The Missing Candidate.
RJM
Published
11/30/2011
Time and time again, America has failed to deliver the candidate the American people are truly looking for. So what are the characteristics that is missing from the lineup that no one candidate wholly embraces?
Let's look at the GOP and what they've produced in the past:
The last great GOP candidate cited is usually Ronald Reagan. He was absolutely bulletproof. Attacks to him were shed like water off a ducks back. He single-handedly defined the party for the next several decades. He was instrumental in the dismantling of communism, the uniting of Germany, and transforming the Soviet Union into an ally.
Another notable conservative was Abraham Lincoln, the founder of the Republican party. He led a divided nation during it's darkest hour, and ended slavery. Despite being at war with the southern states, he respected his enemies, knowing full well that to get things done, you have to have the grace to make your enemies respect your character.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, on the other hand, led the nation in it's greatest heyday. After World War 2, he built the interstate highway system, an example of government spending the right way. The highway system essentially paid for itself by opening up commerce between cities that didn't exist before, bringing wealth to the people, and revenue to the government.
George Washington was nearly named the monarch of America. He declined and instead set the stage for America to be a democracy of limited government and liberty. If it wasn't for him, democracy as we know it today would have been set back centuries.
Like Washington, Thomas Jefferson completely reshaped the country. Starting with his Declaration of Independence, he ended the colonies' ties to the King, and set forth a new government. During those heated first decades, many of the ideas he had are the beliefs that define what conservatives are wishing to "conserve" today. Interestingly, the conservative values today were then labeled progressive, and the ideas he fought so hard against are now called progressive.
What did these men have that is missing in today's leaders? Here is the model candidate I wish I would see surface:
1. Lead. Whole books can and have been written on leadership, but I'll define it in one sentence as it relates to what is missing in today's GOP, and in American politics in whole. To be a leader, you have to lead all people. You cannot insult your opposition, because if you want to get things done, you have to understand their take as well. Be everyone's leader.
2. Be Authentic. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more when a GOP candidate declares themselves the "Reagan conservative". Reagan didn't cite himself as the Eisenhower conservative. He was Reagan, and he took his inspiration from all the great leaders and developed his own eclectic identity.
3. Be Principled. If you didn't live your entire life by your principles, don't run. If you made flaws in your past, put them on the table before you are in the spotlight and fess up to being flawed. People can relate to that. Make every move you make predictable by someone that knows your principles. Even in private.
4. Military Background. If you would put your life on the line for the love of your country, no matter what your political persuasion is, you've demonstrated that you will sacrifice your own welfare for those of your fellow citizen.
5. Communicate. Reagan was dubbed The Communicator. When he spoke, he came across as though he was inserting his own ideas in your head. He gave you the pride for those ideas as though it were your own. He connected through communication. This is vital. If people don't believe in your ideas and own them with you, they will turn on your ideas and turn on you, even if they are good ideas.
6. Humility. Never accept credit. Always give it.
7. Knowledge. Know enough about everything that when asked, you have something to say. And know more than enough, so when you have something to say, it's of substance.
8. Humor. It's a great weapon, and one that works just as well when it's pointed at yourself.
9. Listen. I can't state how important this is even in everyday life. When it comes to changing other people's decisions, if you claim to have the solutions, it's meaningless unless you're actually offering solutions to other people's problems. Many times I've talked to extremely stubborn liberal people, and actually got them to say "Yeah, maybe you're right" because I stopped, listened to what they said, and laid out exactly how I would solve that issue without needing more taxes, more regulation, or more social engineering, and laid out exactly why I would not use the liberal tactics.
10. Spiritual. Not religious, per se. By spiritual I mean humane, compassionate, and connected with humanity. Defend the people's rights to their own religion as though it were your own, and defend the rights of people they were granted with at birth, for no government can grant rights, but only take away the rights we were born with. By that nature, government is cold and inhumane, and to be the leader of that kind of power, you must know why that power should be limited. For humanity.
Let's look at the GOP and what they've produced in the past:
The last great GOP candidate cited is usually Ronald Reagan. He was absolutely bulletproof. Attacks to him were shed like water off a ducks back. He single-handedly defined the party for the next several decades. He was instrumental in the dismantling of communism, the uniting of Germany, and transforming the Soviet Union into an ally.
Another notable conservative was Abraham Lincoln, the founder of the Republican party. He led a divided nation during it's darkest hour, and ended slavery. Despite being at war with the southern states, he respected his enemies, knowing full well that to get things done, you have to have the grace to make your enemies respect your character.
Dwight D. Eisenhower, on the other hand, led the nation in it's greatest heyday. After World War 2, he built the interstate highway system, an example of government spending the right way. The highway system essentially paid for itself by opening up commerce between cities that didn't exist before, bringing wealth to the people, and revenue to the government.
George Washington was nearly named the monarch of America. He declined and instead set the stage for America to be a democracy of limited government and liberty. If it wasn't for him, democracy as we know it today would have been set back centuries.
Like Washington, Thomas Jefferson completely reshaped the country. Starting with his Declaration of Independence, he ended the colonies' ties to the King, and set forth a new government. During those heated first decades, many of the ideas he had are the beliefs that define what conservatives are wishing to "conserve" today. Interestingly, the conservative values today were then labeled progressive, and the ideas he fought so hard against are now called progressive.
What did these men have that is missing in today's leaders? Here is the model candidate I wish I would see surface:
1. Lead. Whole books can and have been written on leadership, but I'll define it in one sentence as it relates to what is missing in today's GOP, and in American politics in whole. To be a leader, you have to lead all people. You cannot insult your opposition, because if you want to get things done, you have to understand their take as well. Be everyone's leader.
2. Be Authentic. Nothing makes me roll my eyes more when a GOP candidate declares themselves the "Reagan conservative". Reagan didn't cite himself as the Eisenhower conservative. He was Reagan, and he took his inspiration from all the great leaders and developed his own eclectic identity.
3. Be Principled. If you didn't live your entire life by your principles, don't run. If you made flaws in your past, put them on the table before you are in the spotlight and fess up to being flawed. People can relate to that. Make every move you make predictable by someone that knows your principles. Even in private.
4. Military Background. If you would put your life on the line for the love of your country, no matter what your political persuasion is, you've demonstrated that you will sacrifice your own welfare for those of your fellow citizen.
5. Communicate. Reagan was dubbed The Communicator. When he spoke, he came across as though he was inserting his own ideas in your head. He gave you the pride for those ideas as though it were your own. He connected through communication. This is vital. If people don't believe in your ideas and own them with you, they will turn on your ideas and turn on you, even if they are good ideas.
6. Humility. Never accept credit. Always give it.
7. Knowledge. Know enough about everything that when asked, you have something to say. And know more than enough, so when you have something to say, it's of substance.
8. Humor. It's a great weapon, and one that works just as well when it's pointed at yourself.
9. Listen. I can't state how important this is even in everyday life. When it comes to changing other people's decisions, if you claim to have the solutions, it's meaningless unless you're actually offering solutions to other people's problems. Many times I've talked to extremely stubborn liberal people, and actually got them to say "Yeah, maybe you're right" because I stopped, listened to what they said, and laid out exactly how I would solve that issue without needing more taxes, more regulation, or more social engineering, and laid out exactly why I would not use the liberal tactics.
10. Spiritual. Not religious, per se. By spiritual I mean humane, compassionate, and connected with humanity. Defend the people's rights to their own religion as though it were your own, and defend the rights of people they were granted with at birth, for no government can grant rights, but only take away the rights we were born with. By that nature, government is cold and inhumane, and to be the leader of that kind of power, you must know why that power should be limited. For humanity.
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