What planet is he on? Self reliance and rugged individualism are no part of the Republican program of big government and government reliance and enhancing Democrat election chances. The best possible interpretation of Republican performance in Washington is that there are NO principles involved anywhere in the game. It is purely a tug of war between two groups of oligarchs to be the recipients of America's wealth. Us vs Them and they all wear the same suits.
GOP vs Dems in Washington - who gets to spend your money.