About Us
The purpose of the Culpeper County Republican Party (“Party”) and the Culpeper County Republican Committee (“Committee”) is to encourage better government through the selection, nomination, and election to public office of Republican candidates who support and uphold the Republican Principles, the Republican Party Creed and their oath to the Virginia and US Constitutions; and to exercise leadership and responsible action on public issues.
Principles of the Party
The primary and essential functions of any government are to preserve law and order and to provide for the common defense;
Uphold the Constitution of the United States of America;
The law must be applied equally to all persons, with preference to none;
Government functions best at local level where citizens have an effective measure of control over their own problems;
Each individual is responsible for his or her own actions and place in society;
Each individual is entitled to the fullest possible freedom in speech and action as long as he or she does not violate the rights of others;
Free enterprise, is the only proper basis for individual and national prosperity; individuals should be free from unconstitutional governmental regulation;
Government must be fiscally responsible; unnecessary and overlapping programs should be avoided or eliminated at all levels of government; and
The Culpeper Republican Creed.
The Culpeper County Republican Creed
We Believe
That faith in God, as recognized by our Founding Fathers is essential to the moral fiber of the Nation.
That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic freedom.
That all individuals are entitled to equal rights, justice, and opportunities and should assume their responsibilities as citizens in a free society.
That fiscal responsibility and budgetary restraints must be exercised at all levels of government.
That the Federal Government must preserve individual liberty by observing Constitutional limitations.
That peace is best preserved through a strong national defense.
The Culpeper County Republican Creed is an adaption of the Virginia Republican Creed. “Faith in God” is now first as the reordering of the concepts moves from the individual outward to the nation. It also adjusts the compromised phrase “economic justice” to “economic freedom.”
7 Core Principles of Conservatism
In 2018, Congressman Mike Johnson drafted this short summary of the central beliefs of American conservatives to help anchor the work of the Republican Study Committee in the timeless principles that made our nation the freest, strongest, and most prosperous in human history. Since that time, many other conservative organizations and lawmaking bodies nationwide have adopted this list as their own.
1. Individual Freedom
The birth of our great nation was inspired by the bold declaration that our individual, God-given liberties should be preserved against government intrusion. That same conviction informs our conservative policy decisions still today. In America, we proclaim the self-evident truths that all of us are created equal and granted by God the same inherent freedoms, such as the natural and unalienable rights to life, liberty, conscience, free speech, and the free exercise of religion, and the ability to pursue happiness, own property, build wealth and defend ourselves and our families. The purpose of government is to secure these rights, and the ideas we advance should always aim to maintain and increase the liberty of the American people.
2. Limited Government
For individual liberty to be championed, government must be reduced. We believe, as our founders did, that legitimate government operates only by the consent of the governed, and is more efficient and less corrupt when it is limited in its size and scope. When applied as written, our incomparable Constitution provides important safeguards against government encroachment, a vital separation of powers, and a necessary system of checks and balances. Federalism, decentralized authority, and the elimination of unnecessary regulations and bureaucracy help ensure that government serves the people, and not the other way around. The best protection against government largesse is an engaged and informed electorate.
3. The Rule of Law
Our is “a government of laws and not of men,” and the rule of law is our foundation. To maintain ordered liberty and a civilized society, public and private virtue should be encouraged and justice must be administered equally and impartially to all. Each branch of government must adhere to the Constitution, and the judicial branch must not be allowed to assume or exercise legislative or executive powers. Transparency and accountability are keys to good government, and Congress must faithfully perform its constitutional responsibility of oversight.
4. Peace through Strength
The first obligation of the federal government is to provide for the “common defense” of the United States by protecting our homeland and our strategic interests abroad. Because America serves in a natural role of moral leadership in an increasingly dangerous world, and weakness invites aggression, we must remain the strongest military power on earth fully prepared and capable of defeating any adversaries, tyrants or terrorists, under any circumstances, at any time. The United States must maintain adequate investments in our air, land, sea, nuclear, and cyber capabilities to deter foreign aggression.
5. Fiscal Responsibility
Because government has refused to live within its means, America is facing an unprecedented debt and spending crisis. Federal debt now exceeds $26 trillion, and our current fiscal path is unsustainable and dangerous, jeopardizing our nation’s economic growth, stability and the security of future generations. Congress has a moral and constitutional duty to resolve the crisis, bring spending under control, balance the federal budget, reform and modernize entitlement programs, eliminate fraud, waste and abuse, pursue continued pro-growth tax reforms and permanent tax reductions, and restore regular order and accountability in the budget and appropriations processes.
6. Free Markets
Government often stands as the greatest obstacle to the progress and prosperity of free people. Free markets and free trade agreements allow for innovation, improvement and economic expansion as risk-takers, entrepreneurs and business owners are given the liberty to pursue the American dream and create more jobs and upward mobility for more people. We believe competition should be encouraged, and government intervention and regulation should be limited. The people are better qualified to make decisions about their own lives and finances than bureaucrats, and the private sector will outperform the public sector in virtually every scenario. The free enterprise system rewards hard work and self-sacrifice, and is the basis and genius of the American economy.
7. Human Dignity
Because all men are created equal and in the image of God, every human life has inestimable dignity and value, and every person should be measured only by the content of their character. A just government protects life, honors marriage and family as the primary institutions of a healthy society, and embraces the vital cultural influences of religion and morality. Public policy should always encourage education and emphasize the virtue of hard work as a pathway out of poverty, while public assistance programs should be reserved only for those who are truly in need. In America, everyone who plays by the rules should get a fair shot. By preserving these ideals, we will maintain the goodness of America that has been the secret to our greatness.
