I Hate Being a Republican

​Dan

I hate being a Republican. I’ve never liked it, but reluctantly accepted it as an avenue for my political views to be expressed. Being a Republican means always being on the defense, and if you are a Republican, this requires no detailed explanation. Likely you’ve spent a good amount of time deflecting accusations of “isms”  and “phobias.”  You’ve lost a friend or two, strained relationships, had more than a few debates that accelerated quickly. We can deal with those things, because we know these accusations are emotional reactions from the left meant to disarm us. We believe enough in the principles of conservatism that it is worth the effort, and the losses, along the way. In the same vein, we believe enough in conservatism that we might be willing to join a party, perhaps against our own inclinations to be individuals.

But I hate being a Republican. I hate the Grand Old Party, but here I am, part of it, and I’ve never been more embarrassed. We sure had some good things going for us, didn’t we? Think back to just before the primaries: those were the days. Unbeatable. Seventeen candidates? Why not. They all bring conversation to the table. Election after election, the elephants ask conservatives to give up something and vote for their candidate, but this time maybe they wouldn’t have to. There were enough solid choices in the lineup. The past seven years validated every conservative concern about government — this was our time.  

But not for long. No, we traded all that in. We traded it in for a candidate who instead of promoting our principles made a mockery of them. We’d rather a man who refused to denounce the KKK on national television. The GOP nominee may be a man who mocked a disabled reporter and POW’s.  A man whose followers attempt to win votes not by persuasion of policy but by intimidation and threat. The GOP nominee may very well be a man whose response to a female reporter’s question about his misogynist past was that she must be menstruating. The GOP nominee may be a man who talked about size of his penis during a debate. Our guy could be the one with seven different opinions on abortion, and thinks Planned Parenthood does great things. That’s our guy.

The Obama years gave Republicans a chance to be the adult in the room. I thought the party was ready to grow up. I was wrong. Instead we are delivering to the national stage, for our representation, a stereotype of everything Democrats say we are. And here comes Reince, in typical fashion, asking that we make the phone calls, send out the mailers, tell our friends and family, and knock on doors proclaiming the gospel of Trump as the new voice of the Republican Party. Here comes the GOP, saying, come on, we need this win. The GOP has never understood that conservatives never wanted to be part of their party anyway. The fight is better without them.