Interrupted by applause or ovations more than twenty times today in Washington at the 2011 CPAC Conference, Congressman Connie Mack criticized the Obama Administration’s cavalier approach to Latin American threats in our hemisphere, pledging to get to the bottom of security failures by the Administration, especially when it comes to the growing threat of Hugo Chavez in Venezuela.  Additionally, Mack blasted former MassachusettsCongressman Joe Kennedy for his role in Chavez’s propaganda campaign in the US, calling Kennedy a “disgrace.”

Below are highlights from Mack’s remarks today at the Marriott Wardman Park Hotel in Washington, DC:

Regarding the state of foreign policy of the US…

“It’s time we stopped apologizing for America.”

“It’s time that, in this hemisphere and around the world, we stand up for America and the freedom and human dignity America stands for.  Stand against America’s enemies, and stand with America’s friends.”

On Joe Kennedy’s Pro-Chavez Ad Campaign…

‘If Joe Kennedy wants to show he is really concerned about ‘some’ things Chavez is doing, he can see to it that the Boston CITGO sign is turned off.  He can see to it that the Fenway Park CITGO sign is covered up until freedom and democracy return to Venezuela.’

On Obama Administration’s’ failures in Latin America…

“Chavez wants to work as one with Ahmadinejad.  We ought to treat him the way we treat Ahmadinejad.  No more happy handshakes at world conferences.  No ignoring the menace of what Chavez has called the Iranian-Venezuelan ‘Axis of Unity.'”

On the growing threat of Hugo Chavez….

“Like Ahmadinejad, he has at his disposal the rights, privileges, and resources of a state.  A very, very wealthy state.”

“And so, years ago, Chavez launched a silent war on America and all that America stands for.  The world of freedom.  The world of democracy.  The world of enterprise.  The world of law.  He is against that world.  We are for it.  We must act to preserve, protect, and defend it.”

“Let’s be clear about who Hugo Chavez is.  He believes in intimidation and manipulation.  He rules with an iron fist.  As I said, he is a ‘thugocrat’.”

Source: PRNewswire

Read the entire speech text here.

Watch the video here (free registration required)