WB: Laura Ingraham

Radio host Laura Ingraham stirred up the crowd with plenty of conservative jokes, cooked up with plenty of red meat for the values voters.

She asked if it was cold in the room, or if Hillary just flew in.

She said she didn't think there was going to be a Reagan-esque candidate riding in on a white steed to save the election.

She said we need to be candid with one another: we need to go home, talk to people and don't fall into the trap of burying your heads in the sand and retreat from politics. "That is what the elites in both parties want," Ingraham said.

She said Christian conservatives will never have more political experience in this election season that they do right now. Jan. 3 is the Iowa caucuses, so this is the moment to stand up for what you believe in. "Right now, you have influence. Once the elites have made their calls and good citizens have decided to do nothing, don't expect to get your phone calls returned."

She said if someone can unite fiscal conservatives, hawks, and social conservatives, along with a few working class Democrats who don't like where their party has taken them, then they will win. Ingraham said if it's just warmed-over Democrats, a lot of people are thinking, "I'm out of this game."

Ingraham said the downward trend for the GOP began in 2005 when President Bush nominated Harriet Meiers for the Supreme Court. She said nothing against Meiers, but the Supreme Court isn't the place for on-the-job training. She said conservatives stood up to this bad move and won.

She asked if the elites understand where the Republican Party was the last time they ran a nominee that wasn't pro-life: out of power.

Ingraham said your values will only be represented by someone who identifies with them. She said you never go wrong by doing the right thing.

She said a lot of people want you (values voters) to go away, but you're smarter than that. The elites have been wrong time after time after time in their compromises. "Do what you know is right; you will once again prove you have more wisdom than they will ever hope to have from their ivory towers."

Ingraham spoke as strongly as anyone at the conference, perhaps the strongest, against putting your principles in the back seat and doing what people want you to do.