It was at CPAC in March of 1975 when Ronald Reagan spoke to a captive audience who had just witnessed several months earlier the President of the United States resign and their Republican Party subsequently take a beating in the midterm elections of 1974.
It was time for a new vision. A new way forward.
In this speech, the future 40th president delivered. He said this about giving the people a cause to believe in:
Our people look for a cause to believe in. Is it a third party need, or is it a new and revitalized second party, raising a banner of no pale pastels, but bold colors which make it unmistakably clear where we stand on all of the issues troubling the people?
It is very interesting that tonight’s GOP debate on CNN is being held at the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
It was Ronald Reagan, the ultimate political outsider, who would lead the conservative grassroots movement and inspire millions more to believe in the greatness of the country.
During his 1980 historic run to the presidency, Reagan’s campaign slogan was “Let’s Make America Great Again.”
And the man using a variation of that slogan for his own campaign in the 2016 presidential cycle is none other than the frontrunner Donald J. Trump.
His slogan? “Make America Great Again”.
Now, we are not at all suggesting that Mr. Trump is Ronald Reagan. We are just simply pointing out that so far in this early presidential race, two outsiders, Mr. Trump and Dr. Ben Carson, are garnering over 50% of the votes in several polling outlets.
It’s a wave of anti-Washington, anti-establishment sentiment that is sweeping both men to the top of the polls.
And Ronald Reagan was the ultimate outsider too.
In 1980, Reagan fought hard to fend off the establishment’s choice for the GOP nomination, George H.W. Bush, and subsequently won the presidency in a massive landslide.
This time around, Donald Trump must fend off the establishment’s choice for president in former Florida governor Jeb Bush. Though as we have pointed out in the past, Mr. Bush’s dismal performance on the campaign trail is a great asset to the business mogul who may now see Jeb as just dust in the rear-view mirror.
While many have doubted Mr. Trump’s ability to sustain the lead after receiving attack after attack from the other presidential contenders, the media, and of course from the establishment, he has handled himself well and has seen his already impressive poll numbers continue to rise.
With that in mind, how does Trump once again fend off the attacks from his fellow competitors tonight, if they even try? Nearly every time a candidate goes on the offensive with Mr. Trump in their political crosshairs, their poll numbers either plummet or stay at the very bottom. See Rick Perry, Lindsey Graham, Rand Paul, and Bobby Jindal.
If any of the other 10 candidates on the stage tonight want to knock the outsiders (Trump, Carson) off the top spots, they better hit harder during the attack (not likely) or articulate their conservative message and vision for the country with the passion and heart and soul that Americans heard over 35 years ago from Ronald Reagan.
As we will do in each pre-debate blog this presidential cycle, we ask each candidate a pre-debate question or one as moderator during the event.
Today, we ask a pre-debate question.
Donald Trump: Should the attacks come at you again tonight, do you counter-attack as you have done throughout the campaign or do you stick to substance as Rush Limbaugh has advised you to do?
Ben Carson: After a strong, albeit short, performance in the first debate which subsequently gave rise to your poll numbers, currently sitting in second place, how do you handle yourself standing a few feet away from frontrunner Trump, especially after your verbal back and forth with him this past week?
Jeb Bush: Can you rebound from your extremely sub-par performance in last month’s debate in Cleveland and show the establishment and big money donors that you are still their choice to continue the trend of moderate nominees?
Ted Cruz: After a strong performance in Cleveland, but only seeing a slight increase in the polls thereafter, will you continue to stay on the “bash Trump” sidelines?
Marco Rubio: With Donald Trump’s anti-illegal immigration stance resonating with millions of Americans, will you admit that your plummeting poll numbers are a direct result of your membership in the Gang of Eight?
Mike Huckabee: Why was Ted Cruz not allowed to participate in the rally you held for Kim Davis?
Chris Christie: Are you still in the race?
John Kasich: No longer in friendly territory in your home state of Ohio, will your performance tonight continue to impress the establishment as the Jeb Bush alternative?
Rand Paul: With sliding poll numbers, will you again show off that fiery spirit that you displayed in the first debate when you took on Mr. Trump and Governor Christie?
Scott Walker: With plummeting poll numbers, do you have anything up your Harley-riding sleeves that can help you perform a debate game-changing miracle and reverse the slide that has you on the verge of dropping out of the race?
Carly Fiorina: Tonight, as you stand on the primetime debate stage near Mr. Trump, will you verbally spar with the man who commented (or didn’t) on your face?
Tonight’s debate should be another highly watched broadcast, offering each candidate an opportunity to speak to millions of primary voters.
With the number of debates reduced to just ten, there is a sense of urgency in this cycle than in the past to lay out his or her vision to fix America’s problems and make it great.
As Ronald Reagan said 40 years ago, give the people a cause to believe in.
Inside the library that sits atop a mountain in Simi Valley, California, 10 men and one woman have that chance.
Game on!
