The Eleventh Commandment was a phrase used by Ronald Reagan during his 1966 campaign for Governor of California. The commandment reads: Thou shalt not speak ill of any fellow Republican.  As governor and as President, Reagan generally followed that commandment.  I respected him for it.

President Trump has thrown that rule of political conduct out the window.  He does not hesitate to attack any Republican governor, senator, representative, or any other party member who has the temerity to disagree with him.  I support President Trump, and I admire his strengths and accomplishments; but I disagree with his assaults on other Republicans.  It does not help him in achieving his goals, and the sometimes vicious nature of his attacks reflects poorly on his judgement.

Trump is not alone in violating Reagan’s commandment.  Right wing commentators are often guilty of the same offense.  For instance, Lou Dobbs frequently castigates Senator Lindsey Graham of South Carolina for failing to push investigations and being too considerate toward Democrat members of his committee.  More recently, Attorney General Barr incurred Dobbs’ wrath by saying that the Justice Department has not uncovered evidence of voter fraud of a magnitude that would overturn the election results.  Dobbs called Barr a fool or a liar – perhaps both.  Later, Barr indicated that the investigation was still continuing, but Dobbs failed to retract his scathing criticism of the AG.   

That is no way to keep an army of patriots together.  We cannot expect all fellow Republicans to think 100% as we do.  80% is surely good enough, and we can work to convince them of the other 20%.  I believe Lindsey Graham is a good senator, and we need him.  I also believe Barr is an honest man, a man of faith, and we want him on our side in this great battle for the soul of our country.

Do not allow extremists to tear our party apart.

Republicans fighting the good fight for liberty and justice must remember the famous aphorism,  In essentials, agreement.  In non-essentials, diversity.  In all things, unity!

I