I stood at a similar podium at the 1992 convention as part of the "Gang of Seven" - a group of legislators committed to reforming Congress after four decades of Democratic corruption.
I stand before you today in the same spirit of reform.
Republicans have come to St. Paul driven by our belief that country should come before politics, and government should serve the people -not the other way around.
Under the leadership of Senator John McCain and Governor Sarah Palin, Republicans are returning to our roots and reclaiming our mantle as the party of reform...the party America needs us to be.
Across America, families and small businesses today are struggling. Sky-high gas prices and soaring health costs are squeezing them from both ends.
We’re dangerously dependent on foreign oil, while radical jihadists lurk in the shadows, seeking our destruction.
At this time of anxiety, Americans are looking for solutions.
But when they look at the Democratic Congress, they see politicians more interested in taking care of themselves.
They see Congress adjourning for the summer without a vote on comprehensive energy reforms. They see Congress squandering their tax dollars on pork.
They see Democrats peddling the same old policies, destroying jobs and driving health costs through the roof: more lawsuits, more government, higher taxes. Washington today is broken. The Democratic Congress has become its symbol.
Before I handed Nancy Pelosi the gavel in January 2007, I warned of this. I said the value of a majority lies not in the opportunity to wield great power, but in the chance to use limited power to do great things for the people we serve.
The people sent a message in 2006: they reminded us that they’re in charge. Republicans listened to that message, and learned from it. Nancy Pelosi, Harry Reid and Barack Obama ignored it.
With John McCain, Republicans have fought for an "all-of-the-above" energy strategy to lower gas prices and end our dangerous dependence on foreign oil.
And when Nancy Pelosi sent Congress home last month without an energy vote, Republicans refused to leave. Congressman Thad McCotter of Michigan is back in the Capitol as I speak leading a group of our colleagues who are continuing our historic protest on the House floor.
With John McCain, we’ve called on Nancy Pelosi to stop the earmark process.
We’ve offered reforms to lower health costs by limiting junk lawsuits and putting patients back in charge.
We’ve funded our troops, giving them the tools they need to defeat freedom’s enemies and return home safely in victory.
Led by John McCain and Sarah Palin, Republicans are reclaiming our roots. We’re offering reforms that put our country’s priorities above those of Washington...bold solutions, rooted in our enduring principles.
America is the greatest nation on Earth, blessed with bountiful resources and resourceful people.
These are our greatest assets - and when we put our faith in them instead of bureaucracy, there is no challenge we cannot meet.
Working together, Republicans will win this election, and deliver the reforms the American people want and deserve.
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