Why I Gave Up On Being a Republican

[There Is No Spoon]

...

Today, however, I am a registered Republican no longer.

...

I reached this point through a long series of awakenings and realizations- a path marked by literally years of wrestling with, and finally accepting, the political implications of a number of difficult truths. It involved ever-increasing levels of cognitive dissonance, as I tried to square my experiences, concerns, and knowledge, with my continued loyalty to the GOP.
...

In the grip of this contagion, the Republican Party has come unhinged. Its fevered hallucinations involve threats from imaginary communists and socialists who, seemingly, lurk around every corner. Climate change- a reality recognized by every single significant scientific body and academy in the world- is a liberal conspiracy conjured up by Al Gore and other leftists who want to destroy America. Large numbers of Republicans- the notorious birthers- believe that the President was not born in the United States. Even worse, few figures in the GOP have the courage to confront them.

Republican economic policies are also indefensible. The GOP constantly claims that its opponents are engaged in “class warfare,” but this is an exercise in projection. In Republican proposals, the wealthy win, and the rest of us lose- one only has to look at Rep. Paul Ryan’s budget to see that.

As Thomas E. Mann and Norman J. Ornstein have written, “the Republican Party, has become an insurgent outlier—ideologically extreme; contemptuous of the inherited social and economic policy regime; scornful of compromise; unpersuaded by conventional understanding of facts, evidence, and science; and dismissive of the legitimacy of its political opposition.” Its reckless behavior helps drive the political dysfunction crippling our nation.

... http://www.cagle.com/2012/06/why-i-gave-...epublican/

_________________________________________________

Every so often a Republican snaps back to reality. I hope more see the light this election season.

[janedrake]

That's an excellent read.

[azmouse]

No telling how genuine it is, but I'be been hearing the occasional Republican calling in to liberal talk shows saying they'll be voting for Obama in Nov. They say they don't like the direction of the Republican party. I hope they mean it, and I hope they can convince a few family members and friends to vote for Obama too.

[SeattleGirl]

(06-12-2012 05:22 PM)azmouse Wrote:  No telling how genuine it is, but I'be been hearing the occasional Republican calling in to liberal talk shows saying they'll be voting for Obama in Nov. They say they don't like the direction of the Republican party. I hope they mean it, and I hope they can convince a few family members and friends to vote for Obama too.

My guess would be that at least some of them DO mean it. There may be some "fakes" calling in, but I honestly don't think that everyone in the country who has identified themselves as Republican are completely bat crap crazy.

[suzie]

In my very, very, very Republican area, we sense far less hostility toward Democrats than in the last couple of election cycles. It's just a feeling that you get when you talk to people and they're not as openly angry at Democrats as in the past.

Maybe some of the Republicans will just "go fishing" or "go shopping" on election day.

[Brewman_Jax]

I hope he, and others like him, mean it. There are still too many repubs angry about the black guy in their White House. As history has shown, repubs still get elected, in spite of abhorrent policies and personal dealings.