Has "the party of Reagan, where values and human beings mattered," been replaced by "a party that cares only about commodities and money"?
The vote in Congress to extend China's Most Favored Nation trade status reflects a division in the Republican Party between the leadership and the grass roots, says Gary Bauer of the Family Research Council. In an interview with the national conservative weekly Human Events, Bauer argues that the lure of corporate contributions "drives the party into either taking the wrong position, like it has on MFN, or drives the party to be silent on the most pressing social issues that have the greatest chance of giving us a governing majority again."
Bauer charges that "China is exploiting its economic relationship with the U.S. by accumulating $40 to $50 billion in hard currency every year that they are using for a massive arms buildup. That buildup," he warns, "has our sons and daughters in the 7th fleet as its first target, and American cities as its second target."
Bauer insists that politics and morality are inextricably linked. "When goods are coming in from a country like China where there is conscript labor," he argues, "you have to impose sanctions." Bauer con-cedes that "there may be an emerging middle class in China in part because there is more Western investment there," but that doesn't negate the fact that "Western investment strengthens the hand of the Chinese government. The more the Chinese government is able to accumulate this wealth, the more it is able to build up its military and its internal police apparatus," says Bauer. He argues that, "whatever modest improvement some Chinese are getting from U.S. investment, there are many more who are being exploited and still more whose rights are violated."
Gary Bauer expects our public servants in Washing-ton to "assert and defend American principles in our bilateral dealings with other nations." He intends to make sure "that the Republican Party nominates someone for President in 2000 who will speak out for the conservative viewpoint not only on social issues, but also on economic and foreign policy issues. We need someone who will stand up for American values across the board," Bauer argues. "We can win with someone like that. We can only win with someone like that."
Bauer is right. The leadership of the Republican Party is out of touch with the grass roots. Grassroots Republicans have strong moral values which motivate and guide them in their political decisions. The Republican Party has won tremendous victories when it has appealed to those values; when it has ignored them, it has suffered humiliating defeats. All that grassroots Republicans want from their leadership is a sincere and consistent commitment to those values. Lip service will not suffice; they can get that from the President. Grassroots Republicans can be patient, they can be savvy, if they are confident that the leadership is moving in the right direction. Is anyone in the leadership listening?
