By: Rep. David Ray
There are several things I learned in Mr. Allen’s 11th grade American Government class that I quickly forgot and had to re-learn during college. At the time, I couldn’t have recited the Bill of Rights or told you the difference between The Stamp Act and the Alien and Sedition Acts. But two of the basic pillars of our American Republic that stuck with me were our Constitutional framework of separation of powers and our system of checks and balances that reinforces that framework.
That framework – which divides the powers of government between three separate but co-equal branches – is not just fundamental to understand how our government works on an academic level, but it’s also “essential to the preservation of liberty,” as James Madison wrote in Federalist 51.

The concept of separation of powers evolved throughout antiquity but was articulated more clearly by Enlightenment-era philosophers Locke and Montesquieu. The basic idea was that if the powers of government were divided up between separate and independent divisions, it would prevent anyone from usurping total power and becoming a dictator. The American Founders drew heavily on this idea when drafting our U.S. Constitution. They granted expressed and limited powers to each branch of government – the legislative, the executive, and the judiciary.

​The worldview of the Founders often rested upon the Biblical truth of the fallibility of human nature. Humans are imperfect, and so are the governments which they create. Madison famously wrote, “If men were angels, no government would be necessary. If angels were to govern men, neither external nor internal controls on government would be necessary.”

Importantly, the Republican Party of Arkansas’s Platform recognizes the importance of separation of powers. The party platform states as its tenth principle, “Our republican form of limited government requires three separate and independent branches…to facilitate a robust system of checks and balances so that no one branch of government – whether located in Washington, D.C.  or Little Rock – should wield more authority than the other two.”

​Many of the problems plaguing our political system stem from our government deviating from the Founders’ vision of separation of powers. For example, judges who legislate from the bench by inserting their own opinions into their decisions rather than relying on the text of the law have done immeasurable harm to our political system. And in modern times, legislative bodies (particularly the U.S. Congress) have ceded massive amounts of authority to the executive branch and its agencies, tipping the balance of power in an unhealthy direction toward whichever party controls the executive branch. Modern Presidents, when Congress declines to rubber-stamp their agenda, often issue executive orders to accomplish through Presidential fiat what they can’t pass legislatively. President Obama’s infamous declaration he has “a pen and a phone” certainly comes to mind.

The concept of “checks and balances” is very closely tied to separation of powers. It gives each branch of government the power to limit -- or “check” the other two. For example, the executive branch can veto laws passed by the legislative branch. The legislative branch can check the executive branch by exercising the power to confirm (or not confirm) executive appointments. And the judicial branch can check the legislative and executive branch by determining the constitutionality of their laws and orders.

In Federalist 51, Madison explains this concept by stating, “Ambition must be made to counteract ambition.” Our Founders knew that because of the fallen nature of man, people are prone to seek power and control. Madison said, “the great security against a gradual concentration of the several powers…consists in giving to those who administer each department the necessary constitutional means and personal motives to resist encroachments of the others.”

While we often complain about the slow pace at which government sometimes moves to address certain problems, our Founders viewed this as a feature, not a bug, of our system. Checks and balances help to guard against the growth of government and help protect the rights of political minorities against what is sometimes called “the tyranny of the majority.”

Concepts like separation of powers and checks and balances may seem academic – or even archaic – to some, but it’s important that we work to preserve their importance. As President Reagan said, “Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. It has to be fought for and defended by each generation." While we no longer face the tyranny of the British Crown which our Founders sought their independence, we do face a subtle and gradual erosion of our freedoms as we continue to veer from the path our Founders laid out for us.

If our Founders were alive today, they would probably cringe at how much erosion has occurred of the concept of separation of powers. They would never have imagined Congress giving up so much of its power to the Presidency, only to see that power delegated to federal agencies – where government bureaucrats who are unelected and unaccountable make policy that affects people they will never meet that live hundreds and in some cases thousands of miles away.

​But I believe there’s reason for hope. Over the course of four years, President Trump greatly transformed the judicial branch with a wave of federal judges that are originalists in their interpretation of the Constitution. Part of why I’m a Republican is because of the respect and reverence we have for our U.S. Constitution. We cherish all of this incredible document, not just bits and pieces that suit our momentary political whims. I believe the Republican Party represents our best and perhaps only chance to truly restore the Founders’ vision for the balance of power in America. 

By: Sarah Jo Reynolds
“We strongly believe that all legal proceedings should be conducted and adjudicated based solely on the United State Constitution, the Arkansas Constitution and the statutory and case law framework of federal and state law, without reference to or influence by any foreign law.” The Republican Party’s latest platform addresses that Constitutional principle of equal and just enforcement of the law, without which the defense of the individual and the American way of life is impossible.

One of the favorite claims of the Left today is that the Constitution can’t possibly be an accurate and effective law of the land if it was written by a room full of old, white men. Progressives often scoff at the language and principles of our Founding documents because the original text would not have assumed equal protection under the law for gender or race.

​The Founders were wise enough to understand their own fallibility and their own limits, but that brings us to another proof of their brilliance: the Amendment process. Throughout history, more wise Americans have understood the self-evident nature of our rights and worked to ensure that everyone enjoys the fruit of that liberty. Now, anyone regardless of race, religion, national origin, or age can live equally.

Equal and just enforcement of the law is directly linked to the conservative idea of limited government and the defense of the individual. The Bill of Rights, specifically, is replete with protections of the individual. Those accused of crimes are promised the same legal protection. Throughout criminal proceedings, a citizen is protected from self-incrimination and unreasonable searches and seizures, and they are promised the liberties of a speedy, fair trial, access to counsel, the ability to cross-examine witnesses, among many others. Even after a conviction, criminals are afforded the right to appeal their conviction to a higher court.

Conversely, it is also necessary that the victim of a crime must have a voice through the criminal justice process. The Republican Party supports the incorporation of victims’ rights into the justice system and that they be honored by the judiciary.

The age-old debate between conservative textualists and liberal activist judges weighs heavily upon this intended defense of limited government. Sometimes too often, the Court creates law rather than interprets it, as was seen by decisions like Roe v. Wade (1973). In this case, the Court gave no consideration for the equality of persons under the law, only the persons which they favored. Unfortunately, Lady Justice is often not blind, as she should be. Systemic perjury runs rampant in Court rooms across the nation, and political factors often affect which cases are adjudicated at all.

The prison system in the United States should focus their efforts both on punishment and on rehabilitation if incarcerated persons are to reenter society after serving their time. While many on the Left argue that prisons are overcrowded or even prejudiced, it is true that nearly half of those released from prison after serving time for a violent crime will return to prison. Incarceration, while important for efforts of rehabilitation of the incarcerated, is first and foremost a protection of the community and the preservation of justice for both victim and society at large.

Closely related to the principle of separation of powers, one of the most serious threats to the equal and just enforcement of the law can sometimes be the judiciary itself. In Federalist 78, the Founders stated that the judiciary was to act as an intermediary between the people and their Legislature and to ensure that the elected acted within their Constitutional limitations. Furthermore, Federalist 78 states that any law codified must be consistent with Constitutional principles, and if it isn’t, the Constitution must be preferred. At the same time, the will of the people must be preferred to the will of their representatives.

​Our duty to this equal and just enforcement of law is to prevent all injustices from occurring. Republicans everywhere should be encouraging our young conservatives to become attorneys, since our attorneys will become our elected judges. Only through the accountability of our judiciary to uphold the Constitution as supreme and of our legislature to the consent of the governed can equal and just enforcement of the law remain. 

By: Jaime Land
No amendment is more contested or attacked than the Second Amendment to the Constitution. While the language seems straightforward, some interpret the simplest of sentences so distinctly from the rest of the document. Amid the jargon of academics and activist judges, rights are diminished to those of sportsmen rather than citizens. Or to the collective, rather than the individual. The right to keep and bear arms is infringed upon every day, sometimes by an Act of Congress, but mostly by a Progressive agenda that diminishes the power of the individual.
 
It’s no coincidence that the protection of the people’s right to keep and bear arms follows the First Amendment, which lays out what’s often called the “Five Freedoms.” I believe the Republican Party Platform summarizes this best when it states, “Without the right to own and bear arms to serve as an individual’s hedge against government overreach and as a means for self-defense in our home, on our property, and of our person, none of our rights and freedoms can be guaranteed.”

The interpretation of the language most often centers on a few key phrases. The key language that’s most often misinterpreted is “the right of the people.” This language seems self-explanatory, but to many in the academic community and other “Constitutional scholars,” they interpret the right of the people as a collective of the public, rather than the rights of an individual citizen. However, you will also find this phrase repeated in the First, Fourth, Ninth, and Tenth Amendments in the very same Bill of Rights. Either the Left chooses to view the Second Amendment as an exception to individual rights, proving their own biases, or they hold no appreciation for the principle of individual liberties at all. Such logic is inconsistent with American values of personal responsibility or freedom and allows a worldview that makes rights government-ordained rather than God-ordained.

Secondly, many of these so-called scholars focus on that qualifying phrase, “a well-regulated militia.” The Progressive argument holds the idea that the right to bear arms refers to the upkeep of a civilian militia or of a police force, but the decision of the Court in District of Columbia v. Heller, better known as the Heller case, stated that the militia clause of the Amendment cannot limit the operative clause of “shall not be infringed.” The Founders understood that limiting gun ownership only to the military would create the very state-sanctioned force which the Amendment was designed to protect against. The Heller case affirmed the founding principle of individual means of defense by stating that laws that ban handguns are an infringement upon the Second Amendment.

Most comical among the arguments of the Left is the sportsman defense. “You don’t need an AR-15 to go hunting,” they say. Well, maybe we don’t. Any Arkansas deer hunter can explain that the typical .223 round is not near as effective in the woods as the .270, the .308, or the .300 Winchester Magnum, a few favorites around here.

But the Second Amendment has absolutely nothing to do with my desire to hunt, shoot clay pigeons, or visit a gun range. The Amendment’s very purpose is the use of deadly force as a deterrent to the loss of life, liberty, or property. Each tragic shooting at a school or public event serves as a reminder of the necessity of law-abiding gun owners to prevent the loss of innocent life at the hands of criminal actors.

Displayed as a visceral hatred for those “who cling to their religion and their guns,” as former President Barack Obama liked to put it, the Left often searches for any reason to attack the Second Amendment. Whether it’s the interpretation of our stated rights within the Constitution itself, taking advantage of tragedy, or attacking the intelligence of the average gun owner, the battle exists over a simple worldview difference.

We know that the role of our government is not to create our rights, but only to protect those rights which God has ordained and entrusted to us. The personal right to own and bear arms has nothing to do with entertainment, sport, or ego; but, it has everything to do with the power of the American citizen to protect themselves, whether from a home invader or from the government itself. So regardless of the names we’re called or the attacks upon life and liberty, you can rest assured that we will be clinging to our religion and our guns. 

By: Terry Benham
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The world is safer when America is strong.  Throughout our lifetime, the world has looked to America first.  Perhaps it wasn’t always that way but as far back as 1630, John Winthrop declared in a sermon that America would become a shining “city on a hill,” representing the hope and aspirations of all free men and women.  Ronald Reagan later revived that phrase, rallying Conservatives across the country around a belief in American exceptionalism and a hope that we would remain a nation which is “sought out by those possessed by an abiding love of freedom and a special kind of courage.”

Strength and courage are in our DNA.  First exemplified by our Founding Fathers, these attributes assert and preserve our exceptional stance in the world. From the beginning, we’ve been a refuge and a beacon of hope to those who seek freedom from oppression and the opportunity to pursue their dreams.  Whether in our home defense or through our international liberation of the oppressed, the men and women of the United States Armed Forces have always been the strength of the American idea.  It’s through them and strong national defense policies, that we remained exceptional and a pillar of strength for our allies and those seeking hope of a better tomorrow.

The Republican Party has always stood for a strong national defense.  The platform states, “Our self-evident rights must always continue to be secured at the individual, state, national, and international levels.”   Sounds nice, but what does that actually mean as it relates to the idea of American exceptionalism?  It’s worth noting how the statement is structured.  It begins at the most basic level… the individual. So for many conservatives, a strong national defense means a commitment by the individual to serve - to serve the state, to serve the country, and to serve the world.

As a nation, we have faced many threats and adversaries together.  What was once bandits and piracy evolved to the British crown, the Axis powers, and the Cold War.  Those conflicts have evolved today in the form of Islamic fundamentalism, cyber criminals, and opportunistic nation states.  These threats may be remarkably different and the problems more complex - but the requirement from America is the same.  We must be the strong, stable symbol of hope in the face of adversity.  We must remember the core mission for the Department of Defense - to (first) deter war and to protect the security of the United States.

The truth is, our adversaries are working hard to divide and conquer us.  They work tirelessly to weaken our resolve while simultaneously destabilizing the world around us.  The notion that we should only worry about our own borders is nonsensical.  The forward defense doctrine has proven effective at both deterring war and protecting the security of our national interests.  Although costly, U.S. military presence within the borders of those nations who sponsor or harbor our adversaries can often lead to a stability that protects both American security and entire regions. It is undeniable that when America projects strength, we provide stability to the world.

The Biden Administration’s withdrawal from Afghanistan had the opposite effect.  In generous terms, it was an abysmal failure. While many would agree that a withdrawal of troops from the Middle East was necessary and eventual, the incompetent execution of the withdrawal process combined with a lack of a coherent communication strategy was a complete disaster.  We isolated our departure point, a blunder that will be studied for decades.  We lost 13 American service members to poor perimeter security measures.  We broke our promise to the Afghani people to protect them from the groups that had terrorized their lives. Progress made in taking back territory from these oppressive groups has all but reverted to normal.  Twenty years erased.  It showed the United States to be weak, unresolved, and untrustworthy, and it further emboldened our adversaries.

In addition to that mess that still isn’t over, we have additional challenges.  China, both economically and militarily, is a threat to global stability.  Their economic influence is undeniable, however, it’s their investment in military spending, naval warships, and biological and nuclear capabilities that is the most alarming.  The perception of American weakness has emboldened them to explore gray zone warfare tactics against U.S. allies such as Taiwan. Also emboldened by the perception of weakness, Russia has now deployed 100,000 soldiers on the border with Ukraine in a game of chicken with the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) nations.  Make no mistake, it’s a dangerous time across the globe.

We must refocus our efforts on building a strong military focused on the core mission of war fighters - deter war and protect the security of the United States. We must continue to fully fund our military needs with the understanding that we can’t just spend more… we have to spend smart.  We must pull the plug on outdated projects and refocus on research and development for fighting the next war and protecting some of our exposed vulnerabilities.

We must aggressively streamline the bureaucracy within the Department of Defense and get refocused to the core mission as stated.  This includes minimizing mission distractions.  The men and women of the Armed Forces are tasked with being a lethal deterrent to our enemies.  It’s their individual sacrifices that make them, their unit, and our military the most lethal in the history of the world.  Let’s stick to that and leave social experiments to our civilian society.

American exceptionalism begins with the power of the individual.  It’s a willingness to sacrifice for the benefit of others in our community, in our country, and in our world.  American strength comes from those exceptional individuals dedicated to a military powerful enough to deter war and protect the security of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

Our exceptionalism and our strength are under attack by both external and internal influences. If we are to remain a beacon of hope, stability, and security then we must stop playing politics with our national defense and distracting from the core mission of war fighters. Otherwise, our own security may be in jeopardy.

Terry Benham is a veteran of the United States Army and a partner at Impact Management Group in Little Rock. 

By: Mindy McAlindon, RPA National Committeewoman

Limited Government is a calling card of every Republican candidate. But why? What are the virtues of a Limited Government? ​The real virtue of a Limited Government is that it promotes and supports economic and personal freedom – a free society. 

As a government grows, the influence of institutions integral to the fabric of our society, like churches, other religious institutions, and family, are forced to shrink. Alexis de Tocqueville recognized these voluntary institutions as the bedrock of American liberty and self-reliance.  These institutions are where we teach and learn our value system, our morals, and our beliefs.  It is what binds families and communities together, caring and supporting one another.  Having liberty allows us to dream and reach for those dreams.  It drives creativity and innovation.  It is what has made this American Experiment the most successful in the history of the world. 

Even so, we must always remember our Rights are given to us from God; they are endowed from our Creator not granted by government. The Bill of Rights, those first ten amendments, were specifically added to the Constitution to protect against governmental infringement and abuse of power.  They are a list of limitations for the federal government.  Our Founders had seen and understood that for personal freedom to be expansive, governmental power must be restricted.
George Washington warned, “Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, —it is force! Like fire, it is a dangerous servant, and a fearful master; never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.” Meaning, government is dangerous and must always be watched!

Well, if Covid-19 has taught us anything, it is that government, when left unchecked, becomes totalitarian or authoritarian, imposing the will of some at the expense of liberty for all.  Liberal politicians at all levels have taken advantage of freedom-loving,  self-reliant individuals.  God-fearing Americans who willingly gave up rights to “flatten the curve” for two weeks witnessed their rights constrained for the last 18 months with little end in sight.  Free speech has been squashed on-line, freedom of religion was impinged as churches were closed (while liquor stores remained open), right to assemble became stay at home orders, and even the right to a speedy trial was significantly slowed. And now, independent, free citizens are being questioned as to their vaccination status before boarding an airplane, requesting a table in a restaurant, attending public events, or simply going to work.

Recently, our Democrat President dictatorially signed an executive order forcing business with 100+ employees to become the enforcement arm of the government.  Not only does such a mandate pry into the personal medical decisions of employees far beyond working hours, but it also effectively cripples the profitability of businesses that cannot or simply will not comply. A government that controls the market, picks winners and losers, and strips personal freedoms is not only unconstitutional but borders on communism. 
 
Still, we must remain vigilant, fighting to keep the balance between freedom and responsibility, between governance and over-reaching government. In Federalist 48, James Madison declared, “It will not be denied that power is of an encroaching nature and that it ought to be effectually restrained from passing the limits assigned to it.”  We must be heedful of that limit.
 
Arkansas is blessed to have a Republican supermajority in the 93rd General Assembly who reflect principles of the Founders - and the Republican Party platform. In the most recent session of the legislature, Republican members have drafted bills which defend employers from unfair government intervention into business practices and preserve efforts to increase state economic progress. It is clear that Arkansas leadership values the consent of the governed and understands the limits and sources of their own power.  As citizens, we too have a duty to remain watchful.

By Jonelle Fulmer, RPA Chairman

At a recent meeting of a Republican County Committee, I was stopped by a gentleman who asked, “Why do Republicans insist on including God in every meeting? If you start every meeting with a prayer and a scripture reading, then you’re going to alienate every atheist who believes all the other Republican policies.”

Well, sir, we never intend to alienate anyone. Our vision for the Republican Party of Arkansas is a unified front of conservatism dedicated to seeing Republican numbers grow in elected office at every level of government. But, we do stand firm in the sacred duty we have as Americans- and yes, as Republicans- to recognize the Author and Creator of our most valued of liberties. Without that Creator, there is no platform to defend. From our faith in God Almighty, we derive our principles of life, individual liberty, and limited government.

The most recent Republican Party Platform, approved in 2020, states as its first principle, “the power of faith in God Almighty,” and the Preamble continues by asserting, “God is the source of our rights, and they are protected by imperfect individuals who rely on their God-given gifts to serve their neighbors.”

This language merely echoes that of the American Founders when they stated in the Declaration of Independence, “they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights, among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” We believe that it is no accident that life is the first among this list enumerated by our Founders. We hold fast in our defense of all human life as ordained and breathed by God, regardless of whether that life has been born or not.

The Declaration’s first paragraph also appeals to the “Laws of Nature and Nature’s God.” This knowledge of the Enlightenment principle of natural rights was firmly placed in a concept of justice which was authored by an active and personal God.

The Founders understood that a government which shirks responsibility to this God-ordained justice or forgets God as the source of its power will be doomed to injustice, tyranny, and ultimate failure. This knowledge in the American Founders is what prompted their concession in the Declaration of Independence that it would be the right and the duty of the people to throw off such a tyranny should it arise.

It is from this, that many Founding Fathers rested their ideas of limited self-government upon, realizing the mutual responsibility of government to the defense of individual liberty and of the governed to maintain and pursue a virtuous society.

One of the nation’s leading heroes of limited government was Patrick Henry, that Virginia legislator and orator perhaps best known for saying, “Give me liberty, or give me death.” A devout Evangelical Christian, Henry wowed a 1774 gathering of the Virginia legislature when he drafted a resolution to set aside a day of fasting and prayer for “Divine Assistance” for their neighboring colonies facing attack by the British. He believed that “the morally elevating influence of Christianity” was necessary to preserve the newly formed republican government.

Henry had quite a legal and political career in the Commonwealth of Virginia, and it was his rhetoric which influenced the drafting of the Bill of Rights into the Constitution. He was among the first to sound the alarm on what uncontrolled growth of a centralized national power could do to the rights which are held so dear by local communities and individuals. Henry understood, like many of the Founders, that a Bill of Rights which limited the power of the Government was necessary to preserve the rights of individuals. Without those enumerated limitations on government, liberty would be trampled under the hell-fired hoofbeats of tyranny.

Now, there is a growing belief that our Founding concepts of justice, equality, and rights are fluid, abstract things which are defined only by social construct. By removing God’s authorship of these rights, they degrade altogether. Under this government-authored approach, rights may change with the whims of each generation. Republicans understand through their faith that humans are fallible, and therefore, our governments are fallible. While we have inherited a legacy of freedom and prosperity, the removal of God from our political discourse will only reap subjugation and poverty upon our children.

So why do we insist on bringing God into it? Why do we have to pray at the beginning of our County Committee meetings? Because we want our kids and our grandkids to have their right to life, their right to self-determination, and their right to live without government intervention. In the words of President Ronald Reagan, “If we ever forget we are ‘one nation under God,’ we will be a nation gone under.”