J.C. Watts: President Reagan Inspired Me to Become a Republican

Sunday, June 6th 2004, 11:53 am

By: News On 6

EUFAULA, Okla., June 5 /U.S. Newswire/ -- GOPAC Chairman and former Oklahoma Congressman J.C. Watts, Jr., issued the following statement concerning today's death of President Ronald Reagan:

``I was not a Republican when Ronald Reagan was President, but he sure got my attention. I was in my 20s, and like many Democrats, I did a gut check in the 1980s when President Reagan put to words the convictions of my heart. In many ways, President Reagan inspired me to become a Republican.

``President Reagan cultivated my homegrown conservative values through his message of hope, peace through strength, and economic opportunity for all. He rallied America around its highest common denominator, not its lowest. At a most basic level, he challenged America to think about what it wanted to be when it grew up. He envisioned a world free of communism and a nation alive with entrepreneurship. He was the kind of leader that looked more at the next generation than the next election.

``President Reagan would often close his speeches with the words 'God bless you, and God bless America.' God answered that prayer -- for America and the world -- by giving us the gift of Ronald Reagan.

``I am saddened by President Reagan's passing. My wife Frankie and I want to express our sympathies to Nancy and the family.

``While America continues its journey toward that 'shining city on a hill,' there is no doubt in my mind that President Reagan is now there.''