DR. PAUL: (Cheers, applause.) Thank you! Thank you! What a crowd! (Cheers, applause.)

I’d like to thank my wife, Kelly. I couldn’t have done it without her! (Cheers, applause.)

And my boys, William and Duncan and Robert, and for the great music. Thank you, guys! (Cheers, applause.)

I have a message -- (cheers, applause) -- a message from the people of Kentucky, a message that is loud and clear and does not mince words: We’ve come to take our government back! (Cheers, applause.)

They say that the U.S. Senate is the world’s most deliberative body. Well, I’m going to ask them to deliberate upon this: The American people are unhappy with what’s going on in Washington. (Applause.) Eleven percent of the people approve of what’s going on in Congress.

• But tonight, there’s a Tea Party tidal wave, and we’re sending a message to them!  It’s a message that I will carry with me on day one.  It’s a message of fiscal sanity.  It’s a message of limited constitutional government, and balanced budgets.

When I arrive in Washington, I will ask them respectfully to deliberate upon this: We are in the midst of a debt crisis, and the American people want to know why we have to balance our budget and they don’t. (Cheers, applause.)

I will ask them respectfully to deliberate upon this: Government does not create jobs; individual entrepreneurs, business men and women create jobs, but not the government. (Cheers, applause.)

I will ask them respectfully to deliberate upon this: Why is America great? Why are we the greatest, richest and freest country ever known to man? (Applause.) America -- America -- is exceptional, but it is not inherently so. America is exceptional because we embraced freedom, because we enshrined it in our documents and because we have lived and fought for the principles of freedom. (Cheers, applause.)

America will remain great if we remain proud of America, if we remain proud of the American system, the system that is enshrined in our founding documents, the system that protects and promotes the free exchange of goods, the system that protects capitalism that has made this country great. (Cheers, applause.)

America will remain great if and when we understand -- if and when we understand -- that government cannot create prosperity. We have to understand that it comes from ourselves, it does not come from government. We are the creators of that prosperity. Until we understand that, we cannot truly protect and defend our liberties. (Applause.)

I have great confidence in the American system. We must believe in ourselves and not believe that somehow some benevolent leader in a distant capital will take care of us, will save us from ourselves. We must once again believe in ourselves. (Cheers, applause.)

I will ask the Senate respectfully to deliberate upon this: Do we wish to live free, or be enslaved by debt? Do we believe in the individual, or do we believe in the state?

Thomas Jefferson wrote that government is best that governs least. Likewise, freedom is best when enjoyed by the most. (Cheers, applause.)

America -- America can rise up and surmount these problems if we just get government out of our way. (Cheers, applause.)

I am humbled by the honor bestowed upon me by the voters of Kentucky. I will do everything within my power to live p to that trust. America’s best days lie ahead of her if we can once again unleash the creative genius, the entrepreneurial spirit, the faith in ourselves that is the American dream.

Thank you, and God bless America. (Cheers, applause.)