The Republican Party is dead.

At one time, the blood of the people coursed through its veins, enlivening the party with their values and virtues, their goals and dreams. The party became its own energizing force, compelling people to sacrifice for a higher moral purpose.

But today’s Republican Party abandoned these people. It no longer represents their values. It no longer has a vision for a better America. And no one is stepping up to provide that vision.

Republicans carried a strong vision and values into unified government six months ago. We championed principles like limited government, job creation, border security, and budget balancing. We promised to repeal Obamacare, enact tax reform, and roll back burdensome federal regulations.

But what have we done? Congress passed an omnibus spending bill that betrays our values. A replacement for Obamacare lies dead on the Senate floor. We’ve heard about tax reform but seen nothing yet. Immigration reform is talked about more on Fox News than it is on the House floor.

After eight years of assuring that unified Republican government would allow for conservative policy, our Republican Congress has accomplished little, except for passing a spending bill that shackles the aspirations of future generations with crippling debt.

Those who called themselves Republicans have a strong heritage. Abolitionists founded the party to rid this country of the scourge of slavery and President Abraham Lincoln issued the emancipation proclamation. Trust busters had the vision to fight crony capitalism and President Teddy Roosevelt ushered in free-market reforms. Patriots stood guard against the advances of communism and President Ronald Reagan conquered the evil empire.

Last year, I was proud to call myself a Republican, too. The party issued a platform that called for a “constitutional requirement for a federal balanced budget.” It called a pro-growth tax code “a moral imperative.” Republicans wrote: “Our highest priority, therefore, must be to secure our borders and all ports of entry and to enforce our immigration laws.” And then there’s this: “It is time to repeal Obamacare … ”

Unfortunately, the men and women who crafted these words are not the men and women serving in the halls of Congress. The writers of these words were assembled from the far reaches of the republic to enumerate the values and principles of the party. They offered a powerful vision for what America could be.

But the Republican Party no longer belongs to these writers. Standing in their place are the writers of the omnibus bill, the lobbyists, the special interests, the weak-kneed senators, everyone who sees the federal government as a diamond mine to be exploited for their personal riches.

The national debt approaches $20 trillion, saddling each American with more than a $60,000 share. We’ll be servicing this debt for decades. Our children will spend a good portion of their livelihood paying off our generation’s extravagant spending.

Meanwhile, they will also contend with a collapsed health care market and a tax code that favors the rich and well-connected. A continual undervaluing of the rule of law and influx of illegal immigration will devastate the American family and the American worker.

Both parties have proven their inability to deal with these problems.

What can we do? More than anything else, we need a vision, someone who has a message and a plan to unify this country. Instead, we’ve assembled a “B-team” of messengers who distract the nation with frivolities.

But Coloradans do not care about the frivolous. We care about the meaningful. We have a vision for the meaningful. If we can pass a balanced budget amendment, a responsible spending bill, and reforms of our health care system, of our tax system, of our entitlement system, and of our immigration system, then we can begin to fulfill the one-time destiny of this party, a destiny to offer hope and prosperity to the people of this great nation.

U.S. Rep. Ken Buck, a Republican, represents Colorado’s 4th Congressional District.

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