From the Desk of Karl Denninger

February 4, 2000

 Attn: Mr. Jim Nicholson

The Republican National Committee
310 First Street, SE
Washington, DC 20003

By Fax to 202-863-8774

Mr. Nicholson:

I am in receipt of two recent solicitations for contributions to your organization for the purpose of electing republicans in the 2000 elections.

While I have, in the past, supported Republican candidates – both financially and otherwise – the current policies of your candidates and office-holders leave me about to do something I never thought I would – vote Democratic, or perhaps, not vote at all.

It is only fair that, before I take this drastic step, I tell you why your party is losing my support, and give you the ability to correct the problem.

The Republican party, through the last 30 years, has moved further and further towards an anti-family stance, with some of the most outrageous actions taking place just in the last year. I’d like to cite specific examples:

  1. Your party’s Presidential Candidates – both front runners McCain and Bush – have supported, in public, the abduction and illegal detention of Elian Gonazlez in Miami. McCain has gone to the next step and advocated, on Larry King Live a couple of weeks ago, that we should kidnap and keep any child that we can get our hands on from a government that we disagree with. He specifically named China and North Korea as two nations from which we would be justified in stealing any number of children we can manage to do so when directly questioned by Mr. King.
  2. Your party’s senator from Illinois, Mr. Fitzgerald, refused to respond to my repeated requests last summer for time to speak with him in person about the problem in the family law system. Senator Dick Durbin, a Democrat, not only responded but set up a meeting with me to discuss specific proposals for reform.
  3. While your party preaches that it supports family values and the protection of the Constitution, to date I have not had one call or return fax from a republican Representative or Senator pledging to introduce the bill that I attach to this letter – which would in fact do all of the following:
    • Guarantee equal protection under the law – mandated in the Constitution – to all persons regardless of gender and the children involved when families break up through divorce.
    • End the perverse incentives for bad behavior on the part of these individuals – and enforce the rule of law, something the Republicans are supposed to do.
    • End the common, every-day practice of issuing injunctions preventing parent/child contact without any finding of fault or harm to the child involved – solely upon the petition and request of one of the parents.
    • End the indirect solicitation of child abuse that results from a system that routinely rewards people who make false accusations of child abuse or kidnap children during and after divorce.
    • Do all of the above by linking welfare funds to good behavior by the states, instead of bad behavior. While welfare is in fact decreasing, we both know that Title IV-D and TANF funds will never completely go away from the federal budget – and as such they provide a legitimate and appropriate way for Congress to express its sentiments regarding the protection of the rights of all citizens – but particularly and most importantly those who have no ability to speak for themselves – children!

The Republican party pushes a Pro-Life agenda – one which I fully and completely support, and one which tries to advance human rights upon the one million children who are sucked into a sink every year. The Republican party, however, ignores the rights of over 20 million children who exist today. These children are disadvantaged due in no small part to your party’s direct involvement in pressing social policies that provide incentives for people to divorce and carry on custody fights through redistribution of money and abuse of judicial injunctive powers.

In short the Republican Party supports many of the "feel good" provisions that we both agree go into family values. These include the right to pray in school, school choice programs in the form of vouchers, tax reform to end the financial penalties on married couples, and preventing pornography from being peddled to kids on the Internet. But Republicans have utterly failed as a political party in the most basic family value – the right of children to have two biological parents in their life. This means the right of parents to directly provide the care, comfort and rearing of their children instead of making transfer payments to the other parent. It also means the right of children to care, comfort and influence of both parents on an equal basis.

I find myself unable to support a political party that appears to speak out both sides of its mouth when it comes to the single most important institution in our society.

That is, of course, the interests of raising of a healthy next generation of Americans.

Only if the Republican Party was to take up in public a commitment to the true principles of family values can I find it within myself to support your work. These principles must include:

  1. The Republican Party’s current Pro-Life Stance.
  2. A commitment to use the Federal and State Governmental processes to insure and protect the rights of parents and children to each other. This includes, specifically, the points in the proposed legislation that I am attaching to this letter as an enclosure.
  3. A "litmus test" for candidates for office under the Republican name that requires that these candidates, in public, promise to uphold the rights of children and their parents, and a commitment from the Republican Party that it will not run candidates – whether for election or re-election – that do not put this promise into action in their legislative activity.

I would further like to see the introduction of the attached federal legislation under the Republican banner before the elections, and a written commitment from each of your Presidential and other Candidates to sign and work to pass same. If you look at the web site at http://childrens-justice.org you will find that we have sent this legislation along with a letter requesting their position to both Mr. McCain and Mr. Bush – so far, without response.

We all know, Mr. Nicholson, that it is easy to make promises and then break them. George Bush did so with "no new taxes". Bill Clinton has done so, well, more times than either of us can count.

But if your party aspires to my support – both financially and in public – I insist on more than empty promises.

I insist on demonstrable and visible action that actually produces results.

Is the Republican Party the party to support for those of us who truly care about family values? Or is the Republican Party simply using this much-maligned phrase to placate certain religious groups – without actually supporting the interests of intact families and children whatsoever?

Your timely response will be appreciated and published on the above web site, as is this letter.

 

Karl Denninger