Monday, May 25, 2009

Rebuilding The Republican Party: Introduction

The Republican Party has floundered. It was capsized by a leadership, bereft of ideas and which neither knows what the party stands for nor understands its most fundamental principles. This same leadership now seems content to tread water in the hopes that Obama will so anger the voters that their wave of discontent will magically right the vessel. Good grief.

Over the next couple months, I intend to lay out in simple, but detailed postings (1) what the Republican Party needs to do to right itself, (2) why Republican principles work, and (3) I intend to provide workable, conservative solutions to numerous problems that neither party seems capable of solving, i.e. healthcare, education, immigration, etc.

It is my firm hope that our candidates will read these posts so that they can breath life back into the party, so that they can solve the nations problems, and so that they will stop sounding like idiots when they try to explain conservative principles in debates. Call your Congressman, tell them to read along!

* * *
Today we start with something many of you may have seen already. During the last election, the Republican website was appalling. It could not have been worse if they had let democrats designed it for them. Among the parade of horribles, I found a statement purporting to tell us what it means to be a Republican. . . grrrrr. Needless to say, I was not amused. Nor did I care for the 92 page platform that read like a stream of consciousness textbook trying to justified the Bush years. Stupid, incoherent, and defeatist does not a successful philosophy make.

In my pique, I re-wrote this “pledge” and I sent it to the party. Here it is to start my series on “Rebuilding the Republican Party”:

I am a Republican because...

I believe in limited and accountable government. I believe in the Constitutional separation of powers between the branches of the government, between the federal government and the states, and between the government and its citizens. I believe in state’s rights. I believe in the protection of civil liberties enshrined in the Bill of Rights. I reject judicial activism and the shift of power from the legislature to the executive. Concentrated power has always been the enemy of liberty.

I believe in fiscally responsible government. I reject deficit spending, unfair and excessive taxation, and unnecessary and irrational regulation.

I believe in free market economics and the protection of property rights. I reject government ownership of private business and the confiscation of private property. I believe in free and fair trade.

I believe in a strong national defense, and in promoting the values of democracy, freedom, and human rights around the world. I reject isolationism, but I also reject adventurism. Walk softly, but carry a big stick.

I am the Republican Party. I believe in freedom, liberty, and responsibility.

These are the principles that almost every Republican agrees upon. These are the principles that 60% of the American public shares. These are the principles that should be the focal point of our party. When someone asks, what it means to be a Republican -- this is the statement that should greet them on the party’s website.

I will address each of these points in detail over the coming weeks. In the meantime, tell me what you think?

8 comments:

Unknown said...

Andrew: "Brevity is the soul of wit." Your declaration of what it is to be a Republican (and a conservative) is brief and to the point. I think we'll have some interesting discussions about this over the coming weeks and months, but I will be joining you in insisting that the best ideas are usually simple to state, and the best platforms are those that read like the Bill of Rights, and not like a James Joyce novel.

Writer X said...

Amen, Andrew! I couldn't agree with you more, particularly when you say that "it was capsized by a leadership." I felt that the core Republican principles were completely abandonned the second half of President Bush's administration and that has turned voters away from the party, too, and/or at least has made a lot of people, sadly, apathetic. Couple that with career politicians who have some of the poorest communication skills I've ever seen and you've got a recipe for a party disaster (and the need for a makeover).

AndrewPrice said...

Writer X,

I couldn't agree more. It's like somewhere after 2000, all the Republicans left the party. It's time we fixed that

My goal here is going to be to discuss all aspects of Republicanism, with the intent of eduating people on the how and why of Republican theory.

Moreover, I have some solutions to issues like immigration and education that no one has considered and that really will work -- not wonky garbage that placates people and moves money around, but actual solutions.

And I am serious about hoping that our representatives will eventually consider this series as required reading. I've had dealings with people involved in the party and I was STUNNED to realize that many of them did not understand the things they were promoting. For example, I asked one, "you talk about tax cuts being good for the economy, can you explain to me exactly how that works." Simple right? All I got was a deer in the headlights stare.

And while I have great respect for McCain and Bush (though I disagree with both on many issues) I have no doubt their neither man nor their staffs has the slightest grasp of why conservative principles work.

P.S. I have a thick skin and you guys are all very smart people, so if I'm wrong on something, tell me. I'm happy to hear all opinions.

StanH said...

Dig it Andrew, telling it like it is. It’s really quite simple espouse the principles of our founding, delivered with the resolve of a person like, Ronald W. Reagan. I like it keep’em coming, and maybe, just maybe the dumb-dumbs in Washington will listen.

AndrewPrice said...

Thanks Stan. I hope they do. Man I wish we had a modern Reagan!

LoneWolfArcher said...

Great post! We need to ignore folks like Colin Powell and Tom Ridge and get back to true conservative principles.

AndrewPrice said...

LoneWolfArcher, thanks for the kind words and welcome!

You are absolutely right. How can we listen to guys who fundamentally disagree with almost everything the party stand for, and who betray our candidates by endorsing the other side, and who attack the only people speaking for the party at the moment?

As I've said before, I have no problems with any style of conservative or moderate in the party, but we cannot accept disloyalty.

Captain Soapbox said...

But Andrew, don't you know that since we lost a couple of elections that means that the Republicans need to start being more like Democrats because that's what the people want? I mean anyone can see that right?

What's that sound? Oh yeah the irony detectors going off to 11.

But that's how a lot of the "moderates" in the Republican leadership think. They ignore the fact, that you pointed out, that if you don't qualify a question with "This is a Democratic position" or a Republican one, that the majority of Americans have the same values as the Republican party does. So how do you fix it? Do exactly what you said, simplify (without stupidifying) the platform so people will say,"Oh yeah, I'm for that!" and then you'll win.

They just don't get it, I blame a lot of the problems we're having right now on the simple fact that a lot of Republican candidates and leaders have become poll watchers in the Clinton mode. They stick their finger up and see which way the wind is blowing and then say,"We have to modify our positions because x is popular or unpopular right now." Which is downright silly. Have positions that people can understand and are inclined to agree with, get elected on those positions and most importantly stick to them and everything would be fine.

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