GUEST COLUMN
(Editor's
Note: Not only does Dr. Wolf remind us in this column of the true
genesis of the tea party movement, but the kind of "rabbit" Republicans
he's talking about could very well apply to Nevada Gov. Brian Sandoval,
Senate Minority Leader Moderate Mike Roberson and Assembly Minority
Leader Pat Hickey, as well. A good read...)
Sorry GOP, an 'R' Is Not Enough
by Dr. Milton Wolf
I’ve
been a Republican all my life—a loyal Republican. The problem is, our
party has not been loyal to its own principles. That is why I am running
for the United States Senate.
The Republican Party faces an
identity crisis. What do we really stand for? Conservatives within the
party, like myself, believe we should re-embrace the Constitution and
stand unapologetically for the divinely-inspired American Idea of
individual liberty, limited government, and free-market values.
The
GOP establishment, on the other hand, believes we should stand simply
for the letter "R." They claim that America’s problems will be solved if
we just elect more people with Rs behind their names, but their own
history shows otherwise.
Since the Reagan Revolution gave way to
the “kinder, gentler” GOP (translation: surrender Republicans),
conservative victories have been few and fleeting. Even the 1994
Contract with America is no exception. Within six years, the cumulative
budget of the 95 major government programs slated for elimination had
increased by thirteen percent. And that’s when spending really took off.
The
harsh realities of the 2000s give lie to the current GOP establishment
claims. Voters gave Republicans the White House, the House of
Representatives, the Senate, and even the Supreme Court, and what did we
get in return? The largest expansion of spending, borrowing,
regulations, and debt our nation had ever seen. These Republicans—who
call themselves conservatives—delivered the largest expansion of
government in the history of America until Barack Obama came along.
The
GOP establishment claimed in the 2000s that we were on the verge of a
permanent Republican majority if we would just co-opt the Democrats’
issues (translation: surrender to Democrats). And so, it was the GOP
establishment that gave us the largest expansion of Medicare in the
history of the program. It was the GOP establishment that gave us "No
Bureaucrat Left Behind" for our schools. It was the GOP establishment
that gave us the bank bailouts. And it was the GOP establishment that
opened the White House doors for Barack Obama.
The letter "R" did not save America.
Today,
America is in serious trouble because the establishment members of the
GOP have, at best, proven themselves ineffective at stopping the
Democrats’ unbridled expansion of government. In reality, these
Republicans have been complicit with tax hikes, earmark spending,
endless borrowing, and debt ceiling increases.
I am running for
the United States Senate (in Kansas) with the courage of conviction that
the Constitution and the American Idea are not only the last best hope
for America but also our path to return to greatness. I’m challenging
Sen. Pat Roberts, who has been in Washington for 46 years. He calls
himself a conservative but has voted for tax hikes, earmark spending,
debt ceiling increases—eleven times!—and even voted to put Kathleen
Sebelius in charge of ObamaCare. Sen. Roberts has been in Washington so
long that earlier this year when he voted for Barack Obama’s $600
billion tax hike, he actually tried to sell it as “tax relief.”
This
senate race in Kansas exemplifies the larger choice that the Republican
Party faces. Is it enough to call yourself a Republican or even call
yourself a conservative but still vote with and give aid and comfort to
the Democrats whose singular mission is to expand government?
America’s
fate hangs in the balance, and so does yours. As government expands,
liberty contracts. And as liberty slips away little by little,
prosperity contracts as well. We are witnessing this in America today.
As the government reaches deeper into your doctor’s visit, into your gas
tank, into your mortgage, into your children’s school, and into the
rest of your life, it also reaches deeper into your paycheck and deeper
still into your prospects for a better future.
Freedom itself is
the most powerful engine of prosperity in human history. That’s the
American story. Those poor souls throughout the ages who have been
denied freedom have suffered immeasurably, and it does not matter if it
was taken from them by force or voluntarily surrendered upon the altar
of false utopian promises. History remains unmistakable: Freedom works.
And yet, the GOP establishment cannot summon the courage or demonstrate
the ability to effectively fight for it.
I will.
President
Ronald Reagan understood our enduring struggle for freedom and
fearlessly fought for it. Of the Republicans in the Congress, he
famously wrote in his diary: “We had rabbits when we needed tigers.”
Indeed, we still do.
(Dr.
Milton Wolf is a constitutional conservative and practicing physician
running for the United States Senate in Kansas. His website is
miltonwolf.com. Follow him at @miltonwolfmd.)
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