Does the Republican Party Stand For Anything?

By Jeffery Dover

May 2, 2023

It seems that whenever I see a news article about a Republican member of congress, it ends up being about that person’s attack on some Democrat or other personality. And when there are plenty among their own ranks deserving of condemnation, their silence in that regard makes the attack on the Democrat or other figure more unseemly.

Is that why we send these people to Washington? Is that what we want? Do we send those delegates to congress to engage in playground recriminations? “Are so!”, “Am not!” Blah, blah blah…

What is the GOP’s mission?

What do they stand for? We hear talk of Republican “leaders” and “leadership”. To be a “leader”, one must have a mission. The leader or leaders of that mission should be engaged in organizing, implementing and managing the charge to complete that mission successfully.

As a Republican voter, I should be able to go to the GOP website and see that mission printed for all to read. I should be able to find a detailed list of specific legislative and policy objectives. However, going to any of their websites, national, state or local, no such list is found. One only finds watery statements of “we believe…” or “Americans should…” or “Americans need common sense governance and …” and etc. Just vague statements.

There is no specific list of things the party wants to be accomplished. Neither is there a list of past achievements to be used at election time, such as “In the last two years the GOP has caused to be enacted…” bullet points of achievements.

Without a specific list of goals, how can there be any orchestrated drive to achieve anything? Is everyone just floating around, drinking, noshing, entertaining sponsors and showing up to vote on whatever happens to come up by one person or other’s decision?

So how can there be a “leader”, anywhere in the party? What are they “leading” their troops to accomplish? Whatever they separately happen to think of or dream up at any given moment? It appears that there are no “leaders”. Instead, what we find are “bosses”. The Speaker and Majority/Minority leaders. It must then be that they shoot from the hip, with the rest of the delegation not knowing from one day to the next what the next charge will be until they are told. Knee Jerk. So, who instructs those “bosses” on where to go and what to do?

That begs another serious question: If there’s no specific, itemized list of legislation and policy for each session, available for all the voters to see, what do Republicans stand for as a party? I think we know the answer: apparently, nothing. What serves to guide the actions of the rank-and-file reps and senators? Anything that they stand for is only what we, the voters, imagine that they stand for, which usually boils down to what we stand for personally – not the reality of the Party’s actions as a whole. Given that there is no detailed written agenda for us to see, how could it be otherwise? They are a ship without a rudder. That is, they are rudderless unless one examines where we continue to go as a nation. Then one finally sees the plan: destruction of the nation as founded and its founding principles.

So then, what difference does the party make? Why does it exist? Is it only there for purposes of illusion, there to shine us on while an entirely different agenda is in play? If there is no agreement in the party on a set of specific policy goals and there are members of the legislature and congress who would oppose those goals and fail to vote for them if there was a list, what is the point of the party itself?

How different would our nation be if, for example, the Republican Party put out a statement proclaiming what they intend to get passed – or repeal, or block – over a given period. What if they issued a list as follows:

“With the election of Donald Trump to office, the party intends to pass and its delegates to congress are instructed to vote for the following:

Funding of a border wall to be completed by 2025.
End DACA
Elimination of the Department of Education
Legislation requiring a zero-based budget to be presented each year by every federal agency and department.
Cessation of funding to Planned Parenthood
Elections to be held and voting to happen on one day only.

And etc. Prior to the elections, they could post these as goals. The winner of the presidential primary would be required to support each one of them. Upon gaining a majority in congress, the process of getting the measures passed would begin in earnest.

Presented this way, there are now targets guiding congressional action. Equally important and totally related and relevant, the voters know what those are. Now they need not merely trust some ego-driven pompous blowhard on his or her pedestal, finger in the air, proclaiming “I believe…!” They either deliver or they disappear.

Let’s demand that the GOP immediately adopts this formula. Should they fail, then let’s create their replacement, a party which does in fact stand for something, a group of dedicated American people who intend to represent and deliver every agenda item of it’s detailed, website posted plan.

We’ve got nothing to lose but our freedom and our nation.

E-Mail Jeffery Dover: jeffd1815@gmail.com