Republicans see strong tickets in 2000 elections

(Editor's note: The following column was solicited for our Jan. 3-9 Outlook issue. Due to space and other considerations, it was not published at that time, but is offered here as the first of what should be many salvos in the political arena during this presidential election year.)

"The hardest strokes of heaven fall in history upon those who imagine that they can control things in a sovereign manner, as though they were kings of the earth, playing Providence not only for themselves but for the far future ... . It is a defect in such enthusiasts that they seem unwilling to leave anything to Providence, unwilling even to leave the future flexible, as one must do. It is agreeable to all the processes of history, therefore, that each of us should rather do the good that is straight under our noses. Those people work more wisely who seek to achieve good in their own small corner of the world and then leave the leaven to leaven the whole lump, than those who are forever thinking that life is vain unless one can act through the central government, carry legislation, achieve political power and do big things."

Herbert Butterfield,

"Christianity and History"

The future is ever unpredictable and change is an accelerating constant compressing our lives into patterns of ceaseless movement and what passes for discourse into sound bites. So, what now of the art and science of politics in this republic of ours?

Polling has become one of the dominant factors in political positioning. Spin, the dark art of twisting an opposing idea or position in a way favorable to your cause and then pounding the mutated message into the public ear, rules. These factors and the promise of nearly instantaneous two-way communication via the Internet will create a strong temptation to experiment with direct voting on legislative issues.

However, without the means to assure that the electorate is literate, informed and understands the consequences of its actions, such a course is fraught with peril. If that is to be part of the future how must we prepare for it?

At the grass-roots level, the Republican Party must make the provision of a first class education to every child its top priority. In order to improve opportunities for our children we must undertake to find a better way than the property tax to fund public schools. We must assure their governance at the local level by elected, nonpartisan school boards.

On other fronts we must also find ways to demonstrate at the ward and township level that we Republicans are pushing our national leadership to stand for strengthening Social Security and Medicare, to provide tax relief to working Americans and to assure our national security to protect our freedoms.

The Democratic Party's strength and its weakness comes from its amazing coalition of coalitions, many of which are in serious philosophical and social conflict with each other. The single uniting factor among them is that they all embrace the notion that only the federal government can solve their problems or provide for their needs.

Republicans, on the other hand, are more drawn to common principles and share belief in the rights, responsibilities and the dignity of the individual; in limited government, fiscal responsibility and free enterprise. Anyone who embraces those four principles is welcome.

In Greene County we work to keep our focus on what unites Republicans and to avoid divisive issues. We are tired of being portrayed as dogmatic and inflexible by some and vilified by others who seem to believe government is there only to ensure their support and personal comfort.

The year 2000 will be a great year for Republicans in Missouri. Leading our ticket are Sen. John Ashcroft and Rep. Roy Blunt. Rep. Jim Talent will be our candidate for governor. It will probably take a primary between state Sen. Bill Kinney of Kansas City and Joe Ortwerth, of St. Charles County, to determine our nominee for lieutenant governor. Sam Jones of Lawrence County (a candidate for attorney general), Matt Blunt (secretary of state) and Tod Graves of Platt County (state treasurer) seem assured of nomination to the offices they seek.

As usual, Greene County Republicans will strive to practice what Teddy Roosevelt taught in the first year of the last century when he said: "The most practical kind of politics is the politics of decency."

(William L. Mauck is chairman of the Greene County Republican Central Committee.)