“I wanted a perfect ending. Now I've learned, the hard way, that some poems don't rhyme, and some stories don't have a clear beginning, middle, and end. Life is about not knowing, having to change, taking the moment, and making the best of it, without knowing what's going to happen next.
Delicious Ambiguity.”
― Gilda Radner
Borrowing a line from this week’s What It REALLY Means podcast – “This is not where we wanted to be, but this is where we’re at.” It is time to let go of the idea that President Trump will receive the storybook ending he deserves. We have both a president and nation to fight for now, and you can either do that or watch the greatness of America slip away into a Marxist future. It is genuinely that simple. President Trump is the first person in decades to hold the office who has defended the working-class men and women of America. He has publicly fought the culture war and defied political correctness. He has brought us an economy that allowed people to thrive. He has put Americans first, instead of last. He has defied the foreign policy of endless wars overseas. His election in 2016 was the biggest political middle finger to the ruling class in our history.
We owe him a debt of gratitude. Unfortunately, instead of celebrating his accomplishments, we find ourselves fighting against the very corrupt system President Trump warned us about from the beginning. The Left is not even trying to hide it anymore. The masks are off, and although that can be initially worrisome for some people, it is also comforting at the same time. It is important to know where people stand, even if that picture is not pretty.
As we battle to stop the steal, and maintain a fair presidential election, it is important to remind American-loving patriots everywhere of one thing which I am convinced – America first is inevitable. It is undeniable. It is our future, and we own that success, regardless of who is sworn in as president next year. Of course, I want that to be President Trump, and I will fight for that. I believe a fair election counting legal votes would indicate that is who it should be. However, whether Trump’s time in office ends in a few months or four years, we must prepare for the movement to continue beyond that.
President Trump has been a great vessel for the America first movement, and now it is time to add to that. We must build a coalition of supporters, activists, and new politicians – we must infiltrate our institutions like the Left has done. We must view it as a brand to market into mainstream society. We need people of influence in our education systems, entertainment, media, corporations, criminal justice system…etc. It is the only way we can fight back and reject the damage done by the Left, over time. It is time to take our country back from the people who hate it and want to radically transform it into something we would not recognize.
America first is not mutually exclusive to Republicans. Although President Trump is a Republican, he brought together voters from all different political parties and walks of life. In fact, the Democrat Party used to be the party of tolerance. They used to defend free speech, stand against unnecessary foreign wars, fight against big corporations, and champion working-class families. Somewhere along the way, the Democrat Party became the party of Wall Street, intolerance, virtue-signaling social justice warriors, big insurance companies, and foreign war and conflict.
Ultimately, many Trump supporters have allegiance to America first policies, and not necessarily the Republican Party – as a registered Unaffiliated voter, I am one of those people. The post-Trump future of the Republican Party is at a crossroads. Leaders in the Republican Party can either choose to embrace America first, or be left behind by returning to the boomer conservatism of the past, which has grown to be passe.
The success of President Trump having received more votes than any Republican in our history, and the impact seen downstream in the House and Senate races, tells our political leaders they should embrace America first. President Trump received millions more votes in the 2020 election than he did in 2016. In other words, the America first movement is just getting started, and how we shape it will be critical.
America first is a movement built on love – love for our country, our history, our constitutional rights, our values, and our respect for law-abiding, working-class men and women who work hard to support themselves and their families – they’re the backbone of America.
One of the biggest challenges moving forward will be identifying America first candidates at the local, state, and federal levels, and weeding out those Republicans who pledge allegiance to the failed party of the past. The movement will never experience the transformational change it deserves without doing this. The reality is, we must organize and work together to vote out much of the modern Republican Party – we will never succeed with politicians like Marco Rubio, Ben Sasse, Lindsay Graham, Mitt Romney…etc. If we cannot do that, then we must consider another alternative, such as creating our own political party.
We are creating history together. This moment in time will be written about one day, and you can proudly say you stood up for America and everything that makes it great. Our country is counting on us.
Brad Shepard is a contributor to UncoverDC, and an Army National Guard veteran. Brad’s breaking news stories have been credited by Fox Business, The Washington Post, New York Daily News, New York Post, CBS Sports, NBC Sports, Chicago Tribune, Deadspin, Yahoo Sports, Forbes, Golf Digest, Bleacher Report, Sporting News, The Sun, NESN, Breitbart, Zero Hedge, and ESPN’s Pardon the Interruption, among many others. He focuses on issues surrounding government accountability, Constitutional rights, and societal culture. Brad also co-hosts the “What it REALLY Means” podcast, a hard-hitting conservative podcast discussing important political news and topics. The podcast is hosted by Brad Shepard and Paul Harell.
Twitter: @TheBradShepard
