Local Republican is fed up

WRITE OF CENTER

Some of my readers have been asking why I write about taxes and spending so much. So here’s something different. Hang on!

I am fed up. Totally. I am sick and tired of being called names by politicians who were elected to serve me. And none of those obnoxious name callers even knows me. But they ridicule us because of our opinions or how we live. We are conservative Republicans, and there are many millions of us. I have been a GOP voter for over half a century and expect to be treated with respect at the very least.

First, we were ridiculed for being small town people who are “clinging to our guns and religion.” I grew up in a town of 600 people. I attend church on Sunday. I own guns. What is wrong with any of that?

Next, we were called “deplorables”, being in a “basket of deplorables, who are irredeemable.” We Christians believe that nobody, but our Lord decides on our redemption. And exactly why are we being called deplorables?

Next, we were called “Neanderthals in red states” for passing voter ID laws. A red state example would be Texas, for example, where election integrity is a priority, and we verify every single voter before a ballot is even printed. By the way, strong majorities of Americans, of all races, support those laws.

Now, we are being called “MAGA Republicans.” MAGA stands for Make America Great Again. Is there something wrong with making America great again?

Let me illustrate who we really are, we the American people who are being called these nasty names.

We are everyday Americans who get up, drive the kids to school, work hard at our jobs, pay our taxes, invest in the future, and aspire to improve things for ourselves and our families.

We don’t covet the wealth of others, nor ask the government to seize it on our behalf.

We don’t blame our failures on others, or on the past deeds of others, or on “society.” We don’t game the system to maximize government handouts.

We are entrepreneurs who innovate and risk our own private wealth by investing and creating businesses that provide goods, services, and jobs.

And we are folks who are fed up with government fat cats calling us names.

We think the politicians should concentrate on doing their job and being accountable to the citizens. For example, the federal government has been unwilling to secure our Texas border. Inflation at the grocery store and gas pump eats into American household budgets. Mail gets lost. Road construction takes forever. We think the politicians have failed in these basic responsibilities. They should stop the name calling and start doing their job.

Now the campaign slogan “Four More Years” has already begun for 2024. It sounds like a prison term! No, we don’t want more of this. We want change. We want solutions.

Our Republican majority in the House of Representatives is leading the way. They are driving to reduce future deficit spending, to put the country on firmer financial footing for coming decades. They aim to leave a strong and prosperous America to future generations, where the government pays its bills and lives within its means.

They have passed a bill which provides work requirements for healthy, working-aged men without dependents who receive welfare. It also reduces the growth rate of non-defense spending for the next 10 years; it provides for a strong military and reduces other spending by trillions of dollars. The bill also reclaims unspent COVID funds that have been dormant for more than two years; the pandemic is over, there is no need to waste any more of this taxpayer money. And finally, it provides policies to lower energy costs and secure our border with Mexico.

Our fundamental belief is that America’s greatest days are ahead. Remember our great Republican President Reagan’s campaign theme in 1984? It was “Morning in America.” After taming the inflation monster and rebuilding America’s defenses, Reagan was leading America ahead into a bright future. And in that election, he won 49 states!

In a similar vein, one of our current Republican leaders urges Americans to look forward, through the windshield, not backward through the rearview mirror. Grievance and victimhood didn’t build the America we love. Let’s seize on the greatness of our America, full of opportunity for every American. Let’s elect leaders who share our optimism, serious leaders who will serve us faithfully. Let’s do it in 2024.

Scott S. Kramer is a Kendall County Republican.