Sailors were in a helicopter, there were another two or, i think, three sailors ones still missing. So they do, they make that sacrifice day in and day out, and their family makes it alongside of them. Im not going to go into the introduction, i have a paragraph here, because you did such a wonderful job, thank you very much. And before i start my comments, i thought it might be helpful for me to hear from all of you as to what concerns you and whats on your mind today as we sit here, january the 10th, 2014. This is the first meeting of the conservative women network, and i just what is on your mind . What do you think should be the priorities for the United States of america . Repealing obamacare. [laughter] anyone else . Cutting taxes. Anything else . Standing strong on the key social issues. Life, etc. And im delighted to see one of my former staffers here who now works in the prolife movement, and christy obrien, thank you for coming. Its so great to see you. Well, and i think probably what was echoed up here in terms of the Affordable Care act, jobs and the economy, cutting taxes, keeping spending down, those are the things that most americans, certainly those of us who are paying attention, are concerned about. And well get into some of that in just a minute. You know, you come and you hear people talk, and you walk away, and you think, what did that person just say . And so before be i get into my comments, i just want to leave you with two thoughts. If you dont remember anything else about today, remember these two things. Number one, be grateful that you are fortunate enough to live in the greatest nation in the history of the world, that you are an american citizen and that you live in the United States of america. We sometimes take that for granted, and we must never forget that. And the other really important thing i want you all to remember is that you can be or do anything that you are willing to work hard for and set your mind to. And if you are willing to pick yourself up after you have failed and you pick yourself up and you start all over again, you can do it. And i hold myself up as a perfect example. You know, i went to a Catholic High School in a small town called auburn, new york, and when you met and you met with sister of st. Joseph, she was the guidance counselor, and she gave you, like, three options. One of them, of course, was to go into the convent. That was number one. [laughter] and, you know, back then you became a nurse or a teacher or a homemaker. Those were the choices. No one ever said to me you can run and be the first woman to sit in this seat and represent your district in congress. So it isnt easy. And i dont want to let you think its easy. But what i do want to say to you is you can do it. And dont be deterred. And when people, when i in 2009 left my job and i started telling people i was interested in running for congress, my background had been in health and i was really concerned about the Affordable Care act, they roled their rolled their eyes at me. And you just, if you believe in it and you want to do it, you really need to be undeterred and dont let the media or anyone else discourage you from doing what god has given you the ability to do. And i think thats a very important component about that, is to make sure youre praying for direction in your life and knowing what it is your calling is. And we all have different talents, we all bring different talents to the table. So those two things, if you dont remember anything else about morning or this afternoon, please, keep those in mind. Okay, lets get started. Today i want to talk to you all about conservativism, and i kind of broke it down into three separate buckets that well talk about. The first thing i want to talk about are some very fundamental issues within conservativism and within promoting our principles of conservativism. Secondly, i want to talk to you about the obstacles that we find and we encounter as we pursue our core principles. And thirdly, i want to talk to you about some opportunities that i see we need to, the republicans and the conservatives, need to really grasp onto these opportunities, because i think there are ways for us to hopefully take back the white house, take back the senate and remain in control of the house. I think that for the sake of our nation and generations to come, that really should be the goal of our party and our conservative movement. So lets start with what is pretty obvious and some basic facts. Number one, 2012 was a bad year for republicans and conservatives. And really we have got to make some changes if were going to be, move forward and be successful in promoting our conservative causes and beliefs. Number two, there are many people in this country who believe that if we compromise, if we move to the center, if we somehow give up our core beliefs, that then we will attract more people. And we will win elections. And is i guess im here to tell you, well, i dont agree with that. I think that the key to getting more people involved and getting more people interested in the Republican Party and into the conservative movement is to stay firm and to let the American People know that we stand for something and we believe in something. And i dont want you to confuse that with perhaps thinking that means were intractable, we wont compromise, we wont consider all these other options. And ill get into it a little bit later, but i think weve got to learn as conservatives and republicans to look at issues not as to really i should say from a 360degree angle. We look at the entire issue. We look at it, first and foremost, not whether its a republican or democratic issue, but whether its working or not. And what were seeing in our nation today is that these liberal progressive ideas arent working. And so our key is to show the American People what does work. And well get into that a little bit later. But i, i just want to reiterate, i to not believe that compromising i do not believe that compromising what is so important to us, what is really the core of, i believe, the United States of america and the way we connect, the essence of how we connect to the American People, we cant compromise that. Thats not going to win us elections. The third thing i want to talk about in terms of very basic and obvious thoughts is that conservativism is hard. Its a hard message to articulate. The its a hard, you know, when we encounter a problem, when we look at health care and we all identified that there was a problem with health care in this country. Our liberal friends turned to the government for answers. They look to appropriate money and solve the problem with a bureaucracy. But conservatives dont do that. Conservatives believe that the answers and the solutions to these monumental problems in this country lie with the American People. But thats a very difficult road to take, because it requires getting people involved, selling what you want to do to those people, getting, you know, getting the money from the private sector and getting people onboard so that they will espouse and understand these critical issues. And so its really easier just to turn to the congress or to turn to the senate and say, okay, what law are we going to pass, and prime example is the Affordable Care act. Thats how were going to resolve, thats how were going to resolve the Health Care Issues in this country. And, you know, its not working. I dont have to tell you all that. But i do want to say conservativism is difficult, but its the right way for us to go and the right way for the United States of america to go. So lets talk just a few minutes about the obstacles that we face as conservatives. I think the first, and it kind of dovetails into what i just talked about, how difficult it is, and that is messaging. Its difficult to message conservative principles. We have to inspire people. Thats the task of a conservative, to inspire people that this is a better way to go for the United States of america. Its a better way to go because our principles empower people. Our principles lift people up. And thats far better than making them dependent on the federal government. And so, but its not an easy, its not an easy task to articulate and to make that message clear to the American People. And thats an obstacle we face. And until and unless we make our messaging clearer and we are able to inspire, a lot of americans are just going their own way, living their own lives. And a lot of people within the conservative movement, and i think thats one of the issues weve suffered is that conservatives tend to be working, raising their families, being concerned about their children and their education, and theyre not paying attention to the bigger picture. I was in kentucky a week ago visiting my daughter. We were in a conservative church, and the pastor stood up, and he was saying how we need to pray for this country. Yes, we do need to pray for this country. But we also must get involved. We must get likeminded people in government because i think and this kind of dovetails into my next obstacle we face, the media a the media has intimidated people from getting involved. Theyve intimidated people from even expressing their views. Because if you pick up a aper, and i paper, and i can talk about my own local paper, and christy can acknowledge this, they were from the time i declared until as recently as last week theyve been on a vendetta to just go after me. And just last week it was a whole issue that now ive been out of congress a year, and theyre still going after me. The media really and i think the biggest problem we have with the media is it intimidates, and it makes conservatives think that theyre like the only, the only one who thinks that way. And one of the things that you all can do when you leave this room and as you go forward is you can talk to people, and you can empower other women that, no, no, no, you are not alone when you want the best for your kids or you want more opportunities for your kids, or you dont want this Affordable Care act, you want to make sure health care stays the quality of health care that we have in this country. And so thats a problem we have with the media, and i think it does intimidate. But getting back to the messaging, because i left out a very important component, we need as republicans and conservatives to let the country know and the people who live in this country that we are not a party of white, rich men. And that is a huge problem in our messaging and something that we have to, we have to change that. We have to really insist and show through our conversations, through our policies that were a party for all americans; the wealthy, the poor, the africanamericans, latinos, the urban, the rural. That we, the values we hold to dear are those values that will lift everyone up. And thats a very Important Message that were not getting out there. I really theres a stereotype that fits with the Republican Party, and we need to break that. And you all in this room can begin to make those changes. And that leads me to the third obstacle we face, and i can say that ive really encountered it firsthand, and that is a stereotypes. The media and primarily the media has made conservatives out to be crazy, rightwing radicals. When i and it was mentioned i just began in july as a commissioner at the Consumer Products safety commissioner. I cannot tell you from the time i started up until yesterday we had a coffee in our office, people come up to me and they say, oh, my gosh, we were so nervous about you. You know, i think they thought i was going to have snakes coming out of my ears. I dont know what because of my conservative, i was supposedly a tea party person. To this day i dont know what a tea party person is. Americans who believe that the constitution is as relevant today as it was when it was written. So, but its, thats the stereotype that conservatives find themselves in. And, again, the media plays into that. Because its what the paper did to me. If they can make you, marginalize you, if they can make you irrelevant or make you sound like what youre espousing is radical and nothing we ez powz is radical, you all know that in this room to the core of your being. We are talking about what made this country the greatest country ever. The individual responsibilities and rights coming from our almighty creator. Those are, thats what we value. Thats not radical at all, and we all know that. But thats a stereotype that we face as conservatives in this country. And i will say that we are guilty on the other side and we need to be very careful of this, and this kind of dovetails into my next, my next section on opportunities that we cant stereotype. We cant look at a group and say, well, they never vote republican. Theyre not conservative, and we write them off. What we and so getting into where i think that there are opportunities for a conservative movement in this country, number one, with women. I think that we need to articulate a message to women that this Health Care System women are intimately, theyre mostly the health care decisions. Ive got health care, ive got the Health Care Proxy for my mother whos 92. Im getting ready to go the texas. One of my daughters is having baby. We are intimately involved in health care. So this whole rollout may enlighten some women that the Affordable Care act is not a good way to go. Education, women are very interested in education. So weve got to articulate a message to women that there is a place for you in this Republican Party, that what we care about, you care about. And were not doing a very good job of that. Thats the only thing that i can conclude. And liberal policies in general, government running more, but the hypocrisy of the Womens Movement, when i was defeated in 2012, the liberal group targeted women. Judy biggert, myself, they defeated us. From the time i was elected in january 2011 and tell my defeat i was targeted. And you say, wait a minute, this doesnt make sense. Its going to be up to us to expose hypocrisy of women groups in this country and its the conservatives who truly care about women, advancing their cause. And that we are far more, far more, we have far more depth solely in what we all here is our reproductive rights. Theres so much more to women. And that whole initiative in the way theyve really coopted the womens vote is based on that. And its going to be up to us to show women we are far more than that. We have far more depth the net and we are concerned about our kids getting jobs when they get out of college, about a strong economy. Thats pandering and its an insult to women and we should take it as such. I left my stereotypes and when into the cracks and where are the cracks and where can we infiltrate . I think women is one. I think teachers, historically teachers unions are always democratic. Rather than looking to the union leaders, we need to get to the teachers. There are so many teachers, and we talked to a lot of them during the last campaign who are so disenchanted and so upset with core curriculum, with race to the top, with no child left behind. This movement to nationalize our Education System is frustrating teachers who set out with the nation. And that mission was to educate kids. They are hamstrung and their limited as to what they can do. I see the usda just reversed their old ruling on food and what did skinny. By the teachers i think its a very Fertile Ground because they are so frustrated with this federalization of education, and they believe that the education decision should be left to the state and the local government. Washington, the bureaucrats here dont. But teachers are very Fertile Ground. We can make some headway and head roads into teachers. And i think Health Care Workers are another group that we should be able to make our case to. Physicians, nurses, folks in local hospitals up in our neck of the woods. Theyve laid off people because of the Affordable Care act. People who are intimately involved in health care understand that this law, among a whole myriad of problems, this law is going to really affect the quality of health care, affect the ability to access decisions in health care. And it really is not what we need in this country. So i think Health Care Workers are another area that we should be able to get our message to. And again, that message is, it is a conservative message but its also a message about what works. Last week, this past week we celebrated the 50th anniversary of the war on poverty. Thank you, lbj. 1. 7 trillion has been spent on the war on poverty. And where are we . We are at the same percentage of americans at or below the federal poverty guidelines. So these policies dont work. Dont make it a republican or democratic issue. They dont work. Theyve got the Affordable Care act, education, the war on poverty. Are we saying, this is what the message gets tricky and its challenging, we are not saying we dont care about the poor. We are saying the way to lift the people out of poverty is to give them opportunities. And all of this war on poverty and all of these handouts do not do that. They keep people down. They make them the payment on the government. And that is not a United States of america and thats not the way to go for this country. Talked about my grandparents. They all came there is teenagers from italy. Never spoke english. My parents were so determined that were going to give opportunities that they didnt have, my father worked, he was an insurance salesman. We had a grocery store. He had a role he roller skating rink. To take a nickel from the government, that was a complete disgrace. He would never consider that as an option. You would go out and work harder. Somewhere in between there is, especially with the economy the way it is, another thing not working. Today the unemployment number came up, only 74,000 new jobs were created. This past month in this country. Thats the lowest in three