Part of Ronald Reagan’s brilliance was not apologizing to critics. Instead, he explained confidently and cheerfully why limiting government is a better approach than growing it, and would produce better results for normal Americans. It drove crazy the sophisticates who were sure they were way smarter than him.

It also cheered millions of Americans who knew Reagan was right. Before and since then, however, they often despaired of finding a leader who could go toe to toe with the liberal establishment, defend conservative principles, and not sound either like an accountant extolling a strong balance sheet or a Sunday school teacher calling sinners to repentance.

In 2012, the liberty movement searched from candidate to candidate, looking for a standard bearer they could rally behind—someone not just with exceptional skills and resume, but with a Constitutional vision of freedom and limited government, and the ability to make a comfortable, appealing case that touched average Americans.

But a new crop of leaders is rising. The field for 2016 could present the opposite “problem;” with several able, articulate, and philosophically strong possible candidates. Instead of a brutal triage that culls the field by blemish or blunder, leaving a last man standing, the primaries might be a race for distinction. The winner could be the one who most impresses and inspires, and becomes the best choice rather than the survivor.

Recent buzz surrounds Rand Paul, the doctor-turned senator from Kentucky, who electrified the nation and caught the administration flat-footed with his largely impromptu 13-hour lesson on why the President deciding whether he can kill Americans in America is a bad idea. Paul easily and lucidly shared the constitutional principles that define a different America.  Paul combines his father’s libertarian outlook without some of crazy-uncle persona Ron Paul couldn’t quite shake.

Expectations are high also for Marco Rubio, the son of Cuban immigrants, who fluently explains we don’t need different ideas; the idea is America, and it still works. Rubio electrified the GOP convention last summer with a mix of idealism and practical policy rooted in Constitutional philosophy. He ascended to the speakership of Florida, a major, competitive state and GOP must-win at the tender age of 35. It appears Rubio’s gifts are polished by the skills and tact to lead older, ambitious politicians without putting them off.

Eyes also are upon the phenomenally able governor of Louisiana, Bobby Jindal. The son of Indian immigrants, Jindal has been leading and reforming an array of large state institutions since his early 20s. His mix of boyish earnestness, wonkish numeracy, and American fundamentals are meeting their sternest test as he pursues reform in a state famous for corruption and hostility to Republicans. His popularity and approval ratings suggest he’s passing with margin to spare. Critics say his Republican response to the State of the Union a couple years ago fell flat. But people said the same thing about Bill Clinton’s convention keynote four years before he became president.

Another newcomer that turns head hard is Texas Senator Ted Cruz. Youthful, handsome, and a former Supreme Court law clerk with a Harvard pedigree, Cruz displays brains to match anyone, with finesse to drive his points home. His encounters with Eric Holder and Dianne Feinstein among others have left liberals fuming and conservatives cheering at all the weapons their team can put on the field. Like Rubio, Cruz’s heritage can make him a target of liberals who fear a high profile Latino’s appeal to Hispanic voters. The attacks can be low and personal. Cruz shrugs it off and keeps punching with a smile

Americans recently discovered a potential new weapon for reform and liberty at the national prayer breakfast. African American Ben Carson, head of pediatric neurosurgery at Johns Hopkins University and perhaps that field’s most distinguished practitioner electrified the nation with plain talk about values, the problems we face, and how Washington’s policies make them worse.  It was a gutsy punch out of the president sitting right behind him, carried out with surgical precision that never directly named him.

The performance from a man whose very life story rebukes the government and dependency-centered society that Barack Obama wants to create had many, including the Wall Street Journal Editorial page, calling for him to seek national office.

Paul Ryan in the House retains respect and affection for his substantive role in the presidential campaign, for his unparalleled knowledge of the budget, and for his successful confrontations with both the president and the vice president.

So, the winter of the liberty movement’s discontent is already warming into the green shoots of spring hope. Some or most of the candidates mentioned might not run. The nominee might be someone different.

The important thing for the grass roots and the national party is that there are strong players on the field. It’s enough to get excited about, and motivated voters beat discouraged voters every time.

Have you ever been a part of something historic before?  

Have you ever known that what you were doing would be truly significant for millions of people for a long time?

We are living in an historic moment.  This election is about something bigger than ourselves.  This is our time to choose our nation's future.  Let's do our very best!

The earth moved in Denver last week. A chunk of realist landscape broke through the media’s gloomy, impressionist artwork, as Mitt Romney dominated Barrack Obama in the first presidential debate.

All the king’s horses and all the king’s men insist one good performance by the challenger and one off night for the president don’t really change anything. But in fact, they change everything.

The race is recast for several reasons: Everything voters believe—or have endlessly heard-- about the candidates was called into question. Romney’s dismantling of the president wasn’t just a win. The 90 minute encounter reintroduced the men in ways that elevate Romney, seriously wound Obama, and unmask the media as surrealist traffickers in distortion and fantasy.

Finally, the victory, borne on Romney’s spirited defense of American free enterprise and civic culture, energized a conservative base the media has labored desperately to demoralize.

Until Wednesday, things looked different. Voters know things are bad. President Obama hasn’t kept his promises, either in delivering results or bringing a new, post-partisan, unifying approach. But voters aren’t sure just how badly Obama has performed. For four years, the media painted him as the smartest, clearest-eyed, coolest leader in history. During that time, they’ve refused to ask tough questions or cover bad news that might undermine their admiring portrait.

Tough words or bad news have been occasions for blaming the president’s predecessor of four years past, or an obstructionist Congress, or greedy bankers and oil companies.

Meanwhile, the media’s had a year, all summer in particular, to hype and frenzy over any Romney error, real or fabricated, and to assign him any defect or character flaw, debatable or outrageous and slanderous.

When the two men walked on the stage at Richie Arena, casual viewers paying attention for the first time probably had a vague impression of Romney as a stiff, silver-spooned, tax-dodging, benefit slashing, wife killing, corporate raider who decimated worker pensions for sport.

And still, the polls were within the margin of error.

Within minutes, Americans could see and hear for themselves Romney is a warm, serious-minded, incredibly intelligent and articulate leader who understands Americans are hurting; we can do better; and he wants to free us up to turn things around.

Similarly, when ideas, pushes, and shoves were exchanged, voters saw a different Barack Obama. He was not the likeable colossus. Contrary to fawning media treatment, viewers saw a president who wasn’t especially warm, who was aloof, cool, and exuded a tired air of resentment he had to justify his ideas and defend his record.

It’s a hard record to defend. For 90 minutes, Romney pressed the president on lagging jobs, struggling families, exploding debt, and no relief in sight. For 90 minutes Romney asked the president, like no one in four years has, to account for a trillion wasted stimulus dollars; to explain how he can claim trillions in deficit reduction when his budget plans still project trillion dollar deficits into the known future; to account for the sudden importance of 100,000 new teachers when the $90 billion he’s wasted on green crony corruption could have hired 2 million teachers.

Obama responded to virtually none of it. He stuck to his talking points, mainly accusing Romney of pushing a 5 trillion tax cut for the wealthy that would force tax increases for the middle class. Romney cheerfully swatted that away with logic and nuance the dishonorable media has not paid him the courtesy of covering: he is talking about reducing tax rates, not tax burden. He intends to incent and stimulate investors and job creators so the economy grows and there is more work and prosperity for all. The wealthy will pay as much or more of the share of total taxation, as they are now.

Romney might have added that this pattern of the wealthy paying even more after rate cuts  would repeat the nation’s experience under Presidents Kennedy and Reagan. That would make it a little harder for Obama’s media guards to call his proposal a lie, though they’d probably find a way.

When all was concluded, the biggest lie of the evening probably came from the president’s forced smile: “Thank you. This has been a terrific debate.”

The post mortems have alternatively speculated Obama was just off; it was a strategy decision to float above the fray; or, from the zanier precincts: maybe it was a combination of high altitude, missing his buddy teleprompter, and snuck-in Romney cheat sheets.

One important effect is the public seeing Obama forced to defend positions and answer questions that an institution worthy of the name “free press” should have been asking him.  If a mere challenger can put the president on his heels, where has the fourth estate been for four years? (We all know the answer: mostly worshiping at the alter).

Beyond trying to find “lies” to recapture the story line, the media comforts itself with history: Mondale and Kerry also won the first debate, but Reagan and Bush went on to win reelection.

They are missing the river for the ripples. In 1984, America felt tremendous progress and wanted to stay with Reagan. In 2004, America felt protected and wanted to stay with Bush. The rippling debates didn’t turn the underlying reality.

Today, America feels discouraged and let down, and wants to move past Obama. Romney gave them comfort and solid grounds to do that.

It is 1980 again.

If there were ever a pristine past when “fact checkers” confirmed or rebutted verifiable claims, it’s dead. The fact checkers killed it.

The barrage of attacks on Romney-Ryan expose the truth: “Fact-checking” today is nothing more than the voice of the counter-argument, the scramble for unflattering context, alleged hypocrisy, contradiction, or distraction. Concrete “facts” are often an afterthought, and sometimes even need contradicting in the service of higher “truth.”

That’s how it came to pass that $716 billion that Obamacare cuts from the Medicare line-item is not really a $716 billion cut to Medicare; Waiving work requirements for welfare is not “gutting” the work requirement, because the president--who opposed welfare reform--promises he’ll do something even better; and Paul Ryan is somehow disqualified from criticizing the president for stiffing his own deficit reduction commission’s plan, unless Ryan himself also supported and voted for it.

Ryan drafted and proposed something even bolder? Doesn’t count! Tally up the Pinocchios!

Fact-checking has devolved into the violent art of conjuring anything possible to undermine the speaker’s point, the way he made it, or his credibility as messenger. Those are the rules, anyway, if the speaker is Republican.

But the ferocious fact check gang didn’t quite take their A-game to Charlotte. They must have been exhausted and spent from blowing their wad in Tampa. Otherwise, surely the sincere crew would have landed some zingers. For example:

CLAIM: In her speech, Michelle Obama said Americans she meets every day make her proud. “They remind me how blessed we are to live in the greatest nation on earth."

FACT:  After her husband won the nomination in 2008, Mrs. Obama admitted: “For the first time in my adult lifetime I am proud of my country." Linguists suggest Mrs. Obama’s prior statement raises reasonable doubt about whether her convention statement was sincere. It could have been cynically scripted, nicely delivered manipulation of voters who want to believe their First Family values their national heritage.

Analysts acknowledge it’s possible four years of living in federal housing and jetting the globe on 16 luxury vacations with a large entourage have improved her outlook.

CLAIM: President Obama said: “We insist on personal responsibility and we celebrate individual initiative. We’re not entitled to success. We have to earn it. We honor the strivers, the dreamers, the risk-takers, who have always been the driving force behind our free-enterprise system — the greatest engine of growth and prosperity the world has ever known.”

FACT: The president was recently caught on tape mocking successful businesspeople, helpfully informing them, in essence: Lemme tell ya, there are a lot of smart people and hardworking people. You didn’t make it without a hand up. You sure didn’t pave your street, lay the sewer pipe, or rig the electrical lines that your greedy, exploitive sweatshops depend on. 

Many experts believe the president’s unguarded revelation embarrassed him and damaged his standing with moderates and other extremists who value the contribution of free enterprise to our quality of life. These experts suggest he is back-peddling faster than Deion Sanders to intercept the sincere beliefs he inadvertently exposed.

CLAIM: The president said: “[Ours is] a choice between two fundamentally different visions for the future. It’s a fight to restore the values that built the largest middle class and the strongest economy the world has ever known.”

FACT: Barack Obama famously declared he will fundamentally transform this nation. His campaign is promoting “a new vision of America, where prosperity is shared.” Philosophers and linguists are grappling with how it’s possible to both “restore” something and seek its “fundamental transformation.”

Historians cite early systems of socialism in the colonies that were scrapped when hardship, starvation, and death stalked the population. So it’s theoretically possible to propose restoring American collectivism.

Other experts, however, suggest the president’s reference to restoring values is a disingenuous appeal. But they are the distinct minority among elite fact checkers.

Finally, what would happen if the fact check gang even turned their scrutiny on their own?

CLAIM: Effete NBC Anchor Brian Williams said many people aren’t sold on the president, but neither do they like the negative, personal attacks coming from the Romney campaign.

FACT: NASA astronomers are scrambling to determine what alternative universe Mr. Williams inhabits. In the real one, Obama and surrogates have charged that Romney dodged all taxes for ten years, and is a falsifying felon who plundered worker pensions, shipped jobs to China, killed dependents with cancer, and wants to put black people in chains.

With Romney supporters waiting in frustrated agony for Romney to return fire, Williams declares that Romney is the nasty one. Williams is either a liar or too blinded by ideology to see and describe reality.

He is a hero to all of us in the fact checker guild!

This morning, Mitt Romney announced Paul Ryan as his vice presidential running mate.

Brilliant, energetic, and experienced, Paul Ryan will be a vital partner in America's new "Comeback Team!"

Here is his first address as Mitt's running mate.

Text of Paul Ryan's Remarks

Thank you Governor Romney, Ann.  I am deeply honored and excited to join you as your running mate.

Mitt Romney is a leader with the skills, the background and the character that our country needs at a crucial time in its history. Following four years of failed leadership, the hopes of our country, which have inspired the world, are growing dim; and they need someone to revive them. Governor Romney is the man for this moment; and he and I share one commitment: we will restore the dreams and greatness of this country.

I want you to meet my family.  My wife Janna, our daughter Liza, and our sons, Charlie and Sam.

I am surrounded by the people I love, and I have been asked by Governor Romney to serve the country I love.

Janesville, Wisconsin is where I was born and raised, and I never really left it. It’s our home now.

For the last 14 years, I have proudly represented Wisconsin in Congress.  There, I have focused on solving the problems that confront our country, and turning ideas into action; and action into solutions.  

I am committed, in heart and mind, to putting that experience to work in a Romney Administration. This is a crucial moment in the life of our nation; and it is absolutely vital that we select the right man to lead America back to prosperity and greatness.

That man is standing next to me. His name is Mitt Romney. And he will be the next president of the United States.

Hey students! Youth voters! Are you up for Hope and Change 2012? Here’s the deal!  In just four years President Obama ran your personal share of the US debt from $30,000 to $50,000!! ...and still rocketing up!! 

Plus! You get to graduate from college with massive debt, and half of you will be underemployed or unemployed!! Plus! He character-assaults anyone who wants to reform entitlements to slow down the massive wealth transfer from poorer you to richer old geezers!! Plus! He promises you free stuff…then just puts it onyour overcharged US credit card!! Plus! Some of us are closer to the end of our earning and tax-paying years than others.We aren’t gonna pay no stinking $50,000! Guess you’ll have to cover us!! Better get busy, suckers!! Hope and Change 2012…Tell a friend!!!” 
Enthusiastic Facebookers know the angst of reconsidering impulsive rants. So, after reflection, I regret that my effort above—my “status” as the socially networked call it--from a few months back is so benign and understated.
 
Simply stated, few presidents in US history oversaw such total devastation of the prospects of young Americans. None gained office on a wave of youthful enthusiasm and adulation. None depended so desperately for reelection on reenergizing that same youth demographic to its historic former frenzy. None had a record as wretched as Barrack Obama from which to fashion a campaign pitch. Ominously, none faced a youth cohort so disengaged, deceived, superficial, and susceptible to cultural atmospherics that it just might work.
 
President Obama’s designs on a second term depend on energizing the very Americans his policies have hurt the worst: young workers, students, and others who will soon enter the workforce.  His pitch seems to be: “I’m not the stiff, white businessman in a suit. I’m cool. I dig gay marriage (recently). I want to give you free stuff. Rock stars love me.”
 
The message tickles the hot spots of a generation raised on feelings, trophies for participation, and the preeminence of nice intentions. It is reinforced by a palace guard media that sees and reports no evil. But if more of those young voters would do something as boring and grown up as look realistically at a spreadsheet of their life’s challenges and opportunities, they might not willingly cast themselves as fodder for a conservative Thomas Franks to ponder: “What’s the Matter With Young Voters?”
 
The spreadsheet is grim, starting with prospects for the first job out of school. The official unemployment rate of 8.2% grossly understates the 15% or more who’ve been squeezed from employment. It’s reported half of graduates are failing to find work, or landing in low paying positions unrelated to their degree. The fiscal situation is further stressed by the record loans and debt weighing down about 60% of graduates—more than actually have good jobs.
 
Obama can declare “Mission Partially Accomplished” on a piece of his fundamental American transformation: Young adult living options are looking more European all the time, as scared fledglings flutter back to the security of the nest. That might account for Obamacare’s mandate that insurers cover children in family plans for several years longer: 26 is the new 18.
 
Of course, it’s only fair that mom and dad and their employer toss a little back to junior. He’s on the short end of the greatest, most perverse intergenerational wealth transfer in human history. Medicare and Social Security demonstrate government gets everything wrong. Those civically sacred entitlements play reverse Robin Hood, tapping deep into the earnings of the statistically poorest workers, the young, for the benefit of the statistically wealthiest Americans, households over 60.
 
Obama doesn’t just maintain this system. He blasts anyone who dares notice that bleeding fewer and fewer young workers to support more and more retirees is unsustainable. For proposing incremental entitlement reforms to restore fiscal stability and ease the surging burden on the young, Congressman Paul Ryan earned the presidential sobriquet “Social Darwinist.” It’s as if Ryan proposed something harsh like establishing utilization panels to decide which seniors deserve expensive treatment for serious health problems. But that would be extreme.
 
If  you’re under 35 and reading this article, I wish you’d stop already and get back to work. The national debt will pile up about $3.5 billion more today. I’m getting nervous about my Social Security. Chop chop.
 
And don’t forget to volunteer and spread the word for the coolest president in history! Did you catch him on the Daily show?!

It's time to issue Obama his pink slip and restore this country to the fundamentals of our Founding Fathers.  

It will take work, but we know it will be worth it.  

We must become educated, get involved, and share the message of liberty.  

This election may be the most important election in history.

If we do our best, America can once again become a bastion of liberty and  a shining beacon of hope.

Please LIKE to spread the word!

Senator Marco Rubio has been in the political spotlight and is considered a top contender to be the Republican vice presidential nominee.  In this video, Marco and his wife Jeanette sit down and visit with Sean Hannity.

It's good for us as Patriotic Moms to follow this process.  We don't get to select who is nominated, but we can pray that a man of unusual character, intelligence, and competence will be chosen; that he will love America; and that his wife will be a woman of character and intellect who feels deep love for America, and loyalty to our country.  

America needs great leaders with wives who will strengthen them in their heavy responsibilities!

Senator Marco Rubio spoke out on President Obama's immigration edict yesterday, saying Obama is "ignoring the Constitution" to buy Hispanic votes in the upcoming election. 

Calling Obama "divisive by design," Rubio addressed the need for permanent immigration reform that honors our legacy as a nation.

"On the one hand we do have a significant illegal immigration problem, it has to be confronted, it has to be solved.  We cannot be the only country that doesn't enforce its immigration laws. On the other hand we have some very compelling human stories....

"Trying to find a reasonable balance that honors both our legacy as a nation of immigrants and also as a nation with a legacy about laws is not easy."

Senator Rubio was working on legislation to address U.S. immigration issues when the President ignored Congress' proper role and issued his unconstitutional mandate.

Here's President Obama explaining his proper constitutional role,
before he decided he needed the Hispanic vote to get re-elected!

Read More:  President Obama's Arrogance

In 5 minutes, Dick Morris shares important perspective and principles for selecting the Vice President of the United States.  Valuable insights! 

Even the short promotion of his book at the end is worth watching.  In just a few seconds Morris summarizes imminent threats to our national sovereignty rarely mentioned in the mainstream media.