Leading Through the Principles of Conservatism
Last week, Pennsylvania leaders joined a small group of the nation’s best grassroots activists at the Freedom Embassy, a bastion of liberty tucked away just two blocks from the Cannon House Office Building. There, they gathered to hear from a leader who sought to do something that even he himself thought required a prayer request: pass a budget resolution that would put the House in a position to pass the extension of President Trump’s Tax Cuts & Jobs Act.
Then, just the following day, Speaker Mike Johnson led the conference to pass—albeit with a slim majority—the vehicle in which the chamber can extend provisions of the President’s tax cuts. In a 217-215 vote, the House chamber sent a budget reconciliation that sets up the American people to keep the tax reform that we’ve enjoyed since 2017.
Speaker Johnson may have only been elected by his colleagues to serve in the role in 2023, but since he was elected in 2017 to Congress, he’s preached a set of principles that he’s aptly titled the 7 Core Principles of Conservatism. They read as follows:
- Individual Freedom: the “unalienable rights to life, liberty, conscience, free speech…free exercise of religion, and the ability to pursue happiness, own property, build wealth, and defend ourselves.”
- Limited Government: where “legitimate government operates only by the consent of the governed.”
- The Rule of Law
- Peace Through Strength
- Fiscal Responsibility: Congress has a “moral and constitutional duty to solve the [spending] crisis”.
- Free Markets: Where “innovation, improvement, and economic expansion” are at the forefront of our industries.
- Human Dignity: “Because all men are created equal and in the image of God, every human life has inestimable dignity and value.”
At Americans for Prosperity, we can’t agree more with the Speaker’s commitment to limiting the size and scope of government, so that each individual can live their version of the American Dream. With respect to fiscal responsibility, we’ve fought for decades to halt irresponsible levels of government spending and worked to support measures that protect taxpayers, eliminate waste, and promote better budgeting.
We applaud the Speaker’s leadership on passing the budget resolution last week that will ensure Pennsylvanians don’t face tax hikes of up to $2,400 per family. Additionally, we thank every Republican member of Pennsylvania’s delegation for voting to support the vehicle in which Congress will pass tax cut extensions. Taxpayers across the commonwealth know how to spend their money better than the government can—we need to continue to keep the grassroots pressure going to make sure the President’s tax cut provisions make it through the finish line this year.
Join us in the fight. Talk with your member of Congress. Make sure they know you stand behind them in the movement to restore fiscal prosperity for taxpayers across all income levels.
Head to ProtectProsperity.com, a project of Americans for Prosperity, to learn more.
This is Emily Greene, State Director with Americans for Prosperity-PA.
