An Open Letter to the Leaders of the GOP

We are standing atop the shoulders of giants

Leaders:

Like a lot of Republicans today, I am reminded of the first Republican President, Abraham Lincoln and a speech he gave to the Illinois State Convention in Springfield in the summer of 1858. Lincoln had just become the leader of the new party which was an offshoot of northern Whigs. It was founded on the simple, American idea… that all men should be free.

On that summer day, future President Lincoln gave a speech of foreboding and concern. Like many people at the time, he saw the fault in our nation beginning to grow wider and deeper. His words echoed in the House chamber, as they now echo through history.

“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I believe this government cannot endure permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing, or all the other. Either the opponents of slavery will arrest the further spread of it, and place it where the public mind shall rest in the belief that it is in the course of ultimate extinction; or its advocates will push it forward till it shall become alike lawful in all the States, old as well as new, North as well as South.

While we are obviously not answering a question as crucial as to whether or not a free nation can exist while any portion of its citizenry are chained in forced bondage, we are still divided. We are a divided party within a divided nation. Divided against ourselves, and as the first Republican President pointed out so many years ago, it will not last. We will cease to be divided. We will become all one thing or all the other.

Five score and six years later, another Republican future President spoke. He rallied our nation, against a different evil, the advance of Communism and the Soviet Union. Ronald Reagan spoke in his push for a Goldwater Presidency about bravery. He told us we have a “rendezvous with destiny”. Like Lincoln before him, he knew our country needed to be united in strength. Lincoln was martyred… Reagan just lost that fight. But he rose to fight again.

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So here we stand, on the shoulders of giants, and we face our own moment of truth. We have our own divisions and our own grievances. It is once again, a time for choosing.

Will we stand firm on our principles and do what we know is right? Will we hold on to the girding code that has defined us as a party and as men? Will we bravely walk into the melee or push for peace at all cost?

I think we know the answer.

The fight has come. We can choose between one of two outcomes. The first is that we capitulate to Trump again. We allow him to hold us hostage and pray that the American people don’t turn against us for it… as they did just a few days ago. We can allow him to pick nominees for office whose only qualification is that they pass the litmus test… “Will you submit yourself and your honor to Donald Trump?”. We can let him destroy us.

We should not do that. We must not do that. We will not do that!

It’s not 2016 anymore. Donald Trump is not introducing us to a new game that nobody has ever played before while he makes up the rules as he goes along. This man is beatable. He is just a man.

Either we have faith that the American people will reward our party for doing the right and noble thing, or we don’t. I believe they will. I believe that if we put forth good men and women, and reject those who reject our most important and basic principles, we will win.

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I’ll leave you with this one thought. Another great American, this time a Democrat, named Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “We have nothing to fear, but fear itself” as he rallied the country out of the ravages of the Great Depression. This quote is very often misunderstood. People think it means that there is nothing to fear.

That is not what FDR said and it is not what he meant. What that quote means is that we very much should be afraid of our own trepidation and our own cowardice. However, if we conquer those things, we need not fear anything else. As the leaders of the Grand Old Party you should take heed. When it comes to our battle for the soul of our party, we have nothing to fear, but fear itself.

If we make the right choice, if we pick the right man, and if we wage the noble fight, in a few years we can wake up to a brand new Ron in the White House, and a brand new Morning in America.

It’s time to take the gloves off.

Sent with respect and faith. God bless you all and God bless America.

—Virgil

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Please note that I am a private citizen, a Republican, and not affiliated with any campaign in any way. I can be contacted through Substack, via Twitter, and by replying to the email (which I am just figuring out I have to transmit through y’alls websites. Very annoying). —V

Addressed specifically, and transmitted via email and Twitter to:

Republican Leader: Mitch McConnell (KY)

Republican Whip: John Thune (SD)

Republican Conference Chair: John Barraaso (WY)

Republican Policy Committee Chair: Roy Blunt (MO)

Vice Chair of the Senate Republican Conference: Joni Ernst (IA)

Republican Senatoral Committee Chair: Rick Scott (FL)

Republican House Leader: Rep. Kevin McCarthy (CA-23)

Republican House Whip: Rep. Steve Scalise (LA-01)

NRCC Chair: Rep. Tom Emmer (MN-06)

Policy Chair: Rep. Gary Palmer (AL-06)

Conference Vice-Chair: Rep. Mike Johnson (LA-04)

Conference Secretary: Rep. Richard Hudson (NC-08)