Looking Back and Looking Forward
Happy Independence Day!
Today, I headed over to Orcas so I could participate in the Eagle Forum Independence Day program and candidate forum. Much of the delightful program looked back at the wonderful stories and principles that make up America’s past. The Declaration of Independence was read, a recent high school graduate read a scholarship essay he wrote about his favorite constitutional amendment (the 10th), and we heard a speech going over what liberty is. Contemplating the beauty of America and her founding was a refreshing way to spend our nation’s 240th birthday.
For a moment, though, I’d like to look forward. Every election year, we again fight on the battlefield of the revolution, and choose if America will continue into the future with liberty, or will move towards the very things our founders pledged to lives, fortunes, and sacred honor to free us from.
At the national level, anti-establishment sentiment is strong. Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, and Donald Trump are all manifestations of this trend. People feel betrayed and ignored by Washington elites who seem to have forgotten why they were sent to that city in the first place.
What gets less press is the decades-long, increasingly corrupt establishment of Democratic Party control in Washington State. The state auditor has come up for trial on charges of theft and money laundering. The PDC has found Democratic candidate violations of campaign disclosure law. The state-run hospital for the mentally ill is a mess. It is time to dis-establish this entrenched power, and replace it with fresh blood.
Where will we get this overhaul? For the sake of brevity, I give you two names: Bill Bryant and Kim Wyman (though we could talk about many more) .
Bill Bryant is running for governor, and what I love about him is his practical approach to leadership, and, having spent a little time time with him, I also love that he is a great listener (He is coming to Friday Harbor on the 12th of July, by the way!). We need someone with his leadership skills heading things up in Olympia.
The other name I want to mention is our current Washington Secretary of State, Kim Wyman. One of the most exciting things about Kim is that she want to move our primary earlier to give Washington a bigger voice in our presidential selection process. Our state needs primary reform in the worst way, and Kim is a great ally in that effort.
As far as our Presidential election, I won’t tell you how to vote, but I will urge to to consider. As I look at an increasingly aggressive Russia, a belligerent China, a destabilized Europe, and a renewal of radical Islam launching attacks on our soil, America and the world are headed for stormy waters.
Many folks are discouraged with politics right now, but the wheel of this great ship of state was meant to be piloted with the many hands of we the people. As we head into these turbulent seas, I encourage you to keep your hand on the wheel, and carefully consider who is best qualified to be our captain for the next four years.
So I urge you to vote! And while I do urge you to vote for Bill Bryant, to vote for Kim Wyman, and vote your conscience for President, America is not about politicians, but about we the people! Liberty is ours to save or keep. With God’s help, let’s save it together.
All the best, and enjoy the fireworks!
Levi Rawls
Chair, San Juan County Republican Party
