What Reagan Teaches Us As We Celebrate His 101st Birthday

From Lillian Vogl's announcement speech to the Fairfax Country Republican Committee:

Today is Ronald Reagan's 101st birthday. Everyone loves Reagan, myself included. Let us never forget why Reagan was so successful--he won over the "Reagan Democrats." He didn't compromise his principles, but he communicated conservative values in terms that were understandable and attractive to people who didn't already identify themselves as Republicans. That's what we still need from our party leaders today.

It's not about compromise, but it is about communication.

And that is what I do for a living. Every day I'm on Capitol Hill, fighting the good fight against tax increases and burdensome regulations on things that are fundamental to your economic security, like your health insurance and 401k.

I do this by listening. Listening to Congress, to the press, to conservative groups, to talk radio, and listening to liberal groups too. I synthesize all this to figure out what messages are going to convince enough people to get the job done.

This is also how we win elections, folks. Not by compromising our principles, and neither by ignoring the other side, but by communicating our principles in a way that will win over the other side.

In short, we must be Great Communicators.