Restore American Strength at Home and Abroad

Union Leader, Op-Ed

I RECENTLY announced that I am running to represent New Hampshire in the United States Senate. Those are words I never thought I’d write. You see, I’m a businessman, not a politician, and I have spent my life helping entrepreneurs and corporations create jobs and navigate uncertainty. But after watching disastrous policies weaken our country at home and abroad, it’s increasingly clear we need a change. It’s time to get rid of the career politicians who gave us runaway inflation, an energy crisis, and a world in which borders are not respected.

I’m blessed to have been born in America. My parents were immigrants from India who fled violence and poverty and came here in search of a better life. My dad was an auto mechanic by training and spent his life helping take care of people’s cars. My mother, a dietician, helped others improve their health through food. As a working-class family, we endured our fair share of tough times. I distinctly recall when the bank foreclosed on our family home. Rather than wallow in hardships, my parents told me to fill my head and not worry about my pockets. And this great land of ours gave me opportunities for education, work, and happiness. I have lived the American Dream.

But that dream of a better life, which provides hope for all Americans, is now at risk. Skyrocketing inflation is one reason, a silent force that robs families of their savings and makes everyday life more expensive. Let’s be clear: inflation is a tax, one that hits poor and middle-class families hardest. What’s caused this inflation? We printed and spent too much money, we abandoned U.S. energy independence, and we outsourced supply chains, manufacturing and jobs to China. The result is higher prices and limited availability at the pump, grocery store, and even Amazon.

The energy story is infuriating. It’s difficult to stomach because we went from exporting oil and gas to our friends and allies to importing energy from countries that hate America. It’s simply outrageous. I believe in an “all of the above” approach to energy that starts with ramping up domestic production and continues through American-designed future energy technologies. We gave up self-reliance and independence, two deeply held American values, and replaced them with vulnerability and dependence. Restoring our energy independence will strengthen America’s standing in the world while also helping New Hampshire families.

Let’s also restore American leadership abroad. This requires a strong military and steadfast commitment to support our allies. Allowing China to build and militarize islands in the South China Sea was a sign of weakness. Allowing Russia to take Crimea and parts of Georgia was a sign of weakness. Recall that President Barack Obama’s Secretary of Defense Robert Gates noted, in 2014, that Biden had “been wrong on nearly every major foreign policy and national security issue over the past four decades.” They say past performance is no guarantee of future results, but the past proved predictive here. The embarrassing American withdrawal from Afghanistan continued the trend of weakness.

We need to support the Ukrainians so they can defend themselves from the Russians. We need to make it clear to Comrade Xi that Chinese expansionism will not be tolerated. And we need to abandon the Iranian nuclear deal that would increase global terrorism and threaten Israel, a loyal American ally and the only democracy in the Middle East. When America is strong, our adversaries take notice; when weak, they take advantage.

Lastly, as the son of two immigrants who fondly and proudly recall the day they handed in their green cards and became U.S. citizens, I am in favor of legal immigration — but that doesn’t mean we should have an open border. We know that people and fentanyl have been streaming across our borders, and recent reports suggest dozens of people on terrorist watch lists have been apprehended trying to enter the United States. The border is a security issue.

Despite the challenges we face at home and abroad, I’m an optimist. New ideas and fresh thinking can get us back on track. We need to restore and protect the American Dream for our kids and grandkids by focusing on what we have in common, rather than highlighting what divides us. And we should invest in future technologies and innovations, so the industries of tomorrow create well-paying jobs here in America. What we need now more than ever are common sense solutions from the next generation of conservative leaders.

The definition of insanity, it is said, is to do the same thing over and over again while expecting a different outcome. Well, it’s time to end the insanity. It’s time to think differently. And most importantly, it’s time to replace the career politicians who have supported the failed policies that are hurting so many Granite State families.

Vikram Mansharamani is an entrepreneur living in Lincoln. He is a Republican candidate for the U.S. Senate. Learn more at www.vikram4nh.com.