Dear GOP: Actually, It’s You

A Dear John letter to the Republican Party.

If Trump is still winning after my home-state primary in Arizona on March 22nd, I will be leaving the party. I walk away from the Republican party knowing that I am standing against the scourge of nativism and racism that threatens to take over the Republican party. As an independent, I will continue to fight for my political beliefs, because I love this country and firmly believe that America must continue to be a beacon of freedom, liberty, and justice for all.

Walking away from the GOP means I must lay out firmly my own principles, so here it goes:

Economic Freedom

My core economic belief is that the best way to achieve maximum use of resources is for a well-regulated free market to work. Rules and regulations are required to ensure maximum information flow and to prevent lying, cheating, and stealing. However, rules, regulations, and taxation should not be aimed at picking winners and losers. Even the smartest most capable bureaucrats cannot do better at planning an economy than 350 million individuals making their own economic decisions. I believe that the biggest fallacy in economics is that the economic pie is stagnant and is simply allocated among the various peoples, when however the fact is a growing economic pie can bring everyone up.

Fiscal Responsibility

The national debt is a real problem and will not be easy to deal with. The long term security of our nation rests on our ability to reduce the national deficit. The best way to do this is with across the board cuts, which will remove the political footballs from the table. The Republican position must be to follow the Canadian example of the mid-1990’s. Republicans who do not adhere to the promotion of fiscal responsibility must be called out.

A simpler and fairer tax system is required.With the entitlement issues pending, revenues must be on the table but not in simply raising marginal rates, as that will do nothing to increase revenue. If we lower tax rates but eliminate some of the deductions, we can overall increase revenue. The Laffer Curve explains part of this, although it simplifies the issue significantly because of the difference between effective and marginal tax rates. A simplified tax code will reduce waste and errors in the system. In business, we would see more capital used on productivity

Foreign Policy

The United States as a super-power has produced more peace since WWII than at almost any period in world history. We have a role as the leader of the free world and this role is not to be taken lightly. Maintaining a strong and capable military is vital to our national interests and a peaceful world. However, defense cuts can be made in ways that can maintain this strength while lowering costs. The United States must assume the mantle of leadership and be strong in dealing with international affairs; however it must resist the temptation to force its political/economic structure on others.

Entitlement Reform

There is a real risk to our entire society through the insolvency of Medicare/Medicaid and Social Security. We should aim to resolve this while not reducing benefits for those close to or in retirement. As these programs have become part of our society, I realize the need for them to continue and see their value. In order to do so, we should support a system that provides lower benefits for the wealthier recipients and higher benefits for the poorer. These programs are vital as a safety net for our older citizens and I am committed to saving them.

Abortion

I am pro-life and oppose abortion. However, I realize that the chances of over-turning Roe v Wade in the near future are slim to none, regardless of the outcome of any election. Despite what I and many others see as the evils of this practice, without a dramatic societal change, social conservatives risk losing the war for the sake of smaller battles. Most pro-choice and pro-life people can find agreement on ways to reduce abortions. This must become the calling card of pro-lifers.A complete ban on abortion is simply not going to happen anytime soon. Believing life begins at conception is a reasonable belief, however we must also realize that there is an error in factual agreement between the two sides. Reducing abortions is good for everyone, not the least of which for the babies that are born. Taking a measured approach without demonizing others is the key to winning this battle in the long run.

Immigration

It is becoming increasingly difficult to stand by my positions here, not because they are incorrect, but because the white nationalists make me want to just not care anymore. However, that said in order to stop illegal immigration, we must support legal immigration and treat illegal immigration as the humanitarian problem it is. I believe the following steps can be implemented in order and resolve the immigration issue.

• Create a guest worker program that allows people to come here to work.
• Streamline and open the legal immigration process; including balancing merit and family-based policies.
• Enforce fines on businesses that hire illegal immigrants.
• Use electronic monitoring on the border .
• Support a path to legality for those who have been here and for those brought here as children, support a path to citizenship.

In each of these steps, a set of gates should be established before the subsequent steps are initiated. By reducing the inflow of illegal immigrants, we reduce the requirements for a fence and free up resources to stop the bad people from coming in. This allows us to use technology and not physical barriers to stop illegal activity. We don’t need to waste resources on those coming here to work or for a better life. Once we have done all this we can take care of the issue of those here illegally today, we must however be understanding that many who are here are simply trying to support their families.

Gay marriage

I support the ideal of a mother and father staying together to raise their children. While this is no guarantee of raising children right, I believe that it provides the best opportunity. Marriage as a government institution was intended to promote the family as the core unit in society. However, if society no longer sees this as the purpose of marriage, we should let the states determine the people’s purpose for the institution of marriage in the public arena. The Church can determine religion’s purpose without government sponsorship. This protection is my focus. Overall, there is room for people to disagree on this issue and we must communicate without the hate and verbal abuse that has permeated both positions on gay marriage. Christians especially should not try to win a debate with hate.