OBSERVATIONS OF A DISENCHANTED REPUBLICAN
AN OPEN LETTER TO THE RNC
I confess to have voted almost exclusively Republican virtually all of my life…If I had to put myself in a category I would say that I am a fiscal conservative and a social moderate. On several occasions in the last couple of decades I have voted Republican not because I was necessarily excited about the candidate ultimately chosen through the primary process but because I felt like I was voting for the classic “lesser of evils”. I fear that my party’s obsession with divisive social issues is about to tip the “lesser of evil” scale. I don’t know where my vote will go, but my disgust for the pandering of the RNC to the extreme right is driving me away and I’m pretty confident I am not the only one.
Let’s start with abortion which certainly has taken center stage as we approach the convention next week…have you people lost your freaking minds? 100% opposition under any cir stances and a cons utional amendment? REALLY? How silly and pointless is this? What do you hope to accomplish? There is ZERO chance we will ever go back to abortion being illegal. ZERO. And don’t tell me that “the polls are shifting” and “50% of the people say they are pro-life”. Abortion is an intensely personal issue…Those that are already pro-choice have made a black/white decision…they will never waiver. On the other hand, there are a million shades of gray on the pro-life side. I would probably answer “pro-life” on a poll too…after all, who is for pro-death? At the same time I have to make it real for myself by asking…”what if it was my daughter?” I may be personally pro-life but I guarantee I am more pro-daughter. We intentionally raised her with good values and encouraged her to make good choices for herself and stick by them…but I guarantee you that if she chose to get an abortion and believed that was the best decision for her under the cir stances I would drive her to the doctor myself if necessary. If you don’t believe in abortion then I respect your views and applaud you for choosing to let the fetus grow to term and raising the child…but if you want to continue to get MY vote you damn well better respect my daughter’s choice too.
OK, how about the “defense of marriage” stuff? Is this ridiculous posturing really necessary? There are gay people in the world. There are a lot of them. They have been around since biblical times. So WHAT? For the most part they are ordinary people that work and try to be good citizens and pay their taxes and try to get along with their neighbors…kind of like your uhhh…average heterosexual couple. They don’t deserve “special protected class” rights but they dang sure deserve equal rights. I really don’t care what you do in the privacy of your chosen family and home and bedroom and you shouldn’t presume to let the religious fringe of the party legislate what we do in ours.
How about how this red team/blue team ideology that has basically destroyed effective governance in Washington? We share AT LEAST equal part of the blame and don’t you dare claim otherwise. We know that big decisions need to be made and that decades of bipartisan mistakes need to be corrected…we simply can’t go on borrowing (or printing) forty cents of every dollar we spend as far as we can see into the future. Sure, you pass budgets in the House (knowing they have no chance of passing the Senate), but we know it’s just posturing and jockeying for the upper hand on the next news cycle…we aren’t stupid and we are tired of the games. We sent you there to act like adults and govern. So let’s break it down…
Why this suicidal “no new taxes at any cost” position? We spend more money than we bring in. We make safety net promises we clearly can’t afford. We ordinary people know that to dig our way out of the financial hole we have buried ourselves in it will require increasing revenue and reducing expenditures, including military and entrenched social programs like Social Security and Medicare. It will be painful. It will be unpopular with some people. We know it. It’s intuitive. Red Team and Blue Team all know it. It’s time to quit posturing and start governing…and you know what? True governing involves compromise.
And the military…what are you asking these brave and dedicated people to do? Do you even know? What do you hope to accomplish in all these far flung ventures around the world? At this point, why do we even care about Afghanistan? Afghanistan is terminally ill and has been for thousands of years. We can’t cure them. Our soldiers are being murdered by the very people they are training and trying to help. Back in the heartland here we are sick of these pointless wars and we are sick of our kids fighting and dying for these third world savages that hate us. Why can’t we just admit that the world can be an evil place and we can’t solve all of the world’s problems? Iran next? Syria? Really…what do you hope to accomplish? What’s your end game? There is honor in admitting that the world can be an evil place and admitting that we can’t solve all the world’s problems. Back here at home we intuitively understand that if you mess with a rattlesnake and keep poking it with a stick it by nature will strike back, but if left alone it will typically leave us alone. Isn’t that easier than spending all these billions on intrusive and pointless “homeland security” to avoid the bite?
I won’t even address my reservations about the liberties being violated by Homeland Security. The founders of our country would be shocked and dismayed at the over reach of the Federal government with our elected representatives permission and collusion. Have you forgotten who you were sent to Washington to protect?
Speaking of our insecure homeland What about immigration and specifically immigration from Mexico and other countries south of our border? Let me give you a reality check. We have a porous border with a country/countries that have historically had a lower standard of living for the general population than we have in the US. Because of this there are a lot of undo ented people from Mexico and other countries to the south living and working in our country. It’s human nature for people to want to better themselves. For the most part they are solid citizens and just want an opportunity to work, pay their taxes, and raise their families in peace. I was born and raised in San Antonio, Texas, which has been a bi-cultural community as long as I can remember. Trust me, these people aren’t the boogeyman. We are never going to “seal our borders”. It’s just not going to happen. Instead of demonizing these people, lets welcome them into the system…do ent them and let them start paying taxes and earning citizenship…say by registering and getting do ented and then have ten subsequent years of steady employment and a clean criminal record and learn basic English as a second language. Why wouldn’t we want a citizen like that?
Folks, there are lot more things I could add, but I hope your take away from this is YOU ARE RAPIDLY LOSING SUPPORT FROM YOUR MODERATE VOTING CORE BY PANDERING TO THE EXTREME RIGHT. Stand up to them. Do the right thing for your party and your country. Work with the other party to figure out some workable solutions to our problems. Back home we are all sick of this red team / blue team gridlock. For a change, “take one for the country” and not for the team.
Sincerely,
XXXX
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