Recently I’ve been contemplating what it means to be a Republican and also what it means to vote one’s conscience. With a number of local, state, and national officials up for election or reelection, I want to make sure that I support and vote for the best candidate. As a member of the Greene County Republican Central Committee, I have given myself to the task of supporting and promoting Republican candidates for office. This is the main task of this local committee. I’m glad to do that, because I agree with all the tenets of the Republican Party as far as I know (although I understand the platform changes slightly as time goes by).
Here are a number of statements from the 2004 Republican Party Platform that I can agree with (along with many other points):
“We believe that good government is based on a system of limited taxes and spending. Furthermore, we believe that the federal government should be limited and restricted to the functions mandated by the United States Constitution. The taxation system should not be used to redistribute wealth or fund ever-increasing entitlements and social programs.” This is further outlined in this statement: “Our Party endorses the President’s proposals to make tax relief permanent, so that families and businesses can plan for the future with confidence.”
Here is information on the stance of the Republican Party and small businesses: “Small businesses are the most potent force of economic growth and job creation in America. They generate more than half of our nation’s gross domestic product and create seven out of ten new private-sector jobs in America. Small businesses have been the primary vehicles of economic advance for American women. Republicans pledged in 2000 to lower tax rates for small business owners and entrepreneurs, end the death tax, cut red tape, reform our liability system, and aggressively expand overseas markets for our goods and services.”
Here is their view on personal property rights: “The core of ownership in America has always been ownership of private property that a citizen can call his or her own. Republicans respect this tradition. For reasons both Constitutional and environmental, therefore, President Bush and the Republican Congress will safeguard private property rights by enforcing the Takings Clause of the Fifth Amendment and by providing just compensation whenever private property is needed to achieve a compelling public purpose. We oppose efforts to diminish the rights of private citizens to the land they own.”
Regarding school funding, here is the Republican platform: “We recognize that under the American Constitutional system, education is a state, local, and family responsibility, not a federal obligation. Since over 90 percent of public school funding is state and local, not federal, it is obvious that state and local governments must assume most of the responsibility to improve the schools, and the role of the federal government must be limited as we return control to parents, teachers, and local school boards.”
The Republican Party also promotes healthy choices in children’s health, including abstinence. Another important issue is promoting school choice initiatives that give parents more control over their children’s education, including the option of home schooling. Another big issue, relevant today is the stance that the union of a man and a woman in marriage is the only standard for marriage, and if necessary, a constitutional amendment should be set in place to reinforce and uphold this time-honored definition.
Although some of the positions of the “Party of Lincoln” as approved in 2004 will likely change at the 2008 Convention, I believe the Republican Party best represents my views that it is essential for our government leaders to uphold the U.S. Constitution, as they take an oath to do. Also, that the less government, and less taxation, the better, so that individuals can follow the “American Dream” to work to run their own lives and map out their own future financially and in every other way. This is in contrast to the “tax and spend” mentality of the Democrat Party which seems to want to tax people to death in order to fund any number of government “programs” which may or may not be successful, and which may or may not benefit each and every individual.
So, when it comes to the next elections in my community, state, and country, I want to vote my conscience. In other words, vote for the best candidate who upholds the beliefs that I hold dear—especially the value of the individual over the value or power of the government. I believe individual rights are essential to be maintained—whether it be the right to freedom of speech and religion (first amendment), the right to bear arms (second amendment), immunity to unreasonable searches and seizures (fourth amendment), or any of the other important amendments to the U.S. Constitution.
And from past experience, I believe there are some “Republican” candidates in name only, who do not fully support following the U.S. Constitution and who do not uphold the rights of the individual to be more important than the state and Federal governments. If a candidate cannot fully support individual rights (i.e. the bill of rights) and the U.S. Constitution, then I cannot endorse them. I want someone who will truly support the original views of the Republican Party. With that in mind, there may be some independents that I would support, or people who technically are affiliated with other parties. But if they are “true Republicans” then I will support them. When it comes to the next election, and every upcoming election, I will have to vote my conscience.
Another idea that comes to mind is that when I vote in a church business meeting, a PTA meeting, or any other organizational meeting, I unwaveringly vote my conscience—no matter what the believed outcome will be. That way, at least I can rest easy that I supported the right cause. In a democracy, the majority gets the say so, and that is not always the best way, but it is the only way to allow people to have their voices heard and acted upon. So if a cause is worth fighting for, then one should promote it at least long enough to try to influence a majority of votes. But even so, some compromises will usually have to take place in a democratic voting system. But for some reason, people think the U.S. presidential race is different. I have heard people say that if I vote my conscience, that I might be “throwing away” my vote, or I might be “taking votes away” from someone who needs them. Also, in line with this vein of thinking is that sometimes one must compromise and vote “the lesser of two evils.” I say poppycock to all of that.
Why not vote your conscience? My vote and your vote will still count—event if it is a minority among the votes. A statement can still be made, and if enough people make a statement out of an issue, then the outcome of a decision might turn out differently than anticipated. Why put the political scene into a different category than other votes? Vote your conscience. At least then you will be able to sleep at night. I know I will be able to.
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http://glenngohr.wordpress.com
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