Message from the Chairman

As we celebrate Independence Day, I want to take just a moment to express the Tennessee Republican Party's deep appreciation to each of you because you have chosen to help make our nation stronger every day by standing for the principles that make our country great.

Two-hundred and thirty-three years ago, 56 men ranging in age from 26 to 70 signed their names to a dream. A small group of Americans committed themselves that day to a few principles they believed mattered more than comfort, wealth or title. They stepped into an arena that had no guarantees and was filled with certain peril. There were a thousand reasons they could have found to let someone else take a stand, and we would have never known. They did not stand aside, however, and because of them history was changed forever.

Today, you and I wake each morning as citizens of their dream. We share the privilege of building our dreams because they were willing to set their personal ambitions aside.

Today also, a new generation of heroes steps into that arena each day. For some, the arena is found in the sandy streets of Fallujah while for others, it is in the hills of Kandahar . Regardless of where the arena is found, the courage to step inside and take a stand is the same.

Outside the National Archives Building in Washington, an inscription can be found that reads, “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” Our arena, our place in history, is to heed this admonition, to be vigilant and to never tire of standing for what matters.

I hope we can take time this holiday to remind ourselves and share with our children what those principles are that matter so dearly. First, that we are given rights by God that no government can ever take away. Second, the family and the person are what make our government strong, not the other way around. Third, government must not become larger than the will of the people to hold it accountable. Finally, a federal government that puts the freedoms of its citizens second to its own thirst for power will itself not long be free.

We hope you will remember these important principles as we celebrate Independence Day. Please have a happy and safe holiday.

Chris Devaney
Chairman
Tennessee Republican Party