Issues with the GOP – Introduction

This post is the first of a multi-part post of my growing issues with the GOP. My concerns have been growing for quite a while, and I felt I needed to get them off of my chest (yes, rant). Other registered Republicans may be dealing with some of these issues. If so, the party may be fracturing in a way that will result in a shrinking GOP for years.

In 1979, shortly after I turned 18, I registered with the Republican party. I was raised in a blue-collar household and both of my parents were registered Democrats. However, I believed the ideals of the GOP for a smaller federal government and fiscal responsibility made more sense – especially in light of the problems encountered during the Carter administration. My first presidential election was in 1980 were I proudly voted for Ronald Reagan. However, the GOP of today doesn’t look anything like the GOP of the 1980s. In today’s GOP, Reagan couldn’t get elected for dog catcher. In my opinion, President Reagan, Speaker John Boehner and Senator John McCain are a few of the Republicans that are true leaders and were willing to work with everyone for everyone.

My Issues with today’s GOP are many. They can be grouped into five major areas:

1. Lack of fiscal responsibility
2. Lack of acceptance of scientific facts (and facts in general)
3. Congressional GOP abdication of responsibility
4. Religious hypocrisy of the GOP
5. The president’s behavior

Now, I’m not naïve. There are problems with both parties. Neither party wants to negotiate anymore. There are extremists in both parties. However, the last four items in the list above are unique to the GOP. These have made the GOP brand completely toxic.

I live in California. Yes, it’s a deep blue state. However, there are pockets of Republicans. At the state level, my assemblywoman until the 2018 elections was a Republican. According to an article in the SF Chronicle, Catherine Baker went through the data after the election and saw that some of the voters said the only reason they couldn’t vote for her was that the GOP brand had become too toxic. In the next post, I’ll discuss why I believe the Republican party has lost its claim of being fiscally responsible.