Grant Bosse addresses NH College Republicans

Grant Bosse delivered a stirring speech Saturday night at the New Hampshire College Republican Convention Dinner.

History is made by those who show up. In the Fall of 2006, not many Republican voters showed up. I can’t blame them. The Republican Party, nationally and here in New Hampshire, gave them every reason to stay away.

For the past five years, I’ve worked for Senator John Sununu in his Washington office. During that time, I’ve seen a Republican Congress lose its way in a maze of earmarks and backroom deals. I’ve seen a Republican Congress more interested in holding onto power than in fulfilling its responsibilities.

We’ve seen a Congress unwilling to provide our troops with every tool and every advantage to complete their mission. We’ve seen a Congress unwilling to enforce our immigration laws. We’ve seen Federal spending grow uncontrolled, by a Congress that would rather buy your vote than earn your vote.

We’ve also seen a Democratic Congress adopt the same bad habits, and invent a few of their own. Just last month, Nancy Pelosi had to break House rules in order to pass a watered-down ethics bill. They cheated to pass the ethics bill. I didn’t think you could ever get away with that. But Nancy Pelosi and Paul Hodes said “Yes, We Can!”

I think we can do better. I’m running for Congress to return our federal government to its core priorities. We need to defend this nation from the threat of Islamic Fascism, an evil ideology that wants to bring a new Dark Age upon the world. We need to secure our borders, and make it easier to come to this country legally than illegally. We need to free an economy brought to the brink of recession by taxes, mandates, and overregulation. The American economy is the strongest engine of prosperity in history, and it can recover, as soon as Congress stops trying to help.

I was a College Republican on this campus back in 1994. We weren’t this organized, but we did have a group of Republican candidates willing to tell the American people what they stood for. They offered a Contract with America; to cut the deficit, to make government open and accountable, and to make Congress obey the same rules it imposes on the rest of us. And voters rewarded that message by electing the first Republican majority in the House of Representatives in two generations.

We can take back Congress again, but first we have to take back the Republican Party. We need candidates who refuse to participate in earmarking. We need candidates willing to stand up for free speech, free people, and free markets. Good enough is not good enough anymore. We deserve to be inspired by our candidates. You should demand to be inspired!

History is made by those who show up. You’ve shown up today. Let’s make history.