Speeches to Conservative Political Action 2013 Conference

Sen. Rand Paul, R-KY., won this year's Conservative Political Action Conference straw poll. His father Ron Paul won the CPAC straw vote in two previous years.

The snapshot above was one highlight of the CPAC convention: Sarah Palin publicly drank a "Big Gulp" to protest NYC Mayor Michael Bloomberg's attempted ban on Big Gulps and other large soft drinks. Her speech excerpts and others below....

OnTheIssues.org excerpts:  (click on issues for details)

Abortion     Marco Rubio: I believe in protecting life but I'm not a chauvinist.

Budget & Economy     Bobby Jindal: Replace "obsession with zeroes" with growth strategy.     Sarah Palin: No budget for 4 years? No budget is no leadership.     Rand Paul: We cannot continue to borrow $50,000 per second.     Rand Paul: Sequester doesn't cut spending; it just slows rate of growth.

Corporations     Marco Rubio: The banks caused the mortgage crisis and we bailed them out.

Education     Ben Carson: Education worked for me; don't throw young people away.

Foreign Policy     Marco Rubio: The China Dream is to surpass America as world leader.     Rand Paul: End US aid to countries that burn our flag.

Government Reform     Bobby Jindal: If it's worth doing, then block-grant it to the states.     Allen West: Constitution should control the government, not the people.

Gun Control     Sarah Palin: Gun laws just take away the good guys' freedom.

Health Care     Ben Carson: Health savings account from birth; teach poor responsibility.

Homeland Security     Rand Paul: 13-hour filibuster against drone strikes targeting Americans.     Rand Paul: Only Judiciary can detain and drone, not the President.

Immigration     Donald Trump: Citizenship for illegal immigrants is a GOP suicide mission.

Jobs     Sarah Palin: 8% unemployment rate doesn't tell the story of the pain.

Principles & Values     Ben Carson: Not running for office, but God may call on me.     Ben Carson: End the "war on God".     Bobby Jindal: Dems are for government expansion & economic contraction.     Sarah Palin: Don't rebrand the party; rebuild the country.     Jeb Bush: GOP must stop being the party of 'anti' everything.     Jeb Bush: We need to be the party of inclusion and acceptance.     Mitt Romney: We lost the election, but we haven't lost our way.     Tim Scott: We in America are a conservative nation.

Social Security     Donald Trump: Cannot change Medicare or Soc.Sec. and still win elections.

Tax Reform     Bobby Jindal: Simplify our complicated tax code by blowing it up.     Ben Carson: Bible endorses flat tax--10% tithing.     New Testament: OpEd: Bible endorses flat tax--10% tithing.

Technology     Marco Rubio: Information age has changed world; people have not changed.

War & Peace     Donald Trump: Take $1.5T in oil from Iraq to pay for US victims.

Welfare & Poverty     Ben Carson: Charities better at providing for needy than the government.     Jeb Bush: If you're born poor, the odds are stacked against you.

Click for quotations from other sources by: Allen West Republican U.S. Rep Florida-22 Ben Carson HUD Secretary Bobby Jindal Louisiana Republican 2016 Presidential candidate Donald Trump Republican Presidential candidate Jeb Bush Florida Former FL Governor; Republican Presidential candidate Marco Rubio FL Senator; Republican Presidential candidate Mitt Romney Massachusetts Former GOP Governor (2003-2006); Pres. candidate (2008) New Testament Rand Paul Republican 2016 Primary Challenger Sarah Palin Alaska Former Governor (resigned 2009); V.P. nominee (2008) Tim Scott Republican Senator-Appointee South Carolina