Monday, September 15, 2008

Palin solo in Carson City, Nevada: Transcript (9-13-08)

VP nominee Sarah Palin gave a speech by herself in Nevada on Saturday. Read the full transcript.

We're going to take our case for reform, that needed reform in DC to voters of every background in every party -- or no party at all. And with your vote, we're going to Washington, not embracing status- quo-politics-as-usual again, we're going to shake things up! (Cheers, applause.)

John McCain is a guy who has been through a few tough fights before. He wore the uniform of our country for 22 years -- (cheers) -- five of those years as a POW. He's served America in good times and in bad and he, like you, like me, always proud to be an American. (Cheers, applause.)

John McCain knows what it takes to overcome great challenges. And for the job of leading our country and winning the war, he is the only man in this race who's got what it takes. (Cheers, applause.) At a decisive moment in the course of the war, remember it was John McCain who refused to break faith with our troops who have now brought victory in Iraq right within sight! (Cheers, applause.)

And as the mother of one of those troops, that's exactly the kind of man I want as commander in chief. (Cheers, applause.)

I know I'm not the only one, either. I want to applaud our moms over here, the Blue Ribbon moms. Our hearts are united. Thank you so much for serving our country in your special way. Thank you, moms! (Cheers, applause.) Thank you! And our hearts are united.

Nevada, this is a moment when principles and political independence mean a heck of a lot more than a party line. John McCain doesn't run with the Washington herd. He's willing to shake things up in Washington, and that's why we need to take the maverick of the Senate and bring him to the White House! (Cheers, applause.)

Senator McCain has called the two of us a team of mavericks because he knows that we've done some shaking up up there in Alaska. As mayor, I shook up the old system and had to take on the good old boys. I reminded people there that government is not always the answer. In fact, too often, government is the problem! (Cheers, applause.) So we got back to basics, and we put government back on the side of the people.

What we did up there -- I eliminated taxes on personal property, and I eliminated taxes that were hurting our small businesses, like business inventory taxes. (Cheers, applause.) Property taxes were too high. We already had a sales tax. Property taxes were too high, so we cut rates every year that I was in office. And those reforms worked, and our community took off. Wonderful economic indicators of success when you let the people keep their own money! (Cheers, applause.)

As governor then, I brought the same agenda of positive change. We took on the old politics-as-usual in Juneau. The old oil company monopoly that had really controlled our state, we broke it. And the good-old-boy network of lobbyists and special interests that used to run things, whatever they're running now, it's not the state of Alaska! (Cheers, applause.) And nearly half a billion dollars in wasteful, excessive spending, well, that's what vetoes are for. (Cheers, applause.)

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