politico.com, Thursday May 6th
Extract from Liz Clark's speech in Austin, TX
Firstly thank you, President Walken and Mrs. Walken, for selecting me for this tremendous honor. I am honored to be chosen as your running mate. It will be my honor to serve next to the next president of the United States.
There is no doubt that when making this decision you have had a wealth of great men and women, all great patriots and Republicans whom you could have chosen. To all of the other people considered I’d like to say thanks for serving your country.
There are a lot of people I need to thank. I’ve got to start by thanking my husband Harry and our children Tom and Rebecca who are all here today. They are my strength and without them none of this would be possible.
I was born right here in Texas, and I’ve been a Texas girl all my life. All my life I’ve fought to serve the people of this great state, and the people of America.
In 1992, at the age of 32 I gave up a good job to become Mayor of my home town, Jasper. It’s a decision that has shaped my life ever since. During my time as Mayor I saw the good that government could do by freeing up the people to make decisions, to spend their own money and take their local area forward. I learned then and I still believe today that America is the greatest country in the world and its greatness is born through the American people’s ingenuity and imagination.
In the time since I was a Mayor I have held numerous positions in the private and the public sector and obviously for the past eight years I’ve had the honor of serving this great state in the US Senate. During my time in the Senate I have seen clearly the damage caused by 12 years of Democratic Presidents. We now see a broken economy, an immigration system in desperate need of reform, small business mired in red tape, an education system getting worse by the day as the President refused to tackle the teachers unions and two wars where we lacked strategy and direction from day one.
This country needs to change direction, and it needs to do it now. In November you’ll get the chance to vote for a true leader, you can elect Glen Walken as President of the United States.
You’ll hear a lot of people say that its safer in politics to avoid change, to just go along with the status quo. I didn't get into government to do the safe and easy things, I know Glen Walken didn’t. A ship in harbor is safe, but that's not why the ship is built. Politics isn't just a game of competing interests and clashing parties. The people of America expect us to seek public office and to serve for the right reasons. And the right reason is to challenge the status quo and to serve the common good.
This is a moment that requires resolve and toughness and decisiveness in the American president. And my running mate is a man who has shown that in testing times he’s made of the right stuff
I will make sure that throughout this campaign the American people see the comparison of strength and leadership against dither and lack of direction. They’ll see a ticket that believes in the American people and wants government out of people’s pockets and one that wants a bigger government to take over healthcare to regulate small businesses to the point of bankruptcy and that will see America lose it’s standing in the world.
This is a moment when great causes can be won and great threats overcome, depending on the judgment of our next president.
I like all of you can’t ignore the historical nature of my presence on this ticket. As the first woman to seek this job I can’t pretend not to be humbled by the responsibility. For anyone who doubts the American dream, for anyone who says that you can’t be everything you strive for because of class, gender or race I say that trust in this country and anything is possible.
So for my part, the road from here is clear. From now until November we must travel to every corner of this country, we will make a compelling case for a change in the White House and we will show the people what can be achieved in this country by freeing the people from government intervention.
My fellow Americans, the stakes could not be higher. I ask you all to join our cause and help our country to elect a great man the next president of the United States, to elect Glen Walken as President of the United States. Thank you all. God bless you and God bless America. Thank you.
