Political Credos

What do politicians believe?

Besides
Money is the mother's milk of politics


That's more than enough for many a conventional politician. Why not? It costs tens of millions of dollars to run for the Senate or for governor of a large state. It's proof of Darwinian evolution in action - politicians compromise to survive and eventually accept their compromises as divinely inspired. Those who succeed at "dialing for dollars" drive out that that do not. In the primary or the general election.

But for some politicians, there's more to it than just the money. Here are some other credos -

Comparison to traditional credos

Those who find expressing a coherent philosophy too difficult and risky could express their beliefs in the form of a secular question-and-answer catechism -

Q: What is the chief end of man?
A: To glorify major donors, and enjoy their donations forever, in order to survive the next election.

But it's more efficient to just list a credo, a statement of fundamental beliefs which underly all thoughts, words, and actions.

Credo in multos deos, incolas omnipotentes, creatores candidatorum et victoriarum politicarum, ac donatores omnis pecuniae, visibiles et invisibiles.
or
Glory be to the donors, and to their funds: and to their fundraise hosts; As it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be: terms without end. Amen!

Putinist/Trumpist Political Credos

In the Putinist/Trumpist narcissist tradition - owing a lot to Stalin, Hitler, and Louis XIV -
Putin Trump Trump Revisionist 


For while the rabble, with their thumbworn creeds, 
Their large professions and their little deeds,
Mingle in selfish strife; lo! Freedom weeps, 
Wrong rules the land, and waiting justice sleeps!

Lincoln and Theodore Roosevelt are the Republicans at Mt Rushmore. Eisenhower and Reagan were the most admired Republicans of the 20th century. They have NOTHING in common with the modern Trumpist Dixiecrat GOP. So who are the real RINOS - Republicans in Name Only? Would any previous Republican leaders have run on a dark "Make America Great Again" slogan, implying that the country had somehow fallen, like the Roman Empire, from some previous high point? NO - their optimistic point of view was "Make America Even Greater". "God mend thine every flaw, Confirm thy soul in self-control, Thy liberty in law!"

But there's no doubt more money to be made peddling a dark vision -

Why not? There's a sucker born every minute. And a lot of them donate and vote GOP.

But give Trump full credit for showing that traditional rule-of-law conservatism was never a mass movement, just a conceit of major donors, think tanks, and their candidates. The actual critical mass of Republican voters turned out to be holding their noses while they awaited the coming of a suitable personality to cultivate. And in 2016 he arrived, and that critical mass could let its inner fascist cultist out of the closet. Trump should welcome a traditional conservative third party in 2024; it won't attract his base, and it might draw enough conservative Democratic votes to insure Trump's victory.

Traditional Republican Political Credos

Before Putinism and Trumpism infected the Republican Party, it had a dual credo - which persists to this day under the surface. That's because the actual private agenda is not that attractive to voters. Read more at

PUBLIC Republican credo - for voters PRIVATE Republican credo - for major donors
Protect voters' right to privacy for political donations! Protect unlimited dark money for political campaigns - to avoid embarrassing the "job creator" billionaire major political donor class! And to avoid any embarrassing publicity about stealth foreign donors.
Reduce taxes for hardworking American families! Reduce taxes - to benefit the "job creator" billionaire major political donor class!
Deregulate - for job growth for hardworking American families! Deregulate - to benefit the "job creator" billionaire major political donor class!
Fight hard for states' rights against Federal and judicial overreach! Protect Republican minority rule by gerrymandering, voter suppression, and enabling legislative overrule of election results.
Crack down on widespread election fraud! Crack down on widespread Democratic voters!
Entitlement reform to prevent waste and cheating and deficit spending! Shut down Medicaid first, then Medicare, then Social Security.
The Takers - lazy welfare Democratic voters - are subsidized by the job-creator Makers - hard-working Republican small business people. The Takers - poor and middle class people who just vote - are subsidized by the job-creator Makers - wealthy donors who can make or break a campaign - and a politician's job.
IRS crackdown on EIC cheats! Underfund IRS enforcement - to benefit the "job creator" billionaire major political donor class!
Right to work for everybody! Union busting - to benefit the "job creator" billionaire major political donor class!
End the job-stealing, disease-ridden illegal immigrant invasion at the southern border! Keep illegal immigration risky and difficult, to provide a steady supply of cheap exploitable labor - to benefit the "job creator" billionaire major political donor class!
Protect the unborn! Don't worry, it's only for poor people - the major political donor class can afford to travel anywhere for desired medical services.
The best government is that which governs least. Pass as many laws as possible to suppress Democratic voters.
Reactionary judges - to protect the unborn and the right to bear arms! Reactionary judges - to protect the political and economic power of the "job creator" billionaire major political donor class!

So what do Republicans stand for?

Don't think that there is some secret underground movement plotting all this - it's mostly out in the open, in the mostly unspoken assumptions and attitudes cultivated over a lifetime in private schools and colleges, golf clubs and resorts, and major donor events.

To understand the modern Dixiecrat Republican Party, it suffices to consider How did rich white Southern slaveowners get poor white Southerners to fight for slavery, against their own interests?

Rule of Law Political Credo

In contrast to the above - consider a credo for the Rule of Law that should be acceptable to all from conservative to progressive who cherish the Enlightenment ideals of America's founders -


We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

  • Epistemology
    • We affirm reason over faith and superstition.
    • There is an objective reality that can be better understood by diligent study and empirical inquiry. Subjective ideas of reality are not equally valid nor equally worthy of study. By definition there is only one set of facts; there are no alternative facts.
    • We affirm consideration of well-earned authority over unthinking deference to received wisdom from self-declared authority. In a complex society, it is necessary to rely on the judgment of others on many things. But conventional wisdom is expected to be refined over time. The criterion is whether any conventional wisdom can be challenged and changed by better facts and logic and theory.
    • The truth of a person depends on the truth of what he says. The truth of a statement does NOT depend on the identity of the person who said it.
    • Love of learning is the guide of life. NOT a smart gut.
    • We affirm the Enlightenment ideals of America's founders.
  • Rule of Law
    • There is no Divine Right of Kings - or presidents. Kings were not chosen by God's will to advance God's goals for God's people. Kings usually obtained power by choosing of their own free will to kill their rivals, in order to advance their own goals for themselves and their descendants.
      Likewise, Donald Trump was chosen by Donald Trump's free will to advance Donald Trump's goals for Donald Trump. He obtained power by choosing of his own free will to defeat his rivals.
    • The governed are endowed with their rights by God, not by their rulers. Rulers derive their just powers from the consent of the governed.
    • We affirm the Rule of Law and reject Cult of Personality.
    • Nobody is above the law and it applies to everybody equally.
    • Voluntary self-restraint is a foundation of liberty.
    • Individual rights only exist in the context of the rights of others.
    • Long-standing precedents from the past should not be overturned without full and careful consideration, and similar consideration should precede new precedents set for the future.
    • We reject any and all political or financial support from racists, Nazis, fascists, communists, rioters, terrorists, insurrectionists, and individuals or organizations advocating or engaging in violence or attempting to overthrow government or change it by unconstitutional means, or knowingly disseminating blatant false propaganda to foment unrest.
    • Nations are defined by common ideas and ideology, not by common genetics and territory - Blut und Boden.
    • Established international borders must not be changed except by consent of all parties involved, and never by force or threat.
  • Essence of America and Americanism
  • Democracy
    • It should be as easy as possible for every eligible voter to vote in every election.
    • Every vote in an election counts equally.
    • Election administration must be scrupulously non-partisan and governed by law.
    • Peaceful, orderly transitions after elections are an essential part of democracy. If elections are fair, the loser always has another chance in the next election.
    • Public service in a large complex society is a full-time job and a solemn responsibility, not an opportunity for self-enrichment. Statutory compensation should suffice, and all other prohibited.
    • The great leader is he of whom the people say, "We did it ourselves".


We mutually pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes and our sacred Honor.


America! America!
God mend thine every flaw,
Confirm thy soul in self-control,
Thy liberty in law!

A credo that has inspired people around the world for centuries -

Differences between Democratic and Republican Rule of Law

Although many Democrats and Republicans might endorse the Enlightenment ideals of Rule of Law, there are differences in approach:

There are two ideas of government. There are those who believe that, if you will only legislate to make the well-to-do prosperous, their prosperity will leak through on those below. The Democratic idea, however, has been that if you legislate to make the masses prosperous, their prosperity will find its way up through every class which rests upon them.
William Jennings Bryan, 1896
who by 1925 was a Trumpist ahead of his time!

To make a longer story shorter, the essence is this:

Democratic Republican
Democrats hope to liberate everybody from the burdens of unequal opportunity and superstition. That's what liberal means. Republicans fear to lose the blessings of the past and so they try to conserve them. That's what conservative means.
Inequality of political opportunity remains widespread and sometimes requires active intervention from the Federal government. Equality of political opportunity is mostly accomplished and should be left to state and local governments.
Inequality of economic opportunity remains widespread and sometimes requires active intervention from the Federal government. Equality of economic opportunity is mostly accomplished and should be left to free market forces.
Some Democrats go too far and invent government policies and programs that make things worse rather than better. Anybody from Silicon Valley should understand that most startups fail, but no startups mean no transformational successes. Some Republicans go too far and imagine a golden age that never existed and suppose that every aspect of that time is worth preserving. Anybody from the Confederate South should understand that superstitious mythology means stasis rather than transformational successes.
The central liberal truth is that politics can change a culture and save it from itself. The central conservative truth is that it is culture, not politics, that determines the success of a society.

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