My grandpa enlisted at 17. He spent his life on a ship & planted my family in a Navy town, Virginia Beach. He told me Republicans were better on military issues, so at 15 I became a Republican. I was told the racism & homophobia of certain GOP elements were just fringe because...
...my grandpa was thinking from a Navy perspective, where you treat everyone in a uniform with respect. The GOP nominated McCain when I was in middle school, Romney when I was in high school. Both good & decent men- I didn't get why Dems called these Republicans evil.
After 2012, the GOP attempted reform. I embraced marriage equality, a smart social safety net, climate change, racial justice- and believed the GOP would catch up. In 2015, as a college student, I was #NeverTrump from the outset. I watched with horror as Trump's influence grew.
I was slow to lose hope in the GOP. I thought Trump was an aberration. From his launch speech to his comments about women to his proposed Muslim ban- surely, I thought, the party of McCain/Romney would reject him. When we didn't, I found hope among #NeverTrumpers.
But, Republican leaders I thought stood for an inclusive, big tent party stayed silent, and thus complicit, during Trump's reign of bigotry and illiberalism. The party my Navy veteran grandfather told me about does not currently exist.
The Party of Lincoln, McCain, and Romney does not exist. The GOP of compassionate conservatism is from a bygone era. Your old loyalties no longer apply.
For the sake of our country and a healthy two party system, it is essential we vote for Joe Biden in 2020.
For the sake of our country and a healthy two party system, it is essential we vote for Joe Biden in 2020.
