The following was delivered to the Reagan Caucus at Republican State Committee on February 6, 2009:
First, let me thank Ted for inviting me to speak to this great group of Republicans here in Pennsylvania. Without these individuals and others, I would not be serving in the State Senate and the conservative reform movement in this state would not have the strength and potential that it does today. Without individuals like you fighting for individual liberty and smaller government, Pennsylvania’s future would be even grimmer than what it appears.
When I was asked to speak about conservative principles, it caused me to take a few moments to think about what it really means to stand on principle here in Harrisburg. I took some time to reflect on the failures of our elected officials both at the state and federal level. So often, we elect good, strong conservatives only to see them get swallowed up by the machinations of a system designed to preserve itself at all costs. I began to ask myself if this phenomenon was exclusive only to conservative elected officials or if it crossed party and ideological lines. It surely seems to infect both major political parties and all ideologies, so the next logical question is, what is this monster that devours fresh ideas, and thirsts for new blood?
The struggle in Harrisburg and, I would submit, Washington is not a struggle between Republicans and Democrats. It is not between conservatives and liberals. Rather, it is an epic and never-ending battle between the established way of doing things and the right way of doing things. More often than not, as we all know, the smaller government approach is the right one, so this explains why it is usually the conservative politician that ends up betraying his or her principles. This is a battle between what we’re told can or cannot be done and what we know in our hearts has to be done. It’s a war between the voice inside us that tells us what is right and the voices of our colleagues telling us, “That’s just not the way we do things here.”
It’s a formidable task to ask of someone, to take office in a body that is collegial and respectful of one another, almost to a fault, only to require of them that they go their own way on many issues and forego the protection the system provides. It is a task, however, that must be done. The only way to change a system that has existed for this long and functioned in this way since time forgotten is to put courageous people on the inside that understand that they are not there to make friends, but to make changes.
When everyone else in the room says that the only way to balance the budget is with a tax increase, we need people in that room standing up for taxpayers and saying no. When everyone else in the room says that Walking Around Money is okay because it will help your community and will help your re-election, we have to have people in that room that say no. When everyone else in the room uses taxpayer money to promote themselves through newsletters, calendars and public service advertisements, we need people in that room saying no.
I’ve tried to be one of these people since coming to Harrisburg, and I can assure you that it hasn’t always been easy and hasn’t always been pleasant. When I was the only person to vote no on the budget last year in the Senate because the spending was too high, little reform was proposed and the process was abominable, it was a lonely day in the Chamber for me. When I was the only person in the legislature to oppose mandated insurance coverage for autism services because we were adding one more mandate to insurance companies and driving the price to a point where more Pennsylvanians would lose the ability to afford any coverage at all, it was a long and lonely walk back to the office. These are the decisions, however, that conservatives of principle have to make. Conservatives occasionally have to cast the tough votes that affect real people’s lives, and they have to vote the right way as opposed to the way that makes them feel better about themselves because they helped some special interest group.
This, in the end, is the real difference between politicians of principle and just plain old politicians: courage. One thing that I’ve learned since coming to Harrisburg is that there are many good people holding elected office right now. Contrary to public opinion, everyone in the Capitol isn’t out to line their own pockets. Most of the people in that building are trying to do the right thing. They have good ideas, and many have good principles. They are just unable, at the end of the day, to muster the courage that it takes to stand on those principles.
It’s not just our politicians that get infected with this disease, but many of the interest groups and outsiders that are supposed to be advocating for our cause fall victim to it as well. Many seem to have taken the idea of not sacrificing the good for the perfect to a whole new level. They don’t fight for anything at all, and instead stand by and take the table scraps thrown to them by the Republicans that are supposed to be their champions.
A perfect example of this is the vote last year to extend the Keystone Opportunity Zone program, which designates certain areas of the state as being free of local and state taxes. This was an idea that came out of the Republican caucus and was supported by most of the business groups in the state. They fail to see legislation like this for what it is: an excuse for not making the real changes necessary. For every KOZ program that we pass, it’s a tax cut that didn’t come to fruition. It’s a failure to make much-needed changes to our regulatory and legal environment. It’s political cover for supposed conservatives of principle that lack the will to do the right thing. I’m not here for self-aggrandizement, but there was only one no vote in the Senate against it.
Debates in Harrisburg are not framed in terms of right and wrong, but in terms of the past versus the future, the possible versus the impossible. Our side concedes the fight before it’s even begun, and we betray our principles every time this happens. We don’t advocate for more restrictions on the atrocity of abortion, we instead shy away from the fight out of fear that we’ll lose something that we already have. We don’t push for expanded school choice, we settle for the Educational Improvement Tax Credit which, while good public policy, doesn’t go far enough to free our children from the harm done by our public school system. We don’t fight for a reduction in corporate taxes, we instead play around the edges of our tax policy in ways that help, but don’t change the system.
These are but a few examples of the many battles that are lost without our side even taking the field. Our principles are right…our ideas are sound…it is our spines that need to be replaced. It is the fire of our revolutionary spirit that needs rekindled. Thomas Jefferson said, “Every generation needs a revolution.” Our side needs to heed these words and realize that without a revolutionary spirit, and the courage that a revolution requires, we will watch our state and nation whither away into mere silhouettes of what they once were.
Friends, it is not just the ideas that fail or succeed that are crushing this state, it’s the ideas that fail to be considered because they’re “just not possible.” Ideas like halting all new transportation construction to save money to repair our crumbling roads and bridges. Ideas like term limits, a Constitutional Convention, and a Constitutional cap on state spending. These and many more like it don’t even get discussed because they are suffocated by a system that doesn’t know how to do anything but perpetuate the failed policies of the past.
Another relevant quote from Jefferson states that, “All tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.” Unfortunately, my friends, tyranny is alive and well in Harrisburg, and far too many voices are silent. It’s not that their principles are wrong; they’re just not strong enough. Too few in public office have the courage of their convictions, the strength of will that is necessary to not just speak but to act. To stand in the face of all opposition and declare that they will only do what is in the best interest of the people, and what is permitted by the Constitution. This is what is missing in the Republican Party and conservatism specifically, today.
There is hope, however. Hope lies in the election victories realized on May 16, 2006. Hope lies in the number of strong, courageous conservatives being fielded in election after election since that time. Hope lies in groups of conservatives like you gathering and organizing to make sure that we have voices inside those dark rooms of the capitol where the vitality and promise of our state is slowly dying. Like lit candles in a darkened room, the more of these we can light, the brighter things will get. Only then, when we have conservatives of principle in enough elected offices to stand up and be counted in leadership elections, to slam the brakes on votes that are bad for Pennsylvania, or to scream from the steps of the rotunda until vital changes are considered as serious alternatives, only then will we start to see real change.
Until that time, know that those of us in that building whom you’ve come to count on will continue to stand on principle, gathering our strength from individuals such as yourselves. We’ll walk the lonely walk back to our vehicles after session, and take heart in your emails and phone calls after casting a lone no vote or spending an entire caucus meeting fighting our colleagues and friends to try to get them to do what’s right. This is what it means to be a conservative of principle in today’s political climate, when you’re not fighting a battle of ideas, but to have your ideas heard. You’re not fighting against liberalism or any other political philosophy. You’re fighting against a system designed to lure you in and change you. A system that sets out from the very begin to stifle your principles or, at the very least, force you to act in ways that are contrary to them.
As conservatives, we must recognize that this is a system that seeks to grow the size and role of government until it has taken over every area of our lives. It is a system designed to stifle liberty, swallow ideas, and replace the ambitions of private citizens with the forceful hand of the state. It is the greatest evil of our generation, and it is against this evil that we must arm ourselves and head to battle.
The principles of individual liberty and smaller government are as right today as they were when this nation was founded. These principles are not some radical philosophy dreamed up conspiracy theorists, theological madmen or anarchists. These are the principles that started this great democratic experiment over 200 years ago, and are the principles that have been at the helm of our greatest successes throughout history. They are the only principles that will guide us through the dark times that we are currently experiencing.
Conservatism is the light beckoning in the distance…the forgotten dream struggling to gain our attention as we awake groggily and realize that we’re not quite sure where we are or how we’ve gotten here. We need to focus…to remember this dream and the promise that it provides. We need to have the courage to act on these principles in the face of overwhelming opposition.
It is my sincere hope that meetings such as these are only the beginning of the rekindling of a flame that seems all but snuffed out in this Commonwealth. We must fan it until it becomes a bonfire on the steps of the Capitol, beckoning all who dare to brave the heat to approach, take up their torch, and storm the gates. This revolution of conservative reform is far from dead, but the flame is flickering. Only through valiant efforts by elected officials and activists alike will we be able to turn the tide.
Thank you.
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