Congressman Jim Jordan - July 4 Celebration

[0:00] A couple of weeks ago during the Father's Day message, Pastor said something that was right on target. Well, Pastor says a lot of things that are right on target, but this was one that I wrote down.

[0:16] He said, we are dangling on the edge of a very dangerous precipice, and I could not agree more. We are as a country at a critical time, a seminal moment in our history.

[0:31] And I want to walk you through some of the same things that Pastor's talked about, some things I've shared with you before, but walk you through just how serious it is. But before I go to that, I think it's important to kind of help set the context.

[0:43] You keep a couple things in mind, or we all keep a couple things in mind. First of all is remember just what Carolyn just sang about. We are citizens of the greatest nation in history.

[0:55] And every single time there has been a challenge, there has been a problem, there has been a hurdle or an obstacle in our path, Americans have risen to the occasion.

[1:07] I tell folks all the time, we're not Australians, we're not Canadians, we're not Russians, we're not Mexicans, we're not Americans. And there is something deep inside that I believe in the DNA of most people in this country that says when things get tough, we will rise to the occasion.

[1:24] And I have nothing against those folks who happen to live in other countries. God bless them. But there is something special about and unique about this nation. And we should always keep that in mind as we're thinking about what we have to deal with and what we have to overcome.

[1:38] We are a special country. And it's always something that we need to focus on. My favorite scripture verse is 2 Timothy 4.7. Paul's in prison and he writes to Timothy and he says, I've fought the good fight, I've finished the course, I've kept the faith.

[1:53] And I love that verse because of the action associated with it. I like to think of it as a verse that applies to our country. We are not a timid people.

[2:04] We are a people of action. We are a people of resolve. We have never been intimidated no matter how big the problem is that's in front of us. And that's something I think we need to keep in mind as we look at what we face today.

[2:16] We're a nation made up of people who have said whatever is in front of us, we're going to deal with it. And I like to think that 236 years ago in that hall in Philadelphia, when those men were deciding if they were going to declare independence, if they were going to put it all on the line, if they were going to start this grand experiment in freedom we call America, I like to think maybe they thought of that same verse.

[2:44] Maybe they read that verse. And maybe they drew strength from what Paul told Timothy, to fight, finish, and keep. And maybe at that time, and think about this, it was a tough decision.

[2:56] I'm sure during that debate, because I know how debates go in Congress, I'm sure during that debate, there were people who said, let's just go ahead and try to work with King George. Let's just go ahead and make, you know, it's not really that bad, the fact that we have to house troops in our homes, the fact that Parliament taxes us.

[3:14] We're still a part of the greatest empire in the world at the time. We're still British citizens. Maybe we don't have quite all the rights, but maybe we should just kind of kick the can down the road and negotiate a little bit.

[3:24] I'm sure that was discussed. But they decided, and think about this, they were at the edge of a very dangerous precipice as well. They were getting ready to sign a document, declare to the world why their cause was just.

[3:39] We just sang about that. While their cause was moral. It had never been done in history. Never been done. People declare why a revolt is actually the right thing to do. And they were willing to do it.

[3:51] And that's the kind of DNA that makes up the people today. That is started right there. And we need to keep that in mind as we think about it. Just because a king, I thought about this this week.

[4:02] Just because a king says something doesn't make it so. Just because Parliament says something doesn't make it right. And just because five people in black robes who happen to sit on a court say something doesn't make it right.

[4:16] And those guys understood it. And they were willing to think about it. We remember Adams and Jefferson and Franklin. But most of the guys who signed that document lost everything. When they talked about their lives, their fortune, their sacred honor, putting it on the line when they signed that piece of paper, they meant it.

[4:34] And most of them lost everything they had to start this place that we get to live in. And it's our turn right now to understand maybe we're going to have to step up and do the same thing. The second thing I would tell you before I get to some of the things that I think are important to highlight, how serious a time we face, is the world is a dangerous and scary place.

[4:56] I've shared this, I think, with you before. But it's a better place when we lead. It really is. The world is safer and better when the United States of America leads. I believe this is what I think the other party misses.

[5:08] I think this administration misses that simple fact. But the world is dangerous, but it's better when America leads. Polly and I, we've had the opportunity to travel to Israel a couple times. And we were there last November, first week in November.

[5:23] It was actually a fascinating, it's always a fascinating time to be in Israel. But this was a particularly fascinating time because the week we were there was the very week that the IAEA announced that Iran was getting close to having nuclear capability.

[5:36] In fact, the very day the announcement came out was the day we had the privilege of meeting with the prime minister. And when we were over there, it didn't matter who you talked to. You talked to people in the private sector, you talked to people in the government.

[5:46] It did not matter who you talked to. They all said the same thing. They all said the same thing. They said the absolute best way America can help Israel. The best way your country can help our country is for America to stay strong.

[6:00] They said when you're strong, we're safer. When you're strong, we're better. And the truth is, and again, I think this is what too many people in our government missed today. The truth is when America is strong, the world is better.

[6:13] It really is. With the principles and the heritage and the things we have stood for for 200 plus years, the world is a better place when we lead. And here's the simple fact. You cannot lead militarily.

[6:24] You cannot lead diplomatically if you first don't lead economically. It's just the way the good Lord made it. You want to be the military superpower? You had better be the economic superpower. You want to be the diplomatic superpower?

[6:35] You had better have the strongest economy in the world. And right now, what we're seeing from our government, and I say this to everyone I talk to, or I get a chance to talk to now, is in every single policy area, every major policy area, we are doing the absolute wrong thing, making it difficult for us to lead economically, and therefore making it difficult for us to lead diplomatically and militarily, and therefore making the world a less safe place.

[7:01] And that's, so keep those things in mind as we walk through how serious it is. And I'm going to just run down through some of the policy areas, and like I always do, I'll save time for questions.

[7:14] I tell you guys have had to listen to me several times. God bless you for putting up with me. But I tell every group I speak to, even though I only get a chance to represent a few of you in the room here, nevertheless, you all pay my salary, so you're allowed to ask any question you want, and you're allowed to yell at me.

[7:30] We have this wonderful thing in America still called the First Amendment, and so at the appropriate time, make sure you exercise that. And knowing and judging from history, I'm sure you will.

[7:42] But let's walk through those areas real quick. Think about tax policy. I mean, right now, I do this every group I speak to. How many of you think we need a new tax code? I mean, yeah, the response is always the same.

[7:53] Almost everyone raises their hands, and those who are too lazy to raise their hands and nod their head. And that's exactly what happened. So think about this. Any tax code on the personal side, which allows 47% of the population not to participate in the main tax, the income tax, is broken.

[8:08] And then any tax code on the corporate side, which says to American companies, we're going to charge you the highest corporate rate in the entire world, is stupid. So if it's broken and stupid, you might want to throw it out.

[8:20] That's exactly where we're at. Everyone understands this. So we've got to change the tax code. And again, a tax code that's conducive to economic growth. Simpler, flatter, fairer. That's what's going to do.

[8:31] Any country that's tried this, they get growth. I mean, it's just simple is better. And that's the direction we have to move. Regulatory burden. I talk to business owners all the time.

[8:44] And the regulations that are being placed on business. Right now we have 56 coal-fired power plants are going to close up because of the new EPA regulations.

[8:55] I mean, it's really front and center this week with so many of us who've lost power. And think about what this means. So regulation after regulation making it difficult for business to operate, difficult to create jobs, difficult to hire people.

[9:09] I hear it from every single small business and, frankly, large business that we get a chance to talk to. I think I may have shared this story with you before. The first hearing we had this Congress in the Oversight Committee, important committee, which I love to serve on.

[9:20] This is the committee that – this is Daryl Isis' committee. We had a hearing in January of last year, first hearing of the year, and we focused on regulation.

[9:31] And we invited five small business owners from around the country to come in. And one was from our district, Jack Buescher, Buescher Electric, up in Minster. Jack's been a good friend. We had – and four others just like him. Started their business 20, 25, 30 years ago, successful small business owners, employing 25, 30, 40, 50 people.

[9:46] Just good folks, leaders in their community, successful business owners. And we had this long hearing. In the hearing, the best question came from a freshman member from New Hampshire, Frank Ginta. He asked the best question.

[9:57] He says, all right, guys, I'm just going to cut to the chase. I just want to know one thing. You're all successful, been in business 20, 25, 30 years. He says, I just want to know one thing. If you knew then what you know now, would you have started? I thought, wow, great question.

[10:10] If you knew back then all the hoops and the hurdles and the hassles government was going to make you deal with, would you have been that entrepreneur? Would you have taken that risk? Would you have put it on the line and started a business? Every one of them, every single one of them said, I don't think I'd have done it.

[10:26] And if that's not a sad commentary on where we are with regulatory policy in this country, I don't know what is. And on and on it goes. Taxes, regulation, energy. This one is, I talked about what the EPA is doing and how it's going to impact the power industry.

[10:39] But think about this. The idea that we're going to continue to get energy from Saudi Arabia and what they stand for, Iran with Ahmadinejad and the statements he's made, Hugo Chavez and the statements he's made, and his animosity towards the country.

[10:52] And yet we have an administration where we could get oil from Canada, the Keystone Pipeline. We're now drilling, and this has been huge for Ohio, what's happening in eastern Ohio right now with gas and oil over there.

[11:06] This could be tremendous if the government doesn't, through the regulatory burden, make it difficult to get that energy. Remember this. Energy is truly the linchpin.

[11:17] You cannot be the leading economy in the world if you don't have readily available energy at affordable cost. You've got to have that. And yet we're seeing from this administration an animosity towards coal, gas, and oil that we have never seen.

[11:31] Now, I'll try not to get too political, but I think this is actually going to help us big time in this election. Some of you may have seen that when West Virginia had their primary about ten weeks ago.

[11:43] Did you follow this? The Democrat primary. The guy in prison with the ponytail got 42% of the vote in the Democrat primary. I mean, it truly happened. I jokingly told a group the other day, I said, heck, if they let this guy out of prison, he can go to the Democrat convention because he's got delegates.

[11:55] He can give a speech. So this energy issue is actually, I think, going to play in this election in a big way. You all know the importance of our state when it comes to presidential politics.

[12:10] Ohio is just central to determining who's going to be the next president. And I think typically when you look at Ohio in a statewide sense, it's southeast Ohio, that's sort of the swing area. And my gut tells me that southeast Ohio is not going to vote for the most anti-coal president in American history.

[12:25] They're probably going to vote for the other guy, much like people in West Virginia did. And so I'm actually optimistic about the impact this issue will have in the campaign. But bad tax policy, bad regulatory policy, bad energy policy.

[12:38] I would argue bad monetary policy. At some point, at some point, we're going to have to get back to a strong dollar. Any of you know who the biggest purchaser of treasury bills is right now?

[12:49] Anyone know? China. China's second. You know who number one is? We are. Through the Federal Reserve, we're buying it. This is this inflating the dollar. Now, we haven't seen inflation yet, but this has happened.

[13:03] When the Fed's the biggest purchaser indirectly of treasury bills, that's a problem. And at some point, we're going to have to get back to a strong dollar. We actually had a piece of legislation that passed out of committee this week that I think has got some real merit.

[13:14] It would audit the Federal Reserve. And I know we've talked about the Federal Reserve here before, but a bill that would put in a place an audit for the Federal Reserve.

[13:24] And I think that's a good step in the right direction. So I would argue bad monetary policy. You can go down the list, education, health care. But the one that's the biggest, of course, is fiscal policy. I mean, we all know we're spending more than we take in, and you can't keep doing it.

[13:40] And I've shared some of the numbers before, but I always just do a couple. Right now, for the first time since the end of World War II, we now have a debt larger than our GDP. Anytime your debt burden is bigger than your entire economy, that is a bad place to be.

[13:56] This is where all the countries in Europe who we read about every week, Portugal and Spain and Greece and the ones in Italy, this is where they all got to. And now the greatest country ever is in the same position, where our debt is bigger than our entire economy.

[14:12] $16 trillion debt, $15.5 trillion annual economy. Dangerous place to be. We've run trillion-dollar deficits the last four years. Every single year that this administration has been in office, the deficit has been more than a trillion dollars.

[14:25] One number I always give is this year, with record low interest rates, historic low interest rates, this year we're going to spend about $230 billion in interest to service that $16 trillion debt. In 10 years, if rates just move up at a modest pace, and chances are they might move up rapidly, but if they just go up modestly, moderately increase, within 10 years, we will spend more in interest than we currently spend on national defense.

[14:52] Which begs the obvious question, how do you sustain that model? If you're spending more to service debt than you are to defend your country, how can you maintain that? I told a group, I actually gave this speech on the floor recently, I said, we're going to have to cut something.

[15:06] At some point, we're going to have to, you got to, we can't just keep kicking the can down the road. And we've actually introduced, I get the privilege of chairing this group called the Republican Study Committee. It's the conservatives in Congress. We've got 165 of the 242 Republicans are part of this caucus.

[15:21] And we introduced our own budget, actually one that got to balance in a 10-year time frame. And we get called all kinds of mean names, you know, hard-hearted, crazy, conservative, all this stuff. But at some point, we're going to have to get serious and cut spending.

[15:34] There's a, any of you ever seen the movie, one of my favorites, the musical 1776, ever watch that? It'd be great to watch it this weekend if you haven't. It was made in 1976, I remember watching it as a kid. It's one of our family's favorites.

[15:46] But there's a great line in there, a great scene where they've actually, Jefferson has written the Declaration, they're in the Congress, and they're marking up and debating the Declaration. And Adams, of course, who's been the energy behind this the whole time, is sitting there, and he's anxious to get this thing approved and, you know, have the vote.

[16:05] And they're marking it up, and one member stands up, and he says, well, we may not want to say it this way because, you know, King George may take offense to that. And someone else a little bit later stands and says, well, you know, the parliament, maybe we should word it a little different.

[16:20] It might not be that, maybe not quite as strong, you know, because we don't want parliament to get the wrong impression here. And then a third person stands up and says, you know, we've got to be also, the way we say this, concerned about deep sea fishing rights.

[16:32] And finally Adams just loses it. And he stands up and he says, it's a revolution, dang it. We're going to have to offend somebody. And that's the point. At some point, we're going to have to cut some spending.

[16:43] I mean, it's really that basic. We're going to have to say, you can't keep doing the same old, same old, and expecting different results. We're going to have to, we're going to have to change things. And that includes some of the big entitlement programs.

[16:56] We're going to have to do it. And we've been willing to put that out there and take the abuse that comes from doing it. But that's what's got to happen. And I would argue that's truly front and center in this campaign.

[17:06] What this, this, this campaign is, is all about. The other thing I think that's important to understand is it's not just economic and fiscal concerns in our country.

[17:19] And the pastor talked about this a couple of weeks ago. I mean, there are truly moral and cultural concerns as well that we have to, I think, as people who, and pastor talked about this just a few minutes ago, people who believe in traditional principles, traditional values, those concepts that made our country special in the first place.

[17:36] We have to understand this. And this has to be part of the debate and part of what we focus on as well. The fact that, you know, millions and millions of unborn children have been denied their right to life in this country is, is unbelievable.

[17:49] And we should never lose sight of that fact. We should never be afraid to talk about it. Never be afraid to stand up and say, you know what? Life is sacred. Life is special. And we should defend it. This entitlement mentality that's got a hold of the country.

[18:02] I think I shared a couple weeks ago and during the question portion of the service. 48 million Americans are on food stamps today. Think about that.

[18:13] One in seven Americans now think it's okay for someone else to feed them, for the taxpayers to provide their food. And some of them are needy.

[18:23] I don't dispute that. But some of them aren't. Some of them could do it on their own. And yet they've decided because this, and it's just a bad, it's a bad thing to happen in a country and a culture when people start to think.

[18:37] That many people, one in seven. And again, it's not all of them, but a significant number believe it's okay for someone else to take care of them. And it's something that we're going to have to, I think, deal with.

[18:50] There are 71. We've introduced a welfare reform bill. 71 different means-tested social welfare programs that your tax dollars support. We've got umpteen different ones in health care, umpteen different ones in nutrition, a bunch in job training, a bunch in education.

[19:05] And it just on a... Maybe we'd be better off with just four. One in each area. You know, and actually help the families who truly... Americans are the most generous people ever. We will help people who truly need it.

[19:17] Even... We're willing to do that. But there's got to be a better way than what we're doing. We've introduced a while working with the Heritage Foundation legislation that we think will actually address the problem. The other concern is when you think about the moral and culture as well.

[19:30] And this is a scary thing, but... And no surprise to all of you. Every major institution in this country is now biased against traditional values and free market principles.

[19:41] Every major one. Certainly the press. I would argue the government is. Academia. And frankly, even many, sad to say, in my opinion, many churches have taken just a bias against those traditional principles.

[19:57] Hard work. Respect for life. Respect for family. Respect for free markets. Have taken a position against that. And I think it's something that we need to understand. How do you fix it all?

[20:10] It's not... It's not rocket science. It's just a return to traditional principles and a respect for free market capitalism.

[20:21] It really is. It's not... You know, again, it doesn't take a genius to figure out what we need to do. But it takes a willingness on the part of people to make the argument and make the case. And that's what I want to spend the remainder of our time talking about.

[20:32] I think it's important we do a couple things. First, again, never be afraid to talk about the importance of faith. You think about... Faith has always been central to the American experience.

[20:45] The songs we just sang about our country. I mean, the references to God and God we trust. I mean, so faith in the public square has always been a part. Again, that's why I believe we're the greatest nation ever.

[20:58] We should never be afraid to step up and say that and defend it and promote it and protect it. But it's just part of being a citizen in this great country.

[21:09] And the other thing, and I applaud Pastor for this. We've got way too many pastors, and this bugs me, way too many pastors out there who are nervous about their tax-exempt status.

[21:21] So much so that they won't even think about speaking out on moral and values issues. And I commend the pastor for... Well, you guys know the pastor.

[21:32] He's never really shy about speaking his mind. But every major... Throughout history, every major... I guess revival might be the right...

[21:42] I mean, whenever there's been a critical moment, it's pastors who have been intricately involved in changing the course of history. There were a bunch of pastors in that hall in 1776 signing that document.

[21:56] So the fact that we don't have enough pastors out there who are willing to take a stand, that is a problem as well. In fact, I would argue most of the answers we're going to get to the country's concerns right now aren't going to happen in Washington.

[22:06] They're going to happen in churches and in communities and in the states. And so we've got to understand how significant this faith component is. The second thing, of course, is... And I know I've talked to you with about this, but...

[22:19] The concern I have, and this is the reason I got into politics, is... We should... Everything we talk about and focus on and try to implement policy-wise and just as people involved in our community should be to strengthen the family.

[22:34] You know, I... The reason I got into politics... I never intended to get into politics. I was going to be a wrestling coach. I was doing that and liked doing it. Liked helping... Liked helping student-athletes get to their goals on the wrestling mat.

[22:44] But you get married and you have kids, you look at the world different. Just the way it works out. And you get tired of government taking your money, insulting your values, and telling you what to do. And I decided I was going to try to get involved and make a difference. But it's because of family.

[22:55] I mean, I tell folks, first institution the good Lord put together wasn't the church. It wasn't the state. It was the family. Moms and dads and kids. And so it seems to me every policy decision and everything we try to do should be to strengthen that first institution.

[23:12] Because if that first institution is strong, your country is going to be strong, your culture is going to be strong, your society is going to be stronger, and the world is going to be a better place. And so we've... That's why I have so much respect for...

[23:23] Many of you have asked me time and time on different times, what good organizations should I support? I get letters and fundraising things from everybody. And I know you get bombarded with this.

[23:34] But Family Research Council, Tony Perkins Group, we work with these guys closely in Washington. Great organization. All about strengthening and promoting family. Focus on the family. Great job. We were on a trip four weeks ago with the Heritage Foundation.

[23:50] Another congressman and I went to Richmond, Virginia on this anti-poverty initiative that we're working with, the Republican Study Committee and Heritage. And we went to Richmond and we went to this church.

[24:04] And the pastor there was an amazing testimony. He's from Los Angeles in a gang and everything. And the Lord got a hold of him and he's now moved to Richmond. He's got this huge church, one of these storefront kind of churches, modern kind of churches.

[24:15] And he was telling me that they go out with their buses and get a thousand kids in Richmond, Virginia and bring them to their church service every Saturday night.

[24:27] And he said of those a thousand kids, 950 come from families where there's no dad in the home. Now think about that. So that tells you how serious it is.

[24:38] But think the positive is they're going out and getting a thousand kids in their community, bringing them to church and giving them the kind of news and the kind of message those kids need. I mean, it's amazing.

[24:49] It really is amazing. I mean, have you seen the movie? Have you seen the movie Blindside? Watch the movie? Yeah. Great. If you haven't seen it, watch it. But there was a family and it's a great story and it works out great. But think, there was a family who took the risk to help a kid in a tough way in their town of Memphis, Tennessee.

[25:06] And we need more of that. We need more people willing to say, you know what, we're going to do what we can to help families. The other thing I think is important, and this is where I do want to focus the rest of our time.

[25:17] We need to make the case. Pastor initially asked me to talk a little bit about capitalism and how important that is. We need to make the case for freedom and free markets.

[25:31] We really do. Right now, unfortunately, what you see going on in Washington, I didn't touch on this earlier, but this is something I deal with directly on the subcommittee that I get a chance to, I get the privilege of chairing part of the oversight committee, but with a subcommittee where we deal with stimulus spending and debt issues and regulation, is this cronyism that we see in our government today.

[25:54] A great example. I mean, the example four years ago was, of course, the too big to fail, the bailouts of GM, Chrysler, and the big banks, and putting your tax money because it's too big to fail and it could have catastrophic impact on them.

[26:06] But when you have this idea that government will step in, and when you also have this concept that government will pick the winners, which we currently have, we've had several hearings on the Department of Energy's loan guarantee program.

[26:27] This is the Solyndra, if you follow the news, you've got your tax dollars. Well, now there's been two other companies, Beacon Power and just on Thursday, interesting they picked Thursday to announce it, Abound Solar, which we just had their CEO in front of our committee three weeks ago.

[26:43] They picked Thursday to announce they just went bankrupt, picked the big news day when we were having the holder contempt vote, and, of course, the Supreme Court ruling. But this is this program.

[26:53] Now think about this program. Our government, with your tax dollars, has a program that has given out over $15 billion, 26 companies, three of which have already went bankrupt, three I just mentioned, 26 companies got your tax dollars.

[27:08] 22 of those 26 companies had a credit rating of double B minus, which is a fancy way of saying junk status. No venture capital, no private equity would go there, but it was okay.

[27:20] It was okay because this administration thinks solar and wind is the key, and they're so against coal and gas and oil, because this administration thinks it's okay to give them your tax dollars.

[27:31] Unbelievable. And the political connections. So many of these people who were getting the dollars from part of these companies, we've got eight different ones, and if you've got nothing better to do when you can't sleep or something, and I go on our website and watch when I had an opportunity to question Secretary Chu, who's head of the Department of Energy, where we talked about this.

[27:54] But the cronyism where eight of these 22 companies had someone closely connected with the administration, and frankly, fundraisers are bundlers for the campaign. This is what we've got to get away from.

[28:07] We've got to get back to free markets where people, through their own initiative and through their own ideas, and this is truly what helped make our country special.

[28:18] I want to read, I think I may have shared this with you before. There was Arthur Brooks, head of the American Enterprise Institute, and he has done a couple of books recently.

[28:31] The first one he did about a year and a half ago, maybe two years ago, called The Battle, and I think I may have referenced it when we had an opportunity to get together before. But The Battle talks about, the backdrop is the 2008 financial bailouts, where they're too big to fail and everything we just mentioned.

[28:48] And he makes the point in there, both that book and more so this book, his newest book, The Road to Freedom, that I want to read from in just a second. He makes the point that the moral case, why free markets and capitalism is morally superior to the other approaches.

[29:06] And he coined the term earned success, particularly in his first book. And he says that, he says people in entrepreneurs and people in business and people in a free market, they don't take the risk just to make money.

[29:28] So that's sort of the, you know, people want to make money, you have to make money to live, and we get all that. But they do it because of the earned success they get, the feeling they get for meeting their customer and their client's needs.

[29:41] And he said it is, and he walked you through several examples of that. But in this newest book, which I'm about halfway through, I want to read some excerpts of this. And he talks about, I'm going to read from the first chapter.

[29:54] Again, making the moral case why it's better to have a free market approach versus the cronyism or socialist approach or whatever other option may exist.

[30:08] Americans have actually forgotten what the founders knew well. They understood the need to make the moral argument for freedom, and they were not afraid to do so. In fact, they put a moral promise front and center in the Declaration of Independence.

[30:20] We hold these truths to be self-evident. All men are created equal, endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These famous words were not entirely original.

[30:34] Less than a month before Jefferson drafted the Declaration of Independence for the United States, George Mason wrote the Virginia Declaration of Rights containing this message, or this passage, that all men are by nature equally free and independent and have certain inherent rights, of which, when they enter into a state of society, they cannot by any compact deprive or divest their posterity, namely, the enjoyment of life and liberty, with the means of acquiring and possessing property and pursuing and obtaining happiness and safety.

[31:05] The emphasis on property came from the philosopher John Locke, who believed that all men had the natural rights to acquire, protect, and dispose of property. But Jefferson decided to focus just on the pursuit of happiness instead.

[31:19] The shift in emphasis away from the material property and toward the pursuit of happiness was a shift from materialism to morality. America was intended as the greatest experiment in liberty in the history of the world.

[31:32] Property was the what of this experiment. The pursuit of happiness was the why. When asked years later what explained this formulation, Jefferson called it an expression of the American mind.

[31:44] In truth, it was an expression of the American heart, and it still is. Those guys, think about this, those guys in that hall, Independence Hall, 1776, they were making a moral case why it was right to focus on freedom, and they understood that markets, free markets, was a morally superior way to go.

[32:03] And that's the case we got. One of the things we try to do, and Arthur is great about this, we've had him speak to our group several times. When you're making an argument for something, make it a moral argument versus a typical economic mathematics argument.

[32:19] We all, I always say taxes, I tell folks, I'm for lower taxes, not just because it's going to mean better economic growth, higher GDP, and on and on, and less deficit, because we're going to get more revenue. When you lower taxes, you're going to get stronger growth, and over time you're going to get more revenue, and that means less deficit.

[32:34] That's all true, and it's all important, but make the case for why you're for lower taxes, because it means moms and dads have more of their money to send their kid to the school they think is going to give that kid the best education.

[32:48] Moms and dads have more money to put money away so their kid can get to higher education, or some family will have a little more dollars so they can decide that we are actually going to chase down our dream, go after our goal, start that business we've always dreamed of, because now we have more of our money to start that business.

[33:04] That's how you make the argument. We did this with welfare reform, and unfortunately we're moving back in the wrong direction now, but you make the case for welfare reform not because, well, we're spending too much money on welfare, it's busting the budget.

[33:16] No. You make the case for welfare reform because it's trapping families in this lifestyle of dependency on somebody else. Think about the old welfare system, and frankly now where we've gotten back to, particularly the message it sent to the single mom.

[33:30] It said to the single mom, don't get married, don't get a job, have more kids, and we will give you more money. What a way to trap someone. So you want to make the argument in a way that talks about helping people get to their goals and their dreams, and that's so important.

[33:47] Let me just read one other thing. Arthur uses this example. Moral arguments for freedom have always proven more powerful than material ones in moving ordinary people around the world to act in courageous ways.

[34:01] Again, I would argue that's what took place in 1776 in Philadelphia. Evidence of this fact is everywhere. Consider the case of Tunisia's recent revolution. In the last days of 2010, few people had ever heard of Mohamed Bouazizi.

[34:17] He was just a 26-year-old street vendor in the Tunisian town of Sidi Bouzid, who sold vegetables, as he had done since the age of 10. Each day, he would buy vegetables at the supermarket, load them into a wooden cart, push the cart two kilometers to the city, where he would sell them to passersby.

[34:36] The local people knew and liked Bouazizi because, despite his own poverty, he gave free vegetables to families who were even poorer than his own. The trouble he had was with the police, who made his life miserable.

[34:50] They constantly harassed and bullied him, regularly confiscating his produce and scales, humiliating him in public, fining him for various arbitrary offenses against the bureaucratic codes that governed commercial life in Tunisia.

[35:03] On December 17, 2010, a policewoman stopped Bouazizi on his way to the market. Par for the course for the past 16 years of his life, she demanded that he give her his scale.

[35:16] On this day, for some reason, Bouazizi decided he'd had enough, and he refused. Shocked by his insubordination, the police officers slapped him and called in reinforcements who pushed him to the ground, and in a show of raw power, intended to crush his will, they took away not just his scale, but all his merchandise as well.

[35:36] Bouazizi walked to the city hall, asked to meet with an official for recourse. He was denied even a meeting. What came next shocked the world. Bouazizi went to a local store, bought a can of paint thinner, returned to the street in front of city hall.

[35:50] He soaked himself in fuel and set himself on fire. He died 18 days later. The fire that burned Bouazizi to death ignited the Tunisian revolution. Tunisians rose up against the police, the kleptocratic bureaucrats, and the president who had given them license to crush honest people like Bouazizi.

[36:10] Within a month, they had scattered the police and arrested the president. The story of Mohammed Bouazizi is not primarily economic. It is moral. Bouazizi didn't set himself on fire because he wanted to make more money.

[36:24] He did so to make a point about his right to his life and to take care of his family, free from arbitrary harassment. The Tunisian people rose up in moral revolt.

[36:38] The policewoman, the government officials of Tunisia, and their corrupt president were morally degenerate, and a revolution was what they deserved. Although the initial dispute was over commerce, it was not money that inspired the uprising.

[36:52] Indeed, the rebel slogan was dignity before bread. What this gentleman did is exactly the kind of courage the founders had in 1776, and frankly, the kind of resolve I think our country needs today.

[37:10] Now here's the tough part. To make it happen, it won't be easy. I learned a long time ago, nothing worth accomplishing is ever easy.

[37:20] You want to do something that matters? You want to accomplish something of meaning or significance? It is tough, and you will be criticized. It's just the way it works.

[37:32] I think I may have shared with you before, we had our high school wrestling coach, super guy, passed away a few years ago, but he talked about discipline every day.

[37:47] No, I mean, he taught chemistry and physics. He was the toughest teacher in our high school. He was the toughest wrestling coach in the whole darn state, and every day, he said, Jordan, when I took his chemistry class, I said, Jordan, you want to do well in my class?

[37:57] This is chemistry. This is not any old class. You better read the stuff the night before. You better come here prepared. You better participate. It's going to take discipline. You're going to have to be ready. In the wrestling room, oh my goodness. He said, self-discipline is the most important character quality necessary to accomplish anything that matters.

[38:12] Self-discipline. I was like, but that guy, shut up. He's driving me crazy. Sounded like my dad, and I got it every day at home for my dad. I didn't need to get it at school, but he had a great definition.

[38:23] Actually, this sign hangs in our wrestling room today, and I don't know if I've shared this with you before or not. It says, discipline's doing what you don't want to do when you don't want to do it, and that meant doing things the coach's way when you'd rather do them your way.

[38:35] It meant doing them the right way when you'd rather do them the easy way. It meant doing them the tough way when you'd rather do them the convenient way, and it's the thing that so many people who've made a difference have had. I remember, I was thinking about this this week.

[38:49] The one thing I remember from Sunday school class here and Mrs. Wiseman's class, I mean, I probably should have remembered a lot of things, but I remember this one thing. She talked, I mean, she beat this into our head.

[39:01] The old sin nature, new sin nature, remember this? I mean, we all get this here, Grace, but she beat it into our head, and she said, and you think about this, there is a battle every single day.

[39:12] every person on the planet, every Christian has that battle every day, and the key is not giving in to the old, and through prayer, and through scripture, and frankly, just through sometimes sucking it up, and having the discipline to do what you don't want to do when you don't want to do it.

[39:30] that's what's needed. It will not be easy. John Fund and I, I saw him actually, well, we spoke at this event a year ago, and I just spoke at it again Friday night, Tea Party convention over in Columbus.

[39:43] John Fund was there again, and his remarks last summer have stayed with me. He said, it's interesting to note how history has played out. He said, it's every third generation in this country has had to do something big.

[39:57] It's just the way God's had it work out, and again, he took us right back to where we started today. He took us back to Philadelphia in 1776, where those guys decided they were going to declare to the world why America would be different.

[40:10] They were going to put it all on the line, and they were successful when no one thought they could be. No one thought they could win. I mean, this is unbelievable what they attempted, and then unbelievable that they actually succeeded.

[40:23] Then he said, it was three generations later that the Americans who were alive at that time said, we will deal with the evil of slavery, and we will keep the union together when it's trying to split apart, and they prevailed.

[40:35] And then three generations after them, those Americans said, we can get through the Great Depression, we can handle this second war, we can defeat this evil of Nazism and Imperial Japan, and they were successful.

[40:49] And now here we are, three generations later, and it's, I wish it was not going to be hard, but I just know it is. That's the way life is, but it's our turn, and it, and without getting too partisan, it truly is, the next four months are very important.

[41:09] Who we elect to office matters. That's how we decide things in this country. We don't fight in the streets. We, as someone is, or many people have said, we don't use bullets, we use ballots. And what happens on election day has huge significance, has real consequences, and this is one of those important ones.

[41:27] People say all the time, particularly politicians, they're great at saying, oh, this election is so important. Well, it might be important to them because their name's on the ballot, but usually it's not really that crucial, but this one is.

[41:41] And so I would encourage you all to, and I know the folks in this room do this, understand what's at stake, get as many people as you can to go vote, and exercise this wonderful franchise that we have in this great country.

[41:53] And again, remember what Paul said to Timothy. I love that verse because part of it is Paul is in prison, and it's almost like the big brother is saying to the little brother, hey, I've been down this road, I want to encourage you to fight the good fight, finish the course, and keep the faith.

[42:11] And that is our charge as we move ahead. So I'll stop there. Actually, I'm eight minutes faster than pastor usually is.

[42:23] I've got a couple minutes to go. So you're allowed to ask questions now, and I'll attempt to respond. But thank you for the chance to spend a little time with you this morning.

[42:33] And I appreciate the encouragement many of you give after service. You walk up and say, hey, we're praying for you, thinking about you. That means a lot. Paulie and I, you know, two country folk who've been married now 27 years, to know that people are praying for you is nice to know.

[42:50] So thank you for that. All right, your chance to yell at your congressman. Who appropriated the money that went to the failed solar people?

[43:06] Well, this was done when the... Remember, two years ago, the other party had complete control of government. And frankly, until Scott Brown got elected, they could do anything they wanted because they even had the 60-vote supermajority deal in the United States Senate.

[43:20] So they came in and said, we don't like coal, oil, and gas. We think wind, solar, and any other alternative you can think of is better. And we are so smart that we are going to pick the winners in the marketplace and we're going to focus on this solar power.

[43:34] And that's what they did. And as I said, no one in the private sector would put their capital at risk, but it was okay to put your tax dollars there. And since the program has started, three companies, after Thursday's announcement by a bound solar out of Colorado, three companies that went bankrupt.

[43:48] Beacon Power out of Massachusetts, Solyndra, and solar power, or a bound solar. Doesn't, the House, aren't they the ones that actually gives the money or appropriates it? Yeah. So.

[43:59] And we did not, this, since Republicans have taken over this session of Congress, we did not appropriate more money, but the money was already in the, already there and spent in the previous Congress.

[44:15] All right. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead. Just some real quick. You get two? How do the Supreme Courts get their wages or whatever you want to call it?

[44:26] Yeah, that comes from Congress. There's a budget for the judicial branch of government that we approve. I mean, all spending bills originate in the House. The founders, in their wisdom, were very smart about this.

[44:36] They wanted the body closest to the people, the House of Representatives, which stands for re-election every two years. I always tell folks it's a good thing that every two years you all get a chance to throw me out and we get to throw all of them out because you want that, the founders wanted that body to be closest to the will of the people.

[44:51] They wanted the Senate to take a longer view and a different view and so they're, a third of the Senate's up every six, every two years but you get a six-year term and then the President's four. So spending bills start in the House and that's, that's, that's who, but you can't get any, you can't get your budget through the House because you got to agree with the Senate.

[45:09] We've seen that play out the last two years. We've actually, whether it's Paul Ryan's budget that we introduced, the Senate never takes up and we wind up having to go for something higher because the Senate won't agree to what we want to do in the House.

[45:24] I wanted to comment on the fact that the, one of seven people on food stamps and there's a commercial on TV right now that has been playing that are encouraging people to sign up for welfare and food stamps.

[45:46] Is this part of the plan to get the illegal aliens to... Well, I don't, yeah, I don't know if that's the case.

[46:00] It's just this attitude that the administration has that they want to advertise and get people... I think the right approach should be just the opposite.

[46:11] We want to do everything we can to get people independent and living on their own and having, you know, self-esteem. So, but it's an attitude that this administration has and frankly, I think government's had for too long where the idea is your success is how many people you sign up for a social welfare program versus how many people you have off the program and out there independent in a growing economy and self-sustaining.

[46:36] So, it's just a wrong focus. But this is a way to have more and more people depend on the government and be dependent and that's socialism.

[46:48] They're using your tax dollars to advertise so that people can come in and get more of your tax dollars. Such a deal. Yeah. Yeah. You had mentioned that the next administration, Ohio, could be key to that and you specifically mentioned southeast Ohio.

[47:14] Yeah. Do you feel that there is enough votes in that region to potentially swing things? Yeah. I mean, look, we're a critical state.

[47:24] We're considered one of the swing states. We're still the seventh largest state in the country. No Republicans ever got to the White House without winning Ohio. So, we all understand how it's significant. It's why you see Romney and Obama in our state so much and you'll see them a lot more over the next four months.

[47:37] But typically, the way elections statewide elections have worked is, you know, you got urban areas that you're going to go for the Democrat. You got western Ohio and rural areas that are largely Republican.

[47:50] Suburban areas kind of more independent and sort of even. But the swing area is southeast Ohio and it's probably a million and a half, two million people when you think about eastern Ohio and then all along the river because we got one congressional district, actually Bill Johnson district which is all along the river and then Bob Gibbs district has a lot of Appalachia.

[48:08] So, let's say a million and a half, two million people. That's the swing area and, you know, they were, when you look back, they were the area that went strong for Ted Strickland a few years ago when he beat Ken Blackwell for governor.

[48:21] Just look at the demographics and how elections have played out. That's the swing area and as I said earlier, I just do not see them voting for, as I said, the most anti-coal president in American history.

[48:33] I think it's likely they're going to support Governor Romney. They're not going to support the president just like folks in West Virginia didn't support the president that strongly in the Democrat primary.

[48:44] So, I think that's a good sign but, look, we're a long way from election day. I'm an optimistic guy. I think we're going to win. I think you started to see it a couple weeks ago with what happened in Wisconsin.

[48:55] I don't know if you saw what happened in California but in San Jose and San Diego they actually voted to curtail benefits to public employee unions in those two. San Jose is in the Bay Area near San Francisco and yet citizens there, residents there scaled back on what public employees unions can get.

[49:11] I think that's all positive. So, I was hoping the momentum was going to build with a good decision from the court Thursday but we got a curveball on Thursday. But I do think things are moving in the right direction.

[49:24] And also, what's the name of the book that you're reading? The Road to Freedom, How to Win the Fight for Free Enterprise, Arthur Brooks. And a fascinating story, I didn't, I should have mentioned this, Arthur is raised in a left-wing family from Seattle, was played in the symphony but decided, you know, he wanted to be an economist and he felt that free markets were the way to go even through his upbringing and so put himself through night school.

[49:49] A fascinating story, just a brilliant guy. And I think he's right on target when he talks about we need to speak and communicate in a way that makes the moral case.

[50:00] Just like Jefferson did when he talked about pursuing happiness, not acquiring property. That's how you win. The founders understood it, Arthur Brooks understands it, and more people who are engaged in the public debate today need to understand it as well.

[50:17] Jim, I have a question. I guess, I'm not quite sure how to put it, but there's some concern over the Mormon religion of Mitt Romney and for some of us who've done some research on it, you're a little concerned with it.

[50:33] Certainly, I'm looking for the values of the Tea Party to be successful, but it would be a little bit, I'm concerned because it would be like saying we want to elect Jim Jordan because we hope he doesn't go with his traditional Christian values.

[50:52] And all of a sudden we're saying let's elect Mitt Romney hoping that he doesn't go to do what is called for in his religion and that is do the bidding of the very leaders of the Mormon religion.

[51:04] And I guess it has to be a concern and I almost hate to raise it, but it is a concern because I sure don't want the current administration to be there again. I will tell you I serve with a number of my colleagues are of the Mormon faith close with Jeff Flake, Arizona.

[51:25] Going to be elected I think now to the United States Senate. Been a colleague who's been a stalwart on reducing spending. Jason Chaffetz from Utah, super guy. I step beside him both in the Judiciary Committee and in the House Oversight Committee and conservative and many of you have probably seen Jason on TV.

[51:43] He does a great job. He's been front and center with the Fast and Furious debate. Ryul Labrador from Idaho. The office is right next door to mine and is strong and conservative.

[51:54] Actually has been was with me in this big fight we had a year ago on the debt ceiling was one of those guys who would not buckle and not cave and stood for I think real principle. and I've had the chance just for probably 20 minutes to sit down with Governor Romney this is clear back in February.

[52:13] Governor Romney one of his staff people and myself just three of us there and I will tell you when you get a chance to visit with him person to person you like him more you really do. You can tell he cares about his family you can sense it and to me that's one of the first things I look at does this individual genuinely appreciate family and he does you get that you know so I don't worry about it I really don't and I'll be honest look at the alternative right look at the alternative and that's what worries me so we're and I do think and we had a chance on last Wednesday with Senator DeMent and some other senators and a group of us House conservatives to sit down with Lonnie Chin who's Governor Romney's chief policy person and we that was a good meeting and one of the things we're trying to get across is if in fact he wins he has a chance he truly has a chance to be a Ronald Reagan type president if he understands the gravity of if he gets the moment in history we find ourselves which I think he does and comes in and does like

[53:30] Reagan and says we are going to reform this tax code we are going to get the regulators off the back of business with just you know go to a reasonable regulation policy not this excessive thing we've seen and then get out of the way and watch what Americans can do I mean it's time and time again when you get government out of the way the American entrepreneur can outperform and run circles around everybody and if you get the right kind of leadership a Reagan type leader and I hope I mean Ronald Reagan wasn't Ronald Reagan until he got the way he was he's a decent governor and this and that but when he got to that's when he became Reagan right and Romney has the chance to truly do the same thing and I I think he gets it in our conversation he you know I try to you know say some of the same things I said to you how serious this fiscal situation is and how you got a short window of time to fix it and he gets it he understands he's going to have to hit the ground running in that first hundred days and so we never know I mean you know how it's going to play out but

[54:30] I think he I think he gets how important this time is and so you know we'll see sorry I'll take one more and I'll be around a little bit yeah or I'm sorry I guess I got two more maybe I have a question there's been concern expressed that our president just seems to offhandedly say okay we're doing it this way we're doing it that way he just makes a commandment and it happens whether it fits our constitution or not and I am concerned that he could do something such as say hmm all you students who've just graduated from college and you owe a hundred thousand dollars that's not fair I'm going to forgive your debt or all you people who are underwater in your houses that's not fair since the government owns your mortgage we're going to forgive it now those people are going to vote for him if that's what happens it doesn't make it right but that's what I see happening what can we do about that well there are a couple points

[55:51] I make I do agree with you on this general concern that the executive branch now has too much power and authority and constitutionally the founders actually wanted the bulk of the power to be in the hands of congress and this is not just on domestic issues probably even more so on foreign policy concerns the idea that you can almost now go to war without an official vote of congress is a scary thing so we do need and frankly the power of the bureaucracy in the executive branch to kind of reinterpret and reevaluate what a law passed a long time ago the best example is the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act and what the EPA is now interpreting that legislation to mean and how they are now applying it and through the application is why 56 power plants are going to go offline so we do need to rein that in but we're at a point where people have asked me they've asked me are you going to call for Attorney General Holder's resignation and my response has been we're at a point now where it's time for the whole administration to resign in my judgment and that's how we decide things and we decide that on election day so again the ultimate check on out of control power is we the people

[57:08] I mean it's again the founders in their wisdom when they started the constitution that they didn't start with the government we the people and so the ultimate check is election day and it's why I've said I probably a couple times already it's important so to me that's but you're right and this is something we as conservatives in the house are keeping in mind we have a constitution caucus Scott Garrett wonderful Christian man from New Jersey who's part of our republican study committee chairs our constitution caucus and trying to draw more attention to this and frankly this is also an issue where sometimes left and right particularly on the foreign policy concern can kind of come full circle and form a coalition this is this is one area where I think I may have shared with you before one of my friends in congress you may find this hard to believe but he's a true friend is Dennis Kucinich and Dennis is as far away from me as you could be but the funny thing about Dennis is he is a nice person he would he would give you the shirt off his back if he thought you needed help and sometimes on foreign policy things he is a strong proponent of congress should have this authority we shouldn't let the president run away with unlimited power here so there are some of these issues where you can get a little different coalition together and make a difference and stand up for we the people all right this is the last one

[58:35] I guess I should preface my comments with I think our current administration is absolutely going down the wrong path I believe in capitalism however I think the public employees as a retired public employee myself are getting a bad rap contracts were negotiated agreements were made and we base our decisions on these contracts that they're going to be binding and now we appear to be whipping boys in that the bad public employees that's the cause of all of our problems while I don't have a problem with relooking at some of these things I do believe in a contract and it should be binding what I find absolutely shameful and obscene and I shared this with you a few months ago is that in 1975 if you look at the top 100 corporations a CEO made 39 times more than an average worker so a

[59:39] CEO 39 times more money than the average worker 25 years later in 2000 they made 475 times more and that is there is no justification to raise from 39 times more to 475 times more than the average worker I guarantee you public employees salaries did not raise that much and that's to the point I touched on a little bit is the cultural concern out there it is I come from the perspective that typically big is bad big government I think is a threat to freedom in many ways big business particularly in an environment where they can cozy up to government and the cronyism I talked about we are so big we got to get bailed out even though we made mistakes in the kind of loans and things we did so make sure that Citibank or whoever gets so big government big labor big business that

[60:43] I I'm just always nervous about that because I see all three and this is frankly again where the founders were all three as potential threats to freedom you're exactly right that all kinds of wonderful people who work for the public who are public employees who work in government and those were contracts that were negotiated and frankly the people who should be held most responsible are the people on the government side who were supposed to be standing up for the taxpayers who gave the deal so I understand that but I do know long term when you look at the fiscal situation things have to change and it's a rather recent phenomenon that public employees even have a collective bargaining right for many years even Franklin Roosevelt said this should not be something that you should have the right to organize but that should be private sector focused shouldn't necessarily be public sector so there's some general concern there and you're seeing a move back in direction to Indiana just move to a freedom to choose approach when it comes to public employee unions and unionism overall so

[61:50] I think states that have done that you've seen better fiscal situation and frankly stronger economic growth alright I went overboard which pastor never does so I'm going to step down thank you all very much half the fourth of July God bless can't tell you how much I appreciate you being here Jim and your comments the only thing I would add is this I do not think our nation would be facing the crisis that we are facing today if Christians over the past 20 or 30 years had not looked at politics and their civic responsibility as well you know voting is no big deal and they're going to do whatever they want to do anyway no matter how I vote so I'm not even going to bother that is the most fatal mistake you can make if you are not registered to vote first of all don't let me know that and secondly get registered and make sure you go to the polls and you cast your vote based on your own personal values and understanding of morality and the issues and don't let anybody tell you that your vote doesn't matter when it comes to a democratic form of government under the republic that we've got your vote is the only thing that matters keep that in mind and we're going to enjoy a musical benediction that will be our benediction and when it's concluded you are dismissed deep within the heart has always known that there is freedom somehow breathed into the very soul of

[64:18] I the prisoner the powerless the slave have always known there something that keeps reaching for the sky and even life begins because a baby fights for freedom and songs we love to sing have freedom freedom to thee some have walked through fire and blood to find the place of freedom and some face there itself for freedom to free let freedom free wherever minds know what it means to be in chains let freedom free wherever hearts know pain let freedom echo through the lonely streets where prisons have no key you can be free and you can see let freedom to breathe

[66:26] God built freedom into every fiber of creation and he meant for us to all be free and holy and whole when my heart of freedom through the blood of his redemption his cross steps for the land may stand be star I see it out with every breath

[67:31] I let the whole world hear it this hallelujah anthem of the free that iron and heavy chains can never hold us at him the sun has made us free and free let freedom free down through the ages of the hills of Calvary let freedom free wherever never harm no pain love freedom

[68:43] I go through the lonely streets where prisons have no king you can be free and you can sing let freedom free let free let free of the home through the life free and you can be free and you can be free free you you can be free and you can see let freedom free let freedom free let freedom free to to be free free to keep free to love for to