RPV Chairman Candidates: Question 1

By Brian Kirwin

As mentioned earlier today, all this week we will be running the answers to five questions posed to John Hager and Jeff Frederick, as each concludes their race to become the next RPV Chairman. The first:

What three tangible things can we offer voters as Republicans?

John Hager
As Republicans, we can and should offer voters a strong national defense, including winning the War on Terror. We can offer fiscal responsibility, including both lower taxes and eliminating pork barrel spending. We can offer solid core principles such as limited government, individual freedom, and traditional values that make our country great.

But we need to do more than just offer these. When Republicans are elected they must follow through and provide them.

Jeff Frederick
First, when we stand before the citizens and ask for their votes, we must keep the promises we make to them after we’re sworn in. People expect that the people they elect will do what they said they’ll do, and citizens want to trust those they elect. In an age when public trust of politicians continues to erode, we must make sure Republicans don’t further contribute to that problem, and in fact, help reverse the trend.

Second, we must address people’s quality of life issues, with solutions that are consistent with our conservative principles. People do have passionate philosophical leanings, but when they are stuck in traffic or struggling to pay their bills, they want to know what we will do as Republicans to answer those concerns. We need to offer solutions without compromising our values.

Third, we need to be a Party that stands for something – and know what we stand for. If we don’t know that among ourselves, it is impossible to communicate to voters why they should pick Republicans. People don’t expect that we’ll all agree 100% of the time, but if they know that we have principles; we articulate them well; and if we stay consistent, people will trust us to do what is just and right.