For the last 60 years, I’ve been, like my father and most of my friends, a fairly conservative Republican.
I believed in the basic tenants of the Republican philosophy, fiscal responsibility, civil and individual rights and responsibilities, as embodied by President Lincoln. And the rule of law as it was established by the Founding Fathers.
Lately, though, I’ve realized that the Republican Party platform has strayed far from that basic philosophy.
It has abandoned fiscal responsibility in favor of large tax cuts for wealthy contributors with no real attempt at commensurate spending reductions.
In actions that would have made the Dixiecrats of the Old South proud, they have abandoned a significant section of the electorate by excluding them from the democratic process.
They have kowtowed to the demands of small influence groups (read: large contributors.)
They have succumbed to the cult of personality which has led to the acceptance of unconscionable behavior by individuals and the flaunting of legal and moral principles.
The bottom line is that I am embarrassed to admit that it has taken me this long to become a Republican In Name Only (RINO).
Jerry Enzenauer
Sequim