Popular conservative author and columnist Thomas Sowell takes a look at the potential GOP presidential field for 2016, and it appears he especially likes what he sees in Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Louisiana’s Bobby Jindal.
The more optimistic among us may hope that the Republicans will nominate somebody who stands for something, rather than the bland leading the bland — the kind of candidates the Republican establishment seems to prefer, even if the voters don’t.
If the Republicans do finally decide to nominate somebody who stands for something, and who has a track record of succeeding in achieving what he set out to do, then no one fits that bill better than Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who has put an end to government employee unions’ racket of draining the taxpayers dry with inflated salaries and extravagant pensions.
But Sowell doesn’t stop there. Along with pointing out troubles and inconsistencies on the Democrat side, he challenges the GOP to be true to its principles with any 2016 ticket and points out two individuals, Sen. Jeff Sessions and Congressman Trey Gowdy, as being well suited for the VP slot on any prospective ticket.
As a result, everyone knows what the Democrats stand for, but even some Republicans in Congress seem to have only a hazy idea of what principles Republicans stand for.
The country does not need glib or bombastic talkers. But it does need people with clarity of thought and clarity of words, along with a clear sense of purpose and an ability to achieve those purposes.
Republicans with these qualities seem far rarer in Washington than in state governments. Governors such as Scott Walker in Wisconsin and Bobby Jindal in Louisiana can both talk the talk and walk the walk. In Congress, not so much.
If you think back to the most politically successful Republican presidents of the 20th century — Ronald Reagan, Theodore Roosevelt, Calvin Coolidge and Dwight D. Eisenhower — they were all men who already had the experience of being responsible for results, whether as governors or as a military commander in the case of Eisenhower.
Yet there are a few Republicans in Congress today with both sharply focused minds and sharply focused words. Sen. Jeff Sessions and Congressman Trey Gowdy come to mind immediately. If Republicans choose a governor as their presidential candidate in 2016, someone such as canny Sessions could make a very valuable contribution as vice president.