It's an honor for me to be here at the Sunflower Republican Club’s Christmas Dinner this evening.  I thank Doris Riley for the gracious invitation to return to speak to a group of fellow Kansas Republicans.  Historians are not typically known to be lively speakers and can be rather tedious company at parties.  I also don’t recommend sitting next to one watching a war movie or the History Channel.  That is unless you want to hear what happens next or how the actors aren’t wearing their uniforms correctly.  Anyway, I never turn down an opportunity to speak to a captive audience.

I have been asked to say a few words tonight and historians can’t help but use historical examples to make their point.   As you heard in my introduction I served for 20 years in the Army, and after retiring I was extremely lucky in being accepted into the US Army Combat Studies Institute as the Senior Historian.   Not only do I get to do what I love to do, I now have a spectator seat overlooking the Army as it continues to march along.

Observing the ongoing politics of the nation is also in my daily routine.  As you know, at this time in history the Republican Party is in the minority at the national level.  Empowered by their majority status and the fawning media, the Democrats are working relentlessly on reshaping our society and economy to their twisted socialist agenda.  However, we Republicans can make a dramatic comeback if we play our cards right.  When I spoke to you last year I said there was hope, and the events over the past ten months are proving that correct.  People are beginning to see the true agenda of this administration and many don’t like what they see.  The next year will be critical though, and as Margaret Thatcher once said, “It is not time to go all wobbly.”

What history and military experience can offer at this critical time is pretty straightforward.  In one word it is Perseverance.  Yes, the steady persistence in a course of action or purpose in spite of difficulties, obstacles, or discouragement.  A determined perseverance will pull us Republicans through these dark political times.

One of the best examples of personal perseverance is a fellow Republican by the name of Ulysses S. Grant.  Born of a lower middle class background Grant’s life was one of constant struggle against the odds.  He worked hard in his father’s dry goods stores and in a tannery.  Seeking social mobility, Grant graduated from West Point and fought with distinction in the Mexican War, but resigned later.  You may know that he was stationed on the frontier and without his family he turned to drink for solace.  People in public life back then too paid the political price for their vices, and this stigma follows Grant to this day.  As an aside, if you wouldn’t be proud to see your activities on the front page of the Kansas City Star, don’t do it.  Anyway, Grant returned to work for his father and even tried his hand at farming, but he was not known for his success.

The American Civil War was Grant’s salvation.  With his former military service he obtained a commission as a Colonel and with the rapid expansion of the Army he quickly was made a Brigadier General.  Grant’s first significant achievement was the capture of Fort Henry and Fort Donelson, which were the first major victories for the Union during the war.  Now one would think that would have propelled him quickly to the top but it didn’t.  Instead, he had to battle innuendos and accusations from fellow officers and often a hostile press.  Some senior and subordinate officers actively worked behind the scenes against him.  Sound a bit familiar?

Now Grant could have chosen a number of courses of action.  He could have modified his plans or even quit.  Instead, he focused on his chosen strategies and tactics.  To make a long story short, he consistently won battles and this set him apart from many other Union army commanders during the war.   As President Lincoln famously said, “I can’t spare this man.  He fights.”  With victories came the results the American people were hoping for.  In 1864 Grant was made Commander in Chief of all Union forces by President Lincoln, and about a year later the Confederacy was defeated.  Grant later was elected President for two terms.  His term of office was a mixed bag of success and scandal, but again, he preserved through tough times.

For me, Ulysses Grant epitomizes the spirit of perseverance.  From my viewpoint this is something the Republicans of today need to emulate.  Here are three axioms that Grant used to rise up from oblivion in Galena, Illinois to Chief Executive of our nation.

First, Know Your Enemy.

In order to achieve victory on the battlefield you must know who your enemy is, where their forces are located, their strengths, weaknesses, and intentions.  In the military we have entire organizations set up to learn just that.  Satellites and unmanned aerial drones watch from the skies.  Skilled technicians monitor communications.  Dedicated operatives gather intelligence from spy networks and interrogation.  Seasoned analysts piece all of this information together.  With a complete picture of the enemy, field commanders can apply combat power against it effectively and not be surprised by the enemy in another sector.

We Republicans know who our political opponents are but we often underestimate the Democrat Party.  Let me say emphatically that there is no such thing as bipartisanship.  The Democrats and their operatives will lie, cheat, steal, or do anything to hold on to power and to expand it.  Need some examples? 

·         "This healthcare plan will be deficit neutral."

·         "I will not raise taxes on working Americans one thin dime."

·         "Those that are in the United States illegally will not be covered by this plan."

·        "The stimulus produced or saved 1.6 million jobs."

·        “It’s Bush’s fault.”

There are dozens more of such examples and I only have to mention the “main stream media” for all of you to know who another enemy is.  Democrats can call us racists, Nazis, and homophobes, and equate health care with civil rights with impunity.  Real or fabricated transgressions by Republicans are splashed across the front page while the Democrats’ antics are buried or ignored.  This is the environment we Republicans are in and have to deal with.  Again, my warning to all officeholders is this: if you wouldn’t be proud to see your activities on the front page of the Kansas City Star, don’t do it.  You will receive no mercy from the media or your fellow Republicans.

Second, Grant would identify and attack the base of support of the enemy.

Tacticians and strategists look for the easiest targets.  For the military these usually mean supply lines and command and control centers.  You see, by nature these are weak as they are not the bulk of the fighting forces, which are armed to the teeth and ready for a fight.  Grant understood this and sought ways to attack the Confederates where they were weak.  Also, his good treatment of civilians in occupied areas prisoners of war weakened their support to the Confederate cause.

How does this apply to today’s political landscape?  Though they claim to speak for the poor and dispossessed, Democrats have increasingly become the party of an upper middle-class professional elite, top-heavy with journalists, academics and lawyers.  Strangely, given their worship of highly individualistic, secularized self-actualization, these people are as a whole show  amazing support to big-government solutions to every social problem.  They see no danger in expanding government authority and intrusive, wasteful bureaucracy.  I find it ironic that many of these same people were from the hippie movement of the 1960s.  Some of us here are unfortunately old enough to remember those times, and we recall how these same people protested the government at every opportunity.  I find it tragically ironic that these same people champion a government takeover of virtually every aspect of our lives.

This is a weakness that Republicans can exploit.  The Democrat Party elite may say that they care about the "little people" but their actions don't match the rhetoric.   In fact they are actively destroying sections of our economy that with help them the most.  You see, the working class and poor are primarily concerned about one thing now.  JOBS.  These people are also becoming more disenchanted with the Democrat party as they see the deficit exploding, the prospect of increased taxes, and no action on real job creation.  The time is ripe for the Republicans to make substantial inroads to these disenchanted Democrats.  With a stated agenda of helping all Americans find full-time employment this could be a key development in recapturing the House, Senate, and even the Presidency.

Grant’s third axiom was unity of action:

As commander of the Union forces, Grant was the first to synchronize the actions of the various armies moving against the South.  For instance, while Grant kept General Lee pinned down defending Richmond, General Sherman was cut loose to march across Georgia and hasten the end of the Confederacy.  In short, all of the scattered Union forces had a clear objective and knew their role in the overall effort.

For the coming elections I would call upon my fellow Republicans to rally around the candidate which wins the primary, at whatever level that may be.  We seem to have a nasty habit of bludgeoning each other during the primaries, then staying home when our candidate doesn’t win. Look to Dennis Moore and Barak Obama for shining examples.  The emergence of a third party candidate is a real danger too.  Experience shows that these strip voters from the Republican Party and hands victory to the Democrat candidate.  Remember Ross Perot?  Personally, with the political balance so out of alignment I would be happier with an unreliable Republican than a reliable Democrat.  We can put pressure on a wayward Republican in office but a Democrat will ignore us, knowing we would not vote for him anyway.  This won’t be a problem though if we focus on our core values and make sure they resonate to the majority of American voters.  When that is the case the voters will vote for the Republican candidate.

To be successful in the coming elections the Republican Party has to get its message out.  Like probably all of you here, I’m a media consumer.  I’m no media expert, but I do watch television, listen to the radio, and use a computer.  The Republican Party must form a distinct and clear message, and saturate the airwaves.  Noted venues such as Rush Limbaugh, Fox News, and our own local talents Darla Jaye and the Shanin and Parks Show reach millions of people, but often they are preaching to the choir.  We need to reach the growing number of disenchanted Democrats voters I mentioned earlier as well as Independents.  If we start now we will indeed persevere.

On a final note, which diverges a bit from my talk tonight, is a brief assessment of our military.  I am sure you still hear of how the military is stretched and is on the verge of exhaustion and collapse.  The recent policy announcement by the President wasn’t helpful, either.  Although military life is more challenging than any time in recent memory, those critics don’t realize how resilient the American soldier is.  Naturally, they would all like to come home to their families but they are committed to their mission.  You can see this immediately when you talk with them.  If you need tangible evidence, reenlistment rates are still high. 

Today millions of servicemen are serving overseas, preparing to deploy in to combat, or are working hard to support those already there.  I am proud to say that the Republican Party stands behind our military.  Always has. Always will.  It is gratifying that the Party shares the same values as the military, namely Duty, Honor Country.  These values and a whole lot of Perseverance will keep out military strong, and will see a resurgence in the Republican Party in coming election cycles.

Thank you for attention and for your service to our country.

God bless you all and may you have a Merry Christmas and a happy holiday season.

Ken Gott