Why I Am (Still, Despite Everything) A Republican
"Maybe sometime you or Blondesense Liz or other sane Republicans might say why you bother with that party." - Mark Foxwell
Mark poses a good question (and it appeared as a comment in an earlier post, when I recited a sort of catechism). Why, after everything that has happened and is going on, do I still identify myself as a Republican?
Part of it is that I am fiscally quite conservative, which is historically a Republican attribute. I believe in capitalism and the profit motive, and the fact that keeping government spending low means that taxes are lower and more money goes into my pocket instead of to the IRS.
On social issues I am moderate. Some issues (abortion, gay rights, gay marriage, etc.) I am quite liberal toward - an almost Jeffersonian ideal, which basically boils down to "so long as you don't infringe on my rights or break the law, you are free to do as you please." I am pro-death penalty, however, because I don't believe that some criminals are capable of being rehabilitated.
Now, with all this, why am I a Republican? I believe that Republicans traditionally stood for social moderation and fiscal conservatism. It was a political party for staid Episcopalian and Presbyterian people, thrifty and not inclined to innovations.
So it was with some trepidation I watched Ronald Reagan get elected. I voted for him, I'll admit; the first time I voted since turning 18 (hey, you get a new toy, you just fester to try it out). I started seeing more and more of some weird fringe-dwellers who claimed to be Republican, yet they seemed ... odd, as if they were aliens, just off the boat and wandering around with a sort of parvenu intrusiveness.
I fought with the only weapon I have, my vote. When Pat Robertson won the Iowa Caucuses in 1988, I actually explored the idea of emigrating to New Zealand or Australia. But I am an America, born and bred, so I decided to stay and try to change things.
I am still trying to change things, despite incredible arguments with family members and friends, and long debates online that seem to quickly degenerate into name-calling. Because I am almost what Eric Hoffer calls a True Believer - but most definitely not in the same way he describes one.
I believe in the original ideals of the Republican Party, and try to persuade people that what is the public face of the Party is NOT an ideal worth buying into.
Mark poses a good question (and it appeared as a comment in an earlier post, when I recited a sort of catechism). Why, after everything that has happened and is going on, do I still identify myself as a Republican?
Part of it is that I am fiscally quite conservative, which is historically a Republican attribute. I believe in capitalism and the profit motive, and the fact that keeping government spending low means that taxes are lower and more money goes into my pocket instead of to the IRS.
On social issues I am moderate. Some issues (abortion, gay rights, gay marriage, etc.) I am quite liberal toward - an almost Jeffersonian ideal, which basically boils down to "so long as you don't infringe on my rights or break the law, you are free to do as you please." I am pro-death penalty, however, because I don't believe that some criminals are capable of being rehabilitated.
Now, with all this, why am I a Republican? I believe that Republicans traditionally stood for social moderation and fiscal conservatism. It was a political party for staid Episcopalian and Presbyterian people, thrifty and not inclined to innovations.
So it was with some trepidation I watched Ronald Reagan get elected. I voted for him, I'll admit; the first time I voted since turning 18 (hey, you get a new toy, you just fester to try it out). I started seeing more and more of some weird fringe-dwellers who claimed to be Republican, yet they seemed ... odd, as if they were aliens, just off the boat and wandering around with a sort of parvenu intrusiveness.
I fought with the only weapon I have, my vote. When Pat Robertson won the Iowa Caucuses in 1988, I actually explored the idea of emigrating to New Zealand or Australia. But I am an America, born and bred, so I decided to stay and try to change things.
I am still trying to change things, despite incredible arguments with family members and friends, and long debates online that seem to quickly degenerate into name-calling. Because I am almost what Eric Hoffer calls a True Believer - but most definitely not in the same way he describes one.
I believe in the original ideals of the Republican Party, and try to persuade people that what is the public face of the Party is NOT an ideal worth buying into.
posted by Walt at 2:27 AM
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