Am I Even a Republican Anymore?

All this clamor about how this site is really not a “Republican Viewpoint” had me thinking: am I a Republican?

 

Well, let’s start with the creed of the Republican Party of Virginia as the baseline (with my notes in parentheses)

We Believe:

 

• That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice, (100% agree – like I’ve said before, greed is good)
• That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society, (100% agree)
• That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government, (100% agree. Debt bad. Taxes bad. Got it.)
• That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations, (100% agree. The Feds are bound by the Constitution. Guess that would also include individual liberty in matters of the most personal in nature, like, oh say, matters of life and death. Wouldn’t it?)
• That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense, (Got it. “Peace through Strength” – shouted it at Mondale as we heckled him off stage at a college function in 1984)
• That faith in God, as recognized by our Founding Fathers is essential to the moral fiber of the Nation. (Hmmm. Not sure what that has to do with political beliefs, but I don’t disagree with the statement. I don’t read it as saying that you have to believe in God to be a Republican; just that belief in God supports morality. Got it. Fine with that.)

 

Seems I’m in agreement with each phrase of the creed, yet, somehow, I’m still called a liberal, progressive Democrat. Could it be something in my past? Let’s see. (insert wavy “flash back” screen shot here)

•  Contributed thousands of dollars to Republican candidates, causes and PACs  
• Spent thousands of hours on campaigns for Republican candidates and causes (both paid and unpaid)  
• Have declared myself Republican ever since I could pronounce the word  
• Got drunk (underage) at Ronald Reagan’s victory party in ’84  
• Named my dog “George W.”  

Still nothing there. Hmmm. Wait! It must be the positions I’ve taken on controversial and sensitive issues that have not just divided the party, but the entire nation. Yes! That must be it! You see, I recently took a position not at all popular with more rabid Republican base: I chose Mary Ann.

  

I stand by my choice proudly, and I’m not going to change it just because some party hacks tell me that I couldn’t possibly be a good Republican with that view. The sparkle in her eye, the Kansas charm, the cocoanut cream pies. There’s really no comparison – she’s clearly superior to the plastic Hollywood types, regardless of what right-wing Republicans may say. Yes, Ginger has her positives, and I even gave thought to the dark-horse, third party candidate Mrs. Howell. In the end, though, I chose Mary Ann. While not always a popular decision, it does not make me any less Republican.

 

Indeed, there’s nothing in the Creed that says I must chose Ginger, this being such a very personal decision and all. I still believe in all those Republican principals even though I disagree with some other Republicans on this one monumental issue. Therefore, I call myself a Republican, and will continue to call myself a Republican, because it is still the party that most closely represents my own political views (the Mary Ann vs. Ginger issue notwithstanding). If someone doesn’t like it, that’s his problem. Frankly, I could not care less about the labels anyone gives me.