Issue Position: The Conservative Reform Agenda

Issue Position

Conservatives learned an important lesson in 2012: if we refuse to offer a bold conservative alternative, the radical left-wing strategy of distraction, distortion and division will continue to dominate elections.
The left knows it cannot win a policy debate with conservatives, which is why progressives invent the "war on women," knowingly make false promises about Obamacare, and viciously attack their opponents in contests nationwide.
Too many Republicans engage in these false fights and end up waging aimless campaigns that fail to offer the American people a positive vision for the country.
It is up to conservatives to change that!
First, we need to tell the truth about the left. It is their policies that have created greater immobility among the poor, trapping low-income Americans in failed government programs; made it harder for the middle-class to get ahead by raising taxes, killing jobs, and making health insurance unstable and more expensive; and rewarded their special interest friends --unions, radical environmentalists, and corporate cronies -- all at the expense of everyday Americans.
But while it is critical to hold the left accountable for the damage they've done to the country, it is even more important that we put forward a comprehensive plan to empower Americans, increase economic security and mobility, and improve our quality of life.
That's why I am confident that we can take back the country from the far left if we are united behind a Conservative Reform Agenda for America.
It was an agenda in the late 1970s that pulled conservative ideas to the forefront and propelled a leader for the ages, Ronald Reagan, into the White House. And it was the Contract with America that earned a mandate from the American people to move in a more conservative direction.
And after nearly two decades of Republicans wandering in the policy woods, it is time for a new conservative reform agenda to put an end to President Obama's lawless and destructive policies and restore America's greatness.
But we shouldn't fall into the trap of thinking we can just imitate the reformers of the past. That just reinforces the left's false narrative that the GOP is out of touch.
Instead, we must comprehensively re-express conservative convictions to meet our time and address the greatest challenge of this generation: America's large and growing opportunity deficit.
The good news is that conservative leaders, activists, and intellectuals have been providing new energy and new ideas for years. Now is the time to put it all together!
Armed with the ideas, the right message, and adequate resources, the entire conservative movement -- organizations, candidates, and the grassroots -- can join forces to build a sustainable conservative majority.
Much has been made in the media of Republican "infighting" between the GOP Establishment and its base. I believe the gap between Republican Leadership and the base is the exact size and shape of a conservative reform agenda. That is precisely why we need to focus on the principles we share, the values we have in common, and the ideas we all support.
In the coming months, conservative reformers in Congress will be proposing dozens of policy proposals to get the country back on track. They include tax reform to grow the economy and protect families, higher education reform to make it more affordable and accessible, an anti-poverty agenda to help low-income Americans work their way into the middle-class and stay there, and a bold effort to end policies that promote cronyist privilege among political and economic elites.
And, of course, there is no policy that does more damage to our economy, our communities, and our way of life than Obamacare. Conservatives must have a plan to repeal this failed law and reform our health care system in a way that works for all Americans.
I am hopeful you will join me in this effort to enact a conservative reform agenda and elect conservatives who are willing to unapologetically make the case for these positive, principled reforms.

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