Left Behind

For most of my life, I’ve been a Republican. The first time I identified myself as one was when I was ten years old. I didn’t come from a political family. My father hadn’t voted in twenty-four years, and I don’t know if my mother had ever voted. I wasn’t from a rich family, I wasn’t even from a middle class family. It was through study of the issues that I became a Republican and a conservative.

I didn’t just say I was a Republican, but I lived it. I’ve served parts of three terms as a Precinct Committeeman in two different states. I’ve dropped literature for Republican candidates. I collected signatures for Republican candidates, I’ve worked Republican fair booths. In 2004, I sat in a Republican booth at Boise’s Hyde Park street fair in the heart of Boise’s North End and with my fellow Republicans faced down anti-War liberals.

I’m not a rich man, but I’ve opened my wallet to Republican Candidates time and time again. I’ve blogged late into the night to help Republican Candidates. Though I was never paid a dime and had no association with the campaign, in 2006, I faced down the liberal blogosphere with little aid from anyone else in its attempt to destroy then-State Representative Bill Sali on his road to Congress.

While I’m a pro-life Evangelical, I’m also pro-border security, in favor of the Fair Tax, strongly in favor of social security reform, and dedicated to following the 10th Amendment.

This morning, I a painful, startling realization. I finally understood what Ronald Reagan was talking about when he said, “I didn’t leave the Democratic Party, the Democratic Party left me.” I have never changed my position, but somewhere along the line, the political party I’ve fought so hard for has abandoned me.

I didn’t join a party that worships power as God. I didn’t join a party that thought the world of the eleventh commandment (which Ronald Reagan didn’t originate by the way) and said to heck with the original ten. I didn’t join a party that thought pork and corruption were noble.

The ultimate betrayal has come from the expected nomination of John McCain. Some say that those of us who don’t support John McCain ought to shut up. Perhaps, Senator McCain will some day clarify his campaign finance reform bill to make us do that, but until then, I’ll say what I please.

The differences between John McCain and I are so fundamental, they make him unworthy of my time and effort and financial support.

I believe in the first Amendment (which protects political speech); John McCain believes in government control of political speech. I believe in the sanctity of human life; John McCain believes in spending tax dollars to destroy human embryos despite the existence of far less ethically questionable sources. I believe in American Sovereignty; John McCain believes in Open Borders, the International Criminal Court, and the Law of the Sea Treaty. I believe in American unity; John McCain believes in a racially based native Hawaiian government.

We’re told to vote for John McCain because of national security and judges. Yet, on national security, John McCain supports closing Guantanamo, thus reducing the safety of the American people. He has a record of weakness on border security. To top this off, while the American people pay more than $3 a gallon for gasoline, John McCain prefers protecting some caribou in a Arctic National Wildlife Refuge from any risks above the interests of ordinary Americans. Not only that, while he supports energy independence when we magically discover the key to living without oil, in the meantime, we’re stuck on foreign oil because once again caribou come first, even before the security of the American people. Perhaps McCain should try and recruit caribou as volunteers given that he puts their interests first.

On the issue of judges, McCain led the gang of fourteen, which rather than standing up to Democratic filibusters, compromised with Democrats and in the process offered several good conservative judges up as sacrifices to appease the left. John Fund and now Bob Novak have reported that McCain indicated he wouldn’t appoint judges like Judge Alito.

The arguments stretch credibility to say the least. All I can see behind these statements for McCain is a desire for power and deep fear of a Democratic Administration. Well, I didn’t get involved in this thing because of a fear of the Democrats, or a desire to be on a winning team every year. I became involved because I wanted to see the rights of the unborn protected, government smaller, the tax code done away with, and our nation’s sovereignty respected.

Sadly, I don’t think that Republican Party exists anymore. I’ve been abandoned and betrayed by the Republican Party. Unlike Ronald Reagan, switching parties is not an option. The Democrats are even worse. The Constitution and Libertarian parties are inept and tend to attract certain elements of society of questionable sanity. Becoming an Independent isn’t an option as it’s merely a way to wash your hands of the whole thing.

So, I’ll do my best to pull this party back from the abyss and support whoever will help that effort. Unlike Ann Coulter, I won’t vote for Hillary Clinton. But my time and money are far too precious to waste on a man who is the antithesis of Conservatism on issue after issue. How I will vote will be between me and God, but I’ll let John McCain depend on all the new people he’ll supposedly attract to the Republican Party.

As for me, I’ll spend my money on candidates who hold to conservative values. I’ll be sending money to Charlie Ross in Mississippi, Woody Jenkins in Louisiana, and Bill Sali in Idaho, but not a dime to McCain. I’ll use my money to support conservatism, and if I can’t do it for the Presidency, I’ll do it somewhere else.

And I’ll labor for that day, when once again I can be proud to call the National Republican Party my party and we can once again offer Americans (to quote Phyllis Schlafly), a choice and not an echo.