COMMENTARY The difference between Republicans and Democrats

As a veteran of more political campaigns than I care to count, I have been asked all too often, “Is there really any difference between Republicans and Democrats?”
Most emphatically, yes, there is, and the difference has now become existential to the United States of America.
The difference is rooted in how each understands and respects the principles upon which this nation was founded and with which it has grown to its preeminent position in the world. As a corollary, the difference is how each values the greatness of this nation and wishes it to continue.
The founding principles are derived from centuries of European thinking and philosophy and strongly influenced by Judeo-Christian morality. Particularly evident is the thinking of philosophers like Locke, Kant, Spinoza and others. From Locke, particularly, we receive the understanding that the rights of individuals are fundamental and the power of the government is derived from the people.
The Declaration of Independence boldly states, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness – That to pursue these rights, governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.”
The important principles here are that the people have unalienable rights that cannot be taken away, rights to live freely and happily, not subjugated by the government.
When the Constitution was ratified in 1791, many were worried that it created too strong a federal government. In response, the Bill of Rights, the first 10 Amendments, were passed specifically detailing the rights of the people. The Bill of Rights “enumerates” the personal rights of the people. These rights are not granted by the government but, rather, the government is specifically prohibited from interfering with these rights.
In the Constitution and the Bill of Rights, there was, and is, clear delineation as to what the government must do, may do and what it may not do. The people possess unalienable rights, rights that cannot be abridged by the government. The government is clearly granted its power by the people, and the people may revoke that power.
All of which brings us to today and why there is such a difference between the two major parties.
Compare the two parties against two specific criteria: the relationship of the government to the people in terms of governance and the inalienability of people’s rights.
The political left sees government as a central force, guiding and directing society and all its members. It sees the federal government as necessarily large and overarching, a complex of agencies and organizations directly controlling virtually all areas of life and living. The Constitution makes no allowance for the myriad of agencies that have been created. Neither does it envision hundreds of thousands of regulations created by unelected administrative agencies that have the effect of law controlling virtually every facet of our existence. The left sees the people in a subservient role to the government.
The political right sees government, as described in the Constitution, as a federal republic where those powers not specifically assigned to the federal government devolve to the states or to the people. It sees a small government without massive bureaucracy and a much leaner regulatory environment. To the political right, as clearly described in the Constitution, power is vested in the people and government is a creature of the people. Government derives its power from the people and the people can revoke that power.
In terms of individual rights, the Bill of Rights clearly states rights people have. These are not granted by the government subject to recall. The right to life is but one example. The left supports abortion on demand. When the government says this is OK, the government is abrogating a right. The government is prohibited from interfering with the free practice of religion, but when it passes laws saying public prayer is forbidden, it is interfering with individual rights. Free speech is another example. When the government allows statues or paintings to be destroyed or removed because they don’t fit a social narrative, individual rights are being infringed by the government.
Unalienable rights have become simply “rights” to things like abortion, random gender identification, free birth control, right of illegal aliens to health care and driver’s licenses and a dozen other things definitely not in the Constitution.
Why are the guarantees of the Constitution such anathema to the left? Because the principles upon which this nation was founded are the principles of small government and individual rights; that these rights are bestowed by God and not by man or government; that government derives its just power from the people.
The left does not see or desire the United States to be a great nation. So proclaimed our former president. They desire it to be a “citizen of the world,” a second order also run like much of Europe.
In this fall’s elections, some Democrats are actually running as Democratic Socialists. That’s how far left they have gone. On the side of sanity, there are many conservative Republicans running who clearly understand what our Constitution says about individual rights and small government. They know that people care more about jobs, the economy, immigration, their families and security than socialist objectives. They care that America remains a great nation. Conservative Republicans are being joined by increasing numbers of clear-thinking former Democrats who can no longer countenance their former party’s misguided direction.
Never has it been more important to go to the polls and vote for the continued survival and greatness of our nation. Yes, there is a difference between Republicans and Democrats. The Democrats are heading toward socialistic oblivion. The Republican Party looks toward a strong and powerful America.
Dave Ball is vice chairman of Washington County Republican Party and a member of Peters Township Council.