Ind. Lt. Gov. Offers Answer To Question: Why Republicans?
Ind. Lt. Gov. Offers Answer To Question: Why Republicans?
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David Slone-dslone@timesuniononline.com
Ind. Lt. Gov. Offers Answer To Question: Why Republicans?NORTH WEBSTER - Indiana Lt. Gov. Suzanne Crouch posed the question “Why are we all Republicans?” at Thursday night’s GOP dinner, and stirred up applause for how she answered the question.
Crouch was the keynote speaker at the Kosciusko County Republican Party Lincoln Day Dinner 2022 at The Owl’s Nest in North Webster.
The 52nd lieutenant governor of Indiana reminded the packed house that they were gathered to celebrate the Republican Party’s first president - Abraham Lincoln.
“And let’s not just remember the man, let’s remember what Lincoln accomplished because Lincoln faced overwhelming challenges in a very, very difficult period in American history. So consider the following: Lincoln had to navigate a broken convention in order to become his party’s candidate. He got elected in the general election with less than 40% of the vote. And once elected, he faced a divided country and what followed was the saddest and most divisive period in American history, the Civil War,” she said.
Despite those challenges, Crouch said Lincoln was able to muster the strength, the will and ultimately the votes to end the scourge of slavery and to reunite the republic.
“So tonight, let us ask ourselves, ‘Why are we Republicans?’ I expect that we all share the same values and principles. We believe in God. We believe in hard work. We believe in equality and opportunity, not equality of outcome. But we also have a strong sense of personal responsibility but we readily accept we have a responsibility to help others less fortunate. We all share the same philosophy that Abraham Lincoln did because Lincoln said government should do for people only what they can not do better for themselves and no more,” she said.
Republicans, she said, fight the problems of too much inefficient government.
“We must deliver services efficiently to those that need them. As Republicans, we must measure our progress not by the amount of assistance we give people but by the number of people we get off assistance and back on their own two feet,” Crouch stated.
She said, probably like many at the annual dinner Thursday, she was inspired to get involved in politics by the 40th U.S. president, Ronald Reagan “who was such a clear voice in defining the essence of America. What became known as the Reagan Revolution provided young and idealistic conservatives with great purpose because Reagan spoke unapologetically about individual responsibility without discrediting those who needed a helping hand.”
Reagan built a strong military, Crouch said. He fought for American values abroad without making new enemies.
“But he always reminded us that we must never rest in the fight to protect life and liberty. Reagan said that freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it on to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for and protected and handed on for them to do the same. So, why are we Republicans?” she said.
“We’re Republicans because we believe our God, our Creator has endowed us with inalienable rights that governments and men can not take away. We believe our Constitution is not a guide; our Constitution is a guarantee of our rights as Americans. And we believe we should have the freedom to choose our own path without interference from an all-powerful government in a far-distant capital,” she continued to applause.
It is because of those values, over the last two elections, Hoosiers have responded and elected more Republican mayors than ever before in Indiana’s history. She said 88% of all county officeholders are Republican. All six statewide office holders are Republican, and the party has a supermajority in the Indiana House and Senate. Both of Indiana’s U.S. senators and the majority of its U.S. representatives are Republican.
“It’s because of our values. It’s because of our principles. It’s because we’re Republican and we know there is no better place in these United States that proves a power of people over government than here in Indiana. And it is because of that, it is because of conservative Republican leadership at the state level that Indiana is No. 1 in the Midwest, fifth in the nation for our business environment. We’re the second-most affordable state. We have the third-best infrastructure in the country, and we are one of 13 states with a Triple A credit bond rating by all three independent rating agencies. Incredible accomplishments! But they’re not because of government alone. It’s because of hardworking men and women who are taking the risk and making the sacrifice that have put our state on the path to prosperity,” she said.
At the national level, she said there’s an entirely different picture.
“With Biden in the White House, Democrats in control of Congress, we’re seeing left-wing socialists trying to nationalize our elections, pack the Supreme Court, revise our tax code, restrict our right to bear arms and even rewrite history. And that can not continue,” Crouch said.
She said they can not sit idly by “and let this election be taken away from us. We are fighting for the heart and the soul of America in this November election. We have got to win.”
So “why are we Republicans?” she asked again. “Our Republican Party, historically and broadly speaking, is the party of freedom. Since World War II, we have been known for free speech, free market, empowering the individual not the state. And I’m hoping this 2022 election cycle, we can return to these core principles because when I look around the country, I’m not sure we’re winning the battle in defense of freedom. Big government, corporate media and left-wing ideologues are a three-headed monster that are eroding our liberties and trying to turn our country into a top-down authoritarian state.”
She said Republicans should not be discouraged by these challenges, but rather take the challenges and use them as motivation to be able to tell “our friends and our neighbors, everyone that we can, about our core Republican principles, which are it is the individual not the state that makes America great. And if we can leave here tonight and carry the message that government is not the answer to every problem, rather we are, than we’ll be doing our part to protect the American dream.”
Crouch then surprised Al Disbro with the Sagamore of the Wabash from Indiana Gov. Eric Holcomb because she said Disbro epitomized the definition of Republican.
