The Content of our Character

by Representative Jim Coley

In his historic 1963 speech before 250,000 people at the Lincoln Memorial, Dr. Martin Luther King reminded all Americans that they had to remain faithful to their credo, as expressed in our Declaration of Independence, that all people are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights: Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness. And as a result of these rights people should be judged by “the content of their character instead of by the color of their skin.”
The Republican Party, a political party borne out of this historic conflict over slavery, has remained a diligent steward of these moral principles and Dr. King’s dream for over 150 years. To prove this case let facts be submitted to a candid and thoughtful nation. Consider the following:

• The Republican Party proposed and sought ratification of the 13th, 14th, and 15th Amendments, the amendments which respectively freed the slaves, provided citizenship to the freed slaves, and enfranchised African-American males with the vote.
• The Republican Party sponsored the 1875 Civil Rights Act.
• The Republican Party provided the critical voting margins for passage of the 1964 Civil Rights and the 1965 Voting Rights Act, supporting each measure by a 83% to 67% margin in contrast to the Democratic Party.
• The Republican Party gained passage of the 1994 Welfare Reform Act.
• The Republican Party promoted the earned income tax credit as part of the Tax Reduction Act of 1975, providing additional economic support for the working poor.
• The Republican Party sponsored the initial legislation which established America’s land grant colleges, many of which later became America’s traditionally black colleges.
• The Republican Party sought passage of laws creating enterprise zones, which would re-vitalize declining urban areas and create minority owned businesses.
• The Republican Party proposed legislation allowing minorities and others to buy their own housing instead of living perpetually in Section 8 housing.

President George W. Bush, aware of the Republican Party’s historical role in civil rights, continues today to reach out to the disenfranchised and to expand the base of the Republican Party.

Understanding that education has served as the foundation to improve the quality of peoples’ lives, President Bush has launched the most ambitious educational program in American history, the No Child Left Behind Act, which specifically identities at-risk minority students and provides additional educational money and support for these children in need.

During his first term as president, minorities —– and all Americans —– have achieved the highest level of home ownership in American history.

Republicans support the president’s Faith Based Initiative Act, realizing that religious institutions have played significant historical roles in the pre-civil war manumission societies, the civil rights movement, the development of America’s hospital and educational systems, as well as helping people individually with a their own problems, thereby enhancing their own personal freedom and minimizing the government’s control over their lives.

President Bush has led the initiative for increased national and international funding for the fight against AIDS, which pervades the African continent.

President Bush visited the continent of Africa, becoming the first American president there to publicly acknowledge the immorality of slavery.

President Bush has appointed the most diverse and talented group of cabinet members and advisors in American history, a group which includes such dignitaries as Secretary of State Colin Powell, Foreign Policy Advisor Condi Rice, Secretary of Education Rod Paige, Secretary of Transportation Norm Mineta, Secretary of House and Urban Development Alfonzo Jackson, and others.

The Republican Party is the party of optimism; the political party that takes Jefferson’s ideas seriously —– that each of us is created with our own unique set of talents, and that to achieve our life’s goals, we must insure a free society wherein people can truly realize and achieve life’s many possibilities. The Republican Party’s optimism stands in stark contrast to the pessimism of the Democratic Party which emphasizes the inevitable failure of individuals and only the success of government.

Our party also stresses that with our enormous freedom that we as a people also bear enormous moral responsibility to act prudently in exercising our freedom; that as individuals we bear responsibility for ourselves, our families, and our communities, and that we have a free will to act accordingly. Perhaps, former President Ronald Reagan expressed the sentiments of our party best: "We believe in the dignity of each man, woman, and child. Our entire system is founded on an appreciation of the special genius of each individual, and of his special right to make his own decisions and lead his own life."