Why I'm Sick of the Word "RINO"

For some years now, the term "RINO" or Republican In Name Only has floated around among conservatives seeking to define who can and cannot be a member of the party, based on who they think should qualify.

If someone disagrees with them on immigration, welfare or taxes, suddenly they are a "RINO." If a Senator or Representative decides to compromise to get things done they are a "RINO." I'm sick and tired of hearing it. Instead of kicking people out, why not listen to their point of view for a change? Why not try to come to an understanding and take the higher ground.

As Republicans let's stop kicking people out of the party before it stops being a party. We need to stop alienating our allies before we find we have none. Ours is the party of Lincoln, of Theodore Roosevelt and Ronald Reagan. These were men who took bold steps to change what was in their worlds, that built our nation and brought opposing sides together, sometimes through conflict. Thomas Jefferson said, “Where the principle of difference [between political parties] is as substantial and as strongly pronounced as between the republicans and the monocrats of our country, I hold it as honorable to take a firm and decided part and as immoral to pursue a middle line, as between the parties of honest men and rogues, into which every country is divided.” There are times to take bold stands, and there are times to compromise. The ability to compromise does not make a man weak; it makes him stronger.

Some words of wisdom from Ronald Reagan on political compromise:
"When I began entering into the give and take of legislative bargaining in Sacramento, a lot of the most radical conservatives who had supported me during the election didn't like it.
'Compromise' was a dirty word to them and they wouldn't face the fact that we couldn't get all of what we wanted today. They wanted all or nothing and they wanted it all at once. If you don't get it all, some said, don't take anything.

I'd learned while negotiating union contracts that you seldom got everything you asked for. And I agreed with FDR, who said in 1933: 'I have no expectations of making a hit every time I come to bat. What I seek is the highest possible batting average.'

If you got seventy-five or eighty percent of what you were asking for, I say, you take it and fight for the rest later, and that's what I told these radical conservatives who never got used to it."

Our nation needs more compromise and less divisiveness. All the strength we have built in our past has come from more than two centuries of rich social capital, which was developed by our ability to come together as a people. Without this our nation will only continue to crumble, our problems will become worse, and we will struggle to prosper as a nation. Rather than focusing on what separates us we need to focus on what unites us. Both sides would do better to look at Eisenhower and Reagan and less to recent political leaders for guidance. 

Independence Day 2015-Why We Are Celebrating Today

British colonies had been established on the North American continent for well over a hundred years. The French and Indian war had shortly been brought to peace just a decade earlier. For about two decades however, legislation had been passed with continued hostility toward the American colonies, without any representation. The intolerable acts drove the colonies to act. With the Boston Tea Party coupled with the battles of Lexington and Concord and Bunker Hill, the colonies had entered into pure state of rebellion. By summer it became clear that the crown was sending an expeditionary force to enforce it's will upon the colonies, and that this force would include foreign mercenaries known for their ruthlessness.

Congress had been meeting for months on the matter of independence. On June 11th it was decided that a committee to draft a resolution to declare independence should be formed. This committee was made up of John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Roger Sherman, Robert Livingston and a young Virginian named Thomas Jefferson. It was decided that Jefferson(the only member from the southern states) would be the member to write the initial draft. After revisions by the committee and by congress as a whole, the final document was voted on and accepted on July 2nd. Final approval came two days latter on July 4th, or the day we now refer to as Independence day. I wish now to quote from that document :

"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness."

With those words on that day our founders staked our claim as a nation to independence. However, it was not ours to be had by merely laying claim to it. Our independence was not easily won. Many men gave their lives for the hope of a future nation, and for the hope that with such a nation our natural rights would be ours to be had for us and for generations to come. For 238 years now we have looked back to that founding, as our assertion that there are certain rights that no government should usurp without due process of law. This declaration established our reasons for breaking allegiance to our mother country, and firmly rooted within our culture the ideas of freedom from oppression and liberty of thought action. We as Americans have held their sacrifice as sacred within our hearts and we have honored them through the past two centuries.

Independence was won eventually, but it was not until another document was also written that our nation was on placed on a firm foundation. Our constitution was enacted  to ensure that these rights and privileges would continue to be protected. It established law and justice in our country as well as ways for individual citizens to address their grievances through a representative republic.

 This document established our country on a firm foundation of law and justice that has governed us well for over 200 years. Our path as a nation has not been the easiest, we have had times of prosperity and peace, and we have had times of depression and war. Overall though, we have shown that as we work together, not always agreeing but finding ways to compromise that we can accomplish great things. I do not believe that the days of our great accomplishments are past, and I still see America as a shining beacon on a hill, standing as an example that democracy can work.

As we celebrate our nation this Independence day let us not forget those who have sacrificed all to protect our nation and our freedoms. Let us remember them and honor them for their heroic sacrifice. Let us remember our founders and their great work. And let us look to the future with hope that the future years will bring hope and prosperity to our nation once again.

We are celebrating today because we have a great nation established on freedom and justice. Many have paid with their lives so that we may live in peace. So wave a flag, sing our national anthem, grill some hot dogs and watch some fireworks, but please remember what we are celebrating.