Gov. Bob McDonnell, Chairman of the Committee on Resolutions (aka “Platform Committee), delivered these remarks in favor of adopting the GOP Platform:
Fellow delegates, Mr. Chairman,
It’s been an honor to chair the deliberations of your Committee on Resolutions of the Republican Platform Committee. I appreciate the diligent work of the 112 men and women from 50 states and six territories who served on that Committee. They discussed, debated, and delivered. It was a good team.
I want to thank my co-chairs, Sen. John Hoeven of North Dakota and Congresswoman Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee. And I thank the staff of the RNC who conducted countless meetings and conference calls to compose this document.
We have outlined a conservative vision of governance; a document that is many things—an indictment, a blueprint and a declaration of values. It is an invitation and a pledge.
First, it is an indictment of the failed policies of the current Administration’s record of debt, job losses, and government overreach.
More importantly, our platform is a blueprint for rebuilding the cherished American Dream. It is an overview of our conservative principles and detailed policies for how we jumpstart economic growth and job creation.
This ambitious blueprint projects a sea change in the way government works.
It offers solutions for workers without jobs, families without savings, and neighborhoods without hope.
This platform addresses the elderly who are worried about Medicare.
It tells the truth about Obamacare and the need to repeal and replace it.
This blueprint lays out a bold agenda for government reform—a government that operates to serve the people better at less cost.
States are going to take center stage in the long overdue renewal of American society.
By reclaiming management of education.
By reforming Medicaid and welfare programs.
By managing environmental problems locally.
By enacting a comprehensive energy policy.
This platform affirms the traditional meaning of marriage and the sanctity of human life, defends religious freedom and 2nd Amendment rights, and calls for a balanced budget amendment.
This platform is an invitation. It invites every American to consider what kind of country we want to be. An America where every person matters, every worker has an opportunity to work, and every family can aspire to a better future.
We invite Americans to consider this platform: a call for dramatic change in government, from stagnation to prosperity, from an entitlement society to an opportunity society.
This platform is a pledge. We will restore American leadership in the world and honor our courageous men and women in uniform. We will stand by our friends and stand against those who dare to harm us.
That is your platform. I urge its adoption.
The platform was overwhelming adopted by a voice vote. View the platform.
