The Republican Party on the Hill and in many state legislatures has completely forgotten what the GOP stands for.
The Republicans used to have the simplest argument and best message in politics—keep markets free, a strong national defense and promote traditional American values of hard work and self-sacrifice. It has nothing to do with whether or not homosexuality is a sin, or drug use is immoral.
Instead we have descended into madness by writing and promoting bills that have nothing to do with any of this, and pick candidates for national leadership that don’t represent these values. We listen to the Alex Jones’ of the world who promote conspiracy theories, black helicopters and secret leftist agendas. While Tea Party members rail about GMO’s and whether or not 9/11 was a false flag attack, they cannot wrap themselves around solid candidates for office.
Leftists are a danger to this nation, but as to a massive globalist conspiracy, that’s another matter.
Take for instance, this recent bathroom bill that the Phoenix city council passed. Liberals love to pass laws like this, because it works up the moral army of the right wing of the party and it makes liberals look like heroes to the special interest groups they represent. Only a small percentage of LGBT people benefit from this law at the detriment of the rest of society, and it restricts the rights of business owners to run a business as they see fit, but that doesn’t matter to them. Instead of attacking the problem from the point of view of normal GOP principles and values (that it’s a restriction on free market forces), they go after the bill on some esoteric thesis of child molesters using it to their advantage in the commission of a crime. As a result they completely invalidate their party and their argument against the law.
Naturally, they come off as wackos restricting personal freedoms and choice. Ignore for a moment that 90% of the rest of the cities rights are being ignored, does the GOP have any sense at all? They fell right into the trap of the Progressive left, chasing the proverbial wild goose using a straw argument instead of the real reason the Phoenix ordinance needs to be struck down—it dictates to a business owner what they can and cannot do within the four walls of their business and thus is a restriction of the free marketplace, which is the true agenda of the Progressive left.
Core conservatives continue to pass bills to defund Obamacare, knowing it will fail over and over again. They are beating a dead hose even if it is a standard way of doing business.
Our legislature here in AZ continues to pass and promote anti-free market measures in attempt to ‘fix’ things through regulation as well. They constantly are creating new boards and commissions to license avenues of trade in the hopes it will protect people. Republicans shouldn’t have agenda; they should be trying to dismantle the agenda of leftists. The GOP party elders on the Hill support a war in the Gulf, despite KNOWING this President is an amateur and unable to lead us effectively in wartime because it supports their own defense spending programs.
People are protected by the free markets, not government, and that has been the message of the Republican Party for generations. The GOP abandoned that message years ago, because of a lack of real leadership and the failure of previous leaders to demonstrate and teach that to the newest crop of leaders.
Ronald Reagan, in his farewell address, warned us of that failure, as he was seeing it develop in the GOP, and in American homes:
“So, we’ve got to teach history based not on what’s in fashion but what’s important — why the Pilgrims came here, who Jimmy Doolittle was, and what those 30 seconds over Tokyo meant. You know, 4 years ago on the 40thanniversary of D-day, I read a letter from a young woman writing to her late father, who had fought on Omaha Beach. Her name was Lisa Zanatta Henn, and she said, “we will always remember, we will never forget what the boys of Normandy did.” Well, let’s help her keep her word. If we forget what we did, we won’t know who we are. I’m warning of an eradication of that — of the American memory that could result, ultimately, in an erosion of the American spirit. Let’s start with some basics: more attention to American history and a greater emphasis on civic ritual.
And let me offer lesson number one about America: All great change in America begins at the dinner table. So, tomorrow night in the kitchen I hope the talking begins. And children, if your parents haven’t been teaching you what it means to be an American, let ’em know and nail ’em on it. That would be a very American thing to do.”
We failed our current generation of leaders, we failed to teach them why we are Republicans, failed to instill in them a belief that a failure to protect free markets and fundamental adherence to those principles would be the death of us. The leaders today quite often don’t even understand that when they argue that a law is immoral, or refer to religion as their guiding principles, or argue that a law is bad because it’s possible that it plays into an international conspiracy, we sound like a bunch of buffoons with tinfoil hats.
The clowns have become the ringmasters.
Free markets, personal liberties and traditional American values of self-sacrifice need to be taught again and adhered to by our leadership before the American people will follow that leadership. Government is not evil, but it is not there to tell us how much soda we drink either, or what bathroom we can use or not use.
Demonstrate that to the people, and the blight of the special interest groups and socialists will wither and die.
