Courage of Conviction

Back on November 14th, I posed a question.  “The question now becomes what do registered Republicans do?” was the question I asked.  I gave four possible answers.  Well, I’ve made my decision after much thought and consideration. 

For a first step, I’ve decided to re-register as an Independent.  I am doing this for a number of reasons.  Am I cutting an running from my party?  Some may say so.  Just realize, when I first registered to vote when I turned 18, I didn’t register as a Republican back then.  Back then, when I lived in NY, I registered in the Conservative Party.  It’s actually a legitimate party in NY with a pretty big following and has an impact on Republican politics pretty frequently, mostly because NY allows candidates to cross register with multiple parties, unlike here in PA. 

I like to think of it as my party has cut and run from me.  The Republican party does not represent me anymore.  The leadership of the party has pulled the party away from its principles to a party that cares more about influence and protection of the establishment than it does care about working to reduce the size of government, cutting taxes, and making important changes to public policy. 

This is not meant to be a criticism of voters who are registered Republican - this is only meant as a criticism of the Party’s leadership, or lack thereof. 

So why not register as a Democrat?  Well, I don’t like what I see within the current state of the Democrat Party either.  Besides a disagreement about most public policy issues that would probably be too numerous to name here, I find that the Democrat Party leadership to similar to the Republican Party leadership - arrogant. 

Again, I’m not criticizing voters who are registered Democrat - it’s the leadership. 

So why Independent?  For one, I don’t like to be told what to do.  This related specifically to primaries.  The Parties discourage primaries, preferring to annoint candidates.  Plus, if you go against the annointed candidates, many times the establishment and the die-hards do not look kindly upon you, to put it lightly.  Second, until the Republican Party leadership and elected officials start acting like Republicans, I will find it difficult to support many Republicans.  Third, I’ve come to learn that there are good people in the Republican, Democrat, and the other parties that exist in PA. 

Do this mean I’ll never be a Republican again?  No, not at all.  I’ll re-register as a Republican when the Party gets their act together, when there is a primary that matters, or when it makes the most sense.  Overall, I just really don’t feel tied to the Party.

Let me close by saying that I don’t make this decision lightly.  Mind you, I’ve worked my ass building the Republican Party since college.  I was a Republican Committeeman for a few years.  I worked in the Young Republicans for many years, even serving as the Chairman of Cumberland County YRs and as Chairman of the Pennsylvania YRs.  I’ve worked with Republicans candidates to get them elected, and even worked for a Republican Congressman in DC. 

By making this move, I have much to lose, but also much to gain - mostly I can be honest with myself and sleep well at night knowing that I living out my true beliefs. 

This entry was posted on Monday, December 4th, 2006 at 1:05 am and is filed under Uncategorized, Leadership. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.