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By JOHN MAROCCHI
Sm Contributing Writer
Election Day 1988 approaches and the choices it presents face us all. Here are one voter's reasons for supporting the Republican Party, its ideas and policies. They are presented to encourage readers to think about our country’s situation and future, then to vote and help lead America in the direction that offers the best hope for improvement.
No one has a monopoly on wisdom; none is always right or always wrong. No one can expect others to share his or her every opinion. Yet over the years Americans generally shared essential agreement on underlying political and
economic bases; that explains the remarkable political stability this country has enjoyed through most of its history. All “conservatives” are not Republicans, nor ‘liberals” (as currently understood), Democrats.
Yet it seems to many that the leadership of the Democratic Party in recent years has gradually changed, unobserved by most voters, in directions and into policies that no longer represent the beliefs and wishes of most American, including certainly most Virginia Democrats.
Why else would the 1988 Democratic platform be so non-specific?
Why else would U. S. Representative Robert H. Kostmayer, (D-Pa.) be quoted in the Congressional Quarterly of July 23, 1988, as saying, “We’re not going to blow it this time. Just shut up gays, women, environmentalists. Just shut up. You’ll get everything you want after the election, but just for the meantime, shut up so that we can win.”
Why?
Certain ideas and policies pushed by the Democratic leadership have weakened our country’s health in all vital areas: economic; defense and foreign policy; welfare, crime, morality and standards of conduct in general. This is not to say that such was their aim; it probably resulted from misguided ideas and policies. President Reagan made valiant efforts to change the national course in all these areas, efforts often blocked by a Democrat-controlled Congress. The need for changes continues. The Republican Party recognizes this and is the party for the job. It deserves our support.
What do Republicans believe? What does this party stand for? What ideals and policies will it follow? Voters deserve to know.
Perhaps the best way is to outline several key principles that underlie Republican approaches to politics and to society. These ideas,
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