Refocusing the Republican Party- Part III

The second step in refocusing ourselves and our party is to recognize that the current policies being emphasized in the pursuit of economic well-being threaten our freedom. The Declaration of Independence, our republican form of government and our party stand for the proposition of the equal right of all people to liberty, opportunity, justice and responsibility, not equal economic and materialistic status. "The Democracy of today hold the liberty of one man to be absolutely nothing when in conflict with another man's right of property [economic well-being]. Republicans, on the contrary, are for both the man and the dollar, but in cases of conflict, the man [his right to life, liberty and pursuit of happiness] before the dollar." A. Lincoln, Letter to Henry Pierce and others, April 6, 1859, as reprinted in The Essential Lincoln: Speeches and Correspondence (ed. Orville Burton, Hill and Way 2009, p. 63)[emphasis in brackets added by me]. For the principle of "you work, and I eat, you toil and I will enjoy the fruits of it," is a tyrannical, despotic principle, which threatens our country. Lincoln, Speech at Chicago, Illinois, July 10, 1858, as reprinted in The Essential Lincoln: Speeches and Correspondence (ed. Orville Burton, Hill and Way 2009, p. 47). We are surrendering our freedom to the tyranny of equal economic well-being.

As I was growing up in the 1960s and 1970s, we witnessed the folly of and liberty stifling effects of a collectivist [a central government controlled] economy. For example, the citizens of the Soviet Union [supposedly] had a minimum equal level of economic well-being, but no free choice to do or experience better [unless they were members of the ruling Communist Party]. The government controlled the materialistic [food, cars, clothes] and non-materialistic [ideas in movies, books and music] items of society, all in the name of the "common good." Thus, in 1988, I witnessed first hand the long lines as people patiently waited for their turn at the rare chance to obtain basic commodities (such as sugar or shoes) and being limited to purchasing cars made by government owned automobile manufacturers. I listened as Soviet youth expressed frustration at their limited choices in schooling, careers [the government chose your career for you based on aptitude tests and party affiliation], music, books, movies and travel, to name a few. The great irony of my lifetime is to see once collectivist societies transform to more personal freedom and free market economics while we head in the opposite direction. While it may not be the intent of the President or Congress to permanently adopt collectivism, that is the road we are headed down. Dramatically increased federal debt and intrusion into the economy will have the practical effect of limiting our choices and freedom, setting up a de facto collectivist state.

Refocusing the Republican Party- Part II

The first step in refocusing ourselves and our party is recapturing the fact that we are the party of equality. For Lincoln and our party, the Declaration of Independence stands for the principle that all people are equal in terms of the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. The proper role of the government (under the Declaration and Constitution) is to protect this principle. The government is only free to pass laws consistent with this principle by the consent of the people. The government is to remove barriers to our individual creativity, ingenuity, spontaneity and responsibility, not create barriers that limit them. As Lincoln states in his Special Message to Congress on July 4,1861, this is the principle being fought for- government as intended by the Declaration and Constitution which is to "lift artificial weights from all shoulders-to clear the paths of laudable pursuit for all- to afford all an unfettered start and a fair chance at life."
Thus, our republican form of government and our party stand for the proposition of the equal right of all people to life, liberty, opportunity, justice and responsibility. From this proposition our party sponsored and saw adopted constitutional amendments abolishing slavery, ensuring equal protection under the law and the right of all to vote regardless of race [13th, 14th, 15th Amendments]. We were the first major party to champion the right of women to vote, with the first woman elected to Congress being a Republican. [See "The Republican Party-GOP History," at www.GOP.com].
Instead of allowing ourselves to be wrongfully portrayed and viewed as the party against equality, we must remind all people of our heritage and actually live that heritage ourselves today. All Americans, especially younger Americans, will understand, relate to, agree with and join us on this principle of equality. We must recapture this spirit of equality, for the alarming growth and intrusion of government in all aspects of our lives and the divisive, stifling effect of special interest groups are jeopardizing the principle of equality, gradually minimizing everyone's equal right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

Refocusing the Republican Party-Part I

Much is being said and written about the need of the GOP to "find it's soul." Efforts to find the "missing" soul include proposed cross-country meetings with focus groups, various books, and speeches by aspiring GOP presidential candidates.
I humbly suggest a simpler yet more challenging path to rediscovering our political soul- a return to a genuine love of the Declaration of Independence and the restorarion of its relevance in the everyday life of all Americans. "I have never had a feeling politically that did not spring from the sentiments embodied in the Declaration of Independence." A. Lincoln, Speech at Independence Hall, Philadelphia, PA, Feb. 22,1861, as reprinted in The Essential Lincoln: Speeches and Correspondence (ed. Orville Burton, Hill and Way 2009). Lincoln's political foundation was the Declaration. It was the core of his principles and focused his thoughts. It should be the core of our principles and focus our thoughts. We will discuss over the course of the next few weeks why and how this is critical not only to our party but, more importantly, to all Americans.

Middle class America

As I said on May 7, one of the reasons I am running for Congress is that people who are middle class (or aspire to be middle class) see the traditional middle class foundation of a decent job and affordable housing, healthcare and higher education ( for one's self and one's family) slowing dissolving away from under them.
We must restore that foundation. As a recent article well states the situation:
"...Republicans...need a reform agenda that helps ordinary Americans- better, helps them help themselves- and that can be seen as such...(M)iddle-class families are the country's backbone, not one of its interest groups....Without a thriving middle class, America will not be a strong country and will certainly not be a country interested in limited government." (from "Beyond 'No'," by Ponnuru and Lowry, National Review, June 8, 2009, p. 16).