#DAD09 - Tim Phillips, AFP president

Tim Phillips, as president of AFP Foundation, is the first speaker with introductions...

* greets audience as fellow community organizers...thanks everyone for all they're doing in fighting for liberty in these challenging times

* what audience is doing today is exactly what AFP founders envisioned when they formed the organization - grassroots activism.

* talking about cap-and-trade, more familiarly known as cap-and-tax, and how the proposals in Congress are all about rationing and letting politicians pick the winners and losers in terms of which energy sources should be utilized by the public. All energy sources should be pursued...

* utility rates will increase if cap-and-tax passes - and families all across the country are opposed to this and do not understand why politicians will support bills that would raise energy costs..."We're not going to let that happen."

* under their scheme, they will ration energy - cap the amount of energy - and then have the government create a 'market' to trade energy emissions...how can we even remotely trust them to do something so complicated when they couldn't even run the cash-for-clunkers program without problems...

* then there are earmarks and special funding for all their friends - can you imagine the pork when it comes to energy for the entire nation??? Phil Kerpen will talk more about this topic later in the morning.

* another issue is card check - how unimaginable is it that unions are trying to use legislative power to take away the secret ballot from American workers. "We're not going to let that happen."

* witnessed first-hand the thuggery of unions when they traveled to Pittsburgh and other cities in Pennsylvania, as they tried to intimidate people attending their rallies. AFP wasn't going to cave to that, but imagine if you're a lone worker on a factory floor - how easy will it be for their intimidation to be effective, especially when the unions can show up at your homes for this purpose... "We're going to win on card-check."

* talking about Michael Moore and his latest movie ... if he hates capitalism so much, will he give away all the millions his movies is projected to make???

* talking about states like Michigan and California and New Jersey. MI hasn't had positive job growth in decades, California financial ruin...the same people and the same policies that resulted in the decline of those states want to bring their ruin to the rest of the nation. "We're not going to let that happen."

* complimenting AFP organizations in those states...very optimistic about turning around the states and winning the legislative battles. Challenge: make sure our successes in the summer continue through the end of the year...the other side will try to drag out the battle, hoping we'll lose interest or give up. "We're not going to let that happen."

* Story of attending a dinner honoring the living recipients of the Congressional Medal of Honor, the nation's highest award...struck by the humility of the individuals and how they always talked about those who didn't come home. He thanked one of the recipients...who told him that he got the medal for one day's action, but that he was most proud of the fighting he did for the next year, all across Europe.

* "Let's fight hard for freedom every day."

* Introducing Newt Gingrich