Transcripts For CSPAN3 The 20240703

Now move on to our featured address. Introducing our speaker today is richard hough. Mr. Huff is the and chief executive officer of silvercrest asset management. Prior to joining silvercrest mr. Have worked as a policy analyst and was Founding National Program Director of the childrens scholarship fund. Mr. Huff is a trustee of the Coolidge Foundation and he chairs boards of the National Civic arts society and the institute for family studies. Ladies and gentlemen, please me and welcome richard to the stage. Thank you so much. As we gather to honor one of our nations greatest leaders, Calvin Coolidge, im privileged, introduce a distinguished leader and servant, the great 33rd governor of south dakota, kristi noem. President coolidge, a man, great character and integrity, a belief in limited government, individual liberty and Economic Prosperity for all. As moral imperative. Governor noems leadership the same principles like president coolidge, governor noem has demonstrated a remarkable sense of responsibility, integrity and determination. Her dedication to upholding the rule of law and protecting the rights and freedoms of her constituents testify to her unwavering commitment to the principles that have made our country great. We heard yesterday about how then Massachusetts Governor coolidge undertook progressive practical reforms to care for the working conditions of men and women their social standing and their communities. Families. His principles were grounded in the hills of vermont, where his family were small owners, farmers and community servants. Governor nomes belief in the inherent god given dignity of the people of south dakota, their families and community. Spring from similar plains from a similar lessens growing up on a farm on the plains of. South dakota as a rancher farmer and Small Business owner. Governor nomes recent book, not my first rodeo lessons from heartland. Unusually tells the story of her family, a community, not politics but marked by love as well as tragedy. Governor nome makes a nonpolitical payoff to south dakota full gratitude for his sense of duty, devotion toward her family and community. No surprise, then, that the governor, like coolidge, has successfully taxes low, limited government regulation and intrusion and fought to keep government open and honest, all of which have helped people recover, grow the economy and develop their workforce. Governor has respected the rights of her people by trusting them, trusting them to exercise personal responsibility to make the right decisions or best decisions for themselves, their loved ones, and in turn, their communities. Governor noem stood apart the crowd when she protected vulnerable populations while keeping the lifeblood of businesses and schools open. Governor noem has faith in south and its people. Someone got that right. That faith was reciprocated when governor noem was reelected with the largest vote total in the history of south dakota last year. And becoming the Massachusetts Senate president. Coolidge delivered, his famous faith in massachusetts, saying men do not make laws. They do, but discover them. Laws must be justified by something more than the will of the majority. They must rest on the Eternal Foundation of righteousness. Governor noem leads a state that captures the spirit of western independence with the humble moral framework of its state under god. The people rule. I cannot help but know that one popular president , the Green Mountains of vermont, announced while in the black hills of south dakota that he chooses not to run. Perhaps a governor in south dakota will choose otherwise. Thank you, governor, for your leadership, for your service to our country, and for being a shining example of the american spirit that coolidge deeply embodied. Lets give a warm welcome to governor kristi noem, a leader making difference for the people of south dakota, and by her example, all americans. Well, good afternoon. Its wonderful to be with all of you. Thank you for inviting me to participate in your meetings and your luncheon today to speak about a wonderful man who loved this country and served with humbleness and, keeping his focus on people. My name is kristi noem and i am the governor of south. I know that some get confused about that. For those of you who dont know the difference between south north dakota. North dakota has the oil. So south dakota has mt. Rushmore. So i still think we got the better end of deal. We are thrilled about being the home of mt. Rushmore and. We are very proud of men on that monument. But recognize there could be another face up there as well. I want to thank for inviting me to be here with all of you today. Late last year came to south dakota and gave a very inspirational talk. My staff and to my cabinet and then also gave some remarks at a local university about president coolidge and also just about serving this country and, how important history is and our knowledge of it to our purpose, preserving our of life. I hope that i can read just a little bit as inspiring as she was when she made her to south dakota. I also my husband, brian, who is with me here today, he is the first first gentleman of south dakota. So you would welcome him as. Well. I also have some other staff thats with me, my chief of staff is here. Mark miller and his wife, mindy. And and madison are with me as. Well. I also have someone here thats very special to me, a friend of mine, but someone who, when i served in congress for seven years, served as my chief of staff, but then he quit me. He wasnt going come back to south dakota when i ran for, so i still like to talk to him. The fact that he didnt hang with me when i made a switch. But jordan strike was a phenomenal chief of staff when i served here in congress. Id like to recognize him as well for being today. Im here today to talk to you about a president whose face is not on Mount Rushmore, although some think he should be. Were all here to celebrate 100th anniversary of Calvin Coolidge as presidency. And believe it or not, hes one of the biggest reasons why were able to enjoy Mount Rushmore today. One of the things that i love about president coolidge is that even though he was from the east coast, he understood the american farmer. He once stated that agriculture, a position in this country that, it was never before able to anywhere else on earth. Now, what does that mean . He recognized that in america we dont only grow our own food, that we grow the worlds food to the eastern half of south dakota is part of the great and the great plains is the most productive farmland in the world. In the months just our full harvest, our crops actually produce more oxygen than the amazon forest in south. We do truly produce the food and its the safest, most affordable food supply that can be generated anywhere in the world. We it better than anyone else as well. Its amazing how often that im able to apply the lessons i learned on the farm growing up to leadership and to politics. I think most of you know, ive spent my life and ranching in south dakota in the northeastern part portion of the state with our family. Now, my dad consistently was a tough man. I tell people all the time he was a cowboy. In fact, he would us up in the mornings by yelling up the stairs, get up more people, die in bed than anywhere else. I always wondered that was really true and but, you know, he also told us all the time, we dont complain about things in our family, fix them. And that was a big for me to always be solving and to be looking for solutions. He was a man who insisted that his children walk behind him and follow him. When we our days work that we had to stay beside him. And he walked fast. So most of the time he would have us four children running alongside of him, trying to keep up with all the tasks that he was assigning us each day. I remember one day we were out fixing and i was probably ten or 11 years old and we were building fence and pounding posts in the ground. And he turned to me and he said, wheres post pounder . Wheres the postman . And i looked at him and i said, its in the pickup. He said, well go get. And i could tell he was mad at me. I ran to the pickup. I got the postman. I came running back him. And as i handed it to him, he looked at me and pointed his finger, my face, and he said, you should know what i need before i know i need . I couldnt figure out that meant how on the world was i ever to know what he needed before he knew what he needed . But over the years, i learned what he was trying to do was teach us children to think ahead, to always be strategic, to see what he would need three steps before he actually needed to be efficient to make that things went smoothly and we could get our work done faster. We had to work hard, but we always had to work smart as well. You know, really is the american dream. If you do those things, you will successful. And throughout history, america has been great because we have the freedom to work both hard but also smart. Thats the American Work ethic. We must every day advance freedom. And that work ethic. If we hope to continue preserving greatest nation in history. On labor day in 1924, president coolidge, a powerful speech about importance of the American Work ethic. At the time, no other nation had ever celebrated labor day before. Coolidge pointed out that it was a uniquely american holiday. He began speech by saying, i cant think of any american man or woman preeminent in the history of our nation who did not reach their place through toil. I cant think of anything that the American People so as honest work. He reminded his audience that we never had a government under our that was not put into office by the votes of the toilers. He knew that working american men and women were the ones who drove our nations destiny. I couldnt agree more. But today, our nation is beginning to lose sight of that work ethic. The Current Administration here in washington is pursuing welfare policies that could be accurately described as europe style socialism. President coolidge warned about this, his labor day speech, too, when he i do not need to import any foreign economic ideas or, any foreign government. We better stick to the american brand of government, the american brand of equality and the american brand of wages. America had better american president coolidge would be dismayed if he saw the state that American Labor was in 99 years later, particularly this postcovid america, our nations Labor Force Participation rate. Its reaching dangerous lows. Not enough adults are working. And this is a trend that he that has continued for decades. But it really escalated during this covid pandemic. In january of 2020, our nations Labor Force Participation rate was 63. 6 . And it had been steadily dropping for years. By april 20, 20. Just three months later, added plummeted to 60. 1 . Its risen since, but it still is only back to 62. 4 . I know thats a lot of numbers that im throwing out to you, but what do they actually mean . They mean that the American People have not gotten back to work since the pandemic. Extended Unemployment Benefits, greater access to government welfare have led to Many Americans deciding stay home and to collect a government. Thats the story across this country. But meanwhile a great postpandemic phenomenon known as the Great Resignation also swept the country. A Record Number of americans have quit their jobs and this has led to the most job openings that our country has seen in history. Businesses cant find enough employees that they need, which leads to a decline in customer service, which to frustrated customers, which to more people quitting because of their negative workplace environment. It is a vicious cycle. The Bureau Labor Statistics indicates that the recent quit rates are too high to be explained solely by labor market tightening. Something else is going on, but the labor they the experts out there, they didnt offer an explanation as to what it actually might be thats causing this. Heres what i believe is the cause. Today, the federal government has made it far too easy, for the American People to get on government. Increased Unemployment Benefits. You have renters assistance. Folks that are continuing to receive medicaid even after theyve risen above the income level requirements. All of these promote a culture of complacency, a culture believes that the bare minimum is enough. A culture that no longer focuses on the importance of hard work. So today i want to talk to you about what president coolidges example was and also south dakotas example. Together, these two can figure help us figure out exactly what america to do, to focus again on work ethic. And hopefully we can get our nation on track. Now, president coolidge implicitly understood the value of hard work. He once said all growth depends on activity. Life is only manifest by action. Theres no development or intellectually without effort. Effort means work. Coolidges family has, a long history of hard work and respect. American freedom. His great, great grandfather was a military officer in the continental army. He served the revolutionary war. And president coolidge was a hard worker himself. And he was a man of few words. I think all of us know that he let his actions speak for himself. He succeeded academically and also in his debate classes. And he graduated honors from Amherst College and became country lawyer in massachusetts. He practiced commercial law because didnt want to spend all of his time in a classroom or in a courtroom. But he also gained a reputation as being someone who always showed up the hard jobs. When he got in politics, he worked hard at that, too, and was elected to the City Committee in north hampton. Then he was elected city solicitor. You know, all of these items on his resume. But you also know that when he lost that role, he was appointed to the clerk of courts. By 1909, at the age of 36. He was the mayor of north hampton. And for a man who was born on the 4th of july, its fitting that he his next 20 years in Public Service over that period of 20 years, he would reelected mayor. State senator. President of the senate. The Lieutenant Governor of massachusetts. Then vice of the United States. Took over the presidency after the death president harding. And then was elected president on his own merit. Im not here today just to you. A step by step of president coolidges political biography. You can get that reading a book. And ive got a good book that i could recommend, miss amity. But there is a point here in. Calvin coolidge, as decades of Public Service, he never settled. He never said good enough. He continuously looked for new opportunities to lead. He worked hard, earn every single one of those positions. And when he did, he didnt go along to get along. He didnt take the easy path. And he often made unpopular decisions or went against the political grain to make sure that right thing was done and that he believed in what needed to be done. When he became president , america was still very recovering from a world war. But he didnt wallow in that. He drove america forward, always looking to see what challenges may be on the horizon. In president coolidges first annual message to what we might call his first state of the union speech, he had the foresight to draw to several issues that would become much serious as our nations history went on. He pointed out to the new communist in russia, which america would with for decades and violations against the cherished rights of humanity. He discussed the cost of the federal debt, which at the time was it was only 7. 2 billion. What i wouldnt give to get back to a situation where that was the debt that our country owed. He would be the last president to actually the size of federal government. And let me tell you that does commitment and hard work. In fact during coolidge as president he actually cut the overall debt by about 40 . And he did it while cutting taxes for American People as congress and the president debate about what they should do about our federal today. They should look to his example, president coolidge stood for the equality of all people before it was even popular to so. And he repeatedly argued in his annual messages to congress that we must extend to all americans the elements of equal opportunity and equal protection under the law. He denounced the crime of that was too common at that time. And he did not do this because was easy. If it was, then civil rights legislation would have passed sooner. He stood for because it was the right thing to do. Calvin coolidge leadership would be the catalyst for. The Roaring Twenties considered by to be one of the greatest periods prosperity in american history. He recognized that taxes were really a moral issue, stating that the power of a certain amount of to take a certain amount of property or income is only another way of saying that the citizen must work for a certain portion of time for the government. Its a good reminder to all elected today that all taxpayer dollars belong to the people. Coolidge did his job even when he didnt like it. He was personally opposed to prohibition, but he faithfully enforced laws of the nation. It was his and he exercised his duty as a and as a representative of American People. He didnt just talk work ethic. He lived and he led by his example. So thats how i tried to do my job. Governor of south dakota, to lead to live by example, to work hard. Now, most of you in this room probably even know who i was three years ago. Did you . Probably first started to hear about me when were kicking me in the head on the National News every night for the decisions that i was making in south dakota. You heard about me at the beginning of the covid pandemic because. People disagreed with the fact that i wasnt shutting south dakota down. You know, in many ways during that time, i what every other governor doing. I studied science and the data, the facts, all that i possibly could to help protect people. I was on Conference Calls with other governors with epidemiologists, with health experts, trying to learn information about virus and what we could use for mitigation. But i took it a step further than most of those other governors did, too. I spent a lot of time with my general counsel, with constitutional who to really find out what my authority was, governor, what authority . I didnt as governor because i believed that when governors and when leaders overstep their authority in a time of crisis, that when we break this country. The fact is, is did not have the authority to issue mandates or lockdowns. We respected the constitution. We respected the foundation. And the liberty that our nation was built on. The greatest american foundational is freedom. Our experiment in selfgovernment. I trusted my people in south dakota to exercise personal, to make the best decisions themselves and for their families. We did not lock my people down and we did not mandate anything in our state. In fact, at end of the day, i was the only governor in the country, never once ordered a single business or church to close. I didnt even define what an essential business was or wasnt because i dont believe that governors have the authority to tell businesses that they are an essential. We gave south dakotans the freedom to work when President Trump offered those elevated Unemployment Benefits to the rest of the country. I was the only governor in the country who said. Thank you, mr. President , for that flexibility. But no thanks. Our people want to work the very next week, our unemployment claims dropped in half and people were earlier i was talking about those labor statistics and the participation. It dropped to 60. 1 during the pandemic and it didnt fully recover. Today, its south dakotas labor force. Participation rate is 68. 3 , far above. The rest of the nation. And we dont have more working age adults in south dakota. Fact, south dakota has a higher share of seniors, citizens and the nation as a whole. Its that our people recognize value of work, of serving each, getting up every day and having a purpose. And they appreciate having leaders who emphasize for them, too. When members of congress are asked why south dakota wasnt spending our federal renters assistance money that they sent out the federal government. I replied back those members of congress that south dakota renters enjoy something even better than government handouts, a job. And then we returned to 81 million in renters assistance money back the federal government. South dakota came out of the pandemic with the strongest economy. America. We have the fastest rising incomes in the country. We have the fastest increase in new housing developments. And our children are outperforming students than any other state in the classrooms as well. Today, our population is growing at five times the national average. And remember, south dakota doesnt have beaches or beautiful januarys to recruit people to come and live with us. The reason people move to south is because they want freedom. The people picked up their lives across this country when they heard our story and they moved their families and their business to our state. Were breaking records every single year for tourism because year after year weve told story and people wanted to come and see what this freedom looked like. Our state revenues are so strong year that im ready to deliver the largest tax cut in state history. Our people that live in south dakota, that is south dakota story. Our state has the best state motto in the nation under god. The people rule. But that could as well be a National Motto as well. In america, we are not we will not be ruled by a class of socalled elite experts. We the people are the. But in a lot of ways, its a story that is just getting started. We gained the nations attention during the pandemic. We set an example of freedom for the rest of the country. And i hope that south dakota can continue to set an example the rest of the nation, when it comes to work as well. It would have been easier for me to follow the crowd definitely and to shut down our state. It would have been easier for me to tell dakotans to stay home. Dont go work, rely on the government to get by. But did not do what was easy. We worked hard and we did it together as president. Coolidge said, i cannot think of anything that represents the American People adequately as honest. When you think of south dakota, you may think of freedom, but you also might be thinking of Rolling Fields of corn and soybeans. You might think of Mount Rushmore or the beautiful black hills. If you cant picture them right now, you should probably come us real soon. You might not think president Calvin Coolidge in south dakota, but you should as well. It was in 1927 that president Calvin Coolidge spent his entire summer in south dakota. He had planned to only spend three weeks with us, but he loved it so much that he ended up spending three months in our state. At the time, there was a man that was hard at work working to carve on a mountain. President coolidge visited mt. Rushmore that even though got some borglum would not complete his work at mt. Rushmore for another 14 years. The famously frugal coolidge even promised federal funding the project. He saw what it could become stating that this will be another National Shrine to future generations to repair, to declare continuing allegiance to independence, to selfgovernment, to freedom and to economic justice. Later in that same speech, talked about south dakotans to he said, the people of south dakota are taking the lead in the preparation of this memorial out of their meager because the american spirit is strong among them. I could not agree more president coolidge is summer white house. That year was the State Game Lodge Custer State Park. I cant blame him for that at all. It is my favorite place in the world. I love state park. The sweeping hills are home to thundering of bison. Maybe youve footage from our annual buffalo roundup that we hold every single year. Its my favorite event, the towering stone Needle Mountains make for the most beautiful landscapes anywhere in the world. And the lake streams well. President coolidge spent plenty of time pulling fish out of those streams. Although governor buffalo at the time, he was a little sneaky. He was filling those streams with old live trout to make sure that the president was going to have luck every day. So maybe the president didnt have to work that hard. Every single day. Perhaps it was the peaceful landscape that led president to make one of his biggest announcements from our state that his career of hard work would be coming to an end. When president announced in august of 1927 that he would not be seeking. He made that announcement from the black hills of south dakota. He invited reporters into his office. He handed them paper with a single typed on it that said, i do not choose to run for president in 1928. When the reporters asked him if he had anything to add, he simply said no. And then he left. Sometimes i wish reporters were that easy to deal with today. In february 2010, when i was the assistant majority leader in the south dakota house of representatives, folks had been encouraging me, my family, to run for congress. They werent having very much luck. They had been trying to talk to us about that for a couple of years until one day i was sitting in my office early in the morning and i received three phone calls from different places, the country, from people that did not know each other at all and never met. All within a half hour where each of them asked me, have you ever considered running for congress . All of them had. The same message that we you. It was so much of a coincidence that i remember i hung up the phone, called my husband brian, and i said. Listen, ive gotten these three phone calls from people who dont know each other. And i know weve been saying no to this for a very long time, but now im concerned that were maybe being disobeyed and to what god is asking us to do. So our family ended up renting a cabin in the black hills to pray about it. Talk about it. We spent some time sledding, playing games. We talked. But ill be honest with you, it was a miserable. I some walks around the black hills to pray and the black hills are good for both of those items. Walking and praying there beautifully rugged and silent. But by the time we left the hills, our family had come to the conclusion that we would run. If we lost, theyd leave us alone. But we would run for congress and would do it as a family. In 20, when i was weighing decisions about how to get south dakota through the covid pandemic, Custer State Park is our family also went to talk and to pray and to connect with. Sometimes you just have to go somewhere quiet to listen for gods voice. I believe thats what president experienced, too. I feel very tied to this man who died about 40 years before i was even born. He helped make my greatest monument happen. A place where some of you might have learned about me for the very first time. He retreated to the same beautiful park in south dakota to make some of the most consequential decisions of his life. He had to make tough decisions, even though they werent popular because he knew they were the right thing to do. But i feel most closely tied to him because of his admiration for the United States america, for our founding principles, for our nations work ethic. He knew that there was something fundamentally different that sets our country apart. Any other and perhaps his most famous speech on the 150th birthday of our nation commemorating the signing of declaration of independence. In that speech, president coolidge us a reminder that i want every one of us to take home today. He said governments, do not make ideals, but ideals make government. Of course, the government can help to sustain ideals and can create institutions through which they can be better observed. But their source, their very nature, is in the people. The people have bear their own responsibilities. Let me repeat that. The people have to bear their own responsibilities. It is a responsibility of the American People to work hard and to put food on the table for themselves and for their loved. We have recognized this responsibility throughout our nations history and we cannot lose sight of it now. It is not the role of government. Do that for us and the government. Do it better than we can. Yes, we should take care of those. Cannot take care of themselves. Yes we should help those who have fallen on hard luck, though brief and in a way that helps them really get back on their feet. Americas work ethic, the stuff of legends from tall tales like paul to war heroes like nathan hale to sports heroes like michael jordan. America loves a story about hard work. Calvin coolidge lived such a life. Im proud that. South dakota has had a small part to play in his life, and im honored to able to join with you to this great leader in history. Thank you for inviting me to be with you today. May god bless you all. God bless president coolidges. And may god continue to bless the United States of america america. You go