Fellow Republicans

A Message to Republicans

Fellow Republicans,

As we enter this critical 2006 election year, and look forward to the historic changes 2008 will bring, it is vitally important that we as conservatives don’t lose sight of the things that have brought us this far.

If we want the American people to continue to entrust us with leadership, we must act once again in accordance with the great principles of Abraham Lincoln and Ronald Reagan. We must demonstrate that we have the understanding and vision to make progress and lead the country forward boldly and successfully in these dangerous times.

Wherever corruption has crept in, of individuals or of purpose, our job is to fight it. We must prove our worthiness by managing the affairs of our own Party and movement in an honorable fashion. While the opposition may wink at corruption in their ranks, we never should.

We must empower a new generation of leadership in the GOP. We must continue to recruit, train and equip principled, energetic men and women at every level of government, business, media and academics. We need them in the game and prepared for the hard battles ahead.

America is faced with external threats perhaps greater than those of earlier generations. The enemies of freedom have demonstrated a malicious willingness to bring great harm to our people and to our national interests. Global terrorism must be confronted head-on and with the full force of our determination and of our might as a people, if we and our allies are to survive.

I am fully committed to our men and women in uniform and to their mission. They deserve the best we can offer and they deserve our prayers and our eternal gratitude.

At the same time, we must keep our most important security commitment at home through greater intelligence and enforcing our laws against illegal immigration. We welcome people to our country who want to be citizens and contribute to the American Dream, just as my ancestors did over a century ago. We also need the political will to assure that those that come here become Americans and believe in their future as Americans, not as guest workers.

We must deal with all of these threats to our security and freedom, both from abroad and from within.

In order to preserve the values that we as Americans hold dear, we must defeat those who undermine our God-given rights to life, liberty and private property, and who subvert the most basic and important institution of all: the family.

Other pressing matters continue to be ignored by career politicians in Washington. Our income tax system is irretrievably broken. Fundamental reform is long overdue.

Spending is out of control. Professional politicians use it to buy votes and that has to stop.

Social Security and Medicare need serious attention before demographic realities make them untenable and overly burdensome to our children and grandchildren.

We are faced with a judicial branch that has lost sight of its constitutional mandate to judge according to the law, and not to legislate. We should resolve issues with reasoned debate and principles, not judicial pronouncements that lack popular will.

On every front, we must find ways to return power and control to the local level and to the individual. If we can expend American blood and treasure to obtain freedom for others, certainly we can do what it takes to further the cause of freedom and self-government here at home!

As a candidate for president of the United States. I am committed to positive change and know that it only comes through individual initiative.

To paraphrase Ronald Reagan: "There is no limit to what we can accomplish, if we don’t care who gets the credit."

Let’s work together and get the job done!

For America,