With the 2016 presidential election rapidly approaching, I’m often asked how the Republican Party can win over blue states. There’s no easy answer, and it’s no small task, but it’s a fantastic question. So, let’s talk answers. My top three:
- A candidate with widespread appeal is essential. If you’re the kind of candidate who makes the base ecstatic but the centrists cringe every time you open your mouth, you’re not getting anywhere in blue-state terrain. Charisma, a delivery that invites discussion rather than division, optimism about the country’s future, a sense of humor, and a willingness to hear differing opinions and invite the individuals with those opinions to the discussion table are key. Preaching to the choir has its place in politics for sure, but the ability to change hearts and minds has far greater value. Think about Ronald Reagan winning over Democrats with his wit, charm, and ability to convey constitutional principles. Candidates should study that man’s approach to politics. If you’re not connecting with people, they’re not listening.
- Be solution-based. Stop talking about what the other side is doing wrong and start talking about what you’ll do right. Be specific; specifics inspire confidence. Talk school choice, jobs, tax reform, keeping this country safe, and targeted economic and educational proposals that have the potential to lift people out of poverty. Don’t stick a ten-paged plan in fine print on a website and expect people to pay attention to what you’ve written.
- Outreach, outreach, outreach. Go into struggling communities with policy representatives who can hold town halls, conduct question and answer sessions, and meet with community leaders to discuss why your policies have the ability to improve the quality of life of those struggling most. Hire a messaging team. Get on TV and be able to succinctly and precisely detail what you would do to improve the lives of those seeking leadership. Go into locations least likely to be receptive to your Party label, where preconceived notions about your Party are abundant, and break down those stereotypes about who you are and what your policies aim to do. If you go somewhere and only manage to convince a handful of people to consider what you’ve said, consider how many people those few individuals will then speak to and what the potential ripple effect could be. You have to start somewhere and big changes won’t happen overnight, but isn’t it worth the time and energy to reach people?
The Republican Party often appears incredibly lazy about its approach to politics. It’s as if they expect voters to simply be drawn to the Party because the candidates themselves believe they have the right ideas. If you have the right ideas, but don’t convey them to the public with enthusiasm and presence, why would people be inspired to listen? If you have the right ideas, but don’t share those ideas with the very communities you’re trying to help, how do you expect to broaden your support base? If you have the right ideas, but don’t lay them out in simple, succinct, specific terms that inspire confidence in voters, why would people believe that you’re the right person for the job?
Winning over blue states and Independents takes time, energy, and commitment. But what’s your alternative if you don’t? If you’re not willing to devote yourself to the business of changing hearts and minds, the very hearts and minds you’ll need to cast those votes for you, then you simply don’t want the job that badly. Get off the stage and make room for someone who does.
2016ers, we’re watching. Let’s see who’s playing to win.
Jedediah Bila is a Fox News host and commentator, author, columnist, and former professor and academic dean. Follow Jedediah on Twitter @JedediahBila.
It’s hard to beat Santa Claus!
1950’s were the best Republican now Democrats thumbs us down by high percent of dumb people are no education lack of knowledge only the government incomes support to help them. Kick the Republican’s in the butt!!! Come on!
Free college sounds great, but not if you are not a student-type–college requires a lot of hard work to do well. . I don’t believe free college is any kind of solution. We need to figure out how to give our young people a hand-up and not a hand-out. Getting something for free sounds good, but often when I get something for free, when I get home I realize it’s not really something worth having, and I trash it. Often we assume “help” is a “one size fits all” and it’s not. I believe what people need is opportunity, which is best left for the private sector to figure out–those who are living among the need.
Hillary Clinton’s call for free college tuition is another example of the Democrats’ strategy for winning the Presidency. It was laid out in the debate and it will probably work. Promise anything you want and everything they want. “They” being the low information voters that are seemingly making up more and more of the population. Make sure you have a “D” behind your name, because that will identify you as a truly compassionate person of the people. You will be welcomed on all the entertainment venues, and supported by the adoring media that will never ask you how you are going to keep these promises, or how they will be paid for. It is easy to say anything you want because there is no accountability. Accountability is also no longer demanded.
So Barack, Hillary, Bernie, and the others, go ahead, throw those calculators away, ignore the Constitution, and keep talking. No one would dare argue with you, or criticize you, because you are compassionate and they are not. You have a “D” behind your name, and that “R” after their name, well, that stands for “Racist.”
Sad, but true.
We are NOT going to win them over if they’re all like my brother, a devout Democrat with his head stuck in the sand. Any time I send him ANYTHING political, he says, “stop sending me that BIASED junk”! Then he sends me some “BIASED” junk from the Dems. I finally took his name off my mailing list. I’d be willing to bet, if the Iranians attacked us, he would find SOMETHING to justify their actions. With all of the Democrat “give-aways” nowadays, the poor are flocking to line up to vote for MORE! And the Dem’s are going to give it to them at OUR expense.
Sadder yet, the more poor immigrants we get the more votes the Dem’s get.
I wish I had a solution to offer, but I don’t. I do know that if the solution offered here worked, Mitt Romney would be POTUS right now. While many of the elements presented here must be present in the future campaign, simply repeating a failed strategy won’t work. For one thing it doesn’t address the misconceptions of blue staters: just 2 examples 1.) Government spending isn’t the problem, the problem is that “THE RICH” aren’t paying their fair share. (Overlooking the fact that complete confiscation of all assets of “the rich” (who already pay 90% of the taxes) would not be sufficient to get us out of the hole we are in). 2.) Republicans don’t care about normal people, they just want to make the rich richer! (I think most Republicans, like me, are normal (not rich) people who want everyone to have the opportunity to prosper (which doesn’t require becoming wealthy) which can’t happen with huge national debts or with federal micromanagement of every aspect of American life.)
In politics anything is possible. But one must keep in mind that a majority of Americans are voting for racial and cultural reasons, and also that a large number are stupid. If not, Obozo would never have been elected. The GOP can win by showing what a disaster the presidency of Hillary or Sanders will be like.
Why do you think that, Steve, when they failed to forsee what a disaster an Obama presidency would be?
I generally agree accept that I reject the simplistic notion that there are people on the right, people on the left (the “bases”), and people in the center. Individuals, and the electorate, are more complex than that. I believe the conservative message, correctly communicated as detailed in the rest of the article, will resonate with a majority of the American people regardless of where they are in the left, right, center spectrum.
Funny how Republican’s have to almost save the world , and for the last 12 year’s under WHO’S major leadership and in some people’s eyes America and the world is going down the tubes?? , and in other’s the world is getting better. These people must have their heads buried in the sand . Now in America everyone conformed to her
rules there were no exception’s and Mr .Reagan did not cow tow to any one group just ask the commies .He talked how we could make America better and always ended every speech with God Bless America .That is a true leader , puts country before all else . All I see now is a lot of hot air , if I want that I would listen to the Queen . I hope that works out for all the expert’s out there who keep saying she is in big Trouble maybe they should sit down with Bill and have a chat . America is a place where you can be free say and do as you please in peace , grow your family and build your future , protect those who are oppressed it does not get any simpler than that and that is why millions still try to come to this land .
Right on!!!!!!!!!!!! GO RED GO!!!
Thanks, Sherry
Very good. I especially agree with her re:solutions and telling what you are for instead of what’s wrong with the other or incumbent candidates. Thanks for an excellent article, Jedidiah. (I like your name, too.)
I like Jedediah, but I disagree with the premise of the article. This is purely an establishment party line. Consider that Ronald Reagan was unapologetically conservative. He did not “shift” hiis messagng after he won the primary for President. He kept his messaging positive and upbeat and mostly stayed true to his principles. If you stand for nothing, you’ll fall for anything…
The GOP can turn most of the Blue states into “RED” and the cost is Not Prohibitive.
Invest in a secure video system to be installed in “major” BLUE voting districts in NY, Phila. PA, Cleveland, OH, Chicago, Ill, Atlanta, GA, and other high-density Democrat districts.
The videos will reveal the extent of “voter fraud” and other Tammany Hall practices which have been perfected since the 1920’s … LaGuardia, and have been upgraded in Cook County, Ill.
Illinois used to be a RED State under the Daley machine took over and won the state for JFK.
Step 2 is to pass legislation to prevent voter fraud.. VOTER ID is not offensive to anyone, but DUMBOCRATS Protest because their “majority” would be at risk.
FACT: Human beings are, by Nature, moderate conservatives after age 30 … only CORRUPT politicians “buy” liberal/progressive votes with Taxpayer-funded entitlements.
btw, Voting is a privilege, not a “right”. Only players with skin in the game (those who an “ante UP”) must have voting privileges. i.e.,,TAXPAYERS!
… but You already know this to be True, Jedediah … Isn’t that Correct?
I am afraid here in Commifornia the state is totally lost to uber liberal democraps hell bent on single party dictatorial rule. When Flush it Down Brown signed the motor voter AUTOMATIC registration, the game is now over! This is an assured recipe for voter fraud by illegal aliens on a MASSIVE scale! They all will vote as told and OF COURSE it will be libturd demoncreep! There will NEVER ever be conservatives in any state wide office.
I like Ben Carson because he has the courage to tell is like it is no matter whoose toes he steps on. I believe his heart is for the best for the American people. He reminds me a lot of Ronald Reagan and he is like a breath of fresh air they and we need someone like him desperately. I will be praying for him every day and thank the Lord for the integrity that he displays.
I agree. I personally like Ben Carson and I like his no nonsense approach to the issues. However, I fear that his being a black man may well be a huge disadvantage. We have suffered through 8 years with an incompetent black president who should have never been elected the first time let alone twice. I fear the people will balk at the idea of another black president. Obama has left a terrible taste in our collective mouths and it will take time to wash it away.
We have yet to have a “Pure Black” man who has endored the rigors of living in Harlem like surroundings. Obama is the product of other countries and some privileged family relaltions. America was sold a bill of goods to elect the first Black President who had very little in common with the general Black communities. He was not attacked on this due to the fear of the truth backfiring on opposing political parties. Since the 1960s we Americans we have bought into political correctness to the point of hyphenating our heritage which simply creates fractures instead of cementing our Americanism.
Tom, I agree. He also provides logical and educated reasons for his answers. An example is his explanation of why he supports the 2nd Amendment and the history of why it was written into the amendments – not just because he own guns, but why we need that amendment. The media, of course, always attempts to twist what he says against him, but he stands firm and doesn’t cave in to their verbal assaults. He knows how to articulate the truth and doesn’t get his feathers mussed when criticized. I join my prayer for him with you.
When you have Republicans like McCarthy telling the news media that the Benghazi committee was only there to hurt Hiliary in the polls then you have a party in discord and it is going to cost them the election. They won’t be hurt by losing the election but the hard working taxpayers in this country surely will. Somebody has to pay for all the “Freebies” given away by the Democrats. If you think Obama was bad for the country you haven’t seen anything like what Hilary will do to it.
Conservative candidates need to respond quickly, humorously, and timely to criticism from their opponents, particularly those on the Left. Campaign staffers need to listen to every interview or speech that the Left makes and use their exact words against them. Some examples: In the Democratic debate, Hillary Clinton was asked by Anderson Cooper if she was a flip-flopper for her ever changing opinions. She said that as time went on, she “absorbed new information.” So every time a Republican is accused of flip-flops, they should just use her words. When Trump made the statements about Carly Fiorina’s face, she came out with that very effective ad showing the faces of everyday women and showed in conclusion the speech where she said she was proud of every wrinkle.
While I disagreed with Trump on his statements about Fiorina, I do think he is, as a rule, effective in his comebacks to criticisms. He doesn’t apologize for who or what he is. Unfortunately, Mitt Romney had a problem with that and it unfairly hurt him. Compare Trump to Romney on the issue of being a rich guy. Trump basically says, I’m rich, I earned it and I want to help every one else achieve success. He doesn’t try to hide from his success. What regular person in their right mind would say “I would rather be less successful?” Democrats like Obama, himself, give speeches everyday where they say stuff that can be used against them.
I agree that a positive position on issues is important. Democrats want to lower the bar to make everyone equal, and Republicans want to raise the bar to make everyone better. That is my source of a message.
McCarthy is unfortunately acting like an out of touch Republican that Democrats like to exploit. The reality of this current media driven world is this, GOP candidates are going to have to be more savvy regarding public appearances, public statements and demeanor. They have to be just as comfortable with an evening on Jimmy Fallon as they are in the morning on “Meet the Press.” Fox News personality Greg Gutfeld said it best: “The Left is good at selling bad ideas. The Right is bad at selling good ideas.”
Unfortunately, in this current biased (in favor of the Left) media world, Conservatives are awarded no margin of error. Liberals get a pass for their imperfections and missteps, Conservatives have to be better than perfect, and McCarthy broke that rule.
McCarthy is a typical part of the problem, not the solution. Like a typical Washington insider, he sees everything through the prism of the Washington game, where it is a zero-sum duel for resources and power and all about “us” winning and “them” losing; the sad story is that he thinks that his mistake was in voicing his real mindset in public when in fact it is in being possessed of that mindset at all. Most of us out here in “flyover country” could hardly care less about the Washington game. What we want to see is real solutions to the few problems that we have that government is competent to fix (defense/terrorism. transportation/infastructure, anti-trust regualtion amongst them) and then for them to shut up, go home, and stop spending so much of OUR (not their) money.
Jedediah Bila tried to answer the question: “…how the Republican Party can win over blue states.”
Then she stated that there was no easy answer. Jedediah is mistaken. All the Republicans have to do, is offer more “assistance” to those citizens who are “struggling with their financial obligations”. You know, promise to out liberal the liberals.
What Jedediah and other political pundits overlook, is why the blue states are blue, or liberal in their voting habits. The simple answer is that the majority of the voters in the blue states are attracted to the promise of socialism. These people believe that collectivized efforts produce the common good. They do not think that the individual can succeed in our modern society without
government help.
Jedediah and the other non-liberal political pundits actually believe that more effective conservative-based communication directed at the voters will convince them that the Republican Party candidates are the better choices. The problem with this thinking is the belief that one can educate liberal minded voters to reject “free stuff”. This is an exercise in futility because one would have to change the very nature of the liberal voter.
The people who vote for the Democrat candidate are not concerned with the growing national debt, illegal immigration, job losses, etc, etc as long as the government promises to make the
“safety net” a life-long life style. Why should they care? The Republican candidates have given up on trying to educate the public about the problems with socialism. Indeed, the candidates have found that calling for a reduction of government benevolence, results in less votes.
America is in decline because the majority of the people believe that they can vote for bigger “government checks”. We, as a country, are sliding into a socialist Utopia called Perdition.
The solution? Americans like to think that every problem can be overcome. Unfortunately, the problem is in the mentality of the majority of the voters. They think that they should get something for nothing.
Prediction: America is on course for a complete economic collapse that will make the Great Depression look like a walk in the park on a rainy day. The cost of the entitlement programs like Social Security, Medicare and Obama Care are driving us into national bankruptcy. Worse, no politician dares to address this situation. When the American dollar loses the full faith and credit of the people, it will be “Katie bar the door!” Chaos will reign and the arrival of hyperinflation will be the least of our worries.
I suggest that people invest in the metals such as gold, silver, lead and brass. Yup, a hard working shotgun or rifle will require lots of ammunition to protect your assets from the roving marauders. I would prefer to believe in Jedediah’s advice but for some reason, I doubt that her ideas will prevent the inevitable economic day of reckoning.
Joe, You’ve given up the fight already which makes you as much a cause for concern as the liberals who seek to sink us. Jedediah is right in that politics is the art of getting people to agree with you. I personally continue talking to the very people who vote liberal and some are listening. So instead of hoarding gold and living in fear behind locked and bolted doors, I suggest you follow this simple rule: for every criticism you have, no matter what the topic might be, you follow up with a solution. For me, if I’m talking to an anti-gunner, I talk in terms of self defense. If I’m talking to a liberal, I get them to agree that bankrupting us will sink everyone. Stay positive, Joe. I’m NRA and believe in self defense too. I’m cogent with our investments and believe my family is positioned well for the future. I prepare for the worst and hope for the best, just like pop taught me. But I simply refuse to sew seeds of panic which does nothing more than deny people a reason to believe in your ability to get ‘er done. So stand tall and keep your powder dry. We’re not done here.
Jeff Wise, I applaud your positive attitude. However, my prognosis for our future is based on the very fear that the Founding Fathers had. “When the people find that they can vote themselves money, that will herald the end of the Republic.” Benjamin Franklin
You report that reasoned arguments about the right to keep and bear arms, and the need to eliminate deficit spending, produce affirmative responses from the liberals that you encounter. One wonders if your efforts will change the way that those liberal will vote.
I have found that facts presented in a logical progression fail to impress liberals. They seem to suffer from selective hearing and sight when they are confronted by inconvenient facts.
Your use of the word “panic” is interesting. I pointed out that both of the major political parties are legislating programs that will bankrupt America and you describe that as alarming? Are you suggesting that such discussion should be avoided?
Perhaps you think that civil solutions like voting will correct our deficit spending. As though the majority of the voters will experience an epiphany, and only vote for fiscal conservatives.
There are clouds on the horizon and very few people even want to consider
ways to mitigate the resulting damage. Well, when the mortal storm breaks, it will be too late to do anything but witness the destruction. The economy is doomed because few want to seriously address prudent steps to save it.
Jeff Wise, our course is clear to any person who understands the projected national debt in the next five to ten years. Unless there is a dramatic reversal of such spending, America will experience bankruptcy. It won’t be decided by a court decision, it will be determined when the dollar crashes.
Suppose that the Republicans win the White House in 2016 and the the House of Representatives and the Senate Republicans become super majorities. Does anyone think that the Social Security program will be significantly changed? Would the Medicare and now the Obama Care programs be brought into line with tax revenues? Don’t make me laugh! The trip to a socialist Perdition will just slow down a bit, not stop.
The Founding Fathers should have included a strict balanced budget in 1789,
especially when they already understood the likely hood of the people voting for their own money.
A balanced budget provision would have been done away with, one way or another, by the people who brought us the income tax, the new deal and the great society. The aspect of human nature that responds to demagogues offering free stuff isn’t something that can be neutralized. I’ll offer another bit: the educated young aren’t ‘settling down’ and having kids. Where I live, three and four storey luxury apartments are being built quicker than 900 sq ft ranches were after the war. Every available parcel of land is sprouting these monstousities. The kids aren’t buying in to the country having much of a future and I find that quite ominous.
DA, there is only one way to effectively repeal an amendment, namely to create another that makes it null and void. This was done in the early 1900’s to overcome the anti-alcohol beverage amendment.
An amendment to overcome a balanced budget amendment would have to get the approval of the people. That means that the people would have to be convinced that spending borrowed money would be a prudent thing. The opponents would certainly inform the public that spending borrowed money would cause inflation.
Wait a minute. The voting record of the majority of the voters in recent elections indicates that these dullards might vote to bankrupt America just like they have been doing.
OK, my previous advice was meant for an intelligent and informed electorate. obama is proof that the majority of the voters are neither intelligent or informed.
Good post – one thing I have to disagree with however: My little social security check each month is not an “entitlement” that I receive, but it was taken from my check by the government from what I earned while employed. No one asked me if I wanted to give that money to the government, as I could have been using that earned money to invest into gold, silver, platinum, etc. I’m really tired of hearing that after taking that money from me by no choice of my own, and returning only 1/3 of what me and my employer were forced into giving, it is now called an ‘entitlement’. Because our corrupt government has misused those funds they took from me, does not mean I had anything to do with it, nor that it was even my choice to “give” them that money. You must either be wealthy, or young or both.
I resent seeing Social Security included in the “cost of entitlement programs” . I have paid into Social Security from age 16 through my retirement at age 74. My father taught me to work…..
No one in my family was ever “on the dole”. It would have seriously hurt our pride to consider it. I am now 81, and need the Social Security check that I paid into for 58 years. I feel sure that there are many other Seniors out there who have done the same, and feel the same way. To be lumped in with welfare and ObamaCare is a slap in the face to us, and frankly dangerous to those who think that they deserve a free ride. They will never learn how to take care of themselves.
Marge, you and Gloria are absolutely correct about the status of Social Security. The same goes for Medicare that is paid for by paycheck withholding.
However, the “entitlement” description is valid when you live beyond a certain age. Retirees collect far more than they paid into these programs after they collect more than they paid into them. Don’t believe me? Would you be willing to only receive what you paid into these programs? That would be foolish. And this is true even when you consider the inflation factor.
But Gloria had a very good point about letting the workers invest for their own retirement without Social Security. With patience, dedication and normal judgment, one could amass a much better retirement account that would be dedicated to that individual.
All of these programs are socialist monsters that should be called Ponzi schemes. The last ones in, get burned. Ask the young people about their chances of ever collecting Social Security or Medicare payments. They already know that these things will be busted before they retire. But they are still forced to pay into them.
I’m not faulting the retirees here, I am blaming the politicians who dreamed up these socialist schemes to get votes. Whether it was 1936, 1965 or 2010, the politicians told the people a lie. And now, those lies are coming home to roost. Oh, wait! I forgot, the Federal Reserve can just print money out of thin air just like they did with the Q.E. 1 through Q.E 3 programs. What was I worried about?
To Jeff and other eternal optimists, no one has given up the fight, but Joe is correct. I appreciate and usually agree with Jedediah’s opinions and enjoy her on FOX. However, Republicans are going to have to come to grips with reality. The reality is this country voted in Socialism when they elected Obama, – twice. Those voters aren’t going away, they are growing with every government job or free handout, executive order, or just lunatic protest groups.
I have tried to talk sensibly with average Democrats. They don’t want to hear it. In the South, there are “Yeller Dog Democrats”. If you aren’t familiar, this is the tobacco stain hardheaded contingent that would vote for a “Yeller Dog” rather than any Republican. Republicans are rich, they’re nuts, racists, homophobes, climate deniers, etc., automatic “handles” the Democrats use to insult and shut down any meaningful debate. Leftist propaganda from the media and the schools over the last several decades, has done it’s job.
Joe,
I fear that you have succumbed to the negative idea that what you think does not matter and I can understand that. I totally agree that something needs to happen and soon if this country is to survive. Socialism is very destructive and handouts do nothing to encourage people to get up and become productive members of society. By continuing the handouts for life with no accountability and no effort to step out of your situation, we continue to drain the pockets of those taxpayers that continue to make the effort. At this point there are more people with their hands out than those working to support them which is a very sad situation. Our country was founded on principles that insured that everyone had opportunity and we are doing nothing to encourage that idea. Our government reports that the unemployment figures are dropping, but does not acknowledge the number of people who have given up on trying to obtain employment or those who are now working part-time (much of which accompanied the implementation of Obamacare).
I do object to you referring to Social Security and Medicare as “entitlements”. Those of us who have worked and paid into the system for many years had no choice and did so with the promise that we would receive these benefits as promised. It is not that different than investing in a 401K or some other form of a savings plan for retirement. I doubt you would place money in a savings account and call it an entitlement or be happy if you were told “sorry, your funds are gone”. If the government was to replace the monies “borrowed” (stolen) from both Social Security and Medicare (to fund Obamacare), there would not be a question of solvency….think how many baby boomers alone paid into the system and how much should be available. No one can live on Social Security alone, but it was designed to make sure that no one was left with nothing after working for a lifetime. Many people also lost their pensions because of poor management by the company that they worked for and by many businesses going out of business that had borrowed those funds to try to keep the business going (nothing was left).
I do agree with you that we can no longer continue on the current path and that the future looks bleak for our children and grand children and future generations to come. There is no excuse for this to happen, but apathetic voters and big government are at the root of the problem. We must end this Politically Correct nightmare that is destroying our country and our traditions. We need to prevent voter fraud by requiring ID that confirms that you are a legal citizen and the ability to exercise your right to vote. No more blindly registering people because they obtain a drivers license that should only be available to legal residents for whom it is a privilege and not a right. There are studies that find no fraud in voting and others that show that there is fraud, so no legal citizen who wishes to exercise this privilege should object to providing proof that they are eligible.
People on each side of the aisle need to start opening their minds and studying the issues and the candidates and voting based on unbiased knowledge rather than being locked into one party or another. Unfortunately, too many are staunch liberal or staunch conservative and unwilling to open their minds to reality.
janet, I agree with everything that you have stated. And I will now refer to the Social Security, Medicare and Obama Care programs as being socialist programs.
Socialism is toxic to liberty. A little bit of socialism is like a little bit of arsenic to a society. Liberalism, progressivism, Marxism and communism are all peas in the same socialist pod. They all share the same basic political sin, namely rob Peter to pay Paul. Naturally the Pauls among us are very happy with socialist based programs.
Thomas Jefferson said it best: “The democracy will cease to exist when you take away from those who are willing workers and give to those who would not.”
All just societies provide for those who are disadvantaged in mind or body. The laggards? Not so much.
Joe, I can’t remember who said it, but it’s so true, “Those who would rob Peter to pay Paul … can always count on the enthusiastic support of Paul.” That seems to sum up where we’ve come.
So true. The thing lacking from any of our current candidates is the soaring optimism in our future that we have heard from some past Presidents. Even those I do not like got the people behind them through their use of memorable language. Who did not want to do something for their country when John Kennedy used his famous line. Franklin Roosevelt who to me was atrocious made people so optimistic on what he could do with the people’s support. Ronald Reagan and Bill Clinton were the same. Obama on the other hand uses language that divides people.
So far what we are hearing is how bad Obama is, how bad Hillary will be, and also how bad the opponents in the Republican party will be, but we hear little about how they will turn the country around. The candidate who can choose issues that can unite both Republicans and Democrats will be the ultimate winner.
Jeff, have you not heard Donald Trump’s message “We will make America great again….”??? How could you miss that? Or Marco Rubio speaking in similar terms? Bernie and Clinton are uniting the country with unlimited “Free Stuff”, the message that really resonates among over half of the country – the half that did not vote for Romney last time around.
Chuck, Ben Carson is a brilliant thinker and doesn’t just blow off steam, but provides intelligent, educated, logically- based answers in how issues can be handled for the good of all. He has also gone into areas and talked to the every-day American citizen. He doesn’t talk “down” to anyone, but treats everyone with dignity.
I agree Dr. Carson is a fine man, but what we need now is someone who will play hardball because of where we have landed 30 years after President Reagan. When Donald Trump says he will make America great again I believe you can take that to the bank.
If we end up with Jeb or one of the Senators, the Hillabeest wins hands down and that will be the end of the Republican Party that once functioned in days of yore. Now they are unable to function while carrying the MAJORITY in Congress, God help us.
Rand Paul, as far as I know, is the only Republican actually visiting “diverse areas” of the country, while the rest concentrate on the first four states of the campaign circus. Bernie Sanders is in his comfort zone in New England and does well but I don’t think he has ventured into the rural South or the Detroits and Watts of the country with his “Free Everything” message. Because he wants to be on Clinton’s coattails, not really win the job, he will leave all that to her and her machine which owns the Blue States. Why else make the famous quip about her emails??