Andrew Breitbart and I sat in a hotel coffee shop together not long before he passed away. I was California’s Republican Party Chairman at the time and Andrew was, well, Andrew Breitbart.
We were both speaking at a conference, motivating and training conservative activists. A firebrand at the podium, one-on-one he was always exceedingly polite, friendly, and genuine.
Although he is no longer with us, Andrew helped conservatives recognize again that we cannot win unless we are on offense–all of the time. The ideas at the center of our movement–free markets, a fair judicial system, individual liberty, property rights, etc.–produce prosperity wherever they are tried around the world.
Our opponents? Look at Venezuela.
It’s in that sprit of “permanent offense” that I’m excited to be a part of the launch of Breitbart California. I share Andrew’s belief that we must challenge the left at every opportunity–even when the odds, for the moment, seem to be against us.
Surrender was never found in Andrew’s vocabulary. Yet today there are some who in California would preemptively surrender offices to the left until someone else does the really heavy lifting. Well, that “someone else” is us: those of us who are here, today, online at Breitbart California, who will challenge the other team, and in so doing offer better solutions to the many challenges plaguing California.
If our ideas produce prosperity, and we know they do, then we owe it to our fellow Californians to advocate for those ideas, to work to put them into action, and to forge ahead relentlessly so we may have the opportunity to improve the lives of our fellow citizens. That is the calling that brings us together.
There are some people who run for office to get a title, to win a prize, to feel important. But these are not the men and women who change the world for the better. The real leaders, those who change things, are people who run for office not to be someone, but to do something. Reagan and Thatcher were each that kind of leader, and they changed the world.
The world is different today, but we still need leaders in the tradition of Reagan and Thatcher, nationally and in California. Leaders so confident in their convictions and articulate in their message that they can build winning majorities that left their opponents behind on Election Day.
That’s what America needs. That’s what California needs. Now, let’s get to work.
Ron Nehring is the former Chairman of the California Republican Party and a Republican candidate for Lt. Governor. Learn more at ronnehring.com.
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