A call to action

By Kevin Patrick

There are two possible reasons for why the GOP failed in the last election. 1.) The US truly has become a socialist nation, and that is what the majority wants, or 2.) the GOP has lost its way, and is not longer the party it once was; is no longer a principled choice for the voters.

I am sad to say it may be the latter. There was a time when the GOP was the party that you elected to end Wars. Lincoln, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, Reagan. That is no longer the case. There was a time when the GOP stood for small government. Taft, Goldwater. That is no longer the case. There was a time when the GOP lowered your taxes, and that is no longer the case. Bush and Paulson can show you.

The strength of the GOP lies in its roots. True Conservative Values such as small government, sound fiscal and monetary policy, non-interventionism, trade, liberty and responsibility. Fellow Republicans, we have lost our way; we have left the path our Fathers cleared for us, and we heading down a dark and tangled trail. Luckily they left a sign post. The answer is 1776. Those Revolutionary Ideals on which our country was founded can still work today and we can use the Constitution to get back to them.

At the local and State level, Republicans tend to still hold true to these principles... most of them anyway.  We are what you would call your "Base."  But at the National level, the main arguments between the Left and Right tend to be "Which brand of socialism is right for you?"  We hear debates on the cost of a new program, or which company to nationalize: but how often do we hear a debate on IF we should have a new program, or IF we should give a bailout.

Bailouts, inflationary monetary policy, and deficit spending may not seem like a big deal to the men and women in Washington, because their generation gets to bear the theoretical benefit (which will never actually come to fruition). They do not have to worry about criticism for raising taxes, because their tax payers do not see the cost.

My generation does. Every time the Republicans do not fight tooth and nail over every cent of deficit spending and Fed Bailout money, you place that debt squarely on my back and the backs of my children. This is nothing more than involuntary servitude and is just as much a problem as President Obama's and Rahm's mandatory Civil Service Corps: slavery.

Fellow Republicans, I call you back to our roots. I call you back to Conservative Values. The Legacy that Washington, Jefferson, Goldwater and Reagan left behind is yours if you just pick it up. We can be a unified, principled Party again; but it is your choice to make. Washington will not make it. Charleston will not make it.  It is your responsibility to Restore the Republic and again have the nation our Founders intended.

I believe you are up to the challenge.

Kevin Patrick is a member of the Monongalia County Republican Executive Committee.