Barrett Garese

I am an old Republican. I am religious, yet not a fanatic. I am a free-marketer; yet, I believe in the role of the government as a fair evenhanded referee. I am socially conservative; yet, I believe that my lesbian niece and my gay grandchild should have the full protection of the law and live as free Americans enjoying every aspect of our society with no prejudices and/or restrictions. Nowadays, my political and socio-economic profile would make me a Marxist, not a Republican.

From How The GOP Purged Me by Chris Currey

I remember having this same discussion on the roof of a SXSW party with one of the smartest guys I know . We talked about how after 9-11 all semblance of moderation and accepting the concept of “gray area” went out the door; replaced by the fervent nationalism and “party as policy” that we have today. We both felt like we had been previously cast as moderate republicans, and now were painted as “liberal commies” despite our views of the world and the U.S. having not changed in the meantime.

I feel sorry for the Republicans in the same situation - forced to endure anti-intellectualism and religious nutjobbery as “par for the course” at this stage. Know this though: you don’t have to accept it. I hold no party affiliation at this moment, but I can tell that at the current rate, it’s gonna be a long time until I vote for a Republican candidate again. Start holding up truth above rhetoric, start holding fact above fiction, stop holding one religion above all else, and stop the dishonest scare tactics and we can talk again. Until then, sorry folks but I’m smart enough not to vote for a candidate in any position just because of the letter next to their name.