A Republic – If You Can Keep It

By ROTW contributor William McRight

The concerned citizen shouted out to Benjamin Franklin, “Mr Franklin – What have you given us?” Franklin quickly answered, “A Republic Madam – If you can keep it.”

As we move toward the New Hampshire primaries, we are about to see if that is possible.

On the “democrat” side we have one candidate who throughout her public life has consistently hopscotched not from one achievement to the next but from one country damaging scandal to the next.  Secretary Clinton has the temerity to boast that she is trustworthy and accomplished. She stood in front of four flag draped caskets and lied through her teeth to the American people and most garishly to the families of the fallen. That single instance alone should disqualify her from holding any office above County Commissioner in whatever jerkwater burg in which she has placed her carpetbag. Pair that with emails from her staff telling us “she forgets a lot” should have libs running for the exits.  

Her opponent, an avowed card carrying Socialist who has forgotten to remove his Brooklyn accent SIM card despite being a Senator from Vermont for decades. The Vermont vernacular is preferable to having extended conversations about one’s “idears.”   Say what you will about Senator Sanders he certainly has great “idears” about how we can leave the country in the ditch where Barak Obama drove us. 90% tax rates, free everything for everyone and a witheringly over reaching government sounds like just what the Doctor Mengele ordered. After the NH primary there will have been more votes cast for a doddering Socialist than your run of the mill corrupt “democrat.”

On the other side of the aisle we are faced with a top three that presents stark contrast to the competition and each other. The front runner, according to the highly esteemed and quite nearly always wrong polls is a lifelong democrat. Mr. Trump wants us all to believe that his Road to Damascus occurred somewhere between his gauche apartment in Trump Tower and the bottom of the now famous Golden Escalator. He claims to be a conservative Republican but whenever questioned about his positions the kneejerk is ALWAYS to the moderate and often progressive position. Always. His propensity to deliver word salad speeches that stir authoritarian jingoism in with nationalist populism leave all but his rabid sycophants head scratching.

The other two front runners are two first term senators. Both of these men present an option to return the country to a saner and more practical path. Senator Rubio is a legitimate option but is dogged by a perhaps insurmountable lapse in reason and judgment. Before the ink dried on his new office door, he was making deals with the Problem Children of the Republican Party. The McCain Graham Flake Cabal that always finds a way to propagate the democrat agenda with their votes and positions were Senator Rubio’s first landing spot. He is a legitimate conservative but for many he has that establishment streak that is quite off putting.  

The final choice, Senator Ted Cruz, a rock ribbed conservative who bears the stripes of bucking his own party. He is to the right of Reagan on issues and does not carry the cross of Reagan’s amnesty.  In other words, his policies and positions are Reagan-esque without the bad stuff. He suffers from the straw man that his opponents bring up regarding his likeability. More Republicans voted for him in the Iowa Caucus than any candidate in history. Seems likeable enough. He struggles with some voters due to a delivery that is a mixture of college professor, theologian and Baptist preacher. His intellect, message discipline and consistency are remarkable. Our last Republican president was often called dumb. No one is unhinged enough to level that charge at Senator Cruz. Dumb people don’t graduate cum laude and magna cum laude from Princeton and Harvard. Smart and consistently conservative sounds like a winner to me.

It is indeed a Time for Choosing. And a time to keep and strengthen our republic.