Women Who Stand With Mitt

Day 2 of the convention is over and by all accounts it was a remarkable night.  There was plenty of red meat -- it fired up the base and has stirred up the critics.

One thing which continues to stand out more than anything?  The Women.

Much to the dismay of the left, the Republican party is saturated with strong, articulate and respectable women.  Women who love their country and are fighting for the promise that the American Dream is still within reach for anyone.  Women who ardently believe that our leaders must begin to exercise fiscal discipline and for the sake of our country's stability, these women demand that our leaders be confined to moral spending limits.

These women are leaders.  They have found their voice.  Above all, these women refuse to be defined or confined by the social issues of our day.

Susana Martinez, Gov. New Mexico; Nicki Halley, Gov. South Carolina; Mia Love, Mayor, Saratoga Springs, Utah, Condoleeza Rice, former Secretary of State; Kelly Ayotte, Senator, New Hampshire.

Susana Martinez 
First female Hispanic governor in America
Last night America was introduced to a remarkable woman, Susana Martinez, Republican Governor from New Mexico.   She talked about her humble upbringing in a town on the border where her family lived paycheck to paycheck.  She told of her parents determination to improve their circumstances and the risks they took to build a business that grew from one employee to hundreds and eventually spread to three states.

She candidly shared the poignant moment not too long ago, when as a Democrat she realized, "All be damned, I am a Republican."

Image from Foxnews.com

Martinez challenged Americans that this election must be about real issues.  She said, "Too many Americans are out of work and our debt is out of control.  This election needs to be about those issues.  Obama promised to bring us together, to cut unemployment, to pass immigration reform in his first year and he even promised to cut the deficit in half in his first term.  Do you remember that?  He hasn't come close."

Martinez made an impression on me and I have no doubt that her impact will be far reaching.

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Condoleezza Rice
First African American Female Secretary of State
Her poignant speech has those on the left scrambling today because she spoke with authority on foreign  policy and domestic issues and boldly asserted that America's standing in the world has been impacted under President Obama.  She declared that America's future is uncertain if we continue to try to "lead from behind."

Image from the Wall Street Journal

Rice said the world has seen areas in the Middle East declare their desire for freedom, and yet the US has remained a silent spectator.  She said "The promise of the Arab Spring is engulfed in uncertainty; internal strife and hostile neighbors are challenging the fragile democracy in Iraq; dictators in Iran and Syria butcher their own people; all wonder 'Where does America Stand?'"

She said, "Our friends and foes alike, do not know the answer to that question."

In regards to domestic issues, she reminded us that while our economy is crumbling here at home, our standing in the world has been compromised.  She said, "When the world looks at us today they see an American government that cannot live within its means.  They see a government that continues to borrow money, mortgaging the future of generations to come."

Perhaps one of the strongest arguments she made, "The world knows that when a nation loses control of its finances, it eventually loses control of its destiny."

She whole heartedly endorsed Mitt Romney and artfully undermined the president and his effort to segregate our country based on financial and class standing.  She said, "Ours has never been a narrative of grievance and entitlement.  We have not believed that I am doing poorly because you are doing well.  We have not been envious of one another and jealous of each other's success. Ours has been a belief in opportunity and a constant battle -- long and hard--- to extend the benefits of the American dream to all -- regardless to circumstance of birth."

Image from the Boston Globe

Rice awakened imagery of our country's greatness and the hope of a better future when she reminded us that "America has met and overcome difficult circumstances before."

She ended with the heart wrenching and emotional story from her childhood.  She said, "A little girl grows up in Jim Crow Birmingham -- the most segregated big city in America -- her parents can't take her to a movie theater or a restaurant -- but they make her believe that even though she can't have a hamburger at the Woolworth's lunch counter -- she can be President of the United States and she becomes the Secretary of State."

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It was a powerful night.  These women and the others who shared that stage have awakened a yearning for America's greatness to be restored -- that the American Dream is still attainable for anyone -- and that leadership matters.

These strong women are all standing with Mitt.

These women have found their voice and refuse to be defined by the social issues of our day.  They boldly reminded the president the same message which I wish I could shout from my own roof, "Mr. President, you may speak for some, but you don't speak for me."