we are going to unleash incredible economic growth and rebuild the military so it remains the world's mightiest fighting force. we are going to rebuild the military so it remains the world's mightiest fighting force. no longer will the military be governed by political correctness. no longer will it be a top priority of the pentagon to provide gluten free m.r.e.'s. instead, we will have a commander-in-chief who says to the world we will defeat radical islamic terrorism. we'll have a president willing to utter the words "radical islamic terrorists." [applause]

and one of the most disgraceful things we've seen over the last seven years is sending our fighting men and women into combat with rules of engagement that tie their arms behind their back and make it impossible for them to win, to defeat the enemy, and to protect themselves. that is wrong. it is immoral. in january, 2017, it will end. [applause] america has always been reluctant to use military force. we are slow to anger. but if and when military force is required, we should use overwhelming force, kill the enemy, and then get the heck out. [applause]

[cheering] and it is the men and women gathered here, the men and women of cpac, it is the young people, it is the lovers of liberty, the lovers of the constitution, that will lead that fight. it took jimmy carter to give us ronald reagan. and i am convinced the most long lasting legacy of barack obama is going to be a new generation of leaders in the republican party who stand and fight for liberty. who stand and fight for the constitution. and who stand and fight for the judeo christian values that built this great nation. [cheering] thank you and god bless you!

[applause] >> wow. as packed as this place has been since we've been here. how you doing, cpac? >> for me to get this big a crowd i'm calling --. senator, it is good to see you.

>> great to be here. >> i know you got a lot of sleep last night. maybe an hour. two hours. >> not much. >> i want to talk about process and where we are with the campaign. >> yes, yes. >> you are second in the delegate count. it's not that big a disparity. >> nope. >> you have a path to the nomination. [cheering] >> i want -- there is now mitt romney gave a speech yesterday. what did you think of it? >> listen. i think mitt is a citizen. he's entitled to express his views. i think he's concerned about what donald trump would mean. i come from a different place than mitt does. i tell you the concern mitt is expressing is a concern people have all over this country. you know, if you look at republicans across the country, 65% to 70% of republicans recognize that donald trump is not the best candidate to go head to head with hillary clinton.

if donald is our nominee and in all likelihood hillary wins, we lose the supreme court for a generation, the bill of rights is lost, and we're buried in debt, and jihadists continue to rise across the globe. well, i will say if you're one of those 65% to 70% of republicans that recognize donald is not the best candidate to win, then what is critical is that we come together. and i think super tuesday this week was the clarifying moment in this election. because super tuesday made clear that only one campaign has repeatedly beaten donald trump and only one campaign can and will beat donald trump. here's what i want to ask. i want the crowd to answer with me. do you not see that of the 14 of 15 contests that have happened and i think this is true, that the establishment has lost 14 of 15?

did you see that? >> yes. >> now, the only question i have is there seems to be an organized, well funded effort to push this to the convention in the hopes, maybe i'm reading into it, to prevent you or mr. trump from getting the nomination because the establishment is angry that you're winning. is that true? >> sean, you are exactly right. any time you hear someone talking about a brokered convention, it is the washington establishment in a fevered frenzy. they're frustrated because all of their golden candidates, all of the chosen children, the voters keep rejecting. and so they seized on the master plan. we go to a brokered convention and the d.c. power brokers will

drop someone in who is exactly to the liking of the washington establishment. if that would happen we would have a manifest revolt on our hands all across the country. if you want to beat donald trump here's how you do it. you beat donald trump with the voters. we started off with 17 candidates which means there are a lot of folks in this room that started off supporting other people. there arenada lot of good people in this race. i understand and respect that. the field has narrowed and narrowed. we've now had 15. our campaign has beaten donald in five states. we beat him resoundingly in iowa, resoundingly in texas, we beat him in oklahoma, alaska, and beat him in minnesota. >> i think that plan is real.

i think the establishment is paying all this money to do it. i want to move on to some other topics because i think the voters have something to say about that. one thing they haven't factored in is they can't buy your votes. they can't decide for you. you will have the power to pick the people that you want to be the next leader of this country. and thank god it's going to be you and not them or else we'd have another bob dole or john mccain. that wouldn't be good. >> sean, that is exactly right. let me make an explicit pitch to folks here. if you started off with another candidate, maybe you were originally with rand paul. [cheering] maybe you were with jeb bush or chris christie. or maybe you were with mike huckabee or rick santorum. or maybe you've been with marco rubio or with john kasich. or maybe you're with carly fiorina. all of them are good, honorable people.

i respect every one of them. and maybe you were with dr. ben carson. [cheering] every one of them are good, honorable people, a thousand times better than hillary clinton or bernie sanders. >> here is a question would you put those people in your cabinet if you get elected president? >> absolutely. just every name i mentioned would be a natural to serve in a cabinet and as part of the leadership if we win this race. [applause] and let me speak to the supporters of each of those candidates. those are good and honorable people but i don't believe they have a path to beat donald trump. if you don't want donald to be our nominee, then i ask you, come join us. we welcome you on our team. we are building a broad and welcoming coalition of lovers of liberty who believe in the constitution.

>> i want to get to your legal background. you were the former attorney general of the great state of texas. i can see he's got his boots on so he's proven his worth here. hillary clinton has now had somebody that pled the fifth that is now turning state's evidence. the person that built the server in the mom-and-pop shop that hillary should not have been using. from your legal expertise, do you believe a grand jury has been con veend -- do you think she violated the law and do you think in the end she will be the candidate? >> listen, i think it is an ominous development for hillary clinton. you know, how many of you all have watched things like "good fellas?"

listen, when pauly flips and goes to the feds, it ain't good for fat tony. [laughter] and i'm going to get in so much trouble for that. >> funny. >> sean, you have a bad effect on me. >> yeah, i know. i notice i get blamed for all of this. >> but listen. it is the fact that immunity has been granted to the person who sets up the server means that he can't plead the fifth anymore. he's got to spill the beans. i guarantee you they're asking what did secretary clinton know and when did she know it? what did her inner team know and when did they know it? and i will say this in the general election. we've never had a general election debate convened at leavenworth. but this year might be the first. >> i hope she likes orange pant suhetts. i can say it. i'm a talk show host. i can get away with anything i want.

>> well, sean, orange is the new democratic blue. >> ow. >> is it good to be back? >> absolutely. >> here's the question. i'm going to give everybody in this room the democratic playbook and i want you to tell this audience how you're going to deal with us. republicans are racist, sexist, homophobic. they want to poison the air and water. they want to kill children. and every grandmother in the country in a wheelchair paul ryan and ted cruz wants to throw over a cliff. how do you deal with the predictable lies that are coming? >> well, there is this psychological term freud talked about called rejection. let's go through each of those. racist. the democratic party is unwilling to say the words "all

lives matter." [applause] when did it become controversial to say, every human being is a precious gift from god and we value everybody? by the way, you want to talk about black lives matter. you know in 1990 there were 2200 homicides. in new york city. last year there were 300. that is over 2,000 a year. roughly 2,000 a year murders that were prevented by the brave men and women of the nypd. you want to talk about thousands of black lives that had been saved because of the bravery of our police officers and all lives matter but let me tell you, blue lives matter and we stand with the men and women who

protect us. mr. hannity: so you make the case? mr. cruz: you take the case to them. i cannot wait to stand on that general election debate stage with hillary clinton. she will inevitably stand up, and like obama, prattle on about economic inequality. i will say to her, it has increased under your policies. i will say a sentence that i suspect has never been said

before at cpac. i am not donald trump, so it will not be x-rated. i agree with bernie sanders. bernie sanders talks all the time about -- mr. hannity: the liberal media is back there. that will be the quote of the day. mr. cruz: bernie sanders talks about the corruption in washington, how career politicians get in bed with the corporations, lobbyists, and special interests, and how the game is rigged. bernie is right. when he is defining the problem, he is fundamentally correct. if the government is fundamentally corrupt, then the answer ain't let's have more government.

mr. hannity: one of the reasons i love coming back to cpac every year, there is so many young people here. they are our future. i am not trying to be repetitive. i have asked you this before, but this is how profound and deep the problems are right now. we got kids that graduate school, they go to live with mom and dad. millions are out of the labor force. 50 million americans in poverty, millions more than when obama

became president. we now have doubled the national debt. we have $120 trillion in unfunded liability. for all these young people who want a ladder up, how fast can you help them? mr. cruz: we can turn things around overnight. young people are told this is as good as it gets. accept coming out of school drowning in student loans with no hope for a good job. history teaches that is an utter lie. we tell you how as conservatives we get young people. both substance and style. if you sat down and tried to hound the living daylights out of young people, it would be hard to do that more than the obama economic agenda. obamacare is a massive wealth transfer from healthy people to everybody else. $18 trillion in national debt -- who do you think is going to pay for that? we got to make the case. it is like for young people, your parents went to vegas, took

out a credit card in your name, partied it up, and stuck you with the bill. we got to speak the truth that this agenda is hammering young people. if republicans are a bunch of old fuddy-duddies with -- yeah. mr. hannity: going back to last night's debate about body parts. i am kidding. mr. cruz: would it kill republicans to crack a joke? mr. hannity: i make fun of bill clinton all the time. mr. cruz: we put out a meme --

break it up. you start a business in your parents' garage. obamanomics -- you move into your parents' garage. the week before i arrived in california, posters began to appear. they were posters of my head on a shirtless body. it was ripped, covered in tattoos, a giant eagle on my chest, two six shooters on my abs, winston churchill on my right bicep, a cigarette dangling out of my

mouth, and above it, "blacklisted and loving it." we had nothing to do with this. this was a local artist that decided to have some fun. we said for whatever reason, these posters have begun appearing all over hollywood. i have to say i noticed a glaring error. i do not smoke cigarettes. and people laughed, they had fun, and an interesting thing the media has not reported -- many of the states do not do the exit polls, but those that did, our campaign won young people in the state of iowa. we won young people in the state of south carolina. we won young people in oklahoma, arkansas, and in the great state of texas.

mr. hannity: my last question, there might be something you and donald trump can put together. mr. cruz: i am terrified. mr. hannity: it might work out. isis is evil. everybody in this audience understands the evil we face. we have got to stop this evil in its tracks. you have stated you think we should carpet bomb the islamic state, which is islamic, president obama -- and trump said we should bomb the living -- out of them. i think it is a perfect plan, is that ok? it was funnier when i did it backstage. mr. cruz: isis -- every militant

on the face of the planet should go and join isis. if they wage jihad against the united states, they got to understand they are signing their death warrant. it is interesting, a lot of people in the media characterize strength against our enemies as somehow being a warmonger.

i think it is exactly the opposite. i believe like ronald reagan --, peace through strength. i think the weakness of barack obama, in spite of military conflict, it encourages our enemy. let me point out that the nation of iran in 1981 released our hostages the day ronald reagan was sworn into office. that is the difference a strong commander in chief can make, because the ayatollah khomeini realized that ronald reagan was not bluffing. i do not bluff either. when your enemies understand that, more often than not you do not need to use military power. the biggest country ronald reagan invaded in eight years was grenada. that is what happened when america is strong and your enemies understand it, and we can have that again. that is who we are. i want to finally thank everyone here. i ask you to stand with us. this is a grassroots army. the washington, d.c. establishment is terrified of everyone gathered here. if we come together, if we

unite, we will win this primary, we will defeat hillary clinton in november. and we will turn this country around, and i have spent my entire life fighting to defend the constitution and bill of rights, and i give you my solemn promise that when i take that oath, to preserve, protect and defend the constitution, that i will faithfully execute that oath every single day in office. mr. hannity: cpac, give it up for senator ted cruz. ♪

>> today, dr. ben carson suspended his presidential campaign. in his remarks at cpac he announced he had accepted the position of national chairman for a nonprofit that works to increase voter turnout among christians. this is about a half hour. dr. carson: thank you. thank you so much. thank you. thank you. thank you very much. thank you. thank you. i am absolutely delighted to be here. my wife and my sons and their wives are there. thank you. i want to thank you. i want to thank all the people who have worked so incredibly hard on my campaign, the volunteers.

one young man who lost his life for something he believed with in such fervor. it is an experience i will never forget. interestingly enough, people said in order to make it in this cycle, you have to be loud and boisterous and you have to be willing to attack people. i used to be like that. there was a time when i was, particularly in junior high school and high school -- i could come up with some stuff that would really embarrass people. and the people who are running today, i could come up with some stuff, let me tell you.

you know what -- i left that stuff in high school. the things that affect us now are so incredibly important. and one of the things that is going on in our nation i have noticed as i have traveled around, wonderful americans, every place, every part of our country, but so many of them are angry and are afraid. and the problem when you are angry and afraid is you tend to make bad decisions when you are angry and you are afraid. and what we have to do now is just sort of calm down and use the amazing intellect that god has given us, the human brain, billions and billions of neurons, hundreds of billions of interconnections.

it remembers everything you have ever seen or heard. it can process over 2 million bits of information in one second. there is a reason he gave a something like that -- so that we can extract information from the past in the present and process it and project it into the future and think rationally and logically instead of reacting. you do not need to have much of a developed brain to simply react. anoles, lizards can do that. we are human beings, so we need to start to think in america what we need is leadership. [applause] dr. carson: and many people have said, who are you going to endorse? well, let me tell you exactly,

let me tell you exactly the criteria that one should use when utilizing that brain. if we are talking about somebody who is going to lead america and the world, you need somebody who has demonstrated significant accomplishment in their life, number one. you also need somebody whose ideas and policies are clear and easy to find so that with your intellect you can evaluate them. you need to look at how they treat others and how they treat their family, because that is how they are going to treat the american people. we need to see what have they done for america. someone who wants to lead this nation should have in fact demonstrated in their life that they are trying to improve life for people in america.

and we should also look at the people that they work with, who are those people, what do those people have to say, and how have they been able to collaborate with other people to get things done. all of those are very important factors. somebody who can check a box on all of those is going to make an incredible leader. also, somebody who is ethical, because what we need in america right now is triple-down ethics. very important that we get that. [applause] mr. carson: and conservatives should not be ashamed of capitalism. we have had those who have tried to make it sound like a bad word. it is not a bad word. it has produced the highest standard of living that anybody

has ever known. but what we must do as conservatives is to make sure that we couple capitalism with compassion, and that will be a winning formula for us. recognize that in this country we have 330 million people. and it sounds like a lot of people, but compare that with china, 1.4 billion, india, 1.1 billion. it means we need to develop all of our people. we cannot afford to have 20%-plus not graduating from high school in the technological age. we cannot afford to have 5% of the world's population and 25% of the inmates, and we do need to have a government with policies that pulls families together because you need a

family unit to strengthen america. [applause] our pillars of strength, our faith, and our family, and as those things are being eroded, you see what is happening to our nation. we the people have to be the ones who really push these

things. the government is not pushing it. the government -- they do not understand what compassion is. they think having somebody pat you on the head and saying, you poor little thing, i am going to

take care of your needs is compassion. that is just the opposite of compassion. that is making people dependent on the system. that is the worst thing you can do to anybody. so what we must concentrate on is the past, the bridge that allows people to move out of the state of dependency and become part of the strength and fabric of this country.

that is how we become strong as a nation. the fewer people we have to pull along and the more people who

become part of the productive side of america, the better life

will be for everybody. that is what we have to keep in mind. we also must recognize that we,

the american people, are not

each other's enemies. i think it is a nefarious group

of individuals who are making every attempt to divide us as americans. and what we must begin to concentrate on is having conversations with each other and talking through our differences and finding resolution.

there is a reason we have these amazing brains. if we are fighting each other all the time, then it makes it excessively easy for those who really are our enemies, the radical islamist terrorists who want to destroy us. we need to understand that. and why would we make their job easier for them by trying to destroy ourselves? and we need to identify those people in our society who are always trying to splinter us, because they are not our friends

either. they also need to be thinking about our future generations, and this is an area that has concerned me immensely. thomas jefferson said it is immoral to borrow from the next generation. think about that. here we are in a situation -- $19 trillion? and it is going to be $20 trillion next year? think about the impact of that. the fed has to suppress the interest rates. they do not necessarily want income to rise either because we are in such a difficult economic situation. but think what happens to the american dream, when joe the butcher cannot go every friday like he used to do the bank and put 5%, 10% of his check in the savings account and watch it grow, because there is no growth, there is no incentive to do that. same thing with the bond markets. only place money can be made is the stock market? who invests in the stock market? well-to-do people. and hence, the income gap grows. along come sanders and clinton talking about income gap. it is the government that keeps driving the debt up. that is causing the problem. and we must be able to identify where the true culprits lie. the government keeps growing because it feels it is the one who can solve our problems. that is a mistake. it started like in the 1920's with the wilson administration, kept multiplying by the time we got to the johnson administration. we are talking, we the government are going to eliminate poverty. remember that? the war on poverty. how did that work out? $19 trillion later, we have 10 times more people on food stamps, more poverty, broken homes, everything is not only worse, it is much worse. and that is what happens when

the government starts doing things that it is not supposed to do. they need to read the constitution. that is not their job. taking care of the indigent, that is our job. that is our job, we the people, not the government. and maybe the government did read it, they got confused when they read the preamble where it says one of their jobs is to promote the general welfare. they thought that means put everybody on general welfare. that is not what it means. that is what happens when you have a government that is way too big. and i am hopeful that maybe some people, now that i am leaving the campaign trail -- and i guarantee you that candy and i and our whole family and this nation, could i sit down and enjoy the rest of my life? absolutely, but i can't do that right now without trying to help this country, which is in trouble. [applause] dr. carson: thank you.

and now please welcome fox news contributor mercedes schlapp for the q&a. mercedes: hello, everyone. i got a text from my 12 your old daughter, and she said that dr. carson just dropped out of the race, so you need to change your questions, so i have these here. so i have heard that some people say god opens a door, but now, has god opened a different door for you? dr. carson: yes, there was no question that he had to open a

door because being a person with no political ties whatsoever, no pac's, nothing, the pundits were right, they said there was no way you can run a national campaign for president. it can't happen, it won't happen, there is no way it is going to happen now. i said, "lord, if you want me to do this, you have to open a door, and if you open a door, i will walk through it." and he opened the door, and it was a simple as that. i walked through it. [applause] dr. carson: you know, god has a much greater perspective than we do and a much different timeline than we do. and he knows exactly what he is doing, so all we do is we follow his will, we continue to be truthful, we continue to be everything that is right, and he will take care of the rest.

[applause] mercedes: so dr. carson, you have spent so much energy and time on the campaign trail. how do you see there was that moment where you and candy and the kids decided that we need to suspend this campaign? dr. carson: well, you know, i have always thought that people at some point would kind of just say, "enough of this foolishness, we are going to look at these policies and see what works." we haven't gotten there yet, but we are gradually moving in that direction. but, you know, i did the math, i did the delegate counts, i looked at the states, i looked at the requirements, and i realized it simply wasn't going to happen. if that were the case, then i didn't want to interfere with the process. mercedes: so -- [applause] mercedes: now last night, there

was an event, i think it was called a debate, there were thousands of people in this room, were you watching netflix or were you watching the debate? dr. carson: you would have thought it was netflix. [laughter] dr. carson: i mean, it is kind of funny but it is very sad that we have reached that point, you know? the last debate before, when i went out to the spin room, the most consequential i got from the international press was, "are you embarrassed?" and part of that i blame the media for because they are trying to stir up a fight. but they are not really interested in the answers. they are not really interested in the solutions. they are interested in ratings. but also, i continue to ask my

friends who are running for president, and i have talked to all of them this week to rise above the level of the press and to just say, we are going to talk about the real solutions here and they can question each other because it is important to know where people stand on these issues and you can't just answer a question by saying, "oh yeah, it is going to be ok." you actually have to answer the question. and, you know, i think both the moderators and the other candidates should insist on answers from everybody because we, the people, deserve to know who we are choosing for president. [applause] mercedes: ok, trick question here. brokered convention. a good thing or a bad thing? dr. carson: i would prefer in

general not to have one, what there is a reason that the process is in place. the only thing that i would really have a problem with is if somebody starts changing the rules. leave the rules as they are and play by the rules and i think we will be ok. mercedes: you have hundreds of thousands of supporters. where do you tell your carson supporters to go? you talk about your criteria for the next presidential candidate. so where do they go? dr. carson: ok. well, actually, we have millions of supporters. [applause] dr. carson: and it has been rather astonishing hearing from them and seeing how enthusiastic they are, and you know, they are still saying, "whatever you want to do, we are going to support you."

but i have heard a lot of troubling things like people saying, "if you are not going to be on the ticket, i am not going to vote." that is not a good thing because what we have to recognize is that when you don't vote, you are voting, but you are voting for the other side, and we can't -- we can't afford that because -- [applause] dr. carson: -- if we get in there and there is somebody like hillary clinton, who loves saul alinksy and who loves margaret sanger, she is going to get two to four supreme court picks. now that is going to, i think, room in the future for our children, our grandchildren, all of our progeny. i think that is just as bad as

taking a knife and stabbing it with them. let's not do that. let's make sure that we act responsibly, exercise our civic duty, and please, no matter how you feel, recognize that if we choose another secular progressive, we have done our children in and we can't afford to do that. [applause] dr. carson: thank you. mercedes: dr. carson, what do you think the candidates are not addressing? dr. carson: i think they are not addressing the fiscal gap. have you noticed that no one has talked about a fiscal gap?

no washington politician will talk about a fiscal gap, that since i am not a washington politician, i can talk about it. medicare, medicaid, social security, all of the governmental programs going forward, versus the money that we have coming back in through taxes and other revenue sources and other revenue sources should be a huge amount of money because this country owns over $150 trillion in assets. now if you give over $150 trillion in assets to a well-run business, and we would not have a national debt. that would wipe that are easily just on the national return each year. you know, i obviously became very familiar with the corporate world, spending 18 years on the board of kellogg and 16 years on

the board of costco, and seeing how things are run efficiently, if our government were a business, it would be out of this in one week. i mean, that is how bad it is. but at any rate, the amount of money that we have coming back in the amount of money that we own it should be about equal if we were fiscally responsible. if we are not, a gap forms. bring them forward to today's dollars, and is called a fiscal gap and it sits at over $2 trillion. someone came along and said, "united states of america, for your birthday, i am paying off your national debt and wrote a check for $19 trillion, many people would be dancing in the streets, but we would not even be close to being out of trouble. that is what no one will tell you. and we need to know that kind of information so that when people come along and say, "free college for every body," we know how to react to that. that is just going to drive us off the fiscal cliff much factor

-- much faster than we were before. mercedes: describe one word -- give us one word that would describe mr. carson. ok, two. the crowd is answering for you. dr. carson: i would say "the children." because that is what this is all about. the children. this is their future. [applause] dr. carson: and, you know, my whole career is about giving children a second chance and, you know, it has been so wonderful on the campaign trail, because i have met over 15,000 people, and i get to see them all over the place and it is just wonderful.

i remember i was in kentucky last year and there was a young man there and his family came up and they said, do you remember us? and i said, you look familiar, because i say that every body, and they say, you operated on him when he was one year old. you did an operation where you take out half of the brain to stop intractable seizures and he just graduated from college number one in his class. [applause] dr. carson: and then there was a beautiful young woman who came up to my wife and she said, "are you the wife of dr. ben carson?" she said, "yes." and she said, "he operated on me when i was in my mother's womb."

and now she has grown up into a beautiful young woman. and just goes to show that people who are sitting in washington just do not know what they are talking about. [applause] mercedes: my last question. you have brought such civility, a tone of civility to this race. what advice do you get to the candidates who are left? r. carson: i would tell them that they must understand that we, the republicans, are not

each other's enemies, and we cannot afford -- [applause] dr. carson: we cannot afford to give the democrats all of this ammunition. you know, i wish that people would remember what happened last time and how the republicans were destroying each other, and you know, president obama did not have a good record to run on, and that is putting it mildly. but they were able to use so much of the material that we used against each other that he was able to win. you know, that is going to happen again, we have already supplied them with an enormous amount of material. could we just stop? the way to ferret this thing out is not a calling each other names, but really by challenging each other's ositions and having them

explain why they believe what they do. that will sort out all of the things that need to be sorted out without us injuring the brand. the republican brand is really, i think, grossly mischaracterized, and we add to some of that ourselves, and we have got to be much smarter. it is one of the things that i will be continuing to work with the party, particularly to bring in a wider variety of people and to make our positions well known, it is our positions, our good positions, they make sense and they will ave america. please stand bymercedes: ben carson, you are a man of great faith who love their country, who loves your family, and we can't thank you enough for being here with the

cpac family, and god bless you, and we are behind you all of the way. dr. carson: thank you. [applause] >> during campaign 2016, c-span takes you on the road to the white house as we follow the candidates on c-span, c-span adio and c-span.org.

c-span's "washington journal," policy issues that impact you. tomorrow morning, jesse burns, political reporter for the hill joins us by the phone to talk about the caucuses and one primary taking place in five states tomorrow. a reporter for bloomberg news washington will be on to talk about federal job numbers and predictions on the economy this spring. be sure to watch c-span's "washington journal" beginning live at 7:00 a.m. eastern tomorrow morning. join the discussion. >> so many of my former books were horizontal studies, many countries across a whole region, the ends of the earth, covering a minimum of six countries, here i look at one country in depth and i use it to explore great themes. i think great themes. the holocaust, the cold war, he challenge of vladmir putin,

remember romania and romanian speaking moldova have a longer border. to study romania is to study the legacy of empires. > robert kaplan, author of "in europe's shadow, two cold wars and a journey through romania and beyond." he talks about the history and the struggle to gain democracy since the fall of communism. >> romania was extremely corrupt because it had weak institutions that were very, everything was based on bribe and double dealing and what this shows is this is nothing new. what is happening is that the romanian toplation has grown up and become far more sophisticated and is demanding clean government. it is its number one demand. sunday night at 8:00 eastern on c-span's q & a.

former presidential candidate carly fear rinna was the featured speaker on the second night of the conference. she talked about citizen activism and the presidential race. she is introduced by heritage foundation president and former senator jim demint. this is a half hour. mr. demint: good evening, everyone. they got me with a nice bite of steak in my mouth. i hope i can still address. everyone, please continue to eat. i'm so grateful for a.c.u.

thank you so much, matt, you and the board have done a great job. this convergence of conservativism every year is so important to the movement. so i want to thank the american conservative union for what they do. i think we should all give them a round of applause tonight. [applause] mr. demint: i am also grateful, all of us feel this way at heritage, to work with so many great conservative groups across the country, all of them display behind us, and proud of all of my heritage colleagues, if you could please wave your hands, i appreciate all of the work you did to be a part of this conference. i thank all of you for being here tonight. i have a great honor to introduce, kind of a new friend of mine, carly fiorina. [applause] mr. demint: carly is here with her husband, frank.

carly and i haven't known each other for too long, but we know her because of her business career with at&t and lucent and hewlett-packard, a great success there, but we had earlier tonight and opportunity to share a new perspective that she has gained from really become one of the -- becoming one of the leaders of the conservative movement, first in her race for senate in california and then on the national stage for running for president. on the campaign trail, she proved that she could lock horns with the best of hem. [applause] mr. demint: and those other guys who messed with her usually got the worst of it, and actually, i heard that in flex -- that netflix is starting a new series on television, "fiorina: warrior princess." [laughter]

[applause] mr. demint: but after carly decided to end her race for president, she and i talked on the phone and had a good couple of laughs about the perceptions that we had of each other before this started. i told her that i thought that she was a mushy moderate, part of the establishment, and she said, "that is funny, i heard that you were a radical, stream-ist, right wing nut -- radical, extremist, right-wing nut." we had a good laugh. in her campaign, there was principle and substance in everything she did. her campaign brought a message about a strong economy, free enterprise for american businesses, and families alike. she looked at washington with a suspicious eye based on her

experience as a successful executive, and she knows exactly what is wrong with the urrent administration. she also bore a message of life for the most vulnerable members f our society. [applause] mr. demint: and the respect for the women, the mothers that nurture our children and raise the families in this country, and she said this with the perspective not only of a mother, but of a ceo who actually hires a lot of the mothers who are out in the workforce. she understands that at the end of the day, our government must increase in power if americans are going to increase in rosperity. she delivered this message like few others. she wants to continue this fight and be a part of what we are all doing here, and she is here tonight i think to ncourage and inspire us and to

offer her ideas on how we can all work together to build a stronger america. so please welcome tonight one of the new heroes or one of my new heroes in the conservative movement, carly fiorina. [applause] ♪ ♪ s. fiorina: thank you. thank you so much. it is great be back here at cpac. and thank you, jim, for that wonderful introduction.

gemini -- jim and i, it's true, became new friends. and it is great to see old and ew friends this evening. i want you to have your minds at ease while you your dinner. i am not here to hurl insults or discuss the finer points of pray tans. [laughter] ms. fiorina: i am not granted discuss excessive perspiration. and while i also have very small hands -- [laughter] [applause] ms. fiorina: -- i have a really big phone. [laughter] ms. fiorina: that is the good news. i come here tonight not in heated campaign mode but to pause and reflect.

my purpose really tonight is to help us remember who we are, to remind us of all that binds us together as americans and as conservatives and perhaps to suggest a path forward. but here is the bad news. some of you may know that i studied history and philosophy, and so i need to go back in time and place for this eflection. i actually think that in times of danger and discord, of controversy and consequence, it is important to remember and to think about where we come from so that we can see more clearly where we need to go. so grab your wine. [laughter] ms. fiorina: the study of history is the study of power. the ebbs and flows of military, territorial, economic, and ersonal power.

much of our history and much of the philosophy that shaped our union is all about the power of the individual in relation to the power of the state and the power of the divine. our founders actually were consumed with concern about power. they had seen firsthand the abuse of power when concentrated in the hands of the few, whether in markets or in politics. our constitution, therefore, in shrines individual liberties and rights, but perhaps even more importantly, if faithfully executed, our constitution protects against the abuse of ower, the collection of power, the concentration of power by the few. it is why the powers of the federal government are enumerated and why the ninth and 10th amendments spell out that powers belong to individuals or to the tates.

[applause] ms. fiorina: in other words, this nation was built on the principle that power, whether economic or political, power ispersed into the hands of the many is wiser, more compassionate, more competent, more just, more effective, then power concentrated in the hands of the few -- than power concentrated in the hands of the few. they were smart enough along the way as they designed a ystem of government, they were smart enough to realize that we, the people, can sometimes be swayed by fears and passion instead of guided by reason. in short, we, the people, can e wrong. what they were absolutely convinced that power concentrated in the hands of

the few could be abused and ultimately produce a far worse outcome. and amazingly, although they were the ruling elite of the nation, they limited their own power. in george washington's farewell address, he spoke about the dangerous rise of political parties. his point in that speech, among others, was that political parties create a tit-for-tat, a back-and-forth bickering, and have people focusing more on their team than focusing on heir republic. it is why we here are united by conservative principles and not by a single party. in other words, 220 years ago this september, george washington, our first president, was worried that we would cease to be a citizen government and instead be ruled a political class more concerned about its own power, political influence, and prestige.

maybe he was onto something. this selection, like every election, is about power. who has it, who wants it, who keeps it, who loses it. and while the media and the political establishment in both parties think they know best, citizens out there are demanding a restoration of their own power. [applause] ms. fiorina: as iran for the presidency, i had the great privilege to talk to citizens all across our exceptional nation. my message was that we as citizens, we must take our country back from the elite, the establishment, the ruling lass of both parties, and what

i heard from people of all kinds and all places was a feeling of powerlessness in their own lives. a loss of power over their own destinies. feeling powerless should not be art of the american dna. and so knowing this, people are angry or fed up or afraid, or worst of all, apathetic. i have met veterans who, with tears in their eyes, tell me about how powerless they feel when they have to fight to receive the care that they have already earned. students who feel powerless to chart their own futures. parents who feel powerless in the ability to teach their own hildren. people who are just scraping by and wondering when they lost that sense of opportunity and sensibility that has always defined this nation. here is a shocking statistic.

80%, 80%, of americans believe that the government is corrupt and that the media and the political establishment is focused squarely on the preservation of their own power and position. that 80% means that democrats, independents, republicans, and all agree on something. this is not working for us anymore. [applause] ms. fiorina: i say the american people are pretty smart. i have met lots of people who just quit voting. they quit following politics. not because they don't care but because they think they don't count. too many americans have come to believe that nothing that they do will make any difference at all. against this backdrop of dismay

and discontent which has been going on for some time, the political establishment decided that it knew exactly what to do this time, this political cycle. now it has always funded these gatherings to pile on the democrats, so let us start there. [laughter] [applause] ms. fiorina: the democratic establishment, aided and abetted by the media establishment, have now decided that it is hillary's turn. last year, the media called me "mean," because i said just like mrs. clinton that i had traveled thousands of miles around the globe but unlike mrs. clinton, i understand that flying is an activity, and not an accomplishment. mrs. clinton named this as an ccomplishment. [applause] ms. fiorina: during my campaign, i was taken to task by chris matthews and others that hillary clinton had lied about benghazi, something did everyone now says and knows is true.

i was criticized -- i was criticized for suggesting that mrs. clinton, far from dean a trailblazing women who has isen to her own career and accomplishments is, in fact, someone who has used her husband's name and charisma to sacrifice everything in the power of her ambition. this is the clinton way. [applause] ms. fiorina: i often joked on the campaign trail that while hillary clinton aims for the white house, she is far better uited for the big house. [applause] ms. fiorina: 2000 of hillary's released e-mails were deemed some level of classified. that is one out of 14.

so here is another way to think about this. imagine that every other friday, every single e-mail that you send that day in danger to our national ecurity. i have held the highest clearance is available to a civilian. i have worked closely with the cia, the nsa, the dod, and i cannot imagine sending classified material over a private server. most of us cannot. [applause] ms. fiorina: now we all know why hillary clinton did this. she has waited her entire life to be president. even saturday night live gets the joke. remember "citizens, you will elect me?" and by the way, i hope you enjoy the little towel that all of us left at your little

table. no, mrs. clinton, you cannot ipe a server with a towel. despite the misgivings, she will be the party's standardbearer. the establishment knows that despite the discomfort of other voters, the establishment knows that hillary will never loosen their grip on power. the democratic party establishment is, however, a little worried about this lack of enthusiasm, particularly among women. so now, they are reminding eople of the historic nature is a candidacy, that she woman after all, and therefore, women must vote for her. i have news for you, mrs. clinton. i am a woman and i am not voting for you.

[laughter] [applause] ms. fiorina: to all of the women and girls across this country, regardless of your ideology or your party, let me say this. do not let others define you. [applause] ms. fiorina: do not let anyone tell you who you have to vote for or what you have to believe. that is not feminism. feminism does not shut down conversations. it does not threaten women. it is not about ideology. a feminist is a woman who lives the life she chooses and who uses all of her god-given gifts. [applause] ms. fiorina: and as a woman and a feminist, let me promise you that i will spend the next six months making sure that hillary clinton is not our next

president. [applause] ms. fiorina: ok, now that we have gotten that fun part out of the way because it is easy and satisfying to criticize the democratic party establishment because we have to do it, we also have to be honest tonight and look ourselves in the irror. according to all of the exit polls in several states now, over half of the republican electorate feel betrayed by their party. that is a big number and that

is a strong word. the truth is, the republican establishment thought it also knew just what to do after the 2012 election. first, they decided that we needed comprehensive immigration reform, then, we needed to talk less about the social issues. and there were so many candidates in the primaries and too many debates, so let's limit the number of debates, and in fact, let's just condense the primary calendar so our presumptive nominee can roll up the delegates faster. and let's make sure that the voters know who the establishment thinks should be the nominee. let's have all of the pundits and all of the money make the case right from the start about who we think is next up to bat. republican voters said, "no, we need to secure the border. no, citizenship in this country has to mean something.

no, our religious liberty is at stake. no, we don't want who you want. we want to choose for ourselves. and the more choices we have, he better we like it." [applause] ms. fiorina: but now many pundits and not a few current and former politicians are decrying the wisdom of these same voters. they don't like how people are voting right now. but these voters look at the republican party and look at what they have produced an think that they can do better deciding for themselves. who can blame them? he border is not secure. 22 veterans commit suicide every single day. spending increases year after year after year and has 44 years. despite promises, republicans

have not stopped the march of government overreach, government regulation, and entitlements have not been reformed. the government is incompetent and corrupt. and while the establishment now professes its horror at the choice of millions of voters at the ballot box, these same voters are asking, "what have ou done for me?" [applause] ms. fiorina: now don't misunderstand me. i am no donald trump fan. i did not vote for him in the virginia primary. but nevertheless, i understand and respect the people who did vote for him. i know many of them. they are not racists or crazies or stupid. while many people call donald a

fraud or a con man, the truth is, the hard truth is, there are a lot of other voters out there who think that they have been on the election after election. [applause] ms. fiorina: they know what it is to be promised something and delivered nothing. tip o'neill once famously remarked that all politics is local. actually, i think politics is personal. i think people vote based on their own lives, their own experiences, their own beliefs, their hopes, their dreams. if we want to defeat donald trump, we cannot turn to the establishment was again and ask them to guide the citizenry to the right answer. [applause] ms. fiorina: if we want to

defeat donald trump, we must defeat 10 at the ballot box by offering citizens conservative solutions to problems in their own lives. [applause] ms. fiorina: we must remember who we are. these are pivotal and perilous times in our nation's history, and it is precisely at these kinds of times that we must put our faith in the system that our founders created. ours was intended to be a citizen government. it is technology, actually, that gives us the tools to deliver a citizen government. there are no more excuses. we actually can allow citizens to see every regulation before it actually passes and we can control and gain control over how money is expend -- is spent. individuals can be empowered

like never before to push back against the power of the state and the establishment. one of the things you learn when you study history and philosophy is that the fundamentals of human nature never change. people always, and for all time, yearn for dignity, for purpose in their lives. power struggles are a part of human existence, and so the constitution is as vital, as vibrant, as relevant a document today as it was the day it was

ms. fiorina: and that is why i am a constitutional conservative. [applause] ms. fiorina: i have traveled and lived and worked all over the world, and i know that it is only in this country that a young woman can start out as a secretary in the middle of a deep recession, go on one day to become the chief executive of what was turned into the largest technology company in the world, and run for the presidency of the united states. that is only possible in this great nation. [applause] ms. fiorina: and anyone who doubts for a moment the exceptional nature of this nation should travel the world and study its history. i will work hard between now and election day to ensure that we have conservative representatives up and down the ballot, and i will also dedicate my voice, my time, my energy to restoring a citizen government

to this great nation. [applause] ms. fiorina: my fellow citizens, my fellow conservatives, it is time. let us remember who we are. we believe that no one of us is better than any other one of us. that each of us is gifted by god. we believe that everyone can live a life of dignity and purpose and meaning. we know that our principles, our values, our policies work better to lift people up, regardless of their circumstance. [applause] ms. fiorina: it is progressives, actually, it is progressives who believe that some are better

than others, some are smarter than others, and that some should decide and choose for others. that is not who we are. [applause] fiorina: we are an exceptional nation because we were founded on the bedrock principle that every individual has inalienable rights and the power must never be concentrated, but always constrained. [applause] ms. fiorina: let us not forget these principles in the heat of an election battle. let us instead rely upon them. let us stand. let us stand with the american people. let us make our case and speak to people's lives and then deliver for them. my fellow citizens, my fellow conservatives, it is time.

let us go together and take our government back. fellow citizens, it is time. it is time that we take our country back. thank you very much, everyone. god bless you. [applause] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] announcer: we will have more coverage of the conservative political effort -- political action conference tomorrow with senator marco rubio. >> every election cycle will remind us how important it is for citizens to be informed. wax c-span is a home for political junkies, and a way to track the government as it happens.

>> we've got a lot of c-span vans on the hill. >> there is so much more that c-span does to make sure that people know what is going on inside the beltway. announcer: today, president obama discussed the u.s. economy and his administration's record on job creation. according to official statistics, the economy added 242,000 jobs last month. the president's remarks from the white house are five minutes. president obama: i thought it would be useful to focus on something that matters to the american people, that is, how is

the economy doing, and how is it affecting the lives? this morning we learned that the u.s. economy created 242,000 jobs last month. that is two months in a row at the unemployment rate of below 5%. over the past three months, our work force has grown by 1.5 million people. that is progress. overall, american business has now created new jobs for 72 straight months. six straight years of job creation. 14.3 million new jobs. in fact, our businesses have created jobs every single month since i have signed that job -killing obamacare bill. think about this. if somebody had told us seven years ago that we would get to the point, at a time when we were losing 800,000 jobs a month, and the unemployment rate hit 10%, we would not have believed them, but today america's businesses are creating jobs of the fastest paces since the 1990's. america's workforce is growing

at the fastest pace since the year 2000. it is showing the kind of strength and durability that makes america's economy right now the envy of the world, despite the enormous headwinds it is receiving because of weaknesses in other parts of the world. in other words, the numbers, the facts do not lie. i think it is useful, given that there seems to be an alternative reality out there from some of the political folks that america is down in the dumps. it is not. america is pretty darn great right now. and making strides right now. and small and large businesses alike are hiring right now. they are investing right now. and building this country, brick by brick, block by block, neighborhood by neighborhood,

all across the country. i don't expect that these facts and this evidence will convince some of the politicians out there to change their doomsday rhetoric, talking about how terrible america is, but the american people should be proud of what they have achieved, but does this speaks to their resilience, innovation, creativity, risk-taking, and grit. the fact of the matter is the plans we have put in place to grow the economy have worked. they would work even faster if we did not have the kind of obstruction that we have seen in this town to prevent additional policies that would make a difference. and there is going to be a debate going on around the budget in the coming months. republicans in congress are sadly trying to cut some of the

investment that could spur additional growth. they are blocking things like an increase in the minimum wage, or more robust investment in jobs, training, infrastructure, education that can continue to lift up wages and incomes. an area, by the way, where we are not seeing the same kinds of pace that we want to see, and if we were working together we could be making a difference. that is what we should be debating. that is the debate that is worthy of the american people. not fantasy. not name-calling. not trying to talk down to the american economy, but looking at the facts, understanding that we have made extraordinary progress in job growth. how can we continue to advance that? how can we make sure that people are successful in climbing the

ladder of wage and income growth over the coming years? how do we make sure that we make this economy grow faster? the kinds of proposals that we have put forward repeatedly, in terms of rebuilding our infrastructure, improving our job training system, lifting the minimum wage, dealing with things like family leave and paid leave, making sure that retirement accounts are more helpful to middle-class families and working families, making college more affordable, those are all of the things that will really make an enormous difference. we've got to continue to push that agenda. that is what we should be talking about, and that is what i will be talking about with my economic team here in the coming months. the notion that we would reverse the very policies that helped

dig us out of a recession, reinstitute those that got us into a hole, plans currently proposed by those in congress and some running for president, that is not a conversation we should be having. that is not the direction america should take. i am looking forward to very forcefully making clear that what we have done has made a difference. and that there is a huge gap between the rhetoric that is going on out there and the reality of success that we are seeing in america's economy. even as we acknowledge that there is more work that could be done to make sure everyone is in -- is benefiting from that success. thank you. have a good weekend. good to see you. announcer: at a campaign event in detroit, hillary clinton discussed her plans for creating jobs and growing the economy. she also criticized republican candidates for their economic

proposals. this is 40 minutes. [applause]

ms. clinton: thank you, wow. i am so excited to be here. i appreciate a short tour i just had and the information that i was given. i want to thank detroit manufacturing services for welcoming us here today. and i want to thank them especially for giving so many hard-working people the chance to make a good living with a good job with benefits and union representation. it's all -- it all adds up. [applause] i want to thank the ceo of dms. i want to acknowledge this is the largest woman-owned business in michigan. [applause] and one of the largest native american-owned businesses in america. [applause] it is also great to be here with so many of my friends, my former colleagues.

i am thrilled to be in detroit. i want to thank the mayor. where is the mayor? thank you, mayor duggan, for everything you're doing. i want to thank senator debbie , my friend and colleague. congressman john conyers, he has that red jacket on. you can see him. congresswoman brenda lawrence, thank you. my longtime friend, congresswoman debbie dingell. and of course i want to recognize a legend. you may think i am talking about his storied career in the congress, and of course i am, but i want you to know that former congressman john dingell is a social media sensation. [applause] ms. clinton: he is the king of

twitter. and i am so pleased he is here today. i want to thank former governor jim blanchard and janet blanchard. [applause] we have some great union leaders here. we have the former president of the uaw, bob king. thank you for being here. we have march robinson. -- marge robinson. and al garrett, thank you all for being with me. [applause] clinton: i deliberately chose to come to detroit, and to come to this company to talk about jobs, because i want more people to see what is happening in southwest detroit and midtown and eastern market.

new businesses are opening. families are moving in. the streetlights are on again. the buses are running. there is a palpable feeling of pride and community. we have to spread the economic revitalization to all of detroit's neighborhoods. and you can do it, because look how far you have come. thanks to your hard work, the auto industry just had its best year ever. [applause] ms. clinton: innovation is on the rise between the carmakers and suppliers, the clean energy sector, the defense corridor, high-tech firms in ann arbor, cutting edge design happening in grand rapids, the next generation of engineers getting trained up and so much else,

your hard work, doing what you have always done, making making and designing things that america needs and the world once -- wants, is once again going strong. and i am so grateful to everybody who played a part in that. last night detroit played a different role, didn't it? [laughter] ms. clinton: hosting the republican presidential -- i don't know what to call it -- i guess, debate. there were so many insults, flying back-and-forth, it was hard to keep track. but the biggest insult of all was to the american people. the economy -- [applause] ms. clinton: the economy which should be at the top of any list that anybody running for president has was basically an afterthought.

maybe that is because all of the republican candidates support the same failed policies. cut taxes for the rich. get out of the way of corporations. don't raise the minimum wage, in fact the front runner says he thinks wages are too high in our country, and slash government to the bone. knows the prize, they have all criticized or opposed -- no surprise, they have all criticized or opposed the auto rescue. what was missing last night was an honest reckoning with the most important economic challenge that we face. how do we raise incomes and create good jobs of the future? on the democratic side, we agree on a number of things. but i don't think we can answer refightingon by battles from 20 years ago. anyone running for president owes it to you to come up with real ideas.

not an ideology, not an old set of talking points, but a credible strategy designed for the world we live in now. and that is exactly what i am here today to do. [applause] ms. clinton: you know, in america, if you work hard and you do your part, you are supposed to be about to get ahead and stay ahead, no matter who you are or where you started out. that is the basic bargain that made this country great. but for many americans, that no longer holds true. too many barriers hold back our families, our economy, and because of that, our country. instead of good paying jobs, millions of americans are stuck in low-wage work. corporate profits and ceo pay keeps rising, but paychecks for working families have barely budged. and instead of affordable college, we have skyrocketing

tuition and millions weighed down by student debt. more women than ever are the main breadwinners, or co-breadwinners, but they still don't get equal pay. and -- [applause] ms. clinton: and the unions that help to build our country and the middle class are under concerted attack. it is no surprise that americans are angry, is it? folks work hard all day, and then lie awake all night trying to figure out how in the world they are going to pay for their kids' college, or a new roof, or making sure mom gets the care she needs. and for some parents, it is even worse. they have to worry about whether the water their kids drink is poisonous, like the families in flint -- [applause] about their or,

kids' schools, that are crumbling and rodent infested , like many here in detroit. that is not the way it is supposed to be in america. [applause] ms. clinton: some of the blame for these changes in the economy rests with big, historic forces like trade and technology. wall street and some of our corporations also, however, bear a lot of responsibility. too many in the financial industry forgot that the purpose of thinking is to get capital to main street to invest in new businesses, or expand successful ones like this of any size, and to increase the opportunity for homeownership and community development. it is not to create huge riches for a select few at the expense of everyone else. and meanwhile, too many leaders in corporate america are

prioritizing their short-term stock price over their workers and their communities. we can't forget the damage caused by trickle down economics and right wing ideologues who believe in weakening government oversight, massive tax cuts for the rich, ripping away the safety net, and breaking the backs of unions. but, as detroit proves everyday, what has been broken can be rebuilt, stronger than before. [applause] ms. clinton: you know, throughout this campaign, i have said that creating good paying jobs and raising incomes is the defining economic challenge of our time, and that in order to get where i want us to go, we need growth that is strong,

fair, and long-term. that is why we need a new bargain for the new economy. a new bargain to ensure that the jobs of the future are good paying, american jobs. the kind that provide both good income, and the dignity, pride, and sense of purpose that come when you have something to look forward to when you get up in the morning. and the people that i met as i was walking here with ed were all people who fit that description. proud of what they are doing. grateful for the opportunity to be part of a team that respects one another. looking to continue the growth that this company has enjoyed. that is the kind of jobs we want. and you are creating them again in michigan. some of the most exciting, technological breakthroughs are happening right here, not in

china, not in germany, but in michigan. [applause] ms. clinton: you used to make be 24 bombers at willow run. now you are developing driverless cars. in monro, you're making the towers that make wind turbines possible. chevy is making electric cars in hamtramck and using clean energy to do it. another city has created more than 500 jobs, and they cornered the market on watches for presidents. both my husband and president obama love their shinolas. so michigan proves every day that american workers are the best in the world. all they need is a fair chance on a fair playing field. that is why we need this new bargain. here is what it should be. first, corporations have to do

right by their communities and our country. corporations benefit in so many ways from being right here in the united states, but too often this relationship feels like a one-way street. too many are not holding up their end of the bargain. they do not recognize that one of the biggest assets on their balance sheet is america. and part of the problem is a casino culture on wall street that for too long put short-term speculation ahead of long-term strength. and asks taxpayers to hold the bag when the bets go bad. we need to make sure wall street never threatens main street again. [applause] ms. clinton: as i have said many times, no bank can be too big to

fail, and no executive too powerful to jail. but -- [applause] ms. clinton: but we also have to understand how bad behavior on wall street and pressure to meet quarterly earnings expectations contributes to bad behavior across corporate america. look at companies like nabisco, laying off 600 workers in chicago and moving their production line to mexico. even though the company has long received tax breaks from the state of illinois, they have no problem taking taxpayer dollars with one hand and giving out pink slips with the other. look at the growing number of companies moving their headquarters overseas just so they can avoid paying their fair share of taxes here at home. one company doing that right now

is called johnson control, which makes car parts. it actually lobbied for and benefited from the auto rescue of 2008. they went to washington along with everybody else, and they asked for help. said no, we are not going to help. said, yes, we will help. millions of jobs and families are at stake. so everyone here, all of us taxpayers, we helped to save johnson controls. and on their website, they talk about their contracts with the federal government. they say that keeping the country safe and prosperous is, and i quote, the patriotic thing to do. well, i hope they do the patriotic thing and stay in america, and pay the taxes that

they own for everything we have done for them. [applause] ms. clinton: look, i am not interested in condemning whole categories of businesses, or the entire private sector, of course not, but i do want to send a clear message to every boardroom and executive suite. if you cheat your employees, you exploit your customers, you environment, or you rip off the taxpayers, we will hold you accountable. this country has given you so much. [applause] ms. clinton: if you desert america, you will pay a price. but do the right thing -- invest in your workers and your country's future, and we will stand with you. here's how it should work, to discourage bad behavior, we will make companies pay for what are called inversions under the tax code, which means they pretend to sell themselves to a company overseas, and then they pretend to move their headquarters

overseas. perversion, but under the tax code it is called an inversion. we will make you pay for that with a new exit tax. and if a company like nabisco outsources and ships jobs overseas, we will make you give back the tax breaks you received here in america. if you're not going to invest in us, why should taxpayers invest let's take that money and put it to work in the communities that are being left behind. let's enact policies that promote long-term investments, like capital gains taxes that only scale downward for truly multiyear investments, but are higher for short-term. let's promote inshore innovation and investment with new tax credits that make it profitable to take the high road rather than the low road.