Just Us Nerds

Dear Republican Party.

Now that you’ve had a couple of days to absorb your second straight election defeat, I thought I would let you know how you drove this former Republican away.

In the eighties and nineties I was a member of the Republican Party. In the early nineties, I briefly held a position as a precinct committeeman for the Republican Party. Even then, however, I had problems with the party. I was willing to overlook them, but they only got worse. Eventually, the Republican Party chose to elect a clearly incompetent man, George Bush. This man could not string two sentences together coherently, but he said the word God a lot. Apparently, that was more important to Republicans. When he took office I left the party. I knew it was no longer the place for me. For the record, I didn’t join the Democrats. I never considered myself one of them either. I am truly a man without a party. If you are interested in getting me and the many people who are like me, back, I’ll let you know what I stand for and against. Perhaps it will help your thinking.

Here is what I agree (in principal) with the Republican Party on.

• I believe that the government cannot solve all of our problems. When in doubt, the government should just stay out of the way.
• I believe in gun rights. The right to bear arms is guaranteed by the constitution and it is there for good reasons.
• I believe in a balanced budget. A government that owes no money is infinitely more stable and powerful than a government that is deep in debt.
• I believe in a strong defense. Our military should be strong enough to strike fear in those who mean us harm.
• I believe in a flat tax. Anyone above the poverty line should pay a fixed percentage of their income with no loopholes.
• I believe in the rights of the states as outlined by the constitution. States should, within those limits, be able to set their own courses.

Here are the areas in which I do not agree with the Republican Party:

• I believe in the first amendment, absolutely and completely.
• I believe that abortion is unfortunate but sometimes necessary. I think everything should be done to create a society in which few people ever have a reason to choose abortion, but I will not persecute those who make the choice or those who assist them.
• I do not believe in “Family Values”. I could care less who marries who, or who has sex with who. I am pro human rights and opposed to laws governing consensual and private acts.
• I believe in the separation of church and state. This country was founded by people who wanted to be free to worship as they chose. We should be free to worship or not worship in any way we want, as long as we do not infringe on the rights of others to do the same or break laws that have nothing to do with religion.
• I believe that education should be the absolute number one priority of the government. Education lowers crime and poverty while making us more financially competitive throughout the world. A well educated population in a capitalist country cannot help but succeed. I do not believe that we should spend our time and energy bashing teachers. If the job was more appealing, better people might take the job. As it is, we have trouble finding enough people willing to take the low paying, mostly thankless job.
• I do not believe that people should be tortured or executed — even our enemies. Not only is it immoral, it is poor policy for a country that wants to bring freedom and democracy to the world.
• I do not believe that you can force democracy on people. Forcing any decision, even voting, on a population is not democratic.
• I believe that the threat of war is sometimes useful, but actual war should really, truly be only a last resort. War damages every country involved.
• I believe that freedom is not safe. Balancing our safety with our freedom is always difficult, but if there is any question of which way to go, I choose freedom.

I’m not expecting the Republican Party to come to my way of thinking, but I do think there are a lot of people out there who share most of my views. They aren’t happy with the Democrats and their government solutions to everyone’s problems, but they are just as fearful of a Republican party that thinks they speak for God, that America is always right, and that questioning our leaders is unpatriotic. Good luck reevaluating your party. I hope you make wise decisions.

John Hewitt

Former Republican