When my parents emigrated to the United States in the mid-fifties my Dad was sponsored by his Uncle, a very staunch Republican party member. Naturally, Dad took advice from his Uncle and other close family members and this likely influenced his decision when he chose his political affiliation. The 50's was the time in the Republican party of Dwight D. Eisenhower and an entirely different party thesis than exists now. Eisenhower was president 1953-1961 and saw some wonderful advancements in the country during the time, including the birth of the Peace Corps in 1961.The next decade saw the turn of the party as Reverend Jerry Falwell found the "Moral Majority" and the Christan "right" began their slow and methodical overtake of the party. Ronald Regan, probably one of the most beloved Republican Presidents, inherited one of the worst economic times in history as Jimmy Carter encountered a recession during his term. Reagan also suffered a recession during his term (July 1981-November 1982), as well as beginning the ridiculous "war on drugs" which lead to overcrowding in prisons with 1/5 young black men incarcerated for various drug offenses. The first Bush also enjoyed one of the worst economic times with a recession in 1990. Things turned around in 1997 when American reported a robust economy which created the longest prosperity in US history. In 1999 the budget went into surplus. (sorry elephants, this was during the Clinton years) I don't need to tell you that those conditions no longer exist- we are definitely in a much different place now.
Sometimes I hate the divisiveness of politics. Occasionally I wished there were no party definitions, we just voted for who was best. I don't necessarily follow the "party line" but have found as I re-registered as a Democrat quite a while ago, my ideology is more in sync with today's Democratic party- which looks much like the Republican party of long ago.
So, I'm a donkey- I'll stay a donkey.
and, yeah for yesterday! Hillary, please pack up your game pieces and go home . . . please!
4 comments:
I'm a democrat by birth, democrat by choice.
Personally, I prefer not to wear any label and go with common sense, even though registering to vote requires you to put somethig sown. Mom
I bought a jacket in Korea once... they cut the label out of it at point of sale and it looks so incomplete. All they left was the size which wasn't S-M-L-XL or 6-8-10-12-14.... it just makes me look cheap and fat if it's hanging in my office or if I'm carrying it inside out (often done in the airport).
With that experience, I suffer the political label comfortably... I believe our generation saw a lot of elephant to donkey evolution. When I flipped parties I found my husband wanted the same thing... what a soulmate -- and we hadn't even discussed that before marriage!
I like voting in the primary for a candidate that I care to see succeed.
It wasn't that long ago being a Republican meant fiscal responsibility, less government, more people take charge of their own lives, take care of business which will keep people working and strong on international policies. This has definately changed. Being a Republican it is difficult to always vote for the party. In fact probably half the time I end up voting for the other side. Many of the Republicans in power have been conned into a new way of thinking. We are spending more money needlessly. We have gone from having a bankers or business mentality to having a preacher's mentality and that is not a good thing. We need to run the government more like a business in the fiscal department. The government is separate from the church and should not let certain people involved with these churches to influence our thinking. As kids we liked playing army. Our president thinks he's a army man without having to worry about being one of the targets. The old school Republicans are getting older and not listened to any more. We are now fiscally irresponsible and still taking care of everyone but our own. We are showing the world that we are better than everyone else. That mentality is backfiring. More people dislike Americans than ever before. We need to get back on track as a powerful ally to other countries to help and still protect our own country as well as our own people. We need a strong leader right now, something more in the mold of JFK or Ronald Reagan. I started out being a Democrat and am now a Republican. But who knows what's in store??
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