Defending the American Dream: Day Two - #DAD09

Bill Smith, ARRA Editor: Great day meeting with numerous great bloggers while reporting live from bloggers row at the Americans for Prosperity Defending the American Dream Summit at the Marriott Crystal Gateway Hotel in Arlington, Va. We have been following the great speakers and posting tweets on twitters. Glad that we have our own room with a large screen. We can getup an move around whereas two thousand people who have been enjoying the speakers are more restricted by the events.

One of the young men who has been blogging the event is Steven Allen Adams, an investigative reporter from West Virginia. The following are Steve's comments an photos:

UPDATE (9:46 p.m.): Former House Speaker Newt Gingrich, R-Ga., is up to speak first. Gingrich led the last big Republican revolution in 1994, thanks to the Contract with America (the revolution got a bump also from President Bill Clinton and his bumbling ways).

Gingrich talked about the conservative revolutions in other countries, such as France, and predicts that conservatives will have control again. Comparing today’s situation to that of former President Jimmy Carter, Gingrich sees a shift over the next 3 1/2 years towards conservative principles.

Three things Gingrich says we need to do:

• Have candidates at every level dedicated to new principles. “If an incumbent isn’t doing their job, we need to recruit someone new. In our system, real power comes from the ballot box.”
• We have to learn how to campaign effectively. “There is no neighborhood in American we should write off, there is no person we should write off.”
• We have to win the argument. “The President is helping us educate the American people and we should encourage him to go on every talk show in town. Good advertising kills a product faster.”

UPDATE (10:21 a.m.): Next up to speak is Shona Holmes, a Canadian citizen who was highlighted in an AFP  television ad telling her story about being denied care when she had a brain tumor. She and her husband mortgaged their home and came to the U.S. to get the care that saved her life.

“I had no options, I had more choices,” said Holmes of her situation. Canadian-style health care is a “slippery slope.” “Rationing, without question, happens in Canada. We wait anyone from a eight months to a year and a half.”

“It’s such a battles that I never never believe that I could experience it first hand. If I couldn’t resolve those problems for myself, then I don’t know who is speaking up for the others.”

“I feel an obligation that we need to help each other. My biggest embarrassment is Canada hasn’t been able to open the door and help Americans. You have tremendous health care. I apologize for my fellow Canadians that are trying to shut me up.”

UPDATE (10:29 a.m.): Wall Street Journal writer Steve Moore is next. “This is the next American Revolution.”

“Since we passed the economic stimulus bill we’ve lost $3 million jobs,” said Moore, who spoke mostly on health and economic issues.

Cap-and-trade “may be the more dangerous than the health care bill. Even if you believe in global warming, the cap-and-trade bill won’t have any affect in lowering temperatures. It is, in my opinion, unpatriotic.”
“What in the world are we doing with this national debt; this $11 trillion national debit. The numbers are so big, we can’t even fathom a trillion-dollar debt.

“If the choice is between a flat tax or a Fair Tax…it’s like being asked to choose between a Ferrari and a Porsche. We have to stop the Obama tax increase.” Three things to fix health care:

• “We need medical malpractice reform.”
• “We have to move towards a system of health savings accounts. You can drive insurance premiums down.”
• “We have to allow people to purchase insurance in every state in this country. Let people in Maine and Massachusetts buy insurance in New Jersey.”

UPDATE (10:42 a.m.): Sen Jim. Demint, R-S.C., has just been honored with an the Washington Award by AFP Chairman David Koch.

“When the people here in Washington are more afraid of the people than special interests, then we can win. Look at every race at every level. Get behind those candidates. We’ve got great candidates in this country, but the people up here aren’t going to elect them: you are.”
Go to http://www.conservativecandiates.com/ to find conservatives running for office all over the country.
“We need to remind Americans who have been too busy doing other things what’s at stake.”

UPDATE (11:02 a.m.): Radio host and Fox News contributer Herman Cain is addressing the crowd.
Liberal S.I.N. Principles:

• They SHIFT the subject.
• They IGNORE the facts.
• They NAMECALL. “I  found out I’m racist. Maybe I missed something. Maybe what they’re trying to say is I have a perfect tan.

“We are crazy about liberty, we are crazy about freedom, and we’re crazy about the United States of America. That’s what we’re crazy about. We’ll show you some crazy; all these crazy people are going to show up at the polls.”
“Never give up on taking back this country. We must never give up.”

UPDATE (11:14 a.m.): Radio host Hugh Hewitt is up now. He gave a list of six things to do:

• “Wait until November of 2009. Every single person in the room can make a difference. If know anyone, call them up and make sure they get to the polls.”
• “We have to remain active and adamant, especially with our senior friends. We need to encourage them to be in the game.”
• “We need to educate people on our broken legal system. This is killing our economy; killing it dead.”
• “We’ve got to relentlessly expose the left-wing in the way the left-wing have learned to mock us. We’ve got to tell everyone about biggovernment.com, tell them about Americans for Prosperity.”
• Work with young people. “Our young people need to look to you to learn about our system.”
• “When Israel strikes Iran, we must stand with Israel. There is going to be, there will be a chorus of hate unleashed by our media.

UPDATE (11:37 a.m.): Hot Air contributer Ed Morrissey is talking now.

We need a “tax code overhaul that is decades overdue.”

“Congress likes the tax code. The tax code allows congress to conduct social engineering…and limit the choices in our life. It is sapping our liberty. The more deductions they put in there, the more people thing they benefit from them. Congress is the biggest obstacle to real reform.”

“The existing tax code gives Congress far too much power in a free society. When our opponents talk about making the tax code more fair, we need to tell them we don’t need their help to make choices.”

UPDATE (11:46 a.m.): Wall Street Journal writer John Fund is up next.

“Never again should we have bills the size of telephone books. No more. We want them to read the bill. Here is where you come in.”

Fund commented on the Reagan and Gingrich revolutions, telling activists to learn from the lessons of the Carter and Clinton administrations.

“Here we are again. Every 16 years it seems the American forget what happens when a liberal Congress and a liberal President get together. We won the first two rounds of this; I saw we win round three.”

“You, the new American Patriots, won in 1977. You won again in 1993. You can win again in 2009. Let’s finish the job.”

UPDATE (12:00 p.m.): Up next is Tracy Walsh, spokeswoman for Patients First. Walsh is a breast cancer survivor from South Carolina and has been featured in an Independent Women’s Forum ad and the Patients First “Hands Off My Health Care” bus tour.

“What’s important to me is the ability to keep my choices. I had to speak up. We’ve got to defeat this health care legislation.”

…and that’s all folks. We’ll have a video up later of all the great things that happened here in DC.

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