Republican Party the Political Philosophy

Republican Party

The Political Philosophy Of The Republican Party

Much like the Democratic Party, the Republican Party adheres to a number of politically-based philosophies, dating back to the times of Thomas Jefferson and Abraham Lincoln, two of the party's most famous members. According to Linda S. Grimes, the Republican Party practices four major philosophical/political tenets related to the federal government and how the American people interact with it on a daily basis. First of all, republicans believe that the overall purpose of the federal government as outlined in the U.S. Constitution is that "the strength of a nation depends on the strength of each individual," all of whom are "endowed by the Creator with the freedom to seek and achieve goals" and are obligated to "respect the rights of others to seek and achieve" their own personal goals. Basically, the purpose of the federal government is to "ensure that the rights of the individual are protected" ("The Republican Stance," Internet). As pointed out in the official Republican Party oath, the government must do for the people those things that have to be done or cannot be done as well by individuals and that "the most effective government is that which is closest to the people" (Harrison, 156).

Second, republicans believe that "the best place for government to operate is locally at the community and state level" where it can be more effective through offering services to individuals "who may be unable to provide for themselves" while also striving for the main goal to "help those in need to become independent." In addition, when a government operates at the state or local level, it decreases the need of citizens to depend upon specific federally-based services like welfare which "weakens the individual's abilities and self-esteem" (Grimes, "The

Republican Stance," Internet). This is closely linked to another oath of the Republican Party which declares that "free enterprise and the encouragement of individual initiative and incentive" is the best way to guarantee the proper working of a national economic system (Lambert, 215).

Third, the Republican Party places much emphasis on individual rights as outlined in the U.S. Constitution, due to believing that American strength comes from encouraging "individual support for our laws and the court system" and that the federal government must be "ever vigilant that excessive taxation and over-regulation" does not occur. Thus, "a watchful citizenry is necessary to keep government accountable" (Grimes, "The Republican Stance," Internet). However, republicans also agree that they must be "receptive to new ideas with an outlook broad enough to accommodate thoughtful change and varying points-of-view" (Harrison, 158).