I come from a long line of Republicans. My ancestors were abolitionists who were proudly called Black Republicans for their opposition to slavery. This was the party of Lincoln, who exemplified freedom for the individual. Republicanism stood for liberty and fiscal conservatism. Democrats gave birth to cronyism and Jim Crow laws. It’s no wonder that I should identify with the party of my fore bearers. So what changed? Two words – Ronald Reagan.

Reagan embraced Jerry Falwell’s friendship. The phrase “Moral Majority” entered into our lexicon and brought the party down in my book. Gone was personal liberty. And what replaced it was a world view that some animals were more equal than others. Orwell was right. But the totalitarian view did not rise from the left as might be expected and evidenced from Stalin. It came from the right in a most insidious way. And those who believed in the historical Republican ideals, were left dangling. The religious right fought science and allowed Reagan to go two terms without ever using the word AIDS. Deregulation of the banking industry began the descent into national crisis. A “man of faith” could become President and go to war based on a lie, taking us from unprecedented surplus to crushing national debt. A battle over teaching the scientific fact of evolution is still being fought today. We have candidates vying for the 2012 Republican ticket who use the Bible as if it were the law and not our Constitution. One in particular is actually leading the race. Not just getting any votes at all, he’s actually leading. And he believes in the “innate” evil of feminism, Islam, homosexuality, and the 9th Circuit Court. Where is the Republican party of my ancestors? Gone.

So, I jumped ship. I didn’t register as a Democrat until Bill Clinton’s presidency. And during that time, I saw all the things that had disappointed me about the Republicans before get worse.

And what have we got today? Elected officials who sign pledges to Grover Norquist. I want my leaders to take ONE oath, to uphold the Constitution of the United States. No other oath is appropriate. It is beneath their offices to do such a thing. The Republicans seeking the nomination have all signed the National Organization for Marriage’s pledge. Again, it is beneath the office they seek.

We have been given despicable people as leaders and voices; Rove, Cheney, Bachmann, Santorum, Gingrich, Perry, Gallagher, Perkins; and ineffectual ones like Bush, Cantor, Boehner who just dig their heels in. Lincoln wouldn’t recognize any of them as Republicans.

So I stay a Democrat. Mainly I do to vote in primaries. But more and more I realize I should jump the Democratic ship too. My disappointment is great for our whole party system. Ideas get squashed in the name of party. And I am feeling my feet start to rise off the plank.

Responding again to the NYTimes

Egg? Blind baking? Starch? Pre-cooking apples? These are the ingredients to what my mother would call a sad overworked pie. This article, entertainingly written, but unfortunately lacks a good apple pie recipe and process. The best crusts are those that are made by “feeling” the ingredients. Knowing how lard or shortening provide good structure and butter adds great flavor; combining the flour, salt, and fats into a crumbly mixture; adding the proper amount of cold water depending on the humidity in the air; working the dough minimally; these are the elements of a great crust. And starch in with the apples? C’mon. Apples have enough pectin to thicken the filling. It’s not complicated. But maybe you just have to learn how at your parents’ and grandparent’s knees. I’m not so sure it can be taught when you’re old enough to fear making a mistake.

Sexuality is not chosen. It is innate. This is a fact. And there is no morality in facts. To apply a chosen belief system to discredit empirical data is to be anti-science and ignorant to the progress of our understanding of the world. And when that ignorance leads to inaction as our children suffer at the hands of bullies, it must be called out for what it is – bigotry.

Read the NYT article I’m responding to here.

“And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.” – Warren Buffett

Full op-ed piece here: NY Times

I keep saying that if lower tax rates really fostered job creation, then why haven’t those beneficiaries created any jobs?  Boehner and his cronies all trumpet the cause of the down-trodden corporations and super rich.  They keep recycling that old chestnut of job creation being hindered by higher taxes.  Well, in all these years of the Bush tax cuts remaining in place, where are those jobs?