Yes, the seat went to the Democrats. But that’s OK. For all real Republicans know that truth, honesty, and ethics are far more important than populism, politics, policies, positions, and party.
We all should have learned in Kindergarten that it’s not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game. The Bannon/Trump gang trumpeted their populism using systematic lies, false allegations, fearmongering, and other and unethical actions. They produced some short-term wins, but they will eventually destroy the entire party if we continue to let them lead through threats and intimidation.
We cannot let that happen!
During this next year, we need to ensure that our voices are heard loud and clear. All true Republicans who believe in the fundamental values under which the party was founded can no longer stand for far-right, out of touch, and offensive views being pushed by the current leadership. If the GOP candidates in the general election refuse to disavow the Trump/Bannon agenda, we MUST NOT VOTE FOR THEM.
Alabama showed us last night that it will only take a small percentage of GOP voters to do what is right to send the message loud and clear.
Losing one seat to the Democrats is probably not enough to rid the party of its cancer. It may take a catastrophic loss in 2018 or 2020. But once the cancer is removed, the party can return to its roots, rebuild itself, and once again reflect the values of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower.
And what are the fundamental values of the Republican Party? What does the party of Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower really stand for?
“Basic to governmental integrity are unimpeachable ethical standards and irreproachable personal conduct by all people in government. We shall continue our insistence on honesty as an indispensable requirement of public service.“That’s verbatim from the 1956 Republican Platform. That means NO MORE LIES, THREATS, INTIMIDATIONS, ATTACKS ON THE MEDIA, ATTACKS ON OTHER BRANCHES OF THE GOVERNMENT.
We Republicans believe in liberty. For the first part of our history, our country denied our basic right of liberty to an entire class of people. The Republican Party was founded primarily to correct that injustice, and ensure that all persons were able to enjoy this basic human right. As Republicans, this must be our guiding principle. We should never support any type of policy that excludes any class of people. Period. This is our “Prime Directive”. Everything else we stand for must build and support this basic idea. We are the party of Inclusion. Everybody is welcome!
We Republicans also believe in the right to pursue happiness. This is probably the least understood of our rights. Many people think that we have the right to be happy. That is not true. We have the right to PURSUE happiness. This means that it is up to US to be happy. It is OUR responsibility to ensure our own happiness. Neither the government nor anyone else owes us anything.
But it is our right to PURSUE happiness that gives us our freedoms. It’s our freedoms that give us the ability to make the decisions and take the actions that we feel necessary to achieve our goals.
The need to pursue happiness is part of our basic human nature. It is a need that is as important as the need for food and shelter. No matter how many things are given to us, we are never really happy until we work for our own rewards. The only things we truly appreciate are the things we worked and sacrificed to achieve. It’s this desire to achieve on our own that drives mankind.
Any society that attempts to deprive men of the opportunity and responsibility to provide for themselves is doomed to failure. That is why Socialism as a system will never survive.
We all know the analogy that to give a man a fish will feed him for a day, but to teach a man to fish will feed him for a lifetime.
As Republicans, we do not want to give people fish; we want to teach them to fish. But’s it a little more than just that. Before we will teach them to fish, they must want to learn. We are not going to force-feed our ways on anybody; that would be taking away their freedoms. We also realize that a few people don’t want to put up the effort needed to achieve happiness; they want everything handed to them. We will not cater to these people. For just as it is one’s right to pursue happiness, one also has the right to do nothing and be unhappy.
In other words, we believe that when somebody is willing to work for their goals, we have a responsibility to ensure that they have access to the basic tools needed to achieve those goals. We have this responsibility because we cannot tolerate or allow conditions to exist where classes or segments in our society are oppressed and cannot even pursue happiness no matter how hard they try.
What does all that mean?
Perhaps Ike said it best:
“In all those things which deal with people, be liberal, be human. In all those things which deal with people's money, or their economy, or their form of government, be conservative."
We must stop moving to the right and move back to the center, for it’s the center that allows us to reach and serve the most Americans. We were founded to be the Party of Inclusion; but we cannot be that party and be far-right at the same time.
Our country was founded on the principles that everyone has the rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These are our core beliefs, and every law from our Constitution on down builds, or should build, on these beliefs. No valid law should arbitrability take away any of these fundamental rights.
Before we take a position on any issue, we ask ourselves, “Does this position support or infringe on our core beliefs?” If it infringes on our core beliefs, we must step back and reexamine our position. If we cannot reconcile and justify our position so that it supports our core beliefs, we must change our position.
We must apply this high standard to EACH AND EVERY ISSUE we face. Sometimes that means that we must do things we do not like. But we must have the courage to uphold our convictions and do the right thing. EVERY TIME.
