I have been active in Republican Party politics for many years. I had the opportunity of helping to run hotly contested US senate, House and local races in 2004, 2006 and 2008. I have a deep passion to see the best candidates in office and have worked tirelessly to see that happen. With the recent outcome of numerous elections, from the Presidential race down to local level elections and then the appointments of moderates such as Michael Steele to positions of leadership, I have begun to re-evaluate where I stand within the Republican Party. I think that the Republican Party has alienated candidates of true convictions, and enthusiastically pushed for electing and re-electing moderates into office, that do not hold to the same values as the base of the Republican Party.
Seeing this at ground level has left me confused and somewhat reluctant to be a part of the Republican Party as a whole. I believe that they have strayed from their fundamental values, simply to get a Republican, any Republican, regardless of past records, or liberal tendencies elected into office. Further, I think that this way of thinking has cost us election, after election, and will continue to do so until the Republicans see the error of their thinking. We need politicians who stand for principals and standards, and will not bow to political pressure once in office.
One of the biggest lessons I have learned being around politics is to look for politicians, movements and messages that develop leaders around or in them. Leadership is the ability to articulate a vision and motivate others in pursuit of that vision. I think Republicans lost the presidential race on this specific issue in 2008. Barack Obama articulated a vision, however vague it may have been, then he was able, in a dramatic fashion to get others motivated to get behind it.
Republicans Acting Like Democrats
Outstanding leaders articulate an ideological vision congruent with the deeply-held values of their followers. Real leaders display a passion for, and have a strong conviction of, what they regard as the moral correctness of their vision. They engage in outstanding or extraordinary behavior and make extraordinary self-sacrifices in the interest of their vision and mission. The Republican Party is not short on these types of leaders; they have pushed them to the fringe of the party, deciding instead to engage and praise the moderates, who often times side with liberals on the issues that are most important to their constituents. All of this has led to many Republicans being disgruntled and more importantly to the disintegration of our liberties at the federal level.
In recent years many we have seen various political and civil leaders begin to clearly state that they want to lead the fight to get our Republic back to the basic principals of smaller government and individual liberty. The treatment, by the Republican Party leadership, of these people, highlights my personal disillusionment with the Party. As a whole the Party has shown itself to be openly hostile to these leaders and their message. Party leaders have mocked and shunned those that pursue these things, even though many of them, such as Ron Paul, have been bringing hundreds of thousands of young people to the Party, raising millions of dollars, and hold a record more closely aligned with the Party’s stated platform and principles than anyone else in Congress. I believe that blatantly ignoring these people and their message is willful and intolerable ignorance on the part of Republican leadership. It has become clear to me that their actions seldom match their rhetoric. That is a serious problem for me as an individual who is on the front lines fighting for these principals everyday at the local level.
I agree with Benjamin Franklin, who when asked about what kind of government the Constitutional Convention had produced, replied “a Republic, if you can keep it… keeping government honest and hence our freedoms intact requires eternal vigilance”. I believe that as a whole Republicans have lost this vigilance. Franklin knew that a Republic is a difficult form of government to keep because it requires its citizens to be well informed and involved in the political process in order for a republican government to function properly. I feel that many Republicans feel that our leaders at all levels of government have betrayed us. Their response however, is to be exasperated and simply quit trying to bring the Party back to where it should be. This is what drew me to the Republican Liberty Caucus.
Let me state clearly, I consider myself to be socially conservative in my personal beliefs. I’m not about to marry a woman, encourage anyone to have an abortion, picket a military recruiting office or smoke marijuana. But I also do not believe in using the power of government to force my values on other people. In other words, the government was never meant to be the social conscience of the nation. Often Republicans wish to pick and choose what issues they wish government to be involved in. This is a mistake because it gives the government a foothold. It allows them to go the direction we believe is right, or to rule against us and take the nation down a different path. Leaving these freedoms in the hands of the people and the states protects us from giving away our liberties at a national level.(Partial Source: http://www.rlc.org/2009/06/08/social-values-and-the-rlc/)
James Madison wrote:
”The powers delegated to the federal government are few and defined. Those which are to remain in the state governments are numerous and indefinite. The former will be exercised principally on external objects, [such] as war, peace, negotiation, and foreign commerce. The powers reserved to the several states will extend to all the objects which, in the ordinary course of affairs, concern the lives, liberties, and properties of the people.”
The Republican Liberty Caucus agrees with James Madison and our other Founders, which government should be limited and adhere to only the functions clearly outlined in the Constitution. America needs to get back to these basic principals. The Republican Liberty Caucus believes that we must stand up for these principals with the same vigor and passion exemplified in our Founding Fathers, and that if we don’t, we will lose these liberties little by little.
I also believe that the Republican Liberty Caucus has a “big tent” mentality with room for anyone who agrees with their core principles of limited government, free markets and individual liberty. They promote individual thinking and open discussion. They welcome debate and questions, and defend with pride, what they believe are the core values of their message.
What I have found is that the Republican Liberty Caucus is not just a bunch of Libertarians who have a mission to change the Republican Party to a Libertarian one. Rather they are students of history, understanding that the intention of our Founders was to promote individual liberty, the pursuit of happiness and a healthy Republic. The Republican Liberty Caucus believes that these are Republican Party concepts, and because of that they believe that they should work within it, to remind its leadership of what they should be.
Almost all of the Republican Liberty Caucus member I have met are long-time Republicans who are fundamentally conservative but also believe in the same liberty, that descended from such well respected conservatives as Edmund Burke, Samuel Adams, John Adams and Thomas Jefferson and was then reinforced by the great leaders of the Republican party like Teddy Roosevelt, Barry Goldwater and Ronald Reagan. (Partial Source: http://www.rlc.org/2009/06/08/social-values-and-the-rlc/)
Our nation is in crisis, our rights are being threatened. Our government is out of control. Because of that, the Republican Liberty Caucus believes the Nation, through the leadership of the Republican Party, must be returned to the principles on which it was founded. Achieving this should override all smaller issues. This is why I believe that the Republican Liberty Caucus is the perfect place for me and any others that believe they should be part of the fight to get Republicans back to wher
e they should have been all along.
~ By: Kristi Dunn
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October 26th, 2009 at 9:51 am
I love what I see in the RLC…. I consider myself a hybrid of “Conservative”,”constructionist” and “republican” with a twist of “libertarian”. I am tired of all the RINO’s visible at all levels of government destroying the good name of republicans everywhere by only giving lip service to conservative ideals while failing miserably at any act which would conspicuously demonstrate a commitment to those same ideals espoused. I care less about the party and more about the policies and practice of politics. The RLC’s no-nonsense education and information approach to the political spectrum invaluable to cut through the double talk and pandering…. in order to get at the heart of the matter and the record on which a politican has to stand. “Actions speak louder than words” and “Talk is CHEAP” My thanks to you and the rest of the RLC… I look forward to getting involved.