You see this again and again in the founders words, the representative government is only fit for a moral people. In a nation where there is no one vocally taking a moral stand and doing their best to live up to that stand, where it is ok to lie, cheat on a spouse, kill an unborn baby, or ignore that baby once it is born into poverty, we will continue to descend into chaos. Relating to this, I would like Republican leaders to pledge three things to me to earn my vote in 2014 and beyond:

1) They will try to live an exemplary life, knowing they are on a public stage and that like it or not, they are a role model. They will make this attempt knowing they will fall short but trying because it is the right thing to do, not so that they can be arrogant, but so that they can as much as possible make a case for a moral government without the label of hypocrite.

2) They will be honest with the voters. They will say what needs to be said, admit when compromise on an issue is necessary, stand when they need to stand, and clearly make the case for conservatism as best for Oregon, not use it for political expediency. They will hold regular community meetings or forums to allow their voters to have input on the legislation before them.

3) They will discuss every issue in the framework of what is best for us as a people, what is best for our economy, and what does the most to allow us to maintain our freedoms. When relevant, first and foremost will be what is morally right. They don’t even have to be Christians to do this, CS Lewis wrote a book called The Abolition of Man in which he demonstrated that every religion and successful society has certain moral truths that they hold because these truths are absolute. These truths are found in the Bible but also in the texts of other religions. We can stand for what is right without “shoving our religion down peoples throat” He was making this plea to 1950s Britain, I make it to modern Oregon where the majority are not people who regularly attend Church. Deep down you know that there is a moral truth even if you reject the God who authored it. The survival of our society demands that certain moral stands be taken and that the principal that comes second is freedom. From taxes, to regulations, to infrastructure to education, every decision will be framed first on right or wrong, then in a way that sees its effect on our freedom, and the most freeing and still viable decision will be the one taken when there is no moral issue with it.

Framed in this way, conservatism will win even in the blue states, especially in a state that values its uniqueness like Oregon. The people in this state are conservative, though a lot of them don’t know it. Deep down, most of them recognize the need for standards of morality as well, though they don’t want to admit it.