The New Republican Platform Must Not Abandon Conservatism

By Tim Chapman

Monday, July 01, 2024

 

Ronald Reagan once warned, “Freedom is a fragile thing and it’s never more than one generation away from extinction. It is not ours by way of inheritance; it must be fought for and defended constantly by each generation.” To that I would only add: It must also be fought for and defended every four years at the Republican convention.

 

Eight years ago, Republican leaders assembled the most principled conservative platform in more than half a century. Conservative firebrand Phyllis Schlafly, who had attended every convention since 1952, called the 2016 platform the best she ever had the privilege to vote for.

 

While some wanted to retreat from the platform’s rock-ribbed stances in 2020, conservatives refused to back down. The platform was readopted word for word. Now some are once again trying to water it down. At the forefront of the discussion are issues such as the life of the unborn child, America’s leadership on the world stage, the centrality of the nuclear family, our nation’s fiscal solvency, and more. To weaken the platform on these critical issues would be a mistake.

 

Some may brush off the platform as unimportant or a messaging document. We view the platform as the Republican roadmap for the future. This is our party’s commitment to our voters.

 

The 2016 platform was bold and unambiguous on life. It acknowledged that abortion is a moral scourge on our country and that we must fight for national protections for pain-capable unborn children. While conservative states can and should go much further to protect the unborn, conservatives cannot sit idly by as California and New York promote abortion tourism with fewer safeguards than authoritarian North Korea. Conservatives must never waver in defense of life at every stage of the legislative process, state and federal.

 

Neither did the 2016 platform flinch on the matter of marriage, which it defined as “the union of one man and one woman,” and “the cornerstone of the family.” When activists tried to remove the plank in 2020, Republicans proved themselves the “party of permanence” and held fast to traditional values.

 

On Israel, we rejected a two-state solution, stating our “unequivocal support for Israel.” It’s a stark contrast to the Democratic Party’s full embrace of open antisemitism. On Ukraine, we confronted Russian imperialism, declaring that “we will not accept any territorial change in Eastern Europe imposed by force” and vowing to provide “appropriate assistance to the armed forces of Ukraine.” On Taiwan, we promised to “help Taiwan defend itself” against Chinese aggression.

 

We also embraced “free trade with free nations,” plainly stating that Taiwan and other countries that “share our values and commitments to fairness . . . merited our strong support, including free trade agreement status.” To keep America competitive on the world stage, trade reform has to be paired with tax reform. “Competitiveness equals jobs,” the document argued, and “American businesses now face the world’s highest corporate tax rates.” While the 2017 Trump-Pence tax cuts brought the rates down to the global median, there’s still more room to go to ensure that American tax policy doesn’t offshore American jobs and manufacturing. At the very least, those corporate rate cuts need to be protected against Biden’s — and some Republicans’ — proposed increases.

 

Finally, the 2016 platform was bold on entitlement reform: “We reject the old maxim that Social Security is the ‘Third Rail of American politics.’” The 2016 platform was clear that Social Security and Medicare must be reformed to be saved from insolvency (according to the most recent reports, insolvency could be here before the end of the decade). While entitlement programs ought to be preserved for those 55 and older, younger Americans deserve private options that could provide bigger benefits at lower costs.

 

Some politicians would like you to forget about the bold agenda that Republicans outlined in 2016 and carried forward in 2020. Some, lacking confidence in conservative principles, would rather prioritize personality over policy in this election. But, as we articulated eight years ago in the preamble to the platform, it is “the principles that unite us in a common purpose.”

 

The next Republican National Convention will convene in Milwaukee on July 15. Watch closely to see what becomes of the party platform. The 2016 platform was a winner and will be again — especially when contrasted with the last four years of a disastrous Biden presidency. The American people are tired of leadership that drifts in the political winds. We need and are ready to embrace the safe harbor buttressed by permanent principles that do not change.