Several weeks ago, the Colorado GOP voted on a bylaws change which would have made a nonvote by a member of the central committee an automatic “yes” vote. The end goal was to get the required 75% of yes votes in order to remove non-Republican voters from the party’s primaries. But even if you agree with ends, the means to get there is antithetical to the principles of our republic. Even more disturbing than the proposed change was the fact that over half the central committee voted for the rules change (although it fell short of passing). Let’s not invest time in the character or circumstances of those who proposed the rule change, we can use reason and logic alone to see that this was a misguided and unprincipled attempt to fix a Colorado cultural problem. Let’s ask the scarier question here as to what the purpose and goal of the GOP is and also who should be guiding us there.
In Federalist Paper 39, Publius notes that republics (and representative bodies) derive their power from the great body of the people and that the representatives serve at the pleasure of the people. “It is essential to such a government that it be derived from the great body of the society, not from an imponderable proportion or a favored class of it.” As Republicans, we have long touted these founding principles and maxims of our government: the consent of the governed, a constitutional republic, and that all are created equal and are endowed with unalienable rights. How are these principles in alignment with the proposed bylaws change? How is stripping a duly elected representative to the central committee of their right to vote or perform their duties in alignment with our representative government? How can we preach representation but in our own party structure abandon those same principles? The only way to describe this proposed bylaws change is tyrannical and a pure example of faction by mob rule.
I understand why there is desperation within the GOP: the democrats have utterly wrecked our state. Crime is soaring, our despotic governor and legislature are running roughshod over our rights, and we are getting taxed out of our very homes. Despite the horrific trajectory we are headed as a State, Democrats (who are responsible for all this mess) are not only winning but are hammering Republicans in nearly every election. Republicans are desperate for a win not only to enact our vision for the state but at the very least to stem the tyrannical wave of the Democrats’ policies. When viewed through this prism, it is understandable why Republicans want to win so badly. But when winning is our only goal, principles no longer have an assigned seat at the table. What is our vision for this state if not the principles of liberty and freedom? What is our vision for the state if it is not a return to a freer market? What is our vision for the state if we abandon our principles of justice and virtue? And how can we expect a voter to believe that we seek justice when we are proposing bylaws changes that abandon the principle of fairness and justice?
I have long loved and been a part of the Republican party because of their belief in the individual. The individual is the building block for all that we have in this great country. One of the great fears of the founders and one of the main themes prevalent through The Federalist Papers is the idea that political leaders are a thing to be feared. Political leaders are quick to become political demagogues, and even when they start with the best and most principled of intentions, the power has the potential to quickly corrupt. Our founders knew that the opposite of political leaders was individual virtue; when individuals can reason on their own and when they have their own self-reliance of thought, leaders become wholly unnecessary. It feels as though the GOP is looking for a leader, as opposed to building up virtuous individuals and by extension a virtuous culture. The Colorado GOP is looking for a home run to win it all as opposed to building a team that can grind out a win and change the heart, mind, and soul of the state.
It is much harder to change the culture of a state than it is to hope that an elected representative can influence the laws and policies of that state. The former is harder, but it is also longer lasting. We need to return to our founding principles and what it means to be a Republican. We will begin winning when we decide to run against the Democrats and not against ourselves; when instead of enacting a party purity test, we decide to have our own free market of ideas from within. Our party is great because of the ingenuity and the differences of opinion that we allow to come to the table, but when we resort to name calling and alienating individuals because of a difference of opinion and manipulating individual party members’ votes, we should not be surprised that we are losing this state as rapidly as we are. Winning will be a byproduct of a virtuous culture, and that culture must be created from within our party before we can hope to persuade the citizens of the state of Colorado.
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