By Maj. Gen. Jerry R. Curry, US Army (Ret.)
The Democrat and Republican Party establishment leaders seem to be two wings of the same vulture. They clamor for open borders and provide homes for illegal, un-vetted immigrants not knowing whether the illegal immigrants have a terrorist affiliation. At the same time they many of them champion voting without identification.
They seem to want to try to help make up for the nation’s historic anti-black racism by throwing the nation’s arms and borders wide open to Middle Eastern immigrants without first properly vetting them. As the presidential election nears let us remember that our nation is a nation of purpose, both here at home and abroad, and that we must not easily surrender our freedoms or give up our role of world leadership, or there will be hell to pay.
As we go to the polls let us remember the words of one of our most distinguished founding fathers, Patrick Henry of Virginia, who said, “Give me liberty or give me death!” For surely that is what this presidential election is about, liberty or death.
Many believe that age 70 is too late an age for Mr. Trump to change his fundamental, businessman speech patterns. Let me strongly disagree. He is a highly educated, highly intelligent, highly successful businessman with broad international travel experience.
He knows when he is saying something provocative that will get him in trouble politically or with the news media. Do you really believe that he had no idea that by publicly refusing to support the Republican Party’s elected presidential nominee he would cause a political media fire storm? Get real!
He also knew exactly what he was doing when he said he may refuse to support the Democrat candidate for president, if the election was unfair. It isn’t that he is ignorant of the furor his choice of words causes; it is that he deliberately chooses to use them to cause an uproar.
Surprisingly none of the republican elite seems able to figure this out. Mr. Trump says he intends to fight for what will make America great and if that fight leads to Capitol Hill, then, so be it. So far he has proven to be a man of his word.
The Republican Party has long been in the process of collapsing, primarily because its leaders are gutless. When was the last time there was a rip-roaring fight on the floor of the House and Senate between the two parties over some major, important policy issue such as immigration, illegal immigrants, or an open border?
How often in the past eight years has there been a real knock down drag out confrontation between the Democrat President in the White House and the Republicans who control the house and the Senate on any important policy matter? There hasn’t been one.
Now Mr. Trump says he is ready to embark on a fight to make America great again and this causes the political power elites, on both sides of the aisle, to scream bloody murder. Unfortunately he’ll probably have to fight it out on his own because the republican congressional elites seem only willing to surrender or cave in. If it is left up to them there will never be a Capitol Hill slug fest with the Democrats.
Mr. Trump’s expertise as a successful businessman will have to be put to good use. Instead of diminishing, bullying or insulting democrat and republican leaders, or leaders of the private sector and industry he will be forced to reach across the aisle, cooperate with and get help from members of both parties. He will have to spend a lot of time encouraging leaders of private industry to build up America’s industry, and to provide the world with strong leadership in all fields of endeavor, not just in foreign and military affairs.
America does not just casually claim to be the world’s leader. It has, is, and will continue to set the world’s for freedom and democracy, provided Mr. Trump is elected president.
On the other hand, if Hillary is elected, the nation and the world will inherit a mess from Obama and she will be unwilling or unable to lift them out of the muck and mire. Hillary is unable to lead or to inspire. Her dull, boring speeches suck the life and enthusiasm out of all her audiences whenever and wherever she takes to the podium.
Jerry Curry is a retired Army Major General, Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense in the Carter administration; Acting Press Secretary to the Secretary of Defense in the Reagan administration; and Administrator of the National Highway Traffic and Safety Administration in the Bush Sr. administration.