Vision for the Republican Party
- As Republicans, we need to realize we have not been immune to the cultural changes that have eroded the civility of national discourse, and we need to have the fortitude and moral integrity to work on improving our tone.
- Internally, we need to unite. I’m a Reagan Republican to the core, and will always push for his brand of free market and small-government beliefs, but I also understand what has happened historically to our party when divide into camps. When Teddy Roosevelt felt his successor wasn’t his type of Republican, he formed a third party that split the Republican vote and threw the presidency to a racist Democrat who brought new life to the KKK. When Barry Goldwater and Rockefeller Republicans split, they helped Lyndon Johnson win and bring with him two-thirds Democratic majorities in Congress that created the welfare rolls and entitlements we struggle to pay for today. George H.W. Bush won a war in 100 hours, but because Ross Perot didn’t like NAFTA, Perot split the 1992 vote and ushered in Bill Clinton. It’s clear to me that when we create internal litmus tests for who’s a “real Republican”, we hand the Democrats gifts. In contrast, Reagan brought George H.W. Bush onto his ticket, even though some viewed Bush as not conservative enough, and won reelection with 49 of 50 states.
- We need to abandon the term RINO (Republican in Name Only) and efforts to expel members for single votes or actions. I’ll take a “big tent” and 49-state wins any day. Who among us would not welcome Joe Manchin to switch parties in the Senate? He’d instantly become one of furthest left Republicans in the Senate but would you rather he remains caucused with the Democrats? Let’s create a party that attracts and welcomes conservative and moderate Democrats. We got so many in the 1980s the press termed them Reagan Democrats.
- As a party, we need to stop running away from certain topics. I think many Republicans have bought into Democratic propaganda that we are somehow opposed to civil rights, women’s rights, science, or environmental protection. I believe we have strong records in all those areas and need to reclaim leadership of those topics.
- We need to reject baseless conspiracy theories in all their forms, from vote-manipulation accusations that lack proof, to anti-vaccine claims that lack a scientific basis, to fears of secret societies or one-world-government plots, many of which trace their roots to anti-Jewish Nazi propaganda.