Purpose-Driven Nation

Ronald Reagan Rides Again
The Lone Ranger was a masked Texas Ranger in the American Old West who galloped from town to town on his horse Silver righting injustices, usually with the help of his faithful Indian companion Tonto. The Lone Ranger TV episodes ended with the catch phrase “Return with us now to those thrilling days of yester-year…. The Lone Ranger Rides Again!” On the radio and TV-series, the usual opening announcement was: “A fiery horse with the speed of light, a cloud of dust, and a hearty ‘Hi-yo Silver! The Lone Ranger Rides Again!”
What America needs today is to return to the thrilling days of yesteryear when Ronald Reagan rode into the District of Columbia on his horse Principle and righted injustices. Evangelicals and con-servatives want a true conservative president like Ronald Reagan. Conservatism does not need an adjective to describe it, it needs a leader to define it and lead it. America needs a leader who will stay the course no matter what storms he may encounter and no matter how turbulent the waters of domestic and foreign affairs become.
Today, Americans are looking for a president who is resil-ient—gentle but tough; a leader who talks softly but carries a big stick; a leader who is not consumed with himself but consumed with big ideas and real solutions to make America better; a leader who will not be cajoled into believing it is “politically incorrect” to confront evil where its exists; a leader who objects to the new amoral climate and when labeled “intolerant” and “insensitive’ to different “lifestyle choices” by moral relativists it runs off him like water on a duck’s back; a leader who is a committed capitalist; a leader who believes in Federalism and enumerated powers.
Federalism refers to the apportioning of power between the federal government and the states. Granting the states specific self-governing powers and rights is not only politically expedient, but also serves the Framers’ intent to limit the central government’s authority. The sharing of power between the states and the national government is one more structural check in an elaborate govern-mental scheme of checks and balances.4
The enumerated powers are a list of specific responsibilites found in Article 1 Section 8 of the Constitution, which itemize the authority granted to Congress. Congress may exercise only those powers that are listed in the Constitution, limited by the Bill of Rights and the other protections found in the Constitutional text.
Evangelicals and conservative Americans want a leader who will lead the conservative movement in the fight for freedom; a conservative leader who will advance the conservative cause, not just talk about it in terms of wishful thinking. Not “what if,” but “why not?”
Evangelicals and conservatives have a strong belief that the Republican Party Platform must be truly conservative. No hyphens and no compromise. To build a conservative platform the GOP must have a foundation that stands solidly on four welldeveloped legs: faith, family, finances, and freedom. Principles and good policies must be practically linked. Principles without policies are just platitudes. “In theory” and “in reality” are two different things.
A New York Times poll shows Evangelicals will only support a presidential candidate who shares their values. An October 2007 New York Times/CBS News poll shows evangelical Republicans agree with Dr. James Dobson, host of Focus on the Family. Nearly 60 percent of those who plan to vote in the primaries said they could not support a candidate they didn’t agree with on issues such as abortion and same-sex marriage.
Evangelicals and conservatives want a leader who will step up and declare without apology that he believes in the God of the Founding Fathers; that God governs in the affairs of men; that God is the Supreme Judge of the universe, and in final rewards and pun-ishment in eternity. Evangelicals will vote for a candidate who is not ashamed to express his love of God and country; who will proudly display an American flag pin on his lapel; who is commit-ted to his family; who believes it is important to begin each day by reading the Bible for guidance and praying for wisdom; who will surround himself with a group of wise and seasoned leaders that offer good advise and wise counsel about the vital issues of the day and hold him accountable to maintain principles and priorities in his personal life.

Excerpt from America: A Purpose-Driven Nation by Philip M. Pantana, Sr.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, January 16th, 2008 at 9:13 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.