'Our party has steadily abandoned the conservative principles that once defined us. It shows'
By Senator John Curtis
I grew up in Utah, where pioneer values were more than something we learned about in history books. They were how we lived. Hard work, thrift, self-reliance, faith, family, integrity, and responsibility to our neighbors. Those values shaped my life and, eventually, my politics.
For much of my life, I saw those same principles reflected in the Republican Party. Leaders like Ronald Reagan championed limited government, free trade, resolute diplomacy and global leadership, and fiscal responsibility.
Over the last decade, however, our party has steadily drifted from the principles that once defined us.
Many shrewd political minds found it worth abandoning these principles in order to win elections—they were largely right. The populist movement brought millions of Americans into our party, many of whom felt forgotten by Washington. I welcome them. They belong in our big-tent party, and we owe them more than political promises.
But winning elections was never the ultimate objective. We wanted to win so we could govern according to principles that make people’s lives better. We know from experience, not just theory, that a truly conservative policy agenda fosters the greatest chance for human flourishing—marked by robust economic opportunity, stronger families and households, and a global order led by the United States with help from its democratic allies and partners.
Unfortunately, by putting aside our core values, we’ve let down a lot of those same Americans who recently joined our party. Instead of finally seeing relief on prices after the reckless Biden years, they saw a hastily planned war disrupt oil markets. Instead of enjoying a restoration of order and integrity in our government, they read headline after headline of scandals, incompetence, and corruption.
Instead of economic stability and fiscal prudence, they saw the public debt balloon past $40 trillion—leading to volatile markets. Instead of peace through strength, they saw the leader of the free world side with Putin over a strategic ally.
I can’t reconcile these things with the conservative principles that brought me into public service. And I don’t think we should try.
Tonight’s shellacking should be a wake-up call. We are losing good colleagues—people who served honorably and deserved better than to be swept up in the failures of our party as a whole. But if our response is to blame the media, the polls, or the voters, we’ll have learned absolutely nothing. We might start by looking in the mirror.
The pioneers didn’t build Utah by looking for someone else to blame when things went wrong. They rolled up their sleeves, worked together, and got to work.
We would do well to step away from our echo chambers and have genuine conversations with the everyday people whom we represent. Perhaps we’d be reminded that what they have been asking for this whole time is actually the outcomes of a principled conservative agenda.
My time in Washington has shown me that far more lawmakers want to work in good faith than the headlines suggest. As we enter a new era of divided government, it’ll be more important than ever to put petty partisan politics aside and come together to solve the pressing issues the American people have begged us to address.
The voters have done their job. Now it’s time for us to do ours.
And for Republicans, that work begins by returning to our roots.