FreedomWorks president and CEO Matt Kibbe spoke to a great crowd of 130 Young Republicans in Franklin County, PA last night. Matt was the featured speaker to this GOP splinter group that formed to focus on fiscal conservatism in Pennsylvania. These folks are the tea party wing of the GOP in Franklin County, and are challenging the establishment locally, and statewide.

Matt Kibbe talked about how the bottom-up grassroots freedom movement is the key to defending liberty in this country. We can't put our hope in a better future on any one person, but rather, it is up to us to keep the freedom movement alive and drive public policy change from the ground up. Matt followed up his speech with a book signing and spent time talking to the crowd, many of whom were FreedomWorks supporters, members and fans.

Check out this great press report of Matt's speech and the event here. Below is an excerpt from the story and some pictures and video of the speech.

Republicans from across the county came together Tuesday during the fourth annual Franklin County Reagan Dinner to honor the late president and meet Republican candidates.

"Young Republicans are not the future, we are the now," said Ben Rice, chairman of the Franklin County Young Republicans.

"Do you guys believe in freedom? Do you think the government is getting to big? Do you guys sometimes worry that you've got to beat the Republicans before you can beat the Democrats," asked Matt Kibbe, keynote speaker and president and CEO of FreedomWorks, as he received a round of applause.

Kibbe said he sometimes struggles to define what a Republican is today and said when he states he is from the Republican wing of the Republican Party, he's referring to those like Thomas Jefferson.

The values and the energy that the tea party brings back to the Republican Party is a winning combination, he said. However, from being in Washington, he's seen there's often fighting within the party.

"Let's not forget what it means to be an American and that responsibility that comes from our founders," Kibbe said. "They didn't think that the Constitution was so perfect that it would work without the active participation of the citizens. That's your job.

"The only way we can take back this country is to get organized," he said, urging those in
attendance to think about how important the next election is.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kCJ4VSz-oTI&feature=youtu.be