Are We Doing All That Can Be Done?

 

 

"When our children turn the pages of our lives, I hope they'll see that we had a vision to pass forward a nation as nearly perfect as we could, where there's decency, tolerance, generosity, honesty, courage, common sense, fairness, and piety. This is my vision, and I'm grateful to God for blessing me with a good life and a long one. But when I pack up my bags in Washington, don't expect me to be happy to hear all this talk about the twilight of my life.

 

Twilight? Twilight? Not in America. Here, it's a sunrise every day -- fresh new opportunities, dreams to build. Twilight? That's not possible, because I confess there are times when I feel like I'm still little Dutch Reagan racing my brother down the hill to the swimming hole under the railroad bridge over the Rock River. You see, there's no sweeter day than each new one, because here in our country it means something wonderful can happen to you. And something wonderful happened to me.

 

We lit a prairie fire a few years back. Those flames were fed by passionate ideas and convictions, and we were determined to make them run all -- burn, I should say, all across America. And what times we've had! Together we've fought for causes we love. But we can never let the fire go out or quit the fight, because the battle is never over. Our freedom must be defended over and over again -- and then again.

 

There's still a lot of brush to clear out at the ranch, fences that need repair, and horses to ride. But I want you to know that if the fires ever dim, I'll leave my phone number and address behind just in case you need a foot soldier. Just let me know, and I'll be there, as long as words don't leave me and as long as this sweet country strives to be special during its shining moment on Earth.

 

Twilight, you say? Listen to H.G. Wells. H.G. Wells says: ``The past is but the beginning of a beginning, and all that is and has been is but the twilight of the dawn.'' Well, that's a new day -- our sunlit new day -- to keep alive the fire so that when we look back at the time of choosing, we can say that we did all that could be done -- never less.

 

Thank you. Good night. God bless you, and God bless America."--President Reagan, 1988 Republican Convention

Daniel Horowitz, More than a speech: How Cruz destroyed the ‘lesser of two evils’ narrative :

"During the milquetoast convention speeches this week, I was listening to the 1988 convention speech of Ronald Reagan in which he “handed off” the mantle to George H. W. Bush, a Rockefeller Republican who was disliked for years by the grassroots. Reagan masterfully summed up the accomplishments of his two terms in bringing back the country from domestic ruin and existential security threats. He then outlined some of the areas where he came up short and needed a new generation of conservatives and Republicans to expand upon his foundation. He was still talking about uprooting the entire premise of the Great Society (not just tweaking a single program) and long-term systemic reforms, such as constitutional amendments to rein in government spending and regulations. Reagan knew he couldn’t accomplish everything, but he hoped that his tenure would begin to finally cement a movement, rooted in the vehicle of the Republican Party, that would actually begin rolling back the liberal agenda.

What struck me in Reagan’s tone and substance in 1988 is that he could never have imagined that 28 years later we’d have long abandoned those fights, and that marriage would be redefined, transgenderism would be codified, religion and private property rights would be criminalized, and every aspect of the Constitution would be ruled unconstitutional. He figured that the movement he left in place would be strong enough to stand up against the relatively mild cultural and economic Marxism of his day. He never could have envisioned a party that would sit idly as the Democrats remade society and overturned every self-evident truth imaginable."..............

Horowitz offers some solutions to the Lesser of Two Evils-cycle:

"Go vote for Trump if you want. Knock on doors and raise money if it suits you. But for goodness sake, let’s not focus exclusively on one binary election choice just at the top of the ticket and continue repeating the same cycle of failure, especially with the existing red flags and uncertainties. So what should conservatives do now that the die has been cast? Hold him accountable, pressure the conservatives within his campaign to stay on message and make the right choices. Move him to the Right. Don’t throw yourself at him and don’t let some of the more hopeful elements of his potential presidency blind you to the challenges and concerns. Certainly, don’t alter your bedrock beliefs to comport with some of his liberal beliefs. We’ve been doing that for the past three decades with GOP nominees who didn’t even command a cult of personality. Let’s not wait six years to utter a word against “the party leader” like we did with Bush and just obsequiously alter our views to conform with the nominee and blindly trust that “Mr. Donald J. Trump” will make America great again. 

Moreover, concurrent with voting your conscience, help build a vehicle to actually implement conservative principles. Let’s work down-the-ballot races, let’s find ways to systemically reform the primary system so we don’t continue to be scammed by the establishment, let’s close our primaries, (something Trump and RNC staffers blocked at the convention), let’s work towards changing party leadership, let’s work on judicial reform, 10th Amendment projects and building up state legislatures to fight the judicial and executive overreach, and Article V conventions to create a durable movement in the long-run. Let’s reconstitute a party truly built upon freedom – whether Trump wins in November or not." ..................

All that can be done must be done.