children and your children to have. if you are willing to fight with me, i will always stand with you and fight with you and tell you the truth. god bless this country, and god bless all of you. [cheers and applause] >> thank you. thank you very much. considering how long you have been here today, i'm just glad when you stand up and sit back down. i was really worried about that. i think of the bible scripture that comes to mind for all of you who have been here since early this morning, they that endure to the end shall be saved. [cheers and applause] what a nice thing to be talking

to a room full of saints today. i'm so grateful that you stayed. i heard me speak and i would not have stayed. i'm delighted. thank you so much. originally when this was all being set up and i accepted the invitation, i was worried i would have a hard time getting here, so that's why they put me last. when this was set up, i was still doing a television show for fox news in new york almond and i was going to tape it and hurry here. maybe you know, but three weeks ago was my last show on the fox news channel. a lot of people are wondering, why would he do that?

six and a half years working at the fox news channel was an extraordinary experience. it was a phenomenal opportunity to work with some of the greatest professionals, and more than just people who are technically good at what they did, but people who had an extra ordinary core. i find it funny when people come up to me and say, what was it like? tell us what it was really like. i will look around and say, let me tell you what it was really like. it was the best six and a half years of working with some of the greatest people on earth and i will say it in a whisper and say it out loud, i'm so grateful for the experience. [cheers and applause] one of the reasons i was

grateful was for the extraordinary privilege i had of working for one of the greatest minds in america, roger ailes. roger is the guy who conceived the fox news channel and still runs it brilliantly. there's a couple things about roger ailes you need to know. one, he's the smartest guy in the room and it doesn't matter who else is in the room. two, he has a wonderful philosophy that has created the atmosphere that you may think you understand, but i can tell you from the inside, it is an extraordinary and unique environment in the media world. people really do get along. there is an extra ordinary sense of family. he has a statement that he says, we don't pee inside our own tent. roger says it little more graphically than that. for those of you who are shocked by what i just said, i assure you, you would have been more so if i told you exactly the way he says it. the point is well taken. you cannot create a successful organization of any kind if you spend your time pulling the pin, tossing it under the chair of the people in your own tent. one of the things i'm committed to is that we don't spend the next two years beating each other up in the conservative

tent, we need to tell america what is right in this country. if we will talk about what's good in america, we have plenty of things to talk about. but governing america isn't always easy. it has been said that there are two things you should never see. you should never see a law or a sausage made. [laughter] i have seen both. i still eat sausage. i can attest to the fact that neither are very pretty. in the case of a sausage, you would get this in a way that no one else in america does. if you're going to have some sausage, you've got to kill some pigs. there are plenty of people in

america who want the sauces. -- sausage. they don't want the pigs. we have got to do some pig-killing to get to the sausage. 410 and a half years, i governed in the state that was the bluest state and all of america. more than vermont or maine or massachusetts or california or oregon. 89 out of the 100 house members were democrats, and 31 out of 35 senators were democrats, 90%. i did not walk into the capital every day with them saying bravo. some governors may walk into their chamber and hear "hosanna." i walked in and heard "crucify him." arkansas's new governor, who will be a terrific governor, was inaugurated just a couple of weeks ago. i went back for the inauguration. now all seven constitutional officers are all republican. there were none when i was there.

except me. [applause] now all six of the congressional delegation, all for congressman, are republican. there is a republican super majority in both the house and the senate now in that state. [applause] i watched him walk down the aisle and he was getting all the accolades from legislators. i turned to somebody and said, the difference is he's shaking hands with people who actually voted for him. [laughter] i think america is coming around with the understanding that the views, values we put forth as republicans, as conservatives, are values that they can embrace, and actually make a difference for their families. this past week the president in his state of the union address for those of you unable to stay awake as ruth bader ginsburg found -- [laughter] -- made a comment that chilled at me from my near-stupor --

jolted me for my near-stupor. when he said, the greatest threat this nation faces -- and i waited. and then he said, is climate change. [laughter] not to diminish anything about the climate at all, but mr. president, i believe most of us would think that a beheading is a far greater threat to an american than a sunburn. [applause] i wish he understood that we have a real enemy with just long -- islamic jihadism. nobody wants war. nobody whoever wants to be president would want to be a war president if at all possible to avoid it. but i'm convinced that if we want to avoid war, the best way to do it is to make the enemy afraid to start one. [applause] the best way is to remember that

nobody wants to pick a fight if they think you are going to knock them. that is the best way to stop the war. i'm not talking about waving guns around people, but when someone's life and liberty is threatened, it is time to, in the words that i would say, it's time to go numeral [indiscernible] on them. at that point, we don't call 911 out of fear, but rather to call and tell them where to come and pick up the body. [applause] so my friends, we cannot defeat the enemy, islamic jihad is and, -- jihadism if we don't identify them. -- jihadism, if we don't identify them. it is not merely an aberration of geopolitical fault.

these are not people who want to be higher in the pecking order in the great international family. these are people who fundamentally believe that you should never be able to draw another breath, and they are committed to the notion that you won't, and that they will bury you and your children and your grandchildren. the fact is, if our president and this administration cannot identify the clear and present danger, and cannot see the difference between the good and evil in this world, i am convinced -- it is so unbelievable that they can watch a 1950's western and not be able to tell you who the good guys and the bad guys were. you are going to hear a lot over the next couple of years from the liberals. they are going to tell you that the greatest challenge facing american workers and families is income inequality. now folks, sometimes i think the greatest challenge we face economically is intelligence

inequality. [applause] because we will never be economy when we punish productivity and reward irresponsibility. you don't build an economy when you tell people who work -- it is ok to work, but don't work too hard or too much or we will hurt you. the real fallacy of obamacare is that we have people who run businesses whose goal is not to see how big they can grow it to make sure they can keep it small because they want to make sure employees don't work more than 29 hours a week. think about how ridiculous it is to say stay small. that means, don't hire, don't expand the inventory, don't put more stuff on the shelf, and

fewer people have jobs. the unemployment rate is less than it was a lot of people that used to have one good paying full-time job now have to work two part-time jobs. that is not economic advancement, my friends. [applause] and congressman keene mentioned that i am an advocate of the fair tax. it is fair and family-friendly and flat, and the only plan, a and well researched plan, that does something that more than ever we must do to save the great republic and that is get rid of the internal revenue service.

end the irs. [applause] this week, the president said that his proposal is to start taxing people that stated for -- saved for their kid's education. i am scratching my head. you took it to a new government sanity when he said that she told -- see it to a new level of insanity when he said he wants to give free college to everybody. does anybody else get the disconnect here? the idea is we will distribute somebody else's money and punish people that did not get a boat or a vacation home because they put that money in a savings account for their kids or grandkids to go to college while saying they want more people to

go to college. we punish the people that made sure. their kids can go to college. when the democrats and the liberals talk about the minimum wage, i have to say why on god's earth would you ever oppose that people in america who work hard and sweat through their coal/clothes -- through their clothes that the best they can have is a wage that would be called minimum. why are we not talking about getting people not to win minimum wage for a maximum wage? here is how this works. we need to get the minimum wage to $10, the ceo says it will close a half-million jobs but say that is not the worst. can anyone live on $10 an hour? no. when people asked me if i support the minimum wage, i support something better than that, the maximum wage. and here is how it works.

i asked him what he would like to make an hour? $10 is easy. what about $20? $30? $40? $50? let's find what jobs pay $50 an hour and get you train to take those jobs and instead of a minimum wage you will be making a maximum wage and we need to talk about how to get people who reach for the stars instead of diet for the floor. dive -- dive for the floor. [applause] that is how america gets strong again. if we really want to make some sausage, one of the critical things is to redistribute our because the founders never intended that so much power would be centralized in washington in the federal government. i do not hear many people saying this, but they like it and they

want to stay. washington, d.c. has become a roach motel. people check in but they don't check out. [laughter] [applause] one way to get them out is to do something that the founders almost in, but said it wouldn't he a problem. people do not want to come here and stay forever. he said he would serve to firms and go back to virginia and farm. he did. it is high time we take the leadership in this country. if we have term limits for the executive ranch, we needed term limits for the legislative branch so that you cannot stay for the rest of your life and make congress a career. you will go, you will serve, and you will go back home and move

-- and live under the laws that you passed for the rest of us. welcome to america. and by the way, i think we ought to have -- i know this will be controversial but i will stand and tell you why it will work. we need term limit. need term limits for the judicial because no one ought to wear a black robe for the rest of their lives and believe they are unaccountable. for the decisions being made. [applause] let me say thank god for iowa because you had some judges that thought that they could ignore you, you sent them home. wonderful message.

we need to move the power to the states. very clear. the founders established it in the constitution. they were so afraid someone would mess it up that the edited 10th amendment saying that if there -- they added the 10th amendment saying that if there is not a power specifically of the constitution, it resides with the states. pray tell why is the federal , government getting involved in an issue where there is no mention in the constitution, education? there is no federal role in education. [applause] and instead of common core, we need to apply some common sense and a good dose of constitutional law and end it. some of you may have heard it that might huckabee supports common core. what common core might have been, it has warped into a

frankenstandard and anyone who tells you that i support common core is being dishonest. and that is ok. but for heaven's sake, the honest. i have written it 100 times. i'm saying it to you. education is not a federal function, it is a local function. it should be the decision of mom and dad and not the government and your choice whether you want to homeschool, send to government schools, or private schools. [applause] and i cannot say strongly enough that we need to return to that simple understanding that the

constitution frames for us in the process of our government. i got into trouble this week not for the first time. because i said that one branch of government does not usurp the other two. ninth-grade civics for those of you who took it. there are three branches of government and all are equal. one does not override the other. how many of you are unhappy when the president says i have a phone and a pen? well, i have a constitution, and it says you cannot act independently. it is tough work, it is sausage making, but you have to go to the legislature and persuade the people to pass a law that you can sign and enforce and the

judge will tell you if it conforms to the constitution. and if the law does not conform to the constitution, it does not immediately become the law of the land because the court cannot make a law. they are the supreme court, not the supreme being. that means they are the highest court but they have to work in concert with the legislative and executive branches. that should not be hard. if you think i am pessimistic about america, i am not. i am optimistic. and part of it is because what i see happening in this room today. hundreds of people gathering to hear speaker after speaker and still having enough energy to

put hands together and clap. [laughter] i find it amazing. what amazes me even more is the dedication that fellow americans have protect and preserve our freedom. [applause] last week, my wife and i were in the atlanta airport. we were having a bowl of soup. gentleman came up and knelt besides the table and gave me an earnest look. he says that he wants to thank me. he says, i am a soldier. i am a green beret. and he says, a lot of my friends appreciate you standing up for us and speaking out for us. and i listened to him, and i said, young man, you do not understand. you should not be thanking me. i am thanking you. every breath of free air i enjoy

is because of folks like you that put on the uniform and dodge bullets and bombs. i have not done anything. you are the one. [applause] i talk on television. it is not that hard. i have run for office, that is kind of hard. i have governed, that is really hard. what the men and women in uniform do every single day is not just hard. what they do is the impossible. if we owe anyone our profound thanks, it is not like me or the others that came on the stage. while i appreciate the applause and accolades, i want to tell you something. we need to all remember that the real american heroes are not politicians.

they are the soldiers, sailors marines, the members of the coast guard, the members of the air force, will keep us free and keep this country the greatest land on god's earth. thank you and it is an honor to be with you tonight. god bless you. [applause] >> in addition to his remarks huckabee spoke to members of the news media. this is about 15 minutes.

>> hello. good afternoon. just saw you a few days ago. yeah. that is what it is. how is everybody. were now? ok. -- worn out. ok. great. makes it easier on me. [laughter] yes, sir? reporter: do think he has a credibility to brand [indiscernible] >> he'll have i'm sure a terrific message. i job is not to criticize mitt romney.

-- my job is not to criticize mitt romney. was that applause i just heard? they are agreeing with me as well. [laughter] i could give you some news about mitt. in and -- him and jeb had a meeting. they called me after they met. told me they were both dropping out and throwing their support to me. [laughter] i wanted to give you that. but it in the paper tomorrow. -- put it in the paper tomorrow. reporter: if you decide to run again [indiscernible] >> it is an asset in the sense that i understand the process. i feel i have a little bit of understanding of the nature of the iowa electric.

i have been to the counties when i was running back in 2007-2008. i told them about the rest of the state so they would know. i have no presumptions that coming back to iowa means that there is an automatic victory. i what people are too politically sophisticated for that. there kind of people who make you prove yourself every time you show up. any illusion that i would calm in and to the victory lap is simply not true. it is going right back to rancho rant all over i. -- ranch to ranch all over iowa. reporter: could you elaborate on how would that work? >> the three branches of

government, i learned that in ninth-grade civics. a lot of people miss that course. they are equal ranches. a lot of people are upset with obama for using the executive ranch as if he could ignore the other two. there's no such thing as a constitution as judicial supremacy where the court makes a ruling and it becomes "the law of the land." a good example is a case in which the supreme court that probably no one would argue it so that people who are black work fully human. abraham lincoln said he wasn't going to abide by that. nobody argues that abraham lincoln should have a bided with the scott decision. i think we recognized he had the courage to realize that he didn't have to for something

that was morally wrong. it goes in the same vein if you read the letters from the birmingham jail that martin luther king wrote that there are laws that sometimes man passes that are not just lost. i'm just saying i think people have taken to writing things for me that i never said. reporter: would you be comfortable issuing marriage licenses? would you order your stuff not to do that? >> in arkansas, a judge did in fact rule. on a friday afternoon, he issued a ruling. he issued a ruling that invalidated a constitutional amendment that have been passed by 70% of the voters in 2004 when i was governor. if i had been governor i think i would have done something differently than what happened.

the next day, people were issuing marriage licenses in counties that were even open on saturdays. by whose authority did that happen? with the supreme court had a ruling in 2002 and the rule that arkansas school funding was both in equitable and inadequate, the first thing that had to happen was i met with the legislature did we decided, is the court right? i agreed. that we were unconstitutional and out of compliance. i called a special session. we went actually into regular session in january 2003. brutal session. dealing with school finance means dealing with sg -- touchy issues, but we took it on. i signed it. but the day after the supreme court ruling came down, the next

day we didn't start writing checks to the school districts that were different than they had been before. all i am saying is that her knees to be a process, a constitutional process about which we change our laws and it involves all three branches of government and not just one. reporter: you consider yourself a member of the party? >> a acre was tea party before -- i i was departing party before there was a tea party. -- i was tea party before there was a partea party. sometimes if people look at my record, it is based on a different template. in arkansas, state employees for example, consider all the people have anything to do with the payroll, including part-time college professors. it was a people who work in the legislative ranch who had

nothing to do with hiring or firing. if you look at the state police you are under the control of the executive branch, there was very little probe. the prison population almost doubled. i don't think i had to fear anything from honest people who look at the record and compare the same thing to the same thing. reporter: governor huckabee. you can't did all across iowa in 2008 -- campaigned all across iowa in 2008. >> i do know that. reporter: are you still the same down-to-earth person today that you are in 2008? do you think voters will believe you? >> i wouldn't be any other person than the person i have been. i'm the same person. it i make more money over the

past few years and before? yeah. i'm not ashamed. i'm doggone happy about it. how many people did that? not many gave up the entire income to run before. a few weeks ago, i walked away from a pretty darn good paycheck to come back into the fray. let's get to some of the people. reporter: you said you hate what common core has become. >> the outgrowth of the -- a number of people were involved in and kept the federal fingers off of education. i have been clear that i'm opposed to a common core is. i will say to get all my book and radio.

huckabee supports common core? i don't know how else to say it. it is a disaster. it should be killed off. state should not abandon high education standards. conservatives never ban it. it has become federally controlled in terms of funding and get into issues of curriculum. ronald is reasons, i do not know anyone who loves it that much. reporter: [indiscernible] >> i think each state needs to have to take a look at it. education should always be at the most local level.

if they leave at the local school board, that is great it should be. it should never be a federal issue. ultimately education decisions ought to be a mom and dad decision. it ought not to be at government decision. yes? reporter: do you have a lot of flak for comments that were made about [indiscernible] >> yes. i did get a lot of flack about that. reporter: do you regret making that comment? >> the people read the halfpage of a book in which i discuss that, i don't think they will be that alarmed at what i said. i found it interesting. i think you were there. i don't think anyone would say -- she agreed with me. i found that refreshing. she is a mother. most people who are reacting are

reacting to the headlines that are in the press rather than to the actual text of the book. i would say read the book. it will help sales. [laughter] it is half a page of 272 pages. i'll give you acronym. when you write a book, you get finished with it before you do the media tour, it will through, what am i likely to be challenged on? what are issues that will be controversial that i need to prepare for? i had six or seven. that was not even on the list. i was amazed it became the point of controversy. reporter: [indiscernible] >> i have no idea. let me say this about the whole issue of deflated footballs. [laughter] even as i stand here and deflate in the heat. as i couple of interviews -- i

saw a couple of interviews. they know more about football than i do for most the people who are trilling on about it on television. both set it didn't make any difference. they thought it was much a do about nothing. i don't know. i believe they were telling the truth. have no reason a lie about it. >> now some of the speakers from the iowa freedom summit.

republican party leaders and potential 2016 gop presidential candidate spoke on including dr. ben carson, donald trump, scott walker, newt gingrich, ted cruz, governor rick perry, and sarah palin. we begin with dr. carson. [cheers and applause] >> thank you very much. thank you. thank you so much. candy and i are delighted to be here. candy is out there somewhere. i always feel so welcome when i come to iowa. they're so many people here who actually have common sense. [laughter] that is not something that is ubiquitous throughout our land. a lot of things i could talk

about in my 20 minutes. i will obviously not cover all of them and someone will say you didn't cover -- look, 20 minutes is a finite time. i want to talk about education. it made a difference in my life. it is the great divide in our country. anybody who gets a good education can write their own ticket. it doesn't matter what their ethnicity or background is. we have to start emphasizing that concept. the can-do attitude that helped america to propel its self to the pinnacle so fast. i was a terrible student. i was one of those people known as the safety net. no one had to worry about getting the lowest mark on a

test as long as i was there. i took care of that. [laughter] i tried to act like it didn't bother me when they laughed and called me dummy, but it did. not enough to make me study, but it did bother me. [laughter] i was still going home playing basketball, baseball, football. my mother, who is the hero in my life, she was one of two dozen children. she got married at age 13. she and my father moved from rural tennessee to detroit. she was a factory worker. she discovered he was a bigamist. she had a third grade education and tried to raise two young sons by herself. the interesting thing about my mother, she never became a victim. she never felt cipher herself. that is a good thing. the problem is she never felt sorry for us either. [laughter]

there is never any excuse we could give that was good enough. she would always say, do you have a brain? if the answer was yes, you could have thought your way out of it. i asked that same question of us in america. do we have a brain? do we have the ability to think logically to solve the multiple problems we have? my mother asks god to give her wisdom. what could she do? the wonderful thing about god is you don't have to have a phd to talk to him. you just need faith. [applause] he gave her the wisdom, at least to her opinion. my brother and i didn't think it was wise at all. turning off the tv and making us read the books. what kind of wisdom is that? as far as we were concerned it was child abuse. [laughter] and then we had to admit to her a written report.

two written book reports per week. which she could not read, but we did not know that. [laughter] she would put a checkmark. highlights and underlines. i was not a happy camper. you had to do it. back in those days you did what your parents told you. there was no social psychologist saying to let the kid express themselves. [laughter] [applause] don't you find it interesting today how the government tries to insert itself into everything? they want to tell you how to take care of your children, what you should feed them, how you should discipline them. everything about them. i would be happy to accept advice from the government if

they were doing everything perfectly. it seems they cannot even run their own house, how are they going to run your house? this is a problem. [applause] at any rate, i was reading the books. interestingly i started reading about people of great accomplishment. i noticed something they had in common. that vision and willingness to work hard. i began to understand the person who has the most to do with what happens to you in life is you. it is not someone else, not the environment. at that point i stopped listening to the naysayers.

the people saying the system is stacked against you. i didn't have time for them. i was going to use that time to look at all of the incredible opportunities that existed for a young man in inner-city detroit. there a lot of things, but you had to do them. they did not fall into your lap. it made a big difference. i started reading. in a year and a half i went from the bottom of the class to the top of the class, much to the consternation of all those people who used to calmly dumb who were now coming to me asking how to work this problem. i said, youngster, sit right down -- i was perhaps a little obnoxious. [laughter] but it sure felt good to say that to the turkeys. [laughter] you think about the human brain and what is capable of. we need to start putting more emphasis on that. we need to look at ways that we educate our populace. we look at all of the failed inner-city schools, and yet in the same inner cities you see private schools, charter schools, our schools where people are doing great, high graduation rates, college

graduation rates. why are we trying to get rid of the things that don't work? [applause] that is the problem, a big problem. special interest groups. there should only be one special interest group. the people of the united states of america. once we understand that, once we understand that we can do so much better. it was interesting that when alexis to tocqueville came to the united states to study they were fascinated on why were doing so well. in the end he concluded that america is great because america is good. if america ever ceases to be good, she will cease to be great.

he was right on target. as we began to throw away all of our values and all of our principles, and we forget who we are, we will go from being great to being nothing. we have to to fight that. [applause] one of the other issues i want to touch on, immigration. you know, we have laws in place, common sense works great. we already have laws to demonstrating how a person becomes an american citizen. it has to be done by congress. not by the president. not by the supreme court. [applause] do we have an illegal

immigration problem? >> yes. >> can we fix it? >> yes. >> of course we can. you have to realize there wouldn't be people coming here if there was not a magnet drawing them in there. you have to reverse the polarity of the magnet. get rid of the things drawing them in. including employment. if you employ someone who is illegal, instead of getting a pass from the government you should get a criminal activity on your record, because it is a crime. [applause] you have to seal the border. do we have the ability to seal the border? >> yes. >> of course we do. we just don't have the will. i think whoever wins in 2016 i'm pretty sure it will be a republican, i think they should

make it their goal to seal the border within one year. [applause] these are common sense kinds of things. where is compassion, you say? there are millions of people here illegally. who have to hide in the shadows. i don't think they should have to hide in the shadows. we look to the north of us and we see canada. they have a well formulated guest worker program. people get registered appropriately. they come, work, pay taxes, low -- they go back home as they please. no one has to hide in the shadows. we can do something like that with stipulations.

we should not offer jobs unless americans will not take them. number one. [applause] number two, in order to get a guest worker permit, you have to apply outside of america. [applause] you can not be here. you should not get an advantage for breaking the law. [applause] it still allows people -- they can easily go and do that. they probably have an advantage because they know people who want to employ them. they may have established a good work record. that person can offer them a job and they can come in, take it, and pay taxes like everyone else. until we can learn to think that way we will not win this

argument. when we do it by the law, we integrate compassion, but we use our common sense. that is what will make america work. what about the waste and fraud? there is a lot of waste and fraud. i will give you an example. medicaid. we spent $400 billion a year on medicaid. a quarter of americans benefit from medicaid. a quarter of a million of americans are 80 million americans. do the math. $5,000 per medicaid recipient. you have heard of concierge practices. the boutique practices for people who are well off. they average 2000 to $3000 year.

we could have boutique practices for these people if we didn't waste so much money. think about what i'm talking about. i am talking about a revamping of the system. it is imperative that republicans embrace a simple effective system that puts people and their health care providers in charge of the health care bringing the health care system into the free market system. that is what controls price and quality. we do not need the government controlling health care. [applause] that is why i have been such an opposer of obamacare. even if it worked i would oppose it. it doesn't. why would i oppose it? because i do not believe in

taking the most important thing a person has, and their health and health care, and putting it in the hands of the government. if they have control of the most important thing you have it is not long before they control your whole life, and that fundamentally changes america. [applause] i'm a big believer in waste not want not. i remember my mother working two or three jobs at a time. she did not want to be on welfare. she only had a third grade education, but she noticed most people who went on welfare never came off so she did not want to go on in the first place. she struggled, worked hard, and occasionally accepted assistance. she was creative.

she would go to goodwell and buy a pair of pants with a big hole. this is back when that wasn't fashionable. [laughter] buy a couple of patches. people would say, where did you get those jeans. she would go out and take us out to the country. she would ask farmers if they could pick pick bushels of apples and corn. three for you one for us. really good stretch money. she understood the value of money. if my mother was in the secretary treasury, we would not be in a deficit. [applause] a big part of our problem is that the government is too big. they're wasteful. they don't care what they do with our money.

i remember once i was doing a consulting job for the government. in terms of my fee, they said charge anything you want. anything you want, it doesn't matter. i imagine this goes on all the time, and it is problematic. in 2010 if you take the income of everyone who makes middle-class and above, it is a lot of money. the federal budget that year was $3.5 trillion. 60% of everything the middle class and above makes, just to run the federal government. who thinks that is fair? i don't see a single hand. that is absurd. that means the government is too big. there is one well-known politician who says you cannot

cut one penny or it will be a disaster. anyone know who that was? nancy pelosi. that is crazy. my suggestion, is that we cut down the size of the government by attrition. thousands of government employees retire every year. don't replace them. do that for four or five years and you have the government down to a reasonable size and people have real jobs and are not stumbling over each other doing the same thing. then they do not have time to stick their noses in everyone's business. [applause] then, this national debt, $18 trillion and rising at a rate of $500 million a day, think about that. that is ridiculous. it is compromising the quality of life for everyone who comes after us. that is what i'm concerned about. my whole career has been spent

trying to preserve life syria to enhance the lives of children. -- to preserve life, to enhance the lives of children. i look out and i see this monster called the national debt threatening the life and quality of those coming behind us. i hope none of us is able to sit down and watch that happen. we will have to deal with it through economic development. we will never cut our way out of it, but that means we do have to cut down on the size of the government, and the federal government, use our natural resources. god bless this country with an enormous natural resources. we are the number one producer of oil. the federal government has no business owning all of this land.

it is crazy. [applause] all of the natural gas we have. we have the ability to liquefy natural gas meaning we can export it. we had these archaic energy exportation rules that date back to the 1970's. we need to update those and use those energy resources to enhance our economic position and to pay down our debt and also to put putin back in his little box. [applause] what my life has been surrounded -- taking care of children. that drives a lot of what i do. no one should ever be surprised to know that i am pro life. if i spent so many hours trying to save people's lives, why would i be in favor of people of

obliterating people's lives? [applause] in closing, we today enjoy our freedom because there were those who proceeded us who are brave. they were not afraid. we have to have courage in this country. we cannot allow the progressives to shut us up through political correctness and through all the things they do. [applause] if they want to act like third graders and call us names, the fact of the matter is we have a job to do. we need to realize that freedom is not free. you have to fight for freedom every single day.

the next time you saying our national anthem and you are looking at the flag, and you get to the end of the first stanza and it says the land of the free and the home of the brave, please remember that it is impossible to be free if you are not brave. thank you. god bless. [applause] >> following his remarks to the attendees of the freedom summit, then carson spoke to the media for 10 minutes. [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2015]

[captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] >> standby. >> hello. >> hello. afternoon. >> are you running for president? >> still considering it carefully. dot all the i's across all the t's. we are in the process of doing all those things as he listened carefully to the people. >> dr. carson, what is your stance on [indiscernible] >> i don't think that we need to dichotomized when it comes to

fuel and energy in this country. we have reached the point where you have one camp that says we can use our fossil fuels and another that says it has to be green energy. guess what? we have a brain. we can multitask. we can do both at the same time. >> dr. carson immigration may play a role. where do you stand? >> i'm a profound advocate of good education. look at where is the evidence pointing? the evidence shows that education that is closest to home, local education, seems to be the most effective education. i would tend to be much more in

favor of education that is controlled at a state level and by local been disabilities and in what -- local municipalities and in which parents have a saying of what is happening with their children's educations. >> [indiscernible] >> that paper bears as much resemblance as our views on afghanistan did years ago. things change. >> [indiscernible] >> a lot of things have changed since then. may think that shows you is new to me. anyone who is a thinking person who is looking at things as they

evolve will also involve those opinions. -- will also evolve those opinions. >> what do you think of doctors or women who obtain abortions? do you think there should be fin es? >> i really don't want to get into that. i would rather talk about how to purge a culture of life in -- i would rather talk about how to encourage a culture of life. that is what we are going to have to do if we're going to solve that issue. >> you do not think abortion should be criminalized? moral persuasion? >> we need to concentrate on how to promote a culture of life. that is what we need to do. >> [indiscernible] >> i have no idea. it doesn't matter. we are two years away from the

election. it doesn't matter who the front runner is. >> are you considering making gay marriage legal across this country? if you do run, with this be an important issue? what do you recommend? >> i think people need to stand up for what they believe in obviously. you will need to elect people as the representatives who believe the same way that they believe. that is the way our country was designed, as a representative type government. anytime the people don't like what is going on, they had to elect the right kind of representatives. this is a touchy issue. in 32 states, the people did in fact decide that marriage is between a man and a woman. a few judges come along and say you people do not know what you are talking about.

he will change it to whatever we want. that was not the intent of the way our country was set up. there is a possibility if you get the right number of people who believe that way that you can overturn the judges orders. but again, the thing that we have to remember is that we are a country that abides by the rule of law. whatever the law is, we have to uphold it. we cannot pick and choose the laws that we want to uphold based on our are still feelings. >> there are unconstitutional laws. >> such as? >> maybe the states were wrong in their gay marriage bands. -- bans.

is equal marriage a civil right? >> what you have to remember is we, as citizens, have the right and responsibility to get involved and advocate for our positions. that means we have to put our representatives in the house and in the senate in place who agree with the way that we do things. that is appropriate way to do things. civil disobedience is not the appropriate way. >> [indiscernible] >> it is certainly not the way i feel. i don't think it is over. i don't hear the fat lady singing. i think we need to continue to stand up or what we believe. part of the problem as you know

is political correctness keeps people from discussing issues. that is the purpose of it. keep you from engaging in eight discussion while you slowly change the fabric of the country in the direction that you want to go in. that is what the progressives have done. this is one excellent example of that. what we have got to do is get people to stand up for what they believe in. i believe in justice and fairness for everybody. i don't care what people's sexual orientation is. if two adults want to be together, i'm not going to stop them. if they want to have a legal contract so they could share property and have visitation rights, i don't have a problem with that. what i have a problem with is when people try to force people to act against their beliefs. because they say they are discriminating against me.

they could go right down the street and buy a cake, but no, let's bring a suit against them because i want them to make my take -- cake. we need to get to a place where we can be tolerant. you cannot expect people on the right to be tolerant while people on the left are totally intolerant. we need to get back to a state of fairness, liberty, and justice for all. >> one more question. >> what would that look like? are you a proponent of [indiscernible] >> we have wonderful technology. drones, all kinds of electronics. sensing devices. we could do it if we wanted to. it doesn't necessarily just

involve fencing to do it. you look at some of our great secure areas around the country. how did they secure those areas? you could use those same kinds of technology to secure the borders. again, an excellent place to use technology as opposed to -- even on the oceans, we have monitoring and abilities that will allow -- one of the reasons it is so important, a lot of people focus on people from central and south america. i'm much more concerned about isis and other terrorist groups who would love to come through our borders anyway they can get here and we cap take upon our nation. this is a matter of national security. there is some degree of urgency to it. thank you. >> the iowa freedom summit also

heard from real estate developer donald trump. this is about 25 minutes. [applause] >> thank you. wow. thank you so much. that is so nice. isn't he a great guy. he doesn't get a fair press. it is not fair. i'm here. i have great respect for steve king. [applause] i respect likely citizens united and david and everyone and tremendous respect for the tea party. [applause]

also, the people of iowa. they have something in common. hard-working people. they want to make the country great. i love the people of iowa. that is the way it is. very simple. with that said, our country is headed in the wrong direction with the president who is doing an absolutely terrible job. the world is collapsing around us. many of the problems we have caused. the president is either grossly incompetent, a word more people are using, and i think i was the first to use it, or he has a different agenda than you want to know about -- which could be possible. in any event, washington is broken. our country is in serious trouble and total disarray. very simple. politicians are all talk and no action.

they are all talk and no action. it is constant. it never ends. ima conservatives, very -- i'm a conservative, and i am a republican. i'm disappointed by our republican politicians. [applause] they let the president get away with absolute murder. we're going to do this. nothing happens. look at obamacare, a total catastrophe. it kicks in in 2016 and it will be a disaster. people are closing shops. doctors are quitting the business. i have a friend who was a doctor and he says he has more accountants than patients. he needs that because it is complicated and terrible. he has never had that before. he will close his business. he was very successful. it is happening more and more.

look at obamacare. obamacare has a $5 million website. i have many websites. they are all over the place. but for $10. ok? [laughter] [applause] now, everything about obamacare was a lie. it was a filthy lie. [applause] when you think about it, are they prosecuted? does anyone do anything? what are the republican politicians doing about it? about the dock there's. -- he lied about the doctors. he lied about every aspect. you can keep your plan. i don't even say it anymore. everyone goes location location. you have heard this about obamacare. it is disgraceful. a big, fat, horrible lie. deductibles are going through the roof.

unless you are hit by an army tank you will not get coverage. people had plans of they loved and now they don't have them anymore. it is a real, real disaster. someone has to repeal and replace obamacare. they have to do it fast and not just talk about it. now, we have to build a fence. it has to be a beauty. who could build better than trump? i built. -- i dbuild. i build nice buildings. i build nice fences. fences are easy. [laughter] i saw the other day on television people walking across the border. walking. the military is holding guns and people are walking right in front. it is so terrible. it is so unfair. so incompetent. we don't have the best coming in. we have people who are

terminals. we have people who are crooks. you could have terrorists. you can have islamic terrorists. you can have anything coming across the border. we don't do anything about it. i would say if i run and if i win, i would certainly start by building a powerful border. [applause] again, politicians talk about it without doing anything. benghazi. benghazi. benghazi. everything is benghazi. what happens? nothing. irs, e-mails, i get sued all the time. it is hard for person who is successful. i have done many deals. most of them have been successful. you will see that when i file my statements. you will be very proud. okay? [laughter]

i have said very strongly it is hard for someone who has done tremendous numbers of deals to run for the lyrical office. -- political office. any office, not just president. you have beaten so many people and created -- obama, what did he do? no deal. he did one deal. a house. if you did that house, you would be in jail. [applause] he got away with murder. thousands of irs e-mails were lost. if you are in my world, you would know that e-mails cannot be lost. they cannot be lost. why are our politicians not finding out where the e-mails are? [applause] they talk about executive orders and immigration. they talk about stopping it at the border.

believe me, if i did something you would have a border. then you have a president who does an executive order. no one even heard of an executive order. he does it to let people come in and no one does anything about executive orders. why didn't they go to court and ask for a declaratory judgment? when you know some is going after you and it is in writing -- he's been saying, i will approve this and that. why didn't our republicans get a declaratory judgment? from the courts? good start the process six months earlier. instead they havea weak lawsuit -- have a weak lawsuit by the time it is finished in eight years everyone will forget and we will be in a different mode. and our country will be further destroyed. we have to do something.

jobs, china, i have made so much money fighting against the chinese. one of my best deals was against the chinese and they respect me for it. i know that. -- i know them. they say, we cannot believe what we are getting away with. we can't believe how stupid your leaders are. they told me that. they don't know i will make a speech, but why not. [laughter] they tell me that. are the folks who sell so much goods, the goods you sell are incredible. i don't know if you know what is happening with the devaluation of so many countries. china is going crazy with devaluation. i never thought they would have the guts what they are doing. they are devaluing down to nothing. that will make it impossible for you to sell your product. it will make it impossible for you to compete. they are getting away with it. they would not have done it two years ago, but now they feel we are so weak as so many different problems they can do it. you watch this devaluation of all of it.

the euro. china, mexico, everyone is devaluing. when you hear the dollar is getting stronger it sounds good. be very careful. the very careful. we will lose more and more business to foreign countries who know what they are doing. they have it set. don't forget china became the number one economic power a year ago. that was unthinkable. to think that would happen. it was unthinkable. it happened and it is very sad. we spent $2 trillion in your rack. -- in iraq. we got nothing. they don't even care until they started getting their ask kicked -- their ass kicked and then they asked. and then they got isis. isis took over the oil.

for those of you who know and love donald trump -- and there are some of you. [cheers and applause] have i been saying for years keep the oil. now isis has the oil. the stuff that isis doesn't have, iran will take. i walked on the streets of new york and i see so many wounded warriors. we have to help those people. our veterans. our military. we have to build our military. we have to do it fast. [applause] we have incompetent people. they put people in charge that have no clue what they are doing. it needs money. we have to make our country rich so we can save social security. i will probably be the only republican that does not want to cut social security.

i want to make the country rich so social security can be afforded. get rid of the waste and fraud but you deserve your social security. you have been paying your social security. [applause] i like congressman ryan and the people talking about cutting social security. the democrats are eating your lunch on this issue. you have to make the country rich and strong so you can afford it, and so you can afford military, and all of the other things. we have a game changer, nuclear weapons. we have to get strong fast. we cannot let iran get a nuclear weapon. we can't do it. [applause] we cannot let that happen. in the old days i would have said, 100, 50, 30 years ago, pull out and let them fight each

other. we are in syria. we're fighting isis, but isis wants to overturn the government. let them fight and take out the one that remains. okay? [laughter] think of it. think of it. isis is fighting them and we are bombing them, but we want syria to fall. there are so many things. the one game changer we have to be careful with, that we never had to think about too much before other than a certain number of years ago is the nuclear. it is not just soldiers in uniforms shooting rifles. you can take out the east coast of this country, large sections of the midwest, things that were unthinkable. the power. we have to be in a position where that never, ever, ever ever happens. we have never had this before. [applause]

we are spending a tremendous amount of money in afghanistan trying to do the right thing. we have leadership -- no leadership respects us. leadership of other places never respect stupid people. okay? that is one thing you will find. the same thing is happening there. i never knew that afghanistan has tremendous wealth and minerals. different. not oil, but minerals. we are fighting here. on the other side of the mountain, china is taking out all of the minerals. they are taking it out. trillions of dollars and billions of dollars of minerals. we are fighting here, and they are taking it out, looking at us

and saying, thank you very much sucker. it is very crazy. we have to quickly rebuild our infrastructure. if we do not, the other day in ohio a bridge collapsed. bridges are collapsing all over the country. the reports on bridges and the like are unbelievable. what is happening with our infrastructure? i go to saudi arabia, dubai, i am doing big jobs in dubai. i go to various places. i go to china. they are building bridges on every corner. they are building the most incredible things you have ever seen. they are building airports in qatar. they like to say "cutter," but i say "cut-tar." they are building an airport the likes of which you have never seen. in dubai, an airport the likes

of which you have never seen. then i come back to laguardia where the runways have potholes. the place is falling apart. in the main terminal, to have a floor so old it is falling apart. they have a hole in it, and they replace it with asphalt. you -- i just left dubai where they have the most incredible thing. my pilot said this is an honor. i said, it is not an honor, they are smart. you look at lax, kennedy airport, and our airports generally. you look at our crumbling roadways. look at all of the things. i will give you an example. this is not part of what i was going to say, but i ride down the highways and someone makes the guard rails. the ones that go like this. they are bent, rested, and -- rusted, and horrible. have you ever seen more than 20

feet that is not corroded, event, or crushes in the heat. they of the doing this for 25 -- they had been selling this for 25 years. why doesn't someone stop them and get something that works? someone made a lot of money on that. they don't know what is happening. we have to make our country great. we have to rebuild our country. we have a long way to go. we are in such serious trouble because we know so much money. we know it to the chinese. -- we owe it to the chinese. we owe it to other countries. no american company comes to bid. north korea. when they have a problem we go and protect them. what are we doing? why aren't they paying us?

i ordered thousands and thousands of sets. in this case, television from south korea. why aren't they doing something to justify what is going on? we have a very important election coming up. we have a presidential election. we have good people. nobody like trump, of course. but these are minor details. [laughter] we have some good people. they cannot be mitt. mitt ran and fell. [applause] i liked him. look like him dislike him the romney care. that doesn't work. more importantly, he choked.

something happened. let me tell you something -- that election, and like a dealmaker who cannot close the deal, i know many of those guys. ora a golfer who cannot sing a tournament. -- sink a tournament. i think beating obama would have been an easier one than the one that is coming up. sad to say, but true. you cannot have romney. he choked. the last thing we need is another bush. i made that statement strongly. i will be accused of --

but i said it. i mean it. the last thing we need is another bush. is in favor of -- it's bad. he is very weak on immigration. bremer his statement? they come for love? -- remember his statement? they come for love. what? they're coming for love? they are coming for a lot of reasons, but it is not love. [laughter] and when he runs, you got to remember his brother gave us obama. i was never a big fan. abraham lincoln coming back from the deck could've won the election because it was going badly and that economy was in shambles.

and then he appointed justice roberts. jeb wanted justice roberts. justice roberts basically proved obamacare in a shocking decision. you cannot have jeb bush. he is not going to win. so mitt and jeb -- you cannot have those two. that's it. so simple. [applause] summing up, it's important. i think any president candidate that run should not be allowed to use a teleprompter. [applause] we got one that uses teleprompters. he is reading it. give me a break. [laughter]

you do not test the mettle of a man or a woman unless they get up on stage and talk. that is what we ended up getting. speaking of teleprompters -- the king of teleprompters. bing bing no problem. we have got to do something about these teleprompters. in looking at the situation, i built an incredible company. the will see that. a wonderful company. i employed thousands of people. and i love doing what i am doing . they certainly, i wish i wasn't doing this. our country is in such trouble. it would be so easy to fix. if i run for president and if i win, i went totally succeed in creating jobs defeating isis and

stopping the islamic terrorists. you have to do that. [applause] reducing the budget deficit is so important. have to do it. securing our southern border and i mean seriously securing it. [applause] stopping nuclear weapons in iran and elsewhere. saving social security medicare, and medicaid without cutting it down to the bone, because it isn't fair to people that have been paying for their whole lives and other people. it is not fair to future people coming up. we can do it. repealing obamacare and replacing it with something far better for the people and far less expenses.

believe me, there are plans that are so much better for everybody. everyone could be covered. i'm not saying to leave 50% of the people out. the plan is a basic disaster. as bad as -- [applause] fixing our countries infrastructure. bridges, schools highways, airports. no one is close to trump. i got best hotel in north america. think of this one. in building one of the great hotels of the world on pennsylvania avenue at opposite the white house between the white house and congress. i got it from obama. believe that? everyone wanted it. i couldn't believe it myself.

it will be tremendous. [laughter] and so many other things. i know what needs to be done to make america great again. we can make this country great again. the potential is enormous. i'm seriously thinking of running for president. i can do the job. thank you very much. thank you very much. thank you. [applause] >> following his remarks at the freedom summit, donald trump spent some time with the media.

>> hello, everybody. >> does it feel good to be back and i what? it does. many friends. it brings people together. you hear different views. you hear some views you agree with, some you don't. somebody said that was the best ovation by far. i'm very happy to hear that. >> we were waiting for you up here. [laughter] >> i'm not during the speech again. it's what is your opinion of the aisle caucus process? what is your strategy here? >> i would be here frequently. i have a good opinion of iowa

and the caucus. that is what they do. that is the game. that is fine with me. i have a tremendous relationship with the state of iowa, and i would be here a lot. >> you spoke about security in your speech. what would you need to do that? >> you have to make the country strong so they can afford these programs. our country is a debtor nation. you have to make our country strong. you don't have to cut social security, medicare, and medicaid. you have to make our country strong. our jobs are disappearing. the 5.6 number is fiction. it is probably 21%, the real number. the unemployment is through the roof. you have to make our country strong against a you can afford so security another great programs including taking care of the military and the veterans.

>> the u.s. department of agriculture has a very active role and iowa. for example low-interest loans to provide -- rural hospitals. do you support an active u.s. department of agriculture? >> i do support the governor. i think he is terrific. i think he's done an amazing job here. what he wants to do, and the head of the department of agricultural -- agriculture is a tremendous guy. i support with are doing. >> romney and jeb bush? >> in my opinion it was an easier race than the one coming up. he should have one and he choked. you don't want to give a choker a second chance. i know that from sports. you don't give that person a second chance. he should not be running. as far as jeb is concerned, we

have had enough with the worst family. his attitude on common core immigration, on a lot of things is not going to be a winning formula. i don't think they will win. they are well known right now. they are two big names. they will probably do well, but ultimately they will fail. they will lose to the democrat if they get in. >> [inaudible] what kind of issue do think, and court will make -- play in the primary? >> i think common core is a big issue. >> [inaudible] what would be your advice to have a should do that? >> my advice is to talk about how we make our country great again. they are not talking about that.

>> your perceived expertise would be in finance. what comments you have on the national debt? >> my expertise is in jobs, finance, and buildings. they have intermittently successful. when the market turned, i made them successful through guile and whatever it is. i have had tremendous success in real estate, and -- as you have seen. in the obama administration, in the most sought after development, as i understand it, in the history of the gsa, the old post office sometimes when you avenue, trump got it. how do you figure that one? i started construction four weeks ago. it is going to be a phenomenal success. i got it. i'm a builder. what i do best is built. the reason i got it is because i had the best statement. i can get it done. i have the best project. it's going to be a great thing.

you need a builder. our infrastructure is crumbling. you need somebody that knows how to get things done, how to get things built, what to do. i can tell you that i have people who will build buildings for four times more money than me or somebody who knows what they're doing. those buildings won't be as good as what we do. then they say, why did trump succeed and we failed? like central park, ate years $21 million by the koch administration, and they connected it built. i went to see at koch and i said, at let me do it. i can get this thing done fast. if it cost one any over $2 million, i will pay for it myself. i got it done for $1.4 million and i get it done in three months paid this was under construction for a years. they did not know what they're

doing. i have another one in the bronx right at the same thing, big golf project. it is been under construction for 20 years. it is a catastrophe. hundreds of millions of dollars. i took it over a year and a half ago and it's ready to open. the country is easier. we have such power and such potential wealth. we can fix his country. we can fix the infrastructure of the country. we have to start doing it quickly. what i see in ohio and other places, bridges collapsing, that is just the beginning. 69% of the bridges are in terrible shape. so you need somebody who knows what they're doing. i do with foreign countries all the time. i made a lot of money against china. i will say against china. i made a lot of money dealing against china. i made a lot of money dealing against other countries. i'm doing jobs in europe. i'm doing jobs in dubai. i'm doing jobs on over asia.

they are very successful. i do with the politicians, and i do with the heads of the states and i get along with them great. we come out on top. you need somebody that can do that. >> [inaudible] would you take america back in to another ground for? >> when they're cutting off people's heads, somebody has to be strong against isis and islamic terrorism. somebody has to be very, very strong, or it will only get worse. it will get a lot worse before it gets better. >>-you never built anything well known in iowa? >> i did actually look at a couple of things and i were. last night, i gave a speech at the expo. it was terrific. they set every record. they had the biggest crowd they ever had, standing room only. we had a great time. i have a great respect for iran

the people of iowa. >> [inaudible] >> over the years, a lot of people have wanted me to run. i have been a winner. in my business, you come up with a dating site and you sell it for foreigners million. with me, it's been real estate. it is the old-fashioned way. nobody has done it, or very few people have done it, better. believe me. i do think that over the years they have wanted me to run. i love what i am doing. i had not wanted to run. i never said i was going to run but i looked at it in particular the last time. i decided not to. if i said i was going to -- because i had people less night asking me. a lot of people say, if you announce your running, you will go through the roof. maybe that is true, maybe that is not. all i know -- i know all these people. i am the one person who can make

this country great again. that is all i know. i can make this country great again. nobody else can. [indiscernible] >> why aren't you already in the race? what is keeping you out? >> if i do it, i will be doing it in the not-too-distant future, probably before june. >> what is part of your decision process? >> last time i had contractual obligations with nbc. i had a lot of different laws, rules, and regulations. i did have contractual obligations. a was building over the world. my children were younger. now my children are older, good executives, doing a great job. i have some great executives in place. last time would have been harder. when a politician runs for office, they can run for office. what do they do? they do nothing. they run. with me, it is a big commitment. i love what i am doing.

the tremendous success of "the apprentice" was a reason. i got a request from nbc to extend the series. they want to know we can make it for more weeks, because of those are good. there is a lot of good feeling out there. the last time i had contractual obligations and a was building all over the world. now i have a great team in place, including my children and i'm really a free agent. the show in spirit -- iends. if iran, rick santorum and everybody else would get two hours on primetime nbc. i don't think nbc would be happy with that. i have to ask. i love the country. the country has great potential. it can be great again. >> what separates you from the other republicans? >> liability. i had just done the -- well.

my ability. when i have a loss, i turn it into a win. a lot of times you have to be able to turn it around because the economy crashes. i have done some of my best deals when the economy crashed and i was in trouble and i turned it around into a better deal. you have to be number. you have to know what your doing. one more question. >> what are the areas -- you trust president obama with the free trade authority? >> no. president obama is one of the worst negotiators. look at iran. we have sanctions in place. iran is raising -- reading from the sanctions. they come to him and say that we will not negotiate with you

unless you take the sanctions away. it does not work that way. you make them stronger. now we take out the sanctions, i have never seen anything like it. ira the book, "the art of the deal." it was the biggest selling business book of all time. this is like 101. why would you take the sanctions on iran? who would be so stupid as to take the sanctions off iran when you are negotiating? so now what iran is doing is tapping is a long. they are going further and further into the nuclear program. guess what? once they have those nuclear weapons, we can't negotiate for a well anymore. >> fast-track authority -- >> i would support having brilliant people do our trade agreements. i like fair and smart trade. every trade deal we make stinks. it stinks.

i like fair trade and i like smart trade. fair trade is good if you have smart people negotiating, and i would have the best because i know the best. ok? thank you all very much. great be with you. >> on the next "washington journal," a discussion with steve scheffler and fergus culen. then behind the scene moves with democratic strategist steve mcmahon. join the conversation on facebook and twitter.

"washington journal" live at 7 a.m. eastern on c-span. we are selling some of the speakers from the iowa freedom summit in des moines. next, wisconsin governor scott walker, former house speaker newt gingrich, and rick santorum. ♪ >> thank you. thank you. it's an honor to be here. thank you for that introduction. thank you for having his back here in iowa. it is an honor to be here. it is exciting to see all of you here. i was excited to to -- talk to

some folks on the way in. i got a chance to talk to your senator. i appreciate the fact that you sent somebody who's is not only a midwestern but who is a fellow harley davidson writer -- rider. that mean she knows how to cast rita on, and she knows how to ride a halt as well. she might be able to get support get of washington to we are honored to be with her and a slew of great folks today. i want to say thank you. as i look around this crowd, i want to thank you all, because i know so many of you were great heroes to me. we faced a recall. so many of you helped us out. many of you helped us again last fall when we are facing a tough election. i had people who made phone calls in the state. i had people who came across the mississippi, over into wisconsin, you knocked on doors. i'm going to move around a little bit here.

you came over the mississippi you helped us knock on doors you have this campaign. i went to much we appreciated that. it was not just the grassroots act. here, like a lot of other places around the united states, europe is a financially as well. that made a world of difference. we had to take on all the money come the tens of millions of dollars, the big union boxes -- bosses. we had people in all 50 states to help us out. there was a woman in waterloo who helped us out times with a donation. we had people here in des moines and all across the state who helped us put up hard money -- hard earned money to take on government special interest. we want to say thank you. most of all, i will say thank you because so many of you here and across the state and across the country, you pray for us. i have to tell you on behalf of my wife and i, we can feel the power of those prayers.

we could feel them. in the darkest of the days, i can't a what a difference it made to us. [applause] >> so don't stop praying. we appreciate the prayers. it makes a noticeable difference in those darkest of times. we needed it. you all know about the protests. at one point, there were 100,000 or more protesters in and around our state capital. they were banging on the drums blowing the horns, signs banners. i almost have to apologize because the occupy movement started in madison, wisconsin four years ago. then it went to wall street. so my apologies for that. more than just the protests, i think the bigger challenge for us, at least for me personally where the death threats. at one point, there were literally thousands of

protesters out in front of our family home in wauwatosa, where my two sons were still going to high school. where my parents were living at the time. my kids were targeted on facebook. at one point, i remember my mother was in her 70's, they were literally at the grocery store where protesters follow them down the aisle just to yell at them, even though it was me that was out there. even more so than just the visits in front of her home was the fact that the threats were overwhelming. most of those death threats were pointed at me. some of the worst were directed at my family. i remember one of the ones about omega most was where someone literally send me a threat that they were going to cut my wife like a deer. another time, a protester sent a threat directly to my wife that said if she did not do something to stop me, i would be the first wisconsin governor ever

assassinated. he went on greater detail to point out where exactly my children were going to school where my wife worked, and where my father-in-law was still living at that time. you can see what they were doing. i tell you today, thanks to all of you, not just for the grassroots support and donations, thank you for those prayers because you can see how important they were in dark days like that. time and time again, the protesters were trying to intimidate us. you know what? all they did was remind me how important it was to stand up for the people of my state. they reminded me to focus on why i ran for governor in the first place. [applause] years before, my wife and i had

sat down and talked about thought about, and prayed about getting in the race for governor. even though we knew it would be difficult, we did so, we made that choice because we were worried back then. we were worried that our sons were going to grow up in the state that wasn't as great as the state we grew up in. as a parent, that was unacceptable. that was fundamentally unacceptable for me. so we got in that race, and it was important. back in that time, my state faced a $3.6 billion budget deficit. we saw a record job loss. we saw a place where local governments were controlled by special interests. so many of our hard-working families were having to endure double-digit tax increases and we knew we had to do something. today i am proud to take you that more than four years after, because of our reforms, my sons are growing up in a state that is even better than the state we grew up in. [applause]

we weren't afraid to go big and go bald, not only for my sons but for their generation and countless generations yet to be born. they were growing up in a state where we are on a better path. i think you like the direction we are headed. maybe that's why i won the race for governor three times in the last four years. [applause] three times, mind you, in a state that has not gone republican for president since i was in high school more than 30 years ago. how about that? [applause] i think that sends a powerful message to republicans in washington and around the country. if you're not afraid to go big and go bald, you kenexa get results. -- you can actually get results.

you can craft for that. that's all right. -- you can clap for that. [applause] if you do that, the voters will stand up for you. when i used to commute back and forth from the state capital to be at home and night when my kids were still going to school was in the midst of all the protests and the recall campaign. we used to see signs. they were signs we would see in the farm fields between milwaukee and the state capital am madison to wauwatosa, where my home was at. they were handmade sides that would say "we stand with walker." why? because people knew that we stood up against the powerful special interest and for the power back in their hands. they thought if they had an elected official who was actually willing to stand up, maybe it was time they stood up and said they were going to stand with that candidate as well.

that is what we need in america. [applause] we knew that if you're willing to go big and go bald, the voters would stand up with you because we learned before. some of you may not know this, before i was governor, i was elected as in the walkie county executive. the only republican to hold that position. in 2008th, we get nearly 62% of the vote and a county that went two thirds for barack obama. you know why? because we did what we said we were going to do. we reformed the scandal ridden government, held the line on property taxes, got the job done. [applause] when we talk about record results, the wisconsin way is working as well. since i was elected governor, we

have cut taxes and wisconsin. we reduce spending. we balance the budget. we took the power away from the big special interests and we put it firmly in the hands of the hard-working taxpayers. that's what we need more of in this great country. [applause] you know what? the liberals don't much like that. they don't much like that. msnbc camped out in my capital all throughout the protests, all throughout the results, just hoping. i would say that for me as a packers fan, it has been tough the last week. we've beat the bears after the election. i said i wanted to listen to radio next morning in chicago. i love listening to bears radio the day after the packers beat the bears. we wanted to turn into msnbc. it is like listening to the

bears radio after the packers beat the bears. msnbc did not much like our election. they did not like it again this last fall. you know what question mark it was not just about a victory. it was about showing that common sense conservative reform connection work. if they can work in wisconsin, they were can work anywhere in the country. right? [applause] in our state, it's the only state in the country that has a fully funded retirement system. our state has a positive bond rating. one of the things i'm most proud of is that our state can now hire the best teachers to teach our students in the classroom. that wasn't always the case. years ago in 2010, there was a young woman named made in sampson who was honored as the outstanding teacher of the year

in my state. not long after she got that distinction, she was laid off by her school district. how could that be? how could that be? one of the best and the brightest and she got laid off. years before our reforms in her school district, her union contract said the last hired as the first fired. the last and was the first out. i'm proud to take today that in wisconsin because of our reforms, we did not just balance the budget, we sat -- say in our schools that there is no longer tenure. you can hire and fire you want. you can pay based on performance. [applause] that's right. in my state, we can hire based on merit. we get paid based on performance. that means we can put the best and the brightest in our classrooms, and we can pay them to stay there. you know what? as conservatives, we