There was a time when free market economics, sensible monetary policy, and the ideas behind freedom were not well understood. During the 1960's and 70's capitalism was a dirty word, the cause of inflation was unknown to the average person, and statism was not only in vogue, it was taught on most college campuses in America.

It took a man like Ronald Reagan to articulate the principles of freedom and free enterprise and bring them back into the mainstream of America. He didn't have much help. There were only a handful of intellectuals fighting that battle. In philosophy it was Ayn Rand, in economics it was Milton Friedman, and in politics it was William F. Buckley. There were of course others, but they were not as visible. The radio stations and the TV stations were intellectually silent in most cases. Most commentary leaned left back then and that is pretty much where America stood as a nation.

Today is a new day. The ideas of freedom, free enterprise, and fiscal and monetary responsibility are being propagated by hundreds in the media. An army of talk show hosts, commentators, writers, and speakers, have replaced that original handful of intellectuals of the 60’s and 70’s to articulate the virtues of capitalism. Millions of Americans are demanding both fiscal and monetary discipline from their government and socialist policies like Obamacare are being rejected by a majority of Americans.

The cause of inflation is known to most, debt is considered to be our biggest problem, and the intrusiveness of government has made millions of Americans angry. It is in this context that republicans are trying to figure out who would be the best man to defeat Obama, and make the best President for our country. I have finally landed on Romney as my choice.

Many have accused Romney of not having a clear and consistent philosophy of government like Reagan did...and they are right. Romney is no Reagan. But a Reagan is not who we need today. Reagan’s message is not only understood by republicans, it is the heart and soul of the Republican Party. Americans no longer need so loud and consistent a defender of capitalism in the White House. Millions of Americans have found their own voice on this subject and whoever becomes our next President—that public voice will not be silenced. If Romney as President faltered or moved to the left, the voices of these new activists would be heard in the millions.

We no longer need a President to explain the virtues of free enterprise--we can do that. It is up to the new activists to fight freedom's battles. It's up to the next President to restructure government. What we need is a technocrat, a practical person to take on the bureaucracy of Washington and reduce it. We need to reverse spending, reverse the deficit, and put the government back on a path toward a balanced budget. We need to restructure not only the unnecessary areas of government but even the most important and necessary areas of government. We need to end duplication and we need to reduce government wages and benefits to levels closer to that of the private sector. America needs a tax system that is fairer and a regulatory system that is simpler.

That’s why we need someone who can take a failing, dysfunctional institution, and set it on a path of solvency and efficiency, while at the same time instituting time tested principles that will lead to success and prosperity within the economy. Someone who knows how to take a failing situation and turn it profitable? This is what Mitt Romney does! This is who he is.
 

We also no longer need a President to tell us how to turn the economy around. We know how. We need a President that can do it. Romney is a “nuts and bolts” guy who has been preparing all of his life for this. Those that criticize Romney for his years at Bain Capital totally miss the point. Bain is a company that specializes in turning failing companies into successful ones. And that is exactly what needs to be done to our government today.

I ask you not to judge Romney on the consistency of his ideas when it comes to the academic principles of freedom and free enterprise, judge him instead on his expertise in applying those principles as a manager. We need a President that will assemble an all-star team, roll up his sleeves, and go to work repairing our damaged economic and political system.

I know of no better man to lead that endeavor than Mitt Romney.

-PN