November 10, 2008 letter to RNC

 TO:   Mike Duncan

        Chairman. RNC

 Greetings, Mr. Duncan,

 This recent election was very difficult for many Republicans and I am no exception. I decided to take a few minutes to share my thoughts with you because I believe the Party needs some input to decide where to go after this disastrous election.

 I am (or was) a registered Republican and have tried hard to support the party in the past but the fact is, like many Americans, politics is a bit complicated. I do not agree with any party totally and I vote on issues and candidates rather than on party, which I suppose makes me an Independent voter. In spite of that, I have voted conservative most of the time (especially since 9-11-01) because I love my country and believe in a strong military and because like our founding fathers, I believe in smaller government with lower taxes and less regulation for the most part (although we obviously need more regulation of the banking and home loan industry to correct the wild-west attitudes that carried us into the current economic disaster). I also believe that capitalism works better than socialism (the fundamental Democratic principal), which attempts to redistribute wealth by taxing (penalizing) wealthy business owners to finance social programs.

 I disagree with Republicans on abortion and believe they should let that subject fade away as quickly as possible. Rowe VS Wade has been challenged and it is firmly engrained in our constitution and there is little anyone can do about that. Furthermore, President George W Bush lost my support when he took a stand against Stem Cell Research to develop life-saving medical advances. Where did that come from? I thought Republicans valued human life. Isn't medical research a valuable component of extending human life?

 I also take issue with the Republican tendency to remain in a state of denial over the reality of global warming and the fact that it is directly related to unchecked industrial pollution. That is a fact that has been well established by scientists all over the planet and every country but America has admitted it is happening. Our dependence on oil for energy is a huge national security risk and the quickest way to end our reliance on foreign (and domestic) oil  is by building hundreds of wind generating plants and Nuclear Power Plants across the nation (something the Democrats hate) to replace coal and oil fired generating plants and provide electricity for electric vehicles to replace gasoline powered vehicles (something the Republicans seem to always back away from supporting).

 I feel very uncomfortable with the fact that the Radical Christian Right has been adopted by the Republicans to gain votes. Our founding fathers recognized the importance of freedom from religion as much as freedom of religion and that is why the concept of separation of church and state is so important. Republicans seem to want to insert their recognition of a Christian God into every aspect of government at every opportunity and I do not believe that is appropriate or necessary, even in a country that is predominately Christian. Our country is more complicated than that and more diverse than that and it is very dangerous to allow our government to be arrogant about religion. The Republican Party needs to step away from religion and get on with the business of promoting smaller government and less taxes and a balanced budget.

  Washington State recently approved an Initiative (I-1000. Death with Dignity) to allow terminally ill patients to end their suffering by receiving a prescription for a lethal dose of medication that they can take themselves when they are ready to die with dignity. I fought hard to gather signatures for the Initiative and get it passed and until recently I did not realize it was being opposed by Republicans on moral and religious grounds. Please be advised that there is no admonition against taking one's own life in the Bible and even if there were, this is not an issue that a Political Party should take a position on because of the separation of church and state issue. No one will ever be required to participate in the Death with Dignity law if they are opposed to it. Only those who do not have a problem with it will take advantage of this law when the time comes. As far as I am concerned, conservative opposition to this law is one more nail in the coffin for the Republican Party.

I believe that the Republican Party has abandoned the principals that defined conservatives for generations and the evidence is in their pick of John McCain to lead the party in the latest presidential race. McCain nearly switched parties to become a Democrat in 2004 because he was already voting with them on so many issues. That is only one reason why he was not considered conservative enough by most Republicans. Another was his proposal to grant US citizenship to Illegal aliens when our country is experiencing a major invasion of illegal aliens.

 Ten percent of Republicans voted for Obama this time around and I am one of them. We did so largely because we did not think there was enough difference between McCain and Obama and because McCain was allowed to select a controversial, wild-card VP candidate instead of a strong conservative like Huckabee or Romney.

 If the Republican Party desires to continue to represent conservatives in the future, they will simply have to redefine themselves by pulling their act together to return to the basics.

 Best of luck on your efforts to do so.

 - Michael James Jaquish

Today is Election Day... the day that defines America. Regardless of who wins this presidential election, the whole world is watching in amazement as the continuing miracle of American Democracy unfolds before our eyes once again. The idea of a Democratic Representative Republic of American States began as a dream that most had trouble believing would ever materialize, let alone last for over 200 years. During that time, the rest of the world has battled to maintain some kind of order amidst the chaos of governance, drifting between experiments with religious and secular autocracies, dictatorships, socialism, communism, kingdoms and principalities to various forms of representative democracies that strive to approach the American election process.   

 On this day it is important to remember that despite all our cultural and political turmoil, we are indeed the envy of the world. Every time the reins of power are handed over to another American President without blood-letting, it is a genuine miracle. I know this because I have personally witnessed the normal alternative, dodging bullets and running for cover, jumping over decapitated corpses to survive in third world countries as they conducted their version of transfer of power. Most Americans have never had the privilege to participate in such an event, even as an observer, so they are pretty much clueless. I know this because I see it in their eyes and hear it in their words as they gaze past the miracle to focus instead on brainless sports or entertainment programs and voice exasperation at having to tolerate the endless political signs and campaign commercials for candidates. They are clueless. They never had to dodge a bullet to survive an "election" so they are spoiled, soft and out of touch with how special our system is, even though the rest of the world knows and watches in rapt attention and envy.

 So... regardless of who our American people elect, I will honor the will of the people and respect that person as our commander in chief because in the United States of America that is what we do and that is what makes us such a valuable resource to the developing world and human culture.

 There is a time and place for disagreement and that time and place is the campaign. Once that is over, we make our decisions and move forward with that great experiment called The United States of America. For better or worse, hopefully learning from our mistakes as we move along, creating history as we go. we move forward together.

 Who determines the will of the people? The people do when they vote. They are us. If one chooses not to vote, it is unfortunate but even in choosing not to vote one is exercising choice. In choosing not to vote one chooses to accept the will of those who do vote and even that is superior to those who live in dictatorships and have no choice at all.

 If the time ever comes when Americans allow their disagreements to separate them from the reality of what America means to the rest of the world, our country will cease to be the hope of the world, and that will be very unfortunate indeed because the world desperately needs hope.