reclaim the party

The Republican Party was founded by uniting the then forces of good (Whigs, abolitionists, Free-Soilers…) as political combatants in a great struggle to save the Constitution. After a long, bloodletting civil war (which only concluded after every drop of blood drawn from the lash was paid with another drawn from the sword), their goal was achieved, and our experiment in self-government continued.

The republican leader at the time, President Abraham Lincoln, who most consider to be our nation's savior, believed that the inalienable rights of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness belong not only to the American people but also, because they are endowed by God, to all peoples of all the earth, as he stated in the last sentence of his famous Gettysburg Address.

But what happened? We’ve now not only sold out our government of the people to a government of monied special interests but also lost our higher purpose. The current republican leadership has turned us from a nation of Christian benevolence to a cult of satanic selfishness, as we’re now implicitly supporting the evil empire (Reagan’s words) in its tyrannic assault on the front line of freedom, where brave Ukrainians desperately fight for their liberty as we did in 1776. Is it any wonder that an American president who accepted election help from the same evil empire that is attacking (yes, Russia, Russia, Russia is real, real, real) would look away and enable their atrocities?

This lack of support for the just cause of liberty cannot be looked upon favorably by a benevolent God. “Woe unto the world because of offenses.”

There’s a reason God gave the world COVID at the end of his last presidential term and refused to take his hand on the Bible during the swearing-in for his next.

Our constitution’s design, unfortunately, divides our government into a two-party system. If one of those parties turns bad, it drags and rots the entire system. We cannot expect to continue in God’s favor if the nation abandons righteous benevolence for despotic selfishness. And without divine assistance, ours and the world’s struggle against darkness is hopeless.

Thus, it is essential that the Republican Party return to its original roots and again act as a benevolent force for good.

restore the republic

Presently, our government of the people has been replaced by a government of monied special interests. They are in full control. To put it bluntly, we have the “best government” money can buy, and make no mistake, it is indeed bought.

And unfortunately, the Constitution failed to prevent this. However, our constitution was wisely constructed to self-correct in such circumstances. This is done through amendment, which has been carried out numerous times in the past.

These amendments came in flurries: 10 directly after our formation, 3 right after the Civil War, 4 in the 1910s, 2 in the 1930s, and 3 in the 1960s. They usually came during or after upheaval, to adapt the republic and ensure its continued survival.

Our last amendment, however, was implemented over half a century ago. A lot has changed since then, requiring the constitution to adapt. But it hasn’t, and a deterioration has occurred. We must now force this necessary change.

To ensure the republic’s restoration and survival, I propose a slew of four new amendments:

• The same term limits for House and Senate offices as for the presidential office: two terms. Power corrupts. Absolute power corrupts absolutely. Return our representation from the lingering bought-off professionals back to the fresh faces of honest citizenry.

• The lowering of the Senate’s impeachment conviction threshold from two-thirds to 60%. All federal officeholders must be held accountable, especially if they attempt to overthrow the Constitution to retain power. At two-thirds, it’s too easy to buy your way out.

• A realignment of the Supreme Court to better represent the current will of the people.  A set term instead of a life appointment, with a new justice rotated in every two years, thus serving an 18-year term. A constitutionally fixed number of nine justices sitting on the court to prevent the threat of agenda packing. And a stringent ethics clause with repercussions to keep judgments impartial and prevent the acceptance of “gifts.”

• Finally, get the corrupting money out of politics. Federal campaign donations should only come from citizens within the associated election district. Representatives should be accountable only to their constituents, not outside special interests.

These four amendments should start the process of returning our government to the people, at which point we can continue our path toward a more perfect union through policy refinement.

reestablish civic virtue

Policy enactments should benefit the people, not the politician, and their implementation should be a uniting force, not a dividing one. We can agree to differ, but it must be done respectfully.

When I came of age many years ago, despite our nation’s political differences, we truly had a United States of America. Coincidentally, after the fall of our main foreign foe in 1991 (the evil empire, which we thought had been extinguished), we started fighting ourselves and consequently morphed into the Divided States of America. We are now approaching the Fallen State of America. This unfortunate degradation has occurred because we lost sight of our shared higher purpose and our historical reverence for the Constitution.  

Let us readopt that reverence. Despite our differences, we can and must come back together as true patriots to help ensure that government of the people, by the people, and for the people survives. Too many of our fathers have fought and died so that this concept could live. We must not let it die.

My General Positions

Before stating my general positions, I have to say, “I feel like I’m back as a Captain on an airliner and there’s a fire in one of the engines, the hydraulic systems are failing, the aircraft has faulted to emergency electrical power, and the plane is literally falling out of the sky… when the flight attendant calls up and asks if I could reset the cabin’s internet because its bandwidth has slowed.”

The point is, having “positions” is meaningless if the greater framework implodes. The first job is to save the aircraft, and then one can address the lesser discrepancies. This framework is my first priority and where I intend to direct my initial energies.

After the constitution is saved, I will advocate for substantial policy change.

And I should state up front that I do not possess a dogmatic personality. By nature, I’m always open to learning discussions on other positions, and only then, after careful, open thought, can a consensual settlement of policy be achieved, whose final decision is accepted by the people through the honoring of election results.

Opposition to my positions does not make someone evil, unpatriotic, or even an enemy — if they support the constitution, they are my brethren despite differences in policy beliefs, whereas someone who shares my positions but acquiesces in the overthrow of the constitution is my enemy.

Purpose and Function of Government

In general, I believe that the government should be limited to doing for the people only what the people cannot do for themselves.

My reasoning is that all organizational systems have a strong tendency to devolve into systematic inefficiency, but under competition, the organizational systems self-correct through natural law by continually replacing inefficient organizations with newer, more efficient ones (a healthy economic process that economists call “creative destruction”).

A government organization, however, cannot be replaced through competition because there is no competition, so it just keeps becoming more and more inefficient. It’s a necessary evil we must accept for necessary government, but if it’s not a necessary government function, if it’s something the people can do for themselves, then I believe it’s best to leave such functions outside the realm of government so that the processes of natural law can keep it efficient.

To quote Henry David Thoreau, I generally believe, “that government is best which governs the least.” As such, I’m in favor of dismantling much of the inefficient government that has built up over the years, much of which is no longer even relevant.

Change

The Greek Philosopher Heraclitus astutely observed over 2,000 years ago, “Change is the only constant in life.” Said differently, the only thing that doesn’t change is change itself.

For example, the recent invention of the internet has drastically changed many fundamental facets of our lives, both for better and worse. We need to adapt our government to better match this new technology.

I would start with privacy, which the internet has severely eroded. Some say destroyed.

I truly feel sorry for the young people growing up under its expansive, never-forgetting lens. Every mistake they make, and we’ve all made mistakes, is now at the forever keystroke beckon of all. As Facebook’s Mark Zuckerberg said, the age of privacy is over.

Nobody wants to, or should be forced to, live in a permanent fishbowl of instantaneous, all-encompassing public view. Therefore, I am in favor of laws to protect the human “Right to Privacy.” This protection has historically been bandied about with the Ninth Amendment.

Public Schools

Another change we need to address is our public school system. Its basic curriculum was designed by a group of leading university presidents in the year 1892 (the ‘Committee of Ten’). I’ll do the math for you: our basic public-school curriculum was created over 130 years ago and has changed little since, while our world has changed a lot.

Additionally, due to an inherent lack of competition, we are now stuck with an engorged government school bureaucracy that has steadily grown more rigid and inefficient.

It is essential in a democracy, where we’re governed from the bottom up, that we have well-educated citizens. Therefore, it is essential that our public schools excel.

First, we need to reset the curriculum to better match today’s changed world, and then introduce competition so that our schools can once again become efficient. Sweden is currently experiencing great success by introducing competition into its public school system.

I am staunchly in favor of public schools, but I am adamantly against inefficient public schools, which appears to be the case at present.

We also need to remove rigid structure, dependence on memorization, and teaching of tests. A form of the Montessori technique should be explored. Playground time should be given back to the young. Diversity should be offered to the older.

And obviously, money attracts talent, so teacher salaries must be raised. This is essential.

Environment, both portrait and landscape

Another byproduct of recent change is the sedentary lifestyle afforded by sitting in front of advancing technology. We’re getting a fraction of the exercise for which our bodies were designed, presently averaging three thousand steps a day when our bodies are designed for sixteen thousand plus.

We must, therefore, introduce new opportunities that not only address our physical but also our psychological well-being. In New Hampshire, we are blessed with a beautiful outdoors. I say we maximize its benefits.

As American citizens, we pay a lot in federal taxes, yet I don’t see much coming back in the form of improvements in our quality of life. I propose we get more of our money back and instead of using it on self-entitlement programs for the few, we use it to build out a healthier infrastructure for all.

No new roads, which are mostly subsidized by federal dollars, should be either built or rebuilt without an attached bike lane/walking-path. Let’s lead the nation on this. The payback from reduced medical expenditures would far outweigh any additional infrastructure costs, especially if we can secure subsidies from our already paid federal tax dollars.

The New Economy

New Hampshire also needs to attract and retain more young people. We are a low-regulation state with a high quality of life, so it’s inexcusable that New Hampshire is not attracting and cultivating a powerful “new-tech” economy driven by younger workers. This “new-tech” industry-creation should be one of the main goals of your federal representatives – using the power of the federal government (43% of our nation’s GDP goes through Washington) to advance our state’s economic interests – we pay a lot in federal taxes, so again, let’s get our fair share back and use it to attract and build out a new-tech economy.

Also, like Japan before us, our nation’s workforce is growing older. To remain competitive, we must retain productivity by honoring our older workers. Presently, we have government-sanctioned age discrimination, intentionally supported by our current democratic congressman and wannabe senator, which forces older but still productive workers out of their jobs (against their will) into non-productive government entitlement expenditures.

Unlike Representative Pappas, I’m against ALL forms of discrimination, INCLUDING AGE DISCRIMINATION, so that EVERY citizen can contribute to our society to the best of their ability for the good of all.

Our Families

On the other end of the age spectrum, I believe our nation’s most important asset is our children, and the best natural protector of children is a strong family unit. Our nation must create laws that strengthen the family unit, and I’m not against different kinds of families so long as they endear their children. I’m in favor of much greater tax credits for those raising children.

Drug Addiction

Our current, continuing street-drug crisis is a major degradation of human life. Encouraging drug use weakens our collective citizenship and thus weakens the great republic. I’m not in favor of criminalizing drug use, but I’m not in favor of encouraging it either. An addiction to mind-altering chemicals is a sickness, and it should be treated, not tolerated.

Over-Regulation and Under-Competition

Regarding the regulatory environment, having too many regulations does stifle growth. While some regulation is certainly necessary (for example, I am in favor of protecting a clean and safe environment), we need to revisit and readjust bureaucratic regulations to ensure we’re competitive in the world economy. Doing so has direct implications for both our standard of living and our national security.

And as previously discussed, we need to introduce more competition throughout. Natural law uses competition to create efficiency, and efficiency is the main reason for America’s past and present success.

For future success, we must ensure fair competition in all aspects of the system, both government and private. Where we have allowed competition to erode, we must reintroduce it because competition breeds greatness, and greatness is America’s destiny.

The Military

We are the strongest global nation because our military is the strongest. Ukraine proves the world is still full of evil, and like Ukraine, we must always be on guard to fight it and evolve advanced weaponry to win it. We must keep investing in military technology to ensure our continued strength. It’s the best investment we can make. Money spent on research and production is spent at home, not only creating excellent-paying jobs but also advancing our nation’s technological and manufacturing prowess. That said, we must ensure that our money is spent competitively.

The Future

I would like to close by saying that we, the Great American Republic, are riding the momentum of our forebears and still at the top of our game, still leading the world in economic, cultural, and most importantly, military strength. To hear a politician say otherwise is a self-serving, demagogic lie.

We’re only 4% of the world’s population, yet we generate 26% of the world’s GDP. We’re only 4% of the world’s population, yet we control 48% of the world’s financial markets. We’re only 4%, yet our currency is used in 84% of the world’s business transactions. Our cultural exports, such as music and movies, are unsurpassed.

No one is going to come in from abroad and topple us. “If destruction be our lot, it will come from within.” And unfortunately, that destruction appears to be coming from within. We were looked upon as the moral leader of the free world, but that has unfortunately changed.

We are divided and degrading. Many Americans have strayed and lost faith in our system. I understand. These are difficult times, and blame lies on both sides of the aisle for not considering the greater good of all over the expedient self-interest of the few.

If, however, you’ve become so disillusioned that you no longer believe in our founding system, I ask that you come back into the brethren of liberty and have faith in our constitution and its ability to self-correct.

I’m running for the U.S. Senate and would very much appreciate your vote, so that together, we can readopt our constitutional principles, amend the change our founders intended, and thereby continue America’s destiny toward a more perfect future.