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Barack Obama 2012 Barack Obama 2012 September 6, 2012











President Obama’s Remarks to the 2012 Democratic National Convention

CHICAGO -- Tonight, in his remarks to the Democratic National Convention, President Obama asked the country to rally around a set of concrete goals to move the country forward toward an economy that grows from the middle out, not the top down. This roadmap -- a real, achievable plan that will create jobs, expand opportunity, and strengthen the middle class -- will deliver concrete results in the key areas of manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit.

Below are President Obama’s remarks as prepared for delivery --

Michelle, I love you. The other night, I think the entire country saw just how lucky I am. Malia and Sasha, you make me so proud…but don’t get any ideas, you’re still going to class tomorrow. And Joe Biden, thank you for being the best Vice President I could ever hope for.

Madam Chairwoman, delegates, I accept your nomination for President of the United States.

The first time I addressed this convention in 2004, I was a younger man; a Senate candidate from Illinois who spoke about hope – not blind optimism or wishful thinking, but hope in the face of difficulty; hope in the face of uncertainty; that dogged faith in the future which has pushed this nation forward, even when the odds are great; even when the road is long.

Eight years later, that hope has been tested – by the cost of war; by one of the worst economic crises in history; and by political gridlock that’s left us wondering whether it’s still possible to tackle the challenges of our time.

I know that campaigns can seem small, and even silly. Trivial things become big distractions. Serious issues become sound bites. And the truth gets buried under an avalanche of money and advertising. If you’re sick of hearing me approve this message, believe me – so am I.

But when all is said and done – when you pick up that ballot to vote – you will face the clearest choice of any time in a generation. Over the next few years, big decisions will be made in Washington, on jobs and the economy; taxes and deficits; energy and education; war and peace – decisions that will have a huge impact on our lives and our children’s lives for decades to come.

On every issue, the choice you face won’t be just between two candidates or two parties.

It will be a choice between two different paths for America.

A choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future.

Ours is a fight to restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known; the values my grandfather defended as a soldier in Patton’s Army; the values that drove my grandmother to work on a bomber assembly line while he was gone.

They knew they were part of something larger – a nation that triumphed over fascism and depression; a nation where the most innovative businesses turned out the world’s best products, and everyone shared in the pride and success – from the corner office to the factory floor. My grandparents were given the chance to go to college, buy their first home, and fulfill the basic bargain at the heart of America’s story: the promise that hard work will pay off; that responsibility will be rewarded; that everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules – from Main Street to Wall Street to Washington, DC.

I ran for President because I saw that basic bargain slipping away. I began my career helping people in the shadow of a shuttered steel mill, at a time when too many good jobs were starting to move overseas. And by 2008, we had seen nearly a decade in which families struggled with costs that kept rising but paychecks that didn’t; racking up more and more debt just to make the mortgage or pay tuition; to put gas in the car or food on the table. And when the house of cards collapsed in the Great Recession, millions of innocent Americans lost their jobs, their homes, and their life savings – a tragedy from which we are still fighting to recover.

Now, our friends at the Republican convention were more than happy to talk about everything they think is wrong with America, but they didn’t have much to say about how they’d make it right. They want your vote, but they don’t want you to know their plan. And that’s because all they have to offer is the same prescription they’ve had for the last thirty years:

“Have a surplus? Try a tax cut.”

“Deficit too high? Try another.”

“Feel a cold coming on? Take two tax cuts, roll back some regulations, and call us in the morning!”

Now, I’ve cut taxes for those who need it – middle-class families and small businesses. But I don’t believe that another round of tax breaks for millionaires will bring good jobs to our shores, or pay down our deficit. I don’t believe that firing teachers or kicking students off financial aid will grow the economy, or help us compete with the scientists and engineers coming out of China. After all that we’ve been through, I don’t believe that rolling back regulations on Wall Street will help the small businesswoman expand, or the laid-off construction worker keep his home. We’ve been there, we’ve tried that, and we’re not going back. We’re moving forward.

I won’t pretend the path I’m offering is quick or easy. I never have. You didn’t elect me to tell you what you wanted to hear. You elected me to tell you the truth. And the truth is, it will take more than a few years for us to solve challenges that have built up over decades. It will require common effort, shared responsibility, and the kind of bold, persistent experimentation that Franklin Roosevelt pursued during the only crisis worse than this one. And by the way – those of us who carry on his party’s legacy should remember that not every problem can be remedied with another government program or dictate from Washington.

But know this, America: Our problems can be solved. Our challenges can be met. The path we offer may be harder, but it leads to a better place. And I’m asking you to choose that future. I’m asking you to rally around a set of goals for your country – goals in manufacturing, energy, education, national security, and the deficit; a real, achievable plan that will lead to new jobs, more opportunity, and rebuild this economy on a stronger foundation. That’s what we can do in the next four years, and that’s why I’m running for a second term as President of the United States.

We can choose a future where we export more products and outsource fewer jobs. After a decade that was defined by what we bought and borrowed, we’re getting back to basics, and doing what America has always done best:

We’re making things again.

I’ve met workers in Detroit and Toledo who feared they’d never build another American car. Today, they can’t build them fast enough, because we reinvented a dying auto industry that’s back on top of the world.

I’ve worked with business leaders who are bringing jobs back to America – not because our workers make less pay, but because we make better products. Because we work harder and smarter than anyone else.

I’ve signed trade agreements that are helping our companies sell more goods to millions of new customers – goods that are stamped with three proud words: Made in America.

After a decade of decline, this country created over half a million manufacturing jobs in the last two and a half years. And now you have a choice: we can give more tax breaks to corporations that ship jobs overseas, or we can start rewarding companies that open new plants and train new workers and create new jobs here, in the United States of America. We can help big factories and small businesses double their exports, and if we choose this path, we can create a million new manufacturing jobs in the next four years. You can make that happen. You can choose that future.

You can choose the path where we control more of our own energy. After thirty years of inaction, we raised fuel standards so that by the middle of the next decade, cars and trucks will go twice as far on a gallon of gas. We’ve doubled our use of renewable energy, and thousands of Americans have jobs today building wind turbines and long-lasting batteries. In the last year alone, we cut oil imports by one million barrels a day – more than any administration in recent history. And today, the United States of America is less dependent on foreign oil than at any time in nearly two decades.

Now you have a choice – between a strategy that reverses this progress, or one that builds on it. We’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration in the last three years, and we’ll open more. But unlike my opponent, I will not let oil companies write this country’s energy plan, or endanger our coastlines, or collect another $4 billion in corporate welfare from our taxpayers.

We’re offering a better path – a future where we keep investing in wind and solar and clean coal; where farmers and scientists harness new biofuels to power our cars and trucks; where construction workers build homes and factories that waste less energy; where we develop a hundred year supply of natural gas that’s right beneath our feet. If you choose this path, we can cut our oil imports in half by 2020 and support more than 600,000 new jobs in natural gas alone.

And yes, my plan will continue to reduce the carbon pollution that is heating our planet – because climate change is not a hoax. More droughts and floods and wildfires are not a joke. They’re a threat to our children’s future. And in this election, you can do something about it.

You can choose a future where more Americans have the chance to gain the skills they need to compete, no matter how old they are or how much money they have. Education was the gateway to opportunity for me. It was the gateway for Michelle. And now more than ever, it is the gateway to a middle-class life.

For the first time in a generation, nearly every state has answered our call to raise their standards for teaching and learning. Some of the worst schools in the country have made real gains in math and reading. Millions of students are paying less for college today because we finally took on a system that wasted billions of taxpayer dollars on banks and lenders.

And now you have a choice – we can gut education, or we can decide that in the United States of America, no child should have her dreams deferred because of a crowded classroom or a crumbling school. No family should have to set aside a college acceptance letter because they don’t have the money. No company should have to look for workers in China because they couldn’t find any with the right skills here at home.

Government has a role in this. But teachers must inspire; principals must lead; parents must instill a thirst for learning, and students, you’ve got to do the work. And together, I promise you – we can out-educate and out-compete any country on Earth. Help me recruit 100,000 math and science teachers in the next ten years, and improve early childhood education. Help give two million workers the chance to learn skills at their community college that will lead directly to a job. Help us work with colleges and universities to cut in half the growth of tuition costs over the next ten years. We can meet that goal together. You can choose that future for America.

In a world of new threats and new challenges, you can choose leadership that has been tested and proven. Four years ago, I promised to end the war in Iraq. We did. I promised to refocus on the terrorists who actually attacked us on 9/11. We have. We’ve blunted the Taliban’s momentum in Afghanistan, and in 2014, our longest war will be over. A new tower rises above the New York skyline, al Qaeda is on the path to defeat, and Osama bin Laden is dead.

Tonight, we pay tribute to the Americans who still serve in harm’s way. We are forever in debt to a generation whose sacrifice has made this country safer and more respected. We will never forget you. And so long as I’m Commander-in-Chief, we will sustain the strongest military the world has ever known. When you take off the uniform, we will serve you as well as you’ve served us – because no one who fights for this country should have to fight for a job, or a roof over their head, or the care that they need when they come home.

Around the world, we’ve strengthened old alliances and forged new coalitions to stop the spread of nuclear weapons. We’ve reasserted our power across the Pacific and stood up to China on behalf of our workers. From Burma to Libya to South Sudan, we have advanced the rights and dignity of all human beings – men and women; Christians and Muslims and Jews.

But for all the progress we’ve made, challenges remain. Terrorist plots must be disrupted. Europe’s crisis must be contained. Our commitment to Israel’s security must not waver, and neither must our pursuit of peace. The Iranian government must face a world that stays united against its nuclear ambitions. The historic change sweeping across the Arab World must be defined not by the iron fist of a dictator or the hate of extremists, but by the hopes and aspirations of ordinary people who are reaching for the same rights that we celebrate today.

So now we face a choice. My opponent and his running mate are new to foreign policy, but from all that we’ve seen and heard, they want to take us back to an era of blustering and blundering that cost America so dearly.

After all, you don’t call Russia our number one enemy – and not al Qaeda – unless you’re still stuck in a Cold War time warp. You might not be ready for diplomacy with Beijing if you can’t visit the Olympics without insulting our closest ally. My opponent said it was “tragic” to end the war in Iraq, and he won’t tell us how he’ll end the war in Afghanistan. I have, and I will. And while my opponent would spend more money on military hardware that our Joint Chiefs don’t even want, I’ll use the money we’re no longer spending on war to pay down our debt and put more people back to work – rebuilding roads and bridges; schools and runways. After two wars that have cost us thousands of lives and over a trillion dollars, it’s time to do some nation-building right here at home.

You can choose a future where we reduce our deficit without wrecking our middle class. Independent analysis shows that my plan would cut our deficits by $4 trillion. Last summer, I worked with Republicans in Congress to cut $1 trillion in spending – because those of us who believe government can be a force for good should work harder than anyone to reform it, so that it’s leaner, more efficient, and more responsive to the American people.

I want to reform the tax code so that it’s simple, fair, and asks the wealthiest households to pay higher taxes on incomes over $250,000 – the same rate we had when Bill Clinton was president; the same rate we had when our economy created nearly 23 million new jobs, the biggest surplus in history, and a lot of millionaires to boot.

Now, I’m still eager to reach an agreement based on the principles of my bipartisan debt commission. No party has a monopoly on wisdom. No democracy works without compromise. But when Governor Romney and his allies in Congress tell us we can somehow lower our deficit by spending trillions more on new tax breaks for the wealthy – well, you do the math. I refuse to go along with that. And as long as I’m President, I never will.

I refuse to ask middle class families to give up their deductions for owning a home or raising their kids just to pay for another millionaire’s tax cut. I refuse to ask students to pay more for college; or kick children out of Head Start programs, or eliminate health insurance for millions of Americans who are poor, elderly, or disabled – all so those with the most can pay less.

And I will never turn Medicare into a voucher. No American should ever have to spend their golden years at the mercy of insurance companies. They should retire with the care and dignity they have earned. Yes, we will reform and strengthen Medicare for the long haul, but we’ll do it by reducing the cost of health care – not by asking seniors to pay thousands of dollars more. And we will keep the promise of Social Security by taking the responsible steps to strengthen it – not by turning it over to Wall Street.

This is the choice we now face. This is what the election comes down to. Over and over, we have been told by our opponents that bigger tax cuts and fewer regulations are the only way; that since government can’t do everything, it should do almost nothing. If you can’t afford health insurance, hope that you don’t get sick. If a company releases toxic pollution into the air your children breathe, well, that’s just the price of progress. If you can’t afford to start a business or go to college, take my opponent’s advice and “borrow money from your parents.”

You know what? That’s not who we are. That’s not what this country’s about. As Americans, we believe we are endowed by our Creator with certain inalienable rights – rights that no man or government can take away. We insist on personal responsibility and we celebrate individual initiative. We’re not entitled to success. We have to earn it. We honor the strivers, the dreamers, the risk-takers who have always been the driving force behind our free enterprise system – the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world has ever known.

But we also believe in something called citizenship – a word at the very heart of our founding, at the very essence of our democracy; the idea that this country only works when we accept certain obligations to one another, and to future generations.

We believe that when a CEO pays his autoworkers enough to buy the cars that they build, the whole company does better.

We believe that when a family can no longer be tricked into signing a mortgage they can’t afford, that family is protected, but so is the value of other people’s homes, and so is the entire economy.

We believe that a little girl who’s offered an escape from poverty by a great teacher or a grant for college could become the founder of the next Google, or the scientist who cures cancer, or the President of the United States – and it’s in our power to give her that chance.

We know that churches and charities can often make more of a difference than a poverty program alone. We don’t want handouts for people who refuse to help themselves, and we don’t want bailouts for banks that break the rules. We don’t think government can solve all our problems. But we don’t think that government is the source of all our problems – any more than are welfare recipients, or corporations, or unions, or immigrants, or gays, or any other group we’re told to blame for our troubles.

Because we understand that this democracy is ours.

We, the People, recognize that we have responsibilities as well as rights; that our destinies are bound together; that a freedom which only asks what’s in it for me, a freedom without a commitment to others, a freedom without love or charity or duty or patriotism, is unworthy of our founding ideals, and those who died in their defense.

As citizens, we understand that America is not about what can be done for us. It’s about what can be done by us, together, through the hard and frustrating but necessary work of self-government.

So you see, the election four years ago wasn’t about me. It was about you. My fellow citizens – you were the change.

You’re the reason there’s a little girl with a heart disorder in Phoenix who’ll get the surgery she needs because an insurance company can’t limit her coverage. You did that.

You’re the reason a young man in Colorado who never thought he’d be able to afford his dream of earning a medical degree is about to get that chance. You made that possible.

You’re the reason a young immigrant who grew up here and went to school here and pledged allegiance to our flag will no longer be deported from the only country she’s ever called home; why selfless soldiers won’t be kicked out of the military because of who they are or who they love; why thousands of families have finally been able to say to the loved ones who served us so bravely: “Welcome home.”

If you turn away now – if you buy into the cynicism that the change we fought for isn’t possible…well, change will not happen. If you give up on the idea that your voice can make a difference, then other voices will fill the void: lobbyists and special interests; the people with the $10 million checks who are trying to buy this election and those who are making it harder for you to vote; Washington politicians who want to decide who you can marry, or control health care choices that women should make for themselves.

Only you can make sure that doesn’t happen. Only you have the power to move us forward.

I recognize that times have changed since I first spoke to this convention. The times have changed – and so have I.

I’m no longer just a candidate. I’m the President. I know what it means to send young Americans into battle, for I have held in my arms the mothers and fathers of those who didn’t return. I’ve shared the pain of families who’ve lost their homes, and the frustration of workers who’ve lost their jobs. If the critics are right that I’ve made all my decisions based on polls, then I must not be very good at reading them. And while I’m proud of what we’ve achieved together, I’m far more mindful of my own failings, knowing exactly what Lincoln meant when he said, “I have been driven to my knees many times by the overwhelming conviction that I had no place else to go.”

But as I stand here tonight, I have never been more hopeful about America. Not because I think I have all the answers. Not because I’m naïve about the magnitude of our challenges.

I’m hopeful because of you.

The young woman I met at a science fair who won national recognition for her biology research while living with her family at a homeless shelter – she gives me hope.

The auto worker who won the lottery after his plant almost closed, but kept coming to work every day, and bought flags for his whole town and one of the cars that he built to surprise his wife – he gives me hope.

The family business in Warroad, Minnesota that didn’t lay off a single one of their four thousand employees during this recession, even when their competitors shut down dozens of plants, even when it meant the owners gave up some perks and pay – because they understood their biggest asset was the community and the workers who helped build that business – they give me hope.

And I think about the young sailor I met at Walter Reed hospital, still recovering from a grenade attack that would cause him to have his leg amputated above the knee. Six months ago, I would watch him walk into a White House dinner honoring those who served in Iraq, tall and twenty pounds heavier, dashing in his uniform, with a big grin on his face; sturdy on his new leg. And I remember how a few months after that I would watch him on a bicycle, racing with his fellow wounded warriors on a sparkling spring day, inspiring other heroes who had just begun the hard path he had traveled.

He gives me hope.

I don’t know what party these men and women belong to. I don’t know if they’ll vote for me. But I know that their spirit defines us. They remind me, in the words of Scripture, that ours is a “future filled with hope.”

And if you share that faith with me – if you share that hope with me – I ask you tonight for your vote.

If you reject the notion that this nation’s promise is reserved for the few, your voice must be heard in this election.

If you reject the notion that our government is forever beholden to the highest bidder, you need to stand up in this election.

If you believe that new plants and factories can dot our landscape; that new energy can power our future; that new schools can provide ladders of opportunity to this nation of dreamers; if you believe in a country where everyone gets a fair shot, and everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same rules, then I need you to vote this November.

America, I never said this journey would be easy, and I won’t promise that now. Yes, our path is harder – but it leads to a better place. Yes our road is longer – but we travel it together. We don’t turn back. We leave no one behind. We pull each other up. We draw strength from our victories, and we learn from our mistakes, but we keep our eyes fixed on that distant horizon, knowing that Providence is with us, and that we are surely blessed to be citizens of the greatest nation on Earth.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless these United States.
Vice President Joe Biden's Full Remarks to the 2012 Democratic National Convention

Below are the full remarks of Vice President Joe Biden at the Democratic National Convention, as prepared for delivery:

My fellow Democrats, and my favorite Democrat.

Jilly, I want you to know that Beau, Hunt, Ashley, and I are so proud of you. We admire the way you treat every single student who walks into your classroom. You not only teach them. You give them confidence. And the passion you bring to easing the burden on the families of our warriors. They know you understand what they're going through. It makes a difference. And I'm grateful. So grateful that you said Yes on that fifth try.

And Beau, thank you for placing my name in nomination to be Vice President of the United States. I accept.

My fellow Americans, four years ago, a battered nation turned away from the failed policies of the past—and turned to a leader—who they knew, could lift our nation out of crisis. Our journey isn't finished. We still have more to do. But today, I say to you, my fellow citizens: In the face of the deepest economic crisis in our lifetimes-- this nation proved itself. We're as worthy as any generation that has gone before us. The same grit, the same determination, the same courage, that has always defined what it's meant to be an American—is in you.

We're on a mission to move this nation forward—from doubt and downturn, to promise and prosperity. A mission we will continue and a mission we will complete.

Folks, tonight, I want to tell you about Barack Obama. The Barack Obama I've come to know. I want to show you the character of a leader—who had what it took, when the American people stood at the brink of a new Depression. A leader who has what it takes to lead us over the next four years--to a future as great as our people.

I want to take you inside the White House to see the President, as I see him every day. Because I don't see him in sound bites. I walk down the hall, 30 steps to the Oval Office, and I see him in action.

Four years ago, middle class incomes were already falling. Then the bottom fell out. The financial crisis hit. You remember the headlines: "Markets Plummet Worldwide", "Highest Job Losses in 60 Years", and "Economy on the Brink"

From the moment President Obama sat behind the Resolute desk in the Oval Office, he knew he had to restore the confidence not only of the nation-- but the whole world. He knew, that one false move could bring a run on the banks, or a credit collapse, that could throw millions out of work. America and the world needed a strong president with a steady hand, with the judgment and vision to see us through.

Day after day, night after night, I sat beside him, as he made one gutsy decision after another--to stop the slide and reverse it. I watched him stand up to intense pressure and stare down choices of enormous consequence. Most of all, I saw what drove him: His profound concern for the American people.

He knew, that no matter how tough the decisions he had to make in the Oval Office were, families all over America had to make decisions every bit as tough for them—as they sat around their kitchen tables. Barack and I have been through a lot together. And we've learned a lot about each other. I learned of the enormity of his heart. And he learned of the depth of my loyalty. And there was another thing that bound us. We both had a pretty good idea what these families were going through--in part because our own families had gone through similar struggles.

Barack had to sit at the end of his mom's hospital bed and watch her fight cancer and fight her insurance companies at the same time. I was a kid, but I can remember the day that my dad sat at the end of my bed, and said, things are going to be tough for a while. I have to go to Delaware to get a new job. But it's going to be better for us. The rest of my life, my dad never failed to remind me--that a job is about a lot more than a paycheck. It's about dignity. It's about respect. It's about being able to look your children in the eye—and say honey, it's going to be okay, and believe it was going to be okay. When Barack and I were growing up, there was an implicit understanding. If you took responsibility, you'd get a fair shot at a better deal. The values behind that deal--were the values that shaped us both. And today, they are Barack's guiding star.

Folks, I've watched him. He never wavers. He steps up. He asks the same thing over and over again: How is this going to work for ordinary families? Will it help them? And because of the decisions he's made, and the strength the American people have demonstrated every day, America has turned the corner. After the worst job loss since the Great Depression, we've created 4.5 million private sector jobs in the past 29 months.

President Obama and Governor Romney are both loving husbands and devoted fathers. But they bring vastly different values and visions to the job. Tonight I'd like to focus on two crises--that show the character of the leadership each man will bring to the job. The first is the rescue of the automobile industry.

Let me tell you about how Barack saved more than 1 million American jobs. In our first days in office, General Motors and Chrysler were on the verge of liquidation. If the President didn't act immediately, there wouldn't be an industry left to save.

We listened to Senators, Congressmen, outside advisors, even some of our own advisors say--we shouldn't step in, the risks were too high, the outcome too uncertain. The President patiently listened. But he didn't see it their way. He understood something they didn't. He understood that this wasn't just about cars. It was about the Americans who built those cars and the America they built.

In those meetings, I often thought about my dad. My dad was an automobile man. He would have been one of those guys—all the way down the line—not in the factory—not along the supply chain—but one of those guys selling American cars to the American people. I thought about what this crisis would have meant for the mechanics, the secretaries, the sales people who he managed. And I know for certain, that if my dad were here today, he would be fighting for this President, who fought to save all those jobs, his job, and the jobs of all the people he cared about. He would respect Barack Obama for having the guts to stand up for the automobile industry, when others walked away.

When I look back now on the President's decision, I also think of another son of an automobile man--Mitt Romney. Mitt Romney grew up in Detroit. His father ran American Motors. Yet he was willing to let Detroit go bankrupt. It's not that he's a bad guy. I'm sure he grew up loving cars as much as I did. I just don't think he understood—I just don't think he understood what saving the automobile industry meant-to all of America. I think he saw it the Bain way. Balance sheets. Write-offs.

Folks, the Bain way may bring your firm the highest profit. But it's not the way to lead your country from its highest office.

When things hung in the balance, the President understood it was about a lot more than the automobile industry. It was about restoring America's pride. He knew what it would mean to leave 1 million people without hope or work if we didn't act. He knew the message it would have sent to the rest of the world if the United States of America gave up on the industry that helped put America on the map. Conviction. Resolve.

Barack Obama. This President has shown that same resolve, that same steady hand, in his role as Commander in Chief. Which brings me to the second crisis.

In 2008, Barack Obama made a promise to the American people. He said, "If we have Osama bin Laden in our sights, we will take him out. That has to be our biggest national security priority." Barack understood that the search for bin Laden was about a lot more than taking a monstrous leader off the battlefield. It was about righting an unspeakable wrong, healing a nearly unbearable wound in America's heart. He also knew the message we had to send to terrorists around the world—if you attack innocent Americans, we will follow you to the ends of the earth. Most of all, the President had faith in our special forces--the finest warriors the world has ever known.

We sat for days in the Situation Room. He listened to the risks and reservations about the raid. And he asked the tough questions. But when Admiral McRaven looked him in the eye and said-- "Sir, we can get this done," I knew at that moment Barack had made his decision. His response was decisive. He said do it. And justice was done.

But Governor Romney didn't see things that way. When he was asked about bin Laden in 2007, he said, and I quote, "it's not worth moving heaven and earth, and spending billions of dollars, just trying to catch one person."

He was wrong. If you understood that America's heart had to be healed, you would have done exactly what the President did. And you too would have moved heaven and earth--to hunt down bin Laden, and bring him to justice.

Four years ago, when my mom was still with us, sitting in the stadium in Denver, I quoted one of her favorite expressions. She used to say, Joey, bravery resides in every heart, and the time will come, when it must be summoned.

Ladies and Gentlemen, I'm here to tell you, bravery resides in the heart of Barack Obama. And time and time again, I witnessed him summon it. This man has courage in his soul, compassion in his heart, and steel in his spine. And because of all the actions he took, because of the calls he made--and because of the grit and determination of American workers--and the unparalled bravery of our special forces—we can now proudly say—Osama Bin Laden is dead, and General Motors is alive.

Folks, we know we have more work to do. We know we're not there yet. But not a day has gone by, in the last four years when I haven't been grateful that Barack Obama is our President. Because he has always had the courage to make the tough calls.

Speaking of tough calls, last week at their convention, our opponents pledged that they too had the courage to make tough calls. But in case you didn't notice, they didn't have the courage to tell you what calls they would make. They talked about how much they cared about Medicare. How much they wanted to preserve it. That's what they told you.

But what they didn't tell you, is that their plan would immediately cut benefits to more than 30 million seniors already on Medicare. What they didn't tell you is what they're proposing would cause Medicare to go bankrupt by 2016. And what they really didn't tell you is, they're not for preserving Medicare. They're for a whole new plan. They're for Vouchercare. That's not courage. That's not even truthful.

In Tampa, they talked with great urgency about the national debt. The need to act, to act now. But not once, not once, did they tell you they've rejected every plan put forward by us--by the bipartisan Simpson-Bowles Commission—by other respected outside groups—to reduce our national debt if it contained even one dollar—one cent—in new taxes for millionaires. That's not courage. And that's not fair.

Let's just say it straight: The two men seeking to lead this country over the next four years have fundamentally different visions, and a completely different value set.

Governor Romney believes that in the global economy, it doesn't much matter where American companies put their money or where they create jobs. As a matter of fact, he has a new tax proposal -- the territorial tax -- that experts say will create 800,000 jobs, all of them overseas.

I found it fascinating last week--when Governor Romney said, that as President, he'd take a jobs tour. Well with all his support for outsourcing, it's going to have to be a foreign trip. Look, President Obama knows that creating jobs in America--keeping jobs in America--and bringing jobs back to America--is what being President is all about. That's the President's job.

Governor Romney believes that it's okay to raise taxes on the middle class by $2,000 in order to pay for over a trillion dollars in tax cuts for the very wealthy. President Obama knows that there is nothing decent or fair about asking more of those with less--and less--of those with more.

Governor Romney believes that kids-the kids we call DREAMers—those immigrant children who were brought to America at a very young age, through no fault of their own—he thinks they're a drag on America.

President Obama believes that even though these DREAMERs—these kids—didn't choose to come to America-they've chosen to do right by America and we should do right by them. Governor Romney looks at the notion of equal pay for equal work in terms of a company's bottom line.

President Obama knows--that making sure our daughters are paid the same as our sons for the same job must be every father's bottom line. But I must tell you--one thing that perplexed me the most at their convention was this idea of a culture of dependency. They seem to think you create a culture of dependency when you provide a bright, qualified child from a working family a loan to get to college, or when you provide job training in a new industry, for a dad who lost his job, because it was outsourced.

Folks, that's not how we look at it. Americans have never looked at it that way. These men and women aren't looking for a handout. They're just looking for a chance to acquire the tools and the skills to provide for their families—so they can hold their heads high and lead independent lives with dignity. I told you the choice is stark. Two different visions. Two different value sets. And at its core, the difference is, we have incredible faith in the decency, and the hard work of the American people. And we know what has made this country great--its people.

As I mentioned at the outset folks--four years ago, Americans we were hit hard. You saw your retirement accounts drained, the equity in your homes vanish, and your jobs lost or on the line. But you did what Americans have always done. You didn't lose faith. You fought back. You didn't give up. You got up. You're the ones bringing America back. You're the reason why we're still better positioned-- than any country in the world--to lead the 21st century.

You never quit on America. And you deserve a President who will never quit on you. And one more thing that our opponents are dead wrong about: America is NOT in decline.

I've got news for Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan, it has never, never, ever, been a good bet to bet against the American people.

My fellow Americans, America is coming back and we're not going back! And we have no intention of downsizing the American Dream.

In a moment you're going to hear from a man, whose whole life is a testament to the power of that dream. And whose Presidency is the best hope to secure that dream, for our children.

We see a future where everyone rich or poor does their part and has a part.

A future where we depend more on clean energy from home and less on oil from abroad.

A future where we're #1 in the world again in college graduation.

A future where we promote the private sector, not the privileged sector.

And a future where women control their own choices, health, and destiny.

A future where no one—no one—is forced to live in the shadows of intolerance.

We see a future where America leads not only by the example of our power, but by the power of our example. Where we bring our troops home from Afghanistan, just as we brought them home from Iraq.

And a future where we fulfill the only truly, sacred obligation we have as a nation--to equip those we send to war and care for them when they come home from war.

Where we acknowledge the incredible debt we owe to the families of the 6,473 fallen angels and the 49,746 wounded. Thousands, critically wounded.

We must never forget their sacrifice and always keep them in our care and our prayers.

My fellow Americans, we now find ourselves at the hinge of history. And the direction we turn is in your hands. It has been an honor to serve you, and to serve with a President who has always stood up for you.

As I've said, I've seen him tested. I know his strength, his command, his faith.

I also know, the incredible confidence he has in all of you. I know this man. Yes, the work of recovery is not yet complete, but we are on our way.

The journey of hope is not yet finished, but we are on our way. The cause of change is not fully accomplished, but we are on our way. So I say to you tonight, with absolute confidence,
America's best days are ahead of us, and, yes, we are on our way.

In the light of that horizon, for the values that define us, for the ideas that inspire us, there is only one choice.

The choice is to move forward, boldly forward. Finish the job we started and re-elect President Barack Obama.

God bless you and may God protect our troops.

Source: Obama For America Website

Source: Obama For America Mitt Romney 2012 Mitt Romney 2012 August 30, 2012










MITT ROMNEY DELIVERS REMARKS TO THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

Boston, MA – Mitt Romney today delivered remarks to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. The following remarks were prepared for delivery:

Mr. Chairman, delegates. I accept your nomination for President of the United States of America.

I do so with humility, deeply moved by the trust you have placed in me. It is a great honor. It is an even greater responsibility.

Tonight I am asking you to join me to walk together to a better future. By my side, I have chosen a man with a big heart from a small town. He represents the best of America, a man who will always make us proud – my friend and America’s next Vice President, Paul Ryan.

In the days ahead, you will get to know Paul and Janna better. But last night America got to see what I saw in Paul Ryan – a strong and caring leader who is down to earth and confident in the challenge this moment demands.

I love the way he lights up around his kids and how he's not embarrassed to show the world how much he loves his mom.

But Paul, I still like the playlist on my iPod better than yours.

Four years ago, I know that many Americans felt a fresh excitement about the possibilities of a new president. That president was not the choice of our party but Americans always come together after elections. We are a good and generous people who are united by so much more than what divides us.

When that hard fought election was over, when the yard signs came down and the television commercials finally came off the air, Americans were eager to go back to work, to live our lives the way Americans always have – optimistic and positive and confident in the future.

That very optimism is uniquely American.

It is what brought us to America. We are a nation of immigrants. We are the children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren of the ones who wanted a better life, the driven ones, the ones who woke up at night hearing that voice telling them that life in that place called America could be better.

They came not just in pursuit of the riches of this world but for the richness of this life.

Freedom.

Freedom of religion.

Freedom to speak their mind.

Freedom to build a life.

And yes, freedom to build a business. With their own hands.

This is the essence of the American experience.

We Americans have always felt a special kinship with the future.

When every new wave of immigrants looked up and saw the Statue of Liberty, or knelt down and kissed the shores of freedom just ninety miles from Castro’s tyranny, these new Americans surely had many questions. But none doubted that here in America they could build a better life, that in America their children would be more blessed than they.

But today, four years from the excitement of the last election, for the first time, the majority of Americans now doubt that our children will have a better future.

It is not what we were promised.

Every family in America wanted this to be a time when they could get ahead a little more, put aside a little more for college, do more for their elderly mom who’s living alone now or give a little more to their church or charity.

Every small business wanted these to be their best years ever, when they could hire more, do more for those who had stuck with them through the hard times, open a new store or sponsor that Little League team.

Every new college graduate thought they'd have a good job by now, a place of their own, and that they could start paying back some of their loans and build for the future.

This is when our nation was supposed to start paying down the national debt and rolling back those massive deficits.

This was the hope and change America voted for.

It’s not just what we wanted. It’s not just what we expected.

It’s what Americans deserved.

You deserved it because during these years, you worked harder than ever before. You deserved it because when it cost more to fill up your car, you cut out movie nights and put in longer hours. Or when you lost that job that paid $22.50 an hour with benefits, you took two jobs at 9 bucks an hour and fewer benefits. You did it because your family depended on you. You did it because you’re an American and you don’t quit. You did it because it was what you had to do.

But driving home late from that second job, or standing there watching the gas pump hit 50 dollars and still going, when the realtor told you that to sell your house you’d have to take a big loss, in those moments you knew that this just wasn’t right.

But what could you do? Except work harder, do with less, try to stay optimistic. Hug your kids a little longer; maybe spend a little more time praying that tomorrow would be a better day.

I wish President Obama had succeeded because I want America to succeed. But his promises gave way to disappointment and division. This isn't something we have to accept. Now is the moment when we CAN do something. With your help we will do something.

Now is the moment when we can stand up and say, “I’m an American. I make my destiny. And we deserve better! My children deserve better! My family deserves better. My country deserves better!”

So here we stand. Americans have a choice. A decision.

To make that choice, you need to know more about me and about where I will lead our country.

I was born in the middle of the century in the middle of the country, a classic baby boomer. It was a time when Americans were returning from war and eager to work. To be an American was to assume that all things were possible. When President Kennedy challenged Americans to go to the moon, the question wasn’t whether we'd get there, it was only when we'd get there.

The soles of Neil Armstrong's boots on the moon made permanent impressions on OUR souls and in our national psyche. Ann and I watched those steps together on her parent's sofa. Like all Americans we went to bed that night knowing we lived in the greatest country in the history of the world.

God bless Neil Armstrong.

Tonight that American flag is still there on the moon. And I don't doubt for a second that Neil Armstrong's spirit is still with us: that unique blend of optimism, humility and the utter confidence that when the world needs someone to do the really big stuff, you need an American.

That's how I was brought up.

My dad had been born in Mexico and his family had to leave during the Mexican revolution. I grew up with stories of his family being fed by the US Government as war refugees. My dad never made it through college and apprenticed as a lath and plaster carpenter. And he had big dreams. He convinced my mom, a beautiful young actress, to give up Hollywood to marry him. He moved to Detroit, led a great automobile company and became Governor of the Great State of Michigan.

We were Mormons and growing up in Michigan; that might have seemed unusual or out of place but I really don’t remember it that way. My friends cared more about what sports teams we followed than what church we went to.

My mom and dad gave their kids the greatest gift of all – the gift of unconditional love. They cared deeply about who we would BE, and much less about what we would DO.

Unconditional love is a gift that Ann and I have tried to pass on to our sons and now to our grandchildren. All the laws and legislation in the world will never heal this world like the loving hearts and arms of mothers and fathers. If every child could drift to sleep feeling wrapped in the love of their family – and God’s love -- this world would be a far more gentle and better place.

Mom and Dad were married 64 years. And if you wondered what their secret was, you could have asked the local florist – because every day Dad gave Mom a rose, which he put on her bedside table. That's how she found out what happened on the day my father died – she went looking for him because that morning, there was no rose.

My mom and dad were true partners, a life lesson that shaped me by everyday example. When my mom ran for the Senate, my dad was there for her every step of the way. I can still hear her saying in her beautiful voice, “Why should women have any less say than men, about the great decisions facing our nation?”

I wish she could have been here at the convention and heard leaders like Governor Mary Fallin, Governor Nikki Haley, Governor Susana Martinez, Senator Kelly Ayotte and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

As Governor of Massachusetts, I chose a woman Lt. Governor, a woman chief of staff, half of my cabinet and senior officials were women, and in business, I mentored and supported great women leaders who went on to run great companies.

I grew up in Detroit in love with cars and wanted to be a car guy, like my dad. But by the time I was out of school, I realized that I had to go out on my own, that if I stayed around Michigan in the same business, I’d never really know if I was getting a break because of my dad. I wanted to go someplace new and prove myself.

Those weren’t the easiest of days – too many long hours and weekends working, five young sons who seemed to have this need to re-enact a different world war every night. But if you ask Ann and I what we’d give, to break up just one more fight between the boys, or wake up in the morning and discover a pile of kids asleep in our room. Well, every mom and dad knows the answer to that.

Those days were toughest on Ann, of course. She was heroic. Five boys, with our families a long way away. I had to travel a lot for my job then and I’d call and try to offer support. But every mom knows that doesn't help get the homework done or the kids out the door to school.

I knew that her job as a mom was harder than mine. And I knew without question, that her job as a mom was a lot more important than mine. And as America saw Tuesday night, Ann would have succeeded at anything she wanted to.

Like a lot of families in a new place with no family, we found kinship with a wide circle of friends through our church. When we were new to the community it was welcoming and as the years went by, it was a joy to help others who had just moved to town or just joined our church. We had remarkably vibrant and diverse congregants from all walks of life and many who were new to America. We prayed together, our kids played together and we always stood ready to help each other out in different ways.

And that’s how it is in America. We look to our communities, our faiths, our families for our joy, our support, in good times and bad. It is both how we live our lives and why we live our lives. The strength and power and goodness of America has always been based on the strength and power and goodness of our communities, our families, our faiths.

That is the bedrock of what makes America, America. In our best days, we can feel the vibrancy of America’s communities, large and small.

It’s when we see that new business opening up downtown. It’s when we go to work in the morning and see everybody else on our block doing the same.

It’s when our son or daughter calls from college to talk about which job offer they should take….and you try not to choke up when you hear that the one they like is not far from home.

It’s that good feeling when you have more time to volunteer to coach your kid’s soccer team, or help out on school trips.

But for too many Americans, these good days are harder to come by. How many days have you woken up feeling that something really special was happening in America?

Many of you felt that way on Election Day four years ago. Hope and Change had a powerful appeal. But tonight I'd ask a simple question: If you felt that excitement when you voted for Barack Obama, shouldn’t you feel that way now that he’s President Obama? You know there’s something wrong with the kind of job he’s done as president when the best feeling you had was the day you voted for him.

The President hasn’t disappointed you because he wanted to. The President has disappointed America because he hasn’t led America in the right direction. He took office without the basic qualification that most Americans have and one that was essential to his task. He had almost no experience working in a business. Jobs to him are about government.

I learned the real lessons about how America works from experience.

When I was 37, I helped start a small company. My partners and I had been working for a company that was in the business of helping other businesses.

So some of us had this idea that if we really believed our advice was helping companies, we should invest in companies. We should bet on ourselves and on our advice.

So we started a new business called Bain Capital. The only problem was, while WE believed in ourselves, nobody else did. We were young and had never done this before and we almost didn’t get off the ground. In those days, sometimes I wondered if I had made a really big mistake. I had thought about asking my church’s pension fund to invest, but I didn't. I figured it was bad enough that I might lose my investors’ money, but I didn’t want to go to hell too. Shows what I know. Another of my partners got the Episcopal Church pension fund to invest. Today there are a lot of happy retired priests who should thank him.

That business we started with 10 people has now grown into a great American success story. Some of the companies we helped start are names you know. An office supply company called Staples – where I'm pleased to see the Obama campaign has been shopping; The Sports Authority, which became a favorite of my sons. We started an early childhood learning center called Bright Horizons that First Lady Michelle Obama rightly praised. At a time when nobody thought we'd ever see a new steel mill built in America, we took a chance and built one in a corn field in Indiana. Today Steel Dynamics is one of the largest steel producers in the United States.

These are American success stories. And yet the centerpiece of the President’s entire re-election campaign is attacking success. Is it any wonder that someone who attacks success has led the worst economic recovery since the Great Depression? In America, we celebrate success, we don't apologize for it.

We weren’t always successful at Bain. But no one ever is in the real world of business.

That’s what this President doesn’t seem to understand. Business and growing jobs is about taking risk, sometimes failing, sometimes succeeding, but always striving. It is about dreams. Usually, it doesn't work out exactly as you might have imagined. Steve Jobs was fired at Apple. He came back and changed the world.

It’s the genius of the American free enterprise system – to harness the extraordinary creativity and talent and industry of the American people with a system that is dedicated to creating tomorrow’s prosperity rather than trying to redistribute today's.

That is why every president since the Great Depression who came before the American people asking for a second term could look back at the last four years and say with satisfaction: "you are better off today than you were four years ago."

Except Jimmy Carter. And except this president.

This president can ask us to be patient.

This president can tell us it was someone else’s fault.

This president can tell us that the next four years he’ll get it right.

But this president cannot tell us that YOU are better off today than when he took office.

America has been patient. Americans have supported this president in good faith.

But today, the time has come to turn the page.

Today the time has come for us to put the disappointments of the last four years behind us.

To put aside the divisiveness and the recriminations.

To forget about what might have been and to look ahead to what can be.

Now is the time to restore the Promise of America. Many Americans have given up on this president but they haven’t ever thought about giving up. Not on themselves. Not on each other. And not on America.

What is needed in our country today is not complicated or profound. It doesn't take a special government commission to tell us what America needs.

What America needs is jobs.

Lots of jobs.

In the richest country in the history of the world, this Obama economy has crushed the middle class. Family income has fallen by $4,000, but health insurance premiums are higher, food prices are higher, utility bills are higher, and gasoline prices have doubled. Today more Americans wake up in poverty than ever before. Nearly one out of six Americans is living in poverty. Look around you. These are not strangers. These are our brothers and sisters, our fellow Americans.

His policies have not helped create jobs, they have depressed them. And this I can tell you about where President Obama would take America:

His plan to raise taxes on small business won't add jobs, it will eliminate them;

His assault on coal and gas and oil will send energy and manufacturing jobs to China;

His trillion dollar cuts to our military will eliminate hundreds of thousands of jobs, and also put our security at greater risk;

His $716 billion cut to Medicare to finance Obamacare will both hurt today's seniors, and depress innovation – and jobs – in medicine.

And his trillion-dollar deficits will slow our economy, restrain employment, and cause wages to stall.

To the majority of Americans who now believe that the future will not be better than the past, I can guarantee you this: if Barack Obama is re-elected, you will be right.

I am running for president to help create a better future. A future where everyone who wants a job can find one. Where no senior fears for the security of their retirement. An America where every parent knows that their child will get an education that leads them to a good job and a bright horizon.

And unlike the President, I have a plan to create 12 million new jobs. It has 5 steps.

First, by 2020, North America will be energy independent by taking full advantage of our oil and coal and gas and nuclear and renewables.

Second, we will give our fellow citizens the skills they need for the jobs of today and the careers of tomorrow. When it comes to the school your child will attend, every parent should have a choice, and every child should have a chance.

Third, we will make trade work for America by forging new trade agreements. And when nations cheat in trade, there will be unmistakable consequences.

Fourth, to assure every entrepreneur and every job creator that their investments in America will not vanish as have those in Greece, we will cut the deficit and put America on track to a balanced budget.

And fifth, we will champion SMALL businesses, America’s engine of job growth. That means reducing taxes on business, not raising them. It means simplifying and modernizing the regulations that hurt small business the most. And it means that we must rein in the skyrocketing cost of healthcare by repealing and replacing Obamacare.

Today, women are more likely than men to start a business. They need a president who respects and understands what they do.

And let me make this very clear – unlike President Obama, I will not raise taxes on the middle class.

As president, I will protect the sanctity of life. I will honor the institution of marriage. And I will guarantee America's first liberty: the freedom of religion.

President Obama promised to begin to slow the rise of the oceans and heal the planet. MY promise...is to help you and your family.

I will begin my presidency with a jobs tour. President Obama began with an apology tour. America, he said, had dictated to other nations. No Mr. President, America has freed other nations from dictators.

Every American was relieved the day President Obama gave the order, and Seal Team Six took out Osama bin Laden. But on another front, every American is less secure today because he has failed to slow Iran's nuclear threat.

In his first TV interview as president, he said we should talk to Iran. We're still talking, and Iran’s centrifuges are still spinning.

President Obama has thrown allies like Israel under the bus, even as he has relaxed sanctions on Castro's Cuba. He abandoned our friends in Poland by walking away from our missile defense commitments, but is eager to give Russia's President Putin the flexibility he desires, after the election. Under my administration, our friends will see more loyalty, and Mr. Putin will see a little less flexibility and more backbone.

We will honor America’s democratic ideals because a free world is a more peaceful world. This is the bipartisan foreign policy legacy of Truman and Reagan. And under my presidency we will return to it once again.

You might have asked yourself if these last years are really the America we want, the America won for us by the greatest generation.

Does the America we want borrow a trillion dollars from China? No.

Does it fail to find the jobs that are needed for 23 million people and for half the kids graduating from college? No.

Are its schools lagging behind the rest of the developed world? No.

And does the America we want succumb to resentment and division? We know the answer.

The America we all know has been a story of the many becoming one, uniting to preserve liberty, uniting to build the greatest economy in the world, uniting to save the world from unspeakable darkness.

Everywhere I go in America, there are monuments that list those who have given their lives for America. There is no mention of their race, their party affiliation, or what they did for a living. They lived and died under a single flag, fighting for a single purpose. They pledged allegiance to the UNITED States of America.

That America, that united America, can unleash an economy that will put Americans back to work, that will once again lead the world with innovation and productivity, and that will restore every father and mother's confidence that their children's future is brighter even than the past.

That America, that united America, will preserve a military that is so strong, no nation would ever dare to test it.

That America, that united America, will uphold the constellation of rights that were endowed by our Creator, and codified in our Constitution.

That united America will care for the poor and the sick, will honor and respect the elderly, and will give a helping hand to those in need.

That America is the best within each of us. That America we want for our children.

If I am elected President of these United States, I will work with all my energy and soul to restore that America, to lift our eyes to a better future. That future is our destiny. That future is out there. It is waiting for us. Our children deserve it, our nation depends upon it, the peace and freedom of the world require it. And with your help we will deliver it. Let us begin that future together tonight.

PAUL RYAN DELIVERS REMARKS TO THE REPUBLICAN NATIONAL CONVENTION

Boston, MA – Paul Ryan today delivered remarks to the Republican National Convention in Tampa, Florida. The following remarks were prepared for delivery:

Mr. Chairman, delegates, and fellow citizens: I am honored by the support of this convention for vice president of the United States.

I accept the duty to help lead our nation out of a jobs crisis and back to prosperity – and I know we can do this.

I accept the calling of my generation to give our children the America that was given to us, with opportunity for the young and security for the old – and I know that we are ready.

Our nominee is sure ready. His whole life has prepared him for this moment – to meet serious challenges in a serious way, without excuses and idle words. After four years of getting the run-around, America needs a turnaround, and the man for the job is Governor Mitt Romney.

I’m the newcomer to the campaign, so let me share a first impression. I have never seen opponents so silent about their record, and so desperate to keep their power.

They’ve run out of ideas. Their moment came and went. Fear and division are all they’ve got left.

With all their attack ads, the president is just throwing away money – and he’s pretty experienced at that. You see, some people can’t be dragged down by the usual cheap tactics, because their ability, character, and plain decency are so obvious – and ladies and gentlemen, that is Mitt Romney.

For my part, your nomination is an unexpected turn. It certainly came as news to my family, and I’d like you to meet them: My wife Janna, our daughter Liza, and our boys Charlie and Sam.

The kids are happy to see their grandma, who lives in Florida. There she is – my Mom, Betty.

My Dad, a small-town lawyer, was also named Paul. Until we lost him when I was 16, he was a gentle presence in my life. I like to think he’d be proud of me and my sister and brothers, because I’m sure proud of him and of where I come from, Janesville, Wisconsin.

I live on the same block where I grew up. We belong to the same parish where I was baptized. Janesville is that kind of place.

The people of Wisconsin have been good to me. I’ve tried to live up to their trust. And now I ask those hardworking men and women, and millions like them across America, to join our cause and get this country working again.

When Governor Romney asked me to join the ticket, I said, “Let’s get this done” – and that is exactly, what we’re going to do.

President Barack Obama came to office during an economic crisis, as he has reminded us a time or two. Those were very tough days, and any fair measure of his record has to take that into account. My home state voted for President Obama. When he talked about change, many people liked the sound of it, especially in Janesville, where we were about to lose a major factory.

A lot of guys I went to high school with worked at that GM plant. Right there at that plant, candidate Obama said: “I believe that if our government is there to support you … this plant will be here for another hundred years.” That’s what he said in 2008.

Well, as it turned out, that plant didn’t last another year. It is locked up and empty to this day. And that’s how it is in so many towns today, where the recovery that was promised is nowhere in sight.

Right now, 23 million men and women are struggling to find work. Twenty-three million people, unemployed or underemployed. Nearly one in six Americans is living in poverty. Millions of young Americans have graduated from college during the Obama presidency, ready to use their gifts and get moving in life. Half of them can’t find the work they studied for, or any work at all.

So here’s the question: Without a change in leadership, why would the next four years be any different from the last four years?

The first troubling sign came with the stimulus. It was President Obama’s first and best shot at fixing the economy, at a time when he got everything he wanted under one-party rule. It cost $831 billion – the largest one-time expenditure ever by our federal government.

It went to companies like Solyndra, with their gold-plated connections, subsidized jobs, and make-believe markets. The stimulus was a case of political patronage, corporate welfare, and cronyism at their worst. You, the working men and women of this country, were cut out of the deal.

What did the taxpayers get out of the Obama stimulus? More debt. That money wasn’t just spent and wasted – it was borrowed, spent, and wasted.

Maybe the greatest waste of all was time. Here we were, faced with a massive job crisis – so deep that if everyone out of work stood in single file, that unemployment line would stretch the length of the entire American continent. You would think that any president, whatever his party, would make job creation, and nothing else, his first order of economic business.

But this president didn’t do that. Instead, we got a long, divisive, all-or-nothing attempt to put the federal government in charge of health care.

Obamacare comes to more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country.

The president has declared that the debate over government-controlled health care is over. That will come as news to the millions of Americans who will elect Mitt Romney so we can repeal Obamacare.

And the biggest, coldest power play of all in Obamacare came at the expense of the elderly.

You see, even with all the hidden taxes to pay for the health care takeover, even with new taxes on nearly a million small businesses, the planners in Washington still didn’t have enough money. They needed more. They needed hundreds of billions more. So, they just took it all away from Medicare. Seven hundred and sixteen billion dollars, funneled out of Medicare by President Obama. An obligation we have to our parents and grandparents is being sacrificed, all to pay for a new entitlement we didn’t even ask for. The greatest threat to Medicare is Obamacare, and we’re going to stop it.

In Congress, when they take out the heavy books and wall charts about Medicare, my thoughts go back to a house on Garfield Street in Janesville. My wonderful grandma, Janet, had Alzheimer’s and moved in with Mom and me. Though she felt lost at times, we did all the little things that made her feel loved.

We had help from Medicare, and it was there, just like it’s there for my Mom today. Medicare is a promise, and we will honor it. A Romney-Ryan administration will protect and strengthen Medicare, for my Mom’s generation, for my generation, and for my kids and yours.

So our opponents can consider themselves on notice. In this election, on this issue, the usual posturing on the Left isn’t going to work. Mitt Romney and I know the difference between protecting a program, and raiding it. Ladies and gentlemen, our nation needs this debate. We want this debate. We will win this debate.

Obamacare, as much as anything else, explains why a presidency that began with such anticipation now comes to such a disappointing close.

It began with a financial crisis; it ends with a job crisis.

It began with a housing crisis they alone didn’t cause; it ends with a housing crisis they didn’t correct.

It began with a perfect Triple-A credit rating for the United States; it ends with a downgraded America.

It all started off with stirring speeches, Greek columns, the thrill of something new. Now all that’s left is a presidency adrift, surviving on slogans that already seem tired, grasping at a moment that has already passed, like a ship trying to sail on yesterday’s wind.

President Obama was asked not long ago to reflect on any mistakes he might have made. He said, well, “I haven’t communicated enough.” He said his job is to “tell a story to the American people” – as if that’s the whole problem here? He needs to talk more, and we need to be better listeners?

Ladies and gentlemen, these past four years we have suffered no shortage of words in the White House. What’s missing is leadership in the White House. And the story that Barack Obama does tell, forever shifting blame to the last administration, is getting old. The man assumed office almost four years ago – isn’t it about time he assumed responsibility?

In this generation, a defining responsibility of government is to steer our nation clear of a debt crisis while there is still time. Back in 2008, candidate Obama called a $10 trillion national debt “unpatriotic” – serious talk from what looked to be a serious reformer.

Yet by his own decisions, President Obama has added more debt than any other president before him, and more than all the troubled governments of Europe combined. One president, one term, $5 trillion in new debt.

He created a bipartisan debt commission. They came back with an urgent report. He thanked them, sent them on their way, and then did exactly nothing.

Republicans stepped up with good-faith reforms and solutions equal to the problems. How did the president respond? By doing nothing – nothing except to dodge and demagogue the issue.

So here we are, $16 trillion in debt and still he does nothing. In Europe, massive debts have put entire governments at risk of collapse, and still he does nothing. And all we have heard from this president and his team are attacks on anyone who dares to point out the obvious.

They have no answer to this simple reality: We need to stop spending money we don’t have.

My Dad used to say to me: “Son. You have a choice: You can be part of the problem, or you can be part of the solution.” The present administration has made its choices. And Mitt Romney and I have made ours: Before the math and the momentum overwhelm us all, we are going to solve this nation’s economic problems.

And I’m going to level with you: We don’t have that much time. But if we are serious, and smart, and we lead, we can do this.

After four years of government trying to divide up the wealth, we will get America creating wealth again. With tax fairness and regulatory reform, we’ll put government back on the side of the men and women who create jobs, and the men and women who need jobs.

My Mom started a small business, and I’ve seen what it takes. Mom was 50 when my Dad died. She got on a bus every weekday for years, and rode 40 miles each morning to Madison. She earned a new degree and learned new skills to start her small business. It wasn’t just a new livelihood. It was a new life. And it transformed my Mom from a widow in grief to a small businesswoman whose happiness wasn’t just in the past. Her work gave her hope. It made our family proud. And to this day, my Mom is my role model.

Behind every small business, there’s a story worth knowing. All the corner shops in our towns and cities, the restaurants, cleaners, gyms, hair salons, hardware stores – these didn’t come out of nowhere. A lot of heart goes into each one. And if small businesspeople say they made it on their own, all they are saying is that nobody else worked seven days a week in their place. Nobody showed up in their place to open the door at five in the morning. Nobody did their thinking, and worrying, and sweating for them. After all that work, and in a bad economy, it sure doesn’t help to hear from their president that government gets the credit. What they deserve to hear is the truth: Yes, you did build that.

We have a plan for a stronger middle class, with the goal of generating 12 million new jobs over the next four years.

In a clean break from the Obama years, and frankly from the years before this president, we will keep federal spending at 20 percent of GDP, or less. That is enough. The choice is whether to put hard limits on economic growth, or hard limits on the size of government, and we choose to limit government.

I learned a good deal about economics, and about America, from the author of the Reagan tax reforms – the great Jack Kemp. What gave Jack that incredible enthusiasm was his belief in the possibilities of free people, in the power of free enterprise and strong communities to overcome poverty and despair. We need that same optimism right now.

And in our dealings with other nations, a Romney-Ryan administration will speak with confidence and clarity. Wherever men and women rise up for their own freedom, they will know that the American president is on their side. Instead of managing American decline, leaving allies to doubt us and adversaries to test us, we will act in the conviction that the United States is still the greatest force for peace and liberty that this world has ever known.

President Obama is the kind of politician who puts promises on the record, and then calls that the record. But we are four years into this presidency. The issue is not the economy as Barack Obama inherited it, not the economy as he envisions it, but this economy as we are living it.

College graduates should not have to live out their 20s in their childhood bedrooms, staring up at fading Obama posters and wondering when they can move out and get going with life. Everyone who feels stuck in the Obama economy is right to focus on the here and now. And I hope you understand this too, if you’re feeling left out or passed by: You have not failed, your leaders have failed you.

None of us have to settle for the best this administration offers – a dull, adventureless journey from one entitlement to the next, a government-planned life, a country where everything is free but us.

Listen to the way we’re spoken to already, as if everyone is stuck in some class or station in life, victims of circumstances beyond our control, with government there to help us cope with our fate.

It’s the exact opposite of everything I learned growing up in Wisconsin, or at college in Ohio. When I was waiting tables, washing dishes, or mowing lawns for money, I never thought of myself as stuck in some station in life. I was on my own path, my own journey, an American journey where I could think for myself, decide for myself, define happiness for myself. That’s what we do in this country. That’s the American Dream. That’s freedom, and I’ll take it any day over the supervision and sanctimony of the central planners.

By themselves, the failures of one administration are not a mandate for a new administration. A challenger must stand on his own merits. He must be ready and worthy to serve in the office of president.

We’re a full generation apart, Governor Romney and I. And, in some ways, we’re a little different. There are the songs on his iPod, which I’ve heard on the campaign bus and on many hotel elevators. He actually urged me to play some of these songs at campaign rallies. I said, I hope it’s not a deal-breaker Mitt, but my playlist starts with AC/DC, and ends with Zeppelin.

A generation apart. That makes us different, but not in any of the things that matter. Mitt Romney and I both grew up in the heartland, and we know what places like Wisconsin and Michigan look like when times are good, when people are working, when families are doing more than just getting by. And we both know it can be that way again.

We’ve had very different careers – mine mainly in public service, his mostly in the private sector. He helped start businesses and turn around failing ones. By the way, being successful in business – that’s a good thing.

Mitt has not only succeeded, but succeeded where others could not. He turned around the Olympics at a time when a great institution was collapsing under the weight of bad management, overspending, and corruption – sounds familiar, doesn’t it?

He was the Republican governor of a state where almost nine in ten legislators are Democrats, and yet he balanced the budget without raising taxes. Unemployment went down, household incomes went up, and Massachusetts, under Mitt Romney, saw its credit rating upgraded.

Mitt and I also go to different churches. But in any church, the best kind of preaching is done by example. And I’ve been watching that example. The man who will accept your nomination tomorrow is prayerful and faithful and honorable. Not only a defender of marriage, he offers an example of marriage at its best. Not only a fine businessman, he’s a fine man, worthy of leading this optimistic and good-hearted country.

Our different faiths come together in the same moral creed. We believe that in every life there is goodness; for every person, there is hope. Each one of us was made for a reason, bearing the image and likeness of the Lord of Life.

We have responsibilities, one to another – we do not each face the world alone. And the greatest of all responsibilities, is that of the strong to protect the weak. The truest measure of any society is how it treats those who cannot defend or care for themselves.

Each of these great moral ideas is essential to democratic government – to the rule of law, to life in a humane and decent society. They are the moral creed of our country, as powerful in our time, as on the day of America’s founding. They are self-evident and unchanging, and sometimes, even presidents need reminding, that our rights come from nature and God, not from government.

The founding generation secured those rights for us, and in every generation since, the best among us have defended our freedoms. They are protecting us right now. We honor them and all our veterans, and we thank them.

The right that makes all the difference now, is the right to choose our own leaders. And you are entitled to the clearest possible choice, because the time for choosing is drawing near. So here is our pledge.

We will not duck the tough issues, we will lead.

We will not spend four years blaming others, we will take responsibility.

We will not try to replace our founding principles, we will reapply our founding principles.

The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this. Together, we can do this.

We can get this country working again. We can get this economy growing again. We can make the safety net safe again. We can do this.

Whatever your political party, let’s come together for the sake of our country. Join Mitt Romney and me. Let’s give this effort everything we have. Let’s see this through all the way. Let’s get this done.

Thank you, and God bless.

Source: Mitt Romney 2012 Presidential Campaign Committee Website Gary Johnson 2012 Gary Johnson 2012 May 5, 2012










GOV. GARY JOHNSON WINS LIBERTARIAN PARTY NOMINATION

Pledges to Offer a Real Choice in November

May 5, 2012, Las Vegas NV – Gaining more than 70% of the vote on the first ballot, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson Saturday earned the Libertarian Party nomination for President of the United States. As the Libertarian nominee, Johnson is expected to be on the ballot in all 50 states.

Accepting the nomination, Johnson said, “Millions of Americans want and deserve the opportunity to vote for a candidate in November who will get us out of the war in Afghanistan immediately, truly cut federal spending, end the failed war on drugs, repeal the Patriot Act, and support marriage equality. I am excited to offer that option: A proven fiscal conservative, a proven defender of civil liberties, and an advocate for social tolerance."

Jim Gray, retired Judge of the California Superior Court, was nominated as the party's candidate for Vice-President. Gary was endorsed by Governor Johnson.

The Libertarian National convention is being held in Las Vegas, NV, and concludes Sunday, May 6.

Libertarian Party Nominates Gary Johnson for President
by Staff on May 5, 2012 in Features, News
For Immediate Release Saturday, May 5, 2012

Libertarian Party Nominates Gary Johnson for President

LAS VEGAS – The Libertarian Party nominated former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson for President of the United States, expressing confidence he will be able to find effective small-government solutions to the country’s most pressing problems and mount a strong challenge to his major party rivals.

Mr. Johnson was declared the party’s Presidential nominee after he won 70% percent of the vote in the first round of balloting, receiving 419 of the 595 votes cast.

His closest challenger, R. Lee Wrights of Texas, finished second with 152 votes.

In his acceptance speech, Mr. Johnson promised to present a clear and viable alternative to major party candidates, saying his victory in November will offer Americans effective solutions to slow economic growth, high unemployment and endless foreign military commitments that sap the country’s financial strengths. America, for the first time in modern history, is poised to reject the tired two-party duopoly that has brought the nation to its knees economically.

‘I am honored and I just want to pledge that no one will be disappointed. We’re going to grow the Libertarian Party.’ said Mr. Johnson.

A successful businessman who lives in Taos, NM. Mr. Johnson is known as an unwavering crusader for fiscal responsibility, free enterprise and individual freedoms. During his gubernatorial tenure, he used his veto pen more than 750 times to forestall attempts to grow government and put an end to wasteful government projects. He cut taxes 14 while maintaining New Mexico as one of only four states in the country with a balanced budget. The state boasted a $1 billion budget surplus when Mr. Johnson left office in 2003.

The nominee’s biography can be found at garyjohnson2012.com/about

Mr. Johnson’s running mate will be chosen later today and can be watched live on C-Span. If no candidate for Vice President attains a majority on the first ballot, the candidate finishing last will be eliminated from the race. In addition, any candidate polling less than 5 percent will also be eliminated from the subsequent ballot. A candidate securing a majority of convention delegates will be the Vice Presidential nominee.

‘I am convinced that Gary Johnson will be an exceptional candidate, and a very successful President,’ said Mark Hinkle, Libertarian Party Chair. ‘We have an impressive roster of talent this year to challenge our Big Government opponents not only in the race for the White House, but also in state and local races. The major parties offer Americans only one solution: Bigger government. Libertarians will show voters how we can make government small while dramatically increasing jobs, lowering taxes, and scaling back government debt.’

Yesterday the convention approved a new party platform, which leaves unchanged the fundamental tenants of the Libertarian Party: Individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make. Changes adopted by party delegates were generally ones that improve the wording or clarity of the party’s intent to advance liberty and shrink Big Government. One significant change adopted was to add ballot initiatives to the party’s mission.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States, which is active in all 50 states and has more than 250,000 registered voters.

Libertarians call for ending government interference in personal, family and business decisions, much lower government spending, repeal of dangerous and unnecessary regulations, lower taxes, a currency free of government manipulation, free trade, and a peaceful, non-interventionist foreign policy.

Millions of Americans have voted for Libertarian Party candidates in past elections throughout the country, despite the fact that many state governments place roadblocks in order to keep third party candidates off the ballot and deprive voters of a real choice.

Libertarian Party Nominates Judge James P. Gray for Vice President
by Staff on May 5, 2012 in Features, News
For Immediate Release Saturday, May 5, 2012

Libertarian Party Nominates Judge James P. Gray for Vice President

LAS VEGAS – The Libertarian Party on Saturday nominated Judge James P. Gray of California for Vice President of the United States, giving him a chance to take his agenda of downsizing the federal government and marijuana decriminalization to Washington.

Jim Gray was declared the party’s Vice Presidential nominee after he won 59 percent of the vote in the first round of balloting. He received 357 votes from the 600 delegates of the National Libertarian Convention held at the Red Rock Resort in Las Vegas, Nev.

His closest challenger, Lee Wrights of Texas, finished second with 229 votes.

‘I am proud. I am invigorated. I am excited. With Gov. Gary Johnson. I am determined to bring back prosperity and liberty to the United States of America.’ Judge Gray said.

A successful jurist who lives in Newport Beach, Calif. and presided over the Superior Court of Orange County, Judge Gray has been active in the Libertarian Party for several decades.

He was the 2004 Libertarian Party candidate for the U.S. Senate in California challenging incumbent U.S. Senator Barbara Boxer. He is also the chief proponent of a California ballot initiative called ‘Regulate Marijuana Like Wine’ that, if passed, would decriminalize cannabis consumption and production.

Judge Gray will form a Libertarian Party ticket with Gov. Gary Johnson, who won the party’s Presidential nomination earlier Saturday.

The delegates also gave a long and heartfelt standing ovation to runner up Lee Wrights.

‘I’m not going anywhere,’ said Wrights. ‘This is my home.’

R. Lee Wrights is a long-time Libertarian Party activist, writer and publisher of LibertyForAll.net.

‘I am convinced that Jim Gray will be an exceptional candidate, and a very successful Vice President,’ said Mark Hinkle, Libertarian Party Chair. ‘We have an impressive roster of talent this year to challenge our Big Government opponents not only in the race for the White House, but also in state and local races. The major parties offer Americans only one solution: Bigger government. Libertarians will show voters how we can make government small while dramatically increasing jobs, lowering taxes, and scaling back government debt.’

On Friday, the convention approved a new party platform, which denounced attempts by major U.S. political parties to grant to government the right to regulate the lives of individuals and seize the fruits of their labor without their consent.

The Libertarian Party insisted that individuals should be free to make choices for themselves and to accept responsibility for the consequences of the choices they make.

The Libertarian Party is the third largest political party in the United States, which is active in all 50 states and has more than 250,000 registered voters.

Libertarians call for ending government interference in personal, family and business decisions, much lower government spending, repeal of dangerous and unnecessary regulations, lower taxes, a currency free of government manipulation, free trade, and a peaceful, non-interventionist foreign policy.

Millions of Americans have voted for Libertarian Party candidates in past elections throughout the country, despite the fact that many state governments place roadblocks in order to keep third party candidates off the ballot and deprive voters of a real choice.

Source: Gary Johnson 2012 Website
 Gary Johnson 2012 Gary Johnson 2012 December 28, 2011










GOVERNOR GARY JOHNSON ANNOUNCES HE WILL SEEK LIBERTARIAN NOMINATION

December 28, 2011, Santa Fe, NM – At a morning news conference in the Rotunda of the New Mexico State Capitol, former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson today announced that he is seeking the Libertarian Party nomination for president.

Governor Johnson’s announcement statement:

“Today I am announcing that I will seek the Libertarian nomination for President of the United States. The Libertarian Party nominee will be on the ballot in all 50 states – as they were in 2008, and will offer a principled alternative to the Republican and the Democrat.

“This was both a difficult decision – and an easy one. It was difficult because I have a lot of Republican history, and a lot of Republican supporters. But in the final analysis, as many, many commentators have said after examining how I governed in New Mexico, I am a Libertarian — that is, someone who is fiscally very conservative but holds freedom-based positions on the issues that govern our personal behavior.

“Frankly, I have been deeply disappointed by the treatment I received in the Republican nomination process. I had hoped to lay out a real libertarian message on all the issues in the Republican contest. The process was not fair and open.

“This election is about issues larger than party or personal ambition.The future of our country is at stake. “

I believe this election needs a true libertarian voice. While Ron Paul is a good man and a libertarian who I proudly endorsed for president in 2008, there is no guarantee that he will be the Republican nominee.

“My Agenda for America, a libertarian agenda, is clear. It is not at an agenda you will hear from any other candidate or party.

- I want to end deficit spending and cut federal spending by 43%. – I want to enact the Fair Tax to stimulate real economic growth and job creation.

– I want to end the manipulation of our money by the Federal Reserve. – I support the Second Amendment and oppose gun control.

- I oppose expensive foreign wars in places like Libya and Afghanistan where our national interest is not clear. -I want to cut the over-regulation of our families, our businesses and our lives.

- I support a woman’s right to choose.

- I support marriage equality for gay Americans, as required by the Constitution.

- I support the legalization of marijuana, which will save us billions and do no harm.

– I demand a government free of special interest influence, crony capitalism and corruption.

- I support returning strict adherence to Constitutional principles to our government.

“I am confident this agenda will resonate with the American people because it actually reflects the true beliefs of a clear majority of Americans.

“Sadly, neither the Republicans nor Democrats will offer this agenda to the American people. The Republicans talk about cutting spending and taxes but insist on government regulating our personal lives. The Democrats support more liberal social policies but they will tax and spend and borrow us into bankruptcy. America needs a third way.

“I know first-hand that my governing philosophy works because of my experience as a successful two-term governor, elected and reelected as a Republican in a Democrat state. I know how to create jobs because I have created jobs. My record on job creation is superior to Barack Obama, Mitt Romney or any other candidate. I successfully governed as a Libertarian in everything but the name, and I am running for president as a Libertarian.

“If I earn the Libertarian Party nomination, I will be on the ballot in all 50 states. I will not be held hostage to a system rigged for the wealthiest and best-known candidates in a handful of states who happen to have early primaries. And most important, we will offer a political “home” for millions of Americans who are not finding one in the current political establishment or its candidates.

“I am excited by this challenge. I am liberated. And I am committed to shaking up the system as it has never been shaken up before. The tired old two-party system has failed America.

“America is ready for a President who will restore common sense to our fiscal and foreign policies and get government out of the boardroom and the bedroom. I believe the American people will see that a credible Libertarian candidate for president is the real path to liberty, economic growth, opportunity, and a government that is put into its proper and limited role.

“In a recent national poll 63% of Americans said they wished there was a third choice for 2012. There is another choice, and I intend to educate the voters about what we offer America. Together I am convinced we can make history and restore America to greatness.”
# # # #

About Presidential Candidate Gary Johnson: Gary Johnson, two-term Governor of New Mexico from 1994-2002, has been a consistent and outspoken advocate for limited, efficient government and personal liberty.

Source: Gary Johnson 2012 Website Rick Perry 2012 Rick Perry 2012 August 13, 2011










Text of Gov. Rick Perry’s Presidential Announcement Remarks
RedState Gathering 2011- Charleston, S.C.

Text of Gov. Perry’s remarks as delivered:

Howdy. Thank you, Erick (Erickson, editor of RedState). It is great to be at RedState. And I’ll tell you what, it’s even better to be governor of the largest red state in America.

It’s sure good to be back in the Palmetto State, in South Carolina. I enjoy coming to places where people elect folks like Nikki Haley, true conservatives. And also where they love the greatest fighting force on the face of the earth…the United States Military.

And I want to take a moment and ask you to just take a silence, think about those young Navy SEALs and the other special operators who gave it all in the service of their country. Just take a moment to say Thank you, Lord, that we have those kind of selfless, sacrificial men and women.

Their sacrifice was immeasurable, their dedication profound, and we will never, ever forget them.

I stand before you today as the governor of Texas. But I also stand before you the son of two tenant farmers, Ray Perry, who came home after 35 bombing missions over Europe to work his little corner of land out there, and Amelia who made sure my sister Milla and I had everything that we needed, including hand-sewing my clothes until I went off to college.

I am also the product of a place called Paint Creek. Doesn’t have a zip code. It’s too small to be called a town along the rolling plains of Texas. We grew dryland cotton and wheat, and when I wasn’t farming or attending Paint Creek Rural School, I was generally over at Troop 48 working on my Eagle Scout award.

Around the age of 8, I was blessed – didn’t realize it, but I was blessed to meet my future wife, Anita Thigpen, at a piano recital. We had our first date eight years later. And she finally agreed to marry me 16 years after that. Nobody says I am not persistent.

There is no greater way to live life than with someone you love, and my first love is with us today, my lovely wife Anita. We’re also blessed to have two incredible children, Griffin and Sydney, and they are also with us today, and our wonderful daughter-in-law Meredith. I’d just like to introduce those two. Thank you.

What I learned growing up on the farm was a way of life that was centered on hard work, and on faith and on thrift. Those values have stuck with me my whole life. But it wasn’t until I graduated from Texas A&M University and joined the United States Air Force, flying C-130’s all around the globe, that I truly appreciated the blessings of freedom.

To paraphrase Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan, I realized that the United States of America really is the last great hope of mankind. What I saw was systems of government that elevated rulers at the expense of the people. Socialist systems cloaked maybe in good intentions but were delivering misery and stagnation. And I learned that not everyone values life like we do in America, or the rights that are endowed to every human being by a loving God.

You see, as Americans we’re not defined by class, and we will never be told our place. What makes our nation exceptional is that anyone, from any background, can climb the highest of heights. As Americans, we don’t see the role of government as guaranteeing outcomes, but allowing free men and women to flourish based on their own vision, their hard work and their personal responsibility. And as Americans, we realize there is no taxpayer money that wasn’t first earned by the sweat and toil of one of our citizens.

That’s why we reject this President’s unbridled fixation on taking more money out of the wallets and pocketbooks of American families and employers and giving it to a central government.

“Spreading the wealth” punishes success while setting America on course to greater dependency on government. Washington’s insatiable desire to spend our children’s inheritance on failed “stimulus” plans and other misguided economic theories have given us record debt and left us with far too many unemployed.

But of course, now we’re told we are in recovery. Yeah.
But this sure doesn’t feel like a recovery to more than nine percent of Americans out there who are unemployed, or the sixteen percent of African Americans and 11 percent of Hispanics in the same position, or the millions more who can only find part-time work, or those who have stopped even looking for a job.

One in six work-eligible Americans cannot find a full-time job. That is not a recovery. That is an economic disaster.

If you think about it, for those Americans who do have full-time jobs, they aren’t experiencing economic recovery with the rising fuel costs and the food prices that are going up. Recovery is a meaningless word if the bank has foreclosed on your home, if you are under water on your mortgage, or if you are up to the max on your credit card debt. Those Americans know that this President and his big-spending, big-government policies have prolonged our national misery, not alleviated it.

And what do we say to our children? Y’all figure it out? Don’t worry, Washington’s created 17 debt and entitlement commissions in 30 years, but the fact of the matter is they just didn’t have the courage to make the decisions to allow you to have the future that you actually deserve? That Washington wouldn’t even make modest entitlement program reforms in this last debate? And the President even refused to lay out a plan, for fear of the next election? How can the wealthiest nation in the history of civilization fail so miserably to pay its bills? How does that happen?
Well, Mr. President, let us tell you something: you can't win the future by selling America off to foreign creditors.

We cannot afford four more years of this rudderless leadership. Last week, that leadership failed, and the tax and spend and borrow agenda of this President led to the first ever downgrade of the credit rating of the United States of America.
In reality though, this is just the most recent downgrade. The fact is for nearly three years President Obama has been downgrading American jobs. He’s been downgrading our standing in the world. He’s been downgrading our financial stability. He’s been downgrading our confidence, and downgrading the hope for a better future for our children. That’s a fact.

His policies are not only a threat to this economy, so are his appointees – a threat. You see he stacked the National Labor Relations Board with anti-business cronies who want to dictate to a private company, Boeing, where they can build a plant. No president, no president should kill jobs in South Carolina, or any other state for that matter, simply because they choose to go to a right-to-work state.
You see, when the Obama Administration is not stifling economic growth with over-regulation, they are achieving the same through their reckless spending. Debt is not only a threat to our economy, but also to our security.

America’s standing in the world is in peril, not only because of disastrous economic policies, but from the incoherent muddle that they call foreign policy. Our president has insulted our friends and he’s encouraged our enemies, thumbing his nose at traditional allies like Israel. He seeks to dictate new borders for the Middle East and the oldest democracy there, Israel, while he is an abject failure in his constitutional duty to protect our borders in the United States.

His foreign policy seems to be based on alienating our traditional allies, while basing our domestic agenda on importing those failed Western European social values. We don’t need a president who apologizes for America. We need a president who protects and projects those values.

Look, it’s pretty simple: we’re going to stand with those who stand with us, and we will vigorously defend our interests. And those who threaten our interests, harm our citizens – we will simply not be scolding you, we will defeat you.

Our nation cannot and it must not endure four more years of aimless foreign policy. We cannot and must not endure four more years of rising unemployment, rising taxes, rising debt, rising energy dependence on nations that intend us harm.

It is time to get America working again. To get citizens – to get our citizens working in good jobs and getting the government to working for the people again.
Page one of any economic plan to get America working is to give a pink slip to the current resident in the White House.

Listen, we just got to get back to the basic truths of economic success. As Governor, I’ve had to deal with the consequences of this national recession. In 2003, and again this year, my state faced billions of dollars in budget shortfalls. But we worked hard, we made tough decisions, we balanced our budget. Not by raising taxes, but by setting priorities and cutting government spending. It can and it must be done in Washington, DC.

Dr. Schwertner (State Representative, R-Williamson County, TX), we have led Texas based on some just really pretty simple guiding principles. One is don’t spend all of the money. Two is keeping the taxes low and under control. Three is you have your regulatory climate fair and predictable. Four is reform the legal system so frivolous lawsuits don’t paralyze employers that are trying to create jobs.

Over the years, we have followed this recipe to produce the strongest economy in the nation.

Since June of 2009, Texas is responsible for more than 40 percent of all of the new jobs created in America.

Now think about that. We’re home to less than 10 percent of the population in America, but forty percent of all the new jobs were created in that state.
I’ve cut taxes. I have delivered historic property tax reductions. I was the first governor since World War II to cut general revenue spending in our state budget. We passed lawsuit reform, including just this last session a “loser pays” law to stop the frivolous lawsuits that were happening.

And I know I’ve talked a lot about Texas here in the last little bit. I’m a Texan and proud of it.

But first, and foremost, I’m an incredibly proud American.

And I know something: America is not broken. Washington, D.C., is broken!

We need balanced budgets. We need lower taxes. We need less regulation. And we need civil justice reform – those same four principles. Our country’s most urgent need is to revitalize our economy, stop the generational theft that is going on with this record debt.

I come to South Carolina because I will not sit back and accept the path that America is on.

Because a great country requires a better direction. Because a renewed nation needs a new president.

It is time to get America working again. And that’s why, with the support of my family, and an unwavering belief in the goodness of America, I declare to you today as a candidate for President of the United States.

It’s time for America to believe again. It’s time to believe that the promise of our future is far greater than even our best days behind us. It’s time to believe again in the potential of private enterprise, set free from the shackles of overbearing federal government. And it’s time to truly restore our standing in the world, and renew our faith in freedom as the best hope for peace in this world that’s beset with strife.

The change we seek will never emanate out of Washington, D.C. It will come from the
windswept prairies of Middle America, the farms and factories across this great land, from the hearts and minds of the goodhearted Americans who will accept not a future that is less than our past, patriots – patriots who will not be consigned to a fate of less freedom in exchange for more government.

We do not have to accept our current circumstances. We will change them. We are Americans.

That’s what we do. We roll up our sleeves. We go to work. We fix things.

We stand up and proudly proclaim that Washington is not our caretaker and we reject the state that, in Margaret Thatcher’s words, she said a state that takes too much from us in order to do too much for us. We will not stand for that any longer.

We’re dismayed at the injustice that nearly half of all Americans don’t even pay any income tax.

And you know the liberals out there are saying that we need to pay more. We are indignant about leaders who do not listen and spend money faster than they can print it.

In America, the people are not subjects of government. The government is subject to the people.

And it is up to us, to this present generation of Americans, to take a stand for freedom, to send a message to Washington that we’re taking our future back from the grips of central planners who would control our healthcare, who would spend our treasure, who downgrade our future and micro-manage our lives.

It is time to limit and simplify the taxes in this country. We have to quit spending money we don’t have. We need to get our fiscal house in order and restore our good credit. And we will repeal this President’s misguided, one-size-fits-all government healthcare plan immediately.

We’ll create jobs. We’ll get America working again. We’ll create jobs and we’ll build wealth,

we’ll truly educate and innovate in science, and in technology, engineering and math. We’ll create the jobs and the progress needed to get America working again.
And I’ll promise you this: I’ll work every day to make Washington, D.C. as inconsequential in your life as I can. And at the same time, we’ll be freeing our families and small businesses and states from the burdensome and costly federal government so those groups can create, innovate and succeed.

I believe in America. I believe in Her purpose and Her promise. I believe Her best days have not yet been lived. I believe Her greatest deeds are reserved for the generations to come. With the help and the courage of the American people, we will get our country working again. God bless you and God bless the United States of America.

Source: Rick Perry For President Website Thaddeus McCotter 2012 Thaddeus McCotter 2012 July 2, 2011











Rep. Thaddeus McCotter (R-MI)
Announcement of Candidacy
WAAM Freedom Fest
Whitmore Lake, MI

Saturday, July 2, 2011

WAAM Freedom Fest. Yes. [someone plays guitar chord in background] Well played. Taking heart despite the times and the weather. So, I will be brief today, so that none of you get electrocuted.

First I would like to introduce who’s up here with me. My wife Rita, our daughter Amelia who is thrilled to be with us today. Our son Timothy who is equally thrilled. And not with us today is our son George, who is at work. Which is something that every American should have a chance to do.

We here in Michigan understand that our pursuit of prosperity, our American dream is in endangered. We have seen a government that has refused to restructure itself for the future as we have, as our entrepreneurs have, and as our families have. We have seen a federal government that has tried to spend its way into prosperity with our money and it has failed. We have seen a federal government that has tried to impose government-run health care upon us despite the consent of the people, and it will fail.

We have seen a government that has bought in to the myth of cap and trade and climate change. And it too will fail. And we have seen a government buy into the concept that the Wall Street banks were too big to fail and that policy has failed. But the one thing that will not fail, for it is too majestic to ever let down Lady Liberty, is you the sovereign American people.

Through your hard work and through your principled devotion to bequeathing to your children a better nation than the one we’ve inherited, have no doubt that we will restructure the government for the future so that it is citizen driven, we will restructure the Wall Street banks so the credit can flow and the entrepreneurs and the workers can grow our economy and shape the next American economic century.

We will defend America from her enemies and we will always support our brave men and women in uniform that are sacrificing so much for our security and liberty. We will expand freedom to the oppressed to ensure freedom at home for ourselves and we will stand steadfast with our allies in this endeavor, notably our dear ally Israel.

And all those seeking to break off the shackles of oppression, be it in Iran’s green revolution or be it in the Communist Chinese oppressed lands’ jasmine revolution or be it those who stand up to Hugo Chavez or Castro in Latin America, the United States will remain a beacon of liberty to inspire the oppressed, just as we did on July 2nd when the founders came together to declare their love of liberty and their own independence.

Because we understand five fundamental principles.

Our liberty is from God, not the government.

Our sovereignty is in our souls, not the soil or a scepter.

Our security is from strength, not appeasement or surrender.

Our prosperity is from the private sector, not the public sector.

And our truths are self-evident, not relative.

These are the principles that will guide us as we move forward into the future. A future which many in this country believe will be one of diminished opportunity for the people of the United States and the next generation. I fundamentally disagree. For those who put their faith in big government, that might make sense that our best days are behind us. But for those who put their faith in the virtuous genius and industrious of you the American people, we know that while it is a hard road ahead, we will have better days, and we will start now.

Too many Americans, too many families, too many people are worried about whether or not they are still sovereign in their country. Whether or not there is a new concept at work where some individuals are considered disposable citizens. Where they are too small to matter. They are wrong. Every single one of you, every single American is the faith and future of this country. And what we need in Washington is someone who understands that the wave of the future is not big government, it is self government. Someone in Washington who will truly feel and understand the pain and the anguish of 14 million unemployed Americans. The feeling of being trapped of up to 30 million Americans today who cannot find better jobs, because they are not there. People who understand that at a period of time of when inflation is rising and wages are declining. People who need to know that someone in Washington, no matter how derided or disposable someone else thinks you are, will stand for you.

That is why today I am announcing my candidacy for the nomination of my Republican Party to serve as your President of the United States. (Chants: Thad. Thad, Thad…) Remember, the storms are coming. You may interpret it as any type of omen as you wish.

And so with your support and the support of anybody who will march beneath or beside the banner of the Republican Party, I look forward to working with you to ensure that once more through the unfathomable grace of God and the virtuous genius of you her free people, our free republic will again be a virtuous, prosperous, compassionate inspiration that will show all the world what a free people can achieve.

Thank you very much for having me and I look forward to playing with the band.

Source: ©Transcript Mike Dec/4President Corporation Jon Huntsman 2012 Jon Huntsman 2012 June 21, 2011










Jon Huntsman 2012 Announcement Speech Transcript, June 21, 2011, Liberty Park, New Jersey

I'm Jon Huntsman, and I'm humbled. I've been a governor of the great state of Utah. I've been a businessman. I've been a diplomat. I'm the husband of the love of my life, the greatest human being I've ever known, Mary Kaye, for 28 years. I'm the father of seven terrific kids. I'm the son of great parents, who are here with me today, celebrating a very important anniversary, including a birthday.

I'm from the American west, where the view of America is limitless with lots of blue sky.

I've lived overseas four times, where the view of America from 10,000 miles away is a picture of liberty, opportunity and justice. People secure in their rights and in love with their liberty. People who have done more good for more people than any other nation on earth.

And today, I'm a candidate for the office of President of the United States of America.

Thank you. Thank you.

My kids can't believe I just said that.

And I'm asking for the greatest privilege Americans can bestow on a fellow citizen, and you're entitled to know the reasons why.

You see today Americans are experiencing, through no fault of their own, something that is totally alien to them - a sense that the deck is stacked against them by forces totally beyond their control. No matter how hard they work, save, and plan, the opportunities are not there for them as that were present for previous generations.

Perhaps, saddest of all, we have lost faith in ourselves. For the first time in history, we are passing down to the next generation a country that is less powerful, less compassionate, less competitive and less confident than the one we got.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is totally unacceptable and it is totally un-American.

And it need not, must not, will not be our permanent condition. We will not be the first American generation that lets down the next generation.

We have the power, we have the means, we have the character to astonish the world again by making from adversity a new and better country; this inexhaustible land of promise and opportunity.

You see, we have everything a nation could hope for. We have our freedom, we have rule of law, the longest surviving Constitution and our abiding belief in personal responsibility.

We have freedom of speech, religion and press.

We produce a quarter of the world's GDP.

And we are the most productive society on earth.

We have the finest colleges and universities, and the most powerful, skilled and selfless armed forces.

And we have character; character that made a new world from a wilderness; character that made the desert bloom and the cities rise to the heavens; character that made the world safer, freer, and more prosperous.

What we now need is leadership that trusts in our strength. Leadership that doesn't promise Washington has all of the solutions to our problems, but rather looks to local solutions from our cities, towns and states.

Leadership that knows we need more than hope, leadership that knows we need answers.

We must make hard decisions that are necessary to avert disaster.

If we don't, in less than a decade, every dollar of federal revenue will go to covering the costs of Medicare, Social Security and interest payments on our debt.

Meanwhile, we'll sink deeper into debt for everything else - from national security to disaster relief.

Our country will fall behind the productivity of other countries. Our influence in the world will wane. Our security will grow ever more precarious. And the 21st Century will then be known as the end of the American Century. We can't accept this, and we won't.

But here is the challenge.

We must proceed at a time of weak economic growth and very high unemployment.

We desperately need jobs and the opportunities they carry. So, we must play to our strengths, and give the most innovative society on Earth the tools they need to succeed.

We must make broad and bold changes to our tax code and regulatory policies; seize the lost opportunity of energy independence and reestablish what it means to be a teacher in society.

We must reignite the powerful job creating engine of our economy - the industry, innovation, reliability, and trailblazing genius of Americans and their enterprises -- and restore confidence in our people.

We can and will own the future.

Now, we did many of these things in the great state of Utah when I was governor. We cut taxes. We flattened rates. We balanced our budget. We worked very hard to maintain our AAA bond rating status, something few states can claim. And when the economic crisis hit, we were prepared.

And by many accounts we became the best state in America for business. We also were named the best managed state in America.

You see, we proved that government doesn't have to choose between fiscal responsibility and economic growth. I learned something very important as Governor. For most American families, there is nothing more important than a job.

Internationally, we will lead the world in a way that speaks to preeminence. And let us not forget that we are a nation at war.

This came home to me as I spoke to the VFW Convention recently in the state of New Hampshire. There joined by my good friend Paul Chevalier, a former Marine, and there we looked at America's greatest generation.

All of whom were there in their outfits and the ribbons that they had earned during a time of conflict. I saw in their eyes stories about which you could make great movies. I saw America's Greatest Generation.

They lived through the depression, they lived through World War II and beyond, and they delivered to this country in ways that protected and preserved our liberty and freedom, and I'm here to tell you we have another of America's greatest generations coming up and they are ready to rebuild America just like earlier generations.

We're at war, ladies and gentlemen, and we must manage the end of these conflicts without repeating past mistakes that made our engagement longer and our sacrifices greater than they should have been.

It's not that we wish to disengage from the world, don't get me wrong, but rather that we believe the best long- term national security strategy is rebuilding our core here at home.

Now let me say something about civility. For the sake of the younger generation, it concerns me that civility, humanity and respect are sometimes lost in our interactions as Americans.

Our political debates today are corrosive and not reflective of the belief that Abe Lincoln espoused back in his day, that we are a great country because we are a good country.

You know what I mean when I say that.

We will conduct this campaign on the high road. I don't think you need to run down someone's reputation in order to run for the Office of President.

Of course we'll have our disagreements. That's what campaigns are all about.

But I want you to know that I respect my fellow Republican candidates.

And I respect the President of the United States.

He and I have a difference of opinion on how to help a country we both love.

But the question each of us wants the voters to answer is who will be the better President; not who's the better American.

Now, behind me is our most famous symbol of the promise of America.

President Reagan launched the 1980 general election campaign from this very spot. It was a time of trouble, worry and difficulty.

He assured us we could "make America great again," and through his leadership, he did.

Today, I stand in his shadow as well as the shadow of this magnificent monument to our liberty.

For 125 years, through triumphs and hardships of all kinds, her lamp has been a beacon reflecting America's highest aspirations and values. America's promises have been kept.

Each generation in their turn has worked very hard to keep her lit.

Now it's our turn.

Our challenges are many and urgent. But our problems are no bigger than our opportunities.

And they're not insurmountable for a people who've always used our freedom to make the future better than the past.

We are a resourceful, ingenious, determined, problem solving people.

We don't settle for less than our character and talents will achieve. We choose our destiny as a nation. We always have, and we always will.

This is that moment. We're not just choosing new leaders.

We're choosing whether we are to be yesterday's story or tomorrow's. Everything is at stake.

This is the hour when we choose our future.

I'm Jon Huntsman, and I'm running for President of the United States.

Thank you all.

Source: Jon Huntsman For President Website Michele Bachmann 2012 Michele Bachmann 2012 June 27, 2011










Bachmann Officially Announces Her Run for the Presidency of the United States in Waterloo, Iowa

Waterloo, Iowa - Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann officially announced her candidacy in front of a hometown crowd in Waterloo, Iowa. Hundreds gathered at the historic Snowden House to hear Bachmann convey that together we can secure the future of our country.

The following is text of the official announcement speech:

It's great to be in Iowa and even better to be in Waterloo where I was born. It's fitting to be here at the Snowden House, the place that once served as the home of the Waterloo Women's Club. I stand here today in front of many friends and family to formally announce my candidacy for President of the United States. I do so because I am grateful for the blessings God and this country have given to me, and not because of the position of the office, but because I am determined that every American deserves these blessings and that together we can once again strengthen America and restore the promise of the future. I want to bring a voice, your voice, to the White House, just as I have brought your voice to the halls of congress to secure the promise of the future for our generation and generations to come.

I often say that everything I needed to know I learned in Iowa. It was at Hawthorne and Valley Park Elementary Schools and my home, both a short distance from here, where those Iowan roots were firmly planted. It's those roots and my faith in God that guide me today. I'm a descendent of generations Iowans. I know what it means to be from Iowa—what we value and what's important. Those are the values that helped make Iowa the breadbasket of the world and those are the values, the best of all of us that we must recapture to secure the promise of the future.

Waterloo was different five decades ago when I grew up here. That elementary school building was a lot younger and for that matter so was I. Five decades ago when I went there to school the halls were teeming with young children who, like me, had dreams of their future. A future with promise and parents who wanted it to be filled with more opportunities than they had. Five decades ago America had less debt, in fact our national debt was less than 300 billion dollars. A gallon of gasoline was 31 cents, and owning a home was part of living the American dream. Today our debt is over 14 trillion dollars, a gallon of gas is still outrageously high, millions of homes are in foreclosure, and those dreams are distant for many Americans.

Times have changed here in Waterloo, but the people still have the same spirit we Iowans have come to exemplify. We work hard, we live within our means and we expect to pass on a better life to our children. But our government keeps getting bigger making it tougher for us to pass on that life, causing our jobs to go overseas and spending more of the money we make, while we keep less of it.

Don't mistake my happy memories of growing up in Waterloo as pining for the past. I recognize it's impossible to turn the clock back and go back to a different day. Instead, I want this moment to serve as a reminder about the best of who we are as a nation, what our values are, and what went in to making America great to capture its best for the promise of the future. I want my candidacy for the presidency to stand for the moment when "we the people" reclaimed our independence from a government that has gotten too big, spends too much and has taken away too much of our liberty.

Americans have always confronted challenges. Ours is a history marked by struggles as well as prosperity. My early days were difficult as they were for many Americans, especially during the time when my mother struggled to raise us after divorce. But we made our own way. We depended on our neighbors and ourselves and not our government for help. We trusted in God and our neighbors and not in Government. Americans still have that same spirit. But government keeps trying to erase it because government thinks it knows better—that government can create jobs, and make a better life for all of us, even make us healthier! But that's NOT the case. We have to recapture our founders' vision of a constitutionally conservative government if we are to secure the promise of the future.

I'm also here because Waterloo laid the foundation for my own roots in politics. I never thought that I would end up in public life. I grew up here in Iowa. My grandparents are buried here. I remember how sad I was leaving Iowa to go to Minnesota in the sixth grade, because this part of Iowa was all I knew—I remember telling my parents that we couldn't move to Minnesota because I hadn't even been to Des Moines to see the state capitol.

I grew up a democrat. My first involvement in politics was working for Jimmy Carter's election in 1976. But when I saw the direction President Carter took our country; how his big spending liberal majority grew government, weakened our standing in the world, and how they decreased our liberties, I became a Republican. I remember standing in the kitchen of my grandma's house on Lafayette Street in Waterloo listening to my dad, a Democrat debating the merits of the Great Society with my grandmother, a Republican. I remember her prophetic admonition to my father that the Great Society wouldn't work because it wouldn't be my father's generation who paid for it, but rather my brother, David and me. And now that prediction has come true and neither my democrat father nor my republican grandmother would have condoned this spending and debt.

I hadn't planned on getting into politics. I loved the law and went to law school. I went on to William and Mary to become a tax lawyer. Together with my husband we started a successful small business.

When I saw the problems with our local school district and how academic excellence was being eroded by federal government interference with the local schools, I decided to do more than just complain about it. One of those Iowa values instilled in me was to always leave whatever you were involved with better than when you found it, so I decided to seek public office to make our local school district better. I didn't seek public office for fortune or power, but simply to make life better in our community and education better for our children. And now I seek the presidency not for vanity, but because America is at a crucial moment and I believe that we must make a bold choice if we are to secure the promise of the future.

We cannot continue to kick the can of our problems down the road, because they are problems of today and not tomorrow.
We cannot continue to rack up debt on the backs of future generations.
We can't afford an unconstitutional health plan that costs too much and is worth so little.
And we can't afford four more years of failed leadership at home and abroad.
We can't afford four more years of millions of Americans out of work or in jobs that pay too little to support their families.
We can't afford four more years of a housing crisis that is devaluing our homes and making home ownership impossible for many Americans.
We can't afford four more years of a foreign policy that leads from behind and doesn't stand up for our friends and stand up to our enemies.
We can't afford four more years of Barack Obama.
As a constitutional conservative, I believe in the Founding Father's vision of a limited government that trusts in and preserves the unlimited potential of the American people. I don't believe that the solutions to our problems come from Washington: more than ever, Washington IS the problem, and the real solutions will come from our businesses, our communities, our schools and the most basic and powerful unit of all-our families.

We've started another campaign season, almost when it seemed like the last one just ended. Through all of the rancor of the campaign, let us always remember that there is much more that unites us than divides us. Our problems don't have an identity of party, they are problems created by both parties.

Americans agree that our country is in peril today and we must act with urgency to save it. And Americans aren't interested in affiliation; they are interested in solutions, and leadership that will tell the truth. And the truth is that Americans ARE the solution and not the government!

This election is about big issues, not petty ones. When all is said and done, we cannot be about big government as usual. Then America will lose.

In Washington I am bringing a voice to the halls of congress that has been missing for a long time. It is the voice of the people I love and learned from growing up in Waterloo. It is the voice of reasonable, fair-minded people who love this country, who are patriotic, and who see the United States as the indispensable nation of the world.

My voice is part of a movement to take back our country, and now I want to take that voice to the White House. It is the voice of constitutional conservatives who want our government to do its job and not ours and who want our government to live within its means and not our children's and grandchildren's.

I am here in Waterloo, Iowa to announce today: We can win in 2012 and we will. Our voice has been growing louder and stronger. And it is made up of Americans from all walks of life like a three-legged stool. It's the peace through strength Republicans, and I'm one of them, it's fiscal conservatives, and I'm one of them, and it's social conservatives, and I'm one of them. It's the Tea Party movement and I'm one of them.

The liberals, and to be clear I'm NOT one of them, want you to think the Tea Party is the Right Wing of the Republican Party. But it's not. It's made up of disaffected Democrats, independents, people who've never been political a day in their life, libertarians, Republicans. We're people who simply want America back on the right track again.

We're practical people who want the country to work again. This is a powerful coalition the left fears, and they should because, Make no mistake about it, President Obama is a one-term president!

In February 2009 President Obama was very confident that his economic policies would turn the country around within a year. He said, "A year from now, I think people are going to see that we're starting to make some progress. If I don't have this done in three years, then there's going to be a one-term proposition." Well Mr. President, your policies haven't worked. Spending our way out of this recession hasn't worked. And so Mr. President We Take You at Your Word!

Waterloo holds a special place for me, but also holds a special place for our country. You sent and still do send your sons and daughters off to fight for America and to protect the freedoms that allow us to gather here today. I honor my dad who served in the United States Air Force. I honor my step dad who served in the United States Army. And I honor my stepbrother who retired full United States Navy. We will never forget those sacrifices; it is part of our past we must remember to secure the promise of the future. It is those values that make our country unique and make us the most powerful force for good on this planet. I believe the United States of America is THE indispensible nation. It is that spirit that separates us from those who would give their own life for others from those who sacrifice others, like terrorists who use little children as human shields.

Perhaps the valor of our American fighting heroes was never captured better than in the sacrifice made by the Sullivan brothers from right here in Waterloo. The Sullivan family was much like other families in America during the depression. They were fortunate to get by. Most of the family worked here in Waterloo at the local meat packing plant. When a close friend of the family died at Pearl Harbor, the five Sullivan brothers enlisted in the Navy, but under the condition that they be allowed to serve together. One of the brothers wrote, "We will make a team together that can't be beat." Born and raised here in Waterloo, the five Sullivan brothers had always stuck together. However, one fateful morning after a long night of intense battle, a Japanese torpedo struck the USS Juneau, the ship on which they served killing most of the crew and launching the rest into the water. The oldest of the Sullivans, George, searched tirelessly for his brothers, but they were not to be found. He had survived the attack, but later perished at sea. All but 10 of the 697 brave men of the Juneau, gave their lives for their country. In spite of the intense pain of losing their five sons all at once, the parents of the Sullivans became an inspiration to America speaking to millions on behalf of the war effort. To honor the Sullivans two ships were named for them. The motto of the last ship—We Stick Together!

Theirs was a demonstration of the Holy Scriptures that says: "Greater love hath no man than this, but that he lay down his life for his friend."

That is the kind of love we Americans have for our country. We Americans stick together. We triumph together. In the words of Daniel Webster, we are, "One cause, one country, one heart." That is the kind of commitment it will take to face the great challenges of today. The people of this great country have that level of courage and they are longing for a President who will listen to them, who will lead from the front, and not from behind.

I'm Michele Bachmann and I'm running for President of the United States.

Together, we can do this. Together we can reign in all the corruption and waste that has become Washington and instead leave a better America for future generations.

Together we can make a team that can't be beat!

Together we can secure the promise of the future.

Together we can - and together we will!

God bless you and God bless the United States of America!

Bachmann Announces Presidential Candidacy Filing

Manchester, N.H. – Minnesota Congresswoman, and conservative leader, Michele Bachmann announced today she has filed the official paperwork to run for President of the United States. Rep. Bachmann made the announcement during the first major 2012 Republican Presidential Debate in New Hampshire at Saint Anselm College.

"Our country needs a leader who understands the hardships that people across America have been facing over the past few years, and who will do what it takes to renew the American dream. We must become a strong and proud America again, and I see clearly a better path to a brighter future," said Rep. Bachmann. "For these reasons, earlier this evening I instructed my team to file the necessary paperwork to allow me to seek the office of President of the United States."

The Bachmann for President campaign filed official candidacy paperwork Monday afternoon, and are gearing up for a campaign announcement tour in the coming weeks in Iowa. With the filing, Rep. Bachmann suspended her Congressional campaign and is no longer actively seeking re-election in Minnesota's 6th Congressional District.

I'm In.

Dear Supporter,

For the last several months, thousands of patriotic Americans encouraged me to run for President of the United States. After many weeks of prayer and thoughtful discussion with my family and friends, I have decided to take the next step forward in seeking the Republican nomination for President of the United States.

This afternoon we filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to create a new committee, Bachmann for President!

We will plan on making a more formal announcement and entrance into the race later this month from my hometown of Waterloo, Iowa but I feel so strongly about what is happening to our country that I couldn't wait even one more day to begin this campaign!!

And the fact remains that our country is headed in the wrong direction under President Obama's leadership. Our federal government has grown far beyond its constitutional boundaries. Our economic recovery is in shambles, our standing with our international allies is strained and our core American values and freedoms are under constant threat.

We cannot risk giving President Obama four more years to dismantle our nation. We must act now. That's why I've made the decision to get in this race. As a mother, wife, small-business owner and public servant, I believe I can offer the leadership and passion our Party needs to win the White House.

In this critical, early stage of my campaign I need trusted supporters like you to help me raise the money needed to defeat Barack Obama. That's why I ask that you take a moment today to make a special contribution of $25, $50, $100, or any amount up to the $2,500 legal limit to get my campaign started.

President Obama's campaign team has been working for months to build his billion-dollar campaign war chest. We have to show we can compete with him not only on a grassroots level, but on a fundraising level.

Raising the money to defeat President Obama begins today, and I hope you will pitch in by following this link to donate. No amount is too small. Remember that small donations add up to big dollars- all being put to use to make President Obama a one-term president.

Our country is in desperate need of a leader who will restore constitutional conservative values to our federal government. President Obama must be held accountable for the far-left agenda he has implemented while in office. I intend to hold him accountable, and if elected I pledge to dismantle Obamacare, reduce our growing debt, provide the private sector with the resources needed to create jobs, and strengthen our national defense.

If you agree that our country is in need of new leadership - that we cannot risk four more years under President Obama's left-wing policies - then I hope I can count on your support as I build my presidential campaign.

In order to defeat President Obama and get our country back on track, we have to build a national grassroots effort larger than any Republican candidate in history. We're officially building this team today and I hope you will step up to the plate and join my campaign.

Your involvement is absolutely crucial to my ability to win. That's why today, I hope you'll show your support for my candidacy with a generous donation of $25, $50, $100 or any amount you can afford to give up to the legal $2,500 limit.

I cannot thank you enough for your support and I look forward to working with you as we launch a new campaign to put a constitutional conservative in the White House.

Sincerely,

Michele Bachmann

Source: Michele Bachmann For President 2012 Website Rick Santorum 2012 Rick Santorum 2012 June 6, 2011










Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)
Somerset County Courthouse
Somerset, Pennsylvania
Monday, June 6, 2011
11:00 AM ET

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you very much. Let me just first say to my wife Karen and to these children behind me, am I one blessed man.

Thank you Karen, thank you kids. For they’ve known a life of being involved in a public life. And as we all know that is not an easy life. And they have stood behind me every step of the way and not only have they stood behind me, but they have actually led me and encouraged me and fought with me side by side. So Karen, children, thank you so much for your love, for your support, God bless you. Thank you.

I want to thank all of you for coming out of here today. It is a beautiful day in Somerset—it's always beautiful in Somerset County. (Laughter) You must think I’m not from Somerset County if I said that, right? But it is a beautiful day here; it's a Chamber of Commerce day here in Somerset County. And let me just thank everybody here in the local community for the great cooperation and support and being here and showing up and for, well, for being where it all started for the Santorum family. And that’s why we're here, because our journey, our American journey started here in Somerset County. And so it is great to be here; thank you Somerset County for coming out for us. (Applause)

You know the most common question I’ve had over the past 20 months was “Are you running?” And the answer I always gave—it took me a while, but I came up with this—“No I’m not running, I’m walking.” (Laughter) And the reason I was as walking was because I wanted to get out and talk to Americans, all across America. Dozens and dozens of states over the past couple of years, with a heavy sampling on Iowa, New Hampshire, and South Carolina. (Laughter)

But I was out talking to people, listening to people, trying to get a sense as to whether what I was feeling inside, the anxiety and the concern I had for the future of our country was something that was shared. Well an answer to that was what happened a little over, well almost two years ago now with the birth of the Tea Party and people standing up in meeting after meeting and holding up their Constitution and talking about (Loud Pop) Those are balloons, not shots. It’s not that I haven’t had my shots shot at me at times. (Laughter)

But, people have, people have understood, they understand that something is wrong. That there is something at stake here in America, that’s important; it’s important for us and it’s important for the future of our country.

Now what is it? Is it the economy? Sure it’s the economy. Who can say it’s not the economy when you’re looking at this pathetic rate of growth and the incredibly, just discouragingly high rate of unemployment. Not 9.1 %, but 14-15 % of people who really want to get work and they can’t find work. And you can look at this Administration and say “Oh, what did they do in response?” They just sent money to state capitols and municipalities to keep their government workers on the payroll and forgot about the rest of America out here trying to survive and trying to grow. (Applause)

Is it gas prices? Yeah, sure it’s gas prices. We’re from here in Somerset County, mineral-rich Somerset County. And we have coal and gas and all sorts of resources here, and we have a President who doesn’t want us to access those resources, and then complains that the prices of energy are high. (Applause)

And if you look at the record of spending under this President, he came in, sure he came in with a problem. And then in that hole that he was in, he kept digging and digging and digging. Now for every dollar we spend thanks to this President, forty cents is borrowed. Forty cents is going to be put on every man, woman, and child to pay the interest on for the rest of their lives. Who are we? Who are you, Mr. President? Who are you, Mr. President to say that you and your Administration should take forty cents out of every dollar and borrow it from future generations to prop you up? (Applause)

He’s done worse than that. He’s devalued our currency by pumping Fed Reserve currency, pumping money, inflating our commodities, our food prices, our oil prices. Which is a horrible penalty on working Americans, on saving Americans.

He’s devalued our currency and he’s not just devalued our currency, he’s devalued our culture. Through marriage, and through not standing up to the Defense of Marriage Act. (Applause) Through federal funding of abortions. (Applause) He’s devaluing our dollars, and he devalues our other currency, our moral currency. (Applause)

All of this is bad enough, but I think Americans now realize there’s even more, there’s something more that is concerning America. And that’s why I am here in Somerset County. I’m here in Somerset County, because my grandfather came to this county way back in 1927.

Did he come here because the government was promising him all sorts of benefits, promising him all sorts of hand-outs and bail-outs? No, no he left a country where the government made all the promises.

He left a country, and I would add a good job. He had a job on a mail train after World War I, which he fought in. He had that job on a mail train; he lived in a beautiful little idyllic town, in the mountains, right down on a lake. I visited it, it is truly gorgeous. And I said why would anyone want to leave nine brothers, eight brothers and sisters, leave a stable job and a beautiful place at the foot of the Dolomite Mountains. One word. One reason. Freedom. (Applause)

He was watching what Mussolini was doing; he was watching what he was inculcating into his oldest son and he said “I will not stand for this.” And so he left and he came here; took a waylaid trip to Detroit, but he eventually came here. And he started in the coal mines here in Conemaugh Township in northern Somerset County, in Carpenters Park, Pennsylvania. (Applause)

And he worked and he worked to give his children, my dad, who was seven years old when he came in 1930, the opportunity for freedom, to live your dreams, because he knew that America believed in him, believed in people, gave people a shot; if they worked hard they could succeed. That’s the America that my grandfather came to, that’s the America that my dad lived in, and that’s the America that we need again today. (Applause)

That is what is unique. The President of the United States, just a few weeks ago, in responding to Paul Ryan’s budget said this, and he was talking about Medicare and Medicaid and unemployment insurance. And he said “The country’s a better country with those programs.” "I’ll go one step further," he said. “America was not a great country until those programs.” (Boos from crowd)

Ladies and Gentleman, America was a great country before 1965. (Cheers, Applause)

America was a great county before government decided that it had to start taking from those— (Pauses for a woman that fainted)

Sorry we have someone who I think the heat has got to them. So make sure if there's any emergency personnel they can get here; want to make sure that this person gets some help. (A woman asks for water) Here you go, hand that down. (Hands his water to her, leaves podium for a bit, then returns) Appreciate it if everybody would just say a little prayer for that young lady.

America is a great country, not because of our government, it’s because our founders founded it a great country. (Applause) I love our tea partiers who raise their Constitution up. (Applause, Cheers) That Constitution which is the owner’s manual for America. (Applause) But in that Constitution that they hold up, is another document that’s always printed there. It’s the Declaration of Independence.

The Declaration of Independence is the Why of America. It’s who we are. We hear a lot of talk about American exceptionalism. What does that mean? The Declaration tells us—We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, and endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights, Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. (Applause)

Our founders, our founders did something revolutionary with that statement. You see prior to that time, where they came from, rights did not come from God to every individual. That’s not what those countries believed. Rights came to the Sovereign, to the King, to the government and then the government would distribute the rights. They left those countries, because they didn’t want a King to tell them what rights they had, because they knew what rights they had from God. (Applause)

And in that Constitution they established a framework to do one thing. If you’re going to sum up the mission of America, what transformed the world, what made this the greatest country in the history of the world, that in the 200 years of America—life expectancy doubled, and in the two thousand years previous it did nothing. Why? Because of the principle purpose of America was to make sure that each and every person was free. That is the purpose of America. (Applause)

Ladies and gentleman, that is at stake now. More than it has ever been, in the modern time. We are facing a time when we have a group of people led by President Obama who believes that America’s greatness is in government, not its people. And there is one singular act, that to me is the lynchpin and that is Obamacare.

Obamacare does something that no other entitlement has ever done and that is it obviously makes you buy something, but more importantly it’s the government for the first time is going to have its clutches to create dependency on every single American. Not those on the margins of life, not those who are old or sick, but every single American now will be hooked to the government with an IV. And they will come to you every time they want to do more and say, well you want that IV, you want that health care, then you got to give us more power.

Margaret Thatcher said this, after doing an assessment of her time in Britain versus Reagan’s time. She said, “I was never able to accomplish in England what Reagan accomplished in America, and it was one thing that stood in my way, the British National Health Care System.” Why do you think they worked so hard? Why do you think that they were willing to break every rule? Why do you think that they were willing to lose this election? Why do you think that they ignored the polls and jammed it down the throats of the American public? Why do you think they cared so much about passing this bill? (Crowd yells power) Power; because they knew they would get you.

Juan Williams said to me about a week after President Obama decided to double down. I saw him in the green room. And I said why are you doing this? Here’s what he said. He said, "Let me tell you what President Obama’s team is telling me." He said, “Americans love entitlements and once we get them hooked, they will never let it go.”

They want to hook you; they don’t want to free you. They don’t want to give you opportunity; they don’t to believe in you. They believe in themselves, the smart people, the planners, the folks in Washington who can make decisions better than you can.


Look at what they’re doing with Mediscare. They're saying to seniors, you need to trust us, we are the ones who are going to make decisions what every senior can have. We can’t trust seniors to make decisions. Did anybody ever look at the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan? The Medicare Prescription Drug Plan is exactly the model Paul Ryan is asking. We, quote “shoved that down the throats of the American public.” No we didn’t. We gave them a choice.

Seniors love the Medicare Prescription Drug Plan and it’s exactly what we’re proposing for Medicare, which is give people the resources to go out and choose for themselves, what’s best for themselves. (Applause)

Our founders knew, our founders knew that establishing freedom, writing it in that document was the easy thing to do. They were students of history and they realized, they knew the hard thing to do was to maintain freedom over the course of time, over the course of leaders who would try to sing that siren song to give up that freedom in exchange for security.

That’s another reason I am here in Somerset County at this time. I’m here in Somerset County because just a few miles from here in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, almost ten years now, a group of average Americans, a traveling salesman stood with his back against the wall and rallied and led people—average Americans—to do what needed to be done, to save freedom in America. (Applause)

And on this day, D-Day, June 6th in 1944, almost 60,000 average Americans had the courage to go out and charge those beaches on Normandy. To drop out of airplanes, who knows where and take on the battle for freedom. Average Americans, the very Americans that our government now and this President does not trust to make a decision on your health care plan. Those Americans risked everything so they could make that decision on their health care plan. (Applause)

We are facing enormous challenges today, although certainly of a different kind. But they will test whether this generation will keep faith with those patriots and keep America the greatest county in the history of the world.

Today across America people are looking for a leader who is optimistic and who believes that we must meet those challenges and that we can meet those challenges. That we can keep faith, not with big government, but with free people. (Applause)

In 2008 a wearied public, a troubled public from a financial crisis, looked to a President, looked to elect a President who they could believe in. And that President, President Obama took that leap, took that faith that the America public gave him and wrecked our economy and centralized power in Washington, DC and robbed people of their freedom. (Applause)

I believe now that Americans are not looking for someone that they can believe in; they're looking for a President who believes in them. (Applause)

Fellow Americans, it is our watch, it is our time. It is our time for all of us to step up and do what America requires us to do. I’m ready to lead. I’m ready. (Applause) I’m ready to do what has to be done for the next generation, with the courage to fight for freedom, with the courage to fight for America.

That’s why I’m announcing today that I’m running for President of the United States. Join the fight, join the fight. (Applause)

Transcript by Mike Dec/4President.org/Democracy In Action p2012.org

Rick Santorum to Make Major Announcement on June 6

Verona, PA - Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) will visit Somerset, Pennsylvania on Monday, June 6 at 11:00 AM ET for a major announcement regarding the 2012 campaign for President of the United States. The location of Somerset County is significant because it was where Senator Santorum's grandfather settled in America after leaving Fascist Italy to work in the Pennsylvania coal mines until he was 72 years old. He chose America for the freedom our nation offered him.

Details of the event are below:

Who: Former U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA)

What: Major announcement regarding the 2012 campaign for President of the United States

Where:

Somerset County Courthouse
111 East Union Street
Somerset, PA 15501

(located less than 1/2 mile off of the PA Turnpike)

When: Monday, June 6, 2011, 11:00 AM ET

Santorum Establishes Presidential Exploratory Committee with FEC
Will Participate in Fox News-SCGOP Debate on Thursday

Verona, PA - Former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) announced today during an appearance on Sean Hannity's radio show that he has established a presidential exploratory committee with the Federal Election Commission, and has met all criteria required to participate in the debate sponsored by Fox News and the South Carolina Republican Party scheduled for this Thursday.

"I am pleased that we have taken this important next step in the process to potentially become a candidate for President of the United States. The debate this Thursday is a unique opportunity to put forth ideas and solutions to bring our economy back on track, and with Osama bin Laden's death, I look forward to also discussing in depth ways to tackle our many national security challenges," said Senator Santorum.

In addition to the debate on Thursday night, Senator Santorum will have several open press events while in South Carolina. Details of those events will be released Wednesday morning.

Santorum Announces the Formation of a Presidential Testing the Waters Effort

Washington, DC - During an appearance on the Fox News Channel tonight, former Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) announced he is taking the next step in a possible run for president in 2012: the formation of a presidential testing-the-waters effort.

"In 2008 Americans wanted a president who they could believe in, but after two years they realized that what they needed is a president who believes in them," said Senator Santorum. "It's time for America to be America again -- an America that rewards innovation and hard work, that stands by our allies instead of our enemies, that protects even the most vulnerable of our society, and an America that says every life is to be cherished. That is what I believe in, and that's why I'm taking this next step in a possible run for president."

Senator Santorum has visited Iowa, New Hampshire and South Carolina nearly 40 times, and he heads back to New Hampshire tomorrow. He has hired staff in both Iowa and New Hampshire and won the presidential straw poll in Greenville County, SC last weekend with 31% of the vote.

This testing-the-waters account, which is named the Rick Santorum Exploratory Committee, has been established to allow Senator Santorum to raise funds for the purpose of determining if he will formally become a candidate.

To learn more about former Senator Rick Santorum, please visit www.RickSantorum.com.

Source: Rick Santorum For President 2012 Website Mitt Romney 2012 Mitt Romney 2012 June 2, 2011










MITT ROMNEY LAUNCHES PRESIDENTIAL CAMPAIGN

Stratham, NH – Today, Governor Mitt Romney announced his candidacy for President of the United States. Romney made his remarks at Doug and Stella Scamman’s farm. The following remarks were prepared for delivery:

Thank you for coming. And I want to thank Doug and Stella Scamman for hosting us on their beautiful farm.

You know, everyone here today can tell a different story. We have different backgrounds and we wake up in the morning and go to different jobs … or, look for different jobs. We go to different churches or maybe don't go to church so much. I bet some of you have families who go back 200 years or more in New Hampshire. And there must be some who just snuck in across the border, from Massachusetts. I hear the taxes are better over here.

But here we are on a beautiful June day coming together to begin a process that we often, quite naturally, take for granted. But it is really one of the great achievements in the history of the world. For all of our country’s wealth and influence, those are not the source of our greatness. The true strength of America is self-rule, and a government that answers to a free and independent people.

We live in the most powerful nation that ever existed. And it all goes back to a few men and women who had the courage to stand - and even die - for their belief in liberty and equality. Because of their vision, the United States of America is not ruled by a monarchy or controlled by an aristocracy. Though sometimes folks in Washington might act otherwise, we don't have a House of Lords with inherited power. And as the Red Sox like to remind the New York Yankees, there are no dynasties in America.

Who rules this great nation?

You do. Every four years you decide who will give that State of the Union address, who will set the course of the country, who will be Commander in Chief.

What's true right here in this New Hampshire farm has always been true in America. Though each of us is different, though each of us will choose to walk a different path in life, we are united by one great, overwhelming passion: We love America. We believe in America.

Today we are united not only by our faith in America. We are united also by our concern for America.

This country we love is in peril. And that, my friends, is why we are here today.

A few years ago, Americans did something that was, actually, very much the sort of thing Americans like to do: We gave someone new a chance to lead; someone we hadn't known for very long, who didn't have much of a record but promised to lead us to a better place.

At the time, we didn't know what sort of a President he would make. It was a moment of crisis for our economy, and when Barack Obama came to office, we wished him well and hoped for the best.

Now, in the third year of his four-year term, we have more than promises and slogans to go by.

Barack Obama has failed America.

When he took office, the economy was in recession. He made it worse. And he made it last longer.

Three years later, over 16 million Americans are out of work or have just quit looking. Millions more are underemployed.

Three years later, unemployment is still above 8%, a figure he said his stimulus would keep from happening.

Three years later, foreclosures are still at record levels.

Three years later the prices of homes continue to fall.

Three years later, our national debt has grown nearly as large as our entire economy.

Families are buried under higher prices for food and higher prices for gasoline.

It breaks my heart to see what’s happening in this country.

These failing hopes make up President Obama’s own misery index. It’s never been higher. And what’s his answer? He says this: “I’m just getting started.”

No, Mr. President, you’ve had your chance. We, the people on this farm, and citizens across the country are the ones who are just getting started.

I visited with a family, Kathy and Dave Tyler, who live in a suburb north of Las Vegas, Nevada. You probably know families just like them. They're in their early forties, a couple who had worked hard, sacrificed to buy a home in a good neighborhood, the sort of place they wanted their daughter Allie to grow up. But now that neighborhood is being crushed by this Obama economy. First their neighbors started losing their jobs...and then their homes. And all around them now are abandoned houses... and abandoned dreams.

When the Tylers wake up in the morning and get Allie off to school and then go to work and do everything they can to make it to the end of the month and hold their lives together, it doesn't matter if they are Republican or Democrat, Independent or...Libertarian. They're just Americans. An American family.

And across the richest, greatest country on earth, there are millions of American families like the Tylers. Folks who grew up believing that if they played by the rules, worked hard, that they would have the chance to build a good life, with steady work and always that possibility to work a little harder and get ahead.

And in that America, you don't wonder if your children will have a better life. You know they will. You know it the same way we know that tomorrow morning the sun is going to come up in the East right over this field.

That confidence in a better tomorrow defines us as Americans.

When generations of immigrants looked up and saw the Statue of Liberty for the first time, they surely had many questions and doubts about the life before them, but one thing they knew without a doubt is that they were coming to a place where anything was possible—that in America, their children would have a better life.

I believe in that America. I know you believe in that America. It is an America of freedom and opportunity. A nation where innovation and hard work propel the most powerful economy in the world. A land that is secured by the greatest military the world has ever seen, and by friends and allies across the globe.

President Obama sees a different America and has taken us in a different direction.

A few months into office, he travelled around the globe to apologize for America.

At a time of historic change and great opportunity in the Arab world, he is hesitant and uncertain. He hesitated to speak out for the dissidents in Iran, but his Administration boasts that he is “leading from behind” in Libya.

He speaks with firmness and clarity, however, when it comes to Israel. He seems firmly and clearly determined to undermine our longtime friend and ally. He’s treating Israel the same way so many European countries have: with suspicion, distrust and an assumption that Israel is at fault.

To his credit, the President ordered the raid that killed Osama bin Laden. In Afghanistan, the surge was right, announcing a withdrawal date was wrong. The Taliban may not have watches, but they do have calendars.

Here at home, the President seems to take his inspiration not from the small towns and villages of New Hampshire but from the capitals of Europe.

With the economy in crisis, his answer is to borrow money we can't afford and throw it at Washington bureaucrats and politicians. Just like Europe.

Instead of encouraging entrepreneurs and employers, he raises their taxes, piles on record-breaking mounds of regulation and bureaucracy and gives more power to union bosses.

Instead of recognizing the states rightful authority to solve problems, he seizes power from them and rams through a disastrous national health care plan.

This President's first answer to every problem is to take power from you, your local government and your state so that so-called “experts" in Washington can make those choices for you. And with each of these decisions, we lose more of our freedom.

You and I understand this. We look at our country, and we know in our hearts that things aren’t right, and they’re not getting better.

President Obama’s European answers are not the right solution to America’s challenges.

In the campaign to come, the American ideals of economic freedom and opportunity need a clear and unapologetic defense, and I intend to make it—because I have lived it.

Twenty-seven years ago, I left a steady job to join with some friends to start a business. Like many of you, it had been a dream of mine to try and build a business from the ground up. We started in a small office a couple of hours from here and over the years, we were able to grow from ten employees to hundreds.

My work led me to become deeply involved in helping other businesses, from innovative startups to large companies going through tough times. Sometimes I was successful and helped create jobs, other times I was not. I learned how America competes with companies in other countries, what works in the real world and what doesn't.

I left my business in 1999 to help put the Salt Lake City Olympics back on track. And when the Games were over, I came home to Massachusetts and served as governor.

I'd never held office before but I went at it like I ran businesses and the Olympics: ask tough questions and take on the toughest problems first, because they'll only get worse.

When I took office, I faced a nearly $3 billion budget hole. My legislature was over 85% Democrat. The expectation was that we'd have to raise taxes but I refused. I ordered a review of all state spending, made tough choices and balanced the budget without raising taxes. That sent a message that business as usual was over.

Over the next four years, we consolidated agencies, cut programs, sold state property and cut taxes nineteen times. The state was giving away over a billion dollars in free health care, much of it to people who could have paid something but were gaming the system. You won't be surprised that a lot of Democrats thought we should be giving away even more.

I took it on and hammered out a solution that took a bad situation and made it better. Not perfect but it was a state solution for a state problem. At the end of four years, it took over 800 vetoes but we balanced every budget, restored a $2 billion dollar rainy day fund and kept our schools first among all 50 states.

All of these experiences -- starting and running businesses for 25 years, turning around the Olympics, governing a state -- have helped shape who I am and how I lead. Of course, if I ran through a list of all my mistakes, Ann would find it hilarious, and we'd be here all night. But I've learned a lot.

Turning around a crisis takes experienced leadership and bold action. For millions of Americans, the economy is in crisis today, and unless we change course, it will be in crisis for all of us tomorrow.

Government under President Obama has grown to consume almost 40% of our economy. We are only inches away from ceasing to be a free market economy. I will cap federal spending at 20% or less of the GDP and finally, finally balance the budget.

My generation will pass the torch to the next generation, not a bill.

I will insist that Washington learns to respect the Constitution, including the 10th Amendment. We will return responsibility and authority to the states for dozens of government programs – and that begins with a complete repeal of Obamacare.

From my first day in office my number one job will be to see that America once again is number one in job creation. You know, if you want to create jobs, it helps to have had a job. I will make business taxes competitive with other nations, modernize regulations and bureaucracy and finally promote America’s trade interests. It’s time for a president who cares more about America’s workers than he does about America’s union bosses.

Over the last thirty years, I can't tell you how many times I've heard a situation is hopeless. But I've never been very good at listening to those people and I've always enjoyed proving them wrong.

It's one of the lessons I learned from my Dad.

My father never graduated from college. He apprenticed, as a lath and plaster carpenter, and he was darn good at it. He learned how to put a handful of nails in his mouth and spit them out, point forward. On their honeymoon, he and Mom drove across the country. Dad sold aluminum paint along the way, to pay for gas and hotels.

There were a lot reasons my father could have given up or set his sights lower. But Dad always believed in America; and in that America, a lath and plaster man could work his way up to running a little car company called American Motors, and end up Governor of a state where he had once sold aluminum paint.

For my Dad, America was the land of opportunity, where the circumstances of birth are no barrier to achieving one’s dreams. Small business and entrepreneurs were encouraged, and respected, and a good worker could almost always find a good job.

The spirit of enterprise, innovation, pioneering and can-do propelled our standard of living and economy past every other nation on earth.

I refuse to believe that America is just another place on the map with a flag. We stand for freedom and opportunity and hope.

These last two years have not been the best of times. But while we’ve lost a couple of years, we have not lost our way. The principles that made us a great nation and leader of the world have not lost their meaning. They never will.

We know we can bring this country back.

I'm Mitt Romney. I believe in America.

And I'm running for President of the United States.

Source: Mitt Romney For President Website

Mitt Romney Announces Presidential Bid on Thursday in New Hampshire

Boston, MA – On June 2, 2011 Governor Mitt Romney will formally announce his candidacy for President of the United States. The announcement will be held at Doug and Stella Scamman’s Bittersweet Farm in Stratham, NH.

Thursday, June 2, 2011

Event: Mitt Romney Kicks of Presidential Campaign with Chili Cookout

When: 12:00 PM EDT

Location:

Doug and Stella Scamman’s Bittersweet Farm
69 Portsmouth Avenue
Stratham, NH

Mitt Romney Forms Romney for President Exploratory Committee

Today, Mitt Romney formed the Romney for President Exploratory Committee with the Federal Election Commission (FEC) as a first step in a campaign for the 2012 Republican nomination for President of the United States. While this step does not constitute a formal announcement of candidacy, it allows Governor Romney to be in compliance with the requirements of federal election law as he begins to raise the funds necessary to explore a potential candidacy.

Gov. Romney announced his plans in an online video at www.mittromney.com which was made public via Facebook and Twitter. The video was taped at the University of New Hampshire following a meeting this morning between Gov. Romney and students who said they are worried about getting a job after graduation. The transcript for the video is as follows:

Hello, I'm Mitt Romney. This morning I spoke with a number of students here at the University of New Hampshire. Like young people all over the country, they wonder whether they'll find good jobs when they graduate.

Last week, in Nevada, I walked through a neighborhood with homes vacant or in foreclosure. Unemployment there is over 13%. Across the nation, over 20 million Americans still can't find a job, or have given up looking.

How has this happened in the nation that leads the world in innovation and productivity? The answer is that President Obama's policies have failed. He and virtually all the people around him have never worked in the real economy. They just don't know how jobs are created in the private sector.

That's where I spent my entire career. In 1985, I helped found a company. At first, we had ten employees; today there are hundreds.

My work led me to become deeply involved in helping other businesses, from innovative startups to large companies going through tough times. Sometimes I was successful and helped create jobs, other times I was not. I learned how America competes with companies in other countries, why jobs leave, and how jobs are created here at home.

Later, when I served as governor of Massachusetts, I used the skills I had learned in 25 years in business to streamline state government, balance the budget every year, and restore a 2 billion dollar rainy day fund.

From my vantage point in business and in government, I have become convinced that America has been put on a dangerous course by Washington politicians, and it has become even worse during the last two years. But I am also convinced that with able leadership, America's best days are still ahead.

That is why today I am announcing my Exploratory Committee for the Presidency of the United States.

It is time that we put America back on a course of greatness, with a growing economy, good jobs and fiscal discipline in Washington.

I believe in America. I believe in the freedom and opportunity, and the principles of our constitution, that have led us to become the greatest nation in the history of the earth – and I believe that these principles will confirm American's future as well.

This effort is not about a person, it is about the cause of American freedom and greatness. I'd like to ask you to join with us – volunteer, donate, or just pass this along to a friend. Thanks so much.

Source: Mitt Romney 2012 Presidential Exploratory Committee Website Tim Pawlenty 2012 Tim Pawlenty 2012 May 23, 2011










Governor Pawlenty: "A Time for Truth"
Presidential Campaign Announcement Speech
Des Moines, Iowa
May 23, 2011

As Prepared for Delivery

Thanks, Mary, for your very kind words and for your tremendous love and support. After serving eight years as Minnesota's Governor, I was very much looking forward to life with Mary, and our daughters, in the Midwestern home we love. But with Mary's encouragement and wise counsel, we came to a different conclusion. And that brings me here today with this announcement.

I'm Tim Pawlenty, and I'm running for President of the United States.

We live in the greatest country the world has ever known. But, as we all know, America is in big trouble, and it won't get fixed if we keep going down the same path. If we want a new and better direction, we need a new and better President.

President Obama's policies have failed. But more than that, he won't even tell us the truth about what it's really going to take to get out of the mess we're in.

I could stand here and tell you that we can solve America's debt crisis and fix our economy without making any tough choices.

But we've heard those kinds of empty promises for the last three years, and we know where they've gotten us. Fluffy promises of hope and change don't buy our groceries, make our mortgage payments, put gas in our cars, or pay for our children’s clothes.

So, in my campaign, I'm going to take a different approach. I am going to tell you the truth. The truth is, Washington's broken.

Our country is going broke, and the pain of the recent recession will pale in comparison to what's coming, if we don't get spending in Washington D.C. under control. President Obama doesn't have an economic plan. He just has a campaign plan. America deserves much better.

Barack Obama promised that spending eight hundred billion dollars on a pork-filled stimulus bill would keep unemployment under eight percent. He promised that bailouts for well-connected businesses were a good deal for the country. He promised that a federal takeover of health care would keep costs under control. And hard as it is to believe, he even promised the deficit would be cut in half in his first term!

But the truth is, since President Obama took office, massive numbers of Americans can't find a job. We're four trillion dollars deeper in debt. And his health care plan is an unmitigated disaster for our country.

We've tried Barack Obama's way . . . and his way has failed. Three years into his term, we're no longer just running out of money. We're running out of time.

It's time for new leadership. It's time for a new approach. And, it's time for America's president - and anyone who wants to be president - to look you in the eye and tell you the truth. So here it is.

Government money isn't "free." You and I either pay for it in taxes, or our children pay for it in debt. The reforms we need are not in the billions, but in the trillions of dollars. And the cuts we need to make - the cuts we must make - can't just be to somebody else's programs.

The changes history is calling on America to make today cannot be shouldered only by people richer than us or poorer than us - but by us, too.

Politicians are often afraid that if they're too honest, they might lose an election. I'm afraid that in 2012, if we're not honest enough, we may lose our country.

If we want to grow our economy, we need to shrink our government. If we want to create jobs, we need to encourage job creators. If we want our children to be free to pursue their dreams, we can't shackle them with our debts.

This is a time for truth.

That's why later this week, I'm going to New York City, to tell Wall Street that if I'm elected, the era of bailouts, handouts, and carve outs will be over. No more subsidies, no more special treatment. No more Fannie and Freddie, no more TARP, and no more "too big to fail."

Success in our economy must once again be determined by the ingenuity of competing businesses and the judgment of the marketplace, period.

There's more.

Tomorrow, I'm going to Florida to tell both young people and seniors the truth that our entitlement programs are on an unsustainable path and that inaction is no longer an option.

Our national debt, combined with Obamacare, have placed Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid in real peril. I'll tell young people the truth that over time and for them only, we're going to gradually raise their Social Security retirement age.

And, I'll also tell the truth to wealthy seniors that we will means test Social Security's annual cost-of-living adjustment.

Medicare must be also be reformed with "pay for performance" incentives that reward good doctors and wise consumers.

And, we need to block grant Medicaid to the states. There, innovative reformers closest to the patients can solve problems and save money.

This week, I'll also be in Washington, D.C., to remind the federal bureaucracy that government exists to serve its citizens, not its employees. The truth is, people getting paid by the taxpayers shouldn't get a better deal than the taxpayers themselves.

That means freezing federal salaries, transitioning federal employee benefits, and downsizing the federal workforce as it retires. It means paying public employees for results, not just seniority - from the Capitol to the classroom, and everywhere in between.

And in the private sector, it means no card check - not now, not ever. It means no more taxpayer bailouts just because you gave lots of money to a campaign. And it especially means the National Labor Relations Board will never again tell an American company where it can and can't do business.

I'm here today to tell Iowans the truth, too.

America is facing a crushing debt crisis the likes of which we've never seen before. We need to cut spending, and we need to cut it…big time. The hard truth is that there are no longer any sacred programs.

The truth about federal energy subsidies, including federal subsidies for ethanol, is that they have to be phased out. We need to do it gradually. We need to do it fairly. But we need to do it.

Now, I'm not some out-of-touch politician. I served two terms as Governor of an ag state. I fully understand and respect the critical role farming plays in our economy and our society. I've strongly supported ethanol in various ways over the years, and I still believe in the promise of renewable fuels - both for our economy and our national security.

But even in Minnesota, when faced with fiscal challenges, we reduced ethanol subsidies. That's where we are now in Washington, but on a much, much larger scale.

It's not only ethanol. We need to change our approach to subsidies in all industries.

It can't be done overnight. The industry has made large investments, and it wouldn't be fair to pull the rug out from under it immediately. But we must face the truth that if we want to invite more competition, more investment, and more innovation into an industry - we need to get government out. We also need the government out of the business of handing out favors and special deals. The free market, not freebies from politicians, should decide a company's success. So, as part of a larger reform, we need to phase out subsidies across all sources of energy and all industries, including ethanol. We simply can't afford them anymore.

Some people will be upset by what I'm saying.

Conventional wisdom says you can't talk about ethanol in Iowa or Social Security in Florida or financial reform on Wall Street.

But someone has to say it. Someone has to finally stand up and level with the American people. Someone has to lead.

When times get tough, there's always a temptation among politicians to try to turn the American people against one-another. Some try to fan the flames of envy and resentment as a way to deflect attention from their own responsibilities.

But that's not good enough. Our problems demand - and our children deserve - much more from us this time.

No president deserves to win an election by dividing the American people - picking winners and losers, protecting his own party's spending and cutting only the other guys'; pitting classes, and ethnicities, and generations against each other.

The truth is, we're all in this together. So we need to work to get out of this mess together.

I'll unite our party and unite our nation, because to solve a fourteen-trillion-dollar problem, we're going to need three hundred million people.

Leadership in a time of crisis isn't about telling people what you think they want to hear, it's about telling the truth

President Barack Obama refuses to do that. He has a simple and cynical plan: pretend there is no crisis, then attack those of us who are willing to stand up and try to solve it.

In Washington, they call that "smart politics." But I'm not from Washington. I grew up in Minnesota, in the hard-working blue collar town of South Saint Paul.

When I was 16 years old my mom passed away from ovarian cancer. Awhile later, my dad lost his job for a time. In a situation like that, you see some things. You learn some things.

At a young age, I learned the value of leaning into my faith in God, in challenging times and at all times. I saw the value of a loving family that rallied around each other in times of crisis. I learned the value of hard work and the responsibility for doing my part. I learned that education was a ticket to opportunity.

I learned the value of a job and a paycheck. I got a chance to work at a grocery store for about seven years. I was a union member. I was proud to earn some money to help pay for school costs and make ends meet.

The values I learned are America's values. I know the American Dream -- because I've lived it. I am running for President to keep that dream alive.

The first step toward restoring America's promise, is to elect a president who keeps his promises.

How do I know conservative values and principles can rescue our economy and reform our government? Because in Minnesota, for the last eight years, they already have. I love my state but let's face it: it's one of the most liberal states in the union.

Minnesota's big-government legacy presented me with the same type of problems Barack Obama found in the nation's capital. But my approach – and my results – were very different from his.

When I became governor, Minnesota's two-year budget had been increasing an average of 21% for over forty years. During my eight years, that changed dramatically. I passed a budget that actually reduced state spending in real terms for the first time in the 150-year history of Minnesota.

For decades before I was elected, governors tried and failed to get Minnesota out of the top-ten highest taxed states in the country. I actually did it.

Minnesota faced health care costs that were spiraling out of control. Sound familiar? I know how to do health care reform right. I've done it at the state level. No mandates, no takeovers… and it's the opposite of Obamacare.

I took on the public employee unions before it was popular to do it. For example, our government bus drivers had benefits similar to those that are breaking budgets in California, Illinois, and half of Europe. I wanted to bring those benefits in line. The union refused and went on strike. It became one of the longest transit strikes in the history of the country. People picketed my house, the media trashed me, and the buses didn't move. But neither did we. On the 45th day of the strike, the union came back to the table, and taxpayers won. Today, we have a transit system that gives commuters a ride, without taking the taxpayers for a ride.

I stood up to the teachers unions and established one of the first statewide performance pay systems in the country.

And I appointed new conservative justices to the state Supreme Court. They understand that judges are supposed to rule according to the language of the law, not the preferences of their party. You know something about that here in Iowa.

In Minnesota and in Washington, the issues were the same: taxes, spending, health care, unions, and the courts. But in Washington, Barack Obama has consistently stood for higher taxes, more spending, more government, more powerful special interests, and less individual freedom.

In Minnesota, I cut taxes, cut spending, instituted health care choice and performance pay for teachers, reformed our union benefits, and appointed constitutional conservatives to the Supreme Court. That is how you lead a liberal state in a conservative direction.

The problems we face as a nation are severe. But if we could move Minnesota in a common sense, conservative direction, we can do it anywhere -- even in Washington D.C.

It won't be easy, but it's not supposed to be. This is America - we don't do easy.

Valley Forge wasn't easy. Normandy wasn't easy. Winning the Cold War wasn't easy.

If prosperity were easy, everyone around the world would be prosperous.

If security were easy, everyone around the world would be secure.

If freedom were easy, everyone would be free.

They're not. But - Americans are - because our Founders and generations before us chose to be, and insisted, sacrificed - and risked everything - so that we could be.

That's their legacy. Now it's our challenge.

We are up for it.

In 2008, Barack Obama told us he would change America . . . and he has.

In 2012, we will change America again . . . and this time, it will be for the better.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America.

Gov. Tim Pawlenty Officially Announces Campaign for President
Governor says now is "A Time for Truth"

DES MOINES - Gov. Tim Pawlenty announced today that he is running for President, telling voters at a town hall event in Des Moines, Iowa that "it's time for new leadership, with a new approach."

"The time has come for America’s president – and anyone who wants to be president – to look you in the eye and tell you the truth," Gov. Pawlenty said. "If we don’t change directions in 2012, if we do not move quickly and decisively, if we are not willing to chip in to sacrifice some of our own comfort and convenience for the lives and liberties of our children, it may be too late."

Gov. Pawlenty's official announcement kicks off a week-long, multi-state tour devoted to telling Americans the truth about the challenges facing America, and laying out specific ideas for getting the country back on track. Pawlenty will host a Facebook town hall on Tuesday and deliver remarks at the Cato Institute on Wednesday. He will travel to New Hampshire and New York on Thursday and Friday.

"Tomorrow I’m going to Florida, to look both young people and seniors in the eye and tell them the truth, that our entitlement programs are on an unsustainable path. And that inaction is no longer an option," Pawlenty said in Des Moines. "Conventional wisdom says you can’t talk about ethanol in Iowa or Social Security in Florida or financial reform on Wall Street. But someone has to say it. Someone has to finally stand up and level with the American people. Someone has to lead."

With the nation facing difficult challenges, Governor Pawlenty pointed to his record in Minnesota as evidence that conservative leadership can lead to a brighter future.

"In Minnesota, I cut taxes, cut spending, instituted health care choice and performance pay for teachers, reformed our union benefits, and appointed constitutional conservatives to the Supreme Court," Governor Pawlenty said. "The problems we face as a nation are severe. But if we could move Minnesota in a common sense, conservative direction, we can do it anywhere -- even in Washington D.C."

Governor Pawlenty's announcement comes less than five months after he completed his second term as Governor of Minnesota. First elected governor in 2002, Governor Pawlenty promised to balance budgets without raising taxes — a promise he kept. Instead, he was honest with voters about the choices necessary to restrain out-of-control spending. It wasn't easy: His budget fights led to the first government shutdown in Minnesota's history, a 44-day transit strike, and a record number of vetoes and budget unallotments. His success earned him an A grade in fiscal responsibility from the Cato Institute — one of only four governors to receive the libertarian group's highest ranking.

One of five children, Pawlenty grew up near the stockyards of South St. Paul. His father was a truck driver and his mother passed away when he was young. Pawlenty worked while attending the University of Minnesota, becoming the first in his family to graduate from college. He went on to earn his law degree and become a criminal prosecutor before being elected to the Eagan City Council in 1989, and the Minnesota state House in 1992.

Tim Pawlenty has been married for over 20 years to his wife, Mary, a former district judge. The Pawlentys have two teenage daughters, Anna and Mara, and attend Wooddale Church in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.

Solutions

Dear Friend,

Today in Iowa, I announced that I'm running for President of the United States of America.

Watch the announcement video and read my op-ed in the USA today.

For too many years, politicians have made empty promises. So today in Iowa I didn’t promise that we can eliminate a 14 trillion dollar debt, create jobs for 10 million people, restructure social security and healthcare, overhaul an education system that fails 40% of our children – all without any real sacrifice, or tough decisions.

And I didn’t promise a freer, happier, more prosperous America that requires you to do nothing but vote for me.

Instead, I just told the truth.

The truth is: our country’s in trouble.

We have far too much debt, too much government spending, and too few jobs.

We need a President who understands that our problems are deep, and that happy talk won’t fix them. We need a President who has the courage to face them. President Obama does not. I do.

Please join me on this campaign around the country in the days and weeks ahead. You won’t hear empty promises. You will hear a lot of solutions. Show your support by donating today to help us defeat President Obama.


Sincerely,

Tim Pawlenty

A Time For Truth

Dear Friend,

I wanted you to be among the first to know that tomorrow, I will be in Iowa to announce that I’m running for President of the United States of America. I hope you’ll take a moment to watch this video previewing tomorrow's announcement:

We need a President who will tell the American people the truth about the severe challenges facing our nation and how we can get America back on track. President Obama won't do that. I will.

After the announcement in Iowa, I'm going to Florida on Tuesday to host a special Facebook Townhall to talk about some of the specific things we must do to solve our nation's fiscal mess. I hope you'll join me in this important online discussion by clicking here to RSVP.

Together, we will change our country, and this time it’ll be for the better.

Sincerely,


Tim Pawlenty

Pawlenty Announces Formation of Presidential Exploratory Committee

MINNEAPOLIS -- Governor Tim Pawlenty announced today he is forming an exploratory committee to run for President of the United States and filed papers with the Federal Election Commission to create the Pawlenty for President Exploratory Committee.

The Governor made his announcement in a video posted on Facebook. He is the first presidential candidate in history to launch his campaign on the social network. Watch the announcement at www.Facebook.com/TimPawlenty.

"We have a great country, but we're headed in the wrong direction. We need a real debate with President Obama, so the American people can decide how to get this country back on track," Governor Pawlenty said. "I will unite the Republican Party around my optimistic vision. We need to make the tough decisions to reform and renew the American dream. I am looking forward to making my case."

Following the announcement, Governor Pawlenty's exploratory committee launched a new website at www.TimPawlenty.com. The new website features PawlentyAction, which empowers supporters to organize and communicate online.

Earlier this year, Governor Pawlenty completed his second term as governor of Minnesota. During his 8 years in office, he cut taxes and spending and passed market-based health care and education reforms. He was one of only four governors to receive an "A" grade for fiscal responsibility from the Cato Institute.

Governor Pawlenty lives in Eagan, Minnesota, with his wife, Mary, and two teenage daughters, Anna and Mara.

Tim Pawlenty email to supporters
Exclusive: My Announcement

Dear Friend,

As you may have heard, today I took a big step toward running for the presidency in 2012 by announcing the formation of a presidential exploratory committee.

This step allows me to travel the country as a candidate meeting people like you and speaking about my positive, growth-oriented vision for our country.

I know many Americans are worried about our country’s future. But I also know there are brighter days ahead if we commit to a pro-growth economic agenda, stop out of control spending, and tackle the entitlements programs that are saddling our ability to compete in the world.

For the last 8 years, I got things done as governor of Minnesota: Standing up to public employees unions, cutting spending and rejecting tax increases. It wasn’t easy, but these fiscally responsible policies helped my state be a leader in economic growth and job creation.

I know what it takes to defeat the liberal establishment and stop out-of-control spending because I’ve done it. We need to do that in America, and that’s one of the big reasons I launched this committee today.

I’m confident this campaign will succeed, but my wife Mary and I are realistic about the hard work and long road ahead. Many of my likely primary opponents have run for national office before and are already household names. And President Obama is already raising money for his billion-dollar re-election campaign.

That's why I’m asking you to donate to my campaign today, on Day 1. When we win, Mary and I want to know you supported us since the very beginning.

If you share my optimism in America and conviction that we can succeed, I hope you will make a financial contribution to my exploratory committee today at www.timpawlenty.com. While you are there be sure to check out the other ways to get involved.

Thank you for your consideration, past support and may God bless you.

Sincerely,

Tim Pawlenty

Source: Tim Pawlenty 2012 Exploratory Committee Website Herman Cain 2012 Herman Cain 2012 May 21, 2011










Herman Cain 2012 Presidential Campaign Announcement Speech

May 21, 2011

Olympic Centennial Park

Atlanta, Georgia

Saturday, May 21, 2011

Love ya. Love ya. Love ya. Love y'all. Love y’all. My, my my. Love ya. Aww, shucky ducky as the man would say. I got to tell ya. Let me--. Thank you. I see some Antioch people out there, a few of them back there yelling. I understand that my Aunt Bessie is here. Oh, there she is. Now do you know why it is so momentous that my Aunt Bessie is here? She hasn't decided if she can vote for me yet. (Cheers) But I'm going to change her mind. Just like we’re going to change the mind of a lot of folk in America. (Applause)

But I want to thank all of you again from the absolute bottom of my heart for you being here, because there was some skeptics as you know who didn't think anybody would show up for an announcement from me. And the last time I heard there are 15,000 of you'all right here. Centennial Olympic Park.

Thank you. Thank you. You know it has been this kind of encouragement that has gotten me to this point. And it is this kind of encouragement that I believe, that I know is going to take us to where we are trying to get to. (Applause)

You know, many of you know that I grew up right here in Atlanta, Georgia. Right here in Atlanta, Georgia. I stand in the shadows of my upbringing. I stand here today as the son of a chauffeur and a domestic worker, who taught me and my brother three of the most important values we could have ever learned. Belief in God. (Applause) Belief in what we could for ourselves. (Applause) And belief in this exceptional nation called the United States of America. (Applause) Believe in it. (Applause)

You know that the people that are struggling the most are the ones who don't believe in this nation. They don't believe in the values of this nation. My parents never uttered the words--victim, because they never felt like a victim, having the opportunity to be in this nation despite its challenges. So I stand here today as Luther’s and Lenora's oldest son, in my hometown. I stand here today in this hour, in the shadow of the Olympic flame, which represents not only the determination of those that go to the Olympics every four years with their own determination, but it also signifies the great spirit of this great country, the spirit of America. That’s what it signifies. (Applause)

And it is the spirit of America and the determination of America and the determination of its people that we are going to take our country back. (Applause) We going to take it back. This day, this hour, in the spirit of America and the spirit of the Olympics here in this park. When people go to the Olympics every four years, they don’t go to the Olympics to come in second. They go to the Olympics to win.

And you see, just like the spirit of the Olympics, number two is not in America’s DNA. We don’t do number two. Right here, this day, this hour, this moment. Reminds me of the words to the closing song of the 2000 Olympics: Life can be a challenge, life can seem impossible, it’s never easy when there’s so much on the line, but you and I can make a difference. There’s a mission just for you, there’s a mission just for me. Just look inside and you will find just what you can do. (Applause)

Right here, this day, this hour, and this moment, I have looked inside of me and at this moment, this day amongst thousands and thousands of my friends, and with my family here with me and associates that I have known throughout the years, this day, this hour, this moment I came here to declare my candidacy for the Republican nomination for President of the United States of America. (Applause) This Moment. (Applause) This moment.

And, just to be clear, just to be clear. in case you accidently listened to a skeptic or a doubting Thomas out there. Just to be clear, let me say it again. I’m running for President of the United States, (Applause) and I’m not running for second. I’m not running for second. (Applause) One. This day. (Crowd chants Herman, Herman)

Now let me tell ya. Because I’ve had reporters ask me sometimes. Well, are you running just to get attention and maybe come in second or maybe to get a cabinet position? I said you don’t know very much about me. You don’t run for second--I don’t run for second. I’m running to be number one.

Now let me tell you some of the reasons of why I am running for President of the United States. One of the biggest reasons is that we have become a nation of crises. We have a moral crisis. We’ve got an economic crisis. We’ve got an entitlement spending crisis. We’ve got an immigration crisis. We’ve got a foggy foreign affairs crisis. And we’ve got a deficiency of leadership crisis in the White House. (Applause)

There is a big difference between leadership and positionship, a big difference between leadership and positionship. Let’s look at the facts relative to all of these crises. We have anemic economic growth. In the first quarter of this year our GDP only grew by 1.8%. That is anemic, especially when China is growing at 10% compound. And if we don’t increase our growth rate, they‘re going to be as big as we are in five years if you take out the differences in exchange rates.

And like I said earlier, if we allow China to become as economically powerful as us, you know that they are going try to develop their military might as big as ours. And I don’t know about you, but I’m not going to allow America to be number two in the economy or number two militarily, not on our watch. (Applause) Not on our watch.

We are a nation of crises. Look at the facts; don’t listen to the rhetoric. A 9% unemployment rate, with nearly 15 million people out of work. 47 million people on food stamps; that’s 14 million more than there were when the current occupant of the White House took over. Four dollars a gallon for gas and it’s not over yet. One trillion dollars in spending to stimulate the economy and it didn’t stimulate diddly. (Applause)

All of that, and now to have a 14 trillion dollar national debt and the debate in Washington DC is going on about do we raise the debt ceiling again? Let me tell you what the Cain Doctrine would be. We ain’t raising the debt ceiling. (Applause) We’re going to cut the spending. (Applause) It’s called reduce. So look at the facts. Don’t just listen to the rhetoric. Look at the facts. The stuff is not working. It’s not working. So the only thing that I can conclude is it’s time to get real folks. (Cheers) It’s time to get real.

Hope and change ain’t working. Hope and change is not a solution. Hope and change is not a job. Hope and change is not a new business. Hope and change is not a vision. We need a new vision in this country and that means we need a new person leading this nation in the White House. (Applause) It ain’t working.

Now I want to ask you a few questions. Is America ready for real results? (Crowd: Yes) Is America ready for common sense solutions? (Crowd: Yes) Is America ready to rekindle the spirit of America? (Crowd: Yes) And Is America ready for a real leader, not a reader? (Crowd: Yes) (Applause) Do you want a leader? Or you want a reader? (Applause)

Now since-- (Crowd chants: Herman, Herman) I know, I know it took some people to connect the dots on that last statement. …They were a little slow, but they finally got it. Now since you answered yes to those questions, let me describe our new vision. I don’t call it my vision, my job as the leader is to define it, key it up, share it with you; it becomes our vision. Because, you know what, I can’t do this by myself. This will be our vision, not a political vision, not the agenda of one person, but it has to be the agenda of the people of this country. I call it our vision. (Applause)

And in order for us, in order for us to be able to achieve and make reality out of our vision, we’re going to need some new plans, set some new priorities, and certainly get some new people around the President, this President (points to himself) that are better than the ones we got (applause) in terms of the vision. (Applause)

Our new vision--real economic growth, not anemic growth and in order to do it, we’ve got to lower tax rates for corporations and individuals. (Applause) We’ve got to suspend taxes on repatriated profits. We got to take the capital gain taxes to zero. We got to give the workers of America a real payroll tax holiday and then put a bow around it and make the tax rates permanent. (Applause) That would lead economic growth. (Applause)

Our vision. A real energy independence plan. (Applause) A real one. Not one that someone just reads off of a teleprompter. No. A real one. One of things that is so frustrating about it is that we have the resources to become energy independent, we simply need to pull the resources together in order to make it happen. That’s our vision.

You know, I will never go to a foreign country or Brazil, loan them money and then tell them we are going to be their best customer for their oil. Let me share with you another one of the Cain Doctrines. America is going to be its own best customer. Drill here. Drill now. (Applause) Right here in the U.S.A.. (Applause) We will be our own best customer. (Applause)

And as President of the United States I’m going to make sure that we are our own best customer when it comes to our energy needs and our energy resources. It’s not that we don’t have the resources; we just got too much bureaucracy that keeps getting in the way.

Our new vision means immigration through the front door and not through the back door, not through the side door. (Applause) This nation was built upon immigrants. Legal immigrants. And if we attack the right problem--which is we got four problems, not one. We got to secure the border, we got to enforce the laws that are there, we got to promote the path to citizenship that’s already there, clean up the bureaucracy. We don’t need a new path to citizenship; we already have one. Why don’t you ask the millions of people who came here legally. (Applause) They’ll tell you. And then the fourth thing that we have to do in order to deal with the illegals that are already here, the federal government is not going to solve the problem. In our new vision we will empower the states to solve the problem of those that are here. (Applause) That’s how we take care of that problem.

And the last thing that you will get from a Herman Cain presidency is suing a state because they are trying to protect themselves. We shouldn’t be suing Arizona; we ought to send them a prize. (Applause) A peace prize. (Applause) Suing a state of the United States of America. There’s a major disconnect.

Our new vision. Real energy--economic growth, real energy independence, immigration through the front door, not the back door or the side door, and then real, clear foreign policies. (Applause) Real clear. I love it when the skeptics want to criticize me because of “lack of foreign policy experience.” Let me tell you what I know about foreign policy experience. I know that you don’t throw your friends under the bus. (Applause) That’s what I know about foreign policy. (Applause) You don’t need to have years in the State Department to figure that out.

Know who your friends are. Know who you enemies are. And don’t throw your friends under the bus. I was shocked last week, I think it was Thursday, when President Obama threw Israel under the bus.

Let me tell you what the Cain Doctrine would be, relative to our friends, and I’ll share with you later my doctrine relative to our enemies. I got some stuff for them too. (Applause) But, relative to Israel, that most of us have appreciated the relationship for decades. The Cain Doctrine to the world would simply be if you mess with Israel, you’re messing with the United State of America. Don’t mess with us. (Applause) Don’t mess with us. Is that real clear? (Applause) Is that real clear? (Applause) That’s what I mean by real clear foreign policy. (Applause) Know who your friends are. Know who your enemies are.

And it’s our new vision; not the establishment, not the politicians. It is our new vision. Let me-- and lastly this nation has gradually over the years slipped in to an entitlement society. Well I got to tell you folks, not only do I believe it is possible, but I also know that it’s time with restructuring programs, instead of reshuffling programs we can take this entitlement society to an empowerment society. (Applause) Empower people. Empower the states. Empower businesses. We can become an empowerment society with our new vision. With our new vision.

You know the founding fathers they did their job. And they did a great job at it. And they kept it simple. They wrote the Declaration of Independence; they designed and wrote the Constitution of the United State of America. And one of the other things that is part of our vision is that we don’t need to rewrite the Declaration, we don’t need to rewrite the Constitution of the United States. Rewrite it? We need to reread the Constitution and enforce the Constitution. (Applause) We don’t need to rewrite, let’s reread.

And I know that there are some people that are not going to do that. So for the benefit of those that are not going to read it, because they don’t want us to go by the Constitution, there’s a little section in there that talks about Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. You know those ideals that we live by, we believe in, your parents believed in, they instilled in you. When you get to the part about Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, don’t stop right there, keep reading. Because that’s when it says “When any form of government becomes destructive of those ideals, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it.” We’ve got some altering and some abolishing to do. (Applause)

In 2012, we are not only going to keep control of the House of Representatives, we are going to also control the United States Senate and take it back. And in 2012 we are also going to run the trifecta and alter the occupant of the White House with a new President. (Applause)

And lastly-- (crowd chants: Herman, Herman) Thank you. And for sure, we’re all going to have to work a little harder, we’re going to have to work a little smarter. We’re not going to convert everybody over to our conservative way of thinking; we’re not going to sell everybody on our new vision with new leadership, new people, new ways to think about it. Because a good friend told me once, all you can do is save the savable. And you know what? Between November now and November 2012, I think I’m going to save my Aunt Bessie. (Applause) I think she’s got hope.

We got a lot of work to do folks, but I believe that we can do this. If I didn’t believe we could do this, I wouldn’t be doing it. So we all got to do a little bit more. We all go to work a little bit harder in order to take back this country. It’s going to be tough, I’m up for the fight, I’m up for the challenge, and I know that you are too. (Applause)

The founding fathers, the founding fathers did their job; we have to do our job and be the defending fathers. And I have been blessed with two adult kids; they’re grown and gone. We’ve got three grandkids and it’s not about us. It’s not about us, and I know everybody here feels that way from me traveling all over the country talking to groups day in and day out, town hall meetings, large rallies, big rallies, small rallies, the message has been consistent. It’s not about us, and people are ready to do whatever it takes in order to take this nation back. And I firmly believe in my heart that God is in this Journey, that God is in this Journey. (Applause)

And in November of 2012, the day after the Election Day, when we wake up that morning and all of the votes are counted and they declare not only all of the local election results, the state-wide election results, the congressional results, the senatorial results, but when we wake up and they declare the presidential results and Herman Cain is in the White House, we’ll all be able to say-free at last, free at last, thank God almighty this nation is free at last again. (Applause) God bless you. God bless the U.S.A.. (Applause) (crowd chant: Herman, Herman)

Thank you. Thank you very much. This is my family along with you, and I wanted you to see them, because this thing is going to move so fast that you may not see them much, so you better look quick. Thank you again, ladies and gentleman. Thank you. Thank you very much. Thank you. Thank you very much. Jim, Bessie. Thank you very much. God bless you. God bless you. Stay tuned. God bless you. God bless each and every one of you.

# # #

[TRANSCRIPT by 4president.org /Democracy in Action]

Herman Cain Announces Bid for Republican Presidential Nomination

(Stockbridge, GA)- Business executive and conservative leader Herman Cain announced his bid for the Republican presidential nomination today at a large public rally at Centennial Olympic Park in Atlanta, Georgia.

"After prayerful consideration with my family and closest friends, I have decided to seek the Republican nomination for President of the United States," Cain said. "I look forward to continuing my travels across the country, engaging in discussions with the American people about the concerns facing our nation and sharing my ‘common sense solutions’ with them.”

Cain is a noted business leader who has served as an executive at Pillsbury, Burger King and Godfather's Pizza. He also served as the President of the National Restaurant Association and as the Chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City.

"I have spent my entire adult life creating private sector jobs, so I know what it takes to get businesses hiring again," Cain explained. "It’s time for a return to our Constitutional principles of limited government and individual freedom, coupled with free market principles that have long made America the envy of the world.”

Herman Cain has been married to his wife, Gloria, for 42 years. They have two adult children and three grandchildren.

Cain has made more than 40 stops in the early primary and caucus states, including 17 in Iowa alone. Cain's campaign headquarters will be located in the Atlanta suburb of Stockbridge.

Herman Cain Announces Presidential Exploratory Committee

Business Executive to “Test Waters” for Potential White House Bid

STOCKBRIDGE, GA- Business executive Herman Cain announced today that he has officially established a presidential exploratory committee, “Friends of Herman Cain,” to “test the waters” for a possible White House bid.

“After receiving overwhelming encouragement from supporters and donors across the U.S., I have decided to form a presidential exploratory committee,” Cain said. “During this time, we will examine the extent of financial resources and grassroots support that would be critical to winning the Republican nomination.”

Cain is best known for his role as President and CEO of Godfather’s Pizza, Inc., where he led the company from the brink of bankruptcy to profitability in just 14 months. He has also served as an executive of other Fortune 500 Companies, such as Pillsbury and Burger King.

He served as chairman of the Federal Reserve in Kansas City, as well as the President and CEO of the National Restaurant Association. Cain was a senior economic adviser to the Dole/ Kemp presidential campaign in 1996.

Cain hosts a nightly radio program, “The Herman Cain Show,” one of the highest-rated shows in the Atlanta media market. He is also a syndicated columnist.

“Friends of Herman Cain” is a registered non-profit in the state of Georgia, and the names of exploratory committee members will be released at a later date.

Source: Herman Cain 2012 Website Ron Paul 2012 Ron Paul 2012 May 13, 2011











Ron Paul 2012 Presidential Campaign Announcement Speech
May 13, 2011
Exeter, New Hampshire

Thank you very much, thank you, thank you. Thank you, thank you very much. We’re on a schedule you know so. But that was very nice and Jim I certainly want to thank you. I am very pleased to call Jim senator. That is great. And Chris thank you for your efforts and I want to acknowledge all my special guests behind me, thank you very much for attending and thank you all for coming, I am so delighted to see you involved in our revolution. (Applause)

I have one update about the revolution. The revolution is spreading and the momentum is building. (Applause) Our time has come. It's been around for a long time, but the momentum is here today, not because of what I have done—I happen to have been in an important place and energized some, but it is necessary that the grassroots people understand what the issues are. A generation of people need to know, and I am delighted that the young people are with us in this revolutionary spirit that we have. (Applause)

But a lot of other work has been done. It's been the intellectual work. I am convinced that a nation does not change just for partisan political reasons. What has to happen is there has to be an intellectual revolution to energize people and get people to understand the problems from economic and political terms as well as foreign policy. That is what has been happening now for quite a few decades. There's quite a bit of difference about attitudes about economics and foreign policy today than there was in 1976 when I was first elected. There's a big difference, and it involves a lot of work from a lot of people. And now that so many people in this country have come to understand that government so far in its pretense that it can take care of us from cradle to grave and police the world, it is so evident to this growing number of people that government isn't the solution—government really has created the problems. (Applause)

And what our opponents so often we like to do is say oh, you people don't even want any government. But you know in our society with our Constitution there is a role for government. But the Constitution wasn't written explicitly not to restrain your behavior and your life and the way you spend your money, it was written to restrain the federal government. (Applause)

But because of the educational effort and the work that so many have done, but also the strong evidence that there is a failure out there, especially since we saw what happened with the housing bubble—and that was a predictable event—that the housing bubble would burst. It did as the Austrian free market economists had predicted. And because of all this they have come together and people are now listening to this revolutionary spirit that is spreading across this country. (Applause)

It's great that I am able to announce in this state, a very special state, because there is so high respect for the spirit of liberty here, so I am very, very pleased that I am once again able to say that I am a candidate for the presidency in the Republican Party primary. (Extended Applause)

There are many who would like to belittle this effort, but let me tell you, there is an old saying, three’s the charm. (Applause)

The conditions have certainly changed, even from four years ago. When I think back of the first year that I came up here, it must have been like end of '06, '07, the atmosphere was a lot different. There was an '06 election, an '08 election, and it did not make all of us who believe in liberty all that happy. But boy I'll tell you what. There has been a significant change. The people have awoken and they have sent a message, elected a lot of new people to your state legislature, and I'll tell you what. I am convinced that the spirit of liberty is alive and well in New Hampshire. (Applause)

You know there's a lot of talk about what you should seek in a president, and I'm not one that is prone to talk about I do this, I will do this, but I can talk generically what I think a president should be able to do and should do. One thing the American people want, and I agree with them, they want a strong president. There is no doubt about that. But the question you should ask, where should those strengths be directed? Should the strength of the president be directed toward building the TSA and homeland security and policing the world? [Audience: No!] No, the strength and the character of the individual should be directed toward standing up for freedom, standing up for liberty and restraining government. That's where the strength should be. (Applause)

There's been a lot of challenges already today and yesterday and this last week because of certain positions. I find one very fascinating and something other candidates may well desert. And that has to do with the drug issue, because it is so symbolic of understanding what liberty is all about. When you think of my position—my position is that you have a right of freedom of choice with your bodies. That I believe is a basic principle of liberty. What does that mean? If you have civil liberties and a right to your life and a right to your property? Well it means that you can make very, very important choices. And for most of these most Americans agree with it. They say yes, the most important thing in my personal life is that I and my family and others, we make our decisions about our spiritual life and about our salvation, which cannot be done by government and we have to provide the maximum amount of freedom for individuals to make those decisions so the government should always butt out of our spiritual lives. (Applause)

Also, intellectually, we're fairly good at that—the political correctness movement has tried to undermine it—but basically most Americans believe in the First Amendment and say that we have a right to talk about controversial issues. As I have often said, the First Amendment wasn't written for us to be able to talk about the weather. (Applause) It's written so that we can discuss controversial issues and actually read very controversial and very dangerous literature, especially the literature that promotes big government and welfarism and socialism and all the mess. So we recognize that to be the case, but all of the sudden people have lost respect for liberty, the understanding of liberty, and we have conceded way too much to the government to decide what we put into our own bodies. If we can control what goes into our spiritual life, what goes into our intellectual life, why should we concede to the government that they decide everything that we do with our own bodies? (Applause)

I take a strict, a strict constitutional position, and the government has very little authority to get involved in our economic or our personal lives. So that excludes the federal government from being involved if and when we become strict constitutionalists. The federal government shouldn't be involved. But that does not prohibit the states from doing some of the things that they do. Even though we might disagree with it at the national level under the national law and the Constitution states have more prerogatives and more choices.

But if we looked at education as an example, the Constitution gives no authority for the federal government to run our educational systems and they shouldn't be doing that; it should be a state matter. (Applause)

But at the state and federal level what we should be guaranteeing is the protection of freedom of choice. We should always be aware of the fact that it is very important that individuals who want to opt out—whether it's opting out of ObamaCare or opting out of the educational system— we have to protect the right of individuals to home school and go to private schools as well. (Applause)

Now this freedom of choice should lead to other choices about what we put into our bodies. For instance, your right to take things into your body, such as nutritional substances, should never be regulated by the federal government and absolutely never regulated by the United Nations. (Applause)

And I don't know what's so bad about getting the federal government out of the business of regulating unpasteurized milk. Now that's a real radical step. (Applause)

But why should we be so intimidated if they want to use the issue of somebody using hard drugs as the reason that we have to give up all our freedoms, it's wrong. It's better to defend the position that says you do have freedom of choice what you do with your body, but you also have to have responsibility for what you do, and if you do harm to yourself, you can't go crawling to the government to penalize your neighbor to take care of you. (Applause)

I see this position of the government controlling all those decisions as detrimental to progress in medicine. So often there are alternative treatments for cancer and other diseases that are not approved for years and years and years because we have to have the FDA, which is controlled too often by other drug companies, deciding when and what we can do. We as individuals, making decisions with our own physician, ought to decide about all alternative care as long as people are up front and tell you the truth and tell you the risk and can't defraud you. (Applause)

So in all that I just explained about personal choices, in everything I've done in politics, I've never introduced a bill in Washington, DC to emphasize heroin. So they take all of what I said and turn it around and say, he would legalize heroin. Well you know the plain truth is is that heroin at one time in our history was legalized and there was essentially no abuse of it, and it's only in our recent history. And there was a long time in our history that marijuana was legalized. I happen to have a personal real disgust with the abuse of drugs, but it's all drugs, those that are considered illegal, and I think physicians prescribe way too much medications, get too many people addicted. (Applause)

Now the line that caught a little bit of attention down in South Carolina was when this came up and they wanted to paint me as this monster about heroin, I didn't get a chance to say well I've never mentioned that word. I talk about liberty and freedom. But the interpretation is correct that I do want people to make choices. So in my less than 30 seconds left to make my point, I said alright, if it would happen to become legal, how many of you would all of the sudden be using heroin, you'd all become heroin addicts? No. People make decisions and they make good decisions for the most part. But what I don't like is when government makes the decisions and it violates the principles of liberty, it's a blanket decision, it affects us in everything that we do to the point where you don't even know if you're allowed to drink the milk that you can buy from your neighbor farmer. (Applause)

So when they challenge you and want to paint a negative picture, stick to your guns, defend liberty, defend the free choices, defend our Constitution, defend states' rights. Regulations if they're necessary, as they are. On alcohol, there's a few regulations in this state in alcohol, so it's different in different states, but at least there are different states that handle this and children are generally protected. In alcohol, you know the kids in high school today can get hold of marijuana easier than they can get hold of alcohol. So it's not like you just turn it loose and dump it out there in the streets and the kids—

But ultimately even that doesn't solve the problem. What really solves the problem is good family relationships, families that teach their kids what's right and wrong. (Applause)

Now because of my understanding of the Constitution and economic and moral policy, I have taken a position for as long as I can remember, since I've been in Congress, since 1976, so it's nothing new. And that is that I don't like the federal agencies breathing down our neck and regulating our property even under the guise of they're there to take care of us and help us.

So for this reason I have opposed the federal government's insurance programs because they cause moral hazard. And the one that they quizzed me on today was the insurances that take care of everybody in the midst of a natural disaster. Well natural disasters are very, very bad and they're very, very damaging, and I believe that they can be taken care of without the federal government going further into debt, but through this system of liberty and separate governments and state government because the point was about flood insurance. I live on, very near the Gulf Coast; I used to have a house right on the beach. Now you can't buy private insurance because it's dangerous there and it's too expensive. So what happens? They have to tax you in North Carolina so I can have a beach house in Texas, and then the house gets blown down and the taxpayers pay. But, they want to turn that into saying, oh, you don't care about the people suffering from a natural disaster. Well you know free markets economics and law really helps us sort these problems out. If you want to build a house on the beach and you love it, yes, buy insurance. Oh. Can't buy insurance. Well that's giving you a very important economic lesson. It's saying it's dangerous to live on the beach. (Applause) But the people that don't live on the beach shouldn't have to pay for those of us who take the risk and live there and get a guarantee from the government.

In other ways, our society and our country's been great. We have been very generous when people really get hurt. Not only in this country we go to help people, but around the world. I mean when there are earthquakes and other things we as a people have been very, very generous.

I'll tell you what. That's going to end because our economic policies in this country is destroying our wealth. We're not going to have any money hardly to take care of ourselves let alone help the world. (Applause)

I am convinced that you think things through you can figure out how the free market and sound economic policy and sound morality and the Constitution will help us. Does that mean no government? No. The government should be providing a sound currency; they should enforce contracts. They should not be destroying your property rights; they should be protecting your property rights. (Applause) And obviously one of the most important property rights that we should always defend is the right to own a weapon to defend our self. (Applause)

Other questions that have come up this week has to do with foreign policy, and it should be expected because I am so radical that I want to go back to the Constitution and have a foreign policy which is a pro-American foreign policy and not do the things that we're not authorized to do. But because the status quo, including many Republicans in the past has drifted over to the assumption that we have to be the policeman of the world. Now I don't think the American people ever fully endorsed that idea. Because even in recent history, our candidate in the year 2000, he ran on a humble foreign policy, not going into nation building and of course that is what I'm running on, but let me tell you: I believe it and we should do it. (Applause)

A lot of people would like to label us who believe in that: oh, you're a bunch of isolationists. Well I'll tell you what, if you believe in freedom of choice, you believe in trading with other people, believing that you have the right to buy goods from anybody you want. It's your money. Why can't you buy the cheap goods? And so you don't have to be an isolationist, it just means that we stay out of the internal affairs and all the conflicts and the civil wars and the religious civil wars especially going on in the Middle East. I don't believe we have to be involved in that. I think we make more enemies for it and it is bringing us down financially, and therefore we need to reassess it and have a new foreign policy. (Applause)

You know it gets a little trickier, because when bad policy brings bad events to ourselves, such as what happened on 9/11, it's very difficult to say oh you know if we wouldn't have had that foreign policy that we had, we wouldn't be under such attack. That you cannot handle that easily because we have been attacked, there are limits. No matter how many mistakes we make in the past when a country's attacked a president and a country and the Congress should respond. So for that reason, I did respond by voting for the authority in 2001 to go after the individuals involved and responsible and go and get the Al Qaeda and gave that authority. But what happened was the authority was abused. Matter of fact it was abused and ignored. The authority to go after bin Laden was ignored at Tora Bora. bin Laden was allowed to get off the hook and escape. At the same time, oh we didn't worry about it too much; we decided well maybe they're Al Qaeda. Or at least they said there is Al Qaeda, and there are nuclear weapons aimed at us, so we have to go in and fight this war in Iraq.

So what did we end up with? Ten years. Ten years of thousands of our people being killed, tens of thousands having been wounded with serious injuries. Believe me, there's information coming out now that the Persian Gulf War Syndrome with the first Persian Gulf War, which took them a long time to acknowledge, is going to have massive number of people with those conditions coming back. Head injuries. We have a big, big problem on our hands. And that's a cost. Trillions of dollars, thousands of lives, casualties that we have and to go after a group of people who deserved to be gone after, but the cost, as far as I'm concerned was way too high. (Applause)

Though I supported that authority, I had deep reservations with fear that it would be misused and therefore I was looking around for another option, and that is when I reviewed what I've learned about the Constitution and they have a provision in the Constitution that maybe we can have a narrow defined war. Since we can't declare war against a government when it's a band of criminals that are attacking us, that is when they provided the principle of a letter of marque and reprisal. And that is target the enemy, go after them, and get them. Now the good example of how this might work is what Ross Perot did. When he had some of his employees taken into hostage in Iran, he didn't go to the federal government and say go in, attack and declare war. What he did, he got some special forces retiree, he got his people in there, he went in and got them out and brought them out. (Applause)

Now if this principle had been ingrained in our system and we had used it, we could have well paid $500 million or a billion dollars to capture the individuals that were responsible, and yet of course we didn't do that. That would have been cheap compared to the trillions of dollars that we're involved in now.

Not only do I see some of that as a conflict in not doing well, every time we occupy a country, every time we kill a civilian. And it continues. When we lob these bombs into Pakistan, civilians get killed too. They get angry at us. What would we do if that happened? They say there's maybe Taliban in there; we have to go and get them. The Taliban is not the Al Qaeda. The Taliban are a group of people who are very determined that they don't want any foreign occupation. That's their religious and political belief. And we joined them when they were so annoyed with the Soviets occupying Afghanistan, but we were on the side of those who said no occupation. So it shouldn't be so unusual for us to come to the conclusion that if we're involved over there that they wouldn't turn on us, and that certainly is what happened.

But if you want to demonstrate the futility of our foreign policy, just think about Pakistan. We're lobbing bombs into Pakistan, innocent people are getting killed, maybe a Taliban member is killed whose only argument is that he wants his country back, and at the same time we give them billions of dollars. I mean we give them money. I used to say that you know our problem in this country is we have only two foreign policies. One, if they do what we tell them, we give them money. If they don't do what we tell them, we bomb them. In this case, we're doing both. So there is a lot of room for a sensible, common sense foreign policy, and it goes back to the Constitution.

But not only is this a detriment to us militarily and for our national security, it's a great detriment to us economically. You can't ignore these dollars that we're spending. Besides, I see politically, the real opportunity is cut hundreds of billions of dollars out of the military-industrial complex that doesn't help our national defense. (Applause) And then we don't have to take this politically unpopular stand that many have on our side and say what we need to do is cut medical care for the children. I mean that's not a good point to make; it's more difficult. I think all the programs should be cut. I don't vote for them because they're unconstitutional, but I still think emphasizing big cuts overseas you could alleviate some of these problems in a political way that would be more, more acceptable.

But this is going to be worked out in Congress. Today they're trying to figure out whether we should raise the national debt, and they're arguing once again if we don't—like if we didn't come to the rescue and bail out all the rich guys in '08 it would be a depression. Sure there would have been a depression for Wall Street, but the depression was dumped on the people instead. (Applause)

So instead of making the correct economic policy changes like lower taxes, less regulations, a sound currency, property rights and paying off the debt, a few things like that, what did we do? We've had all these problems from too much spending and too much taxing and too much regulation, too much borrowing, too much printing press money, so oh yeah we're in trouble now, the bubble has burst so we really have to pump harder. I mean we have to put more money in, spend more money, borrow more money, tax more money, regulate more and print more money. And guess what? We're not out of the recession. We're still in recession, and it's going to get worse.

This foreign policy is related because it's a significant amount of our spending, and the printing of money is an important thing. There's a lot of, there's going to be a lot of talk about inflation because inflation is here. But it's very important that we define inflation the way free market economists do. Inflation is when they print money and increase the money supply. The consequence of inflating a monetary system will be higher prices, unpredictable where the money goes and when it happens and to what degree because there's a lot of elements built in, but inevitably when you devalue the currency the prices will go up, and we're at the beginning of a big siege on inflation.

They say that we have to vote you know for the debt increase—by the way, I'm not going to vote for the debt increase. (Applause)

Their argument is it would be a disaster if we defaulted. Well it is a disaster if we defaulted, but we're in the midst of a default. We've done it before. We've done it from the beginning of our history. We defaulted with the Continental dollar. We defaulted with the greenbacks in the civil war period. We defaulted in the 1930s when the American people were denied their gold from their gold bonds that they held, and the gold was confiscated from us. Then in 1971 our promise to all foreign holders of dollars, could repatriate their dollars for gold, we just closed, went in and said we're broke; we can't do it any more. So we default constantly. Now they're talking about defaulting that there won't be enough cash.

That's not the default to worry about. The default is on you, because the default is they’re going to print the money, the national debt will probably be raised, they're going to continue to print the money which means that they're going to devalue your dollar and they're defaulting on you. Because if you have a savings account or a Treasury bill, if you have a thousand dollars in it this year—and right now prices are going up closer to 10-percent a year so in one year you could lose a hundred dollars out of a thousand. And when it gets going, it's going to be a lot worse than that. That is a default, but they don't count it that way. They don't count it that way; that is just price adjustment. As a matter of fact it's a deliberate policy of the Federal Reserve to depreciate the currency. That's what their business is. That is why our dollar since 1913 has lost 98-percent of its value. That's dishonest, it's immoral, it's unconstitutional and the reason why we ought to get rid of the Federal Reserve. [Audience chants "End the Fed"]

Now there's a lot of reasons why we shouldn't have a central bank. It isn't authorized in the Constitution. It devalues the currency; that's immoral. It's bad economic policy. But the one issue that really is dangerous to our cause of liberty is that it allows the expansion of government. If we did not have a Fed to buy the debt—that is a moral hazard provided to the Congress. We don't have to be responsible because ultimately the Federal Reserve will keep the interest rates from going up even when we can't tax and can't borrow, the Federal Reserve will print the money and keep interest rates low. So it's always there to do that. And then that facilitates the growth of government, whether it's the growth of government to fight wars that we shouldn't be in or providing a cradle-to-grave entitlement system. So the Fed is a culprit and we have to address that. We cannot solve our problems without looking at the monetary issue. (Applause)

The great thing about what has happened in the last four years is all of the sudden the Federal Reserve and monetary policy has become an issue out on the table. That is a great victory and I thank so many of you who have helped. But we did not get our "Audit the Fed" bill passed—although we did get it passed in the House, but it wasn't passed in the Senate—but a lot has happened. We got a partial audit and some court cases have been beneficial. We are getting more information. And it's astounding. As much as I've anticipated it would be very, very bad, but more than a third of these trillions of dollars that they have pumped in to help out their friends, a third of it went to overseas banks. Not to the American who's losing their mortgages. One bank got bailed out and guess who was one-third owner? Gadaffi was one third owner in the bank, and we went over and bailed them out.

So this is the reason that we should direct our interest to the preservation of liberty, to the people in this country and taking care of ourselves. Be prosperous, set a good example and others will want to emulate us. We cannot spread our goodness with a gun, and using a gun violates our goodness. (Applause)

Liberty should be our cause. I believe for myself all political activity is for the promotion of liberty with a deep conviction that liberty and freedom is not perfect. It will not solve all our problems, but it will do more good than all the government intervention in the world.

A lot of times terms are thrown around. Conservative, libertarian, liberal and all. I like the word intervention. I don't like to have a government that is an intervener, that government doesn't come in and tell you what to do with your life; they don't tell you what to do with your money, and we don't tell other countries what to do with their problems either.

That is the—In many ways, I believe a good president would work in the direction of saying that I want to do less. But I want to firmly and courageously stand up to those who want to do more. They use an authoritarian approach, and when they do, everything that they do it undermines your personal liberty. So it undermines everything that was good and great about America. We were never a perfect nation. We don't have a perfect document, but I'll tell you what. We had the best. We were the most prosperous ever. And there's still a lot of spirit left in this country.

So we are now in a struggle; we are in a struggle against those who are saying, and they're angry, we want more; don't cut our benefits. To our group who are saying, we've had enough; what we want is we want our freedom back. (Applause)

The reason I work so hard for personal liberty is a very important reason. It's for myself, it's for my family, my friends, my neighbors and our country. Because I believe if we did have our liberties we would have more prosperity. It is truly a humanitarian argument, because the other side, they do not produce. But more importantly, I think a free society offers tremendous opportunities. It really releases us. Gives us the time and the wealth to release more creative energies. And it's in these creative energies—Then we can deal with our problems, whether it's our personal habits, whether it has to do with our economic conditions and helping other people or whether its dealing with other countries. We will have, have the wealth. And with this effort, then we can work on our own imperfections to improve ourselves, to work on becoming more virtuous and more compassionate and this is the society that I want to live in. So regardless, and from the very beginning it was regardless of what happens, the goal is a very important goal.

And I am so pleased to see what's happening in the country, not only the interest in the Federal Reserve and the foreign policy but the interest and the understanding of liberty. And where I go the numbers are growing. And where I really get excited is when I go to the university and talk to the young people. They understand. They understand what they're getting, and they understand that something different has to be done. And they also understand that whether they're in high school or college the burden will be falling on them. No matter what happens in the next election, this cannot be changed immediately. It can only be changed—one individual can't do it—it can only be changed if the people endorse the changes and our representatives, they get sent to our legislatures, understand it, and do it. And that is where I think we're making great progress. When I first started, I had difficulties in the 1950s even finding the literature. I had an inclination to study and read, but it took a long time. There was no Internet; the books were hard to find. Today it is so great to use the Internet to find out what's going on. More think tanks than ever before. And also, if I need a book now, I can get it in about five, ten seconds off Amazon and off the Internet and it's in my house the next day. So big things are happening and we have to take that and use it. Use it for a just cause and that just cause is promoting the greatness of America and promoting individual liberty in our country. Thank you very much. (Applause)

Mike Dec, 4President.org/DEMOCRACY IN ACTION TRANSCRIPT ©2011

Ron Paul Launches Exploratory Committee, Names Iowa Leadership Team

DES MOINES, Iowa--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Congressman Paul today announced that he is forming an official Exploratory Committee to assess his options for the 2012 Presidential campaign.

“Iowa has a special place in American politics, and Dr. Paul is very pleased to announce the launch of his Exploratory Committee in the capitol of the Hawkeye State”
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Standing in Des Moines, Dr. Paul also introduced his Iowa leadership team. All three of Dr. Paul’s Chairmen are elected members of the Republican Party of Iowa’s State Central Committee, the 17-member Board of Directors of the Iowa GOP, and have served as leaders of Campaign for Liberty in Iowa.

The leadership team consists of:

Dr. Drew Ivers, Chairman - Drew Ivers, PhD, of Webster City has been an Iowa Republican activist for 35 years and was the Iowa Campaign Chairman for Congressman Paul in 2008. He was a District Chairman for Ronald Reagan’s campaign and was the Iowa Chairman for the presidential campaigns of Pat Robertson in 1988 and Pat Buchanan in 1996 and 2000. Dr. Ivers has chaired his county party and is a five-time delegate to the Republican National Convention. He is a United States Army combat-wounded purple heart-awarded Viet Nam veteran. Dr. Ivers earned his Master’s and Ph.D. from Iowa State University and is the holder of 7 patents as a plant geneticist. He also has a Master’s in Theological Studies and is an Elder in the Evangelical Free Church. Dr. Ivers was instrumental in the forming of the initial Christian Coalition in Iowa, which is known today as the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition.

David Fischer, Vice-Chairman - David Fischer of rural Polk County is the founder and President of Precision Research, Inc. He has served on his district Executive and Rules Committees, and is the longest-serving member of the Executive Committee for the Polk County GOP. Mr. Fischer has been a delegate to numerous Republican conventions - County, District, State, and National. He is a homeschool leader and has been an elected member of his Township Board since 2002. Mr. Fischer was a top graduate from Iowa State University’s College of Engineering, and is an experienced expert witness in the energy industry.

A. J. Spiker, Vice-Chairman - A. J. Spiker of Ames is a former Chairman, Co-Chairman, and Treasurer of the Story County Republican party. He has been a delegate to several county, district, and state GOP conventions and served on his district Executive, Rules, and Organization committees. Mr. Spiker is a Realtor and is a past President of the Ames Multiple Listing Service, Inc. He serves on the Ames Economic Development Commission Board of Directors and is an active member of St. Cecilia Catholic church and the Knights of Columbus.

“Iowa has a special place in American politics, and Dr. Paul is very pleased to announce the launch of his Exploratory Committee in the capitol of the Hawkeye State,” said Dr. Paul’s political director Jesse Benton. “We are also extremely proud to enjoy the support and leadership of Drew Ivers, David Fischer and A.J. Spiker. All three men are pillars of their communities and leaders of the Republican Party and will be tremendous assets as Dr. Paul makes his final decision about the 2012 Presidential campaign.”

Source: Ron Paul 2012 Exploratory Committee Newt Gingrich 2012 Newt Gingrich 2012 May 11, 2011











It's Official: Newt Gingrich is Running for President!

"I’m Newt Gingrich and I’m announcing my candidacy for President of the United States because I believe we can return America to hope and opportunity, to full employment, to real security, to an American energy program, to a balanced budget.

I worked with President Ronald Reagan in a very difficult period. We got jobs created again, Americans proud of America, and the Soviet Union disappeared.

As Speaker of the House, I worked to reform welfare, balance the budget, control spending, to cut taxes to create economic growth – unemployment came down from 5.6% to under 4. For four years we balanced the budget and paid off $405 billion in debt.

We’ve done it before, we can do it again.

I want your help because no one person from the oval office can get this done. We Americas are going to have to talk together, work together, find solutions together, and insist on imposing those solutions on those who don’t want to change.

There are some people who don’t mind if America becomes a wreck so long as they dominate the wreckage. But you and I know better.

We owe it to our children, our grandchildren, our country and frankly to ourselves. So let’s get together, look reality in the face, tell the truth, make the tough choices and get the job done.

There’s a much better American future ahead: with more jobs, more prosperity, a better health system, longer lives, greater independent living, in a country that is decentralized under the 10th Amendment, with power once again back with the American people and way from the Washington bureaucracies.

No one person can accomplish this. It can’t be done from the oval office. We have to work together. We Americans have to get it done.

I hope you will decide to join me. Let’s work side by side. Let’s get this done for ourselves, our children and grandchildren, and for our country.

I hope you will come to Newt.org, see what we are trying to get done, and to join us in getting American back on the right track."

Twitter and Facebook

@newtgingrich "I'm Newt Gingrich, and I'm announcing my candidacy for President of the United States because I believe we can return America to hope and opportunity, to full employment, to real security, to an American energy program, to a balanced budget. "

@RickTyler .@newtgingrich to announce by Twitter and Facebook on WED. Hannity will have the first interview on Fox. Newt speaks to GA Conv. on FRI.

@newtgingrich Be sure to watch Hannity this Wednesday at 9pm ET/8pm CT. I will be on to talk about my run for President of the United States @seanhannity

Source: Newt Gingrich 2012 Gary Johnson 2012 Gary Johnson 2012 April 21, 2011










GARY JOHNSON ANNOUNCES HIS CANDIDACY FOR PRESIDENT

April 21, 2011, Concord New Hampshire - Former New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson today announced that he is seeking the 2012 Republican nomination for President of the United States. Johnson served as governor from 1995 to 2003. The announcement was made Thursday morning on the steps of the New Hampshire State House.

Announcing his candidacy, Johnson released the following statement:

“Let’s talk about America.

Today’s mess didn’t just happen. We elected it -- one senator, member of Congress and president at a time. Our leaders in Washington, DC, have ‘led’ America to record unemployment, a devalued currency, banking scandals, the mortgage crisis, drug crisis, economic crisis, loss of our nation’s industrial might – and a long list of other reminders our nation is way off course.

Why am I telling you this? Because America is better than this. And because I can help fix it.

I’m a fix-it man.

Before I was governor of New Mexico, I started a one-man fix-it business that I grew into an American dream with more than a thousand employees. My formula for success was simple. I showed up on time, did what I said what I’d do, and knew what I was doing.

I did the same thing as governor, exactly. Within two terms, I’d eliminated New Mexico's budget deficit and cut the rate of state government growth in half while reducing the state workforce by over 10%, without laying off a single qualified state worker. Saying no to waste, corruption and political games is easier than you think. During my two terms I vetoed 750 pieces of bad, unnecessary and wasteful legislation, and used the line-item veto to save millions of dollars. I was called “Governor Veto,” and accepted that nickname proudly.

America needs a ‘President Veto’ right now – someone who will say ‘no’ to insane spending and stop the madness that has become Washington. That’s why I am here today to announce that I’m running for President of the United States. And I don’t do so lightly.

President Obama is about to raise and spend $1 billion in a reelection campaign to keep America on the track it’s already on. I would ask: How much more of this track can we stand? How much more financial stress can we handle? How high do taxes have to go? How much deficit is too much? How much more of the Bill of Rights do we have to lose before we say not just no, but HELL NO?

It’s time to put one of our own in the White House. I have the qualifications, the ability and the know-how to do the job. I also have a track record. I’ll do what I say I’ll do.

I look at the rest of the field running for president, and that song by The Who comes to mind. Meet the new boss. Same as the old boss. You know the one. We ‘Won’t Get Fooled Again.’ What’s the definition of insanity? It is to keep doing the same thing over and over, and expecting a different outcome.

I’m ready for a different America. I’m ready for the day when a person can build a good life on a decent income, and we can take our government at its word – when people have more to smile about. I’m ready for peace and prosperity and some American dreaming. I’m ready for America to be AMERICA again.

Our current president will not lead us there. None of the professional Washington set will. We have to get there on our own.

I’m here in New Hampshire today because I can – and will -- do a better job for you as president.

I’m optimistic about our chances. Winning freedom is what America does.

We’ve got this.”

Following the announcement, Governor Johnson will spend three days in New Hampshire meeting with supporters, visiting local businesses and on Saturday, April 23, hiking and skiing the well-known Tuckerman’s Ravine in the White Mountains.

Source: Gary Johnson 2012 Website Barack Obama 2012 Barack Obama 2012 April 4, 2011










2012
Today, we are filing papers to launch our 2012 campaign.

We're doing this now because the politics we believe in does not start with expensive TV ads or extravaganzas, but with you -- with people organizing block-by-block, talking to neighbors, co-workers, and friends. And that kind of campaign takes time to build.

So even though I'm focused on the job you elected me to do, and the race may not reach full speed for a year or more, the work of laying the foundation for our campaign must start today.

We've always known that lasting change wouldn't come quickly or easily. It never does. But as my administration and folks across the country fight to protect the progress we've made -- and make more -- we also need to begin mobilizing for 2012, long before the time comes for me to begin campaigning in earnest.

As we take this step, I'd like to share a video that features some folks like you who are helping to lead the way on this journey. Please take a moment to watch:

Barack Obama 2012 Campaign Launch Video - "It Begins With Us" Transcript

Ed, North Carolina: Well it seems like the last couple of elections that we've had have been almost kind of turning point campaigns.

Gladys, Nevada: Kind of nervous about it. It's like it's coming. Here it is. 2012, the election.

Katherine, Colorado: I think it needs to reflect the changes that we've seen in the last 2 1/2 years. Then we had an underdog Senator. Nobody thought that he had a chance, and now he's the President.

Mark, New York: I just saw the energy and hope that he had for this country. Even though I couldn't exactly vote at the time, I knew that someday I'd be able to help re-elect him. And that's what I plan on doing.

Gladys: We're not leaving it up to chance; we're not leaving it up to oh, you know, the incumbent. The type of thing is an election that we have to win.

Alice, Michigan: And unfortunately President Obama's one person. He cannot go—plus he got a job, you know, we're paying him to do a job so we can't say hey could you just take some time off and come and get us all energized. So we better figure it out.

Ed: I can't not be involved. There's just too much that is fundamentally important right now that's going on.

Gladys: As a community we all have the same concerns. We all want our kids to go to school and learn, we want them to graduate, we want jobs to be out there, we want people to have homes, we want people to have opportunity.

Ed: I don't agree with Obama on everything, but I respect him and I trust him.

Gladys: There are so many things that are still on the table that need to be addressed, and we want them to be addressed by President Obama.

Katherine: I had this perception that politics was all show, it was all sound bites, but politics is how we govern ourselves. That's what politics is. At the grassroots level it's individuals talking to other individuals and making a difference.

In the coming days, supporters like you will begin forging a new organization that we'll build together in cities and towns across the country. And I'll need you to help shape our plan as we create a campaign that's farther reaching, more focused, and more innovative than anything we've built before.

We'll start by doing something unprecedented: coordinating millions of one-on-one conversations between supporters across every single state, reconnecting old friends, inspiring new ones to join the cause, and readying ourselves for next year's fight.

This will be my final campaign, at least as a candidate. But the cause of making a lasting difference for our families, our communities, and our country has never been about one person. And it will succeed only if we work together.

There will be much more to come as the race unfolds. Today, simply let us know you're in to help us begin, and then spread the word:

http://my.barackobama.com/2012

Thank you,

Barack
Source: Obama For America email to supporters Buddy Roemer 2012 Buddy Roemer 2012 March 3, 2011









Governor Buddy Roemer Announces Presidential Bid in New Hampshire

HANOVER, N.H. –Republican businessman and former Louisiana Governor Buddy Roemer today formally announced that he will seek the GOP nomination for President in 2012.

“Today, I run for President of the United States. I run to reveal the control of special interests in Washington and to demonstrate that the freedom to lead only comes by refusing their money. I run to prepare America for job growth, beginning with the elimination of unfair trade practices and attacking the debt. I run as a proud Republican, but an even prouder American.”

“Manufacturing jobs now account for fewer than 10% of America’s workforce. ‘Made in America’ has disappeared. We have fewer jobs that pay less while China is having the greatest boom in history – and we are the ones paying for it. The government has failed to confront unfair trade and the boys at the top are living so well they’ve forgotten the rest of America.”

Governor Roemer has publically committed to limiting individual donations to $100 and refuses to accept campaign contributions from special interest groups or political committees.

“We must break the stranglehold of special interest money on our political system. It’s the special interests who use unfair trade and self-written tax loopholes to make their fortunes while stealing our future,” said Roemer, “The guys with the big checks don’t want reform or change because they’ve never had it so good.”

Buddy Roemer served four terms in Congress from 1981-1988 and was Louisiana Governor from 1988-1992. During his tenure, he enacted reforms that cut unemployment by approximately half, balanced the state budget every year, linked teachers’ pay to performance, established education accountability standards, confronted public unions, and passed sweeping campaign finance reform legislation.

Since leaving public office, Governor Roemer has served as founder, president and CEO of Business First Bank, a business community bank that did not take bailout money from the federal government. Governor Roemer lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana with his wife, Scarlett, and is the father of three children. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his MBA from Harvard Business School.

FULL TEXT OF ANNOUNCEMENT SPEECH

Today, I run for President of the United States of America.

I run to prepare America for job growth, beginning with the elimination unfair trade practices and the abuse of our tax code that ships U.S. jobs overseas.

I run to reveal the control that special interests have over our nation‟s Capitol and to demonstrate the freedom that only comes from refusing their money.

I run as a proud Republican, but an even prouder American. I believe in America, its values, its future.
We are a nation at risk, but neither the President nor any of the other candidates for the office are addressing or offering solution to the major problems facing our country.

The first is unfair trade which is stealing our best jobs and stopping economic growth. This has resulted in a growing mountain of debt that we have to borrow to attempt to maintain our standard of living. Yet, no one has mentioned unfair trade or offered a solution.

The second unmentioned problem are special interest campaign donations which own Washington, DC, turning it into a corrupt institution where fat cat special interest checks write the tax code, write healthcare reform, and write bank reform.

Corporate profits are at an all-time high while these very same corporations send American jobs overseas, causing fear and pain in the families of millions of Americans. The guys with the big checks don‟t want reform or change „cause they‟ve never had it so good.

That‟s the reason why no one running for President talks about solving either problem – whether it‟s unfair trade that is stealing our best jobs or the institutional corruption of Washington, DC – they need the money to run.

I run for President and am not accepting any PAC or special interest money, any contributions over $100 per person, and I am remain committed to full disclosure.

We must break the stranglehold of special interests over the tax code, the budget, the debt, Wall Street reform and healthcare reform.

There is only one way to take back control of our country from the special interests - don‟t take their PAC money, their bundled money, their access money. A President must be free to lead, free to challenge special interests and free to change Washington, D.C.

And our current President? He is raising $1 billion while in office – much of it coming from the very Wall Street corporations and individuals he is supposed to regulate. The price tag? $35,000 a ticket and yet „too big to fail‟ is still on the books.

Manufacturing now accounts for fewer than 10% of jobs in America. „Made in America‟ has disappeared. Unemployed and underemployed seem permanently over 20%. We have fewer jobs and the one that are left pay less. China is having the greatest economic boom in history and we are paying for it.

We need trading jobs, but the trade must be fair or both nations suffer. Unfair trade uses child labor, prison labor, work without standards and without environmental scorecards, and pirates designs and products and plants in their countries.

These unfair practices have cost us millions of our best jobs over the past 20 years – causing pain and angst in families across America. Our leaders have done nothing but talk about the wonders of free trade. So-called „free trade‟ has killed us. Trade must be fair.

American Presidents, starting with George Washington , have protected American manufacturing jobs from predatory trading practices for over 160 years. This is not a radical idea, it‟s what built America. It worked after WWII for Germany and Japan. Now, Germany is the largest economy in Europe and Japan number two in the world.

We must protect our best jobs from unfair trade practices and from U.S. companies who move jobs overseas using our own tax code to pay for it. They are free to go, but we will not pay for it.
And we can protect our critical jobs without the general use of tariffs, which, although successful, tend to be overly political in their formulation and application.

As a first step, I would amend the tax code to disallow a tax deduction for any expenditure for any goods produced, or services located outside the U.S. We could call this the „call-center fix‟. Companies can do it, but we taxpayers just aren‟t going to pay for it.

Next, I would eliminate the foreign tax credit loophole whereby huge corporations and wealthy individuals avoid paying taxes by moving their business and investments out of the country.

They are afforded the protections guaranteed to all U.S. citizens, but don‟t pay their fair share of tax for that privilege. Example #1 is GE, which made $5 billion in profit last year and paid zero income tax.

Finally, I would require a fair trade adjustment form to accompany imports. This form would show the economic difference necessary to bring the imports‟ manufacturing process up to minimum American standards. This difference will be paid by the importer as would the cost of the adjustment analysis.
Unfair trading nations will lose their unwarranted advantage. The fair competitor will suffer no ill effect. Trade will grow, but it will be fair.

These few changes would efficiently generate millions of American jobs, restoring needed growth in our lagging economy.

We need to deregulate small businesses so they can grow again.
We need to be energy independent and create a million new jobs.
We need to reduce Federal spending by 1% of GDP a year for 5 years.
We need immigration reform that seals the borders, but allows legal immigration.
We need tax reform that lowers the marginal rate with simplicity.

There is much we need to do, but the place to start is with special interest money and unfair trade – and no one is speaking of it.

We must break the stranglehold of special interest money on our political system so that we can address the hole in the economy caused by unfair trade through which our best jobs are disappearing. We must seal the hole and restore manufacturing jobs. This growth is essential to paying off the debt and getting us out of this financial trap in which we find ourselves. It is the special interests who use unfair trade and self-written tax loopholes to make their fortunes and steal our futures.

$100 limit. No PAC money. Full disclosure. Free to lead is the key. No other candidate can solve these two problems because they need their money.

All I need is you. 5 million Americans out of 310 million can make this happen. Stand with me on www.BuddyRoemer.com - you don‟t want to miss this campaign!

I am no one. A former Governor, a former Congressman, a successful community banker who returns to politics after 16 years in happy private life, in order to confront the institutional corruption of Washington, DC and the loss of our manufacturing base so critical to national defense and to the economic health of our great country.

A loss that stems in large part from the unfair trading practices by some nations and the deliberate manipulation of our tax code by some multinational corporations. I am no one, but I challenge a corrupt system. And at 67 I am old enough to know what to do, and young enough to get it done.

These are times that require bold action and fierce determination. I will do my part, but I have deliberately chosen a path requiring the help of many because that is the way to win and to get these mighty things done after the election. Stand with me against the special interests. Spread the word!

Even with the obvious failure of government to confront unfair trade practices and make America strong, the boys at the top are living so well they've forgotten the rest of America. I have not.

I ask the 98% of Americans who do not currently give to a political candidate to stand with me. Together we can restore America‟s promise to our children and grandchildren.

Free to lead a rising America.

We start today in New Hampshire where the state motto is “Live Free or Die”. It‟s a good beginning.
May God bless America, and each and every one of you.

FORMER LOUISIANA GOVERNOR CHARLES “BUDDY” ROEMER ANNOUNCES PRESIDENTIAL EXPLORATORY COMMITTEE; SAYS COURAGE TO ADDRESS AMERICA’S FISCAL CRISIS WILL REQUIRE A PRESIDENT FREE FROM SPECIAL INTEREST MONEY

BATON ROUGE, LA - Former Louisiana Governor Charles “Buddy” Roemer today announced the formation of a 2012 Presidential Exploratory Committee for the Republican nomination and pledged he would not take any PAC and special interest money, will cap all donations at $100 per person, and will report all names and addresses of givers, although not required for small donors under the current law.

“Electability should not be discussed in terms of who can raise the most money, but rather who has the best ideas to raise America. We can reform American politics and here is my pledge to help us start: I will accept only contributions up to $100 per individual contributor. No PAC or special interest money will be accepted. Only individual contributions with a name and an address, and all will be reported although not required under the current law. Today, I declare my independence from special interests, and I ask you to join my battle. Reform will need to be embraced by ordinary Americans who are courageous enough to discuss how special interest money limits our President’s ability to make the tough decisions. I ask you to join me at www.buddyroemer.com and spread the word. Tell your friends and family that a seasoned warrior against special interest money is thinking about running for President. Tell them that he is old enough to know what to do and young enough to get it done. Tell them that he has been in business battles and political battles and is willing to stand up with you to confront America’s fiscal crisis,” said Governor Roemer.

“Today, I am announcing the formation of Presidential Exploratory Committee. I felt compelled to explore a potential candidacy for President of United States because I’ve never been more concerned about America’s future. Our national debt is swallowing the promise of America, wrongly impacting our foreign policy, and robbing a generation of Americans of jobs and opportunity. Washington, D.C. is not up to the task of leadership because it too has become indebted – indebted to special interest money. At a time of national recession, Washington D.C. never had it so good. Money has washed over it like a tsunami and drowned the voice of the people,” said Governor Roemer.

“We have traded access in our democracy for guaranteed special interest outcomes. This must stop. Name a problem or an opportunity – tax reform, spending discipline, jobs creation, Wall Street bailout, defense appropriations – and then follow the money and reveal its tentacles. Our political system, our decision-makers are indebted to all the wrong things – access money, fundraiser money, special interest money, bundled money, protection money – all of it corrupt and all of it making real change just a nice tag line in a speech,” said Governor Roemer.

“I saw how ugly special interest money tried to stifle the voice of the people when I was Governor of Louisiana. I have the political and personal scars to prove I am not afraid to challenge politics as usual. I love America, but I detest how special interest money has taken over American politics. To fix the financial crisis threatening our nation will require real leadership. I am the only person considering running for President who has been a Congressman, a Governor, a member of both parties, and a small business owner. I appreciate the enormity of what we face, but I am not afraid of the fight and my record proves it,” said Governor Roemer.

“If we are going to have real change in America, we need a President free to lead:

· Free to ask Congress to declare their independence from the special interest money and big funders.

· Free to have spending and tax revenue balance and reduce government to its proper size.

· Free to build a team to strengthen America economically, competitively, and militarily.

· Free to get the claws of tort lawyers, pharmaceutical manufacturers and insurance companies out of healthcare reform.

· Free to rewrite the tax code within a year to yield a simpler, clearer, and fairer tax system to help every American and every small business owner.

· Free to strive for energy independence by the end of this decade, creating millions of new jobs, and bringing our Marines home from “oil” duty.

· Free to enforce a level playing field in international trade, especially for small businesses that don’t get a fair shot.

***********************************************************************************

About Governor Charles “Buddy” Roemer

Governor Roemer served four terms in the United States Congress from 1981 – 1988 as a conservative Democrat who often broke ranks with his party to vote with President Reagan, and was Louisiana Governor from 1988-1992 as both a Democrat and Republican. During his tenure in the Governor’s office, unemployment in the state dropped by approximately half, the state budget was balanced all years despite inheriting a huge deficit, teacher pay was linked to performance, education accountability standards were enacted, government unions were challenged, and sweeping campaign finance reform legislation was passed. Since leaving public office, Governor Roemer has been involved in a number of business ventures. Most recently, he served as the founder, CEO, and President of Business First Bank, a small business community bank with approximately $650 million in assets that took no bailout money from the federal government. Governor Roemer lives in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, with his wife Scarlett, and is the father of three children. He received his undergraduate degree from Harvard College and his M.B.A. from Harvard Business School. For further information, visit www.buddyroemer.com Also, you can visit him at www.facebook.com/buddyroemer, www.twitter.com/buddyroemer, and www.youtube.com/buddyroemer

Source: Buddy Roemer 2012 Exploratory Committee Website

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