Vote for the ideas that made America great — and will again

Keith House is sacred American ground. From this farmhouse in Bucks County, Pa., Gen. George Washington laid out his plan to ambush a Hessian garrison encamped on the other side of the Delaware River. It was the one last hope to restore the morale and faith of his Continental Army, and the general knew it. Beyond the plan to … actually, I’ll just let the president tell it:

“On Christmas night, he led what remained — what very little remained — of that ragtag Continental Army on a daring midnight raid. It was a tough night; it was a violent night. They marched through nine miles of ice and snow, many without boots on their feet, leaving a trail of blood in their wake. At dawn, they seized victory at Trenton. Their sacrifice turned the entire tide of the war.

“Those soldiers came from every walk of life. But what united them all was their devotion to the principle of self-government. They were determined to live in a country where power belongs to the people. That priceless inheritance is at stake …”

In the shadow of Washington’s former headquarters — the very spot where Washington realized that just one shot remained to save the dream of a new Republic — President Trump spoke these very words. He reminded us all, with not fear but fervor, what lies at stake at the heart of this election.

Ever the showman, Mr. Trump.

But if you paid attention to what he said, it echoed a point we’ve heard before — a similar idea from a speech in honor of Independence Day 2020. Those who saw it live realized its importance. Those in the media, who pretended to cover it, hyperventilated because people gathered together for the chance to see the president speak.

In what many, in the years after the history is written, will come to call the “Mount Rushmore Address,” Trump laid out explicitly what this moment we find ourselves in really means:

“1776 represented the culmination of thousands of years of Western civilization and the triumph not only of spirit but of wisdom, philosophy and reason. And yet, as we meet here tonight, there is a growing danger that threatens every blessing our ancestors fought so hard for, struggled and bled to secure.”

Elevating the ideas that made America great — that’s what this election is all about.

Academia-types and very un-peaceful protesters will try to tell you otherwise — or burn down your buildings — but truth is singular: America is the freest, most just and most prosperous nation in the world because of the ideas upon which it stands. Great thinkers, builders and creators over thousands of years came to the conclusions that our Founders crystallized in our Declaration of Independence and our Constitution:

Individuals matter. Every person is sacred.

Liberty is indispensable. There is no higher ideal than the freedom to pursue one’s own happiness.

Rationality is a virtue. Reason, not ideology, is the guiding principle for any decision or action.

Property earned is property kept. The level of one’s success is only limited by how hard he wants to work.

Government operates at the consent of the people — not the other way around.

Everyone remembers the names of the men and women, the American heroes, who achieved great feats and advanced all of mankind. But few remember that it is upon these ideas that each one of them was able to achieve so much.

From the brave explorers of the New World to the soldiers of the Revolution; from the Western settlers and farmers of the early Republic to the merchants of our cities and ports; from the Union men who fought for freedom for all Americans to the industrialists who built our country with steel, oil, and rail; from the inventors and innovators in science and medicine to the manufacturers who made “Made in the U.S.A.” the stamp of quality worldwide; and from the defenders of freedom who fought to liberate Europe and bring stability to a world under threat to the men and women today who work, fight and win for our families: This election, this choice, is for our ideals.

Capitalism vs. Socialism. Individualism vs. Collectivism. Freedom vs. Serfdom. You can define the choice however you want, but it’s fundamental: Do you want the chance to live the American Dream?

Only one candidate offers you that choice — he lived it himself. The other one spent 47 years in office to send millions of jobs overseas and thousands of Americans to die in foreign wars while allegedly lining his pockets with cash from the highest bidder, according to the New York Post.

I’m proud to have supported Donald J. Trump in 2016 and to have the opportunity to witness the immense successes of his first four years as president. For freedom, prosperity and the elevation of the ideas that made America great, there is no one better to lead us, as Americans, once again.

Corey R. Lewandowski is President Trump’s former campaign manager and a senior adviser to the Trump-Pence 2020 campaign. He is a senior adviser to the Great America Committee, Vice President Mike Pence‘s political action committee. He is co-author with David Bossie of the new book, “Trump: America First,” and of “Trump’s Enemies,” and “Let Trump Be Trump: The Inside Story of His Rise to the Presidency.” Follow him on Twitter @CLewandowski_