gingrich, and senate minority leader mitch mcconnell. that begins at 10:10 p.m. eastern here on c-span. . >> now, our final speaker this morning was the leading candidate for the welcome presidential nomination, and

distinguished himself as a voice for strengthening our economy, our military, and our families. as governor of massachusetts in 2002, he presided -- presided over a dramatic reversal of state fortunes and a period of sustained economic expansion. he first gained national recognition for his role in turning around the 2002 winter olympics as president and ceo of the solid organizing committee. he continues to be deeply involved in his community and sitting affairs, serving extensively in his church and numerous charities, including the boy scouts and the points of light foundation. he and his wife were celebrating their 40th wedding anniversary, and also enjoy 14 grandchildren. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a champion for values voters, governor mitt romney. [applause]

>> thank you. that touches my heart. thank you for that great introduction. i appreciate that. thank you for the warm welcome. the music you were hearing was from the olympic games in 2002, so it touched my heart. it was great listening to gil bennett. that man is elmer -- is amazing. i could listen to public bear all night long. -- to pop up bear -- papa bear. a year ago, there were quite a

few people in this city who work ready to write off this conservative movement. they were enthralled by barack obama's promise of near biblical proportions. he spoke majestically, framed by greek colonists. he can spend a speech, but he cannot spend his record. i bet you never dreamed that you would look back at jimmy carter as the good old days. [laughter] i have had the pleasure of attending the values votaress summit every year since 2004. the security of our country, the defense of freedom in the world, the success and power of the free enterprise system, and the fundamental rights of every single person, including the right to life itself. these are the causes that unite

us and inspire us for the work we have a head. we know that america has always endured a chorus of critics, people who claim that every ill, and reap failure in the world is america's all -- every failure in the world is america's fault. you may have seen, he told arab tv that america has dictated to other nations. no, mr. president, america has freed other nations from dictators. [applause] you saw that he told europeans that america has been arrogant, dismissive, and derisive. america has been diligent, dedicated, and decisive.

[applause] my guess is, you are like me. when an american president journeys abroad, it is nice to see him applauded and praise. when the price for that adoration is one apology after another for alleged offenses by the united states of america, it is not worth it. i would rather see a president greeted abroad by complete silence, as long as he is defending our country's character and not playing to our critics. [applause] i think all of you in this room understand that these are times that call for a strong america. china is on track to become the largest economy in the world. russia, under putin, is edging

back to its old to let it -- totalitarian ways. jihad it is murder and britain innocent people in countries around the world and a plot to attack us here in our home as well. the regime in north korea sacrifices its own people to serve its nuclear ambitions. the regime in iran is moving fast to develop a nuclear weapon. all the while, our own economy is reeling and our debts are becoming astronomical. let me say it again. these are times that call for a strong america. we know the source of america's strength. it is the citizens of this country and all that free people can achieve, free, hard-working, family oriented, risk taking, patriotic american people have always been the source of this nation's strength, and they always will be. [applause]

here in washington, the best policies are those policies that expand the freedoms of individuals, that broaden their opportunities, that allow individuals to keep more of what they earn, that before them better education, that let them choose their own health care, and that turn loose the free enterprise system so that it can create jobs. what president obama has done and is proposing to do it over the next three years would not strengthen america. it would weaken america. his so-called stimulus is a case in point. the president said it would be an immediate boost. it would hold unemployment below 8% and restore the economy and create jobs. it has not done that. it brought back 30 years of failed liberal programs.

he rushed it through before anyone could even notice. we did notice, and we are not impressed. the economy is still shrinking, even as the government is still growing. unemployment blue past 8% and is on its way to 10%. that is millions more americans out of work. not one new job has been created. the numbers of americans opposing the obama agenda is growing. the voters are going to make their intentions clear in the 2010 elections. that is a public option i agree with, by the way. the president's spending and borrowing have also weakened the nation. in the month of july alone, he added $330 million to the

national deficit. his plan is to add another trillion dollars in debt every year he is in office. initially admitted that the cumulative deficit would swell by seven trillion dollars of the next 10 years. now he knowledge is that there real number is nine trillion dollars. he would double our national debt in just five years. those deficits threaten to cause a global collapse of confidence in america and in the dollar itself. to precipitate an even deeper manage a crisis. to put isuch a backbreaking debt burden on our children -- spending and borrowing is not just economically irresponsible, it is morally wrong. [applause]

to strengthen the economy and to create jobs, the president has to stop trying to borrow the country out of a debt problem. i know there are people who are now talking about another stimulus bill for the economy. that is the wrong answer. the right answer is to fix the stimulus we have, throughout the liberal big government programs and substitute real incentives that will crimp stimulate the private sector and create real jobs. don't repeat the stimulus, repair the stimulus. [applause] taking more money away from working americans would also make this a weaker nation. candidate obama promised not to raise our taxes by one dime for people making less than 200 tickets thousand dollars a year. -- people making less than

$250,000 a year. his cap and trade program just demolished that promise. the obama team had secretly calculated the cost of that plan. it would cost the average american family $1,761 a year, the equivalent of a victim% income tax hike. it would kill jobs in this country -- a 15% income tax hike. democrats keep talking about climate change, but i think they are confusing global warming with the heat they have been taking at the town halls. i think we can probably all

agree that it is a good idea to improve and reform health care. healthier americans make a stronger nation. insurance companies should not drop people when they get sick. we need to help people with pre- existing conditions. insurance should be affordable and portable. republicans have proposed several health care reform bills. i hope you've seen a number of them. i worked very hard to reform health care in my own state. not every feature of our plan was perfect, but it does teach an important lesson. you can get everyone insured without breaking the bank and without a government option. there is no government option in my massachusetts reform. the right answer is not more government, it is less government. [applause] you heard the president the other night.

he said he wants a public auction government insurance program to give people a greater choice. what he does not say is that there are already more than 1000 insurance companies in this country. he says he wants a public option so he will not have the burden of corporate profits. what he does not tell you is that there are plenty of major insurance companies that are not for profit. he says he would be satisfied with co-ops, but he does not tell you that there are already co-ops, and there is no legislation needed to create more of them. what he really wants is a public option that it becomes over time the only option. if he gets what it wants, it would inevitably lead to a massive entitlement with enormous liability, to more borrowing, and to deny health care and rationing, just as they

experience in europe. and to the creation of dozens of government your -- bureaucracies their reach into every hospital, doctor's office, and home. thanks to millions of americans who stepped up in town halls across the country, he is not going to get his way. [applause] the democrats call those folks and mall, crazies, trash, even worse. i call them patriots. i was not unhappy that the president chose to address our

school children. the heritage foundation reminded him that as president, he is a unique position to help our children keep from making a critical and life altering the state, and that is having children before they are married. 40% of all american kids born today are born out of wedlock. there are a number of wonderful single parents to do a terrific job of raising the kids under difficult circumstances, but for the nation as a whole, we raise a strong regeneration when a child is raised by a mother and father. -- a stronger generation of children. [applause] a strong america also depends on a strong defense. our rivals in the world are

pursuing designs and purposes very different than ours. we should never cut corners in funding and equipping the military and intelligence services that defend our country. more than 150,000 of our fellow citizens in uniform are still deployed in theaters of war. nothing on the agenda of the president or congress should come before the needs of our troops. in the face of iran's needs -- race to become a nuclear power, the president's decision to walk away from our commitment to missile defense in europe is alarming and dangerous. his friends say that iran is not as close to becoming a nuclear threat as they once thought it was. how can they possibly know that? they say that this is a token of good will, to get russia to be more supportive of sanctions against iran.

the first rule of negotiation is this. only give something up when you get something in return. from israel to honduras to the czech republic to poland, it is time the president treated our friends better than he treats are foes. -- our foes. [applause] we need to encourage the pro defense members in congress to hold firm and to make the case for a military that is second to none. those pro defense congressmen and senators might feel outnumbered right now, but they should not lose hope. we are going to send them some reinforcements in next year's election.

we have now gone eight years and eight days without being hit again at home by a terror attack. over on the left, they want us to believe that this fact has nothing to do whatsoever with the intensive interrogation of terrorists. you could listen all day long to their rentants and never hear tt obvious connection. there are now talking about prosecuting the very intelligence officers who protected us by asking questions and getting answers. those intelligence officers do not deserve to be hounded and lectured by the left. they deserve the respect of americans, starting with the commander-in-chief. [applause]

we are indeed at a critical time in our nation's history. we cannot lose faith in the values and virtues that made our way of life possible. we cannot allow activist to exploit the financial crisis that they themselves helped enable. there is something else that should concern us. when the federal government expands at the rate is expanding, when government is trying to take over health care, by car companies, bail out banks, and giving half the white house staff the title of czar, we have every reason to be alarmed and to speak our mind. the current economic crisis was the result of many failures. important guard rails were allowed to collapse, leaving a lot of americans unprotected from the descent of the financial and job markets.

the last thing we need is the collapse of even more guard rails that would leave us unprotected from the overreach of government. i want to make a prediction. for our cause and for all those who speak for this calls without apology, we are about to see a comeback. voters in new jersey have just about had it with a high taxers in their state. just across the river, the suns are good that we are about to see a lower tax, pro-growth, pro-life governor of virginia. [applause] of course, nothing is certain in politics, but we can be certain about this. our belief in the greatness of america and our dedication to keeping this nation strong are needed today as much as they have ever been needed in our glorious past. i do not deny that america's

challenges are great war that overcoming them is going to require the best that we have to give. in times of difficulty, we always bring out the essential character of our fellow citizens. my dad used to say to me that the pursuit of the difficult makes people strong. the pursuit of the difficult will make america strong work. we welcome the challenge. it will call on us to draw on the resilience, ingenuity, and faith of the three -- of the free men and women in the united states. we do not get to choose the tests and trials that are ahead, but we are entirely free to choose how we are going to meet those tests. we will meet them as conservatives have done before. we will find strength in each other and answer our opponents with goodwill and honest words. we will go forward committed to our ideals, confident of victory succumb, and certain

that god does indeed bless america. thank you so much. [applause] ♪ >> house minority leader john boehner also spoke at the annual values boater summit. this conference is taking place throughout this weekend. his comments are about 25 minutes. >> good morning, and welcome to washington. let me tell you how glad i am to be here this morning to speak with all of you. i am honored by the invitation, but more honor that all of you got up early on a saturday morning to come out and listen to me. i want to thank all of the organizers for the great job they have done in building this

summit over the years. and to all the organizations that are involved, let's give them a big round of applause for a job well done. [applause] i was surprised when i came out and saw these teleprompter is here. i thought maybe the president was coming. yesterday you heard from a number of my colleagues who are doing a great job representing the majority of the american people on a day-to-day basis on capitol hill. they are standing on principle, speaking about what is happening here in washington, and trying to help the american people get their arms around what the democrat majority in the house and senate and in the white house are doing. i told my colleagues earlier this year, they have 840-vote majority in the house and a big majority in the senate -- they have a 40-vote majority.

i suggested that what they could do to help our country is help the american people understand what policies are being promoted. what it means to american people individually and to their families, communities, and businesses. they have gotten involved. [applause] as was mentioned, i am the last diet that should be standing here. i have 11 brothers and sisters -- i am the last guy that should be standing here. i am doing something i never thought i would ever do. i was running a small business back in the 1970's until 1990 when i came here. along the way i got involved in my neighborhood homeowners association and ended up in the united states congress.

this could happen to you. i got involved because i was concerned about where america was going. i believe it was time for someone from the real world to take a more active involvement in our political process. expecting the spots on a dock to change would be about what you would expect for politicians to change here in washington. when you grow up in a big family, you have to learn to get along with each other. you have to get things done as a family. i have mops floors, waited tables, did dishes. all the skills i learned growing up or the kills -- or the skills i need to do my job today. you have probably noticed i do not have a tie on.

it is saturday morning, but most importantly, i did not wear a tie because i am not running for president. i am leading an effort to turn back our majority so we can take the gavel away from nancy pelosi. [applause] what we have seen this year in washington is nothing short of breathtaking. when i look back over the first eight months of these new majorities in the congress and the policies coming out the white house, all i can do to sum this up is to say that my colleagues are bankrupting america. when you look at the stimulus bill that passed early this year, 1100 pages that no one had read, it was supposed to be

about jobs, jobs, jobs. it turned into nothing more than spending, spending, and more spending. i held up this bill that no one had read and made the point that no one had read it. some of my colleagues are angry with me because at the end of my speech adjusts dropped it on the floor of the house. the call that disrespectful -- i just dropped it on the floor. what was disrespectful was taking over a trillion dollars with interest and wasting it and expecting our kids and grandkids to pay the bill. [applause] then they came along with their budget, at 1.8 trillion dollars in deficits this year, trillion

dollar deficits on average for as far as the eye can see. this is not sustainable, not in any way, shape, or form. not only did all my colleagues in both the house and senate vote against the budget, all of my republican colleagues voted against the stimulus bill twice. little did i realize, we were just getting started. in late june, they came up with this idea called cap and trade. we call a cab and tax. -- we call it cap and tax. there is no question we have had a change in our climate over the last 100 years. there is no question that man has contributed somewhat to this problem. so there are practical ways to deal with the issues of energy and to deal with having cleaner air in america and around the

world. when he began to look at the proposal brought by congressman waxman to the for the house, it would create an elaborate scheme in the federal government to try to control how much co2 is going into the air. that is carbon dioxide. it creates a big government bureaucracy, and taxes everything that uses energy. the president said that no one who made under $250,000 was going to pay a dime more in taxes. here is a proposal that will tax every american to drive -- every american who drives a car, who has a job that uses some energy, or anyone who has the audacity to turn on a light switch. this bill was 1200 pages, but that was not enough. at 3:09 a.m. the morning we were going to consider the bill, they

filed a 316 page amendment that no one, obviously, had a chance to read. as the leader, i usually talk for three or four minutes and make my point and sit down. i decided i needed to know what was in this amendment, and i thought my colleagues need to know what was in it. so i took an hour on the floor of the house and walked through some of the provisions of this bill that would require every house in america to have a switch, a plug, for a hybrid car. it would require every community in america to hire three people. it required fannie mae and freddie mac to have green mortgages. but this is going to cost every

american household $1,750 to comply with this law. higher taxes, bigger government, what they do not say is that tens of millions of american jobs will be shipped overseas as the result of the passage of this bill. if you are a high energy industry, they would maybe put out of business because they make steel the old-fashioned way. when you make raw steel, you emit carbon dioxide into the air. our competitors around the world do not have these kind of policies. they do not have 1/100th of the environmental policies that we have today. that are going to buy the

foreign steel and put the 2500 people who live in my district out of business. virtually none of my colleagues voted for this bill. but it did not stop there. then we began to see their lead proposal over what they wanted to do with our healthcare system. let's all be frank. our healthcare system is not perfect. we all know there are problems with it. it costs too much. secondly, there are a number of americans who do not have equal access or fair access to affordable, high-quality health insurance. instead of just dealing with those issues and trying to resolve those issues, my colleagues across the aisle have decided that they want the government to take control of our healthcare system. there are some on the left to think we are stretching the truth. when you begin to look at this bill and dissected, you begin to see 51 new agencies, boards, commissions, and mandates in

this proposal. it is very clear to me that after five years, every employer sponsored health care plan has to be approved by the federal government to make sure that the choices are fair. after five years, you cannot go by your health insurance policy from any company you want. you have to go to one of the help exchanges that are set up by the federal government's. they can say all they want about the fact that the president does not want taxpayers to fund abortions in this bill, but if you look at the bill that is in front the house of representatives today, it allows for taxpayer funded abortions. it was not convenient for my mother to have all 12 of us, one at a time. but i am sure glad that she did. that is why i have stood up for life since i have been in this business. [applause]

now the administration, speaker pelosi and others, are wondering why americans are showing up at the party's or why so many americans are showing up at our town hall meetings. i can tell you why. we are in the midst of a political rebellion in america. on september 5, over labor day weekend, i went tea party about a mile from my mon -- from my home in ohio. 18,000 people were there to tell myself and some of my colleagues that enough is enough. they want their country back, and we can take our country back.

[applause] is not just that our democratic colleagues are bankrupting our country and dimming the lights of opportunity for all our kids and grandkids. when it comes to our national security, it is pretty clear that they are going in the wrong direction. when they want to have talks with our enemies who hate us, it is not that they want to close guantanamo and bring those terrorists into america and give them the rights of u.s.

citizens. you have seen over the past few days they are going to weaken the missile defense system we have been working on over the last 20 years. that is not enough. now comes the issue of what is going to happen in afghanistan. we are locked in a real struggle there. the fight there is much different than it is in iraq. in iraq, you had a fairly educated populace. in afghanistan, about two-thirds of the afghans are illiterate. you had real concentrations of people in iraq, where in afghanistan, they are sparsely populated and spread out over a large area. if we walk away from the fight in afghanistan, we will see this territory once again to the taliban and their cousins in al qaeda. giving them a place to organize, to operate, to train, and to get ready to hurt america and our allies all around the world.

we cannot allow this to happen. [applause] this is a bipartisan issue. the chairman of the house armed services committee and the ranking republican from california have both asked that general mcchrystal come and testify before the congress. the only problem is, we have not gotten an answer back yet. over the coming months, there will be a big debate about what our future is. it is clear that we need more troops in afghanistan if we are going to succeed. it is also clear that if we do not get more troops and we began to change the mission of allowing our soldiers in that the header to be in a position of much greater risk than they are today. if we send our soldiers to protect america, we ought to

make sure they have everything they need to succeed and to be taken care of. [applause] i brought up the issue of growing up in a big family for more than one reason. i also brought it up because we were lucky to be born in america, lucky to have grown up in a loving household, lucky enough to have a chance at a decent education, and lucky enough to have a chance at success in america. like asset earlier, i should not be here. i was lucky enough to be born in america, to be a level the start and grow my own business.

i have to believe, while this never crossed my mind growing up, we never know what path god wants to put us on. we need to remember that we are lucky, because we were raised in america. i have been all around the world. i have been in 50 or 60 countries around the world. there is no place like the united states of america. [applause] this is a special country. the reason i mention this is because what we have in america which is different than any other country in the world is

opportunity. opportunity for all americans, were you can grow up and be anything that you want to be. grow up and do anything you want to do. one of the reasons i got involved was to slow the growth of government, to stop the growth of government. the bigger the government gets, the more money it takes from us, the less freedom and opportunity we have as a result. the bigger government gets in terms of more programs, regulations, and control, means less opportunity for the american people and it certainly means less freedom. ladies and gentlemen, we can stop this. it is going to take your involvement. it is going to take you coming from this conference and going home and doing something about it. there are candidates who will be on the ballot this fall and next fall. democrats, republicans, independents. just look at what they do. that will tell you where they

are going in the future. look at their records. get behind a candidate you generally agree with and help them get elected to office. that means each and every one of the reaching out to your friends and neighbors. you have to be actively involved. when america speaks up, washington listens. i know not many of you probably believe this. i have seen it happen dozens of times over the 19 years i have been here in washington. i remember the first time i saw it happen. when i was a new member of congress in 1991. there was an article about the general accounting office doing their annual audit of the house bank. we used to have a bank that all the members participated in. they tell me i had to have an account there if i wanted to get paid.

the members had bounced 8226 checks in 1990. i thought to myself, that is a lot of checks. i began to talk to some of my freshman colleagues and we began to ask questions. when you ask someone to question and their face turns white, there is something going on. we were going to bring a resolution to the floor and disclose everything that happened at the bank. before they would allow us to bring the resolution of, the speaker came to the fore of the house and said the same thing. we did not do anything wrong, and we will not do it again. now there was a group called the gang of seven. we to it to the american people, at an six months later the bank

was closed. we said the american people have a right to know. we took our case again to the american people, and four days later, they knew everything that happened at the house bank. when the american people speak up, congress and washington does listen. we need you to continue to speak up, to take an active role in your government, to make sure we are preserving the freedom and opportunities for our kids and grandkids, because that is our job. [applause] our parents and their parents before them all made sacrifices. all worked hard to build this country, to preserve its freedom, its opportunities. otherwise, we would not be here. it is our obligation to our kids and grandkids to stand up and be heard and to make sure that washington is listening.

god bless each and everyone of you, and good luck on a job well done. we have a lot more work to do. thanks for being here. [applause] [captioning performed by national captioning institute] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2009] >> now, minnesota governor tim pawlenty talks about family values and the democrats' health care legislation. he spoke at the family research council annual values voters summit on friday. this is half an hour. ♪ >> thank you so much, bill o'reilly. now, our next speaker is

regarded as one of the nation's most innovative, energetic, reform-minded, an accomplished governors. now serving his second term as the governor of minnesota, he has balanced minnesota's budget three times without raising taxes, despite facing a record budget deficits. under his leadership, minnesota ranks first among states in fortune 500 companies per- capita, first in overall quality of life, first in home ownership, first in percentage of residents with a high-school diploma, and first in residents over 25 with a bachelor's degree. so you have to ask, how did you guys vote for al franken? we will ask him. i should also add that minnesota ranks first in multi retired quarterbacks in brett favre for. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome a true champion for values voters, governor tim pawlenty. [applause]

♪ >> thank you very much. brett favre is not part of the "cash-for-clunkers" program. [laughter] i am delighted to be with you tonight and honored to be the governor of the great state of minnesota. one of the privileges of being governor of the state is that you get to travel around your state and hear these great stories. i heard one the other day about these two gentlemen who were sitting out on a bench outside of the pearly gates, waiting for their opportunity to talk to saint peter. one turned to the other in said, so how did you get here? he said he would not believe it, but i can across a situation where this motorcycle gang was

threatening an intimidating a young woman. i pulled out a tire arouiron and yelled hey, knock it off. i kicked over their role of motorcycles and went up to the most muscular one of the whole group. i got in his face and grabbed his nose ring and yank it out. the other guy said my goodness, when did that all happen? he said, just about a minute ago. i share that story with you because we are here to talk about our values, but it is important that we not just talk about our values, we also need to be able to translate those into action and results. it is important that we know what we believe, why we believe it, that we are able to communicate to others in

effective, powerful, and inviting ways, and we also have to make a difference by making sure of baruch -- making sure our values get implemented. this organization is committed not just to values, but to action, voting, mobilizing, and holding public officials accountable. i know you are tired and i am tired of sending people to places like washington under the banner of the conservative values jersey, and did they do not behave or boat like we expect them to behave and boat. -- our vote like we expect them to behave and vote. i know some say we are facing a lot of challenges as conservatives and people who embrace traditional family values. i was the only republican in my family. back then it was the world's

largest meatpacking plants and the world's largest stalking plants in minnesota. my brother worked at an oil refinery as part of the union. my sister is a one on one special ed 8 in schools. my other sister worked for 40 years as a company as an administrative assistant, and they are all democrats. my mom died when i was young. not too long after that, my dad lost his job for a while. we have a lot of discussions in our family about hardship and values and often politics. they would get pretty heated. do you really want a tax is raised in places like minnesota? what about education?

should we plow more money into the schools, or should we hold them accountable for results? what about health care? do you want the federal government taking it over, or do you think you and your doctor should make those decisions? what about the more controversial issues like second amendment rights? and down the list. they would agree with us on most of the top issues. how come you are not with us then as a conservative? because you guys are not always for the working person. have you heard that before? that is a stereotype we need to overcome. in minnesota, as the governor of a left-leaning state, if we can do it there, and this is the land of eugene mccarthy and hubert humphrey. it is the land of walter

mondale and the land of united states senator al franken. if i and the republicans in minnesota can govern minnesota and make a difference and make progress, as frank sinatra said, if you can do it there, we can do it anywhere. we can do it all across this great land. [applause] as you know, your gathered here because you share of believe in values. those values are under attack. these are not just conservative values. our values are american values. [applause] they are not rooted in pop psychology, feelings, or emotion. they are rooted in the wisdom and experience of our founding fathers and the faith and wisdom that they brought forward in the

defining moments of this nation. so we need to remind each other and remind our fellow citizens about the importance of those values, why they exist. part of that is educating, raising awareness. let me give you a few examples. at every turn, at every gathering, we should start with first things first, by thanking and acknowledging god. [applause] in minnesota, we do this in a variety of ways, with prayer breakfast and other faith gatherings and public proclamations about the importance of faith in our lives. this is not politically incorrect or politically sensitive. this is what our nation was

founded on. it is in our founding documents for the united states of america. there are many, many examples of that. let me give you one that is particularly elegant. in the preamble of the minnesota constitution, the very first paragraph of our founding document says this. we, the people of minnesota, grateful to god for our civil and religious liberties, and then it goes on to talk about the perpetuation of blessings and the importance of spreading it across our state and to our citizens. if it is good enough in the founding documents, the cornerstone documents, it should be good enough for us in our time with our fellow citizens. our judeo-christian values are

important, traditional, and they are the basis for so much of our country now. we have some folks who are skeptics about that. i am reminded of the true story of tony blair, the former prime minister who came to our prayer breakfast in washington d.c. about a year or so ago. he recalled a story that as a young school boy, his father had suffered a terrible stroke. it was life-threatening and quite severe. he remembers being in school and having a teacher pull alongside him and been down on his knee and whisper to him, tony, i am going to pray for your dad. tony reminded the teacher, my dad does not believe in god. the teacher said, that is okay, tony, god believes in your dad.

[applause] as value voters, as conservatives, as americans, i gather with folks like us in meetings and rooms and there is a lot of concern. people are worried, and they are afraid, and they see an uncertain future. they see an unsecured future with a lot of the things that are swirling about in our great nation. they know that this government centric view point of this administration and congress and the federal takeover of so much, and more by that ouhe hour is corrosive to our spirit of freedom. but do not get discouraged. keep the faith, and have a heart. remember, god is the god of love. he is the god of the white house, of the congress, of state capitals, a school board meetings, city council meetings,

all of it. our job as value voters and concerned citizens is to get each day, to be faithful, to work hard, and our job is to put in our best effort. so do not lose heart. [applause] in addition to thanking and acknowledging god, another important value we need to articulate strongly and boldly and effectively is the value of respecting and protecting life at all stages of life. i am proud to stand for life as a governor. i am proud to stand for like each year on the anniversary of roe vs. wade on the steps of our capital to defend life as a valued and as a principal. i am also proud that we have

made progress on this issue, even in states like minnesota. we should not be afraid of this issue. this issue is a cornerstone issue for our culture, for our society. if we cannot stand for protecting and defending life and respecting life, that all else's loss, because it is foundational. life is a blessing and a precious gift that has been given to us. it needs to be respected and protected. in minnesota we have done a number of things. one i am most proud of is that i have proposed and signed into law the so-called women's right to know bill, which provides women important information who are considering abortion. it also provides a waiting period for them to consider their decision. it has significantly decreased

the number of abortions performed in my state, and it is a very effective piece of legislation. [applause] as we discussed this issue, we should always remember that this is about changing hearts and about changing minds. as we change hearts and minds, changes in laws will follow. changes in members of congress will follow. changes in the courts will follow. but it starts with changing hearts and minds, so we need to be lugged -- loving and effective in the way we communicate our views. we have convinced each other. now we need to convince more to join our cause. another value is that of respecting and defending the constitution of the united states of america. [applause] we stand for the principle of a

limited and effective government and a measure of the fidelity to that principle is making sure that the constitution is remembered in its original intent and that the constitution is the measure of that limited and effective government. one important way is to make sure that the people who get appointed judges do not make up the law on the back of a napkin. a really important example of this is defending and protecting traditional marriage. all domestic relationships are not the same. traditional marriages should remain elevated in our society and our culture. marriage should be defined as between a man and woman. i sponsored that legislation in the minnesota legislature. we should make sure that the people in the constitution are heard on this, not courts that are making up a lot in the back are making up a lot in the back room.