WASHINGTON, Feb. 8 /Standard Newswire/ -- The following is U.S. Congressman Mike Pence's (R-IN) speech to Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC) this morning in Washington, D.C.:
Today I come to CPAC 2008 to speak not about conservatism's past, but its future. Because, despite the obituary that is being written for conservatism in this election, I believe this movement will define the Republican Party for generations to come.
And, as the theme of this conference attests, the future of freedom and the future of conservatism is forward.
We are past the time where we can indulge in woulda, coulda, shoulda. We must look forward.
Though the odds are still 50/50 on who the eventual Democratic nominee will be, the odds are 100 percent it will be a liberal: Hillary Clinton or Barack Obama.
And when I think of Hillary or Barack in the Oval Office, I have to tell you, I feel like that squirrel in the Super Bowl tire commercial.
Conservatives don't have to agree on everything. But we do need to agree on one thing: There cannot be a President Obama or another President Clinton in the White House.
I know some of you are considering sitting this one out. I understand. Our disappointments are deep, and they are legitimate. There are issues on which we are deeply divided. And the events of the past 24 hours have left many of you even more conflicted.
But not liking the choice is not the same as having no choice.
In this election, we will have a clear choice for the American people:
There will be a choice between a candidate who vows to defend this nation and support our military, and a candidate publicly committed to defeat, retreat, and appeasement.
There will be a choice between a candidate who promises fiscal restraint and lower taxes; and a candidate who fervently vows to take more and spend more.
There will be a choice between a candidate who promises to protect and defend the sanctity of human life and one who will work every day to promote abortion on demand at home and abroad.
Those are the stakes.
Men and women of the conservative movement, we stand on the precipice of a national election that will define America's place in the world, the federal government's place in our lives and the very nature of life and family.
As this national contest begins anew, conservatives need to renew our commitment to the American ideals that have become ours alone to defend.
This movement and our candidates must stand for life and liberty and limited government
And make no mistake about it, the future of conservatism begins with a commitment to the unalienable right to life. Without the right to life there is no right to liberty or property.
Our candidate must be willing to stand for the unborn and commit to appointing justices to the Supreme Court who will consign Roe v. Wade to the ash heap of history.
And our candidates must be willing to deny federal funding to any organization that promotes abortion at home and abroad. The largest abortion provider in America should not also be the largest recipient of federal funding under Title X. It is time to end all federal funding to Planned Parenthood of America.
And the future of conservatism demands that we be willing to fiercely defend our liberties at home and abroad. Whether the national media will ever admit it, freedom is winning in Iraq. The Democrats have a new strategy. They have added denial to their agenda of retreat and defeat.
Our candidates must take the fight over Iraq to the opposition and tell the American people the truth. Thanks to our Commander in Chief and tens of thousands of our men and women in uniform, the surge is working, Al Qaeda is on the run, and Operation Iraqi Freedom is a widening American success.
And the future of conservatism demands that we stand for the traditional definition of marriage. Marriage was ordained by God and instituted in law. It is the glue of the American family and the safest harbor to raise children. Conservatives must defend traditional marriage by passing the Federal Marriage Amendment.
And the future of conservatism demands that we oppose censorship, whether it takes the form of the so-called Fairness Doctrine or takes the form of Campaign Finance Reform. Our freedom to speak and listen to who we want when we want is a blood-bought American right. We must not permit the Democrats to bring back the so-called Fairness Doctrine.
Talk radio makes up the signal battalion of our movement. As Democrats pledge to return censorship to the airwaves of America, conservatives should know the next President of the United States can restore the so-called Fairness Doctrine without an act of Congress. Our candidates must stand for freedom, reject the censorship of the left and commit to end the Fairness Doctrine once and for all
And the future of conservatism demands that we renew our commitment to limited government, fiscal discipline and reform. Our candidates must expose the Democrats’ plan to pass the largest tax increase in American history, explode government spending and over-regulate our economy in the name of climate change.
As we expose their big government plans, we must rededicate ourselves to a balanced federal budget that lives within its means by instituting spending discipline and pro-growth tax relief. We must renew our commitment to limited government by embracing entitlement reform built on Lincoln's adage that government not do for a man what he can and should do for himse
