[ applause ] ♪ >> ladies and gentlemen, the honorable mitch molkegy.ted states representative. >> thank you very much. during the 2010 campaign, in which many people in this room helped me unseat a 28-year incumbent, the sitting chairman to become the first republican since 1880 to represent my district in south carolina -- [ applause ] during that campaign, i had the opportunity to get to know, to meet, to spend time with every single of the republican candidates for president of the united states. and i came to like and admire each and every one of them and still hold them in very high regard today. but there is one candidate who stood out because in my mind he passed the most important test that a politician can face. he had a proven track record of backing conservative words with conservative actions. and that, my friends, is a trait that is all too lacking in politics today which we see almost each and every single day including within our own party. it's easy, sometimes too easy, to talk about being conservative. it is much, much harder to act, t