I'm still in it

The Republican Party is as Relevant as Ever

A neighbor flagged me down on the street recently, and after we exchanged pleasantries, she said, “You must be so busy at work. I mean, who knows if the Republican Party will even exist after all this.”

I didn’t have to ask what she meant by “all this.” I’ve read the papers. I had watched bits of the Sunday morning talk shows. In the wake of the presidential election and the events of January 6, punditry on the death of the Republican Party is as common as facebook posts on masking behavior.

Here in Massachusetts, that talk is old hat. With some regularity, the local press polishes up a piece on how Republican Governor Charlie Baker should leave the Grand Old Party.

Whether Baker stays or goes, however, doesn’t matter. Nor does whether Trump stays or goes. Last week, Republican Congresswoman Liz Cheney said “Trump doesn’t have a role as a leader of our party going forward” and Republican Congresswoman Marjorie Taylor Green said, “The party is his.”

The party isn’t his or hers or hers or his. It’s mine. I’m in it to stay, though I suspect my lefty neighbor was hoping to hear I’m ready to bail. The past few tumultuous months haven’t broken my spirit.

I’m in it for the philosophy. Republicans believe the government serves the people. The people don’t serve the government.

Small government. Big freedom. The Dems just don’t think in those terms.