I’m a Republican because I believe in our core conservative ideals – free markets, limited government, individual liberty, personal responsibility, justice, life, and a level playing field for every single American so that they can go as far as their dreams and hard work will take them.
These values are conservative, yes, but the reason I stand for them is simple: I believe they are true. For me, truth is the deepest value for a conservative. In a world filled with distortion and lies based on political correctness and utopian ideas, to be a conservative is to tell the truth — every day.
Part of telling the truth is working to reject baseless conspiracy theories. Denying that a plane hit the Pentagon on 9/11, stating that school shootings are false flags, claiming the 2020 presidential election was stolen — these lies have no place in the Republican party. A majority of voters in this country will put their trust in Republicans again if they see that we’re willing to face hard truths, and then do the right thing. Lincoln and Reagan did this. My hope is that others will join me in re-claiming that this is what our party stands for.
A majority of voters in this country will put their trust in Republicans again if they see that we’re willing to face hard truths, and then do the right thing.
And if we demonstrate our dedication to truth, we won’t just win elections, we’ll be in the best position to solve our nation’s challenges.
Take schools, for example. All the data and experts say that it’s safe to fully reopen schools, yet our students largely remain on the sideline. The CDC just released guidance that states schools should be the last to close and first to open. While the Biden Administration dithers and conflicts itself, Republicans are leading the charge to embrace science and safely get kids back in the classroom.
Another example: forest fires. Up and down the west coast last summer, the air was so thick from forest fire smoke that healthy adults couldn’t go outside. Democrat governors had few answers other than to wag their fingers about climate change and equivocate on the Green New Deal. Meanwhile, Republicans are pushing for sensible forest management reforms based on decades of data revealing just how mismanaged our public forests have become. Forget bad climate agreements that let China off the hook; reducing our carbon output can start with preventing the catastrophic fires that spewed 30 million tons more carbon dioxide than all the power generation for the entire state of California.
And in our major cities, Democrat leaders have failed so badly that they’ve opened up a tremendous opportunity for new leadership and ideas. My region is wedged between Portland and Seattle where leftist city councils and mayors vacillate between minimizing the looting of the businesses and ignoring the activities that have led to an explosion of individuals living homeless, open waste piles and graffiti taking over public spaces and sidewalks. Residents of these cities are clamoring for leaders willing to acknowledge the truth that we can only function with law and order, and that enabling addiction has profoundly destructive consequences.
It’s up to us to point out the truth: socialism doesn’t work, and there are better alternatives that keep individuals and families in control of their own destinies.
As a nation, we have our work cut out for us. We continue to witness fallout from the pandemic that’s pushed Main Street businesses to the brink, and left families in crisis-mode. The child care shortage was a challenge before COVID, now it’s a crisis. Communities that were short-changed by Obamacare still lack quality medical treatment.
But therein is our opportunity to lead, too. The left will gravitate toward government intrusion and socialist programs because those things sound good. It’s up to us to point out the truth: socialism doesn’t work, and there are better alternatives that keep individuals and families in control of their own destinies.
GOP House gains in the most recent elections showed that when we do present these kinds of ideas, policies, and beliefs directly to the American people, they choose them over the socialist agenda we see coming from the Democratic Party.
This is a messy and uncertain time for our nation, but we can get through it. Difficult times almost always require tough decisions, hard work, and yes – standing for things that many don’t want to hear. We can face this truth. And when we do, our conservative truth can start to lift up our nation again, and our best days will appear ahead.
Jaime Herrera Beutler represents the 3rd District of Washington in the U.S. House of Representatives.