“What are Republicans for?” President Joe Biden asked.
Mr. President, that is pretty easy to answer A few years ago, we would have enjoyed this debate in person, but today, you are president, and I am just a guy in the community, but I still take the challenge.
Republicans believe the individual should control his or her own destiny, not the state. We believe the purpose of government is to protect life, liberty and property. The law exists to allow people to live free of arbitrary coercion, theft or fraud. We believe in all 10 amendments of the Bill of Rights and all three of the civil rights amendments as intended, not as we feel like interpreting them at the moment. We believe government policy should be sensible and modest in a way that makes life better for the people it serves.
We support law and order, as well as redemption and rehabilitation. We believe in voter rights and election integrity. We believe the family is the crucible of society and faith is the foundation of morality; therefore, the government must respect the role of family and religious institutions. We believe in free markets, not just when they make us money. One can’t prosper under the weight of central planning in the long run. Innovation comes from the reward of freedom. Free markets have done more for the world than any social program has to reduce poverty and improve the lives of people. We believe life is precious and the most basic of human rights. We believe work, thrift and keeping the rewards of one’s labor are human rights. We believe that being able to freely walk the streets, be safe in your home and operate your business without being looted are basic foundations to a civilized society. We favor taxes to fund needed government programs, not to redistribute wealth. We believe in universal human rights and a colorblind society.
We are also against some things. We reject crime, inflation, socialism and anti-family policies. We reject border policies that unleash a drug epidemic and a human-trafficking nightmare. We reject fiscal policies that are eroding how far our paychecks go. We are opposed to policies that stop America from being able to feed itself, defend itself, medicate itself and fuel itself. We need to return the supply chain and its jobs to our shores. We need to put America first, not foreign lobbyists.
That is what Republicans are for, Mr. President: free markets, faith, family and freedom. Republicans believe in the values that made America great.
Dover City Councilman David Anderson
