To represent their issues and values. What ive not ever heard on the campaign trail was besides the fact that youre black or because youre black, heres what we want to do. Theyve asked me questions about values and issues, and thats an amazing thing. I think it speaks to the evolution of South Carolina and of our nation. It speaks to the heart of the good people in our nation and specifically of our state. I would say this more importantly than the complexion that i have, i think back to growing up in a singleparent household. Id love to speak to the single moms out there and say dont give up on your kids. It may get tough, it may be challenging, but all things are truly possible in this nation. I was speaking with jim clyburn, another part of the family here. I was talking to jim on thursday and i said, what do you think . Hes like i dont know what to think. And we sat there for a few minutes and chatted. When it comes to things specific to South Carolina our delegation works incredibly well as a team. [inaudible question] not if im smart. [laughter] [inaudible question] i havent had enough time to think about a senate bill, i do believe in term limits. I guaranteed it in the u. S. House and i will certainly have a certain number of terms. In you start in the middle, where do you go from there . 12 to 14 years from this point is a good number. Two full terms would be fantastic. But i better win the first one or the second one doesnt really matter much. [inaudible question] my understanding is january 3. [inaudible] what do you think you can accomplish now [inaudible] i think the first thing that ill recognize is the south will become the entire capital of the country because ill be putting more miles on my tires, because now i have two years to represent the entire state and get reelected by 2014. One of the things i hope we work on from the senate will be the same thing that i worked on in the house, which is when you look at the problems of our country, they are simply spending problems primarily. We cannot address from Congress Many of the issues and challenges that really affect americans. Thats something that starts at home. The things that we can affect in congress, including the senate, is a spending trajectory. Where are we going as a nation . When youre borrowing 42 cents on the dollar to spend it, youre probably on the wrong track. When you have a 16 trillion debt, youre probably on the wrong track. When your entitlement reform is so far removed from the conversation, when spending reform is so far removed from the conversation, youre definitively definitely on the wrong track. If we are to continue to grow our economy were going to have to look at progrowth principles and make sure that that is what undergirds the future of america. Thats why youve heard so much conversation about raising taxes. You raise taxes on the top 2 and you almost overnight, within the first 12 months, eliminate about 700,000 new jobs. You tack that on top of the regulatory reform, youre talking another 800,000 jobs lost in america. So thats 1. 5 million more americans out of work on top of 23 million americans. Thats not the right direction. So my objective would start with a conversation of tax reform and spending control. [inaudible] i would think that most americans are members of the tea party principally. We believe in limited government. We believe in lower taxes. We believe in keeping the government out of your pockets. If you believe in freekts, free markets, those are the basic tenets of the tea party. I would hope we all believe in that. That would be a decisive yes. [inaudible] you look at his scorecard with the heritage action. He was a 98 and i was closing in on i think it was a 090. There was a couple that separated us, maybe some of the more wellknown votes. Other than that, im not quite sure where we disagree. I would think philosophically were on the same page and hopefully well continue to Work Together. I look forward to hearing more from the senator. Last question. [inaudible] thats a great question. You know, i think if john was here with me today he would say, tim, dont forget, its not about growing up in life, its about moving forward. And we define that differently. Some see the senate as a move up, and i certainly do as well in a way. But im hoping that the message that the good lords placed in my heart gets a shot and a leap forward, that well have the opportunity to let the message of real hope and opportunity resonate in places where it hasnt been before. And so i hope what john would say to me is celebrate for about 24 hours and get back to work. Thank yall very much. [applause] later in the week senator demint gave his Farewell Speech from the senate floor. Hes retiring in january to become president of the Heritage Foundation. This is about 20 minutes. Thank you, mr. President. I would like to give what i think we call here my farewell address. We spent a lot of time in the Office Writing out a long speech, and once i read it i realized it really is more emotional than i thought, and weve set that speech aside. Last night i made myself a lot of notes of what i wanted to say, and then i realized this morning that was really just trying to get the last word in on a lot of the politics weve been discussing. So i set that aside and just decided to speak from my heart for a few minutes. Certainly, this is much more emotional than i thought, and as i look around certainly this is much more emotional than as i thought. And as i look around this room the realization that im standing here on the senate floor for the last time is a loss to digest and it makes me appreciative of the privilege weve all been given by the American People, and particularly those who have come before us, who have given their lives for us to have the opportunity to settle our differences in a civil and democratic way. So this is a great opportunity and a privilege to just share a few thoughts before i go on to the next phase of my life. I first have to give my particular thanks to my wife, debbie, who for the last 15 years has spent many days and nights alone as i have tried to come up here and change things in washington. Shes often reminded me or questioned how i thought i could change the world, when i couldnt even mow the grass. But she has been a supporter and certainly so important, as i left my children who were still in school and i began serving in the house, kept them on the right track. And i particularly want to thank them. All of you who served here know that when we sign up for public life we also sign our families up for public life. In a lot of ways it makes their lives much more difficult. So i want to thank my children, my wife, debbie, and family for putting up with this and being such a support. I also have to thank the people of South Carolina who have entrusted me with this job in the senate for the last eight years and in the house six years before that. All of you know who served for your states. As youve traveled around and met people, toured businesses and spoken to groups, it really creates a deep love and appreciation for people back home. I look at what were making in South Carolina in these Small Businesses. You drive by not knowing anything is there, and you go in and find that theyre making things and shipping things all over the world. It just makes you very proud of what were doing in South Carolina, and i know all of you feel the same way about your states. Im very appreciative of the people of South Carolina who have given me this opportunity. Very grateful to my colleagues who have often scrapped with on a lot of issues. I appreciate their patience on both sides. I think i can leave here claiming to have good friends who are democrats and republicans. Im particularly grateful for a lot of the new senators, some who are sitting here today, who ive had the opportunity working with their folks in their states and all around the country, to elect some new people to the senate that are bringing the right ideas and some new voices to those principles that we know have made our country successful. And so i feel like as i leave the senate that we are leaving it better than we found it and that our focus now, despite the difficult challenges, is really on america and how we turn america around. I should spend a lot of time and most of my time on thanking my staff. I have to say that my greatest inspirations have come from the staff that ive had the opportunity to serve with in the house and the senate. As all of you know who are serving here in the senate, this country is being run by people in their 20s and 30s who get us so busy that theyre having to follow us to meetings to tell us where were going and what well be talking about. But its incredible to see that these young people, particularly those that ive served with, have such a passion for our country and freedom, and theyre willing to put it all on the baseline to make a difference here on the line to make a difference here. They feel like my family, but its encouraging to see them move to other offices and taking their ideas and that courage to other places on the hill. I want to add my thanks to all the hill staff, you folks sitting around the front here and those who have worked with us. I know sometimes weve pressed the envelope a little bit on things that we were trying to get done, and ive seen a lot of very intelligent, active and engaged staff all across the hill, both democrat and republican, and im very thankful for what you do. About 15 years ago i started campaigning for the house. I had never run for a public office. At that time i believed and i think it still holds true today that there were normal people like me and then there were politicians. I was a businessman. I had ha Small Business for about 15 years a Small Business for about 15 years. I had four children, was active in my church, in the community, and i had begun to see that wellmotivated, wellintended Government Policies would make it harder for us to do the things at the Community Level that we know actually worked. And thats really what ive always been about here. It really was not about politics. Ive had really no Strong Political affiliation before i decided to run for office. But i saw ideas from the time i was a young person, ideas that worked. And i actually saw this statement the other day that id like to read, because it reflects what i think a lot of us know works in our country. And this is one thing i will try to read today. I do not choose to be a common man. It is my right to be uncommon. If i can seek opportunity, not security, i want to take the calculated risk to dream and to build, to fail and to succeed. I refuse to barter incentive for dole. I prefer the challenges of life for guaranteed security. The thrill of fulfillment for the state of calm utopia. I will not trade freedom for beneficence nor my dignity for a handout. I will never could youer before any master save my cower before any master save my god. It is my heritage to stand erect, proud and unafraid, to think and act for myself. Enjoy the benefit of my creations. To face the whole world boldly and say i am a free american. Ive seen this on a plaque called the american creed. In South Carolina, at least, weve adopted this as what we call the republican creed. But its really not a republican idea or a political idea, its an american idea. And the ideas in this state are ideas that we all know work and ideas that we would hope for our children and everyone around us. We know that there are people all around us who are having difficulty. But this idea of helping them to become independent, selfsufficient, responsible, creates the dignity and fulfillment in their life that we know we want for all americans. This is not for a small few. This is an american idea and its an idea that i know has worked in my life and ive seen it work all around me. And thats what id like to talk about for just a second today. Its not the political ideas, but ideas that we can look back through history and all around us today and point to them and say thats working. I think if we did that more here in the political sphere we might could find a lot more consensus. As we look around the country today, we can see a lot of things that are working. Sometimes we couch them in our political rhetoric, but i can guarantee you theyre not being done for political reasons at the state level, theyre being done because they work and that they have to get things to work at the state level. We saw last week the state of michigan adopted a new law that gave workers the freedom not to join a union. Now, they didnt do that because it was politically expedient or that they thought it was a good idea, because it actually is probably going to get a lot of the politicians in hot water in michigan. But what they did is looked at 23 other states who had adopted the same idea and saw that they were attracting businesses and creating jobs, and these states without raising taxes had more revenue to build schools and roads and hospitals. It was just an idea that worked. Its not a political idea to give people the freedom not to join a union, its an american idea and its an idea that works. We can look around the country today and again, we make these things political and give them labels that are good or bad, depending on, i guess, which party youre in. But we know a number of states have been real innovative and creative with what theyre doing in education. We see what theyve done in florida to create more choices. In louisiana particularly. Forced by Hurricane Katrina to start a new system, in effect, and they see that more choices and students for parents to choose are helping lowincome atrisk kids, minority kids. We can see it working. And its not political. Its an american idea to give parents more choices to put their children in an environment that they can succeed. Its an idea that works. We can look around the country at states that try to create a more businessfriendly environment, not because theyre for businesses or for any political reason or theyre for special interests, but they know the only way to get jobs and prosperity and create opportunity is to create an environment where businesses can thrive. We make it political here. And we ask our constituents to make choices between employers and employees. But states like texas have created a businessfriendly environment with lower taxes and less regulation. Theyve passed some laws that reduce the risk of just frivolous lawsuits. And what theyve seen is businesses moving to their state. Theyve seen jobs and opportunity created not for the top 2 , but expanding a middle class, creating more opportunities and more tax revenues to do the things at the State Government level that we all want for everyone that lives there. This is not for a few. This is for 100 . And you see specials now on tv comparing california and texas, businesses moving out and delegations from california going to texas to try to figure out why businesses are moving and families are moving. Its not political at all. We make it political and we talk about it in political terms, but creating an environment where businesses can thrive is an american idea and its an idea thats working. And we see it all over the country, where some states are going down one road with higher taxes and bigger government and more spending, and theyre losing to states like texas and i hope more and more like South Carolina. Theyre moving to where they can thrive. And this benefits every american. We look at Energy Development and we talk about that at the National Level of how it can create prosperity for our country if we open it up. We dont have to guess at whether or not it works. I mean, we can look at north dakota, you can look at pennsylvania. States that have gone around the federal rules and figured out how to develop their own energy are creating jobs and tax revenue to their governments. They were able to lower their taxes, use the revenue to improve everything about their states. And here we make it political and partisan on whether or not our country can develop more and more energy. But at the state level its just about what works. And all we have to do is look at what works. This is not rocket science. I came to washington as a novice in politics, believing in the power of ideas, seeing how ideas can revolutionize different industries, can create new products and Services Meeting the needs of customers everywhere. And thats what i hoped we could do here in washington. Maybe naively i went to work in the house, often working with the Heritage Foundation to create a better product here in washington. I saw Social Security, and not many people look below the surface, but we knew it was going broke. We knew we were taking in money that people were paying for this Social Security retirement benefit, but we were spending it all. And i thought, what an opportunity it would be for future generations, for my children, if we actually saved what people were putting into Social Security for their retirement. And you didnt have to do too much math to see that even for middleclass workers that americans could be millionaires when they retired if we even kept half of what was put into Social Security for them. It seemed like a good idea to create wealth and independence for individuals in retirement. But we made it a political idea and somehow convinced americans that it was riskier to save their Social Security contribution than it was just to spend it. Im leaving the senate to work on ideas that i know work. Ive seen them work all over our country. We can look all over our country and showcase these ideas that are working. And i know that theyre power and ideas. But ive learned one thing about the political environment. Unless theres power behind the ideas, that they will not emerge here in the congress, that theres too much pressure from the outside on a status quo or to protect some political interest. And no matter how much we show that its working, it wont be adopted here unless were able to win t