Young Guns : A New Generation of Conservative Leaders Read Free Page B

teenagers with their parents’ credit card. We’ve seen Democrats who claim to want only government that “works” never pass up an opportunity to make government bigger and more intrusive. We’ve seen both parties ignore the needs of Americans while they concentrate on doing favors for the special interests that get them reelected, whether it’s unions, corporations, or any of the army of lobbyists encamped on Capitol Hill.
    Don’t get me wrong. We’re proud Republicans. We just believe that our party has at times lost sight of the things we believe in, ideas like economic freedom, limited government, the sanctity of life, and putting families first. America needs new leaders with new solutions for the challenges we face. We don’t expect The New York Times to agree with us, but we believe these leaders and these solutions can’t come from the party in control of Washington today. They have to come from the party whose principles are firmly grounded in encouraging private sector job creation, in maximizing individual freedom—whether it’s the freedom to choose your own doctor or the freedom to choose the school for your kids—and in giving all Americans the opportunity to build a better future for their children. Thatparty is the party of Lincoln and Reagan; it’s the party of Rubio, Jindal, and Daniels.
    We believe it’s time for Republicans to reconnect with our principles, reinvigorate our message, and show our true face to America. We respect those who came before us, but as far as Paul, Kevin, and I are concerned, America is looking for more than our grandfather’s Republican Party. The wonderful irony of America is that it is a dynamic, diverse, and changing country that was founded on timeless, unchanging ideas. We’re ready to take our belief in the ideas that have made America great and translate them into the solutions that will make our future even better.
    America is ready for a new direction—the country urgently needs a new direction—the only question is: who is going to provide it? The people we talk to and hear from everyday have made it clear that they’re not in love with either party these days. Republicans controlled Washington from 2001 to 2006. They did some good things but they also did a lot to give conservatism a bad name. Then Democrats took power and their one party rule for the past year and a half has made “liberal” a fighting word. Neither party has addressed a building crisis in America; a crisis of government spending and growth that, if continued unchecked, will—not might but will —change our country from a place where every generation does better than the last into a place where every generation piles more debt and more burden on the next.
    Now, when politicians start talking about a brewing“crisis” in the land, most Americans rightly reach for their wallets. We’re getting far too used to the overheated rhetoric of crisis and redemption coming from Washington. But there’s something different about the challenge we face today. It’s not a phony “crisis” Washington is cooking up to sell the public on its latest big government scheme. The message is being sent from the people to Washington today, not the other way around. Americans are anxious about their own financial futures and the country’s financial future. They’re worried about a government that is getting bigger and more controlling, and yet somehow still not addressing the issues they most care about.
    Last February, about a year into the Obama presidency, a remarkable poll came out that sent this message loud and clear. CNN conducted a national survey in which a majority of Americans said they believe the federal government has become so large and so powerful it is trampling on their rights as ordinary citizens. Let me say it again— most Americans believe government is so big it is depriving them of their rights . As you might expect, more Republicans feel this way than Democrats, but a