The Grown Ups Are Back!

Today, let’s focus on a couple things that have been said by some very bright Republicans at or around the convention in the last few days. These are key points we should all remember.

● Paul Ryan: Paul Ryan spoke last night and laid out pretty much what every Presidential candidate from either party should say, which is why it’s sad his words are so rare.

Naturally, he called for a repeal of Obamacare, which he described as “more than two thousand pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines” and which he said has “no place in a free country.” He also promised 12 million jobs, which I take with a grain of salt. But more importantly, he said this:

“Before the math and the momentum overwhelm us all, we are going to solve this nation’s economic problems. And I’m going to level with you: We don’t have that much time. But if we are serious, and smart, and we lead, we can do this.”

It’s about time someone said this. As far back as I can remember, politicians have assured us that everything was fine when we knew it wasn’t. They pretended they had generations to save Medicare, balance the budget and pay off the debt. This was always a lie. The American public knows the truth, we just want to hear that our leaders understand this. And now we’ve found one. And Ryan does.

He also said this:

“Here is our pledge. We will not duck the tough issues – we will lead. We will not spend four years blaming others – we will take responsibility. . . The work ahead will be hard. These times demand the best of us – all of us, but we can do this. Together, we can do this.”

This statement packs a lot more than I think people realize. This strikes me as a declaration that Ryan intends to complete broad-based reform and will not shirk issues just because they are hot button issues that upset the public. To me, this sounds like (1) reform of the healthcare system, (2) reform of Medicare, (3) reform of Social Security, (4) education reform, and (5) comprehensive immigration reform. I base this list on the other things the campaign has spoken about in the last few months. And if I’m right, and if they achieve their goals, Romney/Ryan could very well end up remaking America in a much more fundamentally conservative, free market manner that Reagan even attempted, much less achieved. They could also solve the four glaring problems that still plague this country, outside of the black/white racial divide – education, fiscal sanity, an out-of-control medical system, and what to do about the eleven million illegal immigrants.

● Ann Romney: After her rousing speech at the convention, where Ann Romney was largely seen as winning over women and humanizing Mitt, she went to the Latino Coalition luncheon, where she made a direct appeal to Hispanics on a basis other than ethnic appeals:

“I spoke to women last night and I wanted women to understand how important this election is for their children, but as I was sitting backstage listening, I thought, it's also very important that the Latino community recognize how important this election is for them. And they are mistaken if they think they are going to be better off with Barack Obama as their president. There really is only one way for prosperity, for small business, and that is, this is the simplest way I can say this: If Mitt Romney wins, America wins.”

Notice, her appeal was based on prosperity and small business. It’s about time. I’ve been saying this for a long time. Republicans need to stop seeing Hispanics as a monolithic race which needs to be wooed with promises of racial spoils. They need to learn that Hispanics are people, just like everybody else, and we need to give them they should join us. . . reasons why their lives will be better off.

Ann Romney points out that women should think about the things Mitt will do for America which will make America better for their children and now she’s pointing out how Romney offers the only path to prosperity for the Hispanic community. Compare that with the Democrats who offer only fear, hate and a lifetime of living on government benefits in poverty.

She also went further and took Hispanics to task for not being open to the truth, and the Democrats for trying to trick Hispanics:

“It really is a message that would resonate well if they could just get past some of their biases that have been there from the Democratic machines that have made us look like we don't care about this community. And that is not true. We very much care about you and your families and the opportunities that are there for you and your families.”

This is a critical message. The first step in breaking anyone out of a cycle of dependency is to stop telling them they are doing fine when they aren’t. And here Romney makes it clear that Hispanics are not doing fine and that they are not being honest with themselves. They are instead acting on bias, a bias the Democrats feed.

I think messages like this combined with Romney’s plan to bring prosperity to all corners of America in a color-blind way will go a long way to waking people up in these communities. And then they will see, as Ann Romney said, that they should “naturally be voting” for the Republicans.

This approach is so much better than Bush talking about how he speaks Spanish or prior Republicans trying to out-pander the Democrats. This is an approach that promises people the truth, a better life, and respect.

● Chris Christie: The MSM is tearing Christie apart for his speech. Using the usual “unnamed Republican sources told us” approach, the MSM is claiming that everyone thought Christie’s speech was self-centered. Frankly, I just don’t see that. His speech was strong and highly partisan and went straight at Obama’s failures. For example, he said this about Obama’s leadership:

“There’s only one thing missing now. Leadership. It takes leadership that you don’t get from reading a poll. You see, Mr. President, real leaders don’t follow polls. Real leaders change polls.”

He also spoke of making the right decision, even when it’s hard, and he attacked Obama for not doing that:

“Our leaders today have decided it is more important to be popular, to do what is easy and say ‘yes,’ rather than to say ‘no’ when ‘no’ is what’s required.”

And he attacked their policies:

“Our ideas are right for America and their ideas have failed America.”

But what struck me again was the straight talk aspect of his speech. As with Ryan, he made the point that the American public is smarter than the political class wants to believe:

“They believe that the American people don’t want to hear the truth about the extent of our fiscal difficulties and they believe the American people need to be coddled by big government. They believe the American people are content to live the lie with them. They’re wrong.”

And he finished by refusing to sugarcoat what needs to be done:

“We all must share in the sacrifice. Any leader that tells us differently is simply not telling the truth.”

Ryan made these points better, but I think it’s vital that these points are being made at all. For the last 12 years, our government has gone on a spending binge, trying to buy our loyalties. They have added massive entitlement programs and drowned us in debt. They have destroyed the future to cover up the mistakes of the present. The Democrats have played a hateful, divisive strategy of race baiting and economic spite. The Republicans have gone along to placate the media. I get the sense from the speeches above, that those days are over.

The grown ups have returned.