Since Donald Trump became president, the Republican Party has been under fire and its values and motives have been put under intense scrutiny, more so than possibly any other time in American history. I myself have pondered on two questions: “What does it mean to belong to a political party?” and “Why am I (still) a Republican?”
What it means to belong to a political party
Belonging to a political party means associating with people who share common values and working together to promote policies that agree with those values. With so many people falling under the giant umbrella of a specific political party, it is important to note that there is plenty of room for difference of opinion. The Utah Republican Party is composed of over 652,000 active voters; membership is diverse, but we have far more in common than we disagree about.
What are the core values of the Republican Party?
When I was young, I saw great Republicans like Ronald Reagan and my own grandfather exemplifying Republican values. These values really resonated with me, even then.
Later, I formally affiliated with the Republican Party in response to a request from my church to participate more fully in the political process. I attended my local caucus meeting and found myself with a group of neighbors and friends who shared my values. I chose to affiliate with this party because its values resonate with me more than any other party.
Then and now, the Republican Party stands for:
- Marriage and family values
- Personal responsibility and hard work
- Opportunity to prosper and progress
- Individual freedoms and liberty
- Free markets
- Limiting government to its proper role, and
- Fiscal restraint
The core ideals of our platform haven’t changed much, if at all, in the decades since the days of Abraham Lincoln.
The Utah Republican Party
The Utah Republican Party continues to be full of great people who share our core values and fight for policies that support them. In our district, Republican candidates and elected officials like Mitt Romney, Mia Love, John Curtis, Mike Lee, Gary Herbert, and Deidre Henderson are a few examples. We may not always agree on policy, but we are united on core values and this is what drives us forward to help the great citizens of Utah. As I have talked with hundreds of you, I also see that the vast majority continue to believe in those values. Now more than ever, we need to stand shoulder-to-shoulder as neighbors and friends to defend the values we share.
The Utah Republican Party is still the best party to represent our values, and I plan to participate fully to make sure that these common values are represented in the government of Utah.
