Reagan at CPAC by Ronald Reagan

Author:Ronald Reagan
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Regnery Publishing

Conservatives Press Forward

Wayne LaPierre

COMMENTARY ON

The Agenda Is Victory

He wasn’t called the “Great Communicator” for nothing. Yet for all his skillful oratory, the masterfulness of President Ronald Reagan came from the personal nature of the man himself and his natural connection to the hearts of the American public.

Many people may have forgotten (if they are old enough to remember at all) the historic breakthrough of hope, optimism, and national pride that President Reagan rekindled. His 1982 speech at the Conservative Political Action Conference was one in a long line of examples of the case he made for an optimistic future for the American people. So often, President Reagan expressed his hope for the country to the good hearts of Americans; hope to protect their values and freedoms that so many political and media elites had seemed to abandon.

That was always Reagan. He loved Americans and the freedoms and principles that have always made our nation the greatest in the world, and was never shy about cutting through the bureaucratic fog of the elites in Washington, D.C. to stand and fight for those values.

His love of our constitutional freedom led the National Rifle Association (NRA), for the first time in its history, to issue a Presidential campaign endorsement and mobilize to help get him elected. As an NRA Honorary Life Member, the president addressed the NRA convention in 1983, saying, “It does my spirit good to be with people who never lose faith in America, who never stop believing in her future, and who never back down one inch from defending the constitutional freedoms that are every American’s birthright.”

That was Ronald Reagan. Optimistic, hopeful, and always believing in the American spirit.

In 1982, the president slammed Washington, D.C. as a big government “company town” of one-week news stories and political fads. He challenged the CPAC audience to “always remember that our strength still lies in our faith in the good sense of the American people.”

Throughout the speech—whether discussing his economic plan, federal spending, criminal justice reform, or national defense—Reagan addressed the issues from the clear prism of expanding individual freedom and renewing the American dream of opportunity for every citizen.

The president, even back in 1982, spoke to the cultural divisions promoted by the political and media elites. “Since when do we in America endorse the politics of envy and division,” he asked, while reminding us that we are all Americans.

“I’m talking about ‘Main Street’ Americans in their millions,” he said. “They come in all sizes, shapes, and colors—blue-collar workers, blacks, Hispanics, shopkeepers, scholars, servicepeople, housewives, and professional men and women. They are the backbone of America, and we can’t move America without moving their hearts and minds as well.”

In his speech, President Reagan captured this truth: that all our freedoms and values are interconnected whole cloth, as a fabric of the spirit and character of America. This vibrant tapestry of values we share is too often at risk in today’s divisive and troubling times.

The president strikes at the glorious vein of the American

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