Sarah's Thoughts
An Open Letter to Republicans
Dear Fellow TN Republicans,
Where have you gone? What has happened to you? I don’t understand your priorities … I don’t even know you anymore.
Please tell me why you allowed Mike Huckabee to win our state. I guess the concern over gay marriage, the right to preach on a public square (which I support … it’s just not a major campaign tipping point for me) and the urgent need to place a nationwide ban on cigarettes (yeah … that kind of regulation is really conservative) is greater than our interest in economic growth, a safe homeland and a reduction in the bloated federal government.
Everyone claims to want another Reagan. Each candidate embraces his self-proclaimed identity as a “Reagan conservative”. I wish. How often did Reagan scream about the need to “protect” marriage and “return” to being a Christian nation? He didn’t. He reminded us that America is a great nation and that, with our system of government and the individual spirit, anything is possible. Period. Every race, gender, religion, culture, personality, etc. comes together to make the United States an amazing place to live.
What ideals should a Republican embrace?
* limited government
* states’ rights
* lower taxes (see — limited government)
* individual responsibility
* individual freedom
* a strong national defense that allows us to enjoy all other issues listed above
There are specific policy issues to be debated within each one of those major points, to be sure. But, how I wish we could agree that my above list encompasses the goals for which we should be fighting.
I want to be proud to be a Republican. The problem is, sometimes I don’t even know what it means to be a member of my party anymore. McCain and Huckabee are both so far from my vision of what a Republican presidential candidate should be.
Help me, my fellow Republicans. What does it mean to you to be a Republican? Maybe I’m the one who has it all wrong.
Yours in true conservative values,
Sarah Moore
February 6th, 2008 at 8:15 pm
“I want to be proud to be a Republican.”
The time to be a proud Republican was at some point in the past 7 years when George W. Bush was systematically shredding the Constitution, hoarding Executive power, making us less safe by poking a stick in a Middle Eastern hornet’s nest, and bankrupting the country with foolish spending for his pet wars that our great-grandchildren will still be paying for.
And yet, people like you stayed silent.
You reap what you sow which, in this case, may be the death of the Republican Party.
February 6th, 2008 at 8:38 pm
Bless Your Heart!
Why did Huckabee win Tennessee, Georgia, and Alabama? Could it have anything to do with the fact that he is a Southerner, and the Southern GOP is filled with regionalists who dislike anyone who doesn’t talk with a Southern drawl and have a Bible in their back pocket all the time? A stereotype perhaps, but that doesn’t mean it there isn’t some truth to it.
Do you think the majority of Huckabee voters in Tennessee could accurately tell someone his tax plan is to replace the income tax with a national sales tax? Or that his border-security plan involves Chuck Norris?
If Fred Thompson hadn’t been in the race in South Carolina, I have a good feeling he would’ve won that Old South state too.
February 6th, 2008 at 8:41 pm
Southern Beale,
People like me … or actually me?
I don’t think I have been silent.
I am fully aware that my blog does not actually share the influence of Michelle Malkin or Andrew Sullivan, but I have written about my frustration over government spending, bureaucracy and expanding federal powers.
I have voted for, and volunteered for, the candidates who I believed went against the unfortunate direction in which I believed our party was headed.
Heck, I even ran for office five years ago. I failed miserably, but at least I put my name on the ballot and got involved.
If, by being silent, you mean I haven’t painted any cool signs on posterboard and stood on a street corner with a drum … well, you would be correct about that. But, I think that’s a colossal and ineffective waste of time.
So, I don’t think I’ve been silent.
February 7th, 2008 at 12:19 pm
Holy crap you voted for Romney.
February 7th, 2008 at 4:13 pm
Justin,
Where did I mention the person for whom I voted?
I specifically mentioned McCain and Huckabee because one is the national front runner and the other one was the victor in Tennessee.
February 7th, 2008 at 6:31 pm
Based on your statement that McCain and Huck were so far from your vision of what a Republican candidate should be, I assumed that meant you voted for Romney. I meant my statement as a light-hearted exclamation based on my past assertions to your husband that surely you were too smart to be a Mittite.
But, I did assume, and I guess we all know what that makes me.
February 7th, 2008 at 7:15 pm
Justin,
I wasn’t thrilled with a single person on the Republican ballot. But, based on my post, I certainly see how you assumed I voted for Romney. He is the only one (OK, there’s also Paul) that I didn’t call out by name.
February 7th, 2008 at 9:37 pm
I think the republican party as we have known it is a thing of the past. I think most people agree with the core of the party, but the fighting that goes on with the democrats does nothing to help this country. I guess I feel McCain is the new face of the republican party, because he is willing to stand behind his beliefs, even when they are not to the benefit of his campaign. Everyone knows that McCain has crossed the party line times in the past, and to me this shows that when he is elected president, Washington will not be as usual. And we have all seen what our Real conservative president has been able to get done with the Democrats in control. So I say lets embrace this change in our party, even if you dislike McCain you have to admit he is a far cry better than Hillary or Obama
February 10th, 2008 at 12:03 am
Hi Sarah,
I went to a Huckabee rally in the Stamp Union today. Poor Ol’ Maryland is usually ignored, so I’m really enjoying the tiny bit of attention this cycle. Not surprisingly, he didn’t go into much detail on any issue, aside from a few minutes on the fair tax. The rest of the 30 minutes was spent on fuzzy support of change inside the beltway (where he happened to be standing), family values, and art/music (and not just *ick* science/math) in the schools. (As an aside, for me the scariest prospect of a Huckabee presidency is what he would do to science budgets.) Nonetheless, he had the crowd fired up. He pretty much had us after, “You may not graduate summa cum laude or magna cum laude, it may just be thank-you-lordy!” I’ve got to say that after 7 years of a president who struggles with full sentences, there was a certain appeal. Seeing him live makes one forget that the prez has to make, you know, decisions. My mother suggested that I start a local chapter of Hindus For Huckabee. I like Mike!
-sudeep
February 11th, 2008 at 10:29 am
The only party that comes close to supporting all of the characterstics you mention is the Libertarian Party.
I hope that conservatives will eventually see that the Republican Party is no champion of smaller government or a responsible fiscal policy and start voting Libertarian.
Also, the wars are not bankrupting us, irresponsible spending to the tune of adding $1.1T to the federal budget from 2001 to 2009 is bankrupting us.
February 21st, 2008 at 12:12 pm
DUNCAN HUNTER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
February 21st, 2008 at 12:13 pm
O yeah. nobody knew who he was…….