It seems to me that what is missing in the top two contenders for the Republican presidential nomination is passion.
While Ron Paul speaks with passion of the Federal Reserve and Rick Santorum speaks with passion about life, Newt Gingrich speaks passionately mostly about Mitt Romney; and Mitt, it seems, merely speaks in sound bites.
I don't know about you, but I want to see them seek to build their own shining city on a hill such as that my dad envisioned, and not simply attempt to recreate that vision and make it their own.
I want them to stop speaking merely in sound bites, but rather to speak to me in parables to which I can relate. I want to feel their speeches, not just hear them. It needs to be more than "I'm not Mitt," or "I can beat Obama." I want them to convince me they really mean what they say, not what they think I want to hear.
If indeed Newt and Mitt can find the passion of Rick Santorum, and even that of my dad, they will go a long way towards winning not only the Republican nomination, but also the presidency itself. As many readers know, I have endorsed Newt and traveled with him on the campaign trail as a private citizen, but he can do better in this respect.
We Americans prefer to hear the real truth, not what politicians want us to hear. In the era of Barack Obama the message we hear from Washington is, "Trust me, we know what is good for you."
That's the message of tyrants, as many who lived under Hitler and Mussolini discovered as they were herded into concentration camps.
In those dreadful times, Germans, Italians and others under their rule were fed slogans such as those seen on signs above the entrances of concentration camps: "Arbeit Makt Frei -- Work Makes Freedom." To the Nazis and Fascists, freedom and death and work and slavery were conflated with respect to individuals; all that mattered was the state.
One of the early signs of an incoming dictatorship is a government's attack on the Christian church. Tragically, we are beginning to see something like that now, in the Army's attempt to censor chaplains -- to tell them what they can or cannot say in their sermons.
The government in this case appears to believe that it is superior to any religion -- that it is entitled to overrule the doctrines of faith by which all legitimate religious organizations live. We must, in their view, submit our articles of faith for government review and tolerance.
Accept this and bid freedom of religion farewell. Let's find the passion to make Obama a one-term president.
• Michael Reagan is the son of President Ronald Reagan, a political consultant, and the author of "The New Reagan Revolution" (St. Martin's Press, 2011). Visit his website at www.reagan.com, or e-mail comments to Reagan@caglecartoons.com.
Dale Whiting posted at 3:24 pm on Thu, Feb 9, 2012.
Mike, you have a good point. Where your father Ronald spoke passionately about issues, he lead the pack. But passion is not everything. Being right is also important. And we need to hear more passionate discussions about the issues so that we can choose who we each believe is right. I have yet to hear Ron Paul speak negatively about President Obama. And for that he is to be commended. However Santorum, Gingrich and Romney speak passionately against the President all the time.
So let's all get behind Ron Paul.
Slabside posted at 3:57 pm on Thu, Feb 9, 2012.
"However Santorum, Gingrich and Romney speak passionately against the President all the time."
Perhaps it is because there is no positive aspects of the POTUS.
Arizona Willie posted at 5:24 pm on Thu, Feb 9, 2012.
Newt has demonstrated several times that he has no morals or ethics at all.
He cheated on two wives and was forced to resign in disgrace and paid a $300,000 fine for ethics violations.
You really want to make a man like that leader of the Free World and Commander in Chief of our Armed Forces?
Anyone who knows Newts history and supports him anyway is declaring that they also have no morals or ethics.
mariapar posted at 11:04 pm on Thu, Feb 9, 2012.
I believe you'd like Rick Santorum.
RICK SANTORUM: "We're not going to win this race the way Gov. Romney has won the states he's won already, by outspending his opponent by 5-to-1 and beating them up. He's not going to outspend Barack Obama 5-to-1," Santorum said. "How are you going to win an election if your greatest attribute is `I'll spend more money than the other person'?"
USA: TAKE A LOOK TO RICK SANTORUM,
HE TALKS FROM THE HEART AND TOUCHES TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE !
PEOPLE POWER will win over MONEY POWER
THE PASSIONATE PEASANT AND NOT THE PLASTIC BISHOP-PRINCE WILL GET THE REPUBLICAN NOMINATION. !!
Bishop ROMoNEY is NOT LIKEABLE ! HE IS A PLASTIC KEN DOLL trying to recite poetry or be a singer and NOT succeeding !
mnjcpa posted at 9:37 am on Fri, Feb 10, 2012.
Don't disagree with you AZWillie on Newt's morals but they don't hold a candle to the one in office now that convinced the American public of "Hope & Change" when it reality what that change is - is a fundamental structural change to America as we know it. He ignored the results of the mid-term election opting still - regardless of what most Americans expect - to continue his bigger government, fewer freedoms, higher taxes on the producers to pay for the non-producers - while making America the joke of the world. ANYONE on the GOP stage is better than the morally challenged one in office now.
chatmandu002 posted at 10:20 am on Sat, Feb 11, 2012.
Being a conservative and speaking passionately on an issue now is just another weapon the liberal/progressive MSM uses to bash you over the head. You are labeled an extremist, racist, homophobe, xenophobe or greedy corrupt capitalist.
Take the Tea Party for instance. Their 3 core values are fiscal responsibility, constitutionally limited government and free market enterprise. Yet the Tea Party is labeled extremist, racist and all the other derogatory comments by the liberal/progressive MSM and their followers.
So speaking out and being passionate has it's challenges because of the bias from the 4th estate.
mnjcpa posted at 8:04 am on Tue, Feb 14, 2012.
Spot on chatmandu002!