Now up: John Koster.

Note: I got a call from Koster’s campaign, asking to review the quote in the headline. I watched the video, which you can do here, and have changed the wording from “stomp” to “stop” liberals. The first time he says the word, it’s unclear to me whether he says “stomp” or “stop,” but when he repeats the phrase, it sounds like “stop.”

He said he’s a third-generation dairy farmer, and used to say he was qualified for the Legislature because he knew “how to shovel it.”

He said he’s running because he’s seen things happen in this country recently that he never imagined would happen here, from car company takeovers to financial bailouts.

He said 10 years ago, he ran against Rick Larsen and lost by a tiny margin. Back then, he said, they were debating what to do with a federal surplus. Now, there’s a federal deficit that’s happened “all on Larsen’s watch.”

He said now’s the time to stomp liberals. “We’re going to look back on November of 2010 and say we made a decision … that we were going to begin to take this country back,” he said. “Are you ready to take it back?” he asked, to cheers.

“Now is the time. We have to renew our faith in God in this country … government’s only job is to secure those rights,” he said. “We have to recognize freedom isn’t free. We owe those who went before us a tremendous debt.”

Tags: John Koster, Republican convention

Now up, James Watkins.

“Our individual liberties are being replaced by government programs,” he said, and America is slipping away. “We are starting to look like a failed European social experiment.”

He said career politicians like U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee “haven’t got a clue” and are going to get kicked out of office this year.

“I’m the only candidate running that has actually cut spending at the federal level,” he said. “When you send me back to Washington, I’m going to do it again.”

Tags: James Watkins, Republican convention

Up now: Matthew Burke, who’s running for the House.

“I’m a certified financial planner,” he said, “last thing I want to be called in this world is a politician.” He said he’s a dad, a coach and “for 30 years, I sat on the couch and yelled at the television set” about politics.

He said he’s learned Republicans don’t need to be just the ‘party of no.” “Sometimes we need to be the party of ‘hell no’ … These people must be stopped,” he said.

He said the U.S. has a “perverse, upside down” system that rewards failure and punishes success.

“The great thing about being a Conservative is you just stick with the facts, ma’am. You don’t have to make things up … the truth is on our side.”

“We cannot let the other side conquer us because we need to conquer them.”

Tags: Matthew Burke, Republican convention

The third Senate candidate to speak is Clint Didier.

“By God, it’s time we the people had the courage and the fortitude to take our country back,” he said, after a standing ovation.

“Yesterday, I had my whole day planned out — and then Sarah called,” he said, of Sarah Palin. He said she’s a “woman of grit that radiates positive.”

“Some people may say, well he’s just a football jock, but for 8 years, ladies and gentlemen, the establishment had the football,” he said, and lost yardage.

He said America is upside down, in a world of hurt and “headed straight for hell.” He said Americans need to band together to fight toward the light, the Constitution, and God.

He said freedom is the American dream because it brings liberty, and liberty brings success.

He said one of his favorite movies is “Braveheart,” to some cheers. He quoted the movie, saying “your heart is free if you have the courage to follow it … follow it, and may God save the United States of America.” The crowd gave him a standing ovation.

Tags: Clint Didier, Republican convention

The second candidate to speak is Paul Akers.

“In 1913, my grandparents … risked everything to come to America, to Ellis Island — legally,” he said, to claps. “They didn’t crawl through any tunnels, they didn’t climb over any fences. And all 9 of their daughters learned to speak English,” he said. “So at an early age, I learned the importance of principle leadership,” he said, like being grateful and living within his means.

“In 2008, when the economic meltdown happened, we had to make some very tough decisions,” he said. His company decided to not lay people off, not cut pay and prosper during the downturn. “We accomplished all three of those goals,” he said, to claps. “We did this by applying those same principles.”

“I have a plan to restore America to its greatness,” he said. “It’s called 10-3-Lean,” he said. First, cut taxes and spending by 10 percent for three years. “We’re going to give the money back to who it belongs to, the American people.” He said the last part of that plan is Lean, a “world-class (business) principle that works by eliminating waste and adding value,” he said. Lean is “local government, not the federal government,” he said.

He said Americans keep electing people who “talk the talk” but have never done. “If you give me 1 percent of your trust today, I will earn the remaining 99 percent” in his first year of office.

He said people tell him a businessman can’t survive in politics, and he says this country can’t survive another politician.

Tags: Paul Akers, Republican convention

Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers: “Today, the Republicans are on offense and it’s the Democrats that are running scared.”

She said if voters entrust Republicans with the responsibility of leading again, they need to pledge to stick to an agenda, get the job done and, if they don’t, not run for re-election. “These are times that require boldness,” she said.

She said Republicans need to work to get rid of the federal deficit, cut federal government, repeal and replace the healthcare reform bill (this one got a standing ovation), reverse the “Wall Street bailout,”audit the Federal Reserve (this one got a partial standing ovation), modernize the public education system, achieve energy independence, end illegal immigration (another partial standing ovation) and protect children from internet predators.

“The only thing too big to fail is America itself,” she said, on the Wall Street bailout.

She ended by saying 2010 would be the year the American Renaissance began.

Tags: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers, Republican convention

Secretary of State Sam Reed is now up for his talk. He said McKenna (who spoke earlier, see below) is great, but that he and Rob are “lonely in Olympia” because there aren’t enough Republicans in office there.

Reed cited his own lawsuit, over felon voting rights. He said he and McKenna have decided to take the felon voting lawsuit (over whether felons in prison should have the right to vote) to the U.S. Supreme Court after a 9th Circuit Court of Appeals loss.

He also said he’s been working diligently to scrub voter registration. “We have them cleaner than ever,” he said — after purging 750,000 felons, dead people and dual registrants were removed from the rolls.

He said he did not, however, get his top priority bill through the 2010 legislature — the bill would have made it easier for overseas military service -men and -women to vote. But, he said, Senate Democrats killed the bill after a unanimous House vote.

He asked the audience to accept the Reagan doctrine: “If you agree with someone 80 percent of the time, hey, that’s your ally.”

Tags: Republican convention, Sam Reed

Attorney General Rob McKenna is first up (after party chairman Luke Esser) to speak at the state Republican convention. He got a standing ovation in his introduction, when Esser said McKenna has earned liberal scorn by joining a lawsuit over federal healthcare reform.

“Thank you! Wow,” McKenna said. He said the state political landscape will look dramatically different after the November elections.

“We have got to restore the checks and balances in our system of government and elect a new Congress in 2010,” he said, noting that some changes to the healthcare reform bill can be decided by the court, but others will need to be changed legislatively.

McKenna cited the 10th amendment and said it was about guaranteeing that the federal government didn’t overstep its Constitutionally granted power.

He said the healthcare bill is the first time a law has required that citizens buy a specific product. “They talk about 46 million uninsured Americans… who are these 46 million Americans? Who is being targeted … the Census Bureau says that of the 46 million, 9 million of the people are covered by Medicaid already. Another 9 million are in this country illegally,” he said, and not subject to benefits under “Obamacare.” He said another 14 million will be covered by expanded Medicaid, leaving 14 million “earn enough to pay for health insurance and choose not to. They choose to self-insure, effectively,” and now Congress is insisting that those people must buy a commercial product.

McKenna said the Costitution has no shelf life, to which people clapped and cheered, leading to another standing ovation. (more…)

Tags: McKenna, Republican convention

Luke Esser is starting out the state Republican convention today, telling delegates that Republicans need to “turn this country around and do it immediately” or damage done by Democrats in power may not be able to be reversed.

He asked if anyone was excited to elect more Republicans, and the crowd cheered.

“There’s been a Republican resurgence going on,” he said, “… but, ladies and gentlemen, 2010 is going to be a watershed year.”

Esser said Republicans at the state level held strong, voting in unison against tax increases. And he said Republicans at the federal level have learned from mistakes in the past.

Tags: Republican convention

All day today, TVW will be live webcasting the Washington Republican Convention. Watch everything here.

I’ll be liveblogging here all day, and will also post live interviews with political candidates. Stay tuned.

Right now, delegates are filing to their seats. As state party chairman Luke Esser told me earlier this week, there are more than 1,200 registrants here.

Tags: Republican convention