Call Me GOP

In 1975, Ronald Reagan (then governor of California) was popping up on more and more national polls as a viable presidential candidate for the Republican Party.  In July of that year — Regan sat down with a magazine reporter and presented his views of what role government should play in the lives of Americans.

“Well, the first and most important thing is that government exists to protect us from each other. Government exists, of course, for the defense of the nation, and for the defense of the rights of the individual.”

“I think the government has legitimate functions. But I also think our greatest threat today comes from government’s involvement in things that are not government’s proper province. And in those things government has a magnificent record of failure.”

When the subject of raising taxes on business owners came up — Reagan made this simple argument:

“Who pays the business tax anyway? We do! You can’t tax business. Business doesn’t pay taxes. It collects taxes. And if they can’t be passed on to the customer in the price of the product as a cost of operation, business goes out of business. Now what they’re going to do is make it easier for demagogic politicians–to say to the people, look, we need money for this worthwhile project but we’re not going to tax you, we’re going to tax business…”   “So they’ll tax business and the price of the product will go up and the people will blame the storekeeper for the rise in the price of the product, not recognizing that all he’s doing is passing on to them a hidden sales tax.”

Reagan went on and offered this example:

“If people need any more concrete explanation of this, start with the staff of life, a loaf of bread. The simplest thing; the poorest man must have it. Well, there are 151 taxes now in the price of a loaf of bread–it accounts for more than half the cost of a loaf of bread. It begins with the first tax, on the farmer that raised the wheat. Any simpleton can understand that if that farmer cannot get enough money for his wheat, to pay the property tax on his farm, he can’t be a farmer. He loses his farm. And so it is with the fellow who pays a driver’s license and a gasoline tax to drive the truckload of wheat to the mill, the miller who has to pay everything from social security tax, business license, everything else. He has to make his living over and above those costs. So they all wind up in that loaf of bread. Now an egg isn’t far behind and nobody had to make that. There’s a hundred taxes in an egg by the time it gets to market and you know the chicken didn’t put them there!”

See why he was often called the “Great Communicator!”  Have we heard a Republican in the last 24 months make such a clear argument?  I haven’t seen it.

It’s been 34 years since Reagan made these statements — yet, from my perspective, not much has changed.  We’re still dealing with this basic fundamental: What role should government play in our lives?

I believe it’s become quite clear what the Democrats response is to this question.

How should the Republicans respond?  Do you agree with me that this is a key issue?

If Reagan were alive, what would he tell the G.O.P.?

This is just a start about Reagan. But what did the others — Lincoln, Roosevelt, and Eisenhower — exemplify about the G.O.P.? How were they different from each other? What made each man great?

I look forward to your comments.

The G.O.P. seems to be scrambling to find its voice. It’s unclear who — if anyone — speaks for the Republican Party. And they’d better find one quickly, before the struggle for power does more damage.

Finally, the Sweet Sixteen tournament is back. We’ve got some old names and a few new faces grouped into four conferences under the famous Republican leaders Ronald Reagan, Dwight D. Eisenhower, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln. Check out their bios and vote now!

Don’t forget to comment! Why you pick a candidate is the most important part. From your comments we’ll be gathering insights to get this rebranding party started.

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