Vivek Ramaswamy: We are in a 1776 moment, and I have a vision for America
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I’m a businessman, not a politician. I decided to run for president after the 2022 “red wave” never came. Some Republicans blamed the pro-life movement for that disaster. Others blamed Donald Trump. But there’s a deeper reason why we lost: The GOP suffers an identity crisis right now. We don’t really stand for anything right now.
The left offers a vision. A toxic one, but a vision nonetheless: race, gender, sexuality, climate change. Meanwhile, our side merely criticizes the left’s vision without offering an alternative vision of our own. “Biden bad” isn’t an agenda.What does it mean to be a Republican in the year 2024? More importantly, what does it mean to be an American in the year 2024?
Answer: it means we believe in the ideals of 1776.
It means we believe in merit — that you get ahead in America based not on the color of your skin, but on the content of your character. That’s why I will finally end affirmative action and racial quota systems in America, and I will end the woke indoctrination that now pervades our military.
It means we believe in the rule of law. That’s why I will use our military to secure our southern and northern borders, to end birthright citizenship for the children of illegal aliens, and to deport anyone who illegally entered our country.
It means we believe in self-governance. The people we elect to run the government are no longer the ones who actually run the government. That’s why I will shut down the deep state — by firing 75% of all federal bureaucrats, shutting down government agencies, and implementing eight-year term limits in the bureaucracy.
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Vivek Ramaswamy: We are in a 1776 moment, and I have a vision for America
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It means we hold elections that we can trust. That’s why I will enact basic standards for federal elections: single-day voting on Election Day, as a national holiday, with paper ballots, voter ID requirements, and English as the sole language on a ballot.
It means we don’t depend on our enemies for necessities. That’s why I will declare independence from communist China for our pharmaceuticals, our electronics, and our military equipment. I will ban the Chinese Communist Party from buying U.S. land, donating to U.S. universities, and turning companies into pawns that lobby our government.
It means we stand for our veterans. That’s why I’ll restructure the Veterans Affairs Department to be accountable to those who served in our military, rather than to the bureaucrats who sit atop it.
It means we are proud of our nation. That’s why I will revive true civic education in America.
These aren’t black ideas or white ideas. These are American ideals that we fought a revolution to secure in 1776.
We live in a 1776 moment today. Thomas Jefferson was 33 years old when he wrote the Declaration of Independence. The American Revolution was led by the next generation for a reason. Then as now, it takes someone whose best days in life are still yet ahead to see a nation not in its decline, but in its ascent.
Vivek Ramaswamy is a Republican candidate for president. The entrepreneur has worked in the biotech field.
This article originally appeared on Des Moines Register: Vivek Ramaswamy: We Americans believe in the ideals of 1776
