man who is principled, willing to take tough stands, and is a rising star in the republican party, rod blumis a native i one and small businessmen. -- iowan and small businessmen. he earned his mba from the university of debuted. then rod set off to set his own course of the american dream and began a software company. he grew his company from five employees to over 300 and five years. for that he was recognized as the iowa entrepreneur of the year. for the last several years rod has met payroll, created jobs, and balanced budgets. i think washington, d.c. could use more of that, don't you? [applause] rod ran for congress because he loves america and he believes that we can, should, and will do better. rod and his wife have five wonderful children and live in the butte. lee's welcome a leader willing to take tough stands, and also a former basketball coach my friend, our congressman, problem -- rod blum. [applause] >> thank you very much for that wonderful introduction, cody. cody is someone i have always looked up to. [laughter] hello, freedom loving iowans! good morning! i would like to t