Herman

Cain

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June 22, 2009

What Conservatives Can Do

Last week my 10-year-old granddaughter gave me a card she made herself that had some hearts drawn on it with the simple message, “Pa Pa, thanks for being there for me.” Yes, it brought a big smile to my face.

That simple message immediately reminded me of three things: The two times I had no one to turn to except my dad – and he was there for me – and the very first time I saw my granddaughter’s face on the day she was born.

I was very blessed to have had my dad in my life for 37 years, and he was a dad who was truly one of my heroes in life. The two times he bailed me out of a financial emergency were great, but not as great as the unquestionable knowledge and feeling that he loved his family, and that he was always there for me, my brother and my mom.

Many people have heard me tell the true story of my first thought when I saw my granddaughter’s face for the first time. I did not think about what I could do to help her parents give her a better start in life, or how big of an inheritance I wanted to leave her someday. 

My first thought was: What do I do to make this a better world for this little face and all of the other little faces?

That first thought still inspires me today, which is common for most of us. But, we have a lot of work to do.

This country has gradually gotten off track and is moving in the wrong direction from what our Founding Fathers envisioned and established. I know that one person cannot turn things around singlehandedly, but we can each do what we can do, to borrow a phrase from the closing song of the 2000 Olympics.

Here’s what we can do:

People who believe in less government, less taxes and less dependence on government (conservatives) can continue to fight the liberal express in Washington, D.C. Although we are hugely outnumbered in the rarefied air of the administration, Congress and the mainstream media, we are not outnumbered on the ground among the real people.

In fact, just one week ago the Gallup Organization released an updated poll that said: “Thus far in 2009, 40% of Americans interviewed in national Gallup Poll surveys describe their political views as conservative, 35% moderate, and 21% as liberal.”

Conservatives clearly outnumber liberals, but liberals won the White House and a larger majority in Congress. Our challenge is to convert that ground strength into legislative impact. Here’s how.

First, we can and must continue to voice our opposition loudly and collectively to wrongheaded, anti-liberty and anti-free-market proposals. There are some moderate Democrats who are against these socialist policies, and they recognize that their congressional seats may not be bullet-proof in November 2010. They need to know we are paying attention.

Second, the power of the ballot box has not diminished. It has just been temporarily hijacked by liberals. Thomas Jefferson observed that “The American people won’t make a mistake, if they are given all of the facts.”

We can continue to give people the facts, because the real facts about this administration and Congress are becoming frighteningly clearer every day.

We can take back our government, so that the country we know today will be there for our grandchildren and all of the new little faces tomorrow.

Now that’s what we can do and we will.

© 2009 North Star Writers Group. May not be republished without permission.

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