Notable Speeches

Russian President spoke at the annual meeting of the Moscow-based Valdai Discussion Club. The four-day gathering, held in the Russian resort city of Sochi, focused on the theme, "Global Shake-Up in the 21st Century: The Individual, Values, and the State."

In his remarks, Mr. Putin talked about challenges common to nations worldwide — including the coronavirus pandemic, social discontent, and ethical considerations related to new technologies. He also spoke about the "re-alignment of the balance of power" between nations and the challenges of fostering a "stable world order." 

Mr. Putin emphasized the "importance of a solid support [from national governments] in the sphere of morals, ethics, and values." He criticized so-called woke progressives in the United States and Europe, saying their "fight for equality and against discrimination has turned into aggressive dogmatism bordering on absurdity." He derided "cancel culture" and the "demand to give up the traditional notions of mother, father, family and even gender."

Vladimir Putin delivered his remarks in Russian. This Notable Speeches podcast features an English translation.

His address, which ran 35 minutes, has been abridged for this podcast.

An English transcript of Mr. Putin's entire remarks, including a post-speech question-and-answer session, is available at https://valdaiclub.com/events/posts/articles/vladimir-putin-meets-with-members-of-the-valdai-discussion-club-transcript-of-the-18th-plenary-session/

On Oct. 1, 2021, author, columnist, and editor Sohrab Ahmari spoke at a symposium in Warsaw, Poland, titled "The Place of Truth in the Age of Cancel Culture." 

The event, sponsored by the Polish university Collegium Intermarium, featured speakers from the U.S., France, Poland, Austria, Croatia, Hungary, Sweden, and Italy. The venue was the lecture hall at Warsaw's National Institute of Culture and Rural Heritage.

Mr. Ahmari, the op-ed page editor for The New York Post, is the author of From Fire, by Water: My Journey to the Catholic Faith (Ignatius Press, 2019) and The Unbroken Thread: Discovering the Wisdom of Tradition in an Age of Chaos (Convergent Books, 2021).

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Speaking to European political, religious, and corporate leaders meeting in Hungary, former U.S. Vice President said that helping to "preserve the strength of the family" was their "most important task."

Mr. Pence spoke last month at the 4th Demographic Summit in Budapest, along with leaders from Poland, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Serbia, and other nations.

"For our civilization to prosper, if we're to pass on the rights and the freedoms and the values that we cherish to the next generation, our highest priority must be to preserve, renew, and strengthen the families upon which our nations and our civilizations have been built," he said.

The late September summit took place at Budapest's Várkert Bazár (Castle Garden Bazaar), an exhibition and meeting center built in the 1870s and 80s and renovated in 2013. 

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On September 16, U.S. Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas delivered the 2021 Tocqueville Lecture sponsored by the University of Notre Dame's Center for Citizenship and Constitutional Government.

In his remarks, he described the U.S. Declaration of Independence as America's "national North Star."

"While we have failed the...ideals of the Declaration time and again, I know of no time when [those] ideals have failed us," he said. The Declaration reflects the noble understanding of the justice of the Creator...and the enlightened belief that nothing stamped with the divine image and likeness was sent into the world to be trodden on and degraded." 

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On September 14, California voters will decide whether to replace current governor Gavin Newsom (D). If Newsom is recalled, the candidate who appears most likely to succeed him is Republican Larry Elder, a Los Angeles-based radio talk show host and documentary filmmaker.

In this address, Mr. Elder focuses on the issues of crime, education, and homelessness. He also talks about racial strife in America and discusses his upbringing in South Central Los Angeles.

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In this address, Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis (R) talks about his conservative approach to governing and his willingness to push back against critics and naysayers.

Mr. Santis spoke on July 14, 2021, at an event sponsored by the legal group Alliance Defending Freedom.

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On July 7, 2021, former President Donald Trump announced he would be the lead plaintiff in a class-action lawsuit against Facebook, Google, and Twitter. The suit alleges the tech companies' "broad, vague, and ever-shifting" content-moderation policies effectively violate the constitutional guarantee of free speech.

You can see the filing against Facebook at https://aboutblaw.com/Yur?campaign=2CEA049A-DF37-11EB-81DA-26B84F017A06.

Learn more about the lawsuit takeonbigtech.com.

Mr. Trump, and several others who have joined the class-action suit, spoke at a news conference in New Jersey.

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During a June 22, 2021, floor debate on the confirmation of Kiran Ahuja, President Joe Biden's nominee to head the U.S. government's Office of Personnel Management, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) spoke out against critical (race) theory. 

Critical theorists, he said, "pit whiteness and blackness against each other in a manner that reduces every American, no matter their character or their creed, to their racial identity alone."

In light of Ahuja's previous writings and comments that appear to support such a view, Hawley warned that as the head of personnel she could usher in a "new era of racial engineering" within the federal workforce.  

"I'm concerned that as the federal government's HR director, Ms. Ahuja could use her platform to promote radical ideologies that seek to divide rather than unite the American people," he said.

Ultimately, Ahuja was confirmed, with Vice President Kamala Harris casting a tie-breaking vote.

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Speaking at a May 18 event sponsored by the Claremont Institute's Center for the American Way of Life, author J.D. Vance warned that "the biggest businesses, the most powerful institutions, the most powerful banks in this country have aligned themselves against [political and social conservatives]." He urged conservatives to fight back and outlined a plan for doing so. "We’re never going to beat them unless we go after them," he said.

Mr. Vance is the best-selling author of Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis (Harper Press, 2016). He is also the co-founder of Narya, a venture capital firm based in Ohio.

If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].

Speaking at the 2021 Conservative Political Action Conference, Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) said conservatives are "facing a fight for the republic itself."  

He warned that an alliance of "radical liberals" and large corporations "want[s] to run this country, and if we don't do something, they are going to." 

Sen. Hawley, a former state attorney general, called for federal action to "break those corporations up and cut them down to size." Although he named Google, Facebook, and Twitter in particular, he said his remarks also applied to "all of the huge multinational corporations that have sold us out to China, that have sold out our workers, that have sold out our jobs."

A transcript of his speech is at https://www.rev.com/blog/transcripts/josh-hawley-2021-cpac-speech-transcript-february-26

If you have a comment or question about the Notable Speeches podcast, email [email protected].