The GOP In Reflection:

Ronald Wilson Reagan, 40th President of the United States, passed away on June 5th of 2004. This past week, Tuesday, February 6th, would have been Reagan's 96th birthday.

And I still miss him. Perhaps I miss my youth; I was a young man with a beautiful young wife and my entire future ahead of me. Then and now, however, I realize that I never before or since felt as good about my country and as assured of its direction and the strength and goodness of our leadership than under Reagan's guiding hand.

In my prior post I wrote, in response to a comment from Jenn:

Jenn: can I confess something? Until he passed away in 2004, in the back of my mind I was still comforted by his presence in my world. Of course I understood that he was stricken by Alzheimers and I read the occasional article about he and Nancy or perhaps the kids, and about his condition. Yet, the mere thought of him still living was still comforting. I found myself remarkably, absolutely stricken by his passing, almost like he was a member of my own family.

He was a politician; I never knew him and he never knew me. He had no idea I existed. Yet his death struck me almost as significantly as the passing of my own mother in 2002. How completely an oddity is that? -- and it has always bothered me in some shadowy fashion.

Every word is true. But further: not only do I miss the leadership of Ronald Reagan, I also miss the simpler times, the unity of the GOP. And it's gotten me to thinking even more.

Those of us on the Right side of the aisle are still looking, perhaps fruitlessly, for our next Ronald Reagan; likely we shall never find another and we should amend our minds to this.

But should we give up our Conservative values despite the fact that the GOP now appear to be a collective of seemingly-capitulist poll responders and wind sensors? If The Pledge did not occur would the GOP have taken any kind of a collective stance against the resolutions to condemn Bush's addition of troops in Iraq?

I was taken to task recently for my sense of what has happened to the Republican Party and that I am apparently not a blind cheerleader for same or an apologist for President Bush but, considering the recent past and the tenure of the times how can I be such? As I have written time and again I shall be the first in line to praise when it is deserved, and also present to point out faults when they occur (see this post about Palestine). Everything is not all wine and roses.

And we will NOT get where we need to be as a party, in a fashion to honor our Conservative roots, unless we are willing to recognize and acknowledge our faults and, moreover, discern and decide to CORRECT these faults and place ourselves on the proper track.

But what IS that proper track?

Have we actually lost our way and forgotten what it is that we who vote Republican embrace?

I thought: I have an idea of what the GOP should stand for. I believe I know what it is that I should stand for as a Conservative. But can I actually find something that clearly states and makes clear the GOP Platform?

What do we as Republicans stand for, anyway? Do we even know? Can I find our platform?

Trust me: I have the temerity to posit the very next obvious question: if we can't find and identify our platform, the basis for our very existence, we are in a whole very lot of trouble.

So I went on a journey through the internet. I knew I had to start with the Main GOP website first. What is the GOP website? It is here; GOP.com. At this site I found these three bullet points:

• Winning the war on terror;
• Keeping our economy strong;
• Building an innovation economy to compete in the world.

I didn't find our platform immediately. I had to look into "About The GOP" and then found it under "Party Platform." What is our party platform? Go here for the PDF file. In essence the 2004 platform bullets down to:

• Winning the war on terror;
• Ushering in an ownership era;
• Building an innovate, globally competitive economy;
• Strengthening our communities;
• Protecting our families;

And therein it ends. Am I missing something?

Whatever happened to the following:

• Smaller government?
• Fewer taxes?
• Adoption and abstinence?
• Affirmative civil rights access without set-asides or preference?
• "Marriage" is for heterosexual couples only; there can be otherwise "civil unions?"
• The best way to deter crime is to support current laws on the books and support a proper death penalty?
• School choice, vouchers, home schooling, voluntary prayer in school?
• No Kyoto Protocol; voluntary emissions and public compliance?
• Concerted efforts to locate and source energy sources on US soil?
• Private property ownership is fundamental to this nation?
• Continued sovereignty for the United States and self determinance absent the UN?
• Clear deliniation between the Executive, Legislative and Judicial branches; SCOTUS judges who know their jobs and are strict Constitutionalist constructionists?
• No further gun control limitations?
• Stand firm against WMD proliferation?
• Proactive fronts on the soil of OTHER nations against further events on OUR soil?
• Profiling, wiretapping, using common sense in recognition of our TRUE enemies?
• SURVIVAL OF THE UNITED STATES FIRST AND FOREMOST!
• A strong and expanded military capable of global land, sea and air mastery?
• LIMITED IMMIGRATION! Only lawful immigrants, controlled by THIS NATION, via tightly controlled borders both north and south?
• Move welfare recipients OFF the welfare rolls?
• Independence in all facets: energy, production, individual?
• Promotion of the good of Christian religious tenets?

Oh no. I didn't see those bullet points on our own website.

WHY WERE THESE THINGS MISSING?

And why are we even remotely attempting to be all things to all persons despite the history of this tactic resulting in abysmal failure?

So what does the GOP need to succeed?

Would it surprise you to learn that it needs to do no more than embrace the basics of its creation? -- i.e. the points I've enumerated above?




For those Bush and GOP Apologists: where am I wrong?


BZ