Getting Back to the Basics

A long time ago, 1995, there was a Republican candidate for United States Senate that ran a very simple and straight-forward campaign. Each and every group he spoke to, it didn't matter if it was a group of farmers or a group of bankers, he wove into his comments the three main points of his campaign -- smaller government, lower taxes and more personal responsibility. The message worked, twice, and in 1996 that candidate was elected to the United States Senate for two terms.

Today, I am not so sure a Republican candidate, doesn't matter the office, can run on that platform. Under Republican leadership during various parts of the last 16 years, the federal government has grown in size, reach and spending, the urgency for tax cuts has subsided, and regarding personal responsibility, the list of Republican politicians finding themselves in precarious situations continues to grow. Granted, a lot has changed in 16 years -- 9/11, Iraq, Afghanistan and the 2008 financial crisis -- but that doesn't mean the Republican Party needed to abandon the message that worked so well 16 years ago.

I look forward to the day when a Republican candidate can again campaign with the message of smaller government, less taxes and more personal responsibility and be believable. Until then, the Republican message will continue to be jumbled and ever changing.