GOP Bylaw Amendments: The Bizarre

Debbie Belcher’s Purpose of….well, I’m not really sure:
Debbie’s concerns about the Oath of Office and multiple voting are accurate. You can read all of her comments here. However, this is where things fly off the rail:

Section 1. Purpose.
The Party exists to secure honest and responsible government, founded on our belief in the worth and dignity of every person.

Add the Section below to follow the above:
We, the members of the Maryland Republican Party, believe in the inalienable, natural rights of each individual as endowed by our Creator, including the rights to life, liberty, property and the pursuit of happiness. We agree with our nation’s founders that government is instituted to protect those rights and will oppose all efforts to interfere with their legitimate exercise. The Republican Party is committed to protecting and defending the Constitution of the United States, which is the law of the land, and further to interpreting the Constitution in its original intent as written by the Founding Fathers. The Republican Party recognizes that the United States is a republic, governed by laws enacted by elected representatives pledged to protect the rights guaranteed in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights

The Republican Party, from its inception, and under the leadership of its first President, Abraham Lincoln, has championed justice, equal rights, and opportunity for all, regardless of race, religion, gender or national origin. We are proud that our President, George W. Bush, has put into action our messages of hope, opportunity, family values, and individual rights; which is an inclusive message for all who love freedom, believe in individual rights and responsibility, and believe in government of the people.

Trending: Thank You

There are so many things here that are just incredible to see in writing. The fact of the matter is that Debbie’s comments are nice, until you remember that the Republican Party is not an instrument of religion. We are not the party of a particular President (certainly not one who has turned his back on many of our basic conservative principles).

Our purpose as a party is exactly what the current purpose says it: to secure honest and responsible government. And beyond that, to ensure that we are a strong nation with a limited central government. Or, as I noted in May:

It is time that our party reject those issues that divide us as conservatives, and unite around those core issues that bring together all wings of the Republican Party. We must bill willing to embrace fiscal responsibility, particularly when it comes to eliminating pork barrel projects. We must be willing to reduce the size of government in order to ensure to contain government only in the areas where it belongs. We must protect our national security, in order to protect us from foreign nations and from the presence of illegal aliens. And we must ensure that we are committed to upholding all of our Constitutional rights.

We do not want a government based on whatever Belcher’s statement is supposed to mean. Her comments indicates that she prefers a party based less on principle and more on buzzwords that are meant to convey a party that is far to the right of the mainstream Republican voter.

Sure, it may sound cute now, but a statement of purpose should represent we as Republicans want to stand for today, tomorrow, and twenty years from now. We are the party of liberty and limited government. Sometimes, it seems like we forget this.

(Crossposted)