Full Text Of Rand Paul's Republican National Convention Speech [TRANSCRIPT]

He discussed Obama's health care legislation, the interplay between businesses and government in the national economy, immigrants' tales of finding the American dream and his father, Congressman Ron Paul, during the remarks.

And he mentioned Mitt Romney toward the end, describing him as the best leader to move America in the direction it needs to go in order to find its way out of the economic woes that continue to plague the nation.

Here is the full text transcript of Rand Paul's RNC speech, as seen on FoxNews.com:

PAUL: Thank you. Thank you, thank you, thank you. Thankyou. (APPLAUSE) Thank you, Kentucky. Thank you. You know, when the Supreme Court upheld Obamacare, thefirst words out of my mouth were, ``I still think it'sunconstitutional''. (APPLAUSE) The left wing blogs were merciless. Even my wife said,``could you please just count to 10 before you speak?'' So, I'vehad time to count to 10. And you know what? I still think itis unconstitutional. (APPLAUSE) Do you think Justice Scalia and Justice Thomas have changedtheir mind? (UNKNOWN): No. PAUL: I think if James Madison himself, the father ofConstitution, he were here today, he would agree, the whole damnthing is still unconstitutional. (APPLAUSE) This debate is not new. And it's not over. Hamilton andMadison fought, from the beginning, about how the governmentwould be limited by the enumerated powers. Madison wasunequivocal, ``the powers of the federal government are few anddefined''. (APPLAUSE) The power to tax and spend is restricted by the enumeratedpowers. So how do we fix this travesty of justice? There isonly one option left, we have to have a new president. (APPLAUSE) When I heard the current president say, ``you didn't buildthat'', I was first insulted, then I was angered, and then I wassaddened that anyone in our country, much less the president ofthe United States, believes that roads create business successand not the other way around. (APPLAUSE) Anyone who so fundamentally misunderstanding of Americangreatness is uniquely unqualified to lead this great nation. (APPLAUSE) The great and abiding lesson of American history,particularly the cold war, is that the engine of capitalism, theindividual, is mightier than any collective. (APPLAUSE) American inventiveness and the desire to build a developedbecause we were guaranteed the right to own our success. Formost of our history, no one dared to tell Americans, you don'tbuild that. In bowling green, Kentucky, the Tang (ph) family owns the-- a doughnut shop. Their family fled war-torn Cambodia to cometo this country. My kids and I love doughnuts, so we go therefrequently. The Tang's (ph) work long hours. Mrs. Tang (ph)told us they worked through the night to make the donuts. TheTang (ph) family have become valedictorians and national meritscholars. The Tangs (ph) from Cambodia are an American successstory, so Mr. President, don't go telling the Tang (ph) familythat they didn't build that. (APPLAUSE) When you say -- when you say they don't build it, youinsult each and every American who ever got up at the crack ofdawn. You insult any American who ever put on overalls or asuit. You insult any American who ever studied late into thenight to become a doctor or a lawyer. You insult thedishwasher, the cook, the waitress. You insult anyone who hasever drag themselves out of bed to try -- to strive forsomething better for themselves and their children. My great-grandfather, like many, came to this country insearch of the American dream. No sooner had he stepped off theboat than his father died. He arrived in Pittsburgh as ateenager with nothing, not a penny. He found the Americandream. Not great wealth, but a bit of property in a new landthat gave him hope for his children.In America, as opposed to the old country, successwas based on merit. Probably America's greatest asset was that,for the first time, success was not based on who you were, butwhat you did. (APPLAUSE) My grandfather would live to see his children becomedoctors and ministers, accounts and professors. He would evenlive to see one of his sons, a certain Congressman from Texas... (APPLAUSE) ... a certain Congressman from Texas run for the presidencyof the United States. (APPLAUSE) Immigrants - -immigrants have flocked to our shores seekingfreedom. Our -- our forbearers came full of hopes and dreams soconsistent and prevalent were these aspirations that theycrystallized into a national yearning we call the AmericanDream. No other country has a dream so inextricably associatedwith the spirit of its people. In 1982, an American sailor, John Mooney, wrote a letter tohis parents that captures the essence of the American Dream. Hewrote, Dear Mom and Dad, Today we spotted a boat in the waterand we rendered assistance. We picked up 65 Vietnameserefugees. As they approached the ship, they were all waving andtrying as best they could to say, ``Hello American sailor, hellofreedom man.'' It's hard to see a boat full of people like that and notget a lump somewhere between chin and belly button and it reallymakes one proud and glad to be an American. It reminds us ofall what America's been, a place a man or a woman can come tofor freedom. Hung and Twan Tratrin (ph) are brothers and friends ofmine. They came to America on one of those leaky boats. Theywere attacked at sea by pirates, their family's wealth wasstolen, Twan (ph) spent a year on a South Pacific islandexisting on a cup of rice and water until he was allowed to cometo America. Now both of these men and their family are proudAmericans. Hung (ph) owns his own business and Twan (ph)manages a large company. They are the American Dream. So Mr. President, don't go telling the Tratrin (ph) familyyou didn't build that... (APPLAUSE) When the president says you didn't build that, he's flatout wrong. Businessmen and women did build that. Businessmenand women did earn their success without the success of Americanbusiness, we wouldn't have any roads, bridges or schools. Mr. President, you say the rich must pay their fair share.But when you seek to punish the rich, the jobs that are lost arethose of the poor and the middleclass. (APPLAUSE) When you seek to punish Mr. Exxon Mobile you punish thesecretary who owns Exxon Mobile stock. When you block the Keystone Pipeline, you punish the welderwho works on the pipeline. (APPLAUSE) Our nation faces a crisis, America waivers. Unfortunately,we're one of a select group of countries whose debt now equalstheir Gross Domestic Product. The Republic of Washington in Jefferson is now in danger ofbecoming the democracy of debt and despair. Our great nation is coming apart at the seams and thepresident just seems to point fingers and blame others.President Obama's Administration will add nearly $6 trillion toour national debt in just one term and I'm hoping it's just oneterm. (APPLAUSE) This explosion of debt is unconscionable and unsustainable.Mr. President, we will not let you bankrupt this great nation. (APPLAUSE) Republicans and Democrats alike though, must slay theirsacred cows. Republicans must acknowledge that not every dollarspent on the military is necessary or well spent. (APPLAUSE) Democrats -- Democrats must admit that domestic welfare andentitlements must be reformed. (APPLAUSE) Republicans and Democrats must replace fear withconfidence. Confidence that no terrorist and no country willever conquer us if we remain steadfast to the principles of ourfounding documents. (APPLAUSE) We have nothing to fear except our own unwillingness todefend what is naturally ours, our god-given rights. (APPLAUSE) We have nothing to fear that should cause us to forget orrelinquish our rights as free men and women. (APPLAUSE) To thrive, we must believe in ourselves again, and we mustnever, never trade our liberty for any fleeting promise ofsecurity. (APPLAUSE) Author Paul Kengor (ph) writes of a brisk evening in asmall town in Illinois. Returning home from a basketball gameat the YMCA, an 11 year- old boy is stunned by the sight of hisfather, sprawled out on the snow in the front porch. He wasdrunk, his son would later remember, dead to the world,crucified. The dad's hair was soaked with melted snow matted againsthis reddened face. The boy stood over his father for a minuteor two. He simply wanted to let himself in the door and pretendhis dad wasn't there. Instead, he grabbed a fistful of overcoatand he heaved his dad into the bedroom, away from the weather'sharm and the neighbors attention. This young boy would becomethe man, Ronald Reagan. (APPLAUSE) The man we know as Ronald Reagan, whose sunny optimism andcharisma shine so brightly that it toured the malaise of thelate 1970s, a confidence that's been so broadly that it pulledus through a serious recession, and a faith that tugged sohappily at the hearts of all that a generation of Democratsbecame Republicans. (APPLAUSE) The American dream is that any among us can become the nextThomas Edison, the next Henry Ford, the next Ronald Reagan, butto lead us forward away from this looming debt crisis, it willtake someone who believes in America's greatness, who believesin and can articulate the American dream, someone who hascreated jobs, someone who understands and appreciates what makesAmerica great. Someone who will lead our party and our nationforward. I believe that someone is our nominee, Governor MittRomney. (APPLAUSE) As Reagan said, our freedom is never more than a generationaway from extinction. If our freedom is taken, the Americandream will wither and die. To lead, we must transform thecoldness of austerity into the warm vibrant embrace ofprosperity. To overcome the current crisis, we must appreciateand applaud American success. We must step forward, unabashedlyand proclaim, you did build that. You earned that. You workedhard. You studied. You labored. You did build that. (APPLAUSE) And you deserve America's undying gratitude, for you, theindividual, are the engine of America's greatness. Thank you. (APPLAUSE)