There are only a few people I would consider to be heroes of mine, when it comes to government and politics. One would certainly be Ronald Reagan. He restored the American people’s confidence in themselves, and defeated communism – among other things.
I was lucky enough to meet Ronald Reagan several times back in 1988, when I was a first-time candidate for Congress. (I lost.) In fact, President Reagan even cut a T.V. ad for me (it still wasn’t enough!) Here’s the ad if you’d like to take a walk down memory lane with me.
Another of my heroes wasn’t an American at all; but rather British Prime Minister Margaret (Maggie) Thatcher. Known as the “Iron Lady”, Maggie was tough as nails, and was just what a shaky Great Britain needed at the time. She wasn’t always loved, but even her enemies respected her. She was a no-nonsense conservative, and not only was she the only woman ever to serve as the United Kingdom’s Prime Minister, but she was the longest-serving leader of that nation in the 20th century.
I had the honor to meet with Prime Minister Thatcher in the early ‘90s. Here’s yet another walk down memory lane. Blimey!
So where am I going with this? Well, during the second Republican debate, as Carly Fiorina so deftly handled question after question, it hit me: she has the same poise and toughness that I remember and appreciated in Maggie Thatcher. She’s someone who would stand up to Putin, not be pushed around across the globe, as Barack Obama has allowed to occur. Donald Trump responded to the “what would you do about Putin?” question with “I would talk with him. I would get along with him, I believe, and I may be wrong, in which case I’d probably have to take a different path.” Carly Fiorina said “We’ve talked to him (Putin) way too much,” and that she’d rebuild our missile defense programs and rebuild the Sixth Fleet. I liked her answer better.
There’s also the distinct possibility that we could see two women facing off against each other for the presidency this time – Carly Fiorina vs Hillary Clinton. The Democrats treat women as a special interest group, pander to them, and have peddled the bogus claim that Republicans are engaged in a so-called “war on women.” It’s a tired, old, discredited claim, but it hasn’t stopped the Democrats from bringing it out in virtually every election cycle. I have the impression that Carly would thoroughly debunk the claim, and make the Democrats look foolish if they try to use it against her.
When asked what woman she’d replace Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill with, Carly responded “I wouldn’t change the $10 bill or the $20 bill. I think, honestly, it’s a gesture. We ought to recognize that women are not a special interest group.” You’ve got to love this candidate!
Carly’s greatest challenge will be effectively explaining her time as CEO of Hewlett-Packard and her subsequent firing. As she moves closer to the top tier of candidates in the Republican presidential field, the other candidates, and their associated super PACs, will unload on her. Millions and millions of dollars in T.V. attack ads and hit job mail pieces will attempt to paint her as – well, as another Mitt Romney, the alleged robber baron of Bain Capital. Then, if she’s the Republican nominee, the Democrats and their friends in the mainstream press will take it from there. And it’s gonna be ugly.
Of course, whoever the Republican frontrunner is, the other candidates and their super PACs will go after. The days of Ronald Reagan’s “Eleventh Commandment – thou shalt not speak ill of another Republican candidate” are long gone. And the Democrats never thought much of anything Ronald Reagan said anyway, so whoever the Republican nominee is, they can expect millions and millions of dollars of incoming, below-the-belt attacks. Just goes with the territory.
Well on that cheery note, let me conclude by saying that as ugly as the process is, it’s absolutely critical that Republicans are on top of their game this time. Because we MUST win the White House, and start repairing the damage that Barack Obama has done to this country during his presidency.
