Lifelong Republicans: You don’t have to leave the party, because it already left you
I would never suggest that my friends who are lifelong Republicans abandon their principles.
I *do* suggest that the Republican Party already abandoned them, leaving behind those who actually believe in small government, low taxes and national security.
I think if you have any doubt about the difference, I would suggest that you -really- research the attack by foreign intelligence agents against the integrity of our elections. Read the indictments and the guilty pleas. Not only have we been subjected to intense propaganda campaigns explicitly designed to set us apart from each other, but they’ve hacked into election systems and continue to do so with impunity.
The current incarnation of the Republican Party has done everything it can to kill any investigations into that attack on our country. They’ve voted against attempting to protect our election systems. They’ve smeared and personally attacked public servants who have spent their careers trying to protect our national security. They’ve defended spies who have worked to disrupt our country.
The modern Republican Party doesn’t care about national security. It only cares about winning. If you are a real Republican… someone who believes in conservative principles… you should vote for a Democrat in the upcoming midterms.
Robert "Goat" Beveridge
The problem, my friend, being that the supporters don’t CARE. You’ve seen the pictures of people at Trump rallies wearing pro-Russia shirts, yeah?
I never thought I’d see the day when William Lederer’s hysterical anti-communist screed A Nation of Sheep, published in 1962, actually came true. And yet… here we are. The extremist ramblings of a madman that made McCarthy look like Gus Hall are our current reality.
I crossed the aisle a decade ago, for different (but related) reasons, but I still agree with all of this 100%. Unfortunately, the neocons are happily welcoming our new bearish overlords.