Both parties will say they support the American Dream, but Republicans want to ensure equal opportunity. Democrats want to promote more equal results!

The Democrats want  equal results for all whether they have earned it or not! They feel all Americans are entitled to healthcare, a living wage, affordable mortgages, and jobs that won’t go away because of foreign competition. To ensure equal outcomes, Democrats promise to enforce “unequal” tax obligations on “high-income” citizens.

Democrats promote more government solutions—They suggest freezing mortgage rates for those facing foreclosure, They want employers and “rich” taxpayers to pay for universal health insurance. They'd make pharmaceuticals provide drugs at a cost Americans want to pay and keep raising the minimum wage until citizens are paid what they "think" they’re worth. And, of course, they'd hire more government employees to administer their programs, make more regulations and ensure compliance!

Democrats never worry about employers or high-income Americans. After all, they can always afford a little sacrifice for the civic good!

In this age of anti-rich politics, Ayn Rand’s book, "Atlas Shrugged," is worth reading again. The story describes a time of recession where the government turns increasingly socialist. Independent business owners become the target of confiscation and interference. In an effort to save the country, capitalists strike—factories, farms and stores shut down. Out of the riots and economic collapse and then a better, freer society emerges.

Rand’s novel showed how badly a nation needs its innovators, its risk-takers and capitalists. Punishing the strong and successful doesn’t help the weak; poor people don’t hire anyone!

The Republican Party has always affirmed that the strength of America comes from its citizens, not its government. The American Dream isn’t an entitlement or a right; it’s to be earned anew in each generation. Instead of promising equal results, America has always been about ensuring an "equal opportunity to pursue happiness!”

Optimism doesn’t come from political promises; true optimism is earned the way it has always been earned—by each citizen overcoming obstacles on their way to success.

As Democrats campaign on confiscating more from wealthy Americans to give relief to “working Americans,” consider Abraham Lincoln’s caution, “I don’t believe in a law to prevent a man from getting rich; it would do more harm than good. So while we do not propose any war on capital, we do wish to allow the humblest man an equal chance to get rich with everybody else.”

Lincoln understood what most liberals don’t appreciate. In a creative, capitalistic society, there is movement between the classes.

In America, research supports that the same person can provide both capital and labor at different stages of his life. There will always be poor, but 95% who started poor don’t remain poor. Many aspiring workers work hard to save, then to invest and ultimately to become entrepreneurs or owners of capital that works for them to increase their own wealth.

Capital needs labor willing to work, spend and save; labor needs applied capital willing to take a risk on new dreams. Both need a government that’ll ensure that Americans remain free to makes dreams happen and to reap the rewards from their hard work.

President Ronald Reagan had a secret to attracting Democrat and independent votes. He appealed to our best hopes, not our worst fears, to our confidence, rather than our doubts.

This past labor leader’s rock-solid confidence in Americans came through when he would say: “I’m not taking your time this evening to ask you to trust me. Instead, I ask you to trust yourself. That is what America is all about… It’s the power of millions of people like you who will determine what will make America great again.”

As always, making the American Dream work is work. Life is difficult. Companies open, and companies close. Some careers thrive; others are no longer necessary. There are and will always be obstacles, but, with focused efforts, people can and still do succeed.

This isn’t a populist message that fits well in 15 second political ads, but it’s a message that is critical to the future of America.

In November, join me in voting Republican, the party that believes in you and your potential to earn YOUR American Dream.