as the conference on the future of afghanistan approaches this weekend, will the prime minister continue making future aid to afghanistan conditional on the protection of the hard-one rights of women and girls which are under attack? >> my honorable friend makes important point. what we see in afghanistan is, where in 2001 there were less than 1 million children attending school and no girls attending school, today we have 6 million children regularly attending school in afghanistan, and 2 million of them are girls. i listened carefully to what she says about our a program and discuss with the secretary of state. it is important that we attach conditions and have transparency and proper results from our aid. that is the only way we can take people with us as we expand our aid but -- but it -- a budget.

if you want a stable and prosperous afghanistan, a state afghanistan, we need in afghanistan were the role of women is respected. >> could i give the prime minister the operative -- the opportunity to answer the question put to him a few moments ago? if he believes in the sovereignty of parliament, will he propose to that across the house? >> it was a vote last night in the house of lords. the government has a clear view. about the right way ahead. there will be a motion for the labor party, which you can vote for, and emotion for us, which we can vote for. let me put this one more time to the leader of the opposition. i will be down by a vote for powell -- a full public inquiry. what he be found if we vote for a private inquiry?

if not, we will take a dim view of the party that stands in the view of a inquiry. [shouting] >> thank you. the olympics are a great opportunity to bring our nation together. therefore, does the prime minister share my dismay at the plans of some union leaders to disrupt these events? >> my honorable friend makes an important point. we have a union encouraging strikes on our buses in london. the right honorable gentleman likes to talk about standing up for vested interests. what have we heard from him on the trade unions movement? absolutely nothing. the whole country will be listening to that. they should talk to their tape -- paymasters about it. >> we also will -- we witnessed storms last week across the country. in my own village, it hit the headlines because of floods.

we're all grateful to the police and fire brigade, the mound rest disservice -- but it primary concern is that we need money to support these tebow, not just warm words. >> we will be there -- to support these people, not as warm words. >> we will be there. all emergency services have done an excellent job. beer made ready to carry out further work if necessary. -- they remain ready to carry out further work if necessary. they should pay attention to heart of funds being set up to help families who do not have insurance or cannot afford dealing with the problems they have. i have said, we should be generous in helping people get their lives together again. >> will the prime minister john me in welcoming the news that 1 billion pounds have been raised in the past six months, more

than in the last three years combined? would you say that is a massive investment in our innovation and connie? >> my honorable friend has a close interest in the pharmaceutical industries. he knows a lot about what he speaks. part of it is the patent court coming to london. the patents that cover life sciences and pharmaceuticals will be in london. that is many many jobs and tens of millions of pounds of investment into our capital city. >> question time airs live on c- span 2 every wednesday morning at 7:00 a.m. eastern. and again on sunday nights at -- watch any time online at c- span.org, where you can find video of british public affairs programs. two live events on c-span.

at 10:00, republicans -- republican governor of new jersey chris christie is at the brookings institution. he will talk about his attempts to restore accountability to state -- state and local governments. he is followed by steny hoyer of maryland, talking about the role of manufacturing in the economy. he is at the center for american progress at 4:00 eastern, here on c-span. >> i do not mean to sound like -- at 12:00 eastern, here on c- span. >> i do not want to sound like i want to go crazy and regulate the internet. but i do not think it should exist outside of the la. >> walz moss bird on the future of personal technology and -- walt mossberg on the future of personal technology and the internet. >> colorado christian university hosted a summit on the economy,

the national deficit, and the supreme court ruling on the affordable care act. we will hear from the governors of arizona and wyoming, a fox news analyst, and james robison. this is just over two and a half hours. >> it is a familiar feeling. men have your attention please, be in your seats, be in order. western conservative summit 2012 is in session for saturday the 30 of june. those of you who have been with us in 2010, 2011, note that just because the sum at program is printed and the press releases is out does not mean we stop

trying to add a special guests and features. until this becomes the best conference you attend all year. this year is no exception. we have a special guest for you this morning. we tried, in fact 2 -- in fact, to have an even more special one. as president obama visited colorado yesterday, we urged him to extend his day to come to the western conservative summit and give an accounting of himself before a jury of his peers .hared by wayne lapierre we received words of his great regret. president obama had a previous engagement. i believe he had to be at home organizing his sock drawer. i think he had an appointment to get the car wash. but we do indeed have a special

guest this morning -- the honorable matt mead, governor of our neighboring state of wyoming. a republican governor, as they have in arizona, as they haven't colorado, and as we have today. blessing honor god's and our country. may i please bring up my cabinet colleagues at the university, carl elkridge, vice president of development at colorado christian university, and a former staffer at the state legislature and currently with an organization you need to know more about called revealing politics. please stand for the invocation by paul aldrich, and remained standing as we are led in the pledge to our callers. >> good morning. let's pray together. >> dear lord, we gather this

morning under a liberal crowd -- cloud and a figurative cloud. the metro cloud is from the smoke and the fires that burned to the south and north. we ask for your protection for the fire fighters working to put out the blazes, to give them strength, safety, and success in their endeavors. we ask for your comfort and peace for those hundreds of families who have lost their homes and dreams, for the families who have lost loved ones. it may feel your presence in the midst of their loss. the figure to cloud is the supreme court decision announced on thursday. lord, we are angry, we are frustrated with the outcome of that ruling. we're shocked and surprised at the apparent never-ending scope and research -- reach of the federal government. we know, lord, that you are the author of liberty and freedom. that your plan is for men to live free. but as chuck colson said, where is the hope? so many tummy they feel

demoralized by the decay around us. where is the hope? the hope that each of us have is not who governs us, but what laws are passed, what great things we do as a nation. our hope is in the power of you, lord. working through the hearts of people. that is where our hope is in this country and in this life. in your scripture you say, for i know the plans i have for you, plans to give you hope in the future. thank you for the promise, lord. show each one of us here today the role that we are to play in turning this country around. the role that we are to play in bringing back liberty and freedom to the greatest country in the history of the world. this country and its founding principals are a gift from you. let us not squander that gift. in jesus''s name, i pray. a man. -- amen.

>> please join me in the pledge of allegiance. i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. thank you very much, friends. please be seated. western conservative summit has been working closely over the past weeks with the romney campaign out of its headquarters and out of its very vigorous presence here in colorado. we are grateful for the help of colorado republican chairman, the romney campaign leaders here in colorado, and james garcia and his right hand, jeff hunt. also, to the help of colorado sun and now political director

at romney headquarters, for a -- for working diligently to see if we could get the governor's schedule to accommodate the summit. when it became evident that was not the case, they made it possible for us to have a personal video message to the summit and, this morning, a marvelous surrogate in the person of wyoming governor matt mead. matt mead took office last january, 2011, as the 32nd governor of the great state of wyoming. he was previously president bush's appointee as united states attorney for the state of wyoming. he is a rancher, an attorney, and he is married to carol. they are the proud parents of daughter mary and a son pete. carol, peak, and mary are accompanying the governor this morning. we are happy to welcome them.

what kind of job do our whelming neighbors york governor me is doing? when last measured, he had a 77% approval rating. as mitt romney's surrogate, please welcome wyoming governor matt mead. [applause] >> thank you. what kind welcome. -- what a kind welcome. my wife and i are delighted to be with you this morning, especially to be able to speak on behalf of governor romney. regarding that approval rating of 77%, i would tell you that my closest friends ask me about that. they say, matt, wyoming is not a very large state. it is amazing to us that you have only met 23% of the people

in the state. [applause] [laughter] morningtart out this and tell you that the citizens of wyoming and my family, our thoughts and prayers are with the people in colorado who have been seriously threatened by the wild fires. in wyoming, we have also been fighting fires. the dry season has made fires pop up. we have nine major fires in wyoming. we appreciate our good neighbors in colorado. we know that, in times of need, wyoming -- colorado helps us. i have authorized national guard equipment to come up with the colorado fires as weekend. we will continue to do that. [applause] i wish, i hope, our prayer for

the citizens of colorado, the brave firefighters, the elected officials -- that they can continue to address them as they have with diligence, and that soon the fires will be put out and that people in your land can be safe again. before i get into my comments, as i look to the list of speakers that you have had and will have, i am sort of -- you have bands and you have the warm-up act. i am not the warm-up act. i am the one about to the warm- up act. -- the warm-up act to the warm- up act. i want to put my comments in perspective. i want to tell you a bit about wyoming and a little bit about me. i am a fourth-generation rancher from wyoming. i am very proud of that. i am proud to call wyoming home. i am proud to say that i am a westerner. i will also tell you, to the

extent that some of you may not be familiar with this part of the country, so we avoid this mistake, when i have been in dc and ask for item from, i am growing weary of explaining that wyoming is -- to the question is, now what town in colorado is wyoming? [laughter] to be clear, to be clear, we're not part of colorado. we're not a suburb of salt lake city. we are certainly not in northern outpost of montana. what we are is we are the 10th- largest state in the nation. we are the also -- we are also the least populated state. we are proud westerners. when i use that term, i want to be clear -- being from the west, say, hollywood, california, does not qualify you as a westerner.

here is what we are. [applause] we are at natural resources. we are an energy state. we are the energy state. wyoming produces more thermal units of exports than any other state in the union. 10.76 quadrillion btu's per year./ we are proud the number one in coal production. we're number one in uranium reserves. we're no. 8 in oil. we're number one in the production of helium. we recognize the value of using these natural resources, not just for our state, but what they mean to our country. as we used to think about talking about energy independence for this country, it often was branded as political rhetoric.

but with the right president, the right president weekend make that a reality. we have the resources to do it. [applause] being from an energy state, people often ask about the environment. we are proud of our environment in wyoming. we are good stewards of the land. we need to be, because the second-largest industry is tourism. we have a starkly done a good job balancing development -- historically done a good job balancing development. we believe the the best people to regulate that are not people from dc who believe wyoming is a town in colorado, but the states themselves. [applause] ag state.dly and in terms of inclination, our

people are conservative. by elections, we are the most drastic in the union, and dan proud of that as well. -- the most red estate in the union, and dang proud of that as well. it is our nature to be fiscally restrained and support of states' rights. our elected officials mirror our citizens. as we are here today to consider the future of our country, i want to point out what the response will use of natural resources, a fiscally conservative nature, and state'' rights has meant to our state. this is not just me. these are -- these are outside observations. number one, we are one of three states with no corporate or gross receipts tax. we are one of nine states with no income tax. we have been voted recently as

the best, business-friendliest tax climate. we have been voted overall as the number one state by tax climate. we are one of the top five next boom states. we have the highest percentage of residents with high-school diplomas per-capita. we have the lowest of electrical prices. we have the fifth-lowest business costs. finally, last year, which was very good news as new governor, we were rated by 24/7 wall street as the best-run state in america. [applause] of course, politicians are always quick to grab credit. the fact is that, for those who came before me and those who always kept wyoming conservative, the fact is that it is the private sector that has put wyoming in that wonderful position. i bring this fact about our tax

climate, about being business- friendly, because, as we consider the future of this country, it could be, with a new president, we too could have this across this country. wouldn't that be a wonderful thing, to have less regulation, less taxes, and business booming? [applause] it is absolutely critical that our next president knows the value of the west to our country. it is critical that our next president appreciates religious freedom. it is critical that unexpressed and appreciates states' rights. only one canada knows and appreciates those -- the west. that candidate is governor mitt romney. [applause] i would tell you that because we are the smallest state, we often become agitated and

irritated that we are viewed as a fight over state. the only thing worse than being ignored is actually having washington pay attention to you. [laughter] that is when bad things happen. but we want to know that our next president knows about the west and about wyoming. i would tell you, during primary season, there has been exactly one candidate who has made multiple calls to me to have discussions. that and it was medtronic. when i say he called me, i do not mean a call where a staffer gets on the line and says, please hold for the next staffer who will tell you how long you'll be on hold. i am talking about him calling me directly and leaving messages. when we had the opportunity to have discussions, and this was critical for me, he not only knew about wyoming, he knew about wyoming issues. he had taken time to learn about wyoming.

this, ladies and gentlemen, is a man who knows about the west, knows of we have here, knows what we've got you here. i was impressed by this. i continue to be impressed by the romney team as they travel around the country. they are extraordinarily busy. in wyoming, they have stopped and some of our smallest towns to greet and meet people and answer questions. they do not do this because we are is wednesday. -- a swing state. they do this because they care about wyoming. because they care about the west. i talked about that we have proximity and a bond to colorado. there is no question that we do. that is for a number of reasons, including the fact that we share a border. we also share a bond because, in a healthy way, we have competition for jobs, for businesses.

we share a bond because our universities compete for dollars. our universities compete in athletics. as you know, csu is in close proximity to the university of wyoming. they have a health -- healthy rivalry. it is a bad day in wyoming every time we lose csu. but on those days, i take solace in the fact that, i met my wife of 20 plus years at the university of women. she grew up in littleton, colorado, and i stole her. i am glad of it. [laughter] [applause] well she is from littleton, colorado, she is pure wyoming. i am very proud of her and the job she has done as first lady of wyoming. [applause] here in colorado, the gop has

control of the state house of representatives, holds three of the state-wide elected positions, and four of colorado's 7 congressional seats. since 2008, the mood has shifted dramatically here, opening the door for republican victories this november. a concerted get out the vote program by republicans in colorado will take place in the run-up to the election. this will include efforts to insure absentee voting as well as voting on election day. colorado has more registered republican voters than democrats voters. the margin in colorado is 150,000 more republicans. when i saw that number, i am thinking, that is 1/5 the population of our state. so come on, colorado. [applause] the operation is a joint effort of the rnc, the republican party of colorado, and the romney campaign. the focus is to get republicans

elected from the top down on the ticket. voter enthusiasm is on the side of republican candidates. voters are ready for a new direction. the fact is, this president did not deliver on his promise made in 2008 at mile high stadium for hope and change. what happened is it his change curb our hope. he felt to fix the economy. he added trillions of dollars to the national debt. he alienated many of our voters with his bad policies, chief amongst them being in the affordable care act. i was interested as to what the supreme court decision, how quick the media was to say, this is a great victory for president obama. the wind is now at his back. i do not view it that way at all. what in fact has happened is that this thing was hanging around, but he owns it totally now. it is a meal that has been held

up, and now he is going to serve that to the american people. the american people do not wanted. they do not favor it. it is not good policy for any state in america. in particular, in my view, for the western states. they tried to spin it, saying, it is constitutional. we do not judge something as good policy, we do not make decisions just because it is legal it is good. they have changed this penalty on the individual mandate and said it is not a penalty, it will be a taxation. somehow that is good news. to me, that is a very poor job at trying to perfume the pig. it is still not good. [laughter] [applause] as i mentioned, i am a fourth generation wyoming rancher. allow to share with you about what a blessing it was to grow on a ranch, and some of the

things i learned. growing up on a ranch taught me the value of hard work. it caused me to appreciate that trade in others. it taught me that there is consequences to action, and that appearance is not a substitute for results. it taught me that there is no true success without the possibility of failure. it taught me that a life full of given trophies is much less fulfilling than a life of -- where only one is earned. it taught me that the things you want in life -- it is not the american dream to be given those things. it is the american dream to be able to learn those things. i kentucky that governor romney knows that. -- can tell you that governor romney knows that. now a wrenching story that translates beyond -- wrenching. my great grandparents homesteaded in wyoming. some of their lives, they

literally lived in a covered wagon. my grandfather used to tell me what his father said. that was this -- he said, in wyoming, where you find one blade of grass, you leave two. the reason that transcends agriculture is the message for every generation. every generation has a duty to leave better things for the next generation, to improve upon it, to give back. the fact is, president obama has not been pleading that second blade of grass. he instead has taken blades of grass from future generations. [applause] during presidential election cycles, the question is asked, are you better off than you were four years ago? i was speaking to a republican

group and i asked that question. i did not wait for the answer. i gave them the answer. you are not better off. no one is better off. as i learned, when you get off the stage and you see someone coming for you, and this lady was, i knew this would be fine. -- fun. here she came and she came up to me and was stern and she said governor, you are dead wrong on that. i said, ok, how was i wrong? she said this with a smile, my husband has had a banner business. his business is for closures. [laughter] i was corrected. the fact of the matter is, and we are proud of this, conservative republicans, republicans who care, we do not ask the question, and i better

off than i was three years ago? we ask the question more broadly. are our neighbors better off? our schools? is our security better off? is our immigration policy better off, our churches? our families, our future? because this election is not about defeating a man. it is about winning the future. [applause] it is not just about the dreams of our fathers. in fact, it is about our dreams. you'll love this country as i love this country. i never lose hope, we are the greatest country. no other country has provided so much opportunity. no other country has provided

the freedoms we enjoy. but our historical strength, our historical success is not a guarantee of future success. this is the time for action. this is the time to show the strength of the republican party by coming together. this is a time when we can be planted the blade of grass for this generation and grow many more for the future. i asked you to join me in making that a reality. by getting republicans elected, the one person who can grow blades of grass, turning our dreams into reality, ladies and gentlemen, the person to do that job is governor mitt romney. thank you and god bless. [applause]

>> governor matt mead, and our neighbor from wyoming. what a great start to summit saturday 2012. governor matt mead, his wife, their children, wwish them the very best. they are the best thing to come out of wyoming since dick cheney. we hope to see more of you governor meade, it is good to count to a good friend. let me introduce someone who is an old friend of western conservative summit. when we first met in 2010, he was with us as a young state representative determined to return the representation of colorado's congressional district to republican hands. when we met a year ago, he was on the program to join us in person and was detained in washington because he was a

leader in the tea party republicans elected in 2010 who were fighting to keep the debt ceiling from rising yet again and he addressed the summit last year by video. how pleased we are he can be with us in person for the purposes of the next intersection. please welcome our congressman from the fourth district, the honorable cory gardner. [applause] >> good morning. thank you very much. there is almost as many people in this room as my home town. i grew up on the eastern plains in the yuma, colorado. most of you probably do not know where it is. governor mead, what a great

and fantastic meter. let's give him another round of applause. the governor mentioned that it is a bad day when the football team loses to colorado state university. i will point out there have not that -- there have not been that many bad days. what a great opportunity to be here and thank you to senator armstrong, the western conservative summit is truly an incredible opportunity to express our values and the reasons we believe in individual responsibility, liberty, and the fundamental notions of our constitution. i represent the fourth congressional district which spans all the way from new mexico, oklahoma, kansas, wyoming, boulder. it represents the values of this country. the nation that believes our

country functions best when the government get out of the way and let america work. -- lets america work. john andrews, i am concerned about this gathering because of the janet napolitano hears about this room i will be put on a watch list. they have told me there is an epa drone outside if anybody has missed their emissions tests. what a week it has been in washington, d.c. from finding eric holder in content to a supreme court -- [applause] to a supreme court that has given the green light to taxing people for not spending money. there has been no shortage of news. congress can taxi when you earn an income, it will tax you when you buy something, and now the

government may tax you if you do not buy something. while the supreme court of the united states has decided that this lot is not unconstitutional, it is still bad policy. [applause] the court had its say on june 28. the people in this room will have its say, their say on november 6, 2012. [applause] that is why the summit could not have come at a more important time. a time to reflect on the past, a time to reenergize the future into greengages with those who know our country must choose a new direction. there is no other time in our nation's history that the champions of limited government have been so needed them right

now. i thank you for heating our nation's call. i have great hope for this country and it is reflected in a conversations -- a conversation i had a few weeks ago. a young girl who joined us at a meeting came up to me, 6 years old, and she said, mr. gardner, i am worried about our country and i just want to know what i can do to help. a six-year old girl who wants to know what she can do to help our country. it is our obligation, those of us in this room, to make sure we are helping her by giving the right thing this november and making the choice for the direction of this country. a choice that is more freedom, a choice that adheres to our constitution, a choice that

says we, this room, know how to better manage our lives, our families, and our businesses, better than any government ever could. [applause] while it seems there was a long time ago there was another decision that was issued this week, our next speaker knows a great deal about this. jan brewer is no stranger to hard work. she has one of the best managed in the country -- counties in the nation. the arizona she walked -- she made it a hallmark of arizona state budget. it is no surprise she had the fortitude to accomplish these things. she has always known the hard work is the way you make things happen. after losing her father, she worked with her mother every day after school and on weekends at

her mother's dress shop. she learned to do not shy away from challenges. you take them head on and you never quit. on january 21, 2009, jan brewer took this notion all the way to her inauguration when she was sworn in as the governor of arizona. [applause] and now i would like to introduce you, and quit talking before congress can tax me for talking, introduced to you jan brewer. [applause] >> thank you. thank you, all. thank you very much. good morning. good morning. wow, you guys are fabulous.

thank you for that kind and warm introduction. before i begin, let me begin by saying i know that colorado is facing devastating wildfires. i have seen too many of them in the state of arizona and they leave a blackened forest and charred homes and heartache behind. as colorado battles this awful fire situation, i want you to know that i bring arizona's thoughts and prayers to you. i know all of us will be keeping the fire fighters, including many from arizona, in our prayers as they risk their lives to protect colorado's beauty. [applause]

our nation is fortunate. we are all fortunate, to have the leadership of senator armstrong, who is guiding colorado christian university ella's it helps americans government -- as it helps americans govern, including the efforts of a think tank like the centennial institute led by john andrus and his annual summit. -- andrews and this annual summit. now, there is one other person who should be singled out for all he has done to inspire and energize conservatives across this country. i would ask him to stand and take about but unfortunately, barack obama could not be with us this morning.

i offered to greet him at the airport yesterday when he arrived in arizona. [applause] but of course the white house declined to. i do not really thinks he likes what i have to say. you know, you do know, a recession is when your neighbor's lose their job. a depression is when you lose your job. i believe a recovery for this nation will come when barack obama loses his job. [applause] in my book, "scorpion's for breakfast," i tell of my breakfast with the president and i told him i did not want to talk about comprehensive

immigration reform while our borders are out of control. but his administration was telling us, from 3,000 miles away, and that our border was more secure than ever. well, mr. president, i tell that to the survivors and the friends of robert, and dedicated community-minded man shot to death on the same branch his family has called home for more than 100 years. tell that to the friends and relatives of the brave patrol agents, victims of a border gain that was armed by our own fight drug government, allowing guns to be shipped into mexico -- federal government, allowing guns to be shipped into mexico. now we are told the justice department was year-old attorney general eric holder from

prosecution -- will shield attorney general eric holder from prosecution. incredible. they could have secured are boaters and fulfil the promise to fix a broken immigration system. but they failed. they failed the american people regarding immigration policy and failed to protect our citizens and preserve the rule of law and they failed to secure our border. our brave men and women in uniform have been trained so they are able to enforce this law efficiently, effectively, and in harmony with the constitution. civil rights will be protected. racial profiling will not be tolerated. under my direction, senate bill 1070 was amended to strengthen and to emphasize the importance

of civil-rights and make sure they are always protected. arizona is prepared to enforce the law that we have fought so hard to defend, ever mindful of our rights, ever faithful to the constitution. now, you may have heard there is a postscript to this story, hours following the supreme court decision. the obama administration provoked an agreement which allowed arizona law enforcement officers to partner with the government in the enforcement of immigration. once again, they deny our state resources and prevent us from protecting ourselves. sometimes i wonder, in fact, this is a struggle with the

federal government. it might make us stronger. especially now because we understand what barack obama has done to our country. in the november election, americans will make a choice about what is right and about what is wrong. wrong is that president obama accumulating more debt than any other president in history. braga's the fact that millions of americans are unemployed. ron is the fact that -- wrong is the fact that millions more cannot find work. wrong is apologizing for america when he travels abroad. [applause] wrong is failing to secure our

borders and is suing states that only one to enforce the law. wrong is -- [applause] thank you. wrong is believe you can create wealth by spreading it around. finally, wrong is claiming greatness by blaming others for his failures. [applause] here is what i believe is right. right is calling a terrorist terrorist. [applause] right is calling a christmas tree a christmas tree. right is not being afraid to salute the flag, where a flag pin, -- wear a flag pin, say the

pledge of allegiance, sing the national anthem, with a tear in our eye. [applause] right is not being afraid to say those who are here illegally, you deserve no favoritism. obey our laws. no jobs over unemployed americans. no driver's licenses. no special language privileges. and get in line away thousands of others have done, the right way. the legal way. it is saying that and doing much more and that is what i have

done. you know, what should bother us most is we have a president who's suggests america is not an exception on nation. what other country has sent its men and women to fight for justice and peace? what other nation never rose to such strengths yet rose not to conquer but to protect? what other nation has acted not to dominate the but to liberate it? we are an exception on nation, all right? -- exceptional nation, all right? written in blood by patriots and their families. freedom is the right to question and to change when we do things. freedom is the revolution of the marketplace.

president obama does not have much in common with ronald reagan. the difference between the man is simple. one wants to spread the wealth. the other live to spread freedom. -- lived to spread freedom. in arizona, i have chosen freedom. [applause] i decided to free the private sector from the burdens of overregulation and the heavy hand of government because i understood that the free enterprise system was the answer. three years ago, at arizona was on the brink. we were struggling with a multi- billion dollar deficit. the worst in the nation. we needed a dramatic change in the philosophy of government and arizona is now living that philosophy. with a series of historic

reforms, i lowered taxes, capital gains taxes, corporate property taxes, and lowered business taxes. i balanced the budget. eliminated six state agencies and reduced personnel costs by 13%. i also reformed medicaid. [applause] thank you. thank you. in short, ariz. created a model for economic recovery different from the obama administration. where they spent, we saved. where they handcuffed private industry, we unleashed a free market. this has been accomplished through basic free-market principles of competition, joyce, public-private partnerships and limited regulation. [applause]

let me say, for defenders of freedom in the free market, the supreme court decision upholding obamacare was overreaching and unaffordable and an assault on states' rights and individual liberty. [applause] middle-class americans are faced with a massive new tax, the erosion of individual liberty and the health insurance choices dictated by an overbearing federal government. we need real, responsible health care reform. [applause] thank you, yes. we need the innovation of states like arizona that have promoted private-sector competition, a

consumer choice, and controlling costs. i believe reform will spring from sovereign states. it will provide coverage that best meets the needs of its citizens at a price they can afford. i stand ready to work alongside congress, legislators, and stakeholders to developing proposals that enhances choice and competition and brings stability and predictability to our health care and our marketplace. the supreme court decision makes the november election more important than ever. it is now up to the american people to save our country from fiscal and regulatory nightmares. we must repeal obamacare. [applause]

we must we be like a president who understands the economy, represents free enterprise, and respects the constitution and individual liberty. in a few days, we will celebrate the birth of the greatest nation the world has ever known. it reminds us we can never give up fighting for what is right. fighting for our freedom. i understand that in a bid to win, president obama thinks arizona, and probably your state, -- he thinks he can win our state. i say, came on.

i am going to travel our country and i will speak with every ounce of energy in me between now and november to return a republican to the white house. [applause] so, let's resolve to meet the challenges facing this great nation and conservatives. during the election of 1860, abraham lincoln said, "i know there is a god and that he hates injustice. i see the storm coming. but he has a place and a part for me. i believe that i am ready." well, we know there is a god. the storm is already here. if he has a place, and a part

for me and all of you, i believe we are ready. [applause] are you ready? are you ready? let there be no doubt these are difficult to days that province has set before us. i do not shrink from them and neither should you. after we get the right leadership in washington, d.c., neither will america.

thank you, and may god bless you and your families, and may god always bless and protect the united states of america. thank you. god bless all of you. [applause] >> governor jan brewer, wow, was that incredible? i am sitting here lisa -- listening and someone leaned over and said, i am glad she is on our side.

whew. as she was speaking, before she suggested that she would be happy to meet barack obama on the tarmac, i was thinking about my comments coming up here and i was picturing, you remember the picture on the tarmac, how inspiring. i would say to you that your courage, your strength, your stand against the federal government and the ever- encroaching french government is an inspiration to each one of us here. thank you. -- federal government is an inspiration to each one of us here. thank you. tomorrow we will be holding a straw poll for the vice- presidential pick. if you would like, you cannot write in governor -- can write in governor brewer or mead's

name. what a great morning. how inspiring. what a great evening last night. it is wonderful to be together and talk about the things that are important to this country. it is an honor for me to bring up kevin miller and the jonathan who be introducing our next speakers. before that, i did not bring my prop but you will know what i am talking about. on your table, you will see a western summit addition of the colorado christian university connection. at university magazine. this will give you a summary of we are. it will tell you a little bit about some of the great things that are happening at colorado christian university.

if president armstrong had the foresight and the vision to bring senator john andrews, and if they are able to put together an advent of this magnitude, then you know that our small university is accomplishing big things. [applause] i would encourage you to take a few minutes and look through the magazine and book what is happening. now all that kevin and jonathan -- cabin is a fellow at the institute. he hosts the crossover network, a seminar for imports leaders in the business and nonprofit communities. he is a businessman. he is the co-founder of a web- based firm and the president of a venture consulting firm.

he is an agitator. he was the founding dean of the school of business and now he is an executive in residence to the great benefit of our wonderful students and to the entire community. he is an author, his most recent book is called, "freedom nationally, a virtual locally, or socialism." if you are a social conservative, even if you are not, this book will challenge you. here is where i hold it up and say it is available in the lobby. i do not have it with me. devin did not act -- did not ask me to plug his book. he has challenged my thinking over the past year that i have known him and he is a great american and a great man. jonathan is one of our shining stars.

a wonderful, wonderful young man. he is an intern this summer at the heritage foundation in washington, d.c. he will be one of two pages from colorado serving at the national convention in florida later this summer. i do not have the opportunity to meet a lot of our students. i am out a lot of campus. but i have had the opportunity to visit with jonathan a lot of times and he is an amazing young man. he has a heart for the board, for public policy, for politics, and i would say you want to keep your eye on jonathan. i suspect you will hear more about him. jonathan and kevin will be introducing james robison. please help me welcome jonathan finer and kevin miller.

[applause] >> isn't this a fantastic event? it is a pleasure to see all of you. it is my pleasure to introduce you james robison. he is working with j richards. jay will be speaking first. he is a friend of mine. i want to tell you why you should listen to james robinson today. don't listen to james because he has spoken in over 600 venues around the country, full to the brim in breaking attendance records that the rolling stones did not and appearing with bagram throughout the 1970's. -- billy gramm to wrap the 1970's. don't listen to him because he

has an outreach that has saved the lives of thousands of children, saved a young women from child prostitution, and doug water wells. although he has done that, too. becausesten to james millions, 20 million plus come to an understanding of jesus christ through the james. but here is why you should listen to james. he has stood up twice, at critical times in our country, as a citizen patriot. he is a southern baptist evangelists. he saw southern baptist president and realized that perhaps not all people of faith at the same views politically as he sought president carter. he convened a large group using his influence as an evangelist

and he can be used -- convened a huge number of pastors. ronald reagan spoke to that group and james told him, coached him on what to say. what he said was groundbreaking. he said that i know you cannot endorse me. but i want you to know that i endorse you. that was a watershed moment, as people of faith they realize they can come together and impact to their country as patriots themselves. with their faith posture's at work in the political marketplace. james and his wife is here today. they have become alarmed to in the last few weirs. james is stepping up as a citizen patriot, raising the alarm and that there is something amiss in the country and he has written a book which

will you will hear about shortly. do not listen to him for the reasons of his primary location. listen to him as a deep thinker, as a christian statesman, in his discussion of liberty today. and now for jonathan to speak. >> good morning, ladies and gentlemen. and as president armstrong would say, my fellow senators. it is an honor to be here before you today. jay richards rex the center on wealth, poverty, and morality. he has written many academic articles, books, and essays on a variety of subjects and produced several documentaries. a previous book he wrote, money, agreed, and got, received an

award in 2012. it had an impact on my education in economics by giving an understandable approach for the moral argument for free markets and it showed that all you need to know about free markets you learned in kindergarten. i will not reveal the secret. you can ask him afterward. when he is not appearing on larry king, lecturing members of congress, or producing documentaries, he is an editor of the american,. he is a visiting fellow at the heritage foundation, a director at an institute. he is here today with james robison on their latest book, " indivisible." today our society has issues ranging from fatherless homes and abortions, the debt on the verge of $16 trillion, and a government that is growing out of control.

"today we are fighting a culture war. it is on like ordinary debates. it is a fight over the principles on which cultures are based." please join me in welcoming door jay richards. [applause] >> it is wonderful to be here. i have been at a number of think tanks throughout my career and i am a little intimidated. try to put yourself in my shoes. we have heard from governors, glenn beck, and now you're going to hear from a philosopher. that is the basic story. i felt like something important was supposed to happen this weekend. i had given a speech and i lost my voice after that and did not have a voice for several days.

it finally worked its way out and then last tuesday i threw out my back. i could barely stand. i had to get some medicine. i spent two days in colorado springs where the fires were. there is a much opposition i feel like i have to get to colorado. i have to tell you, the energy in this room is spectacular. i spent most of my time in seattle. if you are a conservative christian in seattle, if you do not get out to things like this, you start to think, maybe i am crazy. this book, what we want to do is in the title. james and i are convinced that the conservatives, if we work together and learn to think together, and commit ourselves to a foundation all set of principles, i can show -- turn the culture around.

the problem is there are a lot of things that want to separate as. conservative is and is often described as a three legged stool. that is a common way of describing it. there are three coalitions that come together in the american conservative movement. fiscal conservatives, interested in the mid to government, free markets, -- the balloted government, free markets. social conservatives are concerned about questions of life, abortion, and marriage and family, religious freedom. those are social conservatives. the third leg is foreign-policy conservatives, we should have a powerful defense. these three ideas, and these three strands supposedly come together to form the conservative movement. the media loves this description

because that makes like conservatives are a marriage of convenience. three disparate groups of people that do not agree among themselves. i guess it would be a polygamous marriage of inconvenience. that is the idea a lot of people want to believe. there are intellectual tensions, unfortunately. what i want to talk about this morning is this attention we have heard about already. is there a contradiction between the things that libertarians believe and the things that social conservatives believe and is there a conflictare convincem and free enterprise is fundamentally incompatible with being a christian. they think that our economic system is contradictory to the christian world view. those are the most potent and dangerous conflicts we have to deal with if we are going to have not a marriage of

convenience or inconvenience, but intellectual programs that we can stand firm on and that we can come together in the public square to transform the public square. in the book, james and i argue that in terms of the diagnosis, 86% of the population identified as christian and a sizable number beyond that subscribe to the idea there is a creator, we are endowed by our creator. if that is true, the majority of the american people are the guests -- are theists. how is it that culture has been entirely occupied by the secular left? what is happening? the first century, a small band of persecuted christians were hounded and tortured and killed by the roman empire. within three centuries, they had

transformed civilization and the empire themselves. why is it that some 86% of us cannot manage to turn the culture around? we think the reason we cannot do that is because we spend a lot of time fighting among ourselves. what i want to talk about for a couple minutes is that tension between social conservatives and fiscal conservatives and between capitalism and the judeo- christian world view. at the 2008 election there was a debate among whose fault it was that we lost the election. a lot of people were sniping each other. you had fiscal conservatives attacking the social conservatives and if we had not been saddled with this debate about the marriage, we could have won this election. it went back and forth. i found this quote online, a distillation of the complaint. i am going to call it the libertarian complete.

he said social conservatives need to understand that modern libertarians, small conservatives, national council -- national security conservatives generally share their values on the issues of lower taxes, strong defense, gun-control but the social conservatives additions on key rights are seen as government intrusion of personal liberty based on a particular religious belief system. you see his point? if you believe in individual rights and things like that, things the conservatives believe in, you are being inconsistent if you think the government should also take a pro-like position or the traditional view of marriage. that is intellectually inconsistent. you can believe in this idea where the government enforces a

religious belief system but you cannot do both. i think that is a much more important intellectual disagreement that we want to resolve rather than the sort of things the last month to foist upon us. let's take life. let's see if we can show that even given what to libertarians believe, they should be pro- life. i would go farther. if libertarians claim to believe what they believe about rights and that a state must recognize that, you can get from that to a defense of traditional ryan -- marriage that is defended by the state. let's take life this morning.

here is the question. if you believe the government should be limited. what limits the state? what is the thing that makes the government minted? what are we talking about when we say that? the government, the state has some things it is supposed to do. there is proper jurisdiction and other areas. the short answer is what you might call pre-political realities. that is probably a construction you have not heard before. what i am talking about is that the government is limited, it recognizes there are things out there already in the world. things that the government recognizes. it does not define those things. it recognizes those realities that were out there, already existing before a political experiment got off the ground.

the most important reality for libertarians is the individual. every president from george washington, fdr, president obama, all of them say things like this, government is not give us our rights, we get our rights from god and a government recognizes those rights. that is an important way of putting it. it is how thomas jefferson put it in the declaration of independence. we are in doubt by our creator with certain unalienable rights. those things, those individuals with the natures and rights, those exist prior to the states. a state does not define what those are. if a state is limited, it recognizes there are individuals who have a proper domain of autonomy and freedom. a just government must recognize.

that is exactly the opposite of the progress of understanding of the individual and certainly the communist understanding. in the 20 of century, soviet communism argue that there was not anything like an inherent right. rather the individual has meaning and purpose in so far as it is a part of the state collected. it is a fundamentalally different view. you already believe there is something outside the state that it must recognize. there is one pre-political reality. the individual. no one would say i do not think government should get into the individual business. stay out of our life. i believe individuals have rights. some people do not think that. live and let live. we would not see that as a libertarian position. that is anarchy. it is important because even ayn

rand, a hard core atheist and defendant of capitalism said this. rand was an atheist. yet she could say this, -- i do not know where she got that in her world view, i am a christian and i look at that and say yes, exactly, we are made in the image of god. we are and in ourselves. rand believed in the inherent dignity and value of the individual. guess what? that is the same foundation of the pro-lifer argument. rand was pro-choice of but not by saying the unborn are humans but it is ok to murder.

she thought that the child went through different stages and sell at one stage was a fish, reptiles, this crazy stuff that no one seriously believes. or if you kill an unborn being you are not killing a human. she had a way around this. she was inconsistent but she believed in the dignity of the individual. a lot of people say if you are pro-life, you are imposing some kind of religious idea on the question. that is not true. if you read the debate over the issue, you will never find anyone talking about theological questions such as when does the soul enter the body. all the need to get from the inherent dignity of the individual is a little clearer thinking in basic biology. everyone of you was at one point in time an embryo. every one of the was a fetus.

every one of the was a pre-born child, a newborn. an infant, a toddler, a child, a teenager. what are those things? are we describing different realities? we are describing different stages of development of the same identical individual through time. if each of us are humans, we are identical with something that was once an embryo or a fetus. whatever that is, by definition it has to be a human. in fact, if you look at the biology, there is no non- arbitrary way of excluding a pre-born human being from the class of people that are members of the human race. there are all kinds of ad hoc justifications. this child is dependent on another. it is not self aware. we would never use these to divide other people out of existence.

we do not think smaller people are less valuable. we do not think a small child is dependent upon its mother. that does not mean it is not human. all you need is a commitment to the dignity of the individual and then the basic idea of that the main job of the states is to protect human beings from molestations and destruction at the hands of others. and libertarian is that not markets. -- a libertarian is not an anarchist. you get from that you to a pro- life cause easily. it also happens when talking about marriage. some people think the only thing the government should recognize are individuals. but if you look around, there are other realities, i church, the family, and there is the institution of marriage.

marriage is more universal than the american ideal of individual rights. in every time, place, and religion that we know of, those places have all recognized the institution based in human nature. there is diversity, of course. but you can still, if you study cultures, whether you are in england, marriage is always understood as having something to do with the public commitment of a man and a woman who are complementary beings coming together in a public covenant for the bearing and the raising of children. that is what the word marriage has meant. every other than wage has somewhere for referring to that institution. if that is what marriage is, we need a word for it. whatever you think about homosexuality, same-six

partnerships, there is still this reality in the world that is universal. what that means is that the government is slated and just, as it recognizes the reality of individuals, it will also recognize the pre-political reality of the universal institution such as marriage. you see that point? a tolerant government will do that. it is not a tolerant act for a state to decide it is going to give itself the authority to redefine an institution that exists prior to it. just as it would not be tolerant to redefine what the individual is. that is a totalitarian act. a government will recognize those realities outside itself, including things like individual rights and churches, and voluntary institutions and above all the institution of the family. they see the point. that argument does not require

we debate theology or we interpret genesis. we are going from this belief that a limited government recognizes those things outside its jurisdiction and anything for a while about what those are and you get straight from a commitment to limited government to a government that recognize the rights of unborn human beings and the reality of the institution of marriage. that does not convince everyone that anyone who thinks of themselves as a libertarian should see the wisdom in this. we have to learn how to think together. james and i wanted to develop an argument that gives us a set of principles in which all of us to identify as conservatives can think of light and see why we need to go together. there is a lot of interesting connections between social and fiscal issues. the number one predictor of childhood poverty in the united states is whether there is a father in the home or not.

an economic issue, whether a child is in poverty, is determined by a social or moral issue, the health of the family. these things cannot be separated. let's take the other side of the argument. this dilemma that a lot of young christians actually see and we saw it in the occupy wall street movement. i do not think they accomplished a lot that they accomplished this new way of speaking in terms of the 99%. a lot of people think, if we are created equal, how just is it that some people have a lot more money than others? we have this in our language. some people get more than their fair share. millions of people, millions of college students, never think that an economic system that

allows inequality is immoral. what do we say about that? i would argue when people see economic inequality and think it is immoral, they think they are making a moral judgment. they are connecting an observation and day intuition about inequality with a bad understanding of the reality of economics. because they do that, they misunderstand what is happening in the economy. jonathan mentioned that i learned everything i needed to know in kindergarten. i say that in the book. more or less the six grade. what people are doing when they think inequality is unjust, they are assuming that our economy, a free-trade economy is a zero sum game. all it means is that it is a win-lose game. the logic of the rules is such that if one person wins,

somebody else has to lose. football, basketball, chaz, checkers, most of the games, the logic of the game, one person will win and another person will lose. it sums to zero. there are two other kinds of games. lose-lose, win-win, everyone who plays and the course off as a result. we do not play those games. if you do, why are we doing this? that would be a lose-lose game. if there is when-is, in. there has to be win-win games. it is not a game where every but it is well off. it is a game in which everyone who plays ends up better off than they woulve