Nation's Well-Being Depends on a Healthy Two-Party System
Our nations core political well-being depends on the existence of a healthy two-party system. One year ago, I joined with former Sens. Alan Simpson and William Cohen, along with 34 other distinguished former Republican elected officials, to launch Our Republican Legacy (ORL) to serve as the resistance to the new populist direction taken by the GOP.
We may be Republicans in exile, but we will not be silenced. Now, because the early days of President Trumps second term are as bad as we feared and getting worse, we are taking ORL from a messaging organization to a mobilizing one, and I am asking you to join us.
ORLs first initiative is utilizing our existing framework to build a nationwide, grassroots organization. We are creating a 50-state national committee of volunteer activists who embrace our principles and want a constructive, common-sense approach to solving the many issues facing our country. Each state organization will recruit members, engage local and state media, and be active and visible within their respective Republican party at all levels.
Our second initiative is to ramp up our visibility with frequent messaging across all platforms on the critical issues we face. Our messaging and the positions we adopt will be grounded in our principles and guided by the real needs of the people and businesses across this great country.
In our announcement last year, we proposed a framework based on five foundational principles - Unity, the Constitution, Fiscal Responsibility, Free Enterprise, and Peace through Strength - to reestablish traditional, conservative Republican values to meet the many challenges facing our nation.
On , we believe in preserving our union and democracy by uniting - not dividing - Americans. We encourage free debate and civil discourse to agree by majority rule on common-sense solutions to the problems we face.
With respect to our lauded , we support and will defend the rule of law, including individual freedoms and liberties. We oppose circumventing the rule of law by exceeding legal executive authority and ignoring lawful court orders. We support the independence and impartiality of the Department of Justice and law enforcement. We oppose using government institutions for retribution against political opponents, settling grievances against individuals or corporations or law firms with different points of view, and ignoring due process for everyone.
We support to protect and defend the full faith and credit of the United States government for future generations. We oppose profligate spending. While protecting programs like Social Security and Medicare, we pledge to work to reduce annual deficits and lower the national debt over time to encourage greater private sector investment in our economy and growth with price stability. We will defend the role of the U.S. dollar as the worlds reserve currency.
We believe in and a globally competitive economy based on market principles with sound regulation, full transparency and disclosure, and a clear legal framework. We oppose Trumps senseless, destructive tariffs, which are regressive taxes that raise prices, lead to inflation, invite recession, and unleash unnecessary trade wars that no one wins. Instead of protectionist barriers and raising tariffs, we pledge to work strategically to lower tariffs to encourage trade and investment here as a means to grow our economy and create more opportunities for everyone.
Finally, we support by maintaining a strong national defense. We wholeheartedly support the U.S. military and respect all of our veterans, including all that our country has promised them in return for their service to our nation. We oppose any retreat into isolationism and a position of global weakness by abandoning our allies and strategic alliances such as the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). We support and will fully defend Ukraine and Israel against all acts of aggression by our common enemies, such as Russia, Iran, and their allies.
For everyone who is tired of being misled by lies and watching the very destruction of our system of government, we invite you to join our resistance of real Republicans to restore a viable, two-party political system.
Lets rise to this essential fight by organizing and speaking up for our vision of a truly democratic nation based on fundamental principles - our "shining city on the hill" to channel President Reagan - to achieve better outcomes for our nation and all of our citizens.
John Danforth is a former Republican U.S. senator from Missouri who also served as U.S. ambassador to the United Nations.
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