I’m a cradle Republican. Given the circumstances under which I was raised the Democrats would probably have been a better choice; but having a dad who was a WW2 Navy vet, the mantra of a strong military, responsible spending and limited government was implanted in my brain at an early age. He also taught me that truth mattered, and how you conducted yourself said a lot about who you were.
I’m no longer a Republican. I’m now an independent. That’s because while voting, after Trump was elected president (with one of my votes), I was ashamed to say out loud that I was a member of the party he had hijacked. My issues were not with the President’s policies but rather with his childish antics, lying and support of conspiracy theories. He was the President of the United States, and he wasn’t acting like it. He was embarrassing himself and, by party association, me. He didn’t represent me, and I wanted no part of it.
He’s gone now, but his influence remains. The Republican party is at a crossroads. Who are they, and what do they stand for? Do they want to be a party that says whatever is popular, though patently false, just to win elections? Will anyone show true leadership and acknowledge that we’ve lost our way and are now catering to the lowest common denominator?
Some people seem to conflate being a conservative with being a Republican.
I’m STILL a conservative; but the Republican party lost me when it stopped caring about the truth and aligned its values, or lack thereof, with Donald Trump. I’m FOR a strong military, responsible spending and limited government. I’m also for the truth.
I had a conversation about that with Senator Bill Cassidy. Listen to what he had to say and decide where you stand.
