In 2012 after former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney lost to President Barack Obama, everyone had said that the end of the Republican Party had come, that we would not exist in 2013 and beyond. Two years later, in 2014, we proved the doomsayers wrong and not only survived, but thrived, possessing the largest House majority in a century. Now it is 2016 and once again there are calls saying this is the “real end” of the GOP. I am sorry to say, but it is not.
There is no sugar-coating it: the 2016 election is highly controversial, and has established major tensions on both sides of the aisle. Nevertheless, the calls that the Republican Party is somehow going to disappear after Nov. 8 is simply not true. Even if the Republican Party faces the worst, we are still poised to be the part of the future with majorities in almost all levels of government across the nation. We are going to maintain the House of Representatives, and in 2018 the GOP will have the potential to flip eight Democrat-held Senate seats in states that lean Republican or are rated as even, according to the Cook Partisan Voting Index . We will likely hold the majority in both houses of Congress after 2018.
The fact of the matter is that for everything one party screws up on, the other party finds a way to do something worse. The Affordable Care Act has failed, no matter how noble one believes the idea of Government controlled healthcare is. The people of the United States were promised lower premiums, but President Obama’s administration has admitted healthcare premiums will be raising by double digits, numbers greater than before the government got involved. I apologize, but this is not the GOP’s fault. The bill was poorly written and passed without opposition. The Democratic Party hangs onto this legislation that contradicts its own goal, and at least the GOP is willing to take on this issue and has presented viable alternatives.
Furthermore, no matter how much one supports the idea of welfare being given to those who are impoverished, elderly, or with a certain disability status, none of these programs can exist unless our debt is under control. The federal government files all these expenses under “mandatory liabilities,” or money we need to pay. With inflation, other increased costs of living, and U.S. Debt Interest, the amount of mandatory liabilities grows annually, when the amount of revenue the US Government receives is not matching that growth.
As the Democratic Party calls for more spending – free college, healthcare etc. – the government simply cannot write a check that big. The “top one percent” does not have the wealth available to pay for all of this. There would need to be record level income tax rates applied not only to the one percent, but to the nation as a whole, including the lower middle class. The Democratic Party for years has recognized this and fought off these calls from within, but now they are embracing the worst fiscal policies at the worst time possible.
On the topic of taxes, the GOP
remains committed to lowering the corporate tax rate. Contrary to the Democrat’s arguments, this money does not just go to the wealthy. The promise of lower corporate tax rates helps to encourage foreign investments to come to the United States. This will prevent companies like Facebook, Google, or Johnson and Johnson, from setting up headquarters in nations like Ireland, which has a lower corporate tax rate. At over 40 percent, the United States has the highest effective rate of any developed nation in the world. This does not encourage industry and job growth.
Between Governors Larry Hogan of Maryland and Charlie Baker of Massachusetts, who both hold 70 percent approval ratings, to New York’s Elise Stefanik, the youngest congressperson, and Mia Love, the first African American Congressperson from Utah, the GOP is on the rise, despite what you may think. We have youthful and energetic politicians who have taken major strides in blue states. The 2016 election may be defined by the top of the ticket, but it doesn’t define us. In the long term, the Republican Party has the brightest future ahead of us.
My fellow Loyola College Republicans, and Republicans as a whole, are all individuals who have joined together in unity as a party. Each one of us defines that party in a different manner. The Loyola College Republicans do not exclude; we welcome all into our tent. It is what makes us stronger, unified, and better as a whole.
We welcome and encourage all to act out their civic duty, and vote this Tuesday!
