American Maggie

When Obama and his Democrat supporters swept into state and national victories in 2008 the debate among Republicans was that the conservative wing of the party – and particularly those who are concerned about social issues were responsible, in part, for the loss.  Moderate Republican armchair quarterbacks basically said,   “Shut up – go away – you aren’t relevant – no one cares about social issues or traditional values and their role in government – we can’t win elections with you”…

Oh really?  It is amazing what ten months can bring…for now, social issues are at the very core of the national debate in every way imaginable.  Beginning with healthcare and going on to Medicaid, population affairs, environmentalism, education, and prisons.  As we fight for the very soul of America in the face of a radically liberal President and his administration, conservatives who care about social issues play a very important role. 

The annual Gallup Governance poll released September 29, 2009, said that 53% of Americans believe the Government needs to promote traditional values – up from last’ year’s 48%.  The interesting thing about the poll is that “traditional values” was not defined – 29,000 people polled responded based on their own understanding of traditional values and those responders connected those traditional values favored primarily to the Republican Party.  The turnaround in desire for more traditional values comes surprisingly from Independents – the group that swept Obama into office.  Obama’s inclusion of abortion in the healthcare plan, his immediately getting rid of the choice for abstinence education in schools, his support of Planned Parenthood in all schools, his blatant rationing of healthcare for Seniors, his apology around the world for America’s military clearly has left many voters with buyers remorse.

This response by Americans gives the Republican Party tremendous opportunity not only to shape the definitions of traditional values – but to package the message of social issues in substantive, relatable, meaningful ways – something the party has not done a good job of at all.  In this post-modern culture where any hint of discussion of right, wrong, truth, fidelity, personal responsibility, character and honor is suspect and portrayed as “Victorian” – there are ways to connect policies directly to social issues and values that are solution-oriented.

Americans have experienced a harsh lesson that markets and morality are inextricably linked.  The unemployment rate certainly brings the point home, but programs like Medicaid, CHIP, and Safety Net Programs such as welfare or TANF (Temporary Assistance for Needy Families); are also directly tied to personal behavior and social values.  Liberals cringe when this is mentioned –

because the strain of out-of-wedlock childbirth, fatherless homes, babies having babies, fatherless kids in prison, domestic violence, and the burden this imposes on our system is statistically verifiable.  When well over 25% of federal and state budgets go to these issues, I believe it is something we MUST have the leadership and conviction to speak to if we are to fiscally turn our nation around.  

Liberals understand that their current and future political base revolves around people who have made poor social and behavioral choices and are hooked up to the nipple of government subsidies as a permanent bailout.  I see this at the state capitol every day. The poor personal behavior and social values choices of others that you and I pick up the tab for are currently being marketed by Democrats as “social justice” issues.   Liberals see the answer as taking away from hard working taxpayers and using government as charity to others. This is what the Obama administration is proposing to do with healthcare and the American people have said “enough – we aren’t having it!”

In order to regain the trust of the American people Republicans must stop finger-pointing and “own” our lack of fiscal and moral leadership. We then must do the tough work of getting in the driver’s seat and inspiring Americans to embrace social policies that will restore faith in our country and each other.

 ******

State Representative Amy Stephens of Colorado serves in the Minority leadership as Caucus Chairman.  She resides in Colorado Springs, CO.

You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.