Mike Pompeo is a former United States Secretary of State and former director of the Central Intelligence Agency.
President Joe Biden’s announcement that he is seeking re-election is a wake-up call for conservatives. An incredible 70% of Americans believe Biden should not re-enter. If we can’t beat him in 2024, what does that say about us?
Take a good look in the mirror. If you haven’t noticed, the conservative movement is in crisis. We are on a losing streak.
Republicans could have won the 2020 election, and we certainly should have done much better in the 2022 midterm elections. But we didn’t. The urgent question to be answered is: why?
I believe conservatives have lost faith in their own ideas.
We have been led to believe that principles don’t matter, but performance does; that celebrity is more important than substance; that striking back is more important than formulating a compelling vision for America.
And look where that got us.
Since Biden’s inauguration, hard-working Americans have become poorer, our citizenry has become more polarized, and our enemies have gained courage.
The challenge conservatives will face trying to beat Biden is not one of the ideas — we know what we believe. The challenge lies in nominating a candidate who will credibly communicate these ideas to the country.
The right cannot simply rage against the other side to gain victory. We need to present solutions, not sound bites.
Biden’s policies of high taxes, government spending and heavy regulation have led to the weakest economy since Jimmy Carter took office.
Since Biden’s inauguration, hard-working Americans have become poorer, our citizenry has become more polarized, and our enemies have gained courage.
Take a good look in the mirror. If you haven’t noticed, the conservative movement is in crisis. We are on a losing streak.
We started our country on the path of failed socialist states. Biden has already tried to “dismiss” both student debt and mortgage payments for his own political gain — and in just a few days, a new rule will go into effect that forces homebuyers with good credit to take higher interest rates to subsidize people with bad credit. .
Besides being illegal, these are all attempts to redistribute wealth.
Meanwhile, American families are struggling to make ends meet because of the highest inflation in four decades. And Biden’s ambiguous name “Inflation Reduction Act” only made matters worse, funneling huge government spending into green energy projects that will do nothing to lower the cost of living or lower energy prices.
America must return to the free-market policies that put the economy back on track during the Ronald Reagan administration.
Reagan’s order to lift price controls on oil and gas production and distribution almost immediately lowered energy prices for all Americans.
If we show the same commitment to free-market policies in today’s energy industry, such as approving drilling contracts and removing burdensome regulations, energy prices can fall again so our families can thrive.
More freedom and less government will not only right the ship, but give America another 250 years of greatness.
We also need to integrate conservative ideals of deterrence and peace through strength back into our foreign policy.
Biden’s tenure has produced a much more unstable and dangerous world. His failed withdrawal from Afghanistan resulted in the deaths of 13 US soldiers and that country is once again a safe haven for terrorists.
The failure of Biden to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and hold the Chinese Communist Party responsible for unleashing and then covering up COVID-19 is clear evidence that he is incapable of is to defend America’s vital national interests or run the free world.
Biden’s policies of high taxes, government spending and heavy regulation have led to the weakest economy since Jimmy Carter took office.
The failure of Biden to deter Russian President Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine and hold the Chinese Communist Party responsible for unleashing and then covering up COVID-19 is clear evidence that he is incapable of is to defend America’s vital national interests or run the free world.
The next Republican nominee must demonstrate true leadership by making it clear that the security and prosperity of our country – and that of our allies – depend on our combined ability to exert force and deter our shared adversaries.
Therefore, we must formulate a foreign policy that primarily serves the interests of the American people, without resorting to austerity or isolationism.
That means providing Ukraine with the help they need to win their battle against Russian aggression, supporting our ally Israel against Iranian aggression across the Middle East, and denying the CCP’s efforts to expand its military footprint in the pursuit of regional domination.
And it also means speaking a simple truth: Our borders are as sovereign as those of any nation, and every tool of American power must be used to preserve them.
Reagan won the Cold War without firing a shot, and we can win peace again by adhering to his wisdom today: Weakness invites aggression, and only strength restrains it.
If all conservatives claim victimhood in this election, if we just want to stir up resentment against our political opponents, we will lose.
Instead, we need to provide a truly unifying vision. We need to make it clear that any ideology that assigns guilt or privilege based on race or gender is evil and un-American. We must reclaim and defend what America has always stood for – the proposition that all men are created equal and that true success is achieved through virtue and hard work.
The greatness of America was based on the character, merit, and excellence of its people. His future will be secured by this.
These are the principles that all true conservatives believe in, and they should form the basis of the Republican nominee’s vision.
If we can do that right, I know the American people will make the right choice.