived on matter what they have done, even if they don't believe in him. that's why he suffered a brutal death and he resurrected from the dead, to erase the sins that separate us from him. i respect the rights of those who do not share my beliefs but to teach my faith to my children and to share it with anyone who will listen, that is my right, too. [applause]

in this country of ours, we have the right to our own beliefs and the responsibility to respect the differing views of others. if we want to save our country we must all realize the breakdown of our culture is trapping millions of people in a cycle of poverty and dependentce and we have to do something about it. let me close by saying that the dream of a better life that we all share, it's really the universal hope for people everywhere. for much of human history, most people were trapped in the circumstances of their birth. whatever your parents did for a living, that's what you were allowed to do or it it should that for a moment -- living in a

society where what you will be in life was determined for you before you were even born the matter how hard you were willing to work them and no matter how much talent you had come it did not matter. in that society, you're only allowed to go as far as your family family before you. picture for a moment living in a place like that. as americans, it's on a manageable but that has been the -- it's unimaginable to us, but that has been the human condition for almost all of human history. america is special. because here, this nation was founded on a powerful and eternal truth, that every one of us has the god-given right to life, liberty, and to pursue happiness. [applause] that's why my parents came here. that's why my parents came here. because it was the only place on earth where people like them

born poor and disconnected from power could achieve a better life. to be rewarded for your work and be able to leave your children better off than yourself is what we call the american dream. is our identity as a people and at what makes this country exceptional. i say this to you because i know so many of you are discouraged. i know so many people around this country are discouraged by the direction our nation is headed. i know so many of you are deeply disappointed at the way the last election turned out. [applause] and i know that many of you are increasingly scared that maybe we have lost or are losing our country. but you cannot give up on america. you cannot it up on the american

-- cannot give up on the american dream. we cannot allow our fears and disappointments to lead us into silence and into inaction because this country that god has blessed us with is worth fighting for. [applause] this special place they call home is worth saving. i want you to know something that despite everything going wrong in our country today, i believe with all my heart that god is not done with america yet. [applause] i believe with all my heart that -- god still destines us us and even better future and the opportunity continue to serve as an inspiration to the world. i would just close by saying we need to continue to pray that

god will give us the wisdom and the strength we will need to restore this nation and to save the american dream. thank you very much, thank you. ♪ ♪ >> all right. really powerful. we've got another senator for you. this has been a power packed lineup. we have had enough senators here to pass legislation this morning. our next beaker was sworn in just this year from the great state of south carolina. after serving two years of distinction in the house of representatives, he is working faithfully to restore fiscal responsibility to washington. job creation and better economic

growth and better provide for veterans who risk so much to protect our nation. in his first year he introduced an amendment to empower federal workers to choose whether or not they want their union dues to be taken out of their paychecks. what i think is a pretty good idea. ladies and gentlemen, these welcome to the podium, senator tim scott. ♪ ♪ >> thank you very much. thank you to the family research council. we are in good company this morning. went to preach -- i tell you what. i am getting kind of excited over here.

over here. can i get an amen? you got to realize, my momma wanted a preacher and she got a politician. so, let us pray. there is a song that i think is so important. you familiar with the words amazing grace? i once was lost but now i am found, i was blind, but now i see. i think the lord he saved my soul -- yes, he saved a soul like me. those words never meant more to me than on september 22, 1983. i was on a little college football's college and they had

something called the fellowship of christian athletes. [applause] this young man named john rickenbaher gave an altar call and i remember walking down the aisle. i got on my knees. as a person who is so selfish. but when i rose back up, the lord had become the master of my life. [applause] and i have never been the same. i have never been the same. i have news for all of us, god is not finished with me yet and not finished with you yet. but perhaps the best news is god is not finished with america yet. i am excited about that. we found ourselves off course. can anyone say amen to that?

way off course. i wonder why? i think of some of the things happening your and washington, d.c. i guess there really is a potomac fever. too many have been drinking the water. obviously our president hasdrank that water, too. i think about how i were president is today picking and choosing the laws he wants to enforce. we cannot afford to erode the notion of the rule of law. we cannot have a president who picks and chooses. he says, i don't really like the marriage law, so he does not enforce them. i don't like the immigration law, i will go around them. i don't even like the obamacare of also i will delay a part of it. what is that all about? i get it, too. when obamacare started off at $900 billion then it went to an

estimate two years later of $1.8 trillion in 2011. now it can easily exceed $3 trillion. and the -- and the worst part is we start with about 15% of americans without insurance. we will end by 2023 with 10% of americans still without insurance. so for $3 trillion we will ensure five percent of america's population. we deserve better. we can do better. i think about simple math. i went to charleston southern university, a good education. how many of y'all are from south carolina? oh, yeah i love my people from the palmetto state.

we can add. if you bring in a dollar, you should not spend the dollar. i want to make sure you all understand that. i know this is washington. but if you only make a valid you should not been the whole dollar. you should at least give 10% of the church, right? here in washington, for some reason, somehow and some way we keep buying things we cannot afford. we have spent $5 trillion nearly $5 trillion in the last five years. more that we brought in. so, we have to get back to fiscal sanity to save america. [applause] you see, i think we've lost our way because we forgot the why. why are we here? why are we here? i think there is good news, though. i am a big believer that even in the midst of a storm, the word

works. there is a scripture that says we know that all these things work together for those who love god and are called according to his purpose. i believe god has a unique call on america. and i believe that we survived the storm we are in. it is not going to be easy. but i have been through crises. i think most of you have been through crises. i recall back when i was in high school, i was a 17-year-old student government president in high school. i was a football star. at least in my own mind. [laughter] my mother and i, we were sharing one car. ugly brown toyota corolla hatchback, 1982. it was our first new car. actually what we call a newsed car, got it from budget, only 10,000 miles on it.

. driving downtown to work about a 40 minute drive. my three at a football practices. one morning i was driving her to work, and i had to get back to my football practice. i dropped her off and i was driving back and i got a little sleepy. and so i rolled the windows down. please note, i saidroll the windows down. [laughter] and then i rolled the windows up and rolled them down again. i turned the ac on and the heat on, in august in south carolina. that is when you know you are desperate by the way. and i turned the radio up and i turned the radio down. and the next thing i knew, i woke up driving down the interstate at 70 miles an hour of sleep -- asleep.

the gravel on the side of the road look me up. i did what any 17 year would do -- i panicked. i slammed on the brakes and i jarred the steering wheel at the exact same time. does anyone know what happens when you slam on brakes and jerked the steering wheel at 70 miles an hour? your car flips. back into traffic. i remember my body going all around the car. my back went through the windshield. and i held onto the steering wheel. i remember doing one thing and only one thing in that car, i yelled for help. i yelled jesus! and as a miracle -- i believe in miracles. i believe in miracles. [applause] ghana need a miracle, it looks

like right now. but i believe in a -- america need a miracle, it looks like right nine. we don't know the direction of south carolina. i was going this way and i ended up going back that way on the side of the road. my car was on the side. glass was everywhere. blood was everywhere. i heard people yelling and screaming and running for the vehicle. someone yelled i think he's dead. i think he's dead. i yelled back, i'm dead. i'm dead. i'm dead. i did not say i was smart, by the way. i just said i was alive. they laid me on the side of the highway, literally. the police came, ambulance came. fire truck -- thank god for emergency responders. thank god for our emergency responders. they laid me on the side of the road. i will remember for the rest of my life, this highway patrolman

he kneeled down, looked at me and he said, son, your momma is going to be so happy you are alive. i looked up at him and i said, you don't know my momma. she's going to kill me. [laughter] what the officer was trying to teach me is that my mother's why was not the vehicle, it was her kids. john maxwell told me when you find your why you can find your way. america, we have to find our why so that we can find our way. you see, i believe our why is found in the declaration of independence. [applause] and it is a very simple concept. it says we hold these truths to be self evident that all men are created equal.

that they are endowed by their creator -- not their government -- but their creator with certain unalienable rights. among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. i am one hundred percent committed to being involved in the pro-life movement because we must stand up for the unborn. we have a responsibility. all across america, to stand up for our children. it is our right. it is our responsibility. we cannot say no. 50 million -- more than 50 million americans have never touched the soil. more than 50 million americans have never touched the soil.

that's a travesty. and a greater challenge for us -- that means that there are millions of parents of unborn children who carry the scars and the challenges of what they thought was a choice. i have -- a way too many of them. we must protect life because it is the unalienable right from god. we must protect life. and as i think about liberty louisiana -- the state of louisiana has come to the conclusion that liberty is part and parcel with the notion of education. and our federal government is suing the state of louisiana because they believe in school choice. i believe in school choice. [applause]

louisiana believes that in order for us to create more liberty, we have to have a better education system. if you can't get into the public schools, you should be able to go to the private school and if you cannot get it to private school you should be able to homeschool your children. you have to have the right to educate your kids. you have to have it. there is no land of opportunity where parents are not in control of education. school choice is a necessity. when parents have a choice, the kids have a chance. i know this firsthand. by the time i was in the fourth grade, i had gone to four different elementary schools. growing up in poverty, it is very difficult to fund the right school. sometimes you have to fund the

child and not the school. we cannot let teachers unions stand in the way of educating kids. we cannot -- [applause] we cannot allow a national school board to -- through legislation proposed here in washington to dictate what education a kid gets in louisiana or in greenville, south carolina, or columbia, south carolina. we must stand up even against common core. we must take a stand. we cannot allow the federal government to tell us how to educate our kids at home. and the pursuit of happiness. you know, i had a mentor. 15-year-old kid -- i flunked out of high school.

my mother believed that love claim -- comes from the end of a switch. she loved me a lot. i have a mentor who taught me you have to earn success. it cannot be given to you. you don't get it because you are entitled to it. you have to earn success. i believe that the pursuit of happiness, i believe that the pursuit of happiness is earned success. he taught me to think my way out of poverty. he taught me that in america offerings are possible bid let me leave you with this. life liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. it is our right that comes from god. there is one other thing i believe we must do. we must as a nation pray for the peace of jerusalem. we must ban strong, we must stand tall, we must they on the side of israel -- we must stand strong. because i know what the bible says. the bible tells us -- the bible

is clear. the bible is clear -- my good friend nick would agree with me. psal1:22 -- pray for the peace of jerusalem, and those who do will prosper. god bless america god bless you. thank you very much. god bless you. ♪ ♪ [journey's "don't stop believin'"} >> next, q and a and then at 7:00 a.m., your calls and comments on "washington journal. -- "washington journal." both the house and senate will be gaveling in today.

this was the week they were to go back to their districts, but with the october 17 deadline on the debt ceiling, they will both be in session. the house returned at noon eastern. the first roll call votes are expected after 6:30 p.m., and the senate is in at 2:00 issue -- eastern and they will take up two judicial nominations. watch live coverage of the house on c-span, the senate on c-span2 , or online at www.c-span.org. >> we want to know how the government shutdown is affecting you. >> make your short video message about the shutdown and upload it from your mobile device. see what others are telling about. -- touring about. >> this week, part two of our

discussion with the former chief of staff, talking about his duties during the george w. bush administration. >> in this second part of our discussion about your time as chief of staff of the white house, start off by giving us what you saw with the press in the media. how did you view them? >> usually, with some hostility. that is the natural state of affairs between the white house and the press corps because -- because that is the nature of what the press needs to do. they need to catch the white house on whatever is what -- whatever is going on. we came in with a press corps that was inclined to be unfriendly.

they did a fair amount of work to warm up the relationship. it -- throughout the bush aministration, it was -- it was relatively tense. the view inside the white house was that most of the media were either slightly or substantially biased against the ministration. the administration. we felt that we were swimming upstream. the president, annoyed by it said that his advice was to let it go off your back and do the best you can. do not get fixated on it. do not spend all your time riled up about how badly the press is treating you. >> how did he decide and who helped them decide who he would

grant interviews to? >> that is the press secretary's job. usually, under the supervision of the medications director. -- the communications director. karen hughes, and later, ed gillespie. we had a series of press secretaries who did a fantastic job. ari fleischer, scott mcclellan tony snow, dana perino. it was the press secretary's job to pick out people who the president would do interviews with and under what terms. for the president's comfort, they would try to steer things towards people who are more likely to be friendly to the pr