I recently wrote the editor asking her why there appears to be a lack of a conservative viewpoints in The Daily Campus. She was very responsive and encouraged me to write something.

Where do I start?

Do I speak up for unborn children, or do I tout the merits of Republican presidential candidate Rick Santorum and the fact that he is just four points behind Obama? How about support for Proposition eight in California? I’m sure that would stir up some debate.

I think that there needs to be a starting point, some clarification of what it means to be conservative. For some people the first thoughts that pop into their minds are hate, racism, insensitivity, big corporations, homophobes and war mongering. I’m sure the list goes on.

I generally identify with the Republican Party. Their platform contains ideas and statements that are for the most part conservative. History is always a good place to start any research or examination. What is the track record of the party for conservatives? Will it show a history of oppression and narrow mindedness, or will it show a progressive and compassionate people? Oliver Wendell Holmes once said, “A page of history is worth a pound of logic.”

The Republican Party was established in the early 1850s by anti-slavery activists. Abraham Lincoln became the first Republican to win the White House.

He signed the Emancipation Proclamation that freed the slaves. Despite fierce Democrat opposition, Republicans passed constitutional amendments banning slavery, extending the Bill of Rights to the states, guaranteeing equal protection of the laws and due process to all citizens and extending the right to vote to persons of all races and backgrounds.

Republicans also led the fight for women’s rights. In fact, Susan B. Anthony bragged about how, after voting (illegally) in 1872, she had voted a straight Republican ticket.

Democratic opposition to Republican efforts to protect the civil rights of all Americans lasted not only throughout reconstruction, but well into the 20th century. In the south, those Democrats who most bitterly opposed equality for blacks founded the Ku Klux Klan, which operated as the party’s terrorist wing.

Look at the senate vote from the 1964 Civil Rights Act, 82 percent of the Republicans voted for the Act, while only 69 percent of the Democrats voted for it. Every southern Democratic Senator voted against it.

Here are some more quick facts. The first Hispanic governor was a Republican. The first African-American senator was a Republican. A former slave chaired the 1884 Republican National Convention. The first Hispanic U.S. Senator was a Republican and the first Asian-American U.S. Senator was a Republican.

History clearly shows us that the Republican Party, the party of conservative ideology, is not the cold racist, uncaring group of white males that Democrats wish to portray. We believe in personal responsibility, limited government, free markets, individual liberty, traditional American values and a strong national defense. I believe the role of government should be to provide people with the freedom necessary to pursue their own goals. Nothing has changed for conservatives; history proves this. These core values are the essence of being conservative.

Brian is a sophomore majoring in sociology.