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Our Mission in support of the Vision is to defend and preserve the bedrock of American principles of Faith, Family, and Freedom, we are resolved and committed to:
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Champion the Constitutional principles of limited government, individual liberty, and personal responsibility ensuring every citizen has the opportunity to flourish.
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Support and Defend the rights of individuals to worship, live, and express themselves freely and pursue happiness without interference or intrusion.
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Advocate for and support policies that strengthen the foundational institution of the Family.
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Emphasize the importance of sound, fiscally responsible decision-making and hold elected officials accountable for their stewardship of public funds.
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Foster trust in institutions and leaders by demanding morality, integrity, transparency, and accountability.
Voting is the most direct expression of our individual authority. When citizens disengage—whether out of frustration, cynicism, or simple inattention—they leave the direction of their community and country to a smaller, more motivated slice of the population. The result is predictable: decisions are made without the full voice of the people, and the government that emerges reflects the priorities of the few rather than the aspirations of the many.
In the 2025 General Election, a minority of Spokane County voters decided key races and issues that impact us all. The blue section of the graphic represents the percentage of registered voters that didn’t vote.
As you can see, the “Didn’t Vote” category is a super majority in the 4th and 6th LDs. Jonathan Bingle ’s City Council seat was decided by 163 votes and 3,688 Republicans from 6th LD precincts in Council District #1 DIDN’T VOTE!
Getting Out The Vote is essential to the success of the Spokane County Republican Party’s Vision, Mission, and is the Top Priority in 2026.
Our analysis has identified ~48,000 Republican voters from Spokane County’s five Legislative Districts who didn’t vote in the 2025 election.
Our goal is to reduce this number by 50% which will be critical to winning Congressional, State Legislative, and Countywide elections next year. Your support of our Lincoln Day Gala and recurring donations are essential to our core Get Out The Vote mission and the resulting victory in the 2026 mid-term elections.
“In the beginning of a change the patriot is a scarce man, and brave, and hated and scorned. When his cause succeeds, the timid join him, for then it costs nothing to be a patriot.” [Mark Twain]
The Moral Imperative of the Individual to Actively Defend Freedom
From 1776 to 1783 Thomas Paine published a series of pamphlets on The American Crisis. In Crisis No. IV he wrote: “Those who expect to reap the blessings of freedom must, like men, undergo the fatigue of supporting it.”
If Thomas Paine were to deliver a Lincoln Day Speech emphasizing this point, it may have been something like what is presented below.
Freedom is often spoken of as a birthright, a blessing, or a legacy handed down from those who came before us. And while all of that is true, freedom is also a discipline—something we must practice, protect, and renew through the choices we make every day.
It does not survive on sentiment or ceremony alone. It survives when individuals decide that their actions matter, their character counts, and the future is shaped not by distant forces but by the people, each of us, willing to step forward and do the work.
Responsibility is the quiet foundation of every thriving community. It is the recognition that no institution, no leader, and no policy can substitute for the moral courage of engaged citizens.
When we take responsibility, we stop waiting for someone else to fix what is broken. We stop assuming that “they” will solve the problems “we” were meant to confront. We begin to see that freedom is not maintained by spectators but by participants—people who understand that liberty requires stewardship.
Taking responsibility does not mean carrying the world on our shoulders. It means owning our part: the way we treat our families, the way we show up for our neighbors, the way we contribute to the common good. It means choosing integrity over convenience, service over cynicism, and initiative over resignation. These small, daily acts—often unseen—are the true architecture of a free society.
Responsibility also restores dignity. It reminds us we are not powerless, our choices have weight, and our efforts can bend the arc of our communities toward hope. When we take responsibility, we reclaim agency. We rediscover freedom is not something done to us or for us, but something we build together.
In moments of uncertainty, it is tempting to wait for rescue—for someone else to step in, to lead, to repair, to heal. But history teaches a different lesson: the strength of a nation rests in the character of its people.
Freedom flourishes when ordinary citizens decide that passivity is no longer enough. It grows when we choose to act with purpose, to speak with honesty, and to serve with humility.
Freedom begins the moment we take responsibility. It deepens every time we choose courage over comfort, contribution over complaint, and community over isolation. And it endures when we remember that the future is not predetermined. It is shaped—every day—by the people willing to claim their role in it.
Will you join me today to ensure Freedom isn’t just an idea or concept but rather Freedom is a practice each of us commits to just as our Founders envisioned when they created the Framework of this great Nation.
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Limited Government
Support spending and fund transfer transparency, mandatory implementation of performance audit recommendations, immediate publishing of all audit findings and corrective actions taken at all levels of government.
We Must Have Transparency and Accountability
At a time when Washington State families are struggling to make ends meet, our Federal, State and Local lawmakers have done little to address rampant fraud in taxpayer-funded programs.
We The People have had enough!
Recurring symptoms related to the currently exposed fraud include politicians who frequently champion expansive government programs with minimal safeguards creating fertile ground for fraudsters. Then, when schemes are exposed, the politicians feign shock, blaming external actors rather than their lax policies. This pattern undermines public trust and wastes billions in taxpayer dollars. A prime example is the recent Somali daycare scam in Minnesota which now appears to infect other states including Washington, Maine and likely many others.
Under Democrat Governor Tim Walz's administration, federal investigators are now taking credit for uncovering widespread fraud in childcare programs, where providers—many Somali-owned—allegedly billed for nonexistent services. The timing of the FBI’s blockbuster announcement aligns with a viral video from Nick Shirley, a 23-year old social media influencer and investigative reporter who released a 42-minute video on YouTube titled “I Investigated Minnesota’s Billion Dollar Fraud Scandal," where he visited several federally funded childcare centers in Minnesota—many allegedly Somali-run—and discovered they appeared empty or nonoperational despite receiving millions in taxpayer dollars.
Washington State faces credible suspicion of similar daycare fraud and like Minnesota, lax verification in expanded programs is blamed. Unfortunately, for Washington State Taxpayers, our State is once again fertile ground for fraud. Recall, in 2020, during the COVID-19 “pandemic”, Washington State's unemployment system under Commissioner Suzi LeVine was ravaged by fraud attributed to Nigerian gangs. The cause of the unemployment “fraud” was explained as “rushed expansions to benefits, with waived verifications” that allowed international scammers to file thousands of fake claims, stealing up to $650 million (later increased to possibly $1 billion).
Are the similar causes of the Nigerian Fraud and the current Somali Fraud a random coincidence or pre-planned responses and why didn’t the state government fix identified problems following the 2020 incident? Maybe because they don’t want it fixed? How much of the fraud actually passes through undetected and who benefits? Smurfing = Political Money Laundering. Prediction: you’ll hear this term frequently in the coming days and weeks.
Ever wonder what happened to Suzi LeVine following one of the largest thefts in our State’s history? Shortly after the successful Nigerian Unemployment Fraud operation she was promoted to the position of Acting Assistant Secretary in the Employment and Training Administration (ETA) at the U. S. Department of Labor (DOL).
Each of us is capable of doing what Nick Shirley did in Minnesota. As citizens we have a duty to report suspected fraud and Washington State Revised Code (RCW) grants County Commissioners inherent authority to refer evidence of criminal fraud, especially concerning public funds, to appropriate State or Federal authorities for investigation and prosecution.
2026 is an important year for Congressional, State, and Local elections. We must demand action, accountability, solutions, and the theft of our tax dollars must stop immediately!
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Coach Joe Kennedy Joins the Lincoln Day Lineup
The Spokane County Republican Party is honored to announce Joe Kennedy will join us as a Featured Speaker at Lincoln Day 2026.
He was just an “average” high school football coach in a small Washington town—until he dropped to one knee after a game for 30
seconds of silent prayer. That single act of faith and gratitude, which many of us believe was God’s Divine Plan, cost Coach Joe Kennedy his job and then launched one of the biggest religious-liberty victories in decades.
From a challenging childhood in foster homes and sleeping in broken-into cars, to 20 years honorably serving our country as a United States Marine, Joe never knew God.
An atheist until becoming a Christian in his 30s, through the influence and prayers of his wife Denise Joe made a covenant with God: “Give me my wife and family, and I’ll give You everything.” That promise changed not only his life, but all of ours as well.
For eight years following each game, Coach Kennedy jogged unnoticed to midfield, took a knee and gave thanks. Then one admiring phone call from another school to deliver a compliment detonated into a national firestorm.
The school district demanded he pray in secret—or not at all. Coach Joe refused, was fired, vilified, and dragged through seven years of court battles. Finally, he stood before the Supreme Court and won a 6–3 decision, restoring the right of every American to live their faith publicly.
Coach Joe’s Faith, Family, and Freedom journey is amazingly captured in the Movie Average Joe (released October 2024) and now in his inspirational book Average Joe—One Man’s Faith and the Fight to Change a Nation by Joe Kennedy with Stephanie Katz.
Please join us in welcoming Coach Joe Kennedy at the March 21, 2026 Lincoln Day Gala at The Davenport Grand Ballroom for what promises to be an inspiring and unforgettable evening.
The Spokane County Republican Party is excited to announce our annual Lincoln Day Speech Contest and invite passionate young people, ages 14-22, to participate and share their thoughts for this year’s speech topic:
“The Consent of the Governed Is Not Theoretical—It’s Fundamental”
Historical background of the speech topic:
The phrase “consent of the governed” is not a lofty abstraction tucked into the pages of history—it is the bedrock of American democracy.
When the Founders declared independence in 1776, they asserted that governments derive “their just powers from the consent of the governed,” establishing a radical departure from monarchies and authoritarian rule.
This principle is not merely philosophical; it is operational. It defines how laws are made, how leaders are chosen, and how legitimacy is sustained.
Without consent, government becomes coercion. Consent is expressed through voting, civic engagement, and public discourse. It is renewed with every election, challenged through protest, and protected by the Constitution. The rule of law, separation of powers, and individual rights all hinge on this foundational idea.
To treat consent as theoretical is to risk erosion of liberty. When citizens disengage, power consolidates. When voices are silenced, legitimacy fades.
The consent of the governed is not a passive inheritance—it is an active duty. It demands participation, vigilance, and accountability. In a republic, freedom is not self-sustaining. It must be affirmed by the people. That affirmation is not optional—it is fundamental.
Speech Contest Information and Format:
- Research the topic from the perspective of our “Founder’s Intent” and create a 3-minute video of you presenting your speech highlighting a key point or points from your research, why the Founders believed it was important, why you believe it remains important today, how you will do your part to carry forward this critical “Freedom’s Framework” civic duty, and the impact it will have on our community, state and nation.
- Submit a video of you presenting your speech before February 14, 2026.
- Contestants must be available to attend and deliver their speech live at the Lincoln Day Gala
- Date and Time of the event: Saturday March 21, 2026 5:00 to 9:00 pm
- Location: Davenport Grand Hotel Ballroom
- Content (structure, originality, clarity)
- Delivery (confidence, enthusiasm, presence)
- Language (grammar, vocabulary, articulation)
- Engagement (storytelling, humor, connection with the audience)
- The top-3 finalists will be selected to deliver their speech live at the Lincoln Day Gala Saturday March 21, 2026
- The Lincoln Day audience will vote to determine 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners
- Cash Scholarship Awards for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners
- Go to: spokanegop.com/lincoln-day-speeches, complete the submission form, and attach the file with your speech
Morna Gilbert, Lincoln Day Speech Committee Chair, Morna6064@pm.me
