The Limestone County Republican Party has stayed fairly silent on the issue of LaDon Townsend’s ballot challenge, and I believe that is appropriate since the county party originally recused ourselves from making this decision.

However, I would like to address the Our View column found in last weekend’s edition of The News Courier.

Our political system is built around the two-party model, and there are fundamental differences between those two parties. The ballot challenge process is part of that political system, and it helps protect voters from wolves in sheep’s clothing.

Democrats and independents are not allowed to run as Republicans. This is a well-known and fair rule, and it’s a responsibility the Republican Party takes very seriously.

While we fully respect the opinion of The News Courier, it seems they do not understand the fundamental mission of the Republican Party, or the protocols they have setup for handling ballot challenges. We are not a social club, but rather a governing body that has standards and procedures for our actions.

Our mission is to protect and defend the Republican values and ideas that made this nation great — ideas like a limited federal government, fiscal responsibility, lower taxes, representative government, protecting life and fighting for the God-given rights of every individual.

The Republican Party was not created to serve political candidates, or even our elected officials. We are supposed to set a standard for them, and it is called the party platform. Our priority is not serving politicians, but rather serving the people and the Republican voters who make up the base of our party. Being their voice and their watchman is one of our main goals.

We welcome every single voter who wants to vote Republican, and we are proud to have a wide range of support. The Republican Party is a big tent and we welcome everyone! However, that does not mean that anyone can just walk into the party and immediately become part of our leadership. No professional organization works that way, and the political parties are no different.

We expect our party leadership and our political candidates to be loyal to the Republican Party. We are concerned If any candidate’s loyalty is called into question. If there are enough issues, that candidate may be denied ballot access. This decision is not made lightly, and the state party works hard to make sure every candidate is treated fairly and equally.

It is important to remember that when a candidate is denied ballot access, it does not mean they are removed from the party permanently. They are simply being asked to wait one election cycle so the party can get to know where they stand on important issues. We do not believe this is too much to ask.

An interesting fact that is often overlooked is that the Democrat Party has very similar rules and guidelines. The News Courier might be interested in the 2012 case of Harry Lyon, a Democratic candidate who was removed as their party’s nominee for Supreme Court Chief Justice because he was pro-life and pro-family.

The Republican Party is not perfect, but we do our best to defend our values and our party platform. The people of Limestone County and the state of Alabama trust the Republican Party to screen our candidates and make sure only Republicans are allowed to run on the Republican ticket. We will never apologize for trying to safeguard that trust.

— Wahl is the chairman of the Limestone County Republican Party. He can be reached at noah@wisementrading.com.