I am a Democrat
This is my first diary on Daily Kos, so I hope you will bear with me.
I am a scientist. I believe in democracy. Climate change is an existential threat to humanity’s future on this planet. Healthcare is a human right. The tax burden has been skewed to favor the rich and needs to change. I believe in a woman’s right to choose. I am pro-LGBTQ. Black Lives Matter.
These are just some examples of positions I hold and have held for some time. Truly unremarkable on a site like this, so why point it out?
I point it out because I used to be a Republican. A very solid one, actually.
I grew up idolizing Reagan. My first vote was for George H. W. Bush (who I still think was a pretty underrated president). I thought W was an extremely flawed candidate, but one who still cares for this country. I was a huge fan of John McCain, despite his awful choice of a running mate. And then there was Mitt, another flawed man, but someone who I felt has honor and is a good man who loves this country, and as such I actively supported his campaign.
I hope that I haven’t lost anyone, but just wanted to get that upfront.
Then of course Trump happened. I was disgusted, dismayed, you name it. NeverTrumper, that was me. I was hoping for Kasich, Rubio, heck even that weasel Ted Cruz. Anyone but this buffoon. I ended up voting for Gary Johnson out of “principle”
I apologize for that vote. Worst vote I’ve ever made, and I regret not doing the right thing and voting for a Democrat for the first time in HRC. I was simply convinced that once the GOP was purged of this clown, all would be fine again.
I was wrong.
Over the past four years of this unprecedented disgrace of a presidency, which will go down as one of if not the worst presidencies in our nations’ history, I began to realize the rot that is the Republican Party. The principles that I used to believe in the party, like respect for law and our democratic institutions no longer hold true for Trump’s party. The rank hypocrisy in ramming through a Supreme Court Justice weeks before the election when just four years ago McConnell and his minions climbed Mount Pious to tell us the American People should decide the fate of SCOTUS (8 months before the election) was the last straw for me.
There was always a dark underbelly of the GOP that I ignored, but in the end the frank reality was it was needed to win elections for Republicans. The GOP needed to evolve, but instead they decided to double down on the darkness. Trump simply brought this all to the forefront and now there is no going back. I’m convinced that the GOP needs to be sent to the ashbin of history along with the Whigs and Federalists, other parties who may have started out noble but no longer serve American interests.
Looking back on my first paragraph you may be asking me “Why were you ever a Republican?” I don’t have a good answer other than perhaps the tribalism that is our political system is a tough nut to crack. I say that I was center-right but when reflecting on my positions, I’m definitely more center-left. I am a Democrat. It is strange hearing me say those words. Somehow though I doubt I am alone.
Anyway, I have enjoyed this site for years (even when I was a “Republican”). I enjoy constructive dialogue, even when we don’t agree. I look forward to the day when our politics can return to civilized debate on policy but I suspect that will be a long slog. We will eventually need an alternative party to be a truly functioning democracy, so maybe we will look back at something like the Lincoln Project as the birth of a new political movement, but I suspect that would take a decade, maybe a generation. And perhaps I may join them. But right now, there is a fundamental threat that Trump and the GOP represent to our very Republic.
And while I can sit here and rip on Trump and his enablers all day, I would like to say how proud I am to be supporting Joe Biden. He was in fact my choice during the primary (we have an open primary so I also made personal history by voting in a Democratic primary for the first time). However, I was worried about his age and his propensity for the gaffe that might give us four more years of the Trump disaster, but Biden has truly rose to meet the moment. He has exceeded my expectations by a huge margin. I believe he is going to be a transformative President, one for the history books (in a good way).
So all hands on deck and Vote Blue! I hope I will be welcome in the big tent. Thanks for reading!