The words “Come and Take It” have been a rallying cry of liberty in Texas since 1835. In the first battle of the Texas Revolution that eventually led to our independence, 140 brave Texians stood their ground against tyranny with these defiant four words and a cannon.

Today, America is facing a similar moment in the debt ceiling debate. As Erick Erickson has articulated so well, we conservatives must hold the line. We must hold Washington politicians’ feet to the fire on this critical issue.

I am writing to RedState readers today because there is so much at stake as we face the greatest threat to our liberty that any of us have ever seen from Washington — out of control expansion of government and unprecedented levels of spending.

Congressional leadership and the Obama administration are meeting this week to decide if we will raise our national debt limit once again. I cannot think of a greater watershed moment for our country than this current debate over spending. This is why I signed the Cut, Cap & Balance pledge because I believe a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution is long overdue from Congress and it is critical to pass at this time in our history.

President Ronald Reagan once said that future generations would know if we had succeeded or not in defense of liberty and, if we fail, our children and grandchildren would turn to us one day and ask, “What was it like when Americans were free?” Those are the stakes.

That’s precisely why I’m running for U.S. Senate — so none of us ever have to answer that question. The Senate primary in Texas comes down to one central question: Who is best to qualified to stand up and defeat the Obama Agenda? Our campaign is based on new leadership and a proven record of fighting for conservative principles and winning on a national level.

For the next 48 hours, we are asking patriots in Texas and across the country to support our fight for liberty. Will you help us? Will you contribute now? Will you stand with Erick Erickson, Club for Growth PAC, FreedomWorks PAC, Mark Levin, Ed Meese, Kelly Shackelford, David Barton, Peggy Venable and others in this fight? Please join us as we work to protect American Exceptionalism, preserve the Constitution and make sure America remains a Shining City on the Hill.

Thank you again to Erick and the entire RedState community of patriots for all you do to defend liberty.

These are challenging times for conservatives, and our fundamental liberties are being threatened from Washington like never before. Nevertheless, I’m very optimistic.

Across Texas and nationally, there is a tremendous hunger for new and principled leadership. I’m convinced that the most lasting legacy of Barack Obama will be new leaders stepping forward across the nation who are committed to standing up for conservative values.

And I’m hopeful that our campaign for Texas Attorney General can play an important part of that effort.

National Review magazine has kindly described our campaign as “a great Reaganite hope” and “a Republican star ris[ing] in Texas.” Needless to say, for National Review to focus on a down-ballot state race is more than a little unusual—and NR makes the case that the Texas Attorney General race has national implications.

Many of us are rightly frustrated with candidates who say one thing on Election Day and do something else in office. You shall know them by their deeds, and the best way to know a true conservative is by looking to a proven record of standing up for conservative values.

Having served five and a half years as the Solicitor General of Texas, I’m proud that we were able to take the lead in an unprecedented series of landmark national victories before the U.S. Supreme Court, including successfully defending Ten Commandments, the Pledge of Allegiance, the Second Amendment, and U.S. sovereignty from the World Court. Over and over again, Texas led the nation in standing up for conservative principles.

I’ve been blessed to see first-hand that America is a miracle of opportunity. My father is a Cuban immigrant who came to Texas penniless at age 17. Because of my parents’ love and support, I was fortunate to be able to study at Princeton and Harvard, and eventually to clerk for former Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist.

This video of my remarks at a recent Tea Party gives an idea of the challenges we face right now in America and why I’m running.

Finally, it takes substantial resources to run for office, particularly in a state as big as Texas. We need to raise as much money as possible before June 30 to avoid a primary fight and focus on the general election. Anything you can contribute by tomorrow would be immensely helpful.

I’m confident that working together we will make a lasting difference in preserving opportunity and liberty in America.