What Does it Mean to Be a Republican?

Written by Lt. Col. Allen B. West

[Over the summer], MSNBC host and former U.S. Congressman from Florida Joe Scarborough said on a late night talk show that he was no longer a Republican. Scarborough admitted that he would be registering as an Independent. This is the same Joe Scarborough who came of age in the constitutional conservative ideological legislative revolution of one Newt Gingrich and his “Contract with America”. Of course, these days there are many folks changing their party affiliations to Independent.

Another former member of the crew that came into being with Speaker Gingrich is current Republican Ohio Governor, John Kasich. He was someone that that as Budget Chairman balanced the federal budget. If you don’t believe it, Governor Kasich will certainly tell you, often. Yet, now, Governor Kasich is all about an expansion of Medicaid, a government run healthcare program intended for those Americans at or below the poverty line. Governor Kasich now wants more largesse from the federal government program that is causing the incessant busting of the federal budget. Medicaid is part of the mandatory spending programs – Social Security, Medicare, and net interest on the debt – that comprise nearly 64 percent of our budget.

The current Chairman of the U.S. House Ways and Means Committee, the keeper of our tax code, is Texas Republican Congressman Kevin Brady, a nice enough fella. However, as part of tax reform, Chairman Brady wants to introduce and create something called the Border Adjustment Tax. This is nothing more than a value added tax (VAT) that will certainly be passed onto the consumer. And if you have paid attention to the VAT in Europe, it has been a massive failure. Why is it that we are seeking to introduce a taxation policy in the United States that has been a complete failure elsewhere?

There is a debate going on in the Republican controlled U.S. Senate reference healthcare reform. But what is rather perplexing is that the latest iteration of the Senate healthcare legislation entails Republicans advocating for maintaining Obamacare taxes on “the rich”. Why are Republicans taking up the progressive socialist mentality of class warfare and wealth redistribution, along with using the tax code as a weapon against a targeted segment of our society? Also, why are there Republican Senators who embrace the idea of Medicaid expansion? In other words, do they truly believe in the expansion of the welfare nanny-state, the dependency society?

On Thursday July 13th, possibly the most disconcerting vote taken in the U.S. House of Representatives, was an amendment to the 2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The amendment of which I speak was offered by Missouri Republican Congresswoman Vicki Hartzler, a strong principled constitutional conservative. Rep. Hartzler’s amendment would have blocked federal funding, American taxpayer funding, to transgender troops for hormonal therapy and gender reassignment surgery. Rep. Hartzler’s amendment failed, due to (24) Republicans voting against it, therefore, (24) Republicans voted to support American taxpayer funded hormonal therapy and gender reassignment surgery for individuals suffering from a mental condition termed gender dysphoria. Twenty-four Republicans embraced a belief that the American taxpayer is now financially responsible for the choices of an individual confused about their gender.

What is even more troubling is that reports have stated, and not been refuted, that the Trump administration Secretary of Defense, James Mattis, actually called Rep. Hartzler and requested she withdraw her amendment. So, the official position of the Trump administration is that taxpayer funding of gender dysphoric individuals hormone therapy and reassignment surgery is a position they support. So, what is next, taxpayer funded cosmetic surgery for troops?

We know who the progressive socialists are and what they stand for. Their ideals are wealth redistribution, nationalization of production, expansion of the welfare state, social egalitarianism, and secular humanism. The real question now is, what does it mean to be a Republican?

Republicans asked for control of the U.S. House of Representatives, the U.S. Senate, and then the White House…they have them all. Yet, endeavors to reform our tax code and healthcare are bogged down due to Republicans…not Democrats. Silly me, I thought Republicans stood for limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual sovereignty, free market, and strong national defense. What is seems to the eye that understands the spectrum of political philosophy is that Washington D.C. is controlled by socialists, progressives, and statists. Sadly, true constitutional conservatives are the minority, denigrated, demeaned, and disparaged all because they believe, as I do, in the fundamental governing principles and values of our Constitutional Republic…a lost ideal.

I do not blame the Pelosi’s, Schumer’s, Warren’s, Sanders’, and Obama’s of the progressive socialist left. They tell us who they are, so I will credit them with the courage of their convictions to fundamentally transform our Nation. What I find abjectly disgusting and reprehensible are those masquerading as “Republicans” but have no compunction to actually be what they profess. And next year, these individuals, and the establishment machine created to support them, keep them in power, will send out requests for contributions and ask for volunteers to walk neighborhoods for them. Something tells me, that will be coming to an end.

And I can speak personally to the sting of those who call themselves “Republicans”. In the history of the State of Florida there have only been two Black Republican Members of Congress, Josiah T. Walls 1873-1876, and myself 2011-2013. It was a super-majority of Republicans led by State Senator Don Gaetz who developed a congressional redistricting plan, signed by Governor Rick Scott, that redistricted me out of a Congressional District we had won back to the Republican party in 2010. It was a redistricting plan that the Florida Supreme Court later overturned. Even when voter fraud was known, proven, the Governor, Attorney General, and Secretary of State, all Republicans, did nothing, as the electoral results were accepted by the Secretary of State.

What does it mean to be a Republican? Republicans don’t know, they are too busy acquiescing, compromising, and appeasing those who would never do the same for them. They are fundamentally confused as to who they are, and that for which they stand. The greater population of America are conservative, they believe in faith, family, individual liberty, economic freedom, better education opportunities, working hard to care for themselves, and being a strong and secure Nation.

It doesn’t appear that many Republicans actually believe in the principles of unalienable rights such life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness endowed to us by the Creator. They are just a lighter version of progressive socialists….progressives.

This article was originally posted at TownHall.com

Illinois Family Institute is proud to be welcoming Lt. Col. West to our annual fall banquet to share his vision for our country. He truly believes inspiring hope for this generation and those to come is critical to our nation’s future. His service to our country and fearless approach to voicing conservative principles distinctively equips him to communicate in a powerful and persuasive way.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear from one of the nation’s leading conservative icons.

Learn more HERE.