Speech at 2008 CPAC conference: on Principles & Values
George W. Bush:
It is a privilege to see America’s greatness up close
I know of America’s greatness because I get to see it up close, and it is a privilege to see it up close. I see it in the foot soldiers in the armies of compassion, who perform acts of kindness and hope every single day. I see it in the courage of
ordinary citizens, like those who rushed toward danger when the Twin Towers fell & our Pentagon burned. I see it with military families who’ve lost loved ones. And every time I come away moved and inspired by their valor, grit, pride, and love of country
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
John McCain:
I’m a mainstream conservative; judge my record as a whole
My record in public office taken as a whole is the record of a mainstream conservative. I believe today, as I believed 25 years ago, in small government; fiscal discipline; low taxes; a strong defense, judges who enforce, and not make, our laws; the
social values that are the true source of our strength; and, generally, the steadfast defense of our rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, which I have defended my entire career as God-given to the born and unborn.
Surely, I have held some positions that have not met with widespread agreement from conservatives. I won’t pretend otherwise nor would you permit me to forget it.
All I ask of any
American, conservative, moderate, independent, or enlightened Democrat, is to judge my record as a whole, and accept that I am not in the habit of making promises to my country that I do not intend to keep.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
John McCain:
My most basic conservative principle: liberty comes from God
I am proud to be a conservative, and I make that claim because I share with you that most basic of conservative principles: that liberty is a right conferred by our Creator, not by governments, and that the proper object of justice and the rule of law in
our country is not to aggregate power to the state but to protect the liberty and property of its citizens. And like you, I understand, as Edmund Burke observed, that “whenever a separation is made between liberty and justice, neither... is safe.”
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
John McCain:
This 2008 election is about hugely consequential things
Often elections in the US are fought within the margins of small differences. This one will not be. We are arguing about hugely consequential things. Whomever the Democrats nominate would govern in a way that will take this country backward to the days
when government felt empowered to take from us our freedom to decide for ourselves the course & quality of our lives; to substitute the muddled judgment of large & expanding federal bureaucracies for the common sense & values of the American people; to
the timidity and wishful thinking of a time when we averted our eyes from terrible threats to our security that were so plainly gathering strength abroad. It is shameful and dangerous that Senate Democrats are blocking an extension of surveillance powers
that enable our intelligence and law enforcement to defend our country against radical Islamic extremists. This election is going to be about big things, not small things. I intend to fight as hard as I can to ensure our principles prevail over theirs.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Mike Huckabee:
Without moral absolutes, we are lost and confused
Our freedom is tied to our individual souls, a gift from God, not from government. No one could take it from us, because no one gave it to us. It was instilled in me that because freedom was individual, that personal responsibility was individual.
So I could not expect government to do for me what I was supposed to do for myself. In 1968-1969, we had a definite choice of being a country of law and order, or of mayhem. I believed in law and order, that some things were right and some things
were wrong. When we went with the right we had strength. When we saw that there was no moral center, and nothing that ever could be defined as a moral absolute, then we are lost and confused.
As a teenager, I was given a Phyllis Schlafly book, “ A
Choice Not an Echo”. That book had a tremendous impact on me. It reminded me that we should not simply be echoing the sentiments of others, but making deep personal choices about what we believe, and most importantly, why we believe it.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Mike Huckabee:
Childhood heroes in AR: Jesus, Elvis, and FDR
In Arkansas, where I grew up, there were no Republicans. I came from a family where there were three basic heroes in our household: Jesus, Elvis, and FDR. It wasn’t because folks were so liberal, it was just inbred in us that we were all Democrats.
There were only 7 Republicans in my county, and all of them had moved in. But I became Republican because I got my first job at age 14 from one of those 7 Republicans, and I crystallized an understanding about the blessings of America.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Mike Huckabee:
American’s greatness is because we’re rooted in our faith
I realize it is not politically correct to say what I am about to say. But I have believed it since I was a teenager so I will not going to recant it now.The reason that America is a great nation is because America is a special nation.
And the reason America is a special nation is because it was founded by people who were first on their knees before they were on their feet. We are a nation rooted in our faith.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Mike Huckabee:
Not exiting; I didn’t major in math; I majored in miracles
I stay in this race, not to be a fly in the ointment, but because I believe that our party & our country is about a choice, and I plan to give it to them. There are only a few states that have voted; 27 have not. People in those 27 states deserve more
than a coronation. They deserve the opportunity to have their voices and their votes heard and counted.I know what the pundits say, that the math doesn’t workout. Folks, I didn’t major in math. I majored in miracles and I still believe in those.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Mitt Romney:
Withdrawing from race to help McCain beat Democrats
I disagree with Senator McCain on a number of issues, as you know. But I agree with him on doing whatever it takes to be successful in Iraq, on finding and executing Osama bin Laden, and on eliminating Al Qaeda and terror. If I fight on in my campaign,
all the way to the convention, I would forestall the launch of a national campaign and make it more likely that Senator Clinton or Obama would win. And in this time of war, I simply cannot let my campaign, be a part of aiding a surrender to terror.
This is not an easy decision for me. I hate to lose. My family, my friends and our supporters--many of you right here in this room--have given a great deal to get me where I have a shot at becoming President.
If this were only about me, I would go on. But I entered this race because I love America, and because I love America, I feel I must now stand aside, for our party and for our country.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Ron Paul:
We lost because we’re neither compassionate nor conservative
The old Reagan days when we used to say to get rid of the Department of Education! That’s what we ought to be doing. So when we got our chance, what did we do? We doubled the size of the Department of Education. We put No Child Left Behind. We’ve
lost credibility, and now we’re losing House seats. We’ve lost control of the House and Senate, and right now it looks like we’re going to lose even more. It’s not because we are not compassionate; it’s because we’re not CONSERVATIVE that we’re losing.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Ron Paul:
Liberty promotes peace, and peace promotes prosperity
If you follow the Constitution, you will defend freedom. Freedom brings people together. It allows people to run their lives as they choose, it allows them to practice religion as they choose, it is not confrontational & not antagonistic. The welfare
state, the warfare state, & the socialist state, is exactly the opposite. It divides us, because they take away our wealth, they control it in Washington. What is happening today? Millions of dollars of campaign funds & PAC money, and lobbying efforts to
control the money that gravitates to Washington, DC. The pie is shrinking, and the people are getting angry, and we have forgotten what a free country is all about. We’ve lost our confidence, because we have to have safety nets here and safety nets here
and do all of these things. It’s coming to an end and there’s a wonderful, beautiful answer. It comes in our traditions and it comes in the principles of liberty. If you promote liberty, liberty promotes peace. And peace promotes prosperity.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Ron Paul:
Tyranny and inflation are ancient, Bill of Rights isn’t
Somewhere along the way in the campaign they coined the term “Ron Paul Revolution.” It has nothing to do with Ron Paul Revolution. It has to do with the continuation of the grand revolution that we have been blessed with and that we have benefited by.
But there’s no reason why we should give up on it. Some say, “You want to go back to old times, hundreds of years ago.” Well, age has nothing to do with that. The principle of habeas corpus is a lot older than that and we shouldn’t be giving up on that.
But going back & picking up on the principles in the Bill of Rights is not going back to ancient times. What is ancient, is the inflationary system. It has been known for thousands of years how that debased currency. But also, tyranny is what is ancient.
And now we’re getting total control of our lives and loss of our privacy and loss of our freedoms and loss of our economic benefits. That is old-fashioned. What is new today is something that is just restoration of what we had.
Source: Speeches to 2008 Conservative Political Action Conference
Feb 7, 2008
Page last updated: Dec 01, 2018