Yes, the party of Lincoln and Reagan deserves better...
Americans can choose better than TrumpMarc Racicot is a former governor of Montana and former chairman of the Republican National Committee.
As our beloved country marks its 240th birthday, I’m not alone in feeling that we occupy a moment of great turmoil and testing as a nation. Maybe we’ve taken the wonders and blessings of our country for granted, never thinking the grand experiment of our Founding Fathers, so dependent for its endurance upon mutual decency, respect and self-discipline, could ever really fall into disrepair.
Throughout history our republic has faced other extraordinary threats to our freedom, our existence as a nation and our system of self-government. But in those times, by the grace of God, the nation has been blessed with the emergence of good and courageous men and women of character and fortitude who have led “this last best hope of man on Earth” through harm’s way.
One of the most profound examples of such leadership was provided by Abraham Lincoln, the father of the Republican Party and, many would say, our most distinguished president. But Lincoln was not always perceived that way.
Although he served several terms in the Illinois state legislature and one term in Congress, Lincoln was also defeated in U.S. Senate campaigns in 1854 and 1858. Nonetheless, he became one of four presidential candidates in 1860, representing a new party that formed during some of the most fractious moments in our history. Lincoln was elected our 16th president with only 40 percent of the popular vote.
How is it that, in the darkest of times, the nation invested its confidence in a man who had failed in business and had lost almost as many elections as he had won, a man who had no significant administrative experience, a man who represented a new political party that had never seen the inside of the White House, and a man who was not even the first choice of his party on either of the first two ballots of that party’s political convention in 1860?
There appears but one conclusion. The collective whole of our citizenry, like a jury, has always had the capacity, if the evidence was before them, to discern those best qualified by virtue of their character and capacity, to lead us through perilous times.
As responsible, though admittedly not perfect, citizens, we are obliged, before automatic commitments to political parties, ideologies or candidates, to give consideration to those timeless and eternal qualities of genuine leadership that transcend ever-changing political charters, programs and affiliations. Rarely stopping to inventory them, we all know them when we see them.
It is inescapable that every decision made by every leader reflects the character of the man or woman making the decision. Character is the lens through which a leader perceives the path to be followed. It conceives and shapes every thought and is inextricably interwoven into every word spoken, every policy envisioned and every action taken.
Persistent seriousness, solemn and honest commitment to the interests of others, exhaustive study and detailed proposals, sincerity, humility, empathy, dignity, fairness, patience, genuine respect for all of God’s children, durability, modesty and the absence of self-interest are those qualities of principled leadership absolutely essential to presidential decision-making.
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https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/americans-can-choose-better-than-trump/2016/06/30/1db143c0-3efc-11e6-84e8-1580c7db5275_story.html?postshare=7411467401251445&tid=ss_tw
