Victory: Waiting to Be Seized by the Courageous

In the 1992 presidential election Americans had a choice of three candidates: Democrat Bill Clinton, Republican George H.W. Bush, and Independent Ross Perot. If nothing else, Perot made the contest interesting via his strange ideas and gradually escalating paranoia. In the end he only commanded 18.9% of the vote while Bill Clinton went on to win with 43%.

In the days and weeks following, the majority of the Republican establishment went after Ross Perot and accused him of handing the election to Bill Clinton. They reasoned that had Perot dropped out of the race, the majority of his voters would have instead pulled the lever for Bush. They said that Bush’ 37.5%, combined with Perot’s 18.9%, would have catapulted Bush to a second term.

I disagree. Not with the numbers, with the assumption that Perot voters would have pulled the lever for Bush.

Assuming even a majority of Perot voters would go for Bush demonstrates a gross misunderstanding of the voting public. Ross Perot did not steal that election from Republicans. George H.W. Bush failed to win it because he was not a strong enough candidate. If Bush had believed and stood up for the true conservatism of his predecessor, he would have won in a landslide. But Bush was nothing more than Democrat Lite, and America knew it.

Never forget that the one-term president’s predecessor, Ronald Reagan, obliterated his opponents in the 1980 election by winning 44 of the 50 states. Four years later he did the unthinkable by beating Walter Mondale in another landslide. He won 49 states and 525 electoral votes compared to Mondale’s one state and 13 electoral votes.

So what’s the point of bringing all this up now? Because a recent FOX News poll confirms something I’ve been saying for years: an independent candidate can win if he believes, and isn’t afraid to stand up for, conservative values. And he can win in a landslide, just like Reagan did twice.

According to the poll, 64% of Americans believe average citizens could do a better job in Congress than lifetime politicians. Furthermore, 64% would consider voting for a third-party candidate for president. The word “consider” is the key word.

Principal Not Politics

If you ask anyone on the street who takes the time to vote, they’re likely to tell you they are fed up with politics as usual. If you asked them specifically about the Republican Party you’ll get one of two responses:

• Democrats – Most Democrats will not approve of Republicans simply because they are Republicans. The opposite is also true, by the way. Asking a Democrat what he thinks about Republicans is a waste of time.
• Republicans/Independents – These voters will tell you they are sick and tired of supporting the Republican Party. But not because they believe the Tea Party has taken the GOP too far to the right. It’s just the opposite. Republicans are tired of a GOP that drifts further to the left and stabs them in the back at every opportunity.

Knowing this, let’s go back to that word “consider.” If it’s true that 64% of American voters would consider casting their vote for third-party presidential candidate, what is it that would push them over the edge?

The answer is simple: PRINCIPLED COURAGE.

American voters don’t want a president who goes to the podium and claims to be interested in the welfare of the country, only to turn around and actively destroy what has made America great. We all know that. But Americans also don’t want a president who talks a tough talk but then doesn’t have the testosterone or courage to back it up.

In case you missed it, that’s why an estimated 4 million Republicans did not vote at all in 2012. They witnessed a candidate in Mitt Romney who talked tough but, when given the chance to back it up, cowered in a corner and allowed Barack Obama to use him as a political whipping boy. If a presidential candidate can’t stand tough in a debate, how can voters expect him to stand tough when liberals and progressives begin attacking him after Inauguration Day?

Throw the Bums Out

I have said it before, and I’ll keep saying it until I’m blue in the face: it is time to throw the bums out. It is time to throw out every single career politician holding federal office. And if you think I’m crazy, then 64% of the voting public is also crazy. We believe an average Joe off the street could do a far better job in Washington then the career politicians who have learned how to game the system for their own advantage.

If ever there were a time when an independent candidate could break the lock on Washington currently enjoyed by the Democrats and Republicans, it is now. Between Obamacare, amnesty for illegal aliens, an economy that continues to languish in the toilet, and no promise for any brighter future, there is an opportunity waiting to be seized.

As I see it, we are in the midst of a period of history that offers an opportunity similar to what Abraham Lincoln faced in the 1860s. This is an opportunity to transform the American political landscape, not for the advancement of one party or political philosophy, but for the advancement of the welfare of the American people.

Before us stands the opportunity to seize control of this nation from the politicians who have sought to destroy it for the better part of several decades. This is OUR country. WE CAN take it back if there are enough of us with the courage to stand up and do it.

I call on all of my fellow citizens to stop and take a few minutes to read the Declaration of Independence and the preamble to the Constitution. Read it slowly and give it time to sink in. We have endured a long train of abuses that make what our forefathers faced seem like a mere inconvenience. While they dealt with taxes on tea and soldiers in their houses, we are dealing with the intrusion of Washington into every area of our lives.

The time has come for a ballot box revolt. Now is the time to lay it all on the line in order to liberate our country from the political ruling class. Now is the time to reach out and seize greatness. Not for our own glory, but for the future of One Nation under God!