When the first Republican primary debate ended people knew things were never going to be the same again. The exact time it happened cannot be pinpointed but the onstage career politicians had figured it out. Something dynamic had happened.
We want to thank Jim Betti for this Op-Ed. Submit yours to steve@GraniteGrok.com.
With his fresh energy and youth, Vivek Ramaswamy announced his presence to the political world, and people liked what they saw. Sensing that not taking Ramaswamy’s candidacy seriously was a huge mistake, the Republican establishment candidates lashed out.
Emboldened by his 2015 takedown of Sen. Rubio, former Governor Christie tried to use his New Jersey crassness to take out the newcomer, but Vivek was no scripted Senator from Florida, and he easily parried the ill-conceived onslaught. Leaving Christie looking small {no easy feat} and irrelevant.
Former Governor Haley gave it her best shot at arguing for the endless funding of the Ukraine war. Failing to mention why massive funds {arguably enough money to solve America’s healthcare crisis and border crisis} have been spent {borrowed against our grandchildren’s future} without America’s vital interests ever being defined.
Instead of proposing answers to America’s many Biden-induced problems former Vice President Pence attacked Ramaswamy as a rank amateur. Pence came off as just another Republican Bush-like candidate, and folks could sense if elected Pence did not have what it takes to rein in the lawless progressive and the deep state bad actors.
The smartest of the establishment politicians was Governor Ron DeSantis. He knew enough to stay out of the fray, get his well-rehearsed talking points said, and was the only establishment candidate to leave the debate in a better position than he arrived.
Donald Trump has approximately 50% of the Republican primary vote and Ramaswamy around 8-10%. If anything happened to Donald Trump his support would overwhelmingly transition to Ramaswamy and Vivek would become the odds-on favorite to be the Republican Presidential nominee. Vivek Ramaswamy already has captured the respect of the MAGA voters, but he also has the capacity to broaden the Republican tent; energizing a new generation of conservative youth and win over the middle-class suburbanites who have abandoned the Republican party. And if Vivek is the nominee, he just might deliver the landslide victory needed to right America’s floundering ship. The Deep State, Republican/Democrat power grabbers along with a corrupt media would lose a lot of their influence.
Imagine a brilliant Raegan-like president with traditional values and youthful ideas, powered by the energy and the knowledge to make them happen. America would finally turn the page on the baby boomer generation and the transition 2025 White House would be reminiscent of John F. Kennedy’s Camelot.
It is said you can tell when you are over the target because the antiaircraft flak gets intense.
Since the debate, the knives have come out. The WSJ editors have figured out that Vivek Ramaswamy is not going to be their protégé and have penned multiple negative editorials. Liz Peek, George Will, and the usual suspects, all piled on. As if on cue Trump antagonist Karl Rove joined the establishment chorus. The mainstream media has sensed their biggest nightmare, that Vivek Ramaswamy is a baggage-free young version of Donald Trump, and they too are in attack mode.
Vivek Ramaswamy is just getting started. The 10 Commandments of Vivek Ramaswamy’s campaign are resonating. 1. God is real, 2. There are only two genders, 3. Human prosperity requires fossil fuels, 4. Reverse racism is racism, 5. An open is no border, 6. Parents determine the education of their children, 7. The nuclear family is the greatest form of government ever known to man, 8. Capitalism lifts people from poverty, 9. There are three branches of government, not four, (the deep state and media), 10. The United States Constitution is the greatest guarantee of freedom in history.
Vivek absorbs information/experiences, learns from them, and assimilates the data. He will get stronger as the primary season moves on and become sharpened to a fine edge.
Soon he will need to contrast himself with Donald Trump. Although President Trump’s term was the most successful {think results not personality} since Ronald Reagan there were several issues that he failed to resolve {every other modern President has also failed}. Our national debt is destroying our grandchildren’s future and President Trump was a big spender {Biden is much worse}. Healthcare expenditures are out of control and Trump failed to repeal and replace Obamacare. If Vivek Ramaswamy steps up to these issues, the country will follow, and he could overtake Trump. He is the candidate with the brains, energy, and courage to take on these issues, succeed where all the others failed, and give future generations desperately needed hope.
Donald Trump’s presidency had many similarities to the Old Testament’s Moses. Trump’s 2016 election was only a bit less of a miracle than Moses parting the Red Sea and Trump did lead the American people back toward greatness. Moses made a few mistakes and God determined he would see the promised land, but not enter it. Perhaps a flawed Donald Trump is destined for the same fate.
If Vivek Ramaswamy plays his cards right, he can take the baton from Donald J. Trump and use his “Ten Commandments” as a guide to unite the nation and lead America back into the promised land of prosperity. A land of common decency, structured under the United States Constitution, with equal justice for all.
America so desperately needs real leadership and Vivek Ramaswamy checks all the boxes!
