Opinion: Possible GOP candidate Tim Pawlenty introduces himself to the Tea Party Patriots

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Remarks by Tim Pawlenty to the Tea Party Patriots Convention in Phoenix, as provided by his FreedomFirstPAC

I’m here today to say “thank you.” Thank you for standing up to the “ruling class.” Thank you for standing up to the liberal power brokers, guardians of the status quo, and the royal triangle of greed: big government, big unions and big bailed out businesses.

Thank you for being modern day Paul Revere’s – rallying Patriots to the cause of this great nation. The promising work of Governors Walker, Kasich, Christie, and so many others is the direct result of the dedicated Patriots in this room and across the country who had enough, stood up, fought back, and are restoring this country’s foundation.

Our Founders put it in terms so simple even a politician should be able to understand: They started with a most important principle: They didn’t say we’re endowed by our member of Congress or we’re endowed by our bureaucrat.

They said we’re endowed by our Creator with certain unalienable Rights -- and that government derives its powers from the consent of the governed. And what government did our Founders institute and our Fathers ratify? The one that begins, “We the people…”

The message of the Tea Party, as I see it, is simple. God made us to be free, and the Founding....

...Fathers made the Constitution to keep us free. And just about every problem our country faces today comes from a rejection of one of those two principles. And every solution we need today will come from a return to those core principles. The Constitution was not written to limit freedom, it was written to limit government. It appears President Obama has forgotten what this says. It says in the Constitution: “In order to form a more perfect Union….” Mr. President, that does not mean coddling out of control public employee unions. And Mr. President, Wisconsin does not need a lecture from somebody who’s never balanced a budget in his life.

Speaking of Wisconsin, will you join me in applauding Governor Walker for standing strong against overreaching unions?

Now, I’m not one who questions the existence of the President’s birth certificate. But, when you listen to his policies, don’t you at least wonder what planet he’s from? We don’t share President Obama’s worldview.

We don’t want a bigger government shoving mandates down our throats. He’s got it completely backwards. They, the bureaucrats, don’t tell us what to do. We, the people, tell the government what to do!

My friends, we need to restore American confidence and American optimism by restoring American common sense. As Washington proves time and time again, not everyone’s born or elected with common sense.

We need leaders who remember where they came from, and what made this nation the greatest country the world has ever known. For me, that real world experience started in my hometown of South St. Paul, Minnesota – a place filled with good-hearted people, strong families and the rock-solid values of the heartland.

When I grew up there, it was home to some of the world’s largest stockyards and meat-packing plants. But when those plants shut down, so did a big part of the spirit and soul of my hometown. My mom died when I was 16 and later, my dad, who worked for a trucking company, lost his job for a while.

The foundations of my hometown and my family were shaken hard. At a young age, I saw up close the face of challenge, the face of hardship, the face of job loss -- and I saw in the mirror -- the face of a very uncertain future. I know many Americans are feeling that way today. I know that feeling. I lived it.

But in those moments, we learn some things. We remember what’s important. We simply need more common sense, and less Obama non-sense.

And let’s start with this: It’s complex -- and I know there may be some liberals watching this -- so I’ll say it slowly so they can follow along: We can’t spend more than we take in.

You can’t do it as an individual, a family or a business. And we can’t let our government do it anymore! Just because we followed Greece into democracy, does not mean we should follow them into bankruptcy!

Big government spenders come with excuses. They say, ‘Oh, Governor, how do you do that? It’s too hard. The politics are difficult and the unions are too tough”. I know something about the spenders -- and I know something about difficult. I’m from the state of United States Senator Al Franken.

But we cut government in Minnesota. If we can do it there, we can do it anywhere. It wasn’t easy. I set a record for vetoes. Had the first government shutdown in Minnesota’s history. Took one of the longest transit strikes in the country’s history to get public employee benefits under control. And, I cut spending in real terms for the first time in the history of my state.

My friends, it’s time for the federal government to do the same. We should not raise the debt ceiling! We should pass a constitutional amendment to balance the budget! We should appoint judges who will not legislate from the bench. We must repeal Obamacare! And we must throw the ridiculous federal tax code overboard!

And let’s require, under penalty of perjury, every member of Congress to do their own tax returns without the help of a tax preparer, accountant or lawyer. Let them experience firsthand the mind-numbing, burdensome, frightening beast our tax system has become.
Do you remember the guy who ran in the NYC mayor’s race who ran his entire campaign on a simple motto: He said over and over: ‘The rent is too damn high’. So here’s our simple motto: ‘The Government’s too damn big!’

Americans need jobs, not more government-forced anything. The private sector, not government, is the answer to job creation. We shouldn’t ask Washington D.C. how to create jobs. We should ask the people who actually provide the jobs!
Their answer is clear and simple and it’s this: “Reduce my costs and get government off my back” Ladies and gentlemen, America needs job growth, not government growth!

My friends, none of this is going to be easy. If prosperity were easy, everybody around the world would be prosperous. If security were easy, everybody around the world would be secure. And if freedom were easy, everybody around the world would be free. They’re not.

It takes extraordinary effort. It takes extraordinary commitment. It takes extraordinary strength to stand up to those who oppose these principles. But we can do it.

Valley Forge wasn’t easy. Settling the West wasn’t easy. Winning World War II wasn’t easy. And Going to the moon wasn’t easy. This ain’t about easy. This is about rolling up our sleeves, plowing forward, and getting the job done.

This is our guide. This is our Constitution. ‘We, the People of the United States’ will rise up again. We will take back our government. This is our country.

Our Founding Fathers created it, Americans embraced it, Ronald Reagan personified it and Lincoln stood courageously to protect it. Now, as ever, ‘This nation, under God, shall have a new birth of freedom....” Our “government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth….” and America will remain the greatest country the world has ever known.

Thank you. God bless you. And God bless the United States of America. ####

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