Dear Reasonable
Republicans (come out, come out, wherever you are),
I voted for John McCain
in 2008. I had always liked him
and thought he was a reasonable guy.
Admittedly, I failed to recognize the crazy that is Sarah Palin. But, John McCain is still alive right
now, so I like to think that if he had been elected, psychopants Palin wouldn’t
have gotten her shot at the Oval Office.
Regardless, unlike most of my fellow college students, I wasn’t swept
away by chants for hope and change and hope and change and hope and
change. I felt (and still feel, to
an extent) that Obama’s idealism was naïve. Pretty speeches do not make a peaceful world, as we have
seen in a Middle East that is in no better shape now after eight years of Obama
than it was after eight years of Bush.
I was, however, proud and encouraged that our country could finally
elect a black president. I hoped
it was a sign of healing for a polarized electorate.
But, of course, I was
wrong. Over the last eight years,
we’ve watched you, Republicans, descend into paranoia and allow ideologues to
hijack the party. You strangely
decided to stake your lives and honor on preventing gay people from getting
married, on pretending abortion and gender-neutral bathrooms are two of the
biggest threats to our national security, on blaming gun violence on anything
other than guns. By fixating on
these and other similar issues, by making compromise a dirty word, and by holding
up Barack Obama as the root of all evil, you have allowed people like Mary Lou Bruner to believe they are espousing Republican ideals. If these are not Republican ideals, why
don’t you say so? How do we know
your silence is not tacit approval?
Your fear of alienating people who subscribe to hateful and dangerous
agendas has just about handed the Republican nomination to Donald Trump.
Do I think Obama has
done a fantastic job as president?
Not particularly. Do I
think every single thing he does is wrong, perhaps even evil, and that every
single thing he touches must be spat upon, cursed, and torched? Emphatically no. Herein lies one of my most basic
frustrations with you, Republicans.
You have never been able to mount productive and rational debate of
Obama’s policy (which could have benefited from honest critique)
because you are petulant little boys who constantly cry wolf. You have allowed the bogeymen of
Planned Parenthood, gay marriage, and a gun-safe-raiding Barack Obama drive
reason, practicality, and credibility from the party. You can’t preach (or allow others to preach for you) anger,
anti-intellectualism, anti-progress, and an oversimplified good-versus-evil
view of the world, and then be surprised when that’s what your voters want.
Our democracy is
starving for healthy debate. There
are real problems to solve, but they are not insurmountable. But you, Republicans, have been unable
and unwilling to contribute to the problem solving. It is no coincidence that you now see your party imploding.
I have a suggestion.
Quit panicking and see
the opportunity in the disarray.
Couldn’t this be a chance to cut the crazy and form a moderate
party? A party that is interested
in governing rather than spreading an ideology? The process wouldn’t be pretty and it would require serious
humility from you, reasonable Republicans. But in the end, you free yourselves from the crazies who
have destroyed you and you marginalize them into oblivion. You must dig deep for that last shred
of integrity that must be there…somewhere. Let Trump have the Republican nomination, let him have Ted
Cruz as his VP. Then publicly deny
them your support. Hand the
election to Hillary on the condition she recognizes this new moderate party and
is willing to work with it.
Swallow your pride and form an alliance with Democrats that will crush
the Tea Party out of existence.
You have more in common with Democrats than with psychopants. Do you really want to end dysfunction
in Washington? Don’t you actually
want to govern? Aren’t you tired
of being so angry all the time?
Let’s make this election exciting in a good way, rather than in a
terrifying way.
Is this a pipe
dream? Perhaps. Will you continue your cowardly ways
and do as you’re told and support the eventual Republican nominee? I know that is likely. I’ll be voting for Hillary either way,
because you’ve lost me. But you
know the way to get me back.
With regards for your
health and happiness,
Claire
PS. I’m not sure if he can count himself
among your reasonable ranks, but tell Marco goodbye from the blob. I had planned a scathing farewell, but
this video gave me pause.
