Page 28 - May-June-July Life In Naples Magazine

To win the White House
Republicans must unite and reach out to all Americans

by Congressman Curt Clawson “When it comes
to winning the
I t’s hard to believe that the 2016 presidential campaign has already begun. The first Presidency,
candidates have announced their intention to run. The Iowa Caucuses and New Republicans must
Hampshire Primary take place next January. Our important Florida Primary will set aside ideological
follow in March. differences and come
together as often as
Already there’s a buzz about the GOP 2016 ticket.The good news is we’ve got a dozen ”possible.
qualified contenders. The potentially bad news is that this same dozen could harm GOP
chances if they start attacking each other instead of focusing on the far better choices that
Republicans offer in governance. I’m confident we will focus on the issues this time – and
equally optimistic that we’ll unite behind the GOP candidate, once that person is chosen.

Sometimes Republicans vary on matters of ideology. Some, like me, are more
conservative or more libertarian than others. Some are more centrist or more moderate
in their philosophic views. I say that’s good. Healthy, constructive debate is a good
thing. We are a nation of individuals – not a one-size-fits-all collection of lemmings.
Philosophic differences are to be expected. But when we differ, we must do so respectfully.
We must not call each other names like “RINOs”or “extremists”– or demonize so-called
“tea-partiers.” All of these stakeholders, and lots of other Americans who rarely vote

28 Life in Naples | May • June • July 2015