Why I am Proud to be a Republican

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Ladies and gentlemen, this address is titled, “Why I am Proud to be a Republican”. But I feel the more appropriate title would be, “Why I am Proud to be an American.”

I believe I should have titled this speech “Why I am Proud to be an American” because I believe deeply that our values and principles do transcend party and politics. They speak to the essence of what it is to be an American.

It is not because I fear to be associated with the Republican Party, or Republican values. I embrace both wholeheartedly. I have tried, however imperfectly, to live them as best as I can. In my life, I have worked to uphold them, and will work to my dying day, as long as the American people will have me, to improve the Republican Party, and ensure that it always, first and foremost, answers to the will of the people and the values of our Founding Fathers – nothing more, and nothing less.

If we ignore the histrionics of the media and the pundits, we will see that the present, brutal economic crisis has, in important ways, brought our national parties together. Both parties seek the restoration of our economy and way of life; both of us seek to restore American greatness. It is a greatness that stems not from the strength of arms, or of our economy – but from the moral fiber of a people unafraid to realize their greatness, and the responsibility it entails.

Make no mistake: our party and theirs offer a clear choice on critical questions of policy. Just how will we restore prosperity? To what degree can the people of this nation be trusted to make their own decisions? What role should the Federal government play in the lives of American citizens? These policy distinctions have been made abundantly clear, and the voters will give their verdict in November.

But Republicans and Democrats do not disagree about the greatness of America, or the importance of being true to its core values. It is important, even in this season of politics and campaigns, to remember how far we have come together.

Time and again, American servicemen and civilians have stepped forward to render assistance across the world: to feed the hungry, to defend the helpless, to oppose tyranny. Why? Why do this? Why sacrifice the flower of our youth, the riches of our industry, the energy of our people in this way? Not because it was in our national interest—for often, it was not. Not out of imperial ambition—our nation was born in defiance of empire, and will oppose it for all times, and have fought and will forever fight the forces of empire, to our dying breath. No. We did this because it was the right thing to do, because to do otherwise would be to reject values so close, so essential to the American spirit that it would be an act of national suicide.

We disagree, sometimes vehemently, with our opponents. But fundamentally, we do not question their patriotism. We question their judgment, their reasoning, and their arguments. That is how it should be. I hope they will extend us the same courtesy.

But I pray, plead, and beg our distinguished opposition to remember that our hard-won values and traditions are not yet universal. As Americans, we have done our best – and will continue to do better – to stay true to our better angels, and to promote democracy around the world. For it is human nature to seek liberty, however difficult the road, over the safety and comfort of the most gilded cage.

But not all have embraced this path, and some are threatened by our democratic principles. There are those that would do us as much harm as they could, who would slay innocents, even our children, in cowardly, dishonorable attacks, who would spread lies to divide us—anything, in their desperation, to destroy America. We must never forget that America’s enemies are real, and they are dangerous.

We are a nation of laws. But the international environment is a wilderness, with potential friends, but also proven enemies. It is our sacred duty, as representatives of the people, and citizens of America, to oppose evil, ancient and modern, wherever we must. We are not warmongers. We oppose them because it is right, because that is the role demanded of us by our history and our honor— just as it has been demanded of all previous generations of Americans. We pray that we will have the courage and wisdom we will need, borrowed from our common history and shared with each other, to defend American values from all enemies.

I respect the contributions of the Democratic Party, and of its membership. My ire is not directed toward them, for they, like ourselves, are at our best when we serve the people. Though we may disagree on policy and method, I believe that we share fundamental principles that speak well of both our parties, and of this nation. They are sometimes misguided, but they are our brothers and sisters. We both believe the words of our great, first Republican president: “A house divided against itself cannot stand.” And the array of present challenges facing our nation will require the full resources of all individuals of courage and ability.

No, I save my disdain and harsh words for the forces of division and disloyalty that seek to rend our united will with voices reduced to noise, to cloud our minds and dilute our will with falsehoods. Of them I have this to say: They are opportunists; they are demagogues; they are duplicitous and unscrupulous charlatans. They would be laughable in their desperation, were it not for the fact that they seek to strike a mortal blow to our Republic. Knowingly or unknowingly, they are helping our enemies abroad when they seek to turn us against ourselves. They dishonor themselves, and cower behind the protection offered by the very American principles they demean.

Their strategy is simple: they seek to shame the American citizen. They act to drag our flag, our history, our very self-respect through the mud. They would have us disown and dishonor our heritage and the sacrifices of those who came before under the golden calf idol of progress. They would have us turn against ourselves and destroy the best of America for any of their false gods. They would turn the words “American” and “patriot” into epithets.

I have no doubt that they will fail, and that American principle and honor will prevail over the forces arrayed against us. For I have placed my faith in the American citizen. That faith has been justified, countless times, even when I, personally, was unworthy of the blessings and second chances given to me by that most noble and most humble of men.

American citizens deserve that faith. For it is the blessing, and burden, of the Republic that the citizen knows he will have to live with the consequences of his actions. The burdens of high taxes, of uncontrolled government spending, of social policies, of restricted liberties, of the disgrace of failing to leave a better nation and stronger economy for those who are to come – these he is asked to bear. And so, burdened by conscience, but strengthened by native courage, the American citizen votes; he speaks, he fights, and, across all professions and all walks of life, he serves his country. He serves no party, not even our Grand Old Party; he serves the nation, however he can, however he must.

The day we stop trusting the American citizen to do what is right is the day the Republic ends. Those of us who love this country, who owe everything to this country, will fight to the very end to ensure that day never arrives.

It is that faith in the American citizen that the technocrats of this administration and some members the elite media underestimate. It is ridiculed as outmoded thinking, inappropriate for a modern, complicated world. They call it quaint, naïve and simplistic.

But the truth is, sometimes, very simple. We make no pretensions to being a complicated people. But we are a brave one. We greet the dawn as Americans of ten generations have; with both sword and outstretched hand. It is how our diverse and variegated society finds, in spite of differences and disagreements, the spirit to grow and thrive.

We place our faith in our God. We place it in the American soldier, the American engineer, the American teacher, the American doctor, the American protestor, the American factory machinist, the American construction worker and the American entrepreneur. We place it, even, yes, in the Democrats. Whether we know it or not, whether we like it or not, our lives, and our souls, are daily placed in the common peril of a world seeking to tear itself apart, and daily saved by the courage, industry, and dignity of an army of familial strangers. This is not an exaggeration—this is simply the way we live, the way our society functions. This simple faith is what keeps us safe and gives us the courage to meet the modern, complicated world head-on. Our faith in the character of the American citizen, of the free individual, makes us the envy of the world, and on the right side of history.

We cannot continue to trust this young, inexperienced man, however bright and well-spoken, however well-intentioned, with the future of our three hundred million citizens--with the future of the entire world. Our country chose the allure of youth over the experience of age four years ago, and even those who made that choice have come to regret it. Yet through it all, we have served, for our duty requires that we serve always, and not only when it is convenient, and that we protest when it is right, and not only when it is popular. We respect his heart, his demonstrated intellect, and his gifted oratory. We respect his love of this country. But our commitment to the American people demands our dissent and opposition, and demands a new President..

The will of the people must be served, and it will be, in November. And the message will be clear to both victor and vanquished: work together to restore American greatness.

Let America’s natural drive for industriousness and justice be fully unleashed. Give business the tools it needs to race forward. Give the individual citizen the dignity of independence, the respect and deference earned by his actions and the sacrifices of ten generations of fallen heroes. Give our soldiers our confidence, our material support, and our prayers. Reaffirm our solemn vow to use them only when we must, and to honor their sacrifice by remembering them in war and in peace.

Do not be afraid to be noble, to be proud to say “I am American” with stentorian confidence. For, in all of human history, there has never been a title as great as that of “American citizen”. It is the most unforgiving in its demands of responsibility. But with it comes the most generous of rewards realized by mortal man – dignity, honor, and liberty.

Let us remember and live the words of the great American clergyman, Phillips Brooks: 

“Do not pray for easy lives. Pray to be stronger men! Do not pray for tasks equal to your powers. Pray for powers equal to your tasks! Then the doing of your work shall be no miracle. But you shall be a miracle. Every day you shall wonder at yourself, at the richness of life which has come to you by the grace of God.”

March forward, Americans. Take back your country from the forces of division that seek to shame us, to manipulate our natural honor and integrity for their own gain. 

March with eagles in your eyes, charity and humility in your heart, and the wisdom of the ages in your mind. 

March with the confidence of righteousness and experience. 

March with the confidence that you carry the flame of ages to a darkened world. 

We carry each other to the Promised Land, to the Shining City upon a Hill. 

We carry on, to tomorrow, to eternal glory. 

We do this because it is right and it is honorable. 

We do this because we are Americans, and refuse to live any other way. 

May it be said, a thousand years from now, of our dark time, that men and women of integrity, of vision, of compassion, and especially of courage, made their voices heard, stood against the forces of evil, and prevailed. And may it be said we did so united, one nation under God, indivisible, with justice for all.

Thank you, and God bless America.


-Demosthenes