On Party Unity
January 2, 2009 by Danny Carroll
I read a letter to the editor in this morning’s Des Moines Register about Republican Party renewal or reorganization. The letter, by Chris Atchison from Iowa City, applauded Maggie Tinsman for her proposal of an agenda that is “open and inclusive”. Mr. Atchison laments those social conservatives that refuse to compromise their beliefs.
This ongoing tension within the party is perplexing because we all know that in order to advance any agenda we must be successful at the ballot box. At the same time we understand that party members are usually motivated by closely held beliefs and philosophies that allow for very little compromise. So what are we to do? How can we be united when we are so divided?
This problem is not unique to the Republican Party.  Almost all organizations are made up of individuals and small groups that are passionate about their cause. Those who are successful find a way to bring their members together as a team.
The answer I think has a lot to do with respect. As a member of the House Republican Majority Caucus for twelve years I worked with dozens of fellow Republicans that did not share my views on abortion, marriage, family, taxes, spending, health care, gun control, gambling and the list goes on. But we always knew that we had to come together in unity in order for any of us to advance the causes we cared about. We worked together whenever we could. When issues separated us we continued to show respect even if we were to be working and voting against each other. We knew another day would come when we were together on a different issue.
Mutual respect comes from trust. Trust comes from transparency, wisdom and consistency regardless of how often or how loud it is expressed. Respected leadership will bring unity and unity will advance our conservative agenda, broad and inclusive as it may be.
![Reblog this post [with Zemanta]](http://img.zemanta.com/reblog_e.png?x-id=09eadcef-ef52-4490-9281-e5370aa68142)
Comments
Feel free to leave a comment...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!