A few days ago, columnist Andrew Sullivan wrote — beautifully, as always — about why he’s leaving The Right. I’m not one of his regular readers, so I don’t know if this is his first “official” break from The Right, but if it is, I’m here to say, what took you so long?
Anyone who wonders why I left the Republicans should read Sullivan’s piece. He says it so much better than I could. He joins me and countless others as we stand here somewhere in the middle, abandoned and disenchanted, watching the party we once embraced disappearing rapidly into the distance.
I guess I wasn’t as tough as Sullivan. I cracked back in 2000 after years of growing disenchantment; the nomination of George Bush was the last straw.
The attrition continues as the party stampedes headlong toward the precipice, and I watch with bemusement, wondering if its leaders will turn before it’s too late or if they’ll keep going — over the edge and into oblivion.
Well I’ll be, you and I defected at the same time. I started growing distant with the whole Lewinsky debacle and my disgust with Ken Starr. (I mean, come on, presidents have had mistresses for as long as we’ve had presidents.) But I made it official in 2000. Always liked Al Gore, but aside from that, I *knew* the minute Shrub said “we will not engage in nation-building” in a debate that he was going to get us into a war if he won the election. And yeah, enough already with the religious zealotry, racism, and homophobia. Just…BLECH!
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I knew I was in trouble with the GOP back whenever the party of “small government” began to take an overbearing interest in the private decisions women and their doctors were making. I finally snapped in 2000 when I took a good look at the frat boy’s credentials. Actually, right now I feel like both parties are abandoning the middle as fast as they can. Whatever happened to sanity and moderation!?