Why Republican?

In a recent appearance, the President asked rhetorically “What do Republicans stand FOR?”.

The tone suggested that he and all his insiders knew the answer, they stand for nothing except opposition to him. Like many politicians, it just shows that he wasn’t ever really listening.

In South Kingstown, I’ve been asked a similar question. “Why are you a Republican?” My answers have varied depending on how long I had to answer. Recently, though, a local document surfaced that really summed it up nicely. If you follow the link, you can see the reference to the PD library. This formed the core values of the Republican Party in South Kingstown and mapped so neatly to my own foundation. The meat and potatoes are this:

These limiting principles still hold from this document that goes back to at least the 1980s in South Kingstown. They can almost be boiled down to the following:

• There are some specific aspects of society where government has a role, certainly not all aspects.
• We will help anyone, but are leary of forcing EVERYONE to do so, especially when some distant authority that knows little about South Kingstown demands it.
• We believe government has a tendency to overreach beyond these principles, and oftens does so in ways that cause unintended harm.
• We celebrate the rights, liberties, and blessings of every individual over the demands of the collective.

Consider the continuing growth of our local budgets. Consider the zeal of our Town Council when offered $9 million of Federal Recovery money. Consider the harm done to our students from COVID policies.

Then ask yourself, isn’t it time to consider the core limiting principles of the South Kingstown Republican Party?