Republican Party Has Abandoned Republicans

by Kerry Thomas

October 27, 2007

Ronald Reagan is often quoted as saying "I didn't leave the Democrat Party. The party left me." These days, many Republicans are feeling the same way about their Republican Party.

The Republican Party has produced a web-based series they call “Rediscover Your Party” targeting their most die hard supporters and insiders. It features Party leaders outlining their strategy for winning back the majority in Congress.

The problem is, that’s their focus, winning back their majority. Their focus is not on practicing traditional Republican principles, which, if actually practiced, would win the Republican Party victories across America.

The reason this series was necessary (for the insiders) is because Republicans no longer recognize their Republican Party.

A small group of Party insiders has managed to use fear and guilt to goad Republicans into accepting policies that would otherwise make Republicans who believe in the Constitution reject these policies outright.

Republicans know that following religious teachings is a good way to lead one’s own life. But it too often makes for bad public policy when strictly codified into law.

Religion is best practiced in church, not in a legislative body. We look to our religious leaders for spiritual guidance, not to our politicians. Allowing fundamentalist religious preachings, from any religion, to become codified into law is a threat to all of Liberty, and is especially dangerous to religious Liberty.

The fear of another catastrophic terrorist attack has convinced many Americans to go along with the politicians who ask them to surrender their Liberties in return for the political promise of more security. Forgotten is the admonition of Benjamin Franklin, that any society that would give up a little liberty to gain a little security will deserve neither and lose both.

The Republican Party has abandoned Republicans, selling them a platform of broken promises and empty campaign rhetoric. And it’s all the evil Democrats’ fault. But if you’ll just send more $$$ for this next election, by golly, we’ll show those evil Democrats a thing or two.

I’m sure it’s the same story on the Democrat side of the ledger. Same empty broken political promises, that can all be fixed if we all just send them more $$$.

Enough already!

In the race for the 2008 Republican Presidential campaign, we had 10 candidates at one point. Healthy competition is good for America, and it’s good for Republicans. But for some reason, Republican Party leaders don’t see it that way.

While they “officially” remain neutral, Party leaders are busy behind the scenes, recruiting maleable candidates they’ll be able to control when needed, offering them ocean liners full of campaign cash, promising them power, or whatever they need to promise these soft candidates to entice them to run. Most of these spineless candidates are eager to accept these bribes (let’s be honest – they’re bribes) because they’ve dreamed of powerful political careers since they were in college. It doesn’t take much arm twisting to get them on board.

Meanwhile, honest Republican candidates, those who won’t play the political game, who won’t go along to get along, are discouraged from runniing against the anointed candidates. Every roadblock imaginable is thrown in their path (whether or not it’s moral, or even legal), until they get the hint, and drop out of the race. Party leaders call this aggressive recruiting.

George Washington warned America about the dangers of allowing an entrenched political class to emerge. It’s not unusual today to find career politicians with 20, 30, even 40+ years in elected office. And the puppeteers who control these spineless political marionettes’ strings are even more dangerous. They stay behind the scenes, unknown, unelected and unaccountable.

Today’s Republican Party has sold out Republicans in exchange for money and power. A small handful of people runs the Party, making all the decisions, hand-picking the candidates, and bestowing their favors on the politicians who play the game and quietly acquiesce to their wishes. Publicly, the Party members are told they all get to vote on the big questions. Privately, the decisions have already been made.

It’s a charade, and the true leadership barely pays lip service to the masses. Just make sure the $$$ keep rolling in. Every rah-rah newsletter comes with a solicitation for campaign money. Every scary scenario letter comes with a solicitation for money. Constituents are routinely asked to attend fundraisers, to give more and more every election. All designed to make the sheep believe they make a difference.

Today’s Republican Party is just about where the Democrats were 25 years ago. The Republican Party keeps shifting to the left, often marching in lock step with proposals that no principled Republican would ever support. The Libertarian Party is actually more Republican than the Republican Party is today.

In the words of President George W. Bush, “People are not happy with the status quo. People want honest government.”

Republican Party leaders tell Republicans they’re winning at every turn. Yet we continue to see the size of government growing at every level. Our taxes keep going up. More onerous and bureaucratic regulations keep being promulgated. They’re doing all this for the poor, and for the children, and for the animals, and to save the environment. Blah blah blah.

Elected Republicans keep going along to get along.

As a Party, the Republican Party has gone native. They’ve abandoned their members, their promises, and their principles. Simply changing hats on the same pointy heads won’t do it any more. Repeated promises of reform and change have gone unfulfilled for too long.

It is said that the only thing necessary for the triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing. For too long now, Republicans have stood by and done exactly that.

We end up with exactly the type of government we deserve.

Traditional Republicans believe in a limited government, lower taxes, a strong national defense, private-sector capitalism, and the Constitution.

We believe that government powers are granted to the government by the People, through the Constitution. All government functions must adhere to the limits on government power found in the Constitution. We’re not happy when government grows at only 2% per year. We need to shrink our oppressive bureaucratic government, and return our government to it’s Constitutionally-allowed functions.

We pay more than our “fair share” in taxes. Taxes at every level are too high. Taxes rob honest Americans of their Liberty. Taxation takes money from the private sector, money that is best utilized by the people who earn it, in whatever manner they deicide is best for them. Limiting tax increases is not the same as reducing taxes, and is no longer good enough.

A strong national defense is a necessity in the world today. We are attacked when we are weak, not when we are strong. And when you declare a war, the only logical way to end that war is to win it.

In a free country, people are free to make choices that affect their lives. Yes, they will make mistakes. But people learn from their mistakes. Capitalism works on the same principle. Republicans believe Americans should be free to come or go, buy or sell, be drunk or sober, based on how they choose to live their lives.

Government handouts are not the same as benevolent charity. The best thing government can do to lift people from poverty is to get out of the way and allow our entrepreneurial ingenuity to be unleashed.

Republicans have a choice to make, today.

Republicans can continue to do nothing, meekly accepting the status quo, continuing to suffer under a lack of principled leadership. Or, Republicans can choose to clean house, from top to bottom, sweeping away the corrupt inner circle of Party leaders and elected officials, to start anew, making room for men and women who will step up, who will embrace traditional, fundamental Republican principles, people whose life’s experiences come from outside the world of professional politics.

Outside Constitution Hall in Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin was asked what type of government they had created. He replied “A Republic…if you can keep it.”

The future of the Republican Party is at stake.