RightOnLine - Opening Session

Rough notes from the various speakers - apologies for typos:

Melissa Clouthier - @Melissa Tweets:
* I was asked to tell my story...

* I was a blogger and, in the beginning, I had a lot of very long posts with no comments. Attended the first RightOnLine in Texas and got to meet a lot of new people and learned a lot of good things.

* after the conference, I was overwhelmed and thought that there was no way I could implement the things I learned, but started a Twitter account and decided that Twitter could make a difference - it was the way we could help shape the argument and reach people directly.

* attended more conferences and continued to learn new things at each one.

* there is too much that we have to get done and we don't have enough people doing these types of events and implementing what they learn to keep an eye on government.

* saw that there are a lot of young people in this movement, working to make a difference and take our country back.

* with Twitter, you can cover things others don't - the Weiner issue is a prime example.

* I'm just a mom with three kids - and I can do this. If I can do this, so can you.

* Age is not a barrier - talking about Erik Telford with AFP who started RightOnLine and was just named a rising star by Politics and Elections. She presented him with a plaque for service to the conservative movement for building a blogger and activist community.

Ann McElhinney - producer of movie "Not Evil Just Wrong"

* describes herself as a 'recovering European' ... and an immigrant doing jobs ordinary Americans won't do...

* Conservatives in Name Only: CINOs (si-nos) We need to watch for them and be as aware of them as possible...

* Litmus test:
- they think we should subsidize industries - any industry, regardless
- they think humans control the weather
- they think we should use not resources in Alaska
- they think we shouldn't drill in the Gulf, the ocean or on land
- thinks it's okay to terrorize school children with the idea that the world is about to end
- anyone who talks nonsense about fracking
- anyone who thinks you can power the American dream with the wind or the sun is a CINO - they're probably certifiable, but they're definitely a CINO
(feminists should support all energy - the pill didn't liberate women - the washing machine did ... and it's a human rights abuse to deprive women of a washing machine)

* when we came to America, we were told Conservatives were obsessed with the bedroom. Found that liberals are obsessed with everything else - the bathroom, the living room, your washing machine, your light bulbs, your car - everything!

* CINOs are in favor of regulating my light bulbs.

* Quoted Charleton Heston - out of my cold dead hands, they'll take that light bulb.

John Hinderaker, PowerLineBlog.com

* MN is his home state and says we're here at the right time.

* We're gathered here at a critical time in our nation's history. Massive debt, IMF just issued a warning on debt crises and Dems didn't do a budget, abdicating their statutory responsibility.

* his blog played a role in the Rathergate scandal - and the blog is what they do in their spare time. He shares this to show that persistence plays off.

* wants to influence the debate on federal spending: PowerLine prize contest - offering a $100,000 cash prize to whomever comes up with the most effective and creative message to highlight the financial crisis. Powerlineprize.com is the website with rules and more information. Contest ends July 15.

* message needs to appeal to young people - if young people knew what the impact would be on them, they'd be protesting in the streets.

* want to display the winning entries and award the first prize live on TV.

* found it was astonishing easy to raise the money for the prize. Contest is a good example of the effectiveness of grass roots as it's been advertised only on-line and conservative radio.

Sen. Ron Johnson, WI (video)

* important and consequential moment in our nation's history ... face the most serious threat ever: national bankruptcy.

* need to come together to ramp up the pressure on Washington to address the fiscal crisis.

* spent 31 years building a plastics company with an educational background in accounting and finance. As business owner, I did it all - I'm not unusual. Every day, millions of small business owners do exactly the same thing - they live by the rules and live within their means. Why can't Washington do the same?

* Washington seems like a foreign universe - things don't make sense here. How can they not recognize the problem? The don't understand that the solution to too much debt is not more debt.

* The problem is spending - and we need to stop the spending and tear up the credit cards.

* While Washington doesn't understand this, the majority of Americans do, which is why we saw the 2010 elections. 2012 needs to see the same thing. With your help, we can address the pressing problem of spending and leave a prosperous nation to our children and grandchildren.

Rep. Marsha Blackburn, Tennessee

* This is a critical time in our nation's history - if we are going to endure it, one of the keys is the energy and enthusiasm of conservative values in the country.

* you share my fear that America will cease to be what American has been - that, for the first time, our children and grandchildren will not have the liberty we enjoyed.

* this is a worthy fight ... our greatest challenge is probably the lease understood.

* We need to defend conservative values in the technology sector...

* innocent-sounding terms like 'net neutrality,' 'data sharing' are the words used for control - we must stop them.

* Our liberal friends like to say that Pres. Obama has 'turned the country around' and I like to say he's turned it upside down. He's moved industries from the board room to the government room - they're not innovating, they're not hiring, but are becoming more and more addicted to government spending.

* Pres. Obama and his experts are without any real world business experience, but they're making decisions for businesses.

* We're in real peril of not being the economic engine of the next century, like we've been in the past. Even the military says that the #1 threat to our nation is our debt. It jeopardizes the promise that every generation has made to leave the country in better shape that we received it.

* Technology and virtual marketplace are leading the way in our economy from an industrial economy to a technology economy. The corporate headquarters of the new economy is not in the West Wing, but in the homes and garages of entrepreneurs located all across the country.

* Julius Jenikowski (sp?) - was sent to FCC to nationalize the Internet. Liberals have been after the Internet since it was invented. They did tremendous work in converting traditional conservative allies and convincing them to betray values like the free marketplace of the Internet.

* FCC is sinking its fangs into the most vibrant sector of our economy - taking codes and regulations that were written for Morse code and applying them to .com's. They are the biggest expansion of regulatory authority ever - and they're not chartered for this.

* Without evidence, they want you to believe that Internet companies born online can only continue to innovate and prosper under government control.

* After 7 months, they've still not published the new net neutrality rules so we can see what they are. The Republican senators have pledged to vote against Net Neutrality. They cannot filibuster this and they only need 4 Democrat senators to defeat Net Neutrality.

* While we have this facing us, they're up to no good with new regulations - the next target is the wireless industry. The FCC has declared the wireless marketplace 'uncompetitive,' taking us down the path to more government regulation.

* they contend that more government regulation begets competition. They say that two providers in a market equals competition, but with more than four providers in the wireless market in just about every area, they have said that this is non-competitive. They want pre-approval on all new Internet applications.

* same as saying - you can open a store, but we get to pre-approve your prices, your advertising, your products and your impact on your future competitor across the street. That is what the FCC is planning to do with their new regulations.

* no matter what Pres. Obama does, if Congress will finally decides the FCC has no authority over the Internet, it will be a fatal blow to a barrier-free market and leading economic driver.

* Continues to emphasize that they only need 4 senators to vote with them to finally defeat this measure - close, but up to you to provide the critical element in getting 4 senators to vote correctly.