The conservative panelists on last night’s Fox News Special Report were shaking their heads about Romney not being able to seize the advantage of a pathetic economy and an unpopular direction of the country. Even while the economy is lagging, his poll numbers are lagging also when they should be taking off.
Steve Hayes asked, “I think the big question is, ‘Should Mitt Romney broaden his argument? Should he make it bigger? Should he be talking about “losing the American dream?” Should he be talking about an America today that isn’t about the America we knew about in the past?'”
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has chimed in with similar advice: “Go Big and Go Bold.”
I agree with him. I noticed this in the primaries. Romney would attack Obama and the other Republican candidates while Michele Bachmann and Rick Santorum would articulate their vision of America’s future, a vision of freedom and prosperity. which is why I preferred them as vehicles to argue the principles of conservatism to the country. I started out as a Bachmann man, but now I’m a Romney man.
I think that Romney may lack the faith that that kind of message will resonate. Bachmann and Santorum had more vision, more faith that this is where the country really was. Romney needs that faith in people. I think he believes in a freer America – he’s just timid about selling it.
Just pray, every night Governor Romney to acquire the fire of freedom in your heart. You’ve had a lot of privileges in your life and are maybe too far removed from your grandparents who had to suffer and question whether or not they would be free. But find some stories and use them.
And I think that lack of fire of liberty in his belly is what brought the tepid response to Obamacare. When you lack a vision of your own, you become vulnerable to any vision that comes along. So he stated, well, the supreme court spoke and declared that Obamacare is a tax, and therefore it is a tax, so Romney will talk about it as a tax. No Romney, you sort of have this right but not quite. You are accepting the premises of the Left if you take the position that we have a god-like supreme court and whatever they say goes. Obamacare is not constitutional, even though the Supreme Court said it is. And just because John Roberts justifies it as a tax, doesn’t make it a tax. Don’t work into a corner and appear weak by accepting their premises. Obamacare, if allowed to fully implement, would fully alter the relationship between the people and the government. Instead of being the land of the free and the home of the brave it would be the land of the moocher class looking for freebies and home of the timid who dare not speak out against their “benevolent government.” It would not be a happy place.
Yes, my prescription for Mitt Romney would be to try to channel a little Captain Moroni every morning. Now Steve Hayes likely isn’t familiar with Captain Moroni, but I think he would agree that Captain Moroni had the kind of message that Mitt needs. So here’s my prescription for Mitt: Re-read (I’m sure you’ve read it many times before) about what Moroni did during the wars between the Lamanites and the Nephites, as depicted in the Book of Mormon and picture yourself as Captain Moroni. Then when you get to the end of the story, start again at the beginning. I think it’s in chapters 43 through 62 of the Book of Alma in the Book of Mormon. Here’s a portion of that story, from Chapter 46, speaking of how Captain Moroni went about this:
“And it came to pass that he rent his coat; and he took a piece thereof, and wrote upon it—In memory of our God, our religion, and freedom, and our peace, our wives, and our children—and he fastened it upon the end of a pole.
“And he fastened on his head-plate, and his breastplate, and his shields, and girded on his armor about his loins; and he took the pole, which had on the end thereof his rent coat, (and he called it the title of liberty) and he bowed himself to the earth, and he prayed mightily unto his God for the blessings of liberty to rest upon his brethren, so long as there should a band of Christians remain to possess the land . . . .
“And therefore, at this time, Moroni prayed that the cause of the Christians, and the freedom of the land might be favored.
“And it came to pass that when he had poured out his soul to God, he named all the land which was south of the land Desolation, yea, and in fine, all the land, both on the north and on the south—A chosen land, and the land of liberty . . . .
“And when Moroni had said these words, he went forth among the people, waving the rent part of his garment in the air, that all might see the writing which he had written upon the rent part, and crying with a loud voice, saying:
“Behold, whosoever will maintain this title upon the land, let them come forth in the strength of the Lord, and enter into a covenant that they will maintain their rights, and their religion, that the Lord God may bless them.
“And it came to pass that when Moroni had proclaimed these words, behold, the people came running together with their armor girded about their loins, rending their garments in token, or as a covenant, that they would not forsake the Lord their God; or, in other words, if they should transgress the commandments of God, or fall into transgression, and be ashamed to take upon them the name of Christ, the Lord should rend them even as they had rent their garments.”
Yes, Captain Moroni understood that when you are in a serious battle, you need to fire up the troops with a vision of your cause. He didn’t call his political opponent, Amalikiah, “a nice guy who is just in this over his head.” He cast him as an enemy to liberty, and he rallied his people to great enthusiasm for his cause by painting a vision of what he wanted their land to be, and how Amalikiah stood in the way of that vision. Yes, Mitt, try getting a little Captain Moroni in you. That’s the way to fight these people.
Click here to visit the Liberty Musings conservative politics home page.