State of the Battleground State: Michigan

            The state of the Michigan Republican Party is strong! Coming back from MRP Convention, I have witnessed just how electric and committed the members of our Grand Ol’ Party are. A party that Austin Blair would be proud of despite the party hardships we’ve endured nationally. I say this because out of all the state GOP parties nationwide, we have faced and continue to face rock bottom. We have become scrappers in the alleyways of politics, the trenches of grassroots. Through the battles of the 2006 election cycle we have become carved out of wood as tough as the great Michigan forests that came before us.

            This strength lay in the victories achieved that other states did not. We kept all of our Congressional seats in Washington, including a seat which was incumbent in party orientation but not of candidate, that of Tim Walberg’s. We kept our State Senate by a count of around 400 votes, which went to Dr. Roger Kahn in a district that is over 50% registered Democrat. Lastly, in a campaign system where it is much harder than before to raise money due to McCain-Feingold, our state party came out of the election with absolutely no debt.

            I mentioned earlier that Austin Blair – our Civil War Governor, a staunch abolitionist and a founding father of our Republican Party – would be proud of us if he saw us today. He would be proud because while other elements nationally have lost the Republican brand, we have never forgotten who we are and where we come from. It is this sense of history and the victories we have achieved that will cause us to be a beachhead in the coming Presidential War.

            The 2008 election cycle will indeed be just that, a war. This is because in politics as in war, it is the policies and decisions of leaders which can irrevocably affect the lives of the people. It can be said that some politicians lose sight of this in the morass of campaign vote-getting politics. There is one politician nay, statesman who has not forgotten this: Newt Gingrich. Many have raised the question of whether or not Speaker Gingrich will run for President. This however is not the issue. The Speaker has something that will endure beyond a 4 or 8 year Presidency. He has ideology.

            Sufficed to say, a President Gingrich would be in the best position to fully cultivate his ideology; if he did not run he would not simply go gently into the night. But one must ask, is it a candidate that convinces us to vote for him, or is it we the people who convince a candidate to run for us, on our behalf? What is it about Newt Gingrich that would be cause for such a response from the people, especially the people of Michigan?

            In a recent speech Speaker Gingrich spoke of three key developmental points to the ideology he is trying to foster from now until he decides whether or not to run for President. The first is to re-examine how we approach politics in that of putting the personal first, the historic second and the political last concerning aspects of a problem. We are to also meet that problem with a solution in the same manner. The greatest problem facing Michigan right now is it’s failing economy and epic job loss. This is a problem which must be treated in Newtonian manner. Every single job lost affects us personally, because that job is that of a friend’s, a family member’s or our own. It is historic because for a long time Michigan has been the backbone of manufacturing culture in America. It has also been one of the core places of the American Dream. Our state was where an American regardless of class, possessed of little education and hope could get a job on the line, earn a sustainable wage, raise their family in comfort and pride and give their children the opportunities they never had. This is an intrinsic part of our state identity and for it to stop is historic and it is personal. The political comes down to the root of Ronald Reagan’s words, “are you better off now than you were four years ago?” These words define the cornerstone of what democracy stands for; the ability to remove those in government whom we lend power to.

            The second point to Newt Gingrich’s ideology is to prepare America for the future. This includes absorbing four to seven times as much science and technology than we do now. The important fact is that we are not alone in this endeavor, as China and India are competing with us. Where does Michigan stand concerning this ideological point? Despite the darkness of job loss in manufacturing, Michigan does possess a shining beacon which lay in Grand Rapids. Medical industry has been flourishing there, not only in health care but in research. It is finding these new industries for Michigan – in Grand Rapids and statewide – that can nourish the American Dream that all Michiganders strive for. Michiganders are hard working people and can deal with the changes the future demands. It is in this that Newt’s second principle finds its roots.

            The last theme to Newt’s ideology is something Michiganders know well. It is the core of Midwest values and the heart of America. This last point is for Republicans to be with the majority of America. The conservative culture is the natural culture of our country. America is right-leaning, its people are people of faith, and they speak English. This culture is based in better life for the people and not better life for the government and its programs. This is not social conservatism but the natural society of our country. It is what Newt wants to bring the Republican Party back to.

            These three principles demand change from the current system and no fight for change is ever easy. But some of the framework is already there. It lay in the people, the people whose ideals and romanticism demand change. This is not only change to reassert our Americanism, but also of healing and self-discovery. To bring us back to One Nation under God Indivisible. It is in this that the pursuit of life, liberty and happiness becomes meaningful again. This meaning is why we the people of Michigan should demand Newt Gingrich as our 44^th President of the United States of America, and I hope you join me in this struggle for faith, family and country. Goodnight and God Bless.

-Matthew Brian Keller