JC Watts asks: Where's the vision, leadership within the Republican Party?

In JC's most recent column which you can read here: http://www.lvrj.com/opinion/9676127.html

He brings up some pertinant points, such as:

"The Republican Party -- the party I embrace as mine -- is suffering from a serious lack of leadership. Who is the face of the GOP?

Not coincidentally, most of the faces who contributed to our poor showing are no longer around.

Tom DeLay left Congress under a cloud. Donald Rumsfeld quietly walked out the back door. Mark Foley is gone. Duke Cunningham and Bob Ney are locked up somewhere. Karl Rove is gone and Dick Cheney is out of sight. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales has mercifully put an end to his career in Washington. And Larry Craig, a senator you had probably never heard of before two weeks ago, raised his name identification quickly enough to require his departure from a long career of public service.

On top of all this, Republicans haven't come up with a fresh idea since the Contract with America."

"Can one of the current crop of presidential aspirants provide that? Maybe. But it hasn't happened yet. If not Rudy Giuliani or Mitt Romney, could Fred Thompson or upstart Mike Huckabee be the man? Will they brand the party in a way that will inspire and motivate the young J.C. Wattses of today, as Ronald Reagan and Don Nickles did for me 27 years ago? That's my fervent hope and prayer."

Well JC Watts asks the question, and Mitt Romney is the answer. Mitt Romney is the man with the conservative vision to save this great nation.

There has been a lot of talk from the pundits and the voters this political season about a lack of specifics, and complaints that the candidates only speak in platitudes and generalities. Voters aren't stupid, and won't be persuading by sheer personality or style, they demand substance. Well, there is one candidate who has been very specific and does have plans for what to do once in office. Coincidentally,this is the same candidate in first place in the polls in Iowa, New Hampshire, Michigan and Nevada.

You want a contract with America? Mitt has outlined an even more focused agenda than the one Newt Gingrich did in 1994. I give you the Mitt Romney contract with America outline. It has his positions on the ten major issues facing the country and the 3 main things he will do to help solve these problems.

MITT ROMNEY'S CONTRACT WITH AMERICA:

1. National Security - aka Defeating the Jihadists

A. Iraq - Mitt Romney is committed to success in Iraq and supports General Paetrus' recommendations. Romney said that over time he hopes to see troop levels reduced even further as Iraqi security forces are able to stand on their own.

"In my view, the most crucial objective we have in Iraq is to make sure it does not become a safe haven for al-Qaida and other Jihad terrorists," Romney said.

B. The Threat of Iran and Syria - Mitt's 5 point plan of sanctions, isolation, involving the Arab states, keeping the military option in hand, and building partnerships for prosperity.

C. Defense Spending - Mitt wants to increase defense spending to 4% of the nation's GDP in additon to adding 100,000 troops to the armed services.

"President Bush understands that our most crucial objective in Iraq is to make sure it does not become a safe haven for al-Qaeda and Jihadist terrorists. But that's just what would happen if Hillary Clinton, Barack Obama and John Edwards have their way. Our troop presence has emboldened Sunni leaders to resist al-Qaeda. This is progress – important progress.

"Today's assassination of Sheik Abdul-Sattar Abu Risha, who recently met with President Bush, underscores how serious Jihadists like al-Qaeda take this struggle, and we must do the same. Also of concern to all Americans is the growing evidence of Iran's role as an active antagonist in Iraq. The United States must craft an assertive and comprehensive strategy to get Iran to back off."

"In the previous global wars, there were many ways to lose, and victory was far from guaranteed. In the current conflict, there is only one way to lose, and that is if we as a civilization decide not to lift a finger to defend ourselves, our values, and our way of life."

"The Iranian regime threatens not only Israel, but also every other nation in the region, and ultimately the world. And that threat would take on an entirely new dimension if Iran were allowed to become a nuclear power. And just think of the signal a nuclear Iran would send to other rogue regimes with nuclear ambitions – this could be a tipping point in the development and proliferation of nuclear regimes. . . It is time for the world to plainly speak three truths: One, Iran must be stopped. Two, Iran can be stopped. And three, Iran will be stopped."

"Today we face a new generation of challenges globally and here at home," Romney's text says. "We will do as Americans have always done: We will rise to the occasion."



More on Mitt Romney's other stands on the issues tomorrow, with parts 2 & 3, taxes and immigration.