There are Two Anchors to Making America Great Again

​​At the beginning of the American Revolution, the British identified the Hudson River as key terrain. Taking control of the Valley would sever rebellious New England from the rest of the colonies. To thwart that effort, the Continental Army placed a massive metal chain across the river at West Point. Should British warships attempt to negotiate the barrier, soldiers on either si​de could easily destroy the invaders. While every piece of the chain was essential, the two links anchoring the chain to rock on both sides of the river were the most important.

​​ Just as the British recognized the river valley as key, George Washington considered the choke point at West Point the most strategic position in the war. The chain emplacement showed a prioritization of effort – and helped ensure the survival​ of the entire endeavor.

​​ This month, with the November 2024 election behind us, our country finds itself at a strategic point. Many links form the chain which binds the United States of America together: the economy, energy, capitalism, education, healthcare, and more. West Virginia’s voters were in the Nation’s majority and endorsed the returning Commander in Chief’s vision on those issues. As with the chain at West Point, we must identify the most important anchors to link our endeavors and enable success. As history tells us, those are self-governance and an effective military. Focusing first there is what will help make America great again.

​​ Self-governance is enshrined in our Declaration of Independence, which states, “governments derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.” America’s legitimacy rests on it being the product of free and fair elections, and domestic tranquility flows from people’s faith in the legitimacy of their government.

​​ With an understanding of the vital importance of self-government through elections, we have something worth defending - and, if need be, worth dying to preserve. This is what motivates people to volunteer for our Armed Forces. An effective military is the second link that anchors America. The mission of the U.S. Military is to deter our enemies, and if deterrence fails, to fight and win our Nation’s wars. Period.

​​ The military is serious business. It is not the place for social experiments or political causes. It is not the place for people to discern their gender or sexual orientation. My daughter left the military because her leadership persisted in making her take pronoun instruction and classes on political correctness rather than work to improve her proficiency in her military specialty. My other three children and two sons-in-law - all military veterans - have expressed similar concerns about today’s U.S. Military.

In the 2020 election, people across America questioned polls, machines, ballot harvesting, drop boxes, votes outside the law, tabulation, and more. It’s not easy to go against the current, especially with mounting pressure to cave to the skewed view that lawsuits were lost and allegations disproven. Perception, in elections, is often the public’s reality. And when unsatisfied with surface-level explanations, we must stay anchored and see the issues through to the end. There were two lies thrust upon America that kept the distrust in the 2020 election alive. First, the intentional lie that Hunter Biden’s laptop was “Russian disinformation”, a narrative put forth by Tony Blinken to help Joe Biden’s campaign, made worse by CIA, FBI, and social media complicity. Second, a government official claimed that the 2020 election was the “most secure” in our history, when people had reasons to believe that it wasn’t. The resulting malaise and divisiveness put the government’s legitimacy into shambles and demonized those bold enough to call out big government and demand explanations.

As a result, people formed election integrity networks and swore to fight against nefarious election activities. Due to the vigilance of the American citizenry, the “consent of the governed” was attained at polling places in 2024. This time, we may have actually just witnessed the most secure election ever. When the consent of the governed is manifest in a secure election, citizens have faith and hope in their future. That is the America we now have in our immediate future.

Yet, there is the second link: the military that must be addressed. Reagan’s Director of Personnel once said, “personnel is policy.” Here is where our new Commander in Chief must act immediately and decisively. The people he nominates must be bold. They must make the tough personnel calls, and they must vigorously enact the new President’s agenda.

The military must rid itself of the programs that detract from its war-fighting focus. It must promote individuals based on merit and merit alone, thereby getting rid of racial quotas, political correctness, and social agenda distractions. Two hundred fifty years ago, Thomas Paine sparked the Revolution by writing Common Sense, and it is encouraging to see early policy proposal to seemingly return towards common sense and away from political agendas.

The 2024 election showed that America is fed up with the partisan agendas. We must have a military that is capable of and willing to protect the revolutionary ideal of self-governance, and we must ensure the integrity of our elections. To that end, I have made the State of West Virginia a shining example for the entire country of what elections must be.

Working with our legislature, we require voters to show cause to vote absentee, people must show ID to vote, have made every person with a smart phone an extension of our investigation unit, and removed over 400,000 improper or outdated names from our voter registration list. We don’t accept votes outside the law, and we push back against federal overreach. I have called for the firing of Blinken and Mayorkas, and called on various government agencies to acknowledge their wrongdoing and what they have done to correct the problems.

Importantly, most races in West Virginia were called by 10 p.m. on election night.

What we have done in West Virginia must now be done at the national level. Common-sense measures must be implemented across all states to ensure election integrity. Simultaneously, our military must be cleaned, and the focus returned to the mission. With secure elections and a strong, focused military in place as anchors, the interconnecting links that make up the American Dream can thrive. Young men and women will gather at recruiting stations and look forward to serving in the military that protects their freedom and the grand experiment in self-governance.

As the Continental Army prevented the British from dividing the colonies, securing elections and rebuilding our military will prevent the dividing of America today. The opportunity to restore these two key anchors is the main success of this election. There is no time to waste. Let’s go to work.

WV Secretary of State Mac Warner is a graduate of the United States Military Academy at West Point. Lt. Colonel (Ret.) Warner enjoyed a decorated 23-year military career with the United States Army, then served five years in Afghanistan with the U.S. Department of State. He is a graduate of the WVU School of Law has a Masters Degree in International Law.  All four of Secretary Warner's children - two sons and two daughters - have served honorably on active duty in the U.S. military. ​​​