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The Republican National Convention in Milwaukee demonstrated Donald J. Trump’s resiliency and the growth of a major political party that is truer to its founding principles. Created on the concept that slavery was a moral sin, the Republican Party has come to represent the interests of most walks of American life.
It has been a week with few comparisons in political history. A sitting President being forced out of his re-election campaign by his own party, a Republican convention where, for the first time since FDR a party has nominated the same candidate in three consecutive presidential elections and, an attempted and failed assassination that claimed the life of an innocent father but sparing President Trump, while showing the true courage of the people at the rally who didn’t panic – who held their ground.
Republicans at the convention in Milwaukee held their ground as well. Republicans promoted ideas and answers to the issues that voters care about – their jobs, their children’s education, the open border, crimes in the streets, the cost of health care, and projecting American strength. It all comes down to living through the U.S. Constitution and supporting the timeless phrase from our beloved Declaration of Independence – “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
Republicans let Americans tell their story on the convention stage. A struggling farmer, a single mother working two jobs in Nevada, a family who lost a child to drugs, and the survivors of loved ones who were murdered by illegal immigrants. Yet each speaker had a message of hope for a better future – to make our country prosperous and safe – so they, and countless other families, are not subject to the same loss.
We heard from families of the brave men and women who were killed in the failed Afghanistan withdrawal and whose names Joe Biden has never said publicly. They are Marine Lance Cpl. David Lee Espinoza, Marine Sgt. Nicole Gee, Marine Staff Sgt. Taylor Hoover, Army Staff Sgt. Ryan Knauss, Marine Lance Cpl. Rylee McCollum, Marine Lance Cpl. Dylan R. Merola, Marine Lance Cpl. Kareem Nikoui, Marine Sgt. Johanny Rosariopichardo, Marine Cpl. Humberto Sanchez, Marine Lance Cpl. Jared Schmitz, Navy Hospitalman Maxton “Max” Soviak, and Marine Cpl. Daegan William-Tyeler Page. We also heard from 98-year-old William Pekrul, a veteran of D-Day, who said he was ready to suit up again to protect America and looked and sounded like he could do it!
There are also many more casualties here at home from our unprotected border – these include the victims of drug cartels, violent criminals, and potential terrorists. And yet, the Biden administration “closed” the cases for some 350,000 illegal immigrants seeking asylum, thereby removing the possibility of deportation, without the government knowing why they are here, and then supported giving non-citizens, including illegal immigrants voting rights in the District of Columbia.
While many may not like President Trump’s choice of language or mannerisms, the record is clear – Americans were more successful during his term as President. An average family had $6,000 more in bank accounts, inflation did not exist, American soldiers did not die abroad through ill-conceived wars, college campuses were not awash in hate and antisemitism, and people of faith were not being investigated for holding services.
Where is America today? Prices for the essentials – food, gas, energy and insurance – are up 20 percent or more. Credit card is skyrocketing, our schools and colleges are infected with the self-loathing culture of political correctness. The world is aflame with conflicts in Europe and the Middle East, while Asia sits on the knife’s edge of potential conflict with China.
Vice President Kamala Harris, or whoever Democrats scramble to nominate in a month, owns every bit of this miserable record. Harris has been particularly negligent as the point person for our borders – through which 10 million people illegally entered this country, many depriving American workers of wages while more perpetrated countless crimes of violence against innocent citizens.
Donald Trump and the Republican Party have laid a specific course of action to reclaim America’s greatness through common sense, restoring individual rights, rebuilding our military, rooting out the corrosive woke culture, and putting our nation’s interest above all others.
On that fateful day in Butler, Penn., an assassin took the life of a brave husband and father, brutally injured two others, and nearly took the life of Donald Trump. But, in typical American fashion, President Trump, bloodied and with fist raised, stood tall and told America to FIGHT. Fight for our families, our children, our American values. We must fight to ensure that the values and principles set forth by our founding fathers some 250 years ago remain strong, vigilant, and ever guiding for America and the world.
While there are many ways to help ensure America’s future, the single most important action that every American can do is to take part in the process and vote. Early voting in Connecticut starts on Oct. 21and runs through Nov. 3. Find your town’s early voting location here.
We have always known that America and our American values are worth fighting for.
Your vote matters more than ever. America’s future depends on it.
Ben Proto
Chairman, Connecticut Republican Party