[As Prepared for Delivery]

As I stood on that cold January day atop the grassy hills surrounding the fort, in the theatre of my mind I could almost see the armada sailing up the river with hulls overflowing with the pride of having sacked the Capitol of the young country with little opposition.

But the long night would not end as they hoped. Here, amidst these earthen barricades, a small determined band of patriots would save the revolution because they would not yield.

I stand before you today, at a historic moment for the conservative movement, and for this great country. The coming weeks and months may well set the course of this nation for the next generation.

This Administration and this Congress is barely a month old, and already the problems facing this nation have grown in magnitude -- eclipsing the ones the nation faced when voters cast their ballots in November.

How we, as cons ...