The Old Man With Ideas and Young Leaders With Vision

A well reported battle is developing between the Washington driven Republican establishment and the people driven Conservative/Libertarian/Tea Parties. That battle burst into the open when Senator McCain went to the Senate floor to Chastise Senator Rand Paul for his filibuster against confirmation of Islamic Jihad friendly John Brennan as Director of Central Intelligence. Senator Paul wanted a firm answer by the Administration on the question, “Does the President have the Constitutional authority to hunt and kill Americans on American soil?”

Senator McCain expressed clear annoyance that a junior Senator upstaging him as he was entertained for media consumption by President Obama. The real reason goes very deep. Senator McCain is a leader among National security Republicans. Senator Paul has a libertarian (if nuanced) skepticism about foreign military involvement. I will comment of Senator Paul’s views later.

The battle intensified this past Saturday as Governor Palin, in a roundhouse criticism of Washington Establishment Republicans took a well aimed shot at Karl Rove. The shot hit the target. Rove shot back Sunday. Both, in my view, were too personal and unnecessary but we got to see the battle lines. They are not going away. I have no personal fight with Rove however I will do my small part every time I can to wrest power and our country’s future from Senator McCain/Graham and Washington.

Many CPAC speakers were worthy of a feature. Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush, Utah Senator Mike Lee, and South Carolina Senator Tim Scott are three. A favorite of mine, freshman Texas Senator, Ted Cruz is another. The ones that fill the bill for this post are former Speaker, Newt Gingrich, Senator Rand Paul, and Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal.

Let’s start with Speaker Newt Gingrich who may hold the record for the longest time in Washington as an outsider. It is no surprise that he came with a big vision for the 21srt Century being America’s best yet. He called it:

Be Pioneers of the Future Not Prisoners of the Past

These are among the profound points the Speaker drove home:

“All across America governors are doing innovative new solution oriented things which Barack Obama is opposing . . . and the contrast couldn’t be more vivid.”

“The whole of Washington, in both parties, are Prisoners of the past.”

“We [Republicans] are not in the business just of balancing the budget as the book accountants of the Liberals, we are in the business of reshaping the budget to liberate the American people and create a better future because a balanced budget with smaller government is more effective and gives people better lives …”

Understand, “there is no red and there is no blue there are 311 million Americans who deserve a [political] party that wants every one of them to have a dramatically better future and that ought to be the Republican Party.”

You may not agree with all but don’t miss any of the vision of Conservatism’s most mature innovative thinker (Newt’s speech begins at the 5:40 mark):

We Need to Jealously Guard All Our Liberties

Senator Paul repeatedly attacked President Obama for his unconstitutional power grab and slid effortlessly into an effective argument against federal spending and on to a powerful warning about our loss of God given rights and freedom, “But you can’t protect the Second Amendment if you don’t protect the First Amendment. If we are not secure in our homes, if we are not secure in our persons and our papers, can we really believe the right to bear arms will be secure? We need to jealously guard all our Liberties.” Senator Paul declared.

Senator Paul won the CPAC Straw Poll. It means nothing. That poll is always rigged by libertarians. But Senator Paul made his mark brilliantly and his brand of Libertarianism is on the rise in America and in the Republican Party. Senator Paul is clearly running for the Republican nomination for President in 2016. While Rand Paul does not share his father’s isolationist views, he is clearly not interested in meeting the worldwide jihad until it gets to our doorstep. We must watch his position on life and marriage. To quote Dr. Ben Carson, “Enough said,” for now. Like the attendees at CPAC 2013, you’ll love and be stirred to action by Senator Paul’s inspiring address:

America is Not the Federal Government; In Fact, America is Not Much About Government at All

You must watch Governor Jindal with a notepad and pen and be prepared to back up and listen again. Governor Jindal hit one pitch after another out of the park. Here is a handful I picked up in the center field stands.

“In our public discourse today, America is pretty much defined by government.”

“Number crunching—even conservative number crunching—is not the answer to our nation’s problems.”

“The truth is this, nothing serious is deemed serious in Washington, D.C.”

“We must turn our focus from managing government to leading America.”

“We must not become the party of austerity, we must become the party of growth.”

“We believe in creating abundance not redistributing scarcity.”

These visions have surely prepared us to clarify our own vision for a renewed, moral, and exciting America. There is much to be done. Let us begin.