Thank you, Alec. And thank you to all the generous people who accepted their legislator’s invitation to this special evening. And I guess we should give special thanks to the Democrats whose tired old ideas have helped make electing Republicans so popular in our state!

Actually, I shouldn’t be so hard on the Democrats for their bad ideas. My staff has come up with a few bad ideas of their own about how we should deal with the budget. Here is a list of the worst:

Number 10 - Sell the gold on Capitol Dome and cover with yellow spray paint.

Number 9 - Fire non-essential state workers, such as the Governor’s official barber.

Number 8 - Demote the Lieutenant Governor to Private.

Number 7 - Rent out Governor’s Mansion for weddings, anniversaries, receptions, and bar mitzvahs.

Number 6 - Ask Secretary of State Cathy Cox and School Superintendent Kathy Cox to use the same stationary.

Number 5 - Sell naming rights to counties: Frito-Lay Fulton County, Coca-Cola Camden County, UPS Upson County and so on. Think about the revenue opportunities: we’ve got 159 counties!

Number 4 - A new reality show on MTV: The Perdues.

Number 3 - Sell prints of redistricting maps on E-Bay as lost Picasso masterpieces

Number 2 - Bottle and sell Democratic WHINE…that’s W-H-I-N-E!

Number 1 - Actually, there is no #1 item, because I had to reduce this list by 10% due to budget cuts.

Seriously folks, tonight is the first of what will be an annual event, raising money for our House and Senate campaigns next fall. And, I’m proud to see just how successful we have been! Tonight, we raised over five-hundred-thousand dollars for the Georgia GOP...

...That is the second largest fundraiser in the history of the Georgia Republican Party!

My friends, our party is growing. I’ve said it before, but it bears repeating tonight, governing is truly a team sport. And I can’t think of a better team than the one we have in this room tonight!

Standing here, I’m reminded our President’s first day in office. After taking the Oath of Office, George W. Bush entered the White House for the first time as President of the United States. His first order of business was to swear in the White House staff that would serve the American people in his Administration. After delivering the oaths, the President gave this simple charge to the staff… “We are not here simply to mark time.” What he said, in that simple phrase, was that the election of 2000, was not the end, but the beginning. It was one step in the process towards truly changing our nation.

It was less than a year ago that the people of Georgia entrusted our party with the responsibility of leading Georgia. Let me tell you, our party isn’t here to mark time either. The people of Georgia entrusted us with this great responsibility not because of our party label, or any one person….But because they wanted a change

A change to a government based on principles, not politics. A change to a government focused on priorities, not partisanship. That was the promise we made… and that is the promise our party will keep by bringing fundamental change to our State! In just over 100 days, the General Assembly will reconvene in Atlanta…

The 2004 session will be a defining moment for Georgia. It is time to choose our course-

Will we take responsibility for our actions, make the hard decisions, and provide true leadership? Or will we shirk our duty, ransom our future and leave our problems for our children and grandchildren to solve? Option A or Option B? I know what my choice is.

The people of Georgia gave us a job…and the Georgia Republican Party will stand up and directly meet this challenge.

For decades, our state has had a hearty appetite for spending. But that appetite is simply not sustainable. And now the bills are coming due, even as we face a sluggish economy and declining revenues. But I see a tremendous opportunity to bring that fundamental change we spoke of in the campaign…

An opportunity to align our spending priorities with our bedrock principles.

We’re already changing the way the state spends money. This year, I’ve required every department and agency in state government to submit a prioritized list of every program and every function it administers. No longer will last year’s expenditures simply carry forward with new spending tacked on, no questions asked. No-we’re asking a lot of questions. To every agency. About every program. Concerning every dollar. Is this program part of your core mission? Is this activity duplicated by another department? Is there a cheaper, better way to provide this service to the people of Georgia? Is this an activity that government should be involved in at all? They all boil down to one question-is this spending aligned with the core principles and the true needs of the people of Georgia?

Any expenditure that doesn’t pass that test will be eliminated out of hand. But I won’t sugar coat this. Even programs that pass the test will face strict examination. But we have to differentiate between wants and needs We can’t afford everything we might want. In some instances, we may have to do without programs that, in normal times, we would fund. Unfortunately, these are not normal times...But, Georgia Republicans are up to the challenge.

But, this is where those tough decisions come in. Some will attempt to use those tough decisions as an opportunity to score political points. Instead of offering solutions, they will offer only vicious partisanship… likely coming from the very same people that got us in this mess in the first place. But the people of Georgia expect results, not rhetoric.

When Georgia families face tough times, they make their own hard decisions. Instead of buying that new car or new big screen TV, they focus on the priorities - putting food on the table, paying the mortgage. They expect their elected representatives to do the same. And as for me, I’ve made my choice. I will face up to the hard decisions and submit a balanced … responsible … and principled budget to the General Assembly. A budget that is balanced without resorting to tax increases.

And while it is too early to know everything that will or won’t be in my budget … I can list a few priorities that it will include.

One is education. More than half our budget already goes to education. But I am not satisfied, and the people of Georgia are not satisfied, with below-average results in our schools. Let’s be abundantly clear, though: I believe that every single Georgia child - regardless of race, sex, economic class, or geographic location - can learn.

I’ve been to too many schools in this State that are doing things right… that are bucking the odds… that are proving the - quote - experts wrong. From Cedar Grove Middle School in Decatur and Nancy Creek Theme School in Dekalb County… to Grady High School in Atlanta. Local leadership and dedicated teachers combined with engaged parents and eager students is the simple formula for success. Yes, every child can learn.

So I challenge those individuals who would rather do what is in the best interest of their party or their own political ambitions rather than what is in the best interests of our children to stand aside. We will no longer accept the status quo. So long as the people of Georgia trust me with this sacred office, I will work every single day to support our teachers and administrators…to create and expand opportunities for our children to learn and grow… to raise SAT scores in every corner of this State…and to ensure that the HOPE Scholarship is secure and solvent for future generations of Georgians.

Our mission in education is simple: everything we do, every dollar we spend should be focused on one simple goal...teaching our children.

This is especially true for our children in state custody and foster care. Mary and I believe this is a moral obligation we all share. We say it a lot, but we say it because we are serious…the children are our heartbeat and our future. Every one of these boys and girls, regardless of their age, race or personal circumstances have certain needs in common. They need to be loved and nurtured and cared for. And they need to be protected. We can not tolerate in this state a system that lets children die in state custody.

We will move … we are moving … to identify and correct deficiencies in our system. We will also seek new partners in the campaign to help these children. We will form partnerships with the private sector and the faith-based community to ensure that these children have a loving, nurturing family that cares for them.

Another top priority is creating jobs and economic opportunity for Georgians. We cannot rest until every Georgian who is willing to work can find a job. We are actively working to help our existing employers … and attract new ones. And make bold moves to secure our state’s future.

In just the past nine months, we’ve seen a flurry of growth in Georgia…General Motors will expand their facility south of Atlanta… Blue Bird will bring hundreds of new manufacturing jobs to Fort Valley…Riverwood International will expand their facility in Perry…New York Life will bring high-paying jobs to our state with a new data center in Cumming…Universal Alloy will expand their plant in Canton…CR Bard will expand a plant in Covington…Newell Rubermaid will become the 15th Fortune 500 company to locate their headquarters in our state…American Home Shield Corporation will open a new call center in LaGrange…Heckler & Koch will open a facility in Columbus…And, Duda & Sons will expand a plant in Thomasville…just to name a few

But at that the heart of our economic development strategy is encouraging entrepreneurship. Small business is truly the engine that drives our economy. Of the nearly 200,000 businesses that exist in Georgia, over 97% are small business. 86% have less than 20 employees. As a small business owner, I know firsthand the challenges entrepreneurs face. And I know what kind of growth and opportunity we can unleash if we reduce red tape and remove the barriers to growth so that our small businesses grow and prosper.

As we focus on caring for and educating children … and creating jobs and opportunity for every Georgian, we must also keep our pledge to create a state government that is open, honest and accountable to the people. Last year, we proposed a comprehensive ethics package that would bring the disinfecting power of sunshine and open scrutiny to every part of state government. Unfortunately, Democrat leaders in the House blocked this legislation.

Every politician I’ve ever met on the campaign trail says they are in favor of ethics reform. Last session, Republicans proved it. The Republican-led Senate passed meaningful ethics legislation. Democrats fell silent.This coming session, we’ll prove it again by passing comprehensive ethics reform. I’m counting on you to help me carry on this fight. It’s not about politics…it’s about principle. And in our system, the most basic principle is that the people hold the power…The time has come to restore the bonds of trust between the people and their elected representatives.

Honest government also means that we cannot use the people as pawns in the drive for political power. In 2001, Democrats redrew our Congressional and legislative districts with one single motivation-preserving their one party rule in Georgia. Well, looking around this room tonight, I think we can confidently say…they failed. But the remnants of that reprehensible process live on in our district lines. These lines slice and dice our counties and cities, they tear apart communities of interests…when it comes right down to it…the maps are simply and morally wrong. That is why, this session, we will renew the effort to change these maps.

We will also renew the efforts to return principles to this process. The people of Georgia rejected these maps…now, it falls on us to ensure that this partisan gerrymandering never returns to Georgia… Ever.

My friends, our principles are our guide. We face many challenges in the upcoming legislative session. But, when I travel across Georgia, I see a state brimming with hope and promise. I see children yearning for a first-class education. I see families growing and becoming stronger. I see entrepreneurs starting new business and newlyweds buying their first homes. I see Georgians living out the American dream from Rabun County to Seminole County, from the streets of downtown Atlanta, to the great agricultural tracts across the state.

For far too long, there has been a disconnect between the people, and their government. For far too long, politics has driven policy. Last year, our party promised fundamental change. We told the people of Georgia that, given the chance, we would we would bring principle back to the process. Tonight, we renew that vow.

In the words of our President, we are not here simply to mark time. So, to the legislators in the room tonight, rest up the next 100 days…because we’ve got a lot of work ahead of us! Thank you again for all you do for our state…God bless you … God bless Georgia … and God bless America.