Prepare to be moved. Iowa U.S. Senate hopeful, Joni Ernst, delivered this week’s GOP weekly address. As Jim Hoft befoof Gateway Pundit notes, Ernst taped the address early. That is because she is a Lieutenant Colonel in the Iowa Army National Guard and would head out afterwards for two weeks of active duty.
The video and transcript follow:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=g7Z_5zTZ2Ro
I get asked all the time what made me want to join the military. And the answer is simple.
When I was attending college, I went on an agricultural exchange to the Soviet Union. And I saw with my own eyes what a nation without freedom looks like. I saw what happens to people when they lose their liberty.
When I came home, I decided that it wasn’t enough for me to simply enjoy freedom and liberty. I had to do my part to protect and preserve it.
Decades later, I am a Lt. Colonel and battalion commander in the Iowa Army National Guard. In fact I am recording this message a few days early, and by the time you hear this, I will be on active duty leading my troops for the next two weeks.
Growing up on a farm in a small town in Iowa, I learned that America’s greatness comes from people, not government. The problem in America today is that Washington is full of liberals who think government is the solution to every problem. They think that nothing can be solved unless Washington is involved.
And so they grow our government, every year making it more intrusive and more involved in our lives. Today government tells us what doctors to see, what kinds of light bulbs to use, and in some places, even how much soda we can drink…
…We know, and we believe that Americans know what’s best for their communities more than Washington bureaucrats.
And part of that bureaucracy is failing our veterans, and the stories we’ve heard about the failures of the VA are heartbreaking. As an active member of the Iowa National Guard and the wife of a retired U.S. Army ranger, I believe this isn’t a partisan issue. It’s an American problem that must be solved.
Growing up on that southwest Iowa farm, my family didn’t have much. My mother canned our food and made our clothes – teaching us the lessons of not spending what you don’t have. In our small town, we relied on each other – our neighbors lent us a helping hand when we needed it and we would do the same in their time of need. Today, to get America back on track it is going to take each of us working together to advance real solutions to our problems – not more tired rhetoric.
Again, this is Joni Ernst. Thank you. God bless you and may God continue to bless the United States of America.
