As a Republican of 40 years, it is not only painful and deeply troubling to witness how dramatically divisions have cut into the fabric of our country, but how fellow moderate, pragmatic Republicans have caved in to the ideological hard-right. Given what has become an all too common tendency among so many of us to stridently lurch to support or denigrate Trump, perhaps it would be worthwhile to take a step back and ask ourselves: “What does it mean to be a Republican?” What are the core values we stand for, and let those values guide our judgments, words and votes on the policies and people leading us.
One core value of Republicans has always been believing in the dignity of all human beings. Since the founding of the Republican Party in 1854, being a Republican has been rooted in compassionate conservatism and building up the dignity of all human beings. Abraham Lincoln, one of the early giants of the Republican party, believed so strongly in restoring dignity to all people that he accepted the burden of prosecuting our nation’s most horrific war.
Today, building up the dignity of people means enabling people, especially those with the least resources, to build a prosperous life for themselves and their families. Building dignity means not only asking people to take personal responsibility for their lives, but actively supporting families and education. Sadly today, the Trump administration is separating families and reducing health care and education funding.
Another core Republican value has been protecting the long term prosperity of our country in terms of sound fiscal responsibility, building infrastructure to support growth, protecting the environment, and building strong relationships with our allies. Trump tax cuts to the wealthy and businesses has doubled our annual deficits and is literally stealing our future economic health for the sake of economic prosperity today. Trump’s rollback of environmental protections, again runs totally counter to the protecting the long term health of our nation. If President Teddy Roosevelt, who established our national park system and fought against mega businesses, were alive today he would be appalled. If President Reagan, who defeated the Soviet Union through building a strong coalition of allies, were alive today, he would be appalled at the Trump’s shunning our allies and the world order he and millions of Americans gave so much to build.
To those who continue to support an administration whose policies sharply diverge from traditional Republican values, let me suggest you ruminate a bit on the impending implications. Trump’s great propensity to focus on the very short term, while pumping economic growth and jobs this year, is laying the groundwork for substantially undermining our long run economic and national security, and damaging the environmental and social fabric of our country. Trump’s nationalist policies are also fostering the rise of nationalist leaders in countries that were strong allies, as well as emboldening adversaries.
Irrespective of your political leanings, let me encourage all to make sure you’re registered to vote, and vote.