The Republican Party doesn’t have a platform. So I decided to write one.
I’ve considered myself a political conservative for as long as I can remember, worked in government and campaigns for Republicans for more than a decade, and have directly supported Republican candidates, officials, and parties even longer.
But I don’t know what it means to be a Republican today.
I know what I think it means to me. But does it mean the same thing to my local Republican committee (let alone the state or national ones)? The candidates running to represent me? The elected officials at any level of government who are working on my behalf?
Much of the rhetoric has devolved to being against “socialism” and for “freedom.” Well, I like freedom. I’m against socialism. But I think Republicans have more to offer than that. Since our current leadership hasn’t to date articulated what that is, I’m taking a stab.
I get that nobody reads let alone memorizes or lives by party platforms. But, call me old fashioned, but I see merit in putting into writing what it is a party stands for.
Since it’s the most recent we have, I feel like the last one crafted – in 2016, in Cleveland – is the most reasonable place to start. So I’m going to go through section by section, discuss what was written, note whether or how I’d update it, and ultimately try to piece together some kind of (hopefully) meaningful document. By the end I hope to answer, at least for myself: what does it mean to be a Republican anymore?
