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Editor's Note: This column was co-authored by former Congressman Jack Kingston (R-GA).

Our only shot to shake up Washington

We know a thing or two about unity.

Competing head-to-head in the Georgia Republican primary for the United States Senate in 2014 we got to know each other well. During a long year of primary and runoff campaigning, each of us pledged to support the eventual nominee.

We honored that pledge and put our differences aside. Our differences were nothing compared to our differences with the Democrats who wanted another seat in the United States Senate to push President Barack Obama’s progressive agenda.

Together, we put the people of Georgia above personal politics because we knew what was at stake in 2014 if Republicans did not win control of the Senate. Even more is at stake for the entire country if we do not win the White House this November.

Failed liberal policies and a naïve foreign policy co-authored by Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton created this moment of crisis we face today. But as has been the case in every moment of crisis in America’s history, we also have a moment of opportunity.

Our message is simple, and the choice is clear. The future of our country for the next 50 years is at stake. From the balance of power on the Supreme Court to our system of checks and balances in Congress, we need new leadership in the White House.

Putting Donald Trump in the White House is our best chance to finally achieve our shared goal and change the direction of our country.

Trump is our only chance to shake up the status quo in Washington. Trump is our only chance to stop excessive spending and over regulation sucking the very life out of our free enterprise system. Trump is our only chance to restore American leadership around the world with a strong foreign policy.

Not only does Hillary Clinton have a pattern of questionable ethics and integrity, but she has repeatedly pledged to go even further with Obama’s radical agenda. Those policies have failed the very people Democrats claim to champion and left too many Americans behind.

Nothing will change if Clinton is elected. The burden of the national debt will grow at even more rapid rate. Hard-working families will continue to struggle to make ends meet. America will continue to lead from behind. Our freedoms will erode even further under a liberal, activist Supreme Court.

To borrow language from President Ronald Reagan, this is not a choice between pale pastels. It is between bold colors and two completely different paths for our country’s future.

It is incredibly disappointing that national Republican leaders refuse to honor Reagan’s charge to speak no ill of a fellow Republican. Right now, conservatives of all stripes should set aside their differences and unite behind our vision of a better future.

Everything at stake — from the Supreme Court to our global security, not to mention stopping the corruption of the Clinton Foundation — should unite anyone who wants to turn the page from the failures of the Obama and Clinton era.

People are fed up with Washington. Americans will no longer accept the status quo. Despite differences in political ideology we all know that we can do better, and we must do better, for our children and grandchildren.

Trump has tapped into a growing movement of disenfranchised Americans. His powerful message has motivated more people to get involved in the political process and he has helped increase Republican primary turnout by over 60 percent. He is listening to all of us and he has already proven he is ready to do things differently in Washington.

It is time to truly change the direction of our country and make America great again.