Confessions of a Reformed Republican
OK, (deep breath) let’s begin at the beginning. My first Diary:
I was born into a very Republican, very political family. As far back as I can remember, my family has been deeply involved with the Republican party in the state where we live. My father was active in county and state politics and was a delegate to the Republican National convention in 1972. He and my mother brought my older brother and me with them as a good introduction to civics and a lesson in how to be good Republicans ourselves. We met President and Mrs. Nixon (I have no real assessment of him but I remember that she was very, very nice and the secret service men were very big and intimidating).
In later years, I met Ronald Reagan at a political function my father was hosting. Not sure of the dates but I was still young. There is a family photo floating around of me showing him my pretty new dress for the occasion! (LOL)
When I graduated from high school, it was assumed that I would attend Stanford and become a lawyer and follow my parents and become politically active myself. But my Mother (God Rest Her Soul) did something very strange (for my family) and insisted that I attend a Liberal Arts University and get a liberal education (I suspect that she was a closet rebel and heard family stories of her partying with “hippies” and smoking marijuana but these rumors are unverified. She passed on before I knew this and could ask her). For some reason unknown to me to this day, my Father agreed! So, I did! However, when I “came of age”, my father made sure that I dutifully registered Republican. So, I did. But something wonderful happened…
I attended that liberal school and learned about such things as Apartheid in South Africa and Bishop Desmond Tutu and environmental issues and protesting and sit-ins. I would come home at school breaks and go through my Mother’s pantry and tell her what products she could buy, or not, and what banks she could bank at, or not. At that time, my parents called themselves “Fiscal Conservatives and Liberal Humanitarians.” My Father wasn’t gung-ho about all this new-found type of political interest but my Mother thought it was great! (At that time, my parents taught me to vote for the person, not the party and I could talk to them about the issues of the day. The didn’t always agree with me, but My Father just wanted to make sure I was still a Republican and he felt that this phase would pass. It did.)
After College, I was less into activism and more into my corporate career. I travelled the world for business and really didn’t think much about politics. I still voted for the person and not the party, but I will admit here that I often voted for Republicans when I wasn’t sure who to vote for. But, in my defense, I DID believe Anita Hill and I DID vote for Bill Clinton and Barack Obama and for several Democratic state and federal representatives. But, looking back, I was more influenced by my Father than I would like to admit. He was still very politically active and connected and would insist that I vote the party-line. More than I like to admit, I did. I just didn’t care that much about politics and my Mother had long passed and was no longer an influence. I just figured that I was busy and that all politicians were pretty much the same and that the government would function no matter what, so who cared?
And even when 9/11 happened, especially when 9/11 happened, though I was shaken to my core, (I was supposed to be on the United Flight 175 from Boston to LA that was flown into the South Tower. I was on that flight every two weeks as my work at that time required me to be in Boston for two weeks and then in California for two weeks but I had cancelled my trip that time and, well, OK, so I don’t like to think about it very much.) I was sure that Bush was doing the right thing going to war in the Middle East and that everything would work out…
Ok, back to my Dad. I noticed a shift in him in the 2000s with the rise of the Tea Party and the influence of FOX news and conservative talk radio. By the time Obama was elected, he was no longer a “Fiscal Conservative and Liberal Humanitarian.” He started strangely spewing conspiracy theories and saying horrible things about Obama. But I’ll admit, I wasn’t paying close enough attention to him or to politics. I figured he was just getting old and cranky. I figured there were enough sensible people in this country that things would keep going OK. I know things were not great with the “Financial Crisis” but I had faith in the government and I had my own health worries to deal with as I became sick in 2010 and then permanently disabled. I just figured that everything would work out and when Hilary ran for President, I was excited that we would finally have our first woman President and I gladly voted for her. I DID NOT EXPECT WHAT HAPPENED IN 2016.
I woke up, as we all did, terrified, shocked and deeply shaken (even more than 9/11). All of a sudden, the shingles fell from my eyes and I realized that I had been too complacent about the politics in this country. I realized that I, even though I had been voting mostly Democratic in recent years, I did not know what had happened to the Republican Party. I did not know how wide-spread was the influence of FOX news and conservative talk radio. I did not know about gerrymandering and voter suppression by the Republican party on the state level. I did not know about the wide-spread corruption of the Republican Party. And I could not comprehend what was going on in national politics. I had not paid attention, nor had many of my friends.
So, I watched in horror as tRump was inaugurated and thought “My God, what have we done?” At that point, I thought, I better find out what was going on. So, I started searching for information. I joined Move-On and started reading diaries at DailyKos.com (and joined the DailyKos community this year) and read articles through CREDO. I started watching MSNBC and CNN. I researched the issues, found out what was going on and had been going on while I was politically asleep. I started donating to Democratic causes and organizations. I joined more Democratic movements and organizations. I signed petitions, called and sent emails to my state and national representatives. I spoke to my friends and colleagues. I made sure that everyone I know is registered to vote and committed to vote. (I cannot march but am with you who do in spirit) And then, finally, I re-registered as a Democrat this year (as did many of my Republican friends). That was, interestingly enough, a very hard thing for me to do. So much family history and heritage baggage there.
I finally, too, stood up to my Father who now spews nothing but right-wing hateful, racist, misogynistic propaganda. He calls himself a “Christian White Nationalist” and insists that the “Leftist-socialist-Marxist-Leninist-Fascists” (He doesn’t get that, not only does this imaginary group not exist, but he doesn’t understand that you really can’t be all of those things as once. It hurts my mind to even try to explain this to him so I’ve stopped trying.) are responsible for ALL the violence in this country; that this imaginary group is paying protesters ( and especially Antifa), that the Synagogue shooter in Pittsburg was actually funded and paid by the Left to do that (apparently all of his “Leftists” hate Jews) even though I tried to explain – which is easily verifiable – that the shooter was so far right that he hung out and posted on the social media site GAB, where the Alex Joneses and Milos Yiannapouloses of the world hang out. (Do you think they would like to be called “Leftist-socialist-Marxist-Leninist-Fascists”?) Oh, and he also says that I shouldn’t believe anything that I read, see or hear (So Orwellian that it is scary.) Yes, he has consumed the tRump Kool-Aid and is lost to me.
But I have good news for you! I heard John Heilemann, host of “ The Circus” on Showtime and National Affairs Analyst on MSNBC say that we must understand that the of all registered voters, only 26% are Republican. I did my research and according to Gallup, the Pew Report and the Washington Post somewhere between 23% and 26% of all registered voters are Republican. And I suspect that that number has fallen much more than these polls know and are stating. I know sooo many who have left the Republican party. And, it also seems that the majority of Independent voters lean Democratic when voting. Think about this: How polls have you seen that say something like “70% of Republican voters approve of tRump”? 70% of 26%? Or Less? That is not a good sign for the Republican Party if we ALL (Democrats, Independents and Never-Trumpers) go vote! THEY are the MINORITY! WE are the MAJORITY and we CAN take this country back. The Republican party is dying and we must drive a nail in that coffin.
So I am now “WOKE” and I hereby apologize to all of you out there who have been fighting the good fight for so long. I have joined your ranks, my immediate family has joined your ranks and my friends have joined your ranks. Friends don’t let friends vote Republican. I am now determined to make a difference myself in any way I can as I believe the majority of Americans are too. Be determined. Don’t give up hope! GO VOTE!
“Hope is being able to see that there is light despite all of the darkness.” Desmond Tutu
Monday, Oct 29, 2018 · 8:03:31 PM +00:00 · PARAE
I am astonished and grateful that so many of you have read this diary and commented and recommended it. I also wanted to recommend to you all the very good documentary “The brainwashing of my dad.” One of you recommended it to me yesterday and I watched it last night (You can watch on Amazon Video). Please watch and see how the insidious plan of the right has brainwashed our family, friends, and loved ones and that this has been going on since the 1970’s (a concerted and carefully planned effort to move the nation to the right).
Thanks again for the warm welcome and support. I will try to get through your comments. PARAE