I think that if we get back to some basic fundamental principles, we can make sure that we resolve the issues. And I think that that's what the Tea Party was all about. It's getting back to a constitutional conservative government. And that is limited, but it's also effective and efficient. I think that that's what we'll be able to do.

Conservatives understand that the power that binds our republic together is fierce independence held high on the shoulders of compassion.

Every year, thousands of Californians flee that populous paradise for tax-eased small government oasis of America's red states.

A person like myself, born and raised in the inner city of Atlanta, Georgia, to lower-middle-class parents. But I had the opportunity to get an education, to go and earn a commission in the United States Army, to serve for 22 years, to lead men and women in combat.

It was the Democrats who were against civil rights legislation

The great thing that I appreciate - the fact that my godfather, William 'Sticky' Jackson, was a Tuskegee Airman because my father was first born in Ozark, Alabama. The sacrifices and the commitment of those men made it possible for myself and many others.

For far too long we've allowed the other side to paint us as racist, as sexist, inhumane war mongers - well, today as a conservative black Republican and former soldier, I'm here to set that record straight.