At last, we longtime Missouri Republicans have a positive alternative. He is Jared Young, running as an independent for U.S. Senate, but with traditional Republican positions.
In the past decade, the MAGA version of our party has left us behind, dismissing us as RINOs — “Republicans in name only.” But we have been working and voting for Republicans since long before Donald Trump came on the scene. We are in the political lineage of Abraham Lincoln, Dwight Eisenhower and Ronald Reagan. We are conservatives in the normal meaning of that word, and the MAGA movement has thrown us overboard in a hard-right play for grievance and rage.
Our party’s lurch to the far right has freed the Democrats to lurch to the far left and offer big government solutions to every problem. Centrist Republicans and Democrats have been left with no place to go. The center has vanished, and the center is where Americans can come together. In recent elections and in this one, traditional Republicans had no acceptable choices. When forced to pick between MAGA Republicans and ultra-progressive Democrats, we would rather choose none of the above, so we select the lesser of two evils, or we write in some name that comes to mind.
I am part of a group of Republican former office holders who have formed a new organization, Our Republican Legacy, at ourrepublicanlegacy.com Our purpose is to advance fundamental principles that once were embraced by all Republicans across the conservative spectrum.
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We respect the Constitution and the rule of law. This distinguishes us from Democrats who use the courts to further policy objectives. Importantly, it distinguishes us from the MAGA movement. We support the peaceful transfer of power, and we think that Jan. 6, 2021, the day a mob invaded the Capitol, was one of the darkest days in American history. There is no evidence that supports overturning the 2020 election. We hold those who assembled and incited the mob, notably Donald Trump and Sen. Josh Hawley, responsible for attacking the constitutional order.
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We are the party of Abraham Lincoln, who held the Union together. We oppose the tactics of both parties that divide America as “us against them.” We reject identity politics of the left and resentment politics of MAGA.
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We are the party of fiscal responsibility, and we are alarmed by the $35 trillion national debt created by both parties.
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We believe that the private sector is the engine of economic growth. We oppose excessive governmental intervention in the economy by price controls and high protective tariffs. Many MAGA Republicans and Democrats alike favor these.
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We believe that a secure world depends on a national defense that is second to none and reliable alliances, especially NATO. President Joe Biden has presided over the decline of the Navy and inadequate funding of the military. Sens. J.D. Vance, Trump’s running mate, and Hawley voted against the National Defense Authorization Act, and Hawley went the extra step of filibustering it. Hawley has opposed aid to Ukraine, and he was the only senator to vote against Sweden and Finland joining NATO.
Each of these five principles is of fundamental importance and has united all Republicans for most of our lifetimes. Each of these principles has distinguished Republicans from Democrats. Each of these principles has been scuttled by the MAGA movement.
Each of these five Republican principles is supported by Young. Each is opposed by Hawley. The MAGA version of the Republican Party isn’t just different. It’s incompatible with what the party has been.
It’s possible to be a Reagan Republican, and it’s possible to be a MAGA Republican. It’s not possible to be both.
To those who say that the old Republican Party is dead, we respond that this must not be so. America needs a responsible conservative party, and we are intent to provide one.
Voting for Jared Young is a visible way to take a stand for responsible Republicanism and functioning politics.
John C. Danforth served as Attorney General for the State of Missouri from 1968 to 1976, as U.S. senator from Missouri from 1976 to 1995, and U.S. ambassador to the United Nations from 2004 to 2005.
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