What can a unified Republican party agree on?

In the aftermath of last month’s election, there has been much talk about fostering unity in the Republican Party, both nationally and here in Wyoming.  For the Republican Party to meaningfully heal some of its divisions, we must think about how our party has changed in recent years and ways we can find common ground.  What are the ties that bind together our new Republican Party with the old?

First, it is important to remember that unity is not the same thing as conquest.  If you only want unity if everyone adopts your proposals, you do not really want unification – you want capitulation.  Party unity requires all sides to accept that there are some things we can find common ground on, and some things on which we will have to agree to disagree.  American political parties are made up of many groups with differing ideas and priorities.  There are many “Republican” ways to think about an issue.  Insisting that everyone adopt identical perspectives is unrealistic and dangerous.  Iron sharpens iron.  Debates within a party are healthy and will result in better policies than insisting on an echo chamber.

What can all Republican factions agree upon?  Perhaps the most pressing issue at this moment is the recognition that significant portions of our nation and state feel as if they are in economic and social decline.  The benefits of growth in America have been distributed unevenly, and many formerly prosperous people are seeing opportunity pass them by.  Communities are struggling, social order is weakening, and the current system does a poor job of addressing the issue.  The Republican Party should strive to speak to these people and implement policies to address these issues.

First, all factions of the Republican Party should adopt a pro-growth mentality.  While we have often paid lip service to this idea, our actual record is more mixed than we would like to admit.  We must be willing to allow our economy to adapt and change, as long as that change is moving our economy forward.  We cannot prop up industries against the “invisible hand” of the market.  We must adjust our perspectives from being backward focused to forward focused.  We must embrace innovation as the key to our economic growth.

At the same time, we must remember why growth is important.  It is so that the people that make up our country and state can live prosperous, meaningful lives.  We want growth to raise the standard of living, diminish poverty and sickness, and give our citizens the freedom to choose their path forward.  Put simply, we want our citizens to prosper, not just our balance sheets.  If our economy grows, but the only ones who see the benefit are those at the top, we are missing the point.  The Republican Party should focus on ensuring that economic growth inures to the benefit of society as a whole.  We must recommit ourselves to ensuring a favorable environment for small business as well as large.  Big business is necessary, but small business is the lifeblood of communities.  We should be a pro-prosperity party, and the best way to ensure that our citizens prosper is by supporting policies that place small business in a position to thrive.

At its core, this is a pro-opportunity message.  Republicans, as a rule, do not want handouts or guarantees.  We are skeptical of government doing too much to interfere in our lives and our economy.  However, we do want a fair shake.  We can all agree that government should not be picking winners and losers and that everyone should have an equal opportunity.

In committing to these common ideas, we must resist the urge to tear everything down.  The very word “conservative” is based on the idea of conserving what has come before.  Policy proposals should be carefully considered, vetted, and should be as limited as possible to accomplish the stated goal.  We also must recognize that government is complex, just as people are complex.  If the solutions to our problems were simple, we would have already done them.  Just because our problems or the proposed solutions are difficult to understand at first glance, does not mean that they are bad.  Republicans must, above all, commit themselves to seeking the truth, rather than relying on
preexisting dogma.

There are new aspects of my party that I still struggle with, just as there were aspects of my old party that I struggled with.  However, I have faith that as we grow and meet new challenges, our party will refine its identity and consolidate around the important parts of our agenda: pro-growth, pro-prosperity, and pro-opportunity.  That is a Republican Party that we can all agree on.