Garland County GOP

Welcome to the Garland County Republican Web Site

As a fifth generation Arkansan I was not born a Republican. As most Republicans in Arkansas, it was the principles of the Republican Party that drew me, not the name.

Speaking of principles, what Arkansan doesn’t support the Second Amendment?  Arkansans were relieved at the  Supreme Court’s 5-4 2008 decision that the Second Amendment says what it means. The Court ruled a security guard in Washington D.C.  has the right to keep a handgun in his home to defend his family. Yet the Supreme Court ruled we had that right by only one single vote.

And how did that vote split? The 5 Republican appointees supported the Second Amendment. The 4 Democrat appointees did not. That’s pretty simple. Yet some would argue that Arkansas Democrats also support the Second Amendment although the national Democrat Party certainly does not. Well,  as we look further into that, we will remember that no less than Bill Clinton claimed to support your right to bear arms while he was in Arkansas. Yet 2 of those 4 votes against your rights were by Clinton appointees.  The Republican Party and the Democrat Party are both clear where they stand on the Second Amendment. What you must ask yourself is where do you stand?

The Second Amendment is only one issue, although a very important one. Arkansans believe in a balanced budget; not spending more than we take in. We believe in the sanctity of life both at it’s beginning and it’s end. We believe in the sanctity of marriage between one man and one woman.  We believe that one’s property rights are sacred, and that the US military must remain strong to protect its citizens and interests at home and abroad.  As the descendants of immigrants, we with old fashioned southern hospitality welcome all who emigrate here legally. At the same time we believe that our borders should be protected and that it is dangerous to allow anyone to enter illegally.

Arkansans believe in personal responsibility, not whining. Arkansans believe freedom, self sufficiency and capitalism with all it’s faults have made us the greatest and yes, richest nation on earth. We believe those who wish to follow the failed policies of European socialism should buy themselves a ticket on the next plane.  Europe is not the beacon of freedom, hope, and the ability to migrate economically upward. That belongs to the United States. Other political parties campaign on the politics of jealousy and division. Republicans know that even the poorest in the U.S. have a standard of living similar to the middle class in Western Europe. The poor in the U.S. are more likely to own their own home, to own a car, own more TV’s, to own a cellphone, have more square feet in their homes, and eat more meat than the middle class in even Western Europe and Japan.

Arkansans love the Natural State. We are for wind, solar and every other clean energy that is available. We also are people of common sense and we know these technologies will not be able to support our energy needs until decades from now. We know an energy policy that includes, nuclear, natural gas, and clean coal, is not only expedient, it is necessary for our very survival. When presented with the facts the Alaskan National Wildlife Reserve is 2/3 the size of the state of Arkansas and the area proposed for oil drilling is the size of Vilonia, we are incredulous that anyone really believes we shouldn’t.  We sense if the environmental crazies prevail they will destroy our way of life and our country.

In short most Arkansans are Republicans whether they realize it yet or not. We wish to welcome you to the Republican Party. When you attend, you will find out we are not who the media portrays us to be but ordinary Arkansans like yourself who truly care about the important issues facing our country and who want to make a difference. When you meet our candidates and elected officials you will find they represent you and your core values as an Arkansan.

We hope you will join us.

Alan Clark

Chairman, Garland County Republican Committee

Register on this website and share your views on the questions presented here.  Attend our meetings held on the first Thursday of the month and together we can make a difference.

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Committee meetings are scheduled for the first Thursday of each month at 6:15p.m. at the Gospel Light school auditorium in Hot Springs.