U.S. Congressman Jim Jordan

[0:00] I look forward some time now for Jim Jordan to return to the Grace Pulpit and share with us whatever is on his heart. He has done this a few times over the past years, and we are always grateful and always enlightened when he does so.

[0:16] The Jordan family goes back many, many years with Grace Bible Church, and we've appreciated their fellowship here with us for several years now. We are grateful for their presence, and I remember thinking to myself years ago when he was running for an elective position in the state for the House of Representatives, and I can't say that I was surprised that he was getting into politics because I had always perceived Jim Jordan as being a doer, somebody who wants to make a difference and make a contribution.

[0:55] And he has certainly done that in the U.S. House of Representatives as well as in the Ohio political scene, and we appreciate his presence here today.

[1:10] Just this one note, we ordinarily dismiss at 1130, and even if I'm not finished, that's when people start leaving.

[1:22] So I just want to give you a heads up this morning. In the event that any of you have some kind of an obligation where you plan to meet someone somewhere at a certain time, and you need to leave at 1130 and you were planning on doing that, feel free to excuse yourself, and Jim will not think you're put out with something he said, got mad and got up and left.

[1:46] So feel free, like I said, to excuse yourself. And I'm not going to be at all concerned about the clock this morning. If you are, it's too bad. You can leave at 1130 if you need to.

[1:59] But I do think if he wants to have a Q&A and wants to take time for it, then this is not the kind of thing that should be rush, rush, rush. So we'll just take what time is allotted.

[2:12] And if he isn't able to get in everything that he wanted to, then you'll just have to demand that he come back by popular demand, and we'll try to arrange that too.

[2:24] So without taking any more of his time, come right ahead, Jim. Thank you for being here. Thank you. Thank you, Pastor. If you do get mad and want to leave, it won't be the first time someone's done that.

[2:40] I now represent Oberlin, Ohio, and there's a university there that doesn't always tend to agree with my perspective on things.

[2:52] I've had some interesting conversations. I've been to Oberlin several times and had some interesting conversations there. But what I thought I would do is, if I could break it down, good news, not so good news, and then really good news, kind of three parts.

[3:04] And then I will be happy to take questions. You've all had to listen to me several times before, and I truly do this with every single audience I get a chance to speak to. I tell them, at the question time, you can ask any question you want.

[3:16] You can yell at me. You all pay my salary. Some of you are actually stuck in the Fourth District of Ohio, and you're stuck with me as your congressman. And so you can fire away, and we'll go from there.

[3:27] Let me start with the insert, which I thought was great. If you haven't read the insert the pastor has in the bulletin, the Australian dentist who responded to the gentleman from Pakistan. Go down to the middle paragraph.

[3:40] An American lives in the most prosperous land in the history of the world. The root of that prosperity can be found in the Declaration of Independence, which recognizes the God-given right of each person to the pursuit of happiness.

[3:55] And that's where I want to start. You talk about good news. We are the greatest nation in history, founded on a simple concept that we get our rights from God, not grants from government.

[4:07] Gifts from God, not grants from government. And I want to go back to that July 4, 1776, 237 years ago, Independence Hall. Any of you ever been to Independence Hall, by the way?

[4:19] Yeah, it's amazing. Colleen and I have been there a couple times. If you haven't been there, go sometime. When you stand in the back, you can picture it. You can picture where Jefferson sat, where Adam sat. You can see Hancock in the front.

[4:30] And you can think about what took place in that building, in that room, when they started this experiment in freedom we call America.

[4:41] It's really, it grabs you when you're there. In fact, watch the movie. Any of you ever seen the movie? I think I've shared this with you before. 1776. It's got some coarse language in it, but it's definitely, we watch it typically every Fourth of July year.

[4:53] One of our family's favorites. Amazing what took place there. And what they wrote down in that document that, again, started this thing we call America.

[5:04] I tell folks next to Scripture the best words ever put on paper. I mean, it's really amazing. And I want to just go to the lines we most recall from the Declaration. Now, think about some of the key words that Jefferson wrote and the founders agreed to when they signed that document.

[5:34] First thing he says, we hold these truths. I think it's important. He didn't say, we have these opinions. He said truth. He said, I remember growing up in this church, the pastor talks about truth all the time.

[5:45] And he used the phrase true truth. I don't know where he got it. But I remember him using that when I was a kid. I mean, this is truth. This is not opinion. These are facts. The guys who signed this said, we hold these truths, these facts, not opinions, to be self-evident.

[6:00] That to me is amazing, too. Think about self-evident. It's like it's obvious. I mean, I got a friend who says, self-evident means even dummies can figure it out, right? Anybody can get this.

[6:12] It's self-evident that these truths are obvious. That we are endowed by our creator. The founders understood there's a God involved in the affairs of men. They got it.

[6:23] And that God gave us our rights. As I said before, McKinnon Blackwell is the first guy I ever heard use this term. He says, it's amazing. Our country started on this concept.

[6:34] The basic rights we have are not grants from government, but gifts from God. And it is no other nation started that way. You think about the nation that's closest to ours, Great Britain, the very nation we're rebelling against in this document and stating to the world why it's okay to do that.

[6:49] I mean, that's amazing. The thing about the declaration is the founders wrote down why it was okay to commit treason. I mean, they outlined the reasons why this was not, in fact, treason, but this was the right thing to do.

[7:01] And they were rebelling against Great Britain, the greatest nation in the history of the world at that time, and the closest nation to ours and how it was formed. But think of the difference. Great Britain had a, I call it a top-down model.

[7:14] The way the people actually got rights in Great Britain is first, they looked at it as God gave rights to first the king, the queen, the monarch. And then over time, rights gradually went down to the noblemen and then to the landowners and then to the merchants and shopkeepers.

[7:32] And finally, it got all the way down to we, the people. But in America, we said, no, we're going to do it just the opposite. We're not going to start with this top-down model where it flows from the elite down to the commoner.

[7:43] We're going to start with the concept that we're all equal, endowed by our creator with certain a-level rights. And we, the people, then loan power to government, not because they gave us anything, but we loan power to government to protect the very rights we have by being human beings created in God's image.

[8:00] Fascinating concept. No other nation ever started with that ideal, that principle, that premise. And again, it's, I think, what makes us such a special place. So self-evident, it's obvious.

[8:12] We have a creator endowed, not grants. And then I think it's also interesting that the founder said, everyone, we're all created equal. Now, they didn't mean we're, you know, all the same height, same look, the same, same weight, same skill set, same talents.

[8:29] But they meant in the basics, in the fundamentals, we're all equal. In these basic rights that they chose to start listing and mentioning in the document. Amazing document. And then finally, the last three things in that phrase we're all familiar with.

[8:41] Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. I think it's interesting that they use the word pursuit. They don't say life, liberty, and happiness or guarantee of happiness.

[8:54] They say you can pursue it. You have a chance in this country to chase down your goals and dreams, to pursue those things that have meaning and significance to you and your family.

[9:04] And it's also, I think, interesting when you look at this, that they mention life, liberty, pursuit of happiness. The order the founders chose to write, they chose to mention.

[9:15] You think about it. Can you chase your goals and dreams? Can you pursue happiness if you first don't have liberty, if you first don't have freedom? And can you ever experience true liberty, true freedom, if government doesn't protect your most fundamental right, your right to life?

[9:30] That's why this is one of the reasons I got into politics. I never intended. I think I probably shared this with you before as well. I never intended to get involved in politics. I was a wrestling coach. I was going to help student athletes. And I was doing that.

[9:41] I've been coaching wrestling at Ohio State for eight years and actually liked helping young men get to their goals on the wrestling mat. But you get married and you have kids. You look at the world different.

[9:52] You get tired of government taking your money, telling you what to do, and insulting your values. And one of the key issues for Polly and I was the life issue. It's amazing how it works. You have kids. You start figuring out, wow, this is something special.

[10:05] And the founders understood that. And they mentioned it in that order. And government's ability to protect the sanctity of human life is something that's of paramount importance. And, of course, it's still an issue that's front and center in our country today.

[10:19] If you get a chance, watch that movie, 1770. There's some funny lines in there, too. I love the – if you haven't seen it, there's a line where – maybe I've shared this with you before, too.

[10:30] I can't recall. But there's a line where – Jefferson's drafted the declaration and they're debating it in the Congress. And they're picking it apart. Of course, Adams has been the driving force behind this.

[10:42] And he's the one who has – he's been pushing. He wants to get to the vote. He thinks they can win it. And they're picking it apart. And someone stands up and says, well, we may want to change this particular line because this kind of goes after parliament.

[10:57] And our beep is really with the king. And so we may want to tone this down a little bit. And then another one stands up. Yeah, he says, even though our beep is with the king, maybe we shouldn't use quite this strong of language here.

[11:08] You know, we may want to change that a little bit and delete this particular sentence. Finally, a third member stands – and while this is going on, Adams is back there rolling his eyes like, let's go. Let's get going.

[11:19] Finally, a third member stands up and says, yeah, we need to change this because we've got to be concerned about our deep-sea fishing rights off the coast of New England. And finally, Adams can't take it anymore.

[11:29] And he stands up and says, it's a revolution, dang it. We're going to have to offend somebody. So it's a good move. But again, it underscores where we started and what a special, special country it is and how important it is we protect those beliefs, those principles, those ideals, those rights as we move forward if we're going to stay the best country in the world.

[11:56] And I know I've shared with you before as well. The world's a scary place. It's a dangerous place, but it's a less dangerous place when America leads. And if we forfeit that leadership position in the world, what's the world going to look like?

[12:12] If you have regional powers instead of one superpower, if you've got a Russia and a China and a United States and some confederation of countries in the Mideast that have influence and if Iran gets nuclear, I mean, it gets scary.

[12:29] It really does. We were in Israel, I guess it's been almost two years ago now. And one of the messages we heard from everyone we talked to, didn't matter whether we talked to people in the private sector, people in the government, they all said the same thing.

[12:42] They said the best way you can help Israel, the absolute best way America can help our country is for America to stay strong. They said when you're strong, we're safer. And the truth is when we're strong, the world's safer.

[12:53] When America is strong and consistent with the principles the founders outlined, the world's a better place. And in simple terms, you can't lead militarily.

[13:04] You can't lead diplomatically if you don't lead economically. And I know I've talked about some of those issues that are so important and things I think we're doing wrong in Congress right now and wrong in our government. But it's really that important.

[13:16] That's the good news. What a great start we had. Here's the not so good news. And Pastor alluded to this in his remarks. There are things going on now that just scare us all, I know.

[13:28] And I'm going to just walk through a few things. I actually listed ten. I'll try to get through them all here and, like I say, save some time for questions. But you think about the promise the founder envisioned that this nation would offer its citizens and the freedoms and liberties we would enjoy.

[13:43] And then think about what we've witnessed in the last – and I just broke it down the last year. And some of it's just the last few months that I would say are direct attacks on liberty, direct attacks on freedom.

[13:58] And we're just going to run through the list. And I'm going to start first with the Affordable Care Act, the health care legislation. First time – first time that a law has been passed that says there can be penalties under law if you don't purchase a product.

[14:15] I mean, think about that. And think about this fundamental freedom. First time we've ever had a law that said if you don't purchase a product, you don't buy insurance, there are penalties under the law for not doing that. And the Supreme Court actually upheld that, which scares me to death.

[14:27] But think about relative to Obamacare – and this is of fundamental importance – the attack on our First Amendment rights to express ourselves and our religious liberty in the way we want.

[14:42] I mean, we had one good court decision this week. We had some bad ones, but one good one relative to the Hobby Lobby situation. We followed this business and what they've been finding. So there are several, several business owners around the country who are bringing a cause of action against the government for infringing on their freedom of conscience, freedom to practice their faith.

[15:05] We have one right here in the 4th District, Sydney, Ohio. Frank and Phil Gilardi, Fresh Way Foods, are suing the government because they don't want to have to provide the type of abortion coverage that Obamacare insists you have to as a private business owner.

[15:19] And that's actually – we're seeing that all across the country. So those Christian business folks who are stepping forward and saying, look, we take our faith seriously. I mean, this is as basic as it gets as well.

[15:30] I've said many times, you think about the folks who started America. They came here because in Europe they said you have to practice your faith a certain way. And they said, no, we don't. And they were willing to get on a boat, risk it all, and come to the United States so that they could practice their faith the way they thought the good Lord wanted them to.

[15:46] And they were willing to fight to make it happen. And now here we have a government saying you have to violate fundamental tenets of your faith as a business owner. And people are standing up and fighting back.

[15:59] Third one, your Second Amendment rights. I mean, the tragedy in – the tragedy at Sandy Hook Elementary was just that. It was terrible. It was evil. But for the government to use those kind of terrible events to infringe on, again, fundamental liberties you have, Second Amendment right to have a firearm to protect yourself, your family, your property, is just flat out wrong.

[16:24] And yet we see that encroachment. Now, thank goodness no law passed. There was legislation introduced in the Senate, but it didn't pass. But you see the attacks coming on that right as well.

[16:38] The next one is largely – well, let me do one other before I get into the privacy area. And this is one I've been involved in on the committees I get the privileges sitting on, the Judiciary Committee, and more importantly, the House Oversight Committee.

[16:52] We've been involved with some big issues of late. And one of the biggest is the Benghazi situation where four Americans lost their lives serving our country.

[17:05] And what this administration attempted to do with trying to cover up that action and shifting the blame to a video, which, frankly, if you follow this at all, had nothing to do with the attack.

[17:18] I mean, you can – when you delve into this, and we've been into this up to our necks for almost nine months now, this administration – and look, I know I'm being critical of the administration.

[17:33] I always give this disclaimer. The party I belong to is by – you know, we're far from perfect. And, you know, there's things we've done wrong too, and we can get into that as well. But what this administration did in the before, the during, and the after on the Benghazi attacks was just – they did everything wrong.

[17:50] There were over 200 security incidences in Libya in the 13 months leading up to the September 11th attack. Repeated requests from the security personnel on ground, both Department of Defense and Department of State security personnel, asking for additional resources to protect American assets in both Benghazi and in Tripoli, repeatedly denied – not only denied – the help they had, some of that was reduced.

[18:13] And they were told to rely on Libyan security personnel that they had contracted with to provide help. I mean, this is a country in turmoil and in transition, and they were supposed to rely on Libyan folks to help them.

[18:26] Well, those folks – and it turned out just like these security experts, American security experts predicted. When the fight came, the Libyan folks who were there to help put down their guns and ran away.

[18:37] Or, I mean, maybe, we don't know for sure, but some of them may have just turned around and started shooting at the Americans. I mean, so the before – and some of those incidences prior to – some of those were actual assassination attempt on the British ambassador.

[18:52] Twice they tried to breach the walls at the Benghazi facility. I mean, it was serious. And so the fact that the State Department wouldn't listen to the experts on the ground – unbelievable.

[19:04] Then the during. You've got an eight-hour firefight, two attacks on the facility, and no help was sent. Now, there's questions of whether it could have got there in time and facilities and not knowing what was going on.

[19:17] And I understand all that, and I'm not here to criticize the military. All I'm saying is it's an eight-hour attack, and we didn't send folks to help people under fire. But the biggest mess, in my judgment, is what took place after.

[19:29] The attempt to, by Secretary Rice, five days after the accident, to go on TV – or not accident, but attack – to go on TV and just flat-out mislead the American people that a video was a catalyst for this was just wrong.

[19:46] Demonstrably wrong, proven wrong. We've had several hearings that demonstrate without a doubt it was wrong, and yet that was the narrative they tried to project. And then the one thing that also came out – this is the area of questioning I dealt with in the hearing last month – was the fact that when my colleague and friend, Congressman Chaffetz, went to Libya, went to Tripoli, a few days after the attack to try to uncover and begin to gather information about what really took place.

[20:14] The State Department sent along a lawyer to basically watch Mr. Chaffetz and make sure he wasn't in any meetings gathering information where that lawyer was not also present.

[20:27] And the first time it's ever happened – if you get a chance – we don't have time to get into all of it, but if you get a chance, you can watch some of the questioning we did with Greg Hicks. And God bless Greg Hicks, who came forward and testified.

[20:38] It's not easy to be a whistleblower and come forward and give the truth, and it took several months to persuade him to do so, but he did, and his message was compelling. He did a 25-minute opening statement where he captured just how intense it was that night.

[20:53] But if you get a chance, watch it, though, because it sort of lays out what took place during the attack and then after when this administration tried to cover it up. But we got Obamacare.

[21:04] We got attacks on Second Amendment, attacks on First Amendment, religious liberty. We got this cover-up by the administration of the Benghazi situation. We got one of the biggest, I would say, moments in politics.

[21:17] In the last three, four months, Senator Paul from Kentucky, 13-hour filibuster on the Senate floor, exercising his rights as United States Senator to stand up and talk for a long period of time on an important subject.

[21:33] And he asked a simple yet profound question, can your government kill an American citizen on American soil with a drone without any due process? And this administration couldn't answer the question for 24 hours.

[21:46] Now, think about that. Pretty simple question. Can your government kill you as an American citizen on American soil with a drone without any due process? And they couldn't answer the question. And what was also interesting about this, and this is a little political here, but I tell folks I work in the same business as Rand Paul.

[22:07] I vote in the same building as Senator Paul. I know Senator Paul. I like Senator Paul. And you know how I found out about what Senator Paul was up to? I was coming back from a committee hearing, walking into our office, and my phone buzzed.

[22:21] And I got a text message from our 23-year-old college senior, Ben Jordan. And I opened it up, and it said three words, stand with Rand. And I thought, wow, Rand must be up to something.

[22:32] So I click on our TV in the office, and I see he's engaged in this 13-hour filibuster. But it struck me. Here was a 23-year-old kid who would, you know, college seniors got a lot of things they can be doing that are, you know, for college seniors typically more exciting than watching some politician talk for a long time.

[22:50] And yet Ben was following this because it was such a fundamental question. And generations, you know, it crosses generations. And I thought from a political perspective, this civil liberty stuff is important.

[23:05] And frankly, from a Republican concern, something we need to, I think, take hold of. It grabbed people. Such a basic question, can your government do this?

[23:15] And the Justice Department and the administration couldn't answer the question. I forgot what I'm on, five or six now. You got the James Rosen issue where here was a reporter doing his job reporting on some national security stories.

[23:37] And yet the Justice Department targeted him as a co-conspirator, potential co-conspirator, traced his phones, tracked his e-mails. Never seen this in American history.

[23:49] You got the other Cheryl Atkinson, if you follow this lady's stories, had her computer, her work computer hacked into, had her home computer was attempted to be hacked into. She was the CBS reporter following the Fast and Furious story and the Benghazi story.

[24:03] Never seen these kind of things take place. And then finally, you got the AP phone records. Yet if the government was collecting all the phone logs at the New York headquarters for the Associated Press and their Capitol Hill news line, the logs, the phone numbers coming in and out, not the actual calls, but the logs to those things.

[24:27] Again, scary. And I think the right word to use is chilling. When you think about, you know, one of the hallmarks of America is the First Amendment is you want freedom of the press because the press reporting what the government's doing helps keep the government honest.

[24:42] It really does. And yet you have this going on. And then the last two I would mention is the the most recent one is the NSA, where we find out the government through the FISA court law and the Patriot Act has been collecting not what we all suspected, not what we all thought, which is call data from foreign calls of suspected terrorists coming into America.

[25:08] I mean, we all understand you got some suspected terrorists in Pakistan or Afghanistan or wherever. making a call to Baltimore. You want to know the number that call came from, number it went to, how long they were on the call.

[25:22] And you can then go get a warrant and actually find out what was on that call or other kind of correspondence. But the idea they were this the term we've all learned now in the last few weeks metadata, where they were collecting logs of all the calls, including all of us who have cell phones, which I assume is all of us.

[25:40] That was chilling, particularly when the author of the legislation, Congressman Sensenbrenner from Wisconsin, who's on the Judiciary Committee, Sharp Guy, former chairman of the committee, said the law was never intended for what the government's now doing.

[25:52] It was intended for what I first described, a call coming in from someone suspected of terrorist activity. Again, the only word you can think about is that that is chilling as well. And then the last one I'll mention, and this is the one I've been most involved with, but I think has captured America maybe more than any other, is the fact that we now know our own government used information it had to target political enemies or people with a different political persuasion with the IRS.

[26:27] And this is scary. We have talked with folks in conservative groups who were applying for tax-exempt status, and the fact that they were harassed.

[26:39] One of the things that has really bothered me the most, I mean, the fact that this was going on, they were collecting any group that had Tea Party, Patriot, 912, conservative in their name was collected, put on a list.

[26:51] They were given all kinds of scrutiny. Many of them were, most of them were never approved. Many of them have still not been approved. Some of them has been three and four years. We've talked to some of the attorneys who represent some of the bigger Tea Party and conservative groups around the country.

[27:07] But the part that gets me the most is, well, two things. One, had a chance a few weeks ago to question the head of the FBI and just ask him some simple questions, like who's heading the investigation?

[27:25] How many agents are on the case? Have you talked to the victims? Have you talked to the people who were harassed by their own government? The government used information they had as a weapon against their political enemy. Have you had a chance to talk to any of them?

[27:35] Because one of the first things you do in a criminal case is typically talk to the victims of the crime. And the director of the FBI couldn't answer the question. He didn't know who the lead agent was. He didn't know how many were assigned to it, which kind of underscores the fact that their Justice Department is not taking this as seriously as we would like.

[27:54] But what we also have found out is those groups, when they applied, when they applied to the IRS for their taxes and status, were visited.

[28:06] Some of them were visited by the FBI a year ago, two years ago, during the application process. Now, why is the FBI involved with talking to folks who are simply applying for a basic tax exempt stat?

[28:17] That's a question between the IRS and that entity. And do they meet the qualifications? Do they meet the criteria? So that, to me, when you think about chilling, that, to me, is you get a visit from your friendly FBI agent.

[28:28] And you talk about, you know, talk about that kind of ruins your whole day. I mean, that is that is serious as it gets. And that was going on simply because.

[28:40] And, you know, these groups are people who meet in the church basement. They meet at the VFW hall. They meet at the elementary school. They're just Americans who think just like you and I do. And yet the FBI was was was visiting them.

[28:54] So, you know, I was looking at the the this week when I was getting ready for this morning, looking at the Declaration of Independence and not just the part that we went through, which is a part that I've you know, we all sort of memorized.

[29:11] But when you read through it and I would encourage you. So someone someone radio encouraged every family to read this on July 4th. I think we're going to we're going to do that. But when you read through what Jefferson wrote down, the reasons why it was appropriate for them to do what they did.

[29:28] And then you think about where we are today. It's it's amazing for quartering large bodies of armed troops among us. Right. For imposing taxes on us without our consent, by refusing his assent to laws for establishing judiciary powers.

[29:44] The king has erected a multitude of new offices. He has dissolved representative houses. I mean, you think about some of the grievances they had and then think about today, some of the grievances we just went through and some of the things we're seeing from our government. I'm not here advocating.

[29:56] I just started thinking not advocating revolution. But what I'm saying is it's a serious, serious time, as we all understand. And. A time where I think we have to.

[30:07] We have to think about what each each of our as a citizen and as someone who's in a legislative body or in the Congress, what our actions are going to be and how we're going to make a difference. And so now the part that I call the really good news is in spite of all this.

[30:23] You've got to get to some good news after that was depressing. You're all out there. You're like this. It depresses me, too. The the the really good news is. And I was telling Polly this as we were driving this morning is there's a God in heaven who knows how the story ends.

[30:38] Right. And on a personal level. He's a God of amazing grace. What the older I get, the older I get, the more I appreciate God's grace, because the more I see my own shortcomings.

[30:52] It's funny how God works in your life. The more I see my own sin. And I think that probably works for all of us as believers. You know, someone people ask me, how you doing? And I give the kind of the quip.

[31:04] I said, yeah, I said roof over my head, food on the table. Polly still likes me most of the time and my and my soul is eternally secure. And you think about that, that that to me is the sometimes you're struggling with things in your own life, things you're praying about your kids and things going on in the country.

[31:23] It is so comforting to know that basic fact more than anything else. And we were we were visiting with we were busy talking about God's amazing grace. We were visiting with with our my sister.

[31:35] Her husband's a pastor up in Wisconsin. And we were there on Easter Sunday and they had a church service that grabbed us. I mean, it really got a hold of us. It was the resurrection changes. Everything was the theme, of course.

[31:46] And you walked in, they gave you each a piece of cardboard. I was like, what's this for? And I didn't. We just walking in. I still I didn't have any idea. They went through. The message was good.

[31:57] The singing was great and everything was fine. And they get to the end. They do this this drama thing. And my sister's always involved in these things. And they had that's where I figured out what the cardboard was for. They had people, about 30 members of their congregation, get up and walk across the stage.

[32:13] And on one side of the car, they had a big piece of cardboard. We just had a little piece. On one side of the cardboard was the problem in their life. And some of it was serious stuff. And they had the courage to walk in front of the entire congregation and admit it.

[32:26] And then they flipped it over how God has made a difference and changed them. And it was it was powerful. And there wasn't a there wasn't a dry eye in the place. When you think about what the way God can work in people's lives and the difference he can make.

[32:41] How many of you watched? I just saw this. How many how many watched the Bible when it was on the series? Did you watch? We watched parts. I got to watch a few and probably watch more.

[32:51] There was a scene in there that got me to that that really was amazing. And and it wasn't where the devil looked like Obama. I saw that, too.

[33:04] Well, that was a big thing. Yeah, there was a. But it's when it's when Jesus is preaching and and and calling calling the disciples and and of course, the Pharisees are ridiculing him.

[33:18] And it's when he calls Matthew. Matthew and Matthew is Matthew sitting there. How many remember this scene? Matthew's sitting there and Matthew realizes that. I mean, he hears the word and he truly hears it.

[33:32] And he realizes when Jesus is talking, he's talking about him. And. Matthew gets tears rolling down his cheek as he realizes he's the sinner.

[33:43] Christ came to. I mean, that's powerful. And when you think about the, you know, all the things we're dealing with, when you can focus on that, that's a that's something in the in the.

[33:55] The other good news is, I think, in the in the in the broader context, we got that personal, which is huge. But in the broader context, think about this was in our Bible.

[34:07] I will actually want to never do this, but I want you to look in your Bible. Imagine that if you can look at if you can go to Nehemiah first chapter, Nehemiah. I'm just going to read a few verses. But this was this is happened to be our Bible study that I do.

[34:20] There's a Bible study on Thursdays and for members of Congress put on by the Christian embassy in D.C. And our. Our leader is our Bible study leader is just a wonderful guy who is is good.

[34:34] But this gives us hope as well. And you all familiar with the story. I know this is Old Testament. We're in a different time and all. But this this was was our study Thursday. And I'm just going to do the first first 11 verses of Nehemiah.

[34:48] The words of Nehemiah, son of Hakila. In the month of Kislev in the 20th year, while I was in the citadel of Susa, Hanina, one of my brothers, came from Judah with some other men.

[35:02] And I questioned them about the Jewish remnant that survived the exile and also about Jerusalem. And they said to me, those who survived the exile are back in the province and are in great trouble and disgrace.

[35:16] The wall of Jerusalem is broken down and its gates have been burned with fire. And when I heard these things, I sat down and wept. For some days I mourned and fasted and prayed before the God of heaven.

[35:26] And then I said. Now, remember here, too, Nehemiah is he's he's not just your regular Joe. He's kind of important guy in in Susa in the capital.

[35:37] He's one of these, the cupbearer for the king. And I think the king of pastor would know this, but I think the king is actually Esther's son or grandson. There's a relation to Esther, the king of there.

[35:51] And so Nehemiah is important to him. But he sees what's happened to his country. The wall's in broken down. It's in disarray. Jerusalem and his and his fellow Jewish folks are countrymen are in big trouble.

[36:05] And so I love what he says in the prayer. He says, Oh, Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands. Let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer of your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel.

[36:22] I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house have committed against you like that. We have acted very weakly towards you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws.

[36:33] You gave your servant Moses. Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses saying, if you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations. But if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my name.

[36:56] They are your servants and your people whom you redeem by your great strength and your mighty hand. Oh, Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name.

[37:08] Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man. It's amazing. God answered the prayer. First, Nehemiah went in front of the king and said, hey, I want to go back.

[37:19] I want to be the leader who puts this helps put this back together. They rebuilt the gates. They rebuilt the wall. They were under people ridiculing people. They were under a possible attack. They had to post half the population as guards and then the other half were working.

[37:32] It was a major undertaking. But the king granted Nehemiah's request. The king helped him. The king gave him resources. And Nehemiah got the job done. So I guess I just look at that as a example where with the right attitude, things can change.

[37:49] And that's always it. And I'll finish here and then get your question. That's always been the way America has done it. Whatever the challenge has been, we've always figured out a way to get it done.

[38:01] It's amazing. I tell folks all the time, remember, we're Americans. And this is not to disparage anyone else, but we're not Canadians. We're not Europeans. We're not Australians. We're Americans. And Americans built on this ideal that the founders had have always risen to the occasion, no matter how big it was.

[38:17] No one thought we could defeat the British in 1776. These people were thinking, you guys are crazy. This is the greatest power in the world, greatest Navy in the world. You're a bunch of 13 colonies, small little area in North America.

[38:29] You're going to defeat the greatest Army and Navy ever. But they did. When the Civil War came, no one thought we could keep the Union together. But those Americans alive at that time did.

[38:40] John Fund talked about this every third generation, how it's been interesting in American history. Every third generation has had to do something big. The founders, then the folks at the Union, kept the Union together, ended the evil of slavery.

[38:52] Three generations later, those Americans dealt with the Great Depression. Second World War defeated Nazism and all the evil that it represented. And now here we are three generations later.

[39:03] And the simple fact is it's our turn. And it's our turn, but it's our turn. And if we have the attitude Nehemiah had, you know, it's been proven time and time again Americans can get it done. It is a special place worth fighting for, worth doing what needs to be done, worth praying for.

[39:21] That's where I think about that, how much more that personally I need to do. It's an amazing place. I may have shared this with you, too. This has stuck with me because it's been about a year ago, probably just a year ago.

[39:33] So we had some friends in Dayton who invited us to come down to go to dinner one evening last summer. And they said, before we go to dinner, we're going to tour the Wright Brothers' home.

[39:46] Have you ever toured the Wright Brothers' home? And it's worth it. I mean, you know, we love that kind of stuff. We got our house. Our house was built in 1837. So we like old things and how it works.

[39:57] And even though you constantly got to put money into these things, we still love them. So we go down and we said, sure, we'll do this. We had the evening home. So we went and we toured the home and went on dinner later. But it's about an hour and a half tour.

[40:08] The tour guides from the historical site take you through. And you learn all kinds of neat things about the Wright Brothers and their family and their invention. Just amazing individuals, smart guys. The last room you come to, the very last room, they show you two pictures.

[40:24] And this just stuck with me. And it gets to this point about what an amazing country we have. The first picture is the one you all remember from eighth grade history class. They show you the first flight.

[40:36] 1903, Kitty Hawk, this plane, this contraption they called an airplane, went like 101 feet. And you see that, you're like, oh, I remember that picture. I remember, you know, the story.

[40:47] And you're like, wow, OK. They put that picture down. The next picture they hold up, 44 years later, 1947, Chuck Yeager breaking the sound barrier.

[40:59] Now, think about that. In 44 years, we went from two guys flying a contraption they called an airplane, 101 feet, to Chuck Yeager getting in an airplane, getting in a jet that could break the sound barrier.

[41:13] That's amazing. That's an amazing country. And as we're walking out, it just hit me. Like, why did they stop there? I mean, you've got to think about Ohio, for goodness sake.

[41:24] We're in Ohio, right up 75 in Wapakoneta. 22 years later, a guy steps on the moon. So in 66 and a half years, two guys flying 101 feet to put the man on the moon, it's an amazing place.

[41:39] And our charge is real simple. Make sure it stays that way. It stays that way so that our kids and our grandkids and our families can enjoy this thing we call America. And just as importantly, it stays that way so that the world, with all its problems, is still better and safer when America is leading.

[41:59] And that's our charge. It won't be easy. I don't have very many answers in life. But one of the things I do know, anything worth doing is never easy.

[42:10] I learned that a lot. My dad used to tell us that. He talked about perseverance. He talked about working hard. Anything worth accomplishment takes work. It takes effort. It takes sacrifice. It's just the way God made it. So it won't be easy.

[42:21] But it's worth doing. And the most rewarding moments in life are the ones you had to work for. And that's on a personal level. That's on a family level.

[42:31] And that's on a country level. It really is. And I want to finish with this. And I know I said that twice. Normally I say it three or four times. But I am going to stop here. And then I'll take questions.

[42:42] And we're doing great on time. This is a column written by a conservative guy that I just want to read. People do this every July 4th. But traditions are good.

[42:55] Contrast the self-indulgence and the self-pity of today's generation with the spirit of the forgotten heroes of 1776. The men who pledged their lives, their fortunes, and sacred honor to defend their declaration of independence.

[43:11] Disaster struck first Honest John Hart. Just months after he signed, British and Hessian troops invaded New Jersey, forcing him and his family to flee.

[43:21] His wife did not survive, broken in health from hiding in barns all winter. Hart went home to find his farm destroyed. Rebuilding proved too great a task. By the spring of 1779, John Hart was dead.

[43:35] New Jersey's Richard Stockton suffered a similar fate. After rescuing his wife and children from advancing British troops, he was betrayed by a loyalist, imprisoned, beaten, and nearly starved.

[43:46] He returned an invalid to find his home gutted, his librarian papers burned. He too never recovered, dying in 1781, a broken man. Hart and Stockton lost everything they had, except honor.

[43:59] Two of the soldiers' sons of New Jersey's Abraham Clark were captured by the British and so horribly treated, one was locked up in the dungeon of the notorious prison ship Jersey without food or light.

[44:14] That Washington himself wrote in rage and disgust to General Howe. William Ellery of Rhode Island, who marveled that he had seen only undaunted resolution in the faces of his co-signers, had his home burned also.

[44:29] Francis Lewis, Long Island home too, was looted and gutted. His wife thrown into a damp, dark prison cell without a bed. Health ruined. Miss Lewis died in two years.

[44:40] Lewis's son would die in British captivity. Not until 1783 did William Floyd return to Long Island. By then his wife too was dead. His fields had been stripped.

[44:51] His machinery destroyed. His home plundered and used as a barracks. Only days after Lewis Morris of New York signed, British troops ravaged his 2,000 acre estate, butchered his cattle, drove his family off the land.

[45:04] Three of Morris' sons fought the British. The time is now at hand when we shall see whether America has virtue enough to be free, Josiah Bartlett of New Hampshire had said at Philadelphia.

[45:16] In the summer of 76, she surely died. When the British seized the New York houses of the wealthy Philip Livingston, he sold everything else, gave the money to the revolution, and died in 1778.

[45:28] Hearing that George Clymer had signed, the British sent a detachment 20 miles west of Philadelphia to destroy his home. His wife and children fled into the woods. Clymer took his remaining fortune, invested it in continental dollars.

[45:41] First fellow merchants to do the same, and he enlisted to fight as a captain. Arthur Middleton, Edward Rutledge, and Thomas Hayward went home to South Carolina to fight. In the British invasion of the South, Hayward was wounded, and all three were captured.

[45:56] As he rotted on a prison ship in St. Augustine, Hayward's plantation was raided, buildings burned, and his wife, who witnessed it, all died. Other Southern signers suffered the same fate.

[46:08] Among the first to sign had been John Hancock, who wrote in big, bold scripts so George III could, quote, read my name without spectacles and could now double his reward for 500 pounds for my head.

[46:19] If the cause of revolution commands it, Hancock roared, burn Boston and make John Hancock a beggar. Here were men who believed in the cause far beyond themselves.

[46:30] Consider Caesar Rodney. Caked with mud after 80 miles of hard riding, Rodney arrived to vote Delaware support. Suffering from a rare face cancer so horrible it had to be hidden behind a scarf, Rodney knew his signature would be his death sentence.

[46:46] His long planned trip to England for life-saving surgery could now never happen. The year peace came, the cancer killed Caesar Rodney.

[46:57] But perhaps the most inspiring example of the undaunted resolution was Thomas Nelson, Jr. returning from Philadelphia to become governor of Virginia, Nelson joined Washington's army just outside Yorktown.

[47:09] Observing during the battle that his artillerymen were directing fire all over the town, but were being careful to avoid the area where his own beautiful home was located, Nelson asked why they were not firing in that direction.

[47:22] Out of respect to you, sir, came the reply. Nelson stepped forward to the nearest cannon, aimed it at his house and fired. The other guns joined in. His home was destroyed.

[47:33] These stories of what became of men who defied a king to give birth to a country were lovingly gathered by a great patriot, former Governor Mildred Thompson, Jr. of New Hampshire.

[47:45] Governor Thompson put them all in his Patriots book, 100 Famous Founders. As Governor Thompson relates on his deathbed, John Adams, most famous of the signers, save only Thomas Jefferson, who had taken the presidency from him, was asked to make a toast.

[48:02] Independence forever, Adams cried. That was the spirit of the old man as it had been of the young. He and Jefferson, with whom he had long since reconciled, died the same day, July 4, 1826.

[48:15] Fifty years to the day they had together cast their votes for American independence. We shall not see their like again. All right, I'll take your questions. If you have any.

[48:35] Just like Pastor, six minutes early. Look at that. If not, I can visit with you afterwards and we can let Pastor come back up here. Mr. Moore.

[48:46] Hold on one more second. You mentioned the early on the health insurance requirement as a product to buy.

[48:57] Don't we presently have to buy auto insurance? So wouldn't it not necessarily be the first time we've had to buy? Yeah. I mean, there's a little difference because you can actually choose not to drive and then you wouldn't have to buy health.

[49:10] You have to buy health insurance if you're going to drive. So there's I would argue a pretty big difference. And I would be willing to make that legal argument in a court if if I were allowed to.

[49:21] So I would say that is the first time this thing scares me. The one of the things I'm trying to do is see if there's a chance in the upcoming debt ceiling debate. To stop Obamacare suspended for two years, everyone you talk to says this is a mess.

[49:42] Well, don't take my word for it. Take take Senator Senator Harkin. He called it a train wreck. So when a Democrat senator who helped write the bill calls it a train wreck, you know, there are problems. Any business you talk to will tell you it's a problem.

[49:55] And we could get into a host of that. There's the there's the 49er issue. You know, it only kicks in if you're a business of 50 employees or more. So there are some businesses who are staying at below 50 employees, even though they might want to expand.

[50:08] And then there's the 29er issue. If you're 30 hours of work, you consider full time and they have to be covered. Host of problems. And my concern is once once we take this step and more people become part of government run health care, it's tough to scale it back.

[50:24] It really is. And that's not conducive to freedom. We recently. Recently celebrated a wonderful lady who did a lot for freedom, Margaret Thatcher.

[50:35] She did amazing things when she was prime minister of Great Britain. But one thing she could not do was scale back socialized medicine. Once it takes hold, it is very difficult to scale back. So I'm hoping we can use the fact that.

[50:48] There are all kinds of problems, all kinds of increased costs people are already seeing. No one's ready for these exchanges, which are supposed to be ready on October 1st. They're not ready. And the very agency charged with enforcing Obamacare systematically began targeting groups that came into existence because they opposed Obamacare.

[51:08] And the targeting started the very month Obamacare, March 2010, the very month Obamacare became law. For all those reasons, it seems to me appropriate to suspend it. And if that can be part of the bargaining we do relative to this debt ceiling issue coming up this fall, that's what me and a bunch of other conservatives are pushing for.

[51:27] I gave you a long-winded answer to that question, but I think there is a distinction between auto insurance and health insurance. Yes, sir. I'm back here in the back ready for another question.

[51:39] Oh, Gary. I guess really a couple things that are concerning. One is it appears as though the top administration, which to me includes Obama and that group, doesn't seem to be worried about the IRS situation because they are not trying to help out and trying to get to the bottom of it.

[52:00] You would think that as a president of the United States, he would consider that serious and we've got to do something to get this thing fixed. I don't see that happening. I guess the other thing is that this is more of a curiosity than anything is in that whole Benghazi thing, which I'm really concerned that not very many people have followed that as closely as what I can understand why they wouldn't, but that was very serious.

[52:24] Yeah. And the lack of Obama's presence during that period of time, and I never hear anything about what happened.

[52:34] And then the next morning, he gets off and takes off for Las Vegas for fundraising. Yeah. I just wondered, have you guys heard anything about where he was at? Did he play any part in it or what? We're still looking into it.

[52:47] I tell folks these things do take time. You have to bring people in and depose them. Transcribe an interview where you ask a series of these things take several hours typically, and you'll learn things in each and every one of these type of interviews.

[53:04] And these are done by top staff on the oversight committee. We have some great staff, and they'll bring him in. It took us – well, think about it this way. It took us eight months to get a breakthrough on Benghazi before Greg Hicks was willing to come forward and explain what took place that night from the guy in Libya.

[53:20] Now, he wasn't even in Benghazi. He was in Tripoli, but it took that long. So they take time. We have – on the IRS situation, we have interviewed – the committee's interviewed 11 witnesses.

[53:31] There are 20 others scheduled. Like I say, each time you interview someone, you find someone else you want to bring in and ask them questions. There have been several hearings in various committees, the Ways and Means Committee, the Appropriations Committee, and the Oversight Committee in both the House and the Senate.

[53:48] And we're learning more all the time. For example, we're picking up the fact that we learned that, as I said earlier, the FBI paid people a visit not subsequent to the investigation starting on May 13th, but last year and the year before when they were applying for taxes and status.

[54:06] So one of the questions I want to try to find out, was there coordination? Was the IRS talking with the FBI saying, hey, check these people out, which makes no sense, but was that going on?

[54:16] So those kind of things, but it takes – well, it just takes time to do these investigations before people are – and remember, in light of what's happened with James Rosen, AP phone record, Cheryl Atkinson, everything else, whistleblowers are a little nervous sometimes about coming forward, and you can understand why.

[54:35] So it's going to take some time. But we are committed. This is the tortoise and the hare. We're the tortoise. Slow and steady, get to the truth. Sir, I've got two questions for you.

[54:50] One is this Al Gore and Obama's attack on the coal industry. I've worked in the electric utility business for 30 years. He's trying to shut down all the coal mines.

[55:04] Yep. I'm a West Virginia boy, and Kentucky and West Virginia and Southern Ohio, the coal is dirty. I realize that. And I've lived in Ohio 40 years.

[55:15] But Ohio, West Virginia and Kentucky have got some of the cleanest coal in the world. Yeah, he's trying. There's just no doubt about it. He's trying. So far, we've been able to hold him up.

[55:25] And he's going to turn Kentucky, West Virginia, Tennessee, Eastern Virginia into ghost towns. We've been able to hold him up legislatively.

[55:37] If you remember, it was probably two and a half years ago. Cap and trade. The legislation was – well, this is more than – it was three years ago because it was when the Democrats weren't in the majority in the House.

[55:49] It didn't pass. It got close, but it didn't pass. Now, the president – and this is a scary thing about American generals. It's trying to do it via the rule and through the bureaucracy, through the federal agency, specifically the Environmental Protection Agency.

[56:03] So he's trying to push things through there, and we'll have to fight as best we can. Gets to a bigger issue, the power of the bureaucracy.

[56:15] Now, when the bureaucracy gets so big, when the government gets so big, sometimes you lose the impact of the rule of law and legislative bodies who are directly accountable to the people. You got this – the bureaucrats who aren't directly accountable to the people who are doing things that just aren't right.

[56:30] The best example is the one we've been talking about, the IRS example, but potentially could be relative to the standards they put in place on power plants, which will, as you say, be – it is a direct attack on the coal industry.

[56:43] We had a hearing – a field hearing in St. Clairsville, Ohio, a year ago where we brought in the head of the Ohio EPA, state EPA, and then the gentleman who was head of – I forget what district, District 10 or whatever, but dealt with Ohio, Pennsylvania, West Virginia, the coal area.

[57:02] And it was just an interesting note. The guy that headed the Ohio EPA – I just – I found this fascinating – had been there clear back through roads, Gilligan, had been there for 30-some years, had a Ph.D. in chemical engineering, knew his stuff.

[57:18] And frankly, we talked to business owners in the state of Ohio. They can work fine with this – with Ohio EPA. The guy from the federal district had an undergraduate degree in political science, and his former job was chief of staff to Joe Biden.

[57:35] And yet he's – so you can see there's a political agenda and there's just basic science, and let's make sure we've got safety and standards in place and we're doing things the way we need to.

[57:45] And that's a concern. So we have to – the problem is there's so many things. You've got scandal after scandal, issue after issue, and it's almost like the barrage and you're overwhelmed with so many different things you have to be in tune to and fighting that it makes it difficult sometimes.

[58:01] And so I focus on the committees I'm on and the issues I've been involved with for a while is Benghazi and the IRS, and that's where we have – and the one that resonates, frankly, politically speaking, the one that resonates the most with the American people is the Internal Revenue Service.

[58:18] No one likes them, appropriately, we understand. And people like them even less now that this took place and they find out the government was targeting them using information as a weapon. A little out of line here, but I'm a Vietnam veteran.

[58:34] Thank you. Thank you.

[59:04] All right. A couple more and then I'll go. Pastor. I guess the IRS has been in place now for 100 years.

[59:21] 1913, yeah. 1913 it came into being. And because of past history, I'm not terribly optimistic that anything significant is going to happen. But to a representative of Congress, I would just like to tell you, and you probably already know this.

[59:39] I'm sure you do. You fellows have probably the most significant opportunity in a lifetime to make some really radical revisions with the IRS.

[59:52] Yep. And any time in the past when they have promised to reform the IRS, they always made it worse than it was before. And any time you have several thousands and thousands of pages of rules and regulations that the average person, even the average lawyer, has to pour over laboriously to even get the sense of it.

[60:15] And even when he does, whatever he comes up with, he'll get disagreements among the IRS members. Yep. You fellows have an opportunity of a lifetime.

[60:27] Yep. And we probably never have a better one to really make some difference with the IRS, either the complete abolishment of it and the replacement of something else or turning it into something that looks completely unlike what it is now.

[60:42] It's the most oppressive, brutal, and authoritative department of our government, and it just rides roughshod over people. Two things.

[60:53] First, if we can't go after the Affordable Care Act now and suspend it in light of what the IRS has done, and they're the agency that's going to be charged with enforcing Obamacare, if we can't do that now, I mean, I've said this to my colleagues, then let's just admit to the American people, Obamacare is here to stay.

[61:11] Because if you can't use this opportunity to go after that, when can you? When are we? Second to your point, Pastor, the tax code is ridiculous. Any tax code, now think about this, on the personal side, any tax code that says to approximately half our population you're not going to participate in the main tax is broken.

[61:31] And any tax code on the corporate side which says to American companies you're going to pay the highest corporate tax rate in the world is stupid. So if it's broken and stupid, you might want to change, right? It's broken and it's stupid and you've got the IRS targeting people for their political beliefs, exercising their First Amendment rights to political speech.

[61:50] And they're the agency going to be charged with enforcing Obamacare. If you cannot do it now, when can you? And if we don't, I tell you what, if now I'm going to get in trouble, but if we if we do the wrong thing on the immigration policy and if we don't go after these, then.

[62:09] You know, it's just tough for a party to to attract people and to have people show up in 20 next year when we're trying to keep the House and take back the Senate.

[62:19] It will just be difficult. And so they're political, real political concerns there as well. And let's be honest, if the other in my judgment, the other party gets control of the House of Representatives and has control the last two years with President Obama and the Senate still them, then they won't have to do bureaucratic things to get after coal.

[62:35] They'll do cap and trade and they'll keep spending. I mean, so if we can't do it now, when can we? All right. Last one, gentlemen, because I was sitting beside that gentleman when I walked in and I'll stop.

[62:47] We're already 10 minutes over. I apologize. This also may be out of line. And if you don't want to touch it, I understand. But there is a perception that many of us have who are whatever party we may call ourselves, we're conservative.

[63:05] That more and more Republicans who either were conservative or ran as conservative or pretend to be conservative are actually starting to ignore, if not despise us.

[63:15] You may disagree with that, but that's what a lot of us see. If you think there's something to what we're seeing, that we're actually seeing what we're seeing, what's going on with them?

[63:28] Well, there's always this friction in the party between what are commonly called establishment Republicans and then kind of movement conservative Republicans.

[63:40] And it's always been a friction. The fact is we win when we run as conservatives. And I know I'm getting way too political here. But, you know, remember the same.

[63:52] I was joking with some of my colleagues the other day. I said the same people who are telling us we got to pass this Senate immigration bill are the same ones who told us that we have to nominate Mitt Romney because he's the only one who can win.

[64:02] So we win when we run a conservative. And the best example in recent history is President Reagan. When someone is is conservative on national defense, you know, peace through strength.

[64:18] Reagan understood that strong America is better, makes the world better and safer. Lower taxes, less spending, economic conservative principles and defending traditional values, sanctity of life, family, traditional values.

[64:32] And I would add now an emerging fourth element, this right to privacy that Senator Paul has has tapped into. That's who our party is. And when we run someone who's solid on all those, we do just fine.

[64:43] When we run someone who isn't or who fails to articulate and communicate that in a compelling way, that's when we get in trouble. And we see it time and time again. And so instead of I just get tired of some of my colleagues like like you do, all those Tea Party people, we've got to tolerate them every two years.

[65:00] But, you know, while we're governing, we'll ignore them. They're the ones that got us. The reason we're in the majority, Republicans are in the majority in the House of Representatives, because a bunch of conservative Tea Party types went out and voted in 2010.

[65:13] And used to used to be a marijuana. When I first got elected to the State House, it was like sometimes there was people who were like, wow, those pro-life people, you know, and those homeschoolers.

[65:24] And we were pro-life homeschoolers that they know they were there. They're the problem. And I'm like, they stuff the envelopes. They knock on all the doors for you every two years on election time. And, you know, you shouldn't ignore them for the next two years.

[65:36] It's they're an important part of the coalition. And so if we keep that in mind, we'll be all right. We just I know sometimes folks in Washington, leaders of our party tend to forget that.

[65:47] And but there's look. There are lots of folks, particularly guys that I get the privilege of hanging out with who are who are good folks.

[65:58] I think of Trey Gowdy, someone you probably watch on TV a lot. Good guy. I mean, I'm on both. I'm on Judiciary and Oversight Committee. Trey is on Judiciary and Oversight. We work together. We have dinner at least once.

[66:09] He's a great guy. Former prosecutor, Christian man, fighter. And one of the sharpest, sharpest legal minds we got. And more importantly, with that Southern accent, he's great when he's questioning women.

[66:22] He's just funny. So people like Trey, people like Tom Graves, Christian guy from Georgia. Steve Sutherland from Florida. Keith Rothfuss, just a just a wonderful guy committed to his faith, a Catholic from got elected in former John Murthys old district in western Pennsylvania.

[66:40] There are some people who are the kind of folks that that you are and they're fighting the fight and they're trying to do the best they can and they understand what what you're talking about. So God bless you all.

[66:52] Have a great Fourth of July. Despite a lot of things going on in Washington that we do not approve of, I cannot imagine how much worse things would be if it were not for the small but vigorous element of true believers that we have in Congress and in some of the higher positions of responsibility.

[67:25] We are just grateful that you are there. We wish your tribe to increase. We need all of the wisdom that we can get in Washington, D.C. right now.

[67:37] You are aware, as I am, that in many different ways, the nation is at a crisis right now. There are lots of things just hanging in the air that could go either way with enormous consequences either way.

[67:53] So let us pray. Father, we are commanded to pray for those who are in authority and we do so even right now. We are grateful for those who have a biblical perspective and those who know something about the true nature of humanity and are able to enact laws and pass legislation based on that reality rather than based on a humanistic viewpoint.

[68:18] So we pray that you will undergird Jim and his colleagues and those who have a biblical worldview and see the world as you see it, that you will instill within them an extra measure of fortitude and wisdom and encouragement and stick-to-itiveness so that they will be determined to not only follow the right but to insist upon it.

[68:46] Thank you for each and every one of them in place. We pray for their health and for the stability of their mind and thinking powers so that they can make the kind of decisions that would be pleasing to you and honoring to our nation.

[69:02] We bless you for it in Christ's name. Amen.