There is no doubt that the conservative movement had been dispirited. It seemed as if the Reagan Revolution was truly coming to an end. We had nominated a candidate that at times seemed to have more in common with democrats and their ideas than he had with Ronald Reagan. Those conservative ideas he did hold he was just not able to communicate them the way Reagan did. We had a democratic party poised to take power and to reverse everything that had been accomplished during the 1980s. It was truly a difficult time to be a conservative. It was difficult to get enthusiastic about the November 4th election.
Then, just as Reagan’s ideas seemed to be fading away, something unexpected happened. On August 29th 2008 John McCain shocked the political world by selecting Sarah Palin as his running mate. It is as if Ronald Reagan himself from beyond whispered her name to John McCain in his sleep. With that pick the conservative movement was back to life. It had a pulse again, it was breathing again. All of a sudden conservatives were happy again, optimistic and smiling. Not even John McCain’s vote for the bailout or promises of buying troubled mortgages was able to take that smile away. Not even an election loss took our profound optimism away. On November 5th we woke up knowing that we had lost an election but we had won a future.
In the days and months to come the pundits and elites in our party will tell us what the Republican Party needs to do to win again and who should lead our party in the future. Let them. We will not be listening to them because we already know the answer to both those questions.
We know how a presidential race is won with conservative ideas because we have seen it before. We know what a great conservative leader looks like because we have had one before.
We won a presidential race when we stood with the strong principles of our party.
We believe in limited government. We believe that a government that remains limited ensures the maximum amount of freedom. As government grows that freedom is lost.
We believe in a strong national defense. Not because we are imperialistic or thirsty for conquest. We believe it because a free people with limited government will be a clear target to foreign enemies. Our freedom ensures our prosperity and there will be those who will envy it. Our freedom can also be confused by totalitarian regimens out there as a weakness. That’s why our defenses must always be strong. The stronger we project ourselves to the world, the less likely will that outside world will seek conflict with us.
We believe in a moral society, one that respects the sanctity of life. We believe this not because we are more moral than our democratic friends but because we believe in setting ideals and trying our best to reach them.
Ronald Reagan won on these principles. And ever since he walked off into the sunset we have not had a conservative leader that has been as firm as him in all of these principles and that has had his ability to communicate these ideas to the people. On August 29th, 2008 all of that changed. That day we did find that new leader.
The pundits and elites don’t seem to understand this. We saw it right away.
We saw a new leader that didn’t just talk about limited government but that had lived it. She reduced the tax burden on her people as a major and Governor when no one was looking or paying attention to her. She reduced the dependency of her people on the federal government with earmark requests. She did this not to build a national political future but because she believes in self reliance. She is an advocate for gun ownership because she understands we the people are the masters; the politicians are our servants and have no right to take away from us the basic right of owning guns to protect ourselves. A government that can take away this basic right away from its people can take anything away.
She believes in a strong national security. She has shown through her speeches that she deeply believes in American exceptionalism. With her recent praise at the RGA to our current president she showed she understands that the most important job of our federal government is to keep our nation safe.
It is a very complex world, and any president does need good advisors around him/her that understand some of those complexities. However, the heart of our foreign policy remains very simple. America is an exceptional country due to our freedom and wealth. This is a blessing, but also makes us a target to those who envy and hate us. A president must understand this and must protect us and project strength. Sarah Palin understands this.
In social issues, not much needs to be said. Sarah Palin does not just talk the talk but walks the walk. Her election as President would be the loudest statement we would ever make as a party that every child deserves to be born.

With the introduction of Sarah Palin to the national stage we knew the conservative movement had found its new leader. We saw not only that she shared our ideals and principles but that she could communicate them to the people like no other leader has been able to since Reagan.
And so the pundits and elites will continue to talk about who should lead our party. We already made our choice. Not because we stand ready to coronate a celebrity. We do not idolize people; we are not the Democratic Party. We are still a party of ideas, not people. But we are confident that Sarah Palin will continue to stand for the principles we believe in. As long as she continues to stand for those principles we will continue to stand with her.

And so, we the children of the Reagan Revolution now stand ready for our turn at doing the hard work to bring America back. We move forward with confidence that Sarah Palin will lead us to an America that will be freer, more secure and better than it is today. We are ready and look forward with optimism to the days and years ahead. Knowing that at the end of this exciting chapter, not only will we have our first woman President but that America will be a shining city on a hill once again.