I am becoming increasingly displeased with the direction the national Republican Party seems to be headed. Uncontrolled government spending, lack of real immigration reform, assaults on the constitution, the constant growth of socialism, no commitment to reform education and healthcare, tort reform, privatizing social security, etc…. I’m no longer convinced the RNC has the willingness or the capacity to change America for the better.
It seems that both parties engage in frenetic food fights over who gets the most pork for their constituents, who gets to hand out the most government contracts, and the favor of high rolling lobbyists. This isn’t good government. Whatever happened to the idea where the government that governs best governs least? It’s a concept that’s long been lost in Washington D.C. and most of the country.
I have been a Republican my entire life. I cast my first presidential vote for Ronald Reagan. Reagan believed in efficient and limited government. But that was yesteryear. The concept of limited government is lost on today’s National Republican leaders and strategists. Of course they like to talk about limited government when in front of limited government types like myself. But actions speak much louder than words. I’m for a party that fights for these core values. So what’s happening with the RNC?
Nationally, it seems the strategy is to take the conservative Republican base for granted. I have heard it said before that the Republicans can win every conservative vote and still lose. So the strategy is to work leftward promising liberal government programs to potential Democratic Party voters in order to buy votes with our tax dollars.
This might be a great strategy for maintaining power. But power at the expense of principle is a waste of time. Right now, a Republican Congress is spending money faster than any time in history. And while it spends and spends and spends, it’s cutting tax revenues. This is exactly what happened to Ronald Reagan. Only it was a Democratic Party-dominated Congress that controlled the purse strings.
So I guess I’m officially on the fence. While the Democrats are hopelessly demented and sad when it comes to protecting our constitution and our core values, the national Republican Party seems to have lost its way as well. Both parties seem to be melding into one party fighting for the mushy middle. In the past, Republicans have been willing to fight for Libertarian/Conservative values. Maybe the way to bring the Republican Party back to its core values is for good Libertarian/Conservatives to start running to the right of Republican candidates in primaries or as independents.
If the Republican Party wants conservative voters, it had better stop taking them for granted.