Autobiography - The Galindo Group

Ram Galindo THE MAKING OF AN AMERICAN Page 82
My interest in raising funds to help elect the right kind of candidates brought me in
contact with many other similarly motivated Americans who were orders of magnitude
above me in knowledge, contacts and means. It soon became clear that my own pay-off
was not just seeing the helm of our government passed to the best hands available, but
it was also the lessons I received by just being near some of the titans of
entrepreneurship. The years preceding Ronald Reagan’s second inauguration were
particularly exhilarating in that some results of his leadership were already becoming
clear.
I did not have the financial ability to help comfortably everyone deserving help, but I
strained myself in the effort perhaps more than others. Whatever economic price I could
pay to help secure freedom for America and its allies was a bargain. During Reagan’s
reelection campaign I had the honor of being asked by the voters of my county (Brazos
County in Texas) Republican party to represent them as a delegate to the national
convention. Up to this point I had never actually been in the arena of political operations
to observe all the jealousies and petty interests that frequently arise. After that eyeopening
experience I have attended many State of Texas Republican conventions, and
most of the national ones, and have been witness to the never-ending struggle for
freedom that takes place even in these conventions.
One thing has become apparent to me, and that is that there should not be greater
regulation of the rights of an individual to contribute to the candidate, party or message
of his or her choice. The price of limited government and a strong national defense is
invaluable and is paid only by those who, being aware of its importance, are willing to
step up to the plate to help elect the right candidates. Any attempt to limit this ability
strips the right to dispose of the fruits of one’s creations and puts in the hands of the
government, or a government appointed board, the privilege of determining who gets
campaign money and how much. This clearly smacks of the tyranny against which the
American Revolution was fought. If anything, any new rules ought to include a
prohibition of using somebody else’s money to give to candidates or political causes
without the express consent of the donors, such as labor unions and publicly owned
corporations do today. No one should be allowed to use someone else’s money to give
away to the politician of choice. So called “campaign reform” initiatives, brought to the
fore from time to time by politicians unable to stir significant numbers of Americans with
their message, appear to me as nothing more than a ruse to usurp funds that they
cannot get on their own.
When I personally met President Reagan, I was so impressed by him that all my fears
of America faltering were dispelled. Reagan redefined America as a country of vigorous
and optimistic people imbued with a self-reliant can-do attitude, willing to stand-up for
their freedoms and to help others protect theirs. He was the quintessential freedom
fighter. Due to his extraordinary leadership and to the support across the oceans from
Margaret Thatcher in England, Pope John Paul II in the Vatican and Japanese allies in
the Pacific Rim, the cold war ended under his watch.
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