Wisconsin Republican Gov. Scott Walker spoke at the Conservative Political Action Conference in suburban Maryland on Feb. 26, 2015. (CNSNews.com/Penny Starr)

(CNSNews.com) - Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) said at CPAC on Thursday that the biggest challenge to ‘reignite the American spirit” is Washington, D.C., which he described as “68 square miles surrounded by reality.”

“Today in Washington, we have a president who thinks we grow the economy by growing Washington,” he said. “We understand that people create jobs, not the government, and we’re going to help the people of this country create more jobs, create more careers, create more opportunity.

“Up the way there in Washington, we have a president who measures success in government by how many people are dependent on the government. We should measure success by just the opposite - by how many people are no longer dependent on the government,” said Walker.

“In America, there’s a reason why we celebrate the Fourth of July and not April 15, because in America, we celebrate our independence from the government, not our dependence on them,” he said.

“Up the way in Washington, we have a president who draws lines in the sand, that fails to act, and who calls ISIS the JV club, who calls Yemen a success, and who calls Iran a country we can do business with, and to add insult to injury whose former secretary of State actually gave a reset button to the Russians - a reset button,” said Walker. “We need a leader in America who stands up and realizes that radical Islamic terrorism in America is a threat to our way of life, people and to all freedom-loving people around the world.”