South Dakota Republican Governor Kristi Noem opened up the third night of the Republican National Convention on Wednesday with a powerful speech about what her party believes.
“I’m here tonight because I believe America is an exceptional nation founded on three principles—equality, freedom, and opportunity,” Noem said. “But today, our founding principles are under attack. This year, the choice for Americans is between a man who values these ideals and all that can be built because of them, and a man who isn’t guided by these ideals, and coincidentally, has built nothing.”
“When he was just 28 years old, Honest Abe saw wild and furious passions, ‘worse than savage mobs,’ he said, taking the place of reasoned judgment. He was alarmed by the increasing disregard for the rule of law throughout the country,” she later added. “He was concerned for the people who had seen their property destroyed, their families attacked, and their lives threatened or even taken away. These good people were becoming tired of, and disgusted with, a government that offered them no protection. Sound familiar?”
“It took 244 years to build this great nation—flaws and all—but we stand to lose it in a tiny fraction of that time if we continue down the path taken by the Democrats and their radical supporters,” she said. “From Seattle and Portland to Washington and New York, Democrat-run cities across this country are being overrun by violent mobs. The violence is rampant. There’s looting, chaos, destruction, and murder. People that can afford to flee have fled. But the people that can’t—good, hard-working Americans—are left to fend for themselves.”
“The Republican Party’s commitment to individual rights and self-government is as necessary today as it was in 1860 when we won our first presidential election,” she said. “Our party respects individuals based on who they are. We don’t divide people based on their beliefs or their roots. We don’t shun people who think for themselves. We respect everyone equally under the Constitution and treat them as Martin Luther King Jr. wished, according to the content of their character and not the color of their skin.”
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