A Republic, If You Can Keep It

It has been a while since I have posted, in large part because I honestly couldn't catch my breath in time to write something timely. The 2018 elections came and went, with much of America voting for checks and balances against what was a surprisingly Trumpian GOP.

If you go back and look, you will see there were a lot of things from Trump that I was worried about as a Principled Conservative and as a patriot that came to pass. What I did not expect was how much the GOP not only enabled Trump to attack so many things that Presidents like Ronald Reagan and George HW Bush stood for, as Americans and as Republicans, but actively attacked them right along with the President.

I will say this - I was amazingly touched by the way Senator John McCain handled himself, especially in his last words to the country. The same for President George HW Bush. I was just also astonished at the way the current GOP acted as if these honorable men were taking social media shots at them and acted like kindergarten bullies.

Either way, I long ago recognized what Tom Nichols has been saying - that this version of the GOP, with only the hyper-partisan social conservative leg of what was the three legged stool, must be utterly defeated if principled conservativism and libertarianism can even hope to have a voice in the GOP ever again.

To that end, though, I have been very inspired by the #PrinciplesFirst movement, enough that I will be hand delivering their letter about the formation of the GOP and the future of the party, along with my own cover letter, later today. In the case of my Representative, who was not in office in November of 2016, I will also be giving him a copy of my November 4, 2016 letter (I proposed three versions based on various political dynamics - Clinton, McMullin, Write-In) that you can see already posted on this website. I will also be posting my cover letter separately.

The bottom line is this - now is not the time for heated passions, but rather cold logic. And the logic is this - the current GOP only understands winning and losing, so they must lose, and lose as big as possible. Then, and only then, can we have an arms-length discussion about what kind of platform will have any credibility at the national level.

As it stands now, this anti-immigration, protectionist, isolationist, hyper-partisan GOP is in a death spiral that will only get worse, and as someone who believes very much in the Constitution, the Rule of Law and a Marketplace of Ideas, I cannot stand idly by just because I do not agree with many of the political positions of the only party that does seem to still respect those three keys to America's vitality. I will stand with them until the leadership of this GOP is defeated, then we can re-evaluate, because as Senator McCain so aptly said in his farewell message:

"'Fellow Americans' - that association has meant more to me than any other. I lived and died a proud American. We are citizens of the world's greatest republic, A NATION OF IDEALS, NOT BLOOD AND SOIL. We are blessed and are a blessing to humanity when we uphold and advance those ideals at home and in the world. We have helped liberate more people from tyranny and poverty than ever before in history. …

"WE WEAKEN OUR GREATNESS WHEN WE CONFUSE OUR PATRIOTISM WITH TRIBAL RIVALRIES that have sown resentment and hatred and violence. … We weaken it when we hide behind walls, rather than tear them down, WHEN WE DOUBT THE POWER OF OUR IDEALS, rather than trust them to be the great force for change they have always been.

"WE ARE THREE-HUNDRED-AND-TWENTY-FIVE MILLION opinionated, vociferous individuals. We argue and compete and sometimes even vilify each other in our raucous public debates. BUT WE HAVE ALWAYS HAD SO MUCH MORE IN COMMON WITH EACH OTHER THAN IN DISAGREEMENT. If only we remember that and GIVE EACH OTHER THE PRESUMPTION THAT WE ALL LOVE OUR COUNTRY will we get through these challenging times." (Emphasis added.)

Or as otherwise said, there is a difference between seeing a Democrat or a liberal as a political opponent with whom we have a difference of opinion, and seeing them as an "Enemy of the People." At its core, I cannot think of a more unAmerican concept than that. You may feel that some progressive ideas are not consistent with American views on rugged individualism, the free market, etc., but that does not make them an Enemy.

As Benjamin Franklin said, "A Republic, if you can keep it."

So let's keep it, shall we?