Thread by @jaemoyerks

You all know me as a firm progressive, but my dad is a staunch Kansas Republican: a thread. 👇1/13

Growing up I had a great life, not wealthy, but supported by a very loving family who adopted me at birth. My mom passed away when I was a pre-teen, and my family struggled with that, be we were ALWAYS there for each other. 2/13

I came out as gay to my dad in the 8th grade, and I could tell it made him uncomfortable, and he never knew how to talk about it, but he said something along the lines of “you’ll always be my son and I still love you”. 3/13

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve become more and more concerned about the state of LGBTQ+ in my home state, and so I joined political groups to advocate for my rights and the rights of other LGBTQ+ Kansans. This, of course, opened the door to political convos with my family. 4/13

My dad strongly refuses to believe that the Republican party has changed, yet he is a Republican of the Reagan era, and has supported candidates like both Pres. Bush’s, Former KS Gov. Colyer, and KS US Senator Jerry Moran. He does wildly criticize radicalism, and Trump. 5/13

I have tried to let him know how far gone his party really is- no longer are Republicans the party of working across the aisle and being good citizens. Their party is obsessed with extreme conservatism, and radical bans (or lack thereof) that fit their political agenda. 6/13

My dad knows this, despite the fact that he doesn’t quite want to say it out loud. He voted “no”. He voted for Biden. He votes for Kansas Democratic candidates for the #ksleg. (And, shocker, he voted for me when I ran!) 7/13

It’s because Kansans have a deeper understanding of why it’s so wrong to be someone who supports oppressive or downright destructive policies. 8/13

Kansas voted to be a free state. Kansas is the home of the landmark Brown V. Board of Education ruling. Kansas elected the first female mayor in America. Kansas is the home of John Brown. Kansas pushed back against Sam Brownback and the failed tax experiment. 9/13

Kansas also pushed back against Kris Kobach and his extremist views, electing our Democratic Governor, Laura Kelly (5 of our past 10 governors have been Dems). We voted against Trump and extremism in congress, and sent Sharice Davids, a lesbian, Native, woman to DC. 10/13

And finally, most recently, Kansas sent a shockwave through America when we voted NO on a constitutional amendment that would strip away our citizens rights to make our own medical decisions. And my dad supported all that, too. 11/13

It’s because Kansans are GOOD people. We support each other. We come together when it really matters, and we help others in their time of need. There are a lot of folks that vote for Republicans who no longer represent their values, sure. However, Kansas also knows better. 12/13

Don’t give up on Kansas. People here are loyal, and kind. It really kinda is funny, that saying, “there’s no place like home”. We get tired of it, because we hear it far too much. But the people living here add plenty of truth to the sentiment. 13/13

#kansas #KansasVotesNO #KansasVotedNO #ksleg