Yesterday I resigned my position in the York Township Republican Committeemen’s Organization. Below is the letter I sent to the chairman explaining my decision.
***********
Chairman Cuzzone:
We come together in political parties to magnify our influence. An organized representative institution can give weight to our will in ways we could not accomplish on our own. Working with others gives us power, but at the cost of constant, calculated compromise. No two people will agree on everything. There is no moral purity in politics.
If compromise is the key to healthy politics, how does one respond when compromise descends into complicity? To preserve a sense of our personal moral accountability we must each define boundaries. For those boundaries to have meaning we must have the courage to protect them, even when the cost is high.
Almost thirty years ago as a teenager in Texas, I attended my first county Republican convention. As a college student I met a young Rick Perry, fresh from his conversion to the GOP, as he was launching his first campaign for statewide office. Through Associated Republicans of Texas I contributed and volunteered for business-friendly Republican state and local candidates.
Here in DuPage County I’ve been a precinct committeeman since 2006. Door to door I’ve canvased my precinct in support of our candidates. Trudging through snow, using a drill to break the frozen ground, I posted signs for candidates on whom I pinned my hopes for better government. Among Illinois Republicans I found an organization that seemed to embody my hopes for the party nationally. Pragmatic, sensible, and focused on solid government, it seemed like a GOP Jurassic Park, where the sensible, reliable Republicans of old still roamed the landscape.
At the national level, the delusions necessary to sustain our Cold War coalition were becoming dangerous long before Donald Trump arrived. From tax policy to climate change, we have found ourselves less at odds with philosophical rivals than with the fundamentals of math, science and objective reality.
The Iraq War, the financial meltdown, the utter failure of supply-side theory, climate denial, and our strange pursuit of theocratic legislation have all been troubling. Yet it seemed that America’s party of commerce, trade, and pragmatism might still have time to sober up. Remaining engaged in the party implied a contribution to that renaissance, an investment in hope. Donald Trump has put an end to that hope.
From his fairy-tale wall to his schoolyard bullying and his flirtation with violent racists, Donald Trump offers America a singular narrative – a tale of cowards. Fearful people, convinced of our inadequacy, trembling before a world alight with imaginary threats, crave a demagogue. Neither party has ever elevated to this level a more toxic figure, one that calls forth the darkest elements of our national character.
With three decades invested in the Republican Party, there is a powerful temptation to shrug and soldier on. Despite the bold rhetoric, we all know Trump will lose. Why throw away a great personal investment over one bad nominee? Trump is not merely a poor candidate, but an indictment of our character. Preserving a party is not a morally defensible goal if that party has lost its legitimacy.
Watching Ronald Reagan as a boy, I recall how bold it was for him to declare ‘morning again’ in America. In a country menaced by Communism and burdened by a struggling economy, the audacity of Reagan’s optimism inspired a generation.
Fast-forward to our present leadership and the nature of our dilemma is clear. I watched Paul Ryan speak at Donald Trump’s convention the way a young child watches his father march off to prison. Thousands of Republican figures that loathe Donald Trump, understand the danger he represents, and privately hope he loses, are publicly declaring their support for him. In Illinois our local and state GOP organizations, faced with a choice, have decided on complicity.
Our leaders’ compromise preserves their personal capital at our collective cost. Their refusal to dissent robs all Republicans of moral cover. Evasion and cowardice has prevailed over conscience. We are now, and shall indefinitely remain, the Party of Donald Trump.
I will not contribute my name, my work, or my character to an utterly indefensible cause. No sensible adult demands moral purity from a political party, but conscience is meaningless without constraints. A party willing to lend its collective capital to Donald Trump has entered a compromise beyond any credible threshold of legitimacy. There is no redemption in being one of the “good Nazis.”
I hereby resign my position as a York Township Republican committeeman. My thirty-year tenure as a Republican is over.
Sincerely,
Chris Ladd
Postscript – Needless to say, the response to the letter has been stunning and overwhelming. I want to express my gratitude to the people who have shared so many kind thoughts. It was my intention to reply to each of the emails I’ve received, but I was snowed under by late last night and they keep piling up.
Some of the warmest regards have come from right here in suburban Chicago. When I posted this letter I was prepared to face some anger here at home from fellow Republicans. Nothing of the kind has materialized. The only official response from the local GOP so far has been support, for which I am immensely grateful. It gives me hope. We may all come out of this debacle in better condition.
***********
Chris Ladd is a Texan living in the Chicago area. He has been involved in grassroots Republican politics for most of his life. He was a Republican precinct committeeman in suburban Chicago until he resigned from the party and his position after the 2016 Republican Convention. He can be reached at gopliferchicago at gmail dot com.
GOPLifer 
I salute your critical thinking, your inderstanding of trump and your committment to all of us (including me a lifelong democrat and Bernie supporter) and I thank you👍😀
Im agree with this letter, GOPigers have really lowered their selves by nomimenation a criminal
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Comments
Mike Doughty
Mike Doughty DON THE CON, OR SHOULD I SAT SOON TO BE CONVICT Trump says he will be the first candidate since 1976 not to release tax returns. Analysts said that Trump likely pushed the envelope to turn ordinary income into capital gains, and deferred the payment of tax through like-kind exchanges, said the MarketWatch report. The tax returns could also verify how much income he receives from licensing his name.
In fact, they could show much more—for instance, how much of his fortune was made from defrauding other investors. Trump’s sordid business dealings are known to very few, as I’ve said in past columns. And now Donald Trump will go to trial in a class-action lawsuit against him and his now-defunct Trump University that includes the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act, or RICO charges, after the presidential election but before the inauguration, setting the stage for a president-elect to take the witness stand if he wins the White House.
One of his 4 Chapter 11 (business) bankruptcies was for Trump Casinos and Hotels. “For 10 years between 1995 and 2005, Donald Trump ran Trump Hotels & Casino Resorts — and he did it so badly and incompetently that it collapsed into Chapter 11 bankruptcy,” said Marketwatch’s Brett Arends, who has been tracking his business failures for years. “His stockholders were almost entirely wiped out, losing a staggering 89 percent of their money. The company actually lost money every single year. In total it racked up more than $600 million in net losses over that period,” something no other major casino chain did over that term.
2016-05-11-1462978686-3140956-trump.jpg
Graph: MarketWatch
In total, Donald Trump pocketed $32 million in nine years of running Trump Casinos and Hotels, while his public stockholders lost more than $100 million. But much more damaging are the various class action lawsuits filed again Trump and Trump University, which was a university in name only.
Instead of receiving a quality degree, “as good as any from a university”, said Trump, students received a printed certificate and no degree after spending as much as $36,000 on a weekend course that solicited more money, and were given commonly known real estate websites, such as Zillow, and several worthless property referrals.
These are the words of several plaintiffs suing Trump that a San Diego court has elevated to gangster status. Trump is accused of not only fraud, but racketeering, as if he were running a criminal enterprise.
U.S. District Judge Gonzalo Curiel last Friday scheduled trial for Nov. 28 in the suit that alleges people who paid up to $35,000 for real estate seminars got defrauded. The likely Republican nominee planned to attend most, if not all, of the trial and would testify, Trump attorney Daniel Petrocelli said.
“This means that, fairly or unfairly, opponents will be able to say that a large group of everyman voters, many of them elderly, have accused a leading contender for the Oval Office of being a racketeer,” said Time Magazine’s Steven Brill, who has been following the progress of this lawsuit, initiated more than five years ago.
Like · Reply · 1 · 8 hrs
Where was his critical thinking all the years he worked for the policies that now repel him?
You must have a personal relationship with Mr. Ladd, otherwise, how could you possibly know what his party positions were? Be careful there, Ken. On this blog, we work hard at making statements we can back up with fact.
Now more than ever Conservatives need to stand up and say… if you do not build the wall, if you do not name the terrorists, if you do not cut regulations, taxation and close down half the government, if you do not do the conservative things you have said in your campaign then Donald.. you will be a One Term Trump.
Or, how about this? If Republicans stand up and say….the party needs to change. It needs to be more inclusive, respect womens’ rights, help the middle class instead of cutting more taxes from the wealthiest Americans, acknowledge global warming and support initiatives to avert the worst consequences while there is still time, make it easier not harder for all people to vote, support a jobs bill to put people to work re-building and expanding our infrastructure, eliminate the Hastert Rule and encourage bi-partisan governing, *fix* the ACA or propose a better alternative…..refuse to accept or support with your vote, any candidates who will divide us and create fear.
If conservatives will stand up for these things, Trump won’t have any terms and a candidate like him will never again darken the halls of Congress – for either party.
Here’s the main problem with that way of thinking, and what seems to be behind so many leaving the Republican Party. What you’re talking about, Kent J, is not conservatism, but bigoted/selfish Libertarianism.
Lifelong Democrat here. My first vote was for “Grits & Fritz in ’76” & I’m still proud of it. That administration had enormous challenges, but the men themselves turned out to be admirable in the long run. I personally liked Ike, Ford, sometimes Reagan & Bush 2 as fellow humans who usually had good intentions, while still disagreeing with their policies. But Trump is a horse of a different color. He reminds me of someone who speaks like George Wallace, but is actually more like paranoid & vindictive Nixon without the intellect. I admire any Republican who braves the ill will of colleagues to follow their conscience in this matter. I still remember when the GOP stood for something honorable.
Chris Ladd,
As a left leaning Englishman with long standing links to the USA I want to publish this letter in every outlet available…
I may despise much of the GOP politics of old, as well as its current nadir… but I believe in democracy godammit – and Trump and the Tea party loudmouths have been hell bent on destroying THAT, whether they realise it or not…
You sir, are a breath of fresh air,
and give hope that this once great party might rise from the train wreck that is currently still in motion –
because my experience of America, even addicted as it always has been to issues being far too much seen as black and white,
is of lovely people – friendly fearless people,
If most people had this sort of commitment to their values then the state of the Union would be something to be proud of.
If your party survives this catastrophic path it has been on (for many years, be honest, it didn’t start with Trump – the Tea Party has a lot to answer for)
Then maybe you will be one of those many believers in politics who can build a new hope out of this funeral pyre.
Best of luck.
Bless you Chris Ladd for standing by your principles. I have always been proud of America and what it stands for.
Brilliant writing. Thank you for your honesty and putting this out there. I agree with every word you have said. Bravo!
[…] resigning from a conservative organization most people have probably never heard of. However, this letter is absolutely amazing. Here are a few […]
Bravo, Mr. Ladd. We may not share the same ideology — I’m a lifelong Democrat — but I honor you for as a true American.
Thank you and I’m sorry.
I’m a life long Democrat and I know this was not easy for you. I hope you think about joining after this election but if you don’t, I hope you and Republicans like you start a new party.
I know a lot of people who used to be Republican, most of them have left now. But we need more than one party of grown ups in this country. It’s never good to have one party and I don’t see how the Republican party goes on after this as a national party.
You and I both know that the Republican leadership could have put a stop to some of this before the Tea Party took complete hold but they didn’t. Somewhere Bill Buckley is spinning in his grave. But this may be the disaster that gives you and conservatives like you the opportunity to build a better party.
(This doesn’t mean you shouldn’t become a Democrat ; ) The door is open. )
Yes, the Democratic Party has a LOT to be proud of. By the way that is sarcastic. What does it say when our two MAIN choices for President are really NOT choices at all? What does it say when people vote BLINDLY (YES, BOTH parties) for a candidate despite the truths that are staring them in the face? We as a country will soon be as important as the Greek and Roman countries of old. Good games to both Dems and Republicans.
Yes, it does have a lot to be proud of. It changed its stance on gay marriage for one. It’s trying to come up with an immigration policy that takes into account you can’t deport 11 million people, some of whom have children who are citizens.
It encourages voting.
It has a long way to go and there are problems with many of its stances but it seems to be leaning more towards evidence based legislation than misreadings of Scripture.
And one of the biggest policy wonks of all is about to accept the nomination.
While I commend you for your move, I have to wonder how much you have pondered your previous 30 years of being a Republican.
You eulogize Ronald Reagan, who fought against Civil Rights and the Farmworkers Movement. He increased homelessness via the cruel defunding of mental institutions, putting people on the streets who were unable to care for themselves. He opposed action on AIDS and Apartheid. He illegally sold arms to enemies of our state. He waged a couple of meaningless wars, escalated military spending beyond reason, and began the redistribution of wealth from the middle class to the richest in the country. Does your sense of morality get put on pause when you talking about Reagan? And where was it when you were working for Rick Perry, who has done so much to damage the poor and non-white citizens of Texas?
In short, while you are willing to make a public moral decision against Trump, it is really because his faults have been heavily underlined for you recently. And you find it politically advantageous to make your announcement now, after there is nothing the Party can do to stop Trump. But for the rest of us, Trump was a danger from the moment he made his announcement that he was running, making indefensible remarks about Mexican immigrants. Where was your moral conscience then? Or when he offered to pay the legal fees of people who beat up protesters?
If you really understood Trump as a candidate, you would also understand that he is the natural end to the chain of events set off by Goldwater in 1964. And that the Republican Party created Trump through very careful breeding of the various strains of hate they have survived on since then.
Sometimes it takes longer than others may appreciate for a person to see the light and change learned behaviors but it happened and I am thankful ! If Donald wasn’t so nasty it might have never happened. People rarely have all the needed details about politicians they support so “party selected””works well for them.
Oh boy…..
Robert, not sure how long you’ve been following Lifer, but he’s been on Trump’s case from the beginning. I agree totally with you on Reagan and Perry (I live in TX so I see it first hand). I don’t know any Republicans who don’t have blinders on where Reagan is concerned.
However, I suggest you peruse Lifer’s archives while they are still available, or, better yet, get his book (Amazon or soft copy): “The Politics of Crazy”. I think your view of the length and depth of Lifer’s struggle and efforts to try to change the GOP will become more clear to you.
Chris – lot’s of respect to you for standing up. I hope you continue your writing. –martin
Oh this is gonna be fun.
Chris,
Thank you for refusing to be complicit in this political apocalyptic nightmare by supporting Trump!! I’m personally appalled to see so many other GOP leaders debase themselves so thoroughly as to choose party loyalty (whatever party still remains after this debacle) over basic human values. Simply unacceptable!
Your letter is articulate and eloquent. Thank you for speaking out your truth and honoring all of us who refuse to allow such hatred to be the face and voice of America.
If more politicians (regardless of party affiliation) acted from a conscience such as yours this world would be a much better place for us all.
Thank you again for sharing your bright bit of hope in what has otherwise been a very dark week in the history of American politics.
Please know too that you are not alone in your stance. I gladly offer my support and friendship should you need it during any bleak times.
Good on you bro
Thank you for writing so eloquently and honestly. I wish you well in all things, and hope that your sane and considered words reach deep into your former party and help to shift them away from the sad, dangerous, and limiting path they are currently on. The world is a complex and chaotic place, and we need as many thoughtful stewards as possible–from all parts of the political spectrum.
I appreciate this letter so much! It makes me feel like there is moral conscience within some people.
Good for.you!
So here I am a former Republican Voter who left the Republican Party and became an Independent years ago because of the loss of confidence in the Party’s less inclusive and more obtrusive Elitism led by such people as Mitt Romney and many others.
A true lack of character depth and a separation from the values that had held my belief for most of my life.
No, I am sorry someone feels they had to leave the Party. I am more bothered by the solidarity expressed over this resignation letter.
The Party has suffered at the direction and choices the Party Elite has made in their choices of candidates.
Candidates who couldn’t deliver. Candidates who didn’t deliver.
Donald Trump came out of nowhere. Yet Donald Trump bested the Republican Party’s 16 best candidates.
Why? Because Donald Trump wasn’t playing at politics. Donald Trump wasn’t worried about re-election. Donald Trump wasn’t about being politically correct. Donald Trump brought more voters into the Party then all of your 16 best could have all together.
There is always turnover in every organization through times or growth and change. I left a while ago when I could stomach no more.
I wish those leaving good luck there is always the Libertarian Party with two good men running, both former Governors, both successful Governors. Johnson and Weld. They could use some strong supporters from both the Republican and Democratic Party fall-outs.
Good luck and save the adios and the looking for sympathetic followers.
Disenfranchised of low character always band together.
People of character are comfortable allowing each person to decide on their own.
All I read is a desperate attempt to pull others along on down the road in the letter’s authors words and meaning. Just the reason I left to begin with. Lack of character.
Donald Trump did not come out of nowhere. His was a long time coming in the Republican Party’s pandering to racists and winking and nodding to those culturally disaffected whites in this country over years and decades. It was only a matter of time before someone came along to take advantage. If it hadn’t been Trump, it would’ve been someone else.
I am sorry you and others believe that bull. I currently live in New England. Responses and diatribes like yours remind me of the Salem Witch Trials. Children acted in erratic and possessed manners, but that didn’t make it so. It only inflamed retribution and demagoguery. In the end innocents were killed, burned in effigy. All because some children acted out in defiance filled with false lies and over-zealous behaviors and accusations. All these theatrics of piousness and dignified insults by alleged moral giants as you and your pack of insulted children-like GOP Purists sicken me. Just as an FYI. Sincerely Len Saunders
Chris –
I ran across you some months back. Your web page URL jogged my memory. I thought you were about the only rational Republican I’d run across in YEARS. (That actually shocked me – a Republican who could look at what was going on critically and analytically. I didn’t think any existed anymore. I am not joking.)
I am gratified that you’ve resigned from the GOP. I hope they change back to what they used to be, so that you can go back and be content to be with others of like mind again. I don’t need you all to agree with me. I just can hope that the GOP will return to some level of sanity again. I remember when the GOP was solid and reasonable and willing to get things done.
…Yes, Trump is going to get landslided in November. And then perhaps your more sensible Republicans can re-establish an orderly and rational energy into your now ex-party. Those members of the party were wise to avoid the convention in Cleveland. Those who didn’t can begin again without the stain of Trumpism on their resumés.
…Good luck. I assume you are now an independent and not a Democrat. Some of the comments you made above indicate that you DO have some common ground. But then any independent should have common ground with both parties, I would think.
…One thing I might mention is this: Hillary is a wonky type, which the Chief Executive should be, IMHO. If she does not get too hampered by the House, I implore you to observe what a functioning government is like. We had one in my first 20 years or so, and increasingly it has become less functional. We aren’t all going to agree on everything the government does, but I think it is imperative that it DOES do things. Hopefully those things make tangible improvements in the prosperity of Americans and American businesses. Things that are begun in good faith and perhaps don’t work well can be fixed going forward. Things that are never begun cannot help anyone. So, keep an eye on how the government works after Hillary wins. See if it isn’t better than a blockaded/stifled government.
Good luck again.
Unfortunately, there’s almost no hope of the Republican Party, at least as we currently know it, of ever coming back from the stain of Trump. One can reasonably expect the public to overlook a lot that happens in politics, but an overt embrace of white nationalism and degradation of minorities on this scale is not something that’s easily forgotten. People remember shit like this.
Abraham Lincoln said: “If once you forfeit the confidence of your fellow-citizens, you can never regain their respect and esteem.”
This is the end. Better to let the whole sordid mess burn to the ground and build anew.
Ryan, I think that’s where Lifer is. You nailed it. However, as inconceivable as it may seem to many, Trump *could* still win this election. People like us don’t see how that is possible, but for every one of us, there are others who for various reasons, will not support our best chance of defeating Trump. Their *pique* about Sanders, Hillary’s email issues, *can’t hold their noses to vote H no matter how bad Trump is because they’re conservatives to their core*, the religious right for whom no Democrat could ever be pure enough to counter even an immoral Trump, could coalesce with enough defection or outright not voting to give committed, rabid Trump supporters the edge they need to win.
GOTV has never been more important. All good arguments aside, it will come down to that.
Well written. My disappointment with the GOP was a slow erosion from Fox Pundits and Radio Talk shows spewing thoughts I felt flew in the face of what a Republican should stand for, smaller government, less government, more fiscally responsible. But that slow erosion became a bursting dam under Trump. That is why I am running. I am tired of voting for the less of two evils, so this year I can vote for myself.
Always vote for principle, though you may vote alone, and you may cherish the sweetest reflection that your vote is never lost. – John Quincy Adams
Reblogged this on Liquid Ink and commented:
“At the national level, the delusions necessary to sustain our Cold War coalition were becoming dangerous long before Donald Trump arrived. From tax policy to climate change, we have found ourselves less at odds with philosophical rivals than with the fundamentals of math, science and objective reality.”
I comend you for standing up for your principles. It is difficult to give up something you love, something you have put your heart and sole into for most of your life. I know I have had that in life so I know your heartach. I use to vote mostly Republican but there is nothing I can relate to in the party. My social justice issues, equally for all mankind and postive forward thinking is not what the Republicans represent. Not since they sold their soles you the Tea Party. Good luck and I hope you find something to feel passionate about again. There is much work to do to repair the hurt that has been put on many people that have had to listened to awful things being said about them.
Nothing like a one party country.
None of us want a one party country, M. Neyland! Well, I believe Trump may. But our current system only allows for a two-party system, and we can only work to get it changed to allow for real alternatives and multiple parties. Bravo, Chris Ladd, and to those publicly beginning to denounce Trump and fear and hatred he brought to the stage at the RNC. May there be many more.
Hi, I am an independent with many Republican friends. Some who loathe Trump but will vote for him others who won’t.
I applaud you for taking a moral stand. It a hard and at times lonely road but necessary.
I’m sorry you have lost faith in your party. They have compromised with a poisonous snake thinking he won’t strike. I hope you can coral those who feel as you do to offer a write in. Kasich perhaps. I would strongly consider following that.
Figure it out.
MIME: God bless you for your kind heart and positive energy, and for taking on the trolls, who seem to have gotten too big for their “bridges.” 🙂
Good night.
Tuttabella
There ‘s no place for that attitude here, and I have too much respect for Lifer to allow these people to sully this post with their vulgarity and small minds.
Nite to you, too.
I’m trying to decide which brand of troll is worse; the Trump supportors calling him a race tr- I mean traitor to the party or the more smug progressive types who never bothered to read one of his earler posts saying “WHY WERE YOU SO LOYAL TO THE GOP BEFORE?! IT’S BEEN GOING THIS WHY FOR YEARS YOU JUST DIDN’T NOTICE YOU LOVED TED CRUZ DIDN’T YA” when he documented the GOP’s descent into extremism more thouroughly than most pundits in just the last post alongside his many other older posts and has clearly explained he was working with a local GOP that’s the inverse of the national GOP.
Eh, actually I suppose the Trumpites are “worse”, as in scarier, but I find the smug liberals more embarrasing/annoying on an emotional level for acting so lazily stereotypical.
Lazy criticism, Griffin.
Fortunately the trolls are an very small minority. Like 1mime, I’m delighted to see so many people with intelligent/ nice things to say stop by.
And yes, a trump-troll is the lowest of the low.
Don’t let the door hit you on the way out. Move to Canada. Thank God you moved out of Texas because we are embarrassed to say you were ever a Texan!!!!
Well, I am embarrassed to say I’m from Texas. One day, Astro, Texas is going to be blue again. It can’t happen too soon.
It is unfortunate that in the climate of today there are many in the fold who seem to be live that conscience is unconscionable. Why do you think this might be Astro Consolidated H ?
It amazes me that anyone who is sincerely and HONESTLY interested in the good of the nation could so totally dismiss, without answering any of its substance, this letter from a man who calls out a party and a nominee gone mad.
The only embarrassment here is one as thin-skinned as you that would feel the need to castigate someone simply because they didn’t agree with them. I was under the impression that Texans prided themselves on being strong, not weak and marrow-minded like you.
Powerful words. Thanks for sharing some of what it means to be a strong Republican, and a person of character. I’m sorry it is so hard, sorry it has come to this.
Brad
Reblogged this on Cindy Rose dot com.
God bless! I too resigned the GOP and sent my voter registration card to the Florida GOP in pieces.
You go, girl!
Good for you!
My father was a lifelong Republican. He voted for a Democrat for president exactly once, because he so strongly despised Sarah Palin that he couldn’t stomach having her a heartbeat away from the presidency. He passed away in 2014, but I have to believe he’d be in a similar conundrum this year. He probably would be thinking about voting Libertarian.
Your father was a wise man! My stomach turned at the thought of Palin, a wholly incompetent waste of a human being, and I couldn’t believe how she was celebrated by supposed conservatives. She would have been a disaster as even just VP.
Sara’s got plenty of work to do right at home. Her kids are having lots of issues of their own. Maybe Sara should try parenting instead of parroting.
Good for you. Your accurate portrayal of the GOP’s decline is why I jumped ship 10 years ago and registered Democrat even in a hopelessly Red state. I proudly voted twice for Obama and will proudly vote for Clinton. Even if you don’t vote Dem in the future, you still have the respect of many for your personal convictions. I can’t understand why people don’t understand there is more at stake than towing the party line – is it a political party, or a cult?
I was a Republican and a committeeman myself. One day, I realized I was supporting a party that was becoming more a religion, and one of hate and exclusion, at that. The rhetoric began demonizing fellow citizens, finding more and more enemies within. It was clear that the GOP had given itself over to scapegoating and bigotry, while ignoring the movement of the world into the 21st century. A sad loss, really, as two strong parties, seeking the good of the nation and its people, through compromise and intelligent discourse, is vital to political health. The Republican party has set a new, low standard in “governance.” Obsessed with the private lives of Americans, proselytizing personal beliefs and seeking to impose them on others. Never before has a Senate absolutely refused to even take up consideration of qualified nominees. What a horrible precedent to obstruct a popularly elected President in his official responsibilities. Now, of course, you may expect the same obstruction from the other party when, eventually, a GOP President seeks to appoint! You will be hoisted on your own petard, victim of the perversion of the Constitution that you have initiated.
Well said , I couldn’t agree more .
Here here!
RESPECT!
So much respect!
Congratulations on keeping your soul!
[…] – Chris Ladd, Republican precinct committeeman in suburban Chicago who just resigned his post. See his entire letter. […]
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! I cannot thank you enough for having the guts to listen to your conscience and speak out! I pray you are only the first of many more to come! God bless you!!!
Chris, I admire your courage and your moral obligation to yourself and your country. The divisiveness in this country is both heart wrenching and sickening. We cannot continue down this road and survive as a country. Your actions will help move us to a better place. Thank you for sharing this with us!
Strong comment. Thx
Pretty disappointed with the Kaine pick. I think Booker would have been an excellent choice. Hillary needs to generate some excitement of her own. She cannot really on anti Trump energy alone.
Keep in mind that if she had chosen Booker, Christie would’ve been able to choose his replacement and that’s an otherwise safely Democratic seat that would have to be put off for a couple of years. Clinton has her eyes on the Senate majority and the Supreme Court. No way she would’ve done that.
Also, I’ve never bought into this idea of Clinton generating excitement with her VP pick. How much do people pay attention to the vice-president anyway? Not much. I’ve always said that if she had picked Warren, Clinton would risk marginalizing herself and being outshone. Still believe that today.
The Maddow Show tonight addressed the value of a Tim Kaine pick. They pointed out that he would help pull a strong delegate number from VA which forces Trump to “have” to win in some other states (FL, PA, etc) that will be much more difficult.
He’s solid and has tons of governing experience. Hillary knows that if she wins, she will have approximately two years to get a lot done. Obama’s inexperience cost him dearly legislatively. Clinton knows she’s going to have to hit the ground running. Kaine can be a huge help there.
I thought the Sabato observation (in the link from the U of Va Center of Politics article) about how this year, Republicans are breaking apart – looking for a non-traditional candidate and the party is fragmented; whereas, the Democratic base is focusing more on experience and tradition. That may not make those happy who wanted a Sanders approach, but in these difficult times, it may be what America needs. Think about it. You’ll get it.
Good points made Mime.
Getting on board with the idea of Democrats retaking the House or do you think Clinton and Kaine will somehow manage to deal with a Republican House?
I personally don’t think there’s any way for Dems to retake House – not for at least two more election cycles. Gerrymandering has built walls that are impregnable. Unless or until this practice is found unconstitutional, which I believe it is, and an alternative, more democratic method applied to drawing voter districts, demographic changes cannot do it alone. It will take too long and too much damage is being done and will be done in passing egregious legislation and stifling the ability of government to function. Consensus is not possible with the Hastert Rule in place. That one rule (not law) effectively negates cooperative governance. The minority party is blocked from participating in proposing amendments or helping pass legislation that needs bipartisan support. I don’t know why Democrats couldn’t legally challenge this rule. It’s horribly unfair and it defeats the whole democratic process as our Constitution designed it to function.
Read this, Rob.
http://www.dailykos.com/stories/2016/7/22/1551061/–The-Progressive-Case-For-Tim-Kaine-As-VP?detail=email&link_id=4&can_id=d423a80f4477a1e75a49f2997f8e6c6e&source=email-hillary-clinton-picks-virginia-sen-tim-kaine-as-her-running-mate&email_referrer=hillary-clinton-picks-virginia-sen-tim-kaine-as-her-running-mate&email_subject=hillary-clinton-picks-virginia-sen-tim-kaine-as-her-running-mate
What’s your read on Kaine, 1mime? You have excellent intuition when it comes to the Democrat party.
Do you think he’ll make a difference, or is he picked simply to be a least-possible-harm candidate?
The pundits I listen to suggested several reasons why Kaine was the logical pick. First, he is imminently qualified (mayor-big city/governor/senator) and will be helpful to H in governing; second, he is a fine man (wiki has a good bio on him) and thus won’t provide too much campaign fodder to attack); three, he is a senator in a state with a Democratic governor who can appoint his successor to fill out the balance of his term (TU, JG) – which is of critical importance in the effort to re-take the Senate; fourth, she trusts and likes him, which I believe is ultimately the most important factor. He also is fluent in Spanish (from his missionary work in S. America), which will help although he is not of hispanic extraction, and he is very well liked among his colleagues in the Senate on a bi-partisan basis (even tho Repubs other than Jeff Flake probably won’t admit to it publicly). He is from Minnesota, so has “rust belt” roots, although that may not help but can’t hurt.
The negatives are “he’s too bland – too nice”.. Imagine – a US politician who is criticized because he is “too” nice! I’m ready for a little “nice”. I personally liked Joe Biden for the same reason and I believe Kaine fits that model in character and capability. He’s also very smart and his legal career was quite successful – meaning, he has real world experience and in an area that will be highly useful.
I’m sure as things unfold more will come out but that’s how I see it at this time.
That’s very interesting, thank you.
1mime, I’m wondering if gerrymandering is going to help them as much this year as it had in the past.
Trump doesn’t seem to care about down ticket at all and there are a lot of people who normally vote Republican who can’t stand him. For them, Republicans who support Trump may be a worse choice than the dark side. ; )
Now, Republicans who are distancing themselves from Trump might do well.
The other thing is Trump claims he’s bringing in people who have never voted before. They may not bother to vote down ticket at all.
Bridget, one thing is sure: Trump is only in this for himself. Not the GOP. Not those down ticket. BUT, there are still smart Republicans who understand that even if they lose the presidency, they must, read that, “must” retain the Senate to appoint conservative justices. And, they “Must” preserve a majority in the House to control appropriations. The major GOP donors who think a lot further out are putting their money in down ticket races. And, never, ever forget – Republicans Vote. Like the sun coming up and going down. They may or may not vote for Trump, but they will vote down ticket. It’s what they do.
My parents met in 1964 when my Dad was President of his local young Republicans Club. Dad served as an aeronautical engineer in the Pentagon during the Johnson and Nixon administrations. Most nights at dinner he asked “what did you do for your country today?”
He left the party at least 15 years ago. He hates the religious fundamentalism, sexism, racism, and homophobia that has engulfed the party. He is a WASP married to a Jewish doctor and has attended several gay weddings. He is a tough, fair, reasonable, and decent man.
Ours is a civil society, made less civil by the bigotry celebrated by Donald Trump and his supporters. No matter what, America is greatest, we are best, when we pull together and honor our highest ideals.
I honestly do not understand why sensible Republicans cannot make their peace with Hillary Clinton. She is offering nothing extreme. As a small business owner, I would much prefer her pragmatic, nuanced proposals to the half-baked pronouncements of Donald Trump.
Republican hatred of HRC has been cultivated for a very long time. What’s frankly amazing is that she has endured it for so long and stayed in politics.
Great story. Great comments. thanks, Brad
I’m dropping out of voting this year unless Clinton eliminates wasserman schultz by dnc end.
Voting’s your civic duty, Rodney. Don’t let a personal feud with Wasserman Schultz detract you from that.
That is petulant.
I was a Reagan Republican. In my mind Reagan stood for everything that is good about America. I enlisted in the US Navy when Nixon was President and during Reagan’s first term. Many people don’t realize how demoralized America was after Vietnam, and then oil crises, the national “malaise” and the Iran hostage situation. During the Carter years we got *no* support. When Reagan was elected, all of a sudden we sensed that we were valued; that serving the United States was still honorable. Reagan himself propelled that change. And I and almost everyone I served with loved him for that. I would probably have stuck with the GOP had it not been for their cynical alignment with the Tea Party. Corporate Republicans and their allies hoped to ride the tide of anger of these uber patriots to cement their power. Instead, eerily reminiscent of Marx’s Communist Manifesto prediction, they created their own grave diggers. The influence of the lunatic right has made a mockery of constitutional governance for at least eight years. The behavior of the Congress in relationship to the first US black President has been shameful. I was a lukewarm Bush 43 supporter, but I lost all respect for the party after Obama was elected. I shudder to think what will happen if they ever become able to exercise real power.
Unfortunately, I’m not a very good Democrat either. I find many of my own ideas far to the right of mainstream Democrats and I think Hillary is an arrogant, opportunistic disaster. I am, quite frankly, astonished that out of 300 million people these were the best two candidates we could come up with. It does not speak well of our electoral system.
I am no great fan of Ted Cruz, but the one thing I absolutely agree with him about is that we must vote our conscience. That is going to require a lot of soul searching for me.
While you’re soul-searching, Keith, posit how you feel America will function under a Trump or a Clinton. Personalities aside, look at experience, positions, knowledge, service. Once you distill the fundamentals down to these points, the answer will be obvious. Best of luck to you.
Reagan had some redeeming qualities, unlike Trump. But he’s generally got an extreeeeeeemely generous legacy among the right thatbhe doesn’t necessarily deserve.
Theres a former marine who had some interesting comments about Reagan on this very thread. Scroll down a little more to read. Id be curious to know your thoughts on what he said re: Reagan.
Mr. Ladd:
I was wondering if there were any Republicans left in this country who showed honesty and integrity. With all of the hatred and anger being spewed by the current candidate, it seems that the values that I always associated with the GOP had disappeared. People are so attracted to reality show “stars” that they can’t see beyond them to the person who is underneath the glitz and glamor. This candidate has never really had a successful business. He has run many businesses into the ground. The ones that are successful just carry his name. He has not really created them. Those enterprises that he created failed. He is loud and bombastic and people tend to admire loud and brash people – many of them admire bullies until they are taken down. I’m sure that will happen. I applaud you for standing up to this bully and I hope your ideas prevail.
I appreciate the integrity of your decision.
My hats off to you Sir,someone who still has moral and his own mind.I am a registered Republican(but only because I wanted to vote in the primary when Ron Paul was running.I have mostly swayed Democrat ,in my life,but was always open to reason and sensibility,regardless of the party.I too have seen the parties change over the years and must say,with no uncertain terms the Republican Party,especially since the Bush Jr.administration has gone down a steep slope.I try to reflect back on why or how this happened and I can only think that it started with Karl Rove as the Republican strategist ,who started the slander against the Democrats and it has gotten to the point of disgusting.Very seldom do we hear of a so called Republican expressing their views without degrading someone else,in the case of the last 7 years ,Pres.Obama.True,he hasn’t done everything right,but you have to be totally biased to believe everything they have slandered him and now Hillary Clinton with.Now they are playing the fear card as a way to win back the White House and ,although you may not believe it,the vast majority of Americans are keen to the strategy We as Americans want to hear sane policy,we want to unite for the common good and not be further divided.
Thank you for your integrity. I’m really trying to embrace why anyone could support someone like Trump. I’ve read books and watch documentary film about WW2 and history books at school….and the more Trump excites the masses the more he sounds like Hitler and Mussolini.
But I guess he’s the result of cut backs of education for the last 30 years. He said himself ” I love the poor uneducated people, in fact I’m counting on them” ..
That’s the moment I knew that he nothing but a predator
Hitler murdered Jews. The Democrat Party aligns itself with Islam. Islam is not real fond of Jews. Trump is against the enemies of Israel. Hard to compare Trump with Hitler.
Justify or prove that assertion: Democrats allign with itself with Islam…..and you are going where with this point?
“The Democrat Party aligns itself with Islam”
This is an absurd and intentionally misleading comment. Democrats will at times STAND UP for Muslims, because they are a vulnerable minority that the GOP is happy to demonize and they, like all vulnerable minorities, need protection, protection which, in the current political climate, is only coming from one of the two parties.
Refusing to unfairly malign a group, and refusing to let the other party do the same, is NOT “alinging” with that group in the way that you disingenuously meant it when you made that comment. Comments like that are meant to “otherize” the Dems. To cleave a line in society, an “us against them” and then paint the Dems as firmly in the “Them” camp.
That foolishness doesn’t play here.
Kind of makes you wonder if the man knows the difference…….
Comparing Trump with Hitler isn’t about Jews. It’s about using fear to gain political power, whipping up ‘the masses’ with empty rhetoric and riding a wave of populism into office, despite clearly being extremely dangerous. If Trump gets elected, it shouldn’t be surprising if he starts giving similar ranting speeches to the nation, legitimising racism for example, or even hatred and violence against those who down share the same views. He banned reporters from his rallies because he didn’t like an article they published on him, if in power, and reading a negative article about himself in the press, would he use his power to lock that person up?
Dictators like Hitler rule by fear and by oppressing and discrediting dissenting voices. Trump has basically admitted that this is what he would do, that he thinks it’s okay. If he gets elected the American public are essentially voting their rights away!
I have no idea how it has become this bad in the US. Something is seriously wrong with the country if someone like Trump can be viewed as a legitimate Presidential candidate. I have no idea what that is but I hope for all our sakes that you guys figure it out ASAP and do something to stop this insanity. We in the rest of the world are looking on in horror!
Must have taken you all of 2 minutes to make that trash up
” The Democrat Party aligns itself with Islam. Islam is not real fond of Jews. Trump is against the enemies of Israel. Hard to compare Trump with Hitler.”
God is love.
Love is blind.
Ray Charles is blind.
Ray Charles is God.
This is called ‘syllogism’, and Ray Charles is FAR more Godly than the Democrats are anti-Jew.
Your logic is intro to fallacies in middle school bad.
Israel is a racist, tribalist, apartheid state, and most definitely NOT our ally. As for the Democrats siding with Islam, try telling that to Libya and Syria. Laughable. 2 sides, same coin of empire.
C ya !
Your integrity is rare, and inspiring. Thank you.
^^^ Meant as a reply to the post, not to the dismissive comment it follows.
Actually, it kinda works as a response to both Chris post,as a sincere and accurate response, and to Javierps post, as an appropriately sarcastic dismissal of a typically unintelligent right wing thought conformist.
Mr. Ladd: Too late. You and your ilk are forever tainted with the vile stench of trump. You are not welcome to join the decent Americans. Now, please, get the fuck out, and take Talibangical Texas with you.
Uhm, uhm, uhm, where have some of these people come from. We don’t talk trash on this blog, Gen. We use real words and facts. Go away.
Gen, for all your talk about Trump, imposing your will on what constitutes “decent Americans” doesn’t make you all that different from him.
There are many sensible, honorable Republicans in this country, not just Lifer. We may not always agree, but they genuinely want the best for this country and for you and me. American works best when we all come together, not divide each other up.
Thank you. And I say that as a lifelong Democrat.
I miss Connie Morella, Mac Mathis, Gerald Ford – people who worked for both their party and their country. Mitch McConnell is a disgrace.
So you tell him he’s not welcome after he posts a very thought out and honest blog. That’s crazy. I tend to be in the middle, but I cannot (in good conscience) come close to supporting Donald Trump. I applaud you for
doing something that takes a lot of guts.
Mr Ladd, light on the Mr., society is far too polarized already. Mr Ladd wasn’t asking for permission to join another party and I hope he doesn’t. Though he would be welcome. It’s my hope that more Republicans and Democrats alike, come to their senses and begin to come together and compromise. This country needs unity not more divisiveness.
Sorry Chris my earlier post should started with Me Gen Jones. Thank you for the courage to speak your mind and hold to your integrity and values.
Really so sad. Hope he joins us democrats. He is so noble and honorable. I know i love him. My heart breaks for him.
My 100 year old grandfather has voted Republican his entire life. Now he’s appalled and can’t stand EITHER mainstream candidate. Congratulations for eloquently stating your very real ethics. As someone who is to the left of Bernie Sanders (and is still hoping against hope that a Hillary indictment may still happen) I’ll vote Johnson otherwise. The Rs and Ds are both dead parties, killed by their own corruption.
All I see here is a wish to settle for the status quo, acceptance of failure, and a wish to blaze into continued frustration. I have a choice. It is an important choice to me but mathematically not so much to the country. Incompetence in office I recognize. I have watched variations of said incompetence for almost three decades. It is not party specific. Now on top of incompetence we are offered up two people with, surprise, lack of perfection. Nothing about one candidate indicates any moral fiber and only a record of abuse of rule of law and leadership failure. The other loves this country slightly more than himself and has a record of successfully swimming with the Sharks. He is not a political creation as is his opponent. He supports the reach for excellence and success. I have found people with that drive for success to be safer to be around than the life political created person. One seeks true society change while the other seeks to change to be a group leader in society. I do not know this guy but he justifies his unwillingness to accept change in political direction as not his fault. It is his fault as it is his stated decision. Every founding father had to get the best for the state he represented and was intelligent enough to compromise for the greater good. For almost 30 years I have voted for what amounted to the best available vs the best. I was a Dem then GOP guy and am now an American first as an independent. Parties are a distraction only. Weighing the candidates and their potential to impact the constitution, I simply take Trump over what I see as a talentless opportunist.
Trying to sound superior of intellect yet oh so very STUPID! PROJECTILE VOMIT!
Talk nice, Linda. What’s good for the goose and all that stuff…
I simply take Trump over what I see as a talentless opportunist. Perfectly describes Trump. swimming wih the sharks as you call it has capitulated 4 bankruptcies. He’s a fraud who scams the ignorant. You write off his “antics” at your peril and mine.
I agree that Clinton is an opportunist and a career politician, if that isn’t swimming with the sharks I don’t know what is. Unlike Trump however, she’s escaped unharmed, Trump is badly damaged goods and the GOP has finally sunk to a level that I doubt they will ever recover from. America will not forget.
Your mistake, here, is in minimizing the bad in Trump and exaggerating his good. He ABSOLUTELY DOES NOT love the country more than himself. His “successful swimming with the sharks” basically boils down to making personal profit at the expense of his business ventures and many of his hired contractors (the ones he didn’t pay). He SAYS he seeks true society change, but he SAYS a lot of things he doesn’t mean.Unfortunately, he says a lot of things he does mean, which are the ones at the expense of people whom he regards as less than him (women, minorities, people with an unfortunate attachment to the truth).
Your final sentence would perhaps be a lot more accurate if you were to rephrase it, “…I simply take the orange-haired, thoroughly unglued talentless opportunist over his more grounded, if less sensational opponent.”
Russell, you got it right…!
You do understand, right, that there are plenty of people (the vast majority of young ppl) who actualky DONT want to “overthrow” the system, who actually ARE happy with the general DIRECTION of society, we just think progress should happen a little faster. And the dysfunction that we percieve in national politics comes almost exclusively from the obstructionism, science denialism and general contempt for progress that is currently emanating from the toxic right.
It’s lauaghable to me and the rest of my generation that the right thinks it can offer us any solutions to the country’s problems because most of us percieve it AS the problem.
Please consider a vasectomy or some sort of permanent birth control. The fact you may be able to produce offspring only confirms my fears about where this nation is heading!!!
Astro, I don’t think you’re helping your cause.
Seriously? The candidate in question is a maniacal windbag. Today when he should have been expounding on how exactly he will carry out all that he promised in his convention speech last night, he instead chose to carry on and on about the dis from Ted Cruz (again, the best the GOP can do?). The Palin VP choice was the final straw for my GOP affiliation and then, just when it seemed things couldn’t get worse, along comes Trump.
I’ve changed affiliation and I’m with Her
Potential impact to the constitution?! You do realise that Trump has basically said he will oppose a free press and clamp down on opposition and any dissenting voices. He admires Putin and Kim Jong Un!! A talentless opportunist is not good, but to choose a narcissistic, racist, abrasive, violence-endorsing, pathologically lying dishonourable, duplicitous talentless opportunist with the IQ of a toenail… really?! How can you justify that?
He hasn’t got a clue what he’s doing! He knows nothing about how government works, nothing about history, international relations, diplomacy, policy-making etc. He said he wouldn’t come to the aid of NATO members if they were attacked by Russia! He said he would sort out the 100 year off and on conflict between Kurds and Turkish government with ‘meetings’ and ‘getting together!’ Best case scenario he leaves everything important up to someone capable but that would be a knife in the heart for democracy, and worst case he messes everything up and millions die in a nuclear holocaust.
It’s important I think to consider very carefully what life in the US would be like with this megalomaniac in charge.
I’ve read MANY profound, intelligent, informative (and some quite opposite) comments. This one might well be my favorite.