Republican National Convention 2012: Rand Paul

Rand Paul

◼ Rand Paul turns up the heat in Tampa - Jazz Shaw/HotAir
◼ Rand Paul: 'Whole damn' healthcare law is 'still unconstitutional' - Ramsey Cox/The Hill

◼ Transcript of Sen. Rand Paul's speech at RNC via FOX

The following is a transcript of a speech given by Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul at the Republican National Convention on Aug. 29, 2012.

PAUL: Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thank you. (APPLAUSE) Thank you, Kentucky. Thank you.

You know, when the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare, the first words out of my mouth were, "I still think it's unconstitutional". (APPLAUSE)

The left wing blogs were merciless. Even my wife said, "could you please just count to 10 before you speak?" So, I've had time to count to 10. And you know what? I still think it is unconstitutional. (APPLAUSE)

Do you think Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas have changed their mind?

(UNKNOWN): No.

PAUL: I think if James Madison himself, the father of Constitution, he were here today, he would agree, the whole damn thing is still unconstitutional. (APPLAUSE)

This debate is not new. And it's not over. Hamilton and Madison fought, from the beginning, about how the government would be limited by the enumerated powers.

Madison was unequivocal, "the powers of the federal government are few and defined" (APPLAUSE)

The power to tax and spend is restricted by the enumerated -powers. So how do we fix this travesty of justice? There is only one option left, we have to have a new president. (APPLAUSE)

When I heard the current president say, "you didn't build that", I was first insulted, then I was angered, and then I was saddened that anyone in our country, much less the president of the United States, believes that roads create business success and not the other way around. (APPLAUSE)

Anyone who so fundamentally misunderstanding of American greatness is uniquely unqualified to lead this great nation. (APPLAUSE)

The great and abiding lesson of American history, particularly the cold war, is that the engine of capitalism, the individual, is mightier than any collective. (APPLAUSE)

American inventiveness and the desire to build a developed because we were guaranteed the right to own our success. For most of our history, no one dared to tell Americans, you don't build that.

In bowling green, Kentucky, the Tang (ph) family owns the -- a doughnut shop. Their family fled war-torn Cambodia to come to this country. My kids and I love doughnuts, so we go there frequently. The Tang's (ph) work long hours. Mrs. Tang (ph) told us they worked through the night to make the donuts. The Tang (ph) family have become valedictorians and national merit scholars. The Tangs (ph) from Cambodia are an American success story, so Mr. President, don't go telling the Tang (ph) family that they didn't build that. (APPLAUSE)

When you say -- when you say they don't build it, you insult each and every American who ever got up at the crack of dawn. You insult any American who ever put on overalls or a suit. You insult any American who ever studied late into the night to become a doctor or a lawyer. You insult the dishwasher, the cook, the waitress. You insult anyone who has ever drag themselves out of bed to try -- to strive for
something better for themselves and their children.

My great-grandfather, like many, came to this country in search of the American dream. No sooner had he stepped off the boat than his father died. He arrived in Pittsburgh as a teenager with nothing, not a penny. He found the American dream. Not great wealth, but a bit of property in a new land that gave him hope for his children.

In America, as opposed to the old country, success was based on merit. Probably America's greatest asset was that, for the first time, success was not based on who you were, but what you did. (APPLAUSE)

My grandfather would live to see his children become doctors and ministers, accounts and professors. He would even live to see one of his sons, a certain Congressman from Texas... (APPLAUSE) ... a certain Congressman from Texas run for the presidency
of the United States. (APPLAUSE)

Immigrants - -immigrants have flocked to our shores seeking freedom. Our -- our forbearers came full of hopes and dreams so consistent and prevalent were these aspirations that theycrystallized into a national yearning we call the American Dream. No other country has a dream so inextricably associated with the spirit of its people.

In 1982, an American sailor, John Mooney, wrote a letter to his parents that captures the essence of the American Dream. He wrote, Dear Mom and Dad, Today we spotted a boat in the water and we rendered assistance. We picked up 65 Vietnamese refugees. As they approached the ship, they were all waving and trying as best they could to say, ``Hello American sailor, hello freedom man."

It's hard to see a boat full of people like that and not get a lump somewhere between chin and belly button and it really makes one proud and glad to be an American. It reminds us of all what America's been, a place a man or a woman can come to for freedom.

Hung and Twan Tratrin (ph) are brothers and friends of mine. They came to America on one of those leaky boats. They were attacked at sea by pirates, their family's wealth was stolen, Twan (ph) spent a year on a South Pacific island existing on a cup of rice and water until he was allowed to come to America. Now both of these men and their family are proud Americans. Hung (ph) owns his own business and Twan (ph)
manages a large company. They are the American Dream.

So Mr. President, don't go telling the Tratrin (ph) family you didn't build that... (APPLAUSE)

When the president says you didn't build that, he's flat out wrong. Businessmen and women did build that. Businessmen and women did earn their success without the success of American business, we wouldn't have any roads, bridges or schools.

Mr. President, you say the rich must pay their fair share.

But when you seek to punish the rich, the jobs that are lost are those of the poor and the middleclass. (APPLAUSE)

When you seek to punish Mr. Exxon Mobile you punish the secretary who owns Exxon Mobile stock.

When you block the Keystone Pipeline, you punish the welder who works on the pipeline. (APPLAUSE)

Our nation faces a crisis, America waivers. Unfortunately, we're one of a select group of countries whose debt now equals their Gross Domestic Product.

The Republic of Washington in Jefferson is now in danger of becoming the democracy of debt and despair.

Our great nation is coming apart at the seams and the president just seems to point fingers and blame others.

President Obama's Administration will add nearly $6 trillion to our national debt in just one term and I'm hoping it's just one term. (APPLAUSE)

This explosion of debt is unconscionable and unsustainable.

Mr. President, we will not let you bankrupt this great nation. (APPLAUSE)

Republicans and Democrats alike though, must slay their sacred cows. Republicans must acknowledge that not every dollar spent on the military is necessary or well spent. (APPLAUSE)

Democrats -- Democrats must admit that domestic welfare and entitlements must be reformed. (APPLAUSE)

Republicans and Democrats must replace fear with confidence. Confidence that no terrorist and no country will ever conquer us if we remain steadfast to the principles of our founding documents. (APPLAUSE)

We have nothing to fear except our own unwillingness to defend what is naturally ours, our god-given rights. (APPLAUSE)

We have nothing to fear that should cause us to forget or relinquish our rights as free men and women. (APPLAUSE)

To thrive, we must believe in ourselves again, and we must never, never trade our liberty for any fleeting promise of security. (APPLAUSE)

Author Paul Kengor (ph) writes of a brisk evening in a small town in Illinois.

Returning home from a basketball game at the YMCA, an 11 year- old boy is stunned by the sight of his father, sprawled out on the snow in the front porch. He was
drunk, his son would later remember, dead to the world, crucified.

The dad's hair was soaked with melted snow matted against his reddened face. The boy stood over his father for a minute or two. He simply wanted to let himself in the door and pretend his dad wasn't there. Instead, he grabbed a fistful of overcoat and he heaved his dad into the bedroom, away from the weather's harm and the neighbors attention. This young boy would become the man, Ronald Reagan. (APPLAUSE)

The man we know as Ronald Reagan, whose sunny optimism and charisma shine so brightly that it toured the malaise of the late 1970s, a confidence that's been so broadly that it pulled us through a serious recession, and a faith that tugged so happily at the hearts of all that a generation of Democrats became Republicans. (APPLAUSE)

The American dream is that any among us can become the next Thomas Edison, the next Henry Ford, the next Ronald Reagan, but to lead us forward away from this looming debt crisis, it will take someone who believes in America's greatness, who believes
in and can articulate the American dream, someone who has created jobs, someone who understands and appreciates what makes America great. Someone who will lead our party and our nation forward. I believe that someone is our nominee, Governor Mitt
Romney. (APPLAUSE)

As Reagan said, our freedom is never more than a generation away from extinction. If our freedom is taken, the American dream will wither and die. To lead, we must transform the coldness of austerity into the warm vibrant embrace of prosperity. To overcome the current crisis, we must appreciate and applaud American success. We must step forward, unabashedly and proclaim, you did build that. You earned that. You worked hard. You studied. You labored. You did build that. (APPLAUSE)

And you deserve America's undying gratitude, for you, the individual, are the engine of America's greatness. Thank you. (APPLAUSE)