Column: Republican Principles Will Put CT Back on Track (September 2022)

September 17, 2022

Column as published in The Cheshire Herald:

 

The November election is getting closer every day and for me as a voter, it cannot come soon enough. Nationally, the last two years have been disastrous for Americans on so many fronts – runaway inflation, sky-high prices on everything – particularly food and energy, tense foreign relations, and an administration simultaneously clueless and vitriolic. The country needs a new direction. Republicans taking control of the U.S. Senate isn’t likely to repair everything, but it will pump the brakes on the Democrats agenda.

 

Some will suggest that the gridlock caused by party politics is a negative. However, slowing radical change is prudent, and a reminder of the brilliance of America’s founders and the checks and balances they built into our system.

 

In a functioning representative system, the people are required to take an active role, paying close attention and holding their elected representatives accountable. That is the key to real and positive change and supersedes all political allegiances.

 

Today, the government is too big, too complicated and confusing, and most people don’t have the time or energy to truly understand it all, let alone become adept at making it work for them.

 

Add to that the increasingly tribal and partisan nature of us as political consumers, and you have the recipe for division and strife that continues to tear at the fabric of our nation. We are now on a collision course as the political left and political right diverge and struggle for control of America’s future direction.

 

The major political parties find themselves internally divided as well with elements within battling to define their identities.

 

Sadly, the modern Democrat party has lost its roots as the party of the working man, civil rights, and populism. It is now the party of special interests, progressive socialism, wealth redistribution, and has become home to an increasing number of race baiting opportunists and zealots promoting fringe counterculture.

 

It’s often pointed out that President John F. Kennedy would find little in common with today’s Democrat party and that’s true. He’d more likely be a Republican today.

 

The Republican party too, has its problems. As the Democrats have veered to the extreme left, moderates have abandoned them to join the GOP, and they have brought their ideas with them.

 

Today’s Republican party now spans from progressives like Liz Cheney and Mitt Romney to more traditional conservative Republicans like Ted Cruz and Rand Paul, frustrating Republican voters and failing in the obligation to protect and restore America’s core identity. Add in Donald Trump, love him or hate him, and you have lots of competing forces.

 

I believe our country has the power to heal and some green shoots have appeared. Still, we have a long way to go. November will indeed be a critical election. We may find out whether Democrats have finally run afoul of everyday American sensibilities. I certainly hope so.

 

The recent primaries in Connecticut seem to indicate little excitement. GOP turnout was a mere 20% and Democrats were half of that. Still, on the Republican side, a clear message was sent suggesting that the base is tired of fair-weather Republicans who do not stand on principle or use their positions to fight for what we believe in. Leora Levy’s victory, and the defeat of establishment candidates generally, is proof of something I have been trying to convince many of my fellow elected Republicans of forever, which is that Republican voters want conservative fighters who are unafraid to run on Republican positions.

 

That means running on true fiscal responsibility, not “deals” that result in $500+ million bailouts of Hartford, standing firmly in defense of the 2nd Amendment, saying NO to corporate welfare, demanding an end to woke nonsense and divisive identity politics everywhere but particularly in public schools –and chiefly, making the case for less government and more freedom instead of going along with the opposition for fear of having to explain one’s position.

 

Election Day is less than two months away and I am doing what I always do: teaching the value of freedom over government force and socialism, and why we need to elect fearless and patriotic people who love our country and are not afraid to explain why this November.

 

Our values as Americans were good enough to begin the great American experiment we have been blessed to enjoy. They are undoubtedly good enough to win elections in 2022 and put us back on the right track. I hope you will join me in reclaiming the America founded in freedom and the rule of law – and working to make our future better than ever.

 

As always, you can find me at www.senatorsampson.com.