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I try to keep this column pretty apolitical, but something happened last week in my home state of Kentucky that should open a lot of eyes. In fact, it should terrify Americans. There seem to be far more minions than independent thinkers these days – in both parties. For years, I poured my heart and soul into politics because I believed it could make a difference. I believed in personal responsibility, individual liberty, strong communities, fiscal restraint, patriotism, service to our neighbors, and a God-given right to think for ourselves. I still believe in those values. What I’m no longer sure of, especially if last Tuesday is any indication, is whether either political party consistently values them anymore.
Sycophants have always existed in politics – and I’ve hated it from Day One – but I have never witnessed anything like what is happening in America today. Too many people no longer ask what is right, constitutional, wise, or even true. Instead, they wait to be told what they are allowed to believe, and I should not have to explain how dangerous that is.
We do not need one man – or one movement – telling us what to think or who to vote for. We certainly do not need foreign influence shaping American elections. We were born with the God-given ability to reason for ourselves – the Founding Fathers bet their lives on it. Yet too many Americans now seem more loyal to personalities than to principles. George Washington himself warned us about the dangers of political faction and blind loyalty.
Politics should never require obedience. It should welcome disagreement, debate, and independent thought. Somewhere along the way, we traded service for spectacle, principle for performance, and conviction for tribalism.
After the Primary Elections, a friend said I was just a Reaganite. Maybe that’s true, because the Republican Party I believed in was supposed to be a party of ideas, character, and statesmanship. Instead, it increasingly feels driven by loyalty tests, groupthink, and public humiliation for anyone unwilling to march in lockstep. Democrats have been guilty of the same.
And frankly, I’m exhausted by it – the bullying, the division, the threats, the theatre, the constant expectation that Americans surrender independent judgment. That is not freedom. Quite the opposite.
Last Tuesday, Republican voters removed one of the most conscientious constitutional conservatives in Congress simply because they were told to – an act of political retribution fueled by presidential anger and an opposing campaign bankrolled largely by foreign interests. Watching that unfold was sobering. A healthy political movement should encourage critical thinking, not punish it. American elections should remain American. If foreign money and outside influence can shape our elections, that should alarm every citizen, regardless of party.
For years, I gave the Republican Party my blood, sweat, and tears. I have been loyal beyond measure, but until this movement loosens its grip on the GOP and the party rediscovers its principles, I no longer know where I belong. And Democrats should not applaud – their side has too often embraced the same culture of conformity and outrage. We all should be better than that.
As Benjamin Franklin famously said when asked what kind of government the Founders had created: “A republic, if you can keep it.” I pray to God we still can.