A Republican unity recipe

Does the unbending commitment to moral issues by some in the GOP ordain a party fracture? So we're being told by centrist critics in the wake of election 2008. That logic is not only false, it's politically suicidal. Another version of this apocalyptic nonsense was heard after Colorado passed the Referendum C tax increase. My rebuttal back then, late 2005, was to argue that there are at least 20 (if not 120) deeply held beliefs to bind us together even if the specifics of tax policy happen to divide us. I wrote the following list of 21 items to prove it, placing taxes last.

Notice that abortion and marriage can also be placed very low on the list and still leave many compelling common causes for America's conservative party to agree on -- and win with. Republicans can and must continue to be the pro-life, pro-family, pro-religion party and the pro-freedom, pro-growth, pro-defense party. It's not either-or!

21 Things that Republicans Believe and Democrats Don't

Even when Republicans find ourselves divided over one issue, there are still many others that should unify us as a party – and stiffen our backbone against the opposition party. Here are 21 examples.

Look at all the good reasons we have to stick together. Most Republicans agree with each statement below. Most Democrats do not. They would either flatly disagree, or they’d be very uneasy with it.

Now consider this: unless the GOP remains a united, competitive force in the political arena, we leave our beliefs undefended for the liberals to roll forward in transforming this country into a very different place from what it is today. So the choice is ours: hang together or hang separately.

1. Our rights come from God, not government, and they belong to individuals, not groups.

2. God is real, according to the best evidence of human wisdom throughout the ages, and religious faith is generally beneficial for human well-being.

3. Our constitution is a permanent document that must be followed in its original written meaning unless formally amended – not a living document to be remolded by judges

4. America is and must remain one common culture, a melting pot enriched by many influences – not a multicultural salad bowl.

5. Federalism should continue as intended by America’s founders, with checks and balances between state power and federal power.

6. Private property is essential to a free society.

7. Free enterprise is the best system for creating opportunity and sharing wealth.

8. Courts and judges should interpret the law and the constitution as written – not seek to rewrite them. They should enforce personal responsibility and protect those who have been harmed – not conduct a lawsuit lottery.

9. Crime should be punished as a matter of personal responsibility, not excused as a matter of therapy.

10. Guns and other means of personal self-defense should be minimally regulated.

11. American military superiority is necessary in a dangerous world.

12. National security is better served by American sovereignty than it is by the United Nations.

13. Schools should respect parental choice and authority – challenge children with a high standard of truth and virtue – and be staffed by education professionals, not labor unions.

14. Colleges should not use tax dollars to teach our young people that Western civilization is worthless and America is a nation to be ashamed of.

15. Welfare should be a safety net for misfortune, not a hammock for dependency.

16. Health care policy should be based on personal choice, personal responsibility, and free markets.

17. Transportation policy should be based on individuals having freedom of mobility in their own cars.

18. Environmental policy should recognize humans as the highest species and economic growth as a positive good.

19. Abortion law should recognize there is not just one life but two lives in the balance when a woman seeks to end a pregnancy.

20. Marriage between one man and one woman warrants preference in law for its humanly natural, socially nourishing, and historically proven benefits.

21. Taxes are necessary as part of the price we pay for a civilized society, but taxes are also dangerous because the power to tax involves the power to destroy.

12 reasons I'm a Republican

Editor: Ron Phelps sent this to newspapers before the election. With the GOP's identity crisis, it's needed now more than ever. 1. I believe people should be guaranteed equal rights, not equal things.

2. I think making decisions locally is better than having Washington politicians or bureaucrats make them for me.

3. I think a free-enterprise system within a representative republic is a more effective way of running our country and meeting our needs than socialism.

4. I believe businesses in America should be allowed to make profits and I reject government redistribution of the profits of private enterprise. I reject socialism and the nationalization of private companies.

5. I believe that people misusing guns, and not the guns themselves are the issue. If someone with a weapon threatens my family or me, I have the right to, and will, shoot you.

6. I believe judges should not rewrite the Constitution to suit a fringe element, a minority that fails to get the support of voters.

7. I believe in private healthcare, not socialized medicine. I've lived and experienced the inefficiencies of government provided health care as a veteran.

8. I believe it's important to explore, develop, and use all possible sources of energy for our health, safety, and growth. I believe we should drill for oil here and now while we develop alternative sources of energy.

9. I believe marriage is a sacred union of a husband and wife for the purpose of bearing children, raising a family, and teaching them strong moral values. Our civilization is built on and will only survive on a foundation of strong families.

10. I believe that unborn children's lives are valuable, sacred, and should be defended. I reject abortion as a method of birth control.

11. I believe that early abortion should occur rarely and only be considered when the life of the mother is at risk.

12. I believe all who migrate to this country must do so within the established legal system. I believe that allowing, supporting, or offering sanctuary to anyone who illegally migrates to America is a crime.

The future of the Republican Party

(To the editors, WSJ, Nov. 17) The 11 letters to your newspaper today read like they were churned out of a Democratic talking points focus group. So, the Republican party will become a successful enterprise whenever it abandons its core principles? All this while "going back to its roots?" Anyone who thinks that abandoning the powerless unborn children and the endangered institution of marriage is somehow in line with Republicanism knows nothing about its true roots. Back in 1854, when the ruling Democratic Party committed itself to aiding and abetting the spread of slavery into Western territories and, in principle, to all states, old as well as new, North as well as South, the anti-slavery members of the Democrat and Whig parties coalesced into what soon became the Republican Party. If ever there was movement which appeared to be unlikely to succeed, this was it. A Democratic President, a Democratic Congress and, yes, a Democratic Supreme Court were poised to make slavery national.

Contrary to the naive theory of "progress" so alluring to many of our elites today, the Negroes' prospects for justice were worse, not better, than they were in 1776 or 1789. The reigning opinions and even the science of the day had decreed that blacks were inherently inferior and could never be accorded the same civil rights as whites. Leading Democrats like Sen. Stephen A. Douglas were amazed that Republicans would cause such a fuss for the sake of the rights of "a few miserable Negroes."

But Republicans in the beginning stuck to their guns and prevented the nation from acquiesing in the triumph of the slave power. Today's Republicans should be no less steadfast. As the Republican Party of 1856 declared its opposition to slavery and polygamy, those "twin relics of barbarism," so should the party of 2008 stand for the natural rights to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness against the threats posed by the cultures of death and immediate sexual gratification.

The blueing of Arapahoe

There were hints in October that Arapahoe Republicans were in for another bad year. My precinct in Centennial, once as red as they come, blossomed with Obama yard signs. Then County Clerk Nancy Doty announced at the weekly GOP breakfast that voter registration in the county, which had tilted heavily our way until recently, now showed an edge of about 400 for the Dems.

According to the Clerk's official website, that edge is now almost 6000, and the new normal is depressingly evident in vote tallies from Nov. 4. The following summary is from a talk I gave to the Aurora Republican Forum last Saturday.

ARAPAHOE COUNTY VOTING TRENDS, 2002-2008

2008 Obama-D over McCain-R by 55-43% for President Udall-D over Schaffer-R by 54-42% for US Senate

2006 Ritter-D over Beauprez-R by 60-40% for Governor

2004 Bush-R over Kerry-D by 52-48% for President Salazar-D over Coors-R by 53-47% for US Senate

2002 Owens-R over Heath-D by 69-31% for Governor Allard-R over Strickland-D by 53-47% for US Senate

Another troubling indicator for Republicans is the erosion of their formerly unquestioned dominance of the Arapahoe County Board of Commissioners. A switch of just 565 votes in Commissioner Rod Bockenfeld's narrow reelection victory this year would have given the Dems 3-2 control of that board.

When I came to the State Senate in SD-27 in 1998, SD-28 to the east of me and SD-26 to the west of me were both Republican seats and taken for granted as safe. No more. Sen. Nancy Spence, who succeeded me four years ago and won again comfortably this year, is it for Republicans from our county in the upper house.

First, Democrat Suzanne Williams took 28 from Bruce Cairns in 2004 and was easily reelected this year. And now, subject to a recount, it appears Democrat Linda Newell has won 26 from Lauri Clapp, who was seeking to hold the GOP seat for retiring Sen. Steve Ward.

HD-38, covering part of the same Littleton area as SD-26, went to Joe Rice and the Democrat in 2006 when former Republican House leader Joe Stengel was termed out.

What has caused the blueing of Arapahoe? It's obviously some combination of new residents moving in as others leave, younger voters coming of age as seniors pass from the scene, and superior competitiveness of Democrats among unaffiliated voters.

Only that third factor is in Republicans' control, but it needs to be a focus of soul-searching and new efforts, or Colorado's oldest county will continue changing its political complexion in a way that leaves conservative old-timers shaking their heads.

Practices, not principles, hurt GOP

After being routed at the polls for two consecutive election cycles, Republicans are turning introspective, asking how the party fell out of favor so suddenly and how to correct course. That introspection includes the inevitable catharsis that exacerbates tensions within the existing right-center political coalition.

Conservatives say moderates were too squishy, especially on spending matters. Moderates say conservatives were too rigid, particularly on social issues. Libertarians say both conservatives and moderates are correct in their diagnoses but wrong in their prescriptions.

The reality again harkens to Lord Acton's admonition about the corrupting influence of power. Contrary to advertising messages in the recent campaign, Republicans are people, too, which renders them just as susceptible to allure of authority as their Democrat counterparts.

Sen. Tom Coburn, first elected to the House in the 1994 "Republican revolution," observed in his book, Breach of Trust, that former Speaker Newt Gingrich and former Majority Leader Dick Armey, vanguards of the 1994 Republican revolution, quickly became too focused on retaining power rather than advancing the agenda that brought them victory.

With a few exceptions, like reforming welfare and balancing the budget, Republicans' track record proves Coburn right. Now that Gingrich and Armey have escaped the vortex of elected office, they have re-emerged as leading advocates for governance guided by conservative standards.

Similarly, George W. Bush did not win election by promising to expand Medicare entitlements or by declaring that his chief foreign policy goal would be to "make the world safe for democracy." While those policies may have produced some short-term political gain, their long-term results eroded the public's confidence in his ability and his party.

So, were the last two elections a referendum on the Republican Party's core principles or its ability to deliver?

Numerous polls taken close to Election Day confirm that voters simply lost faith in Republicans but remain strongly supportive of core conservative tenants like limited government and low tax rates.

Rasmussen found that 59% of voters still agree with Ronald Reagan's assessment that, more often than not, government is the problem, not the solution. Another survey, taken immediately after the election, found that 63% believe that tax cuts are the best economic stimulus, compared to just 20% who want more government spending.

Those tenets illustrate the challenge confronting Barack Obama who, as president, can no longer be all things to so many people, and the frustration confronting voters whose only choices were Republicans who failed to produce and Democrats who promised "change."

A Club for Growth survey targeted 12 congressional districts -- including Colorado's Fourth -- that voted for President Bush in 2004 but overwhelmingly elected Democrats in 2008. That survey found:

** 81% of voters said "Republicans used to be the party of economic growth, fiscal discipline, and limited government, but in recent years, too many Republicans in Washington have become just like the big spenders they used to oppose."

** By a margin of 66% to 23%, those surveyed preferred a candidate who would cut federal spending to one who would increase spending in order to bring home more federal pork.

** 73% said the best economic policy is giving everyone the opportunity to create wealth through their own efforts rather than using the tax code to "spread the wealth."

** 71% said government should not guarantee mortgages to help people avoid foreclosure.

** 66% want the death tax to die in two years, as scheduled; just 20% want to see it resurrected.

**61% said the highest tax rate anyone should pay is 35% or less; only 18% supported higher rates.

These positions are overwhelmingly supported by Republicans of all varieties, but somehow our leaders in Washington lost their focus.

Before Republicans spend too much time boldly pointing out each other's warts -- which persuades no one -- we must remember that the principles that unify us are also the principles that, when backed by action, have produced electoral majorities and will continue to do so.

Mark Hillman served as Colorado Senate Majority Leader and State Treasurer. To read more or comment, please go to www.MarkHillman.com