 The President of the United States. Yes! President Stachel, but I'm delighted that all of you could be here to see me. This is a special occasion for all of us. It gives you a chance to see the house that you worked so hard to put a conservative president in. And it gives me a chance. And it gives me a chance to meet and greet two groups that I can't always speak to directly. Let's start with a few facts about the fund for a conservative majority. The oldest of conservative political action groups, led by a dynamic and remarkable young conservative, Bob Heckman. My FCM spent more than a million and a half dollars last election year in an independent expenditure for the conservative candidate running for president. What was that? Well, I think you can guess who that grateful fella is. And it also spent five and a half million dollars in 140 races and tallied an impressive 70% winning record during the 83-84 election cycle. Yet even those numbers don't tell the whole story. For example, one of the most critical moments in the history of our movement came during Jesse Helms' 1984 reelection battle in North Carolina. Liberal groups from all over the country were pouring in millions of dollars to defeat Jesse. They saw in him a national symbol. They knew his defeat would mean a major setback for the right. So, in addition to everything else FCM did in 1983 and 84, FCM's friends of Jesse Helms was there at the critical moment, putting close to $400,000 into a TV ad blitz. And thanks in no small part to FCM Jesse came through with flying colors. And let me tell you about FCM's goal for 1986. Along with one of our most distinguished senators and good friends, Strom Thurmond, FCM has launched a one and a half million-dollar drive to, quote, save our conservative Senate, unquote. It's part of FCM's long-term goal, just as the name says, to give this nation a conservative majority in both houses of the Congress. And then, under Terry Dolan's extraordinary leadership, there's NICPAC. In 1980, NICPAC spent more than a million dollars on behalf of the conservative candidate for president. I was pretty grateful for that. Apparently they thought my feelings were a little hurt by the paltry sum because four years later, the figure was nearly $16 million. And it was a project called American Heroes for Reagan. And it included a film that some of you may remember. Well, now it's true that NICPAC has grown to be the largest political action group in the country, but as with FCM, the impressive statistics don't by themselves tell the whole story. NICPAC truly helped to revolutionize American politics. For many years, liberal senators and congressmen have been permitted a double standard. Many of them would come here to Washington and start voting to please those on the Georgetown Cocktail Circuit rather than the folks who elected them. But when it came election time, a reelection time, you can bet that many of them were back home, giving the most conservative speeches since Barry Goldwater's acceptance speech in 1964. Well, it was NICPAC through local groups and media campaigns that exposed the double standard and got the facts out about those voting records. And suddenly, the free ride for liberal congressmen was over. I think all of us can remember that tremendous glow we felt on election night in 1980 as we saw conservative senators and congressmen elected in the place of many of the most powerful liberal members of the Congress. Now it's true there were other factors, a national conservative trend, of course, and some attractive candidates on our side, but there could be little doubt that NICPAC changed the climate, that for the first time liberal senators and congressmen were being held for downs, and that our cause in America were the better for it. You know, a great many people still don't realize, and with another election coming up, that for 50 years there had only been a couple of times in those 50 years in which Republicans had both houses, in both houses had a majority. And for all of these last five years, and just those couple, there's been a majority in the house. And so we've really got a job to do, and I think it's one in which we can call on the people of this country to be fair and to look at. There must be something strange when in state after state, when they vote statewide, they elect Republican senators and Republican governors and vote for a Republican president, but when it's broken down into congressional districts, no, a majority of the voters in the last election voted for Republican candidates for the Congress, and a majority for the Democrats was elected with fewer votes than had voted Republican. I think in California the only good district they've left us is south of the border. But the revolution that NICPAC and FCM have caused in American politics continues. Since our first spending and tax cut initiatives of 1981, NICPAC and FCM have also mobilized tremendous support for our legislative agenda. Believe me, not a few liberal members of the Congress decided to vote our way on crucial bills after it was made clear that if they didn't see the light, your groups were certainly going to make them feel the heat. So just let me make two points here. A word of congratulations and thanks to the two young men who lead your remarkable organizations. Bob Heckman for your unselfish dedication to cause and country. And Terry Dolan for your selfless vision and heart in service of country. We thank you both. And I want both of you to know that the day is not far off when your individual contributions to American political history will be fully realized and appreciated. But knowing Bob and Terry as I do, I'm sure they'd be upset with me if I just left things at that. Because in their eyes the real heroes for Reagan, the real heroes of the conservative revolution are not here in Washington. They're out there in the real America, especially those like yourselves, who help keep the operations going and provide the means to reach those millions of small contributors. So let me also say a word to those of you in this room this evening. Many have enjoyed the blessings of this land and the life of freedom that comes with it. But very few have done as much as you to give something back, to say thank you to your country and to show America you love her. You thank me, but let me as your president today express my gratitude to you and salute you for your patriotism and selflessness. And as Bob and Terry will tell you, it's vital for you to keep up the good work. Politicians sometimes like to fundraise by drawing gloomy pictures of impending disaster, believing that this will inspire their audience to new heights of generosity. Well, I won't engage in scare tactics. The truth is that the situation over the long term has rarely looked brighter. And here at home our nation's economic strength is growing. Liberalism is on its last legs and internationally freedom and democracy are everywhere on the march even as the promises of communism now have that hollow tinny sound of the broken empty vessels of history even if one of them was given equal time to answer my speech last night on national television. As a matter of fact, things are looking so bright that if you haven't heard the news about the stock market today it closed up at 1714. But you see, that's the long term picture. Let me tell you candidly that I'm worried about the short term picture. The possibility that our movement might grow soft with victory and in a moment of dreadful folly throw away all that we've gained. And then believe me, it's back to ground zero. Back to picking up the pieces and starting, if not from scratch at least from a position of weakness. I'm talking of course about the upcoming elections and the importance of not only holding on to but increasing our conservative majority in the senate and then constructing a new conservative majority in the House of Representatives. Somebody in an interview asked me the other day what I wanted most and I got to thinking about it. Out of eight years as governor of California I only had a majority in the legislature one year and I've been here five and I've only had a majority in the one house I just wonder what it would be like to be president with a majority in both houses. Believe me, this year the liberals know its break point. And if they don't do well it's very likely that conservative candidates will start to dominate not just the Republican but the Democratic Party as well. And that everyone running for president in 1988 will be sounding conservative themes. And then the liberal hour will be over and their power will be gone for good. So the liberals are pulling out all the stops this year. They're going to try to reverse all that you and I have worked so hard to accomplish and the liberals know how close we are. One more push maybe and just maybe we're over the top. Think about it. Right now we've got some crucial votes coming up to the Congress that show thanks to people like ourselves and how much American politics has changed in the past few years. We've actually reached agreement on a plan that will eventually balance the federal budget and whoever would have thought a few years ago that that would be possible. And we've got a crucial vote coming up on support for the freedom fighters in Central America. Another sign that democracy is on a roll and the romance of revolution is now on the side of freedom not communism. On my recent trip a few days ago down to Grenada I met with nine heads of state of the nine tiny island Caribbean nations and they brought up to me and maybe with some concern that I might be weakening on this that we must continue what we're doing in Nicaragua because they said Nicaragua under that Sandinista government represents the biggest threat that they have ever faced in their nations and that they're lost if we don't keep on doing it. Well I told them as far as I'm concerned and a lot of others you bet we're going to keep on doing it. And on the freedom fighters vote let me just say I'm aware of what FCM and NICPAC are already doing to help in this but I can only tell each of you here today that every last bit of your support is needed. Think of the tremendous setback to communist expansionism that the return of democracy in Nicaragua would mean. Think of the impact it could have on the rest of the world and the hope it would let loose all across the globe. And think how happy we'd all be if they then had to plant ivy in those Soviet tanks they've accumulated down there. I urge each of you do all you can to make your views known in Washington. Help us further the cause of freedom. With your help we're going to keep it going. We're going to win the crucial victories of the next few months and years and we're going to end this decade with a new birth of freedom. One that will bring us close to bringing true mankind's age-old dream for freedom and peace among all the peoples of the world. And if sometimes you do get a little discouraged let me just tell you that one of the things that made me a little late was I've just been meeting with someone in my office over there. He hasn't made the final decision yet but I think he knows what the decision will be. It's a potential candidate for a retiring senator on the Republican side and this potential or this candidate for that potential Republican seat is a new Republican who just a short time ago was a Democratic congressman. And having been a Democrat myself I told him I said, you know, you didn't leave the party. Neither did I. We're still going the same direction we were always going. The party just turned off. And you notice that I did that this way. That was because that's to your left. But it's true, he was in his last days as a governor a very stalwart supporter of everything that we were trying to do here and finally he just figured he might as well make it completely honest and adopt the name as well as the philosophy. So he's now one of us and he'll be running for the Senate. Well, since he hasn't declared yet I'm not going to identify him. Then you'll know soon enough when he does finally make the statement and say yes. But listen, thank you all for being here. Thanks for all that you're doing and God bless all of you and we'll keep the faith here. Here is one of the greatest presidents we've had in the history of the United States and he will continue. Thank you very much.