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Transcript of Lt. Gov. Take Reeves' prepared remarks at the Neshoba County Fair Aug. 1:

Thank you for inviting me back to the Neshoba County Fair. This year marks the 11th time I’ve had the honor of speaking under the shade of the pavilion.

My wife Elee is here with me today. You may remember her from our campaign commercials. I’m not sure it was a good idea to make her the star of our campaign because now most people would rather vote for her than me.

A lot has changed in our lives in these 11 years. You allowed me to serve as Mississippi’s first Republican treasurer for two terms. Now, you’ve given me the privilege of serving as your lieutenant governor.

But the most important changes in our lives are the three beautiful girls Elee and I have. Some folks joke about those girls being Tater Tots. At the Capitol, they even call our leadership team Tater Tots. I can’t lie to y’all. I get offended at that. My girls are a lot cuter than Senator Terry Brown.

The first person I heard call me Tater was former Democrat Speaker Billy McCoy. I don’t think he was trying to be cute! Or nice!

I had just been elected on a promise to be the taxpayers’ watchdog and Speaker McCoy was offended that I actually kept that promise.

I said no to Democrats who wanted to pile on more debt and redirect your money to their favorite charities – I even took Mike Moore to court over that, and we won.

Speaker McCoy’s nicknames didn’t bother me. I wore them as a badge of honor. Mississippians elected their youngest state treasurer because you wanted someone in the Capitol to look out for the next generation.

Today, senators who agree with me to fight higher taxes, to not borrow more than we can afford and demand better schools – we are all Tater Tots.

And I don’t believe we are alone in that fight.

In fact, you just might be a Tater Tot if….you support fighting the status quo and pushing for better opportunities for our children.

Over the past two years, the Legislature increased funding for K-through-12 public education by more than $83 million.

But money is not the solution to fixing Mississippi’s education issues. We have to push the envelope on reform. That’s what the Legislature did this year. And I will make sure it does even more next year.

Mississippi took its first steps toward giving parents a choice in where their children attend schools. For the first time, public charter schools will be allowed to open in school districts rated D or F. And public charter schools can open in districts rated A, B, or C – as long as the local school board does not block what parents demand.

We are putting parents in charge….and we are just getting started.

When parents see these public charter schools succeed …they will demand more school choice for more families….and I will stand with them.

This session, the Legislature also raised the bar on what we expect from our schools. Right now, 47 percent of Mississippi third graders can read at grade level and understand what they’re reading. And we wonder why so many students give up in ninth grade and drop out!

53 percent of them never even left the third grade with a high probability for success. Why? Because after third grade you begin to read to learn – not simply learn to read.

That is why the Legislature created a “Third-Grade Gate” meaning a child will have to read proficiently in the third grade before passing to the fourth grade. We will raise standards for Kindergarten, First and Second grades as well. We are going to throw everything we have at those four years to make sure every young Mississippian gets off to a great start in life.

I know students will rise up to meet these new standards for academic achievement. I know parents will respond by demanding better from principals and teachers.

And I am hopeful the Legislature will respond as well – by not giving up on more education reform.

What you see working well in Jackson is the exact opposite of what you see not working in Washington, D.C. You sent me to the Capitol to control spending, cut the debt burden on our taxpayers, and protect your constitutional rights.

You might be a Tater Tot if …. you believe your elected officials should fight to protect your rights. That’s definitely not what President Obama and Democrats in Washington are doing.

When tragedy struck that schoolhouse in Newtown, Connecticut, what was the first reaction by President Obama and Congress? To take away your right to own guns and protect your family! That always seems to be liberals’ first and only solution to tragedy in this country.

While Washington worked to chip away at your Second Amendment Rights, we were looking for ways to protect Mississippi families.

We started by funding MCOPS – a new program to put more trained officers in public schools. This grant from the state Department of Education plus local matching funds will help schools expand their officer programs.

The Legislature didn’t stop there. For those of you who are from Neshoba County – know that your Senator Giles Ward is fighting for you in your state Capitol. Working with the National Rifle Association, Sen. Ward was critical in crafting laws to protect your privacy and your right to carry a firearm.

The Legislature guaranteed concealed carry permit holders would not wake up to find their names and addresses plastered across the morning paper — simply for exercising their Second Amendment right to own a gun. Your private information on permits to carry a concealed weapon is now exempted from public records.

The Legislature also clarified Mississippi’s law regulating your ability to carry a concealed weapon. Last year, General Hood issued an opinion that folks whose concealed weapon became visible were violating the law.

So, if you were walking down the street on a windy day and your coat blew back to reveal a gun – you could be in violation of the law. It is ludicrous to make criminals out of law-abiding citizens.

The Legislature corrected this with a unanimous vote in the Senate and a large majority vote in the House. These laws are now in the hands of the Mississippi Supreme Court. Surely, that body will do its duty and respect your right to bear arms and the rights of your chosen representatives to exercise your will. We didn’t just protect your rights this year. We protected your paycheck.

You might be a Tater Tot if….you agree we should fight wasteful spending and excessive government debt. I was proud to stand on this stage last year and say your state government did not pass even one bill to issue new debt.

This year, the Legislature only allowed $199 million for new projects – like a new medical school at the University of Mississippi and a new nursing school at the University of Southern Mississippi.

But before we issue that new debt, the Legislature removed or paid off $460 million in debt for this budget year.

We must pay down our $4 billion debt burden – and I’m determined to make sure we do.

I promised to stop burdening taxpayers with long-term debt for short-term needs. You don’t do that in your home, and your government shouldn’t either!

That’s definitely not what President Obama and Democrats in Washington are doing!

Here in Mississippi, your leaders stood strong and stopped the expansion of Obamacare – and I think the folks in Washington are beginning to wish they never even heard of Obamacare!

Even President Obama lost faith in his own program. In June, he pushed back his requirement for small businesses to jump into this health care quicksand.

And for good reason! The U.S. Chamber of Commerce released a survey of small businesses this month – and the news isn’t good. 61 percent of those businesses don’t have plans to hire in the next year. 77 percent of those business owners think the U.S. economy is on the wrong track.

The effect of Obamacare hasn’t changed – It’s still a job killer. It’s still unworkable. It’s still crushing our economic recovery.

What we really need is Medicaid reform. Mississippi taxpayers will be asked next year to give $1 billion to Medicaid. That’s a fifth of the state budget! That’s less money for your schools and your law enforcement.

You might be a Tater Tot if … you believe we need to kill Obamacare and focus on improving access to medical care and reducing costs! That’s one reason I support the new medical school at Ole Miss and nursing school at Southern Miss.

Mississippi needs to grow its own highly skilled doctors and nurses and encourage them to stay in Mississippi and practice on Main Street.

As I travel across the state, what I hear is that you want a stronger economy for Mississippi so your children and grandchildren can stay here and raise their families.

Elee and I believe in a better Mississippi too. We want our girls to graduate from college and find successful careers here in our home state. We hope we can share our favorite traditions – like the Neshoba County Fair – with our grandchildren someday.

Governor Bryant, Speaker Gunn and I worked closely to preserve a strong foundation for your businesses to grow. By creating an environment for the private sector to create higher paying, highly skilled jobs, Mississippi will have a stronger future.

By further investing in and reforming our education system, Mississippi will have a stronger future. And yes, by continuing to elect leaders that work to promote these principles that the Tater Tots believe in… Mississippi will have a stronger future. May God bless the State of Mississippi.