NV Republican Pol Leaves Party: "The Duck Dynasty Wing" of the Republican Party has taken over GOP"

[kpete]

Former Nevada Lieutenant Governor Sue Wagner is not alone in her courageous decision to exit the Republican Party. Just last August, I made the same decision and resigned my position as Polk County Republican Party of Iowa Co-Chair. I immediately changed my party affiliation to Independent and later moved forward to officially switch my party affiliation to Democrat. Just as Sue Wagner said, I also stated that the Republican Party has left me. Back in 1996 when I registered to vote as a Republican and supported Robert Dole in the Iowa caucuses, I did not expect to some day welcome the opportunity to vote in the Democratic Party of Iowa caucuses, but that is precisely what I did on Tuesday, January 21 of this year.

Several reasons led me to my decision, and they're similar reasons to why Wagner says she left the GOP. Republicans misread the electorate in 2012, and I became increasingly aware that I needed a change because the GOP no longer shared my values. The Iowa GOP holds views that are increasingly out of touch and are too extreme for me, and their unwillingness to compromise is on full display every day from local, state and national Republicans.

My opinion is the "Duck Dynasty Wing" of the Republican Party has taken over the GOP, and they're not about to retreat in their war on science and common sense.

In Polk County, volunteers, activists and party leaders became more interested in saying what the far right of the party wanted to hear than doing anything to change our organization in a way that would broaden its appeal to Iowans. It got to the point that members of the party were throwing around hateful slurs and offensive remarks that made me uncomfortable. More than anything, it deterred me from the democratic process I believe so much in. In fact, it alienated me because I was not raised in a household that would accept such comments.


The Rest:
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/chad-brown/why-i-left-the-republican-party_b_4702250.html?ncid=edlinkusaolp00000003

[RKP5637]

1. The good part is, the GOP now more and more encompasses the religious kooks,

the dysfunctional and delusional, the extremists, homophobes, bigots, racists and those trying to tear down the US government and science. Now, when someone proudly says they are republican, one knows exactly where they are coming from and what they stand for. The days of the Eisenhower republicans, the moderates, those that had some good ideas to add balance to the political process are long gone. The republicans of today are a destructive and dangerous force.

This use to sum up republicans, below, but now they have gone far further into craziness.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2012/10/24/1149711/-Republican-Voters-Ignorant-Stupid-Greedy-or-just-plain-Evil

[SoapBox]

4. Super-Duper Ditto!

[Laura PourMeADrink]

9. That's why Jeb will run to save the GOP from extinction. He will rig it and win. They will dust

off the fraud software, maybe upgrade the technology, make it web-based. :&gt

[RKP5637]

16. Yep, typical republican behavior ... lies, fabrications, distortions and cheating.

[kairos12]

2. More like the Daffy Duck Dynasty Wing of the GOP

[d_b]

3. lulz

[calimary]

14. DUzy!!!

[Blue Owl]

15. Cartoonish imposters all

[OKNancy]

5. The author left the Iowa Republican party, not Nevada

He introduces the article with the example of the Nevada Lt. Governor, but this fellow is from Iowa.

[Jessy169]

6. This was true even before there was a Duck Dynasty

In this case, the chicken definitely came before the egg. Or, was it the other way around...

[Laura PourMeADrink]

10. right. not the cause - the manifestation. nt

[fadedrose]

7. Consciences are pesky things

They won't let you rest till you do what feels right....

Good post, kpete

[LWolf]

8. And this is one reason why

the Democratic Party looks increasingly Republican every year. I know several Republicans myself who left their party because they were moderates abandoned by the bat-shit crazy wing. They are now Democrats. They didn't abandon their moderate Republican stances, though. They just shifted them into their new party.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

11. that's a good point. Now we encompass more of the political spectrum. That's probably

why we don't see very many true liberal visionaries.

[LWolf]

13. It's not that we don't have them.

It's that our liberal visionaries have been kicked to the curb as "fringe," no longer a respected faction in the party.

[Laura PourMeADrink]

21. true. In my mind,it goes back to the time when people would rather die than

be called a liberal. They allowed it to be turned into a dirty word instead of taking ownership and defining
it as someone good who cares about people and wants change for the common good. Like
Kennedy did. But, over the years no one has consistently countered the ridicule attached to the
label. No wonder we are where we are. They have managed to turn "conservative" into something good.

[gLibDem]

17. Which is why I hope the pol stays away from the Democratic Party

[Iliyah]

12. The present GOP party claims to represent the teachings of Jesus Christ

but have taken this notion to the 150% extreme. In my view, they are overly disingenuous, destructive and downright scary. Seems like history (and we know they don't believe in the REAL HISTORY) is raising its ugly head again, where the religious nut cases are back at it again which will eventually end in a very bad way unless stopped.

[kelliekat44]

18. If so, then they should give all their money to the poor and pay their taxes. nt

[Rocknrule]

22. But but but that's SOSHULIZM!

[ChisolmTrailDem]

19. Notice in the comments how commenters immediately begin trashing the

the Democratic Party rather than addressing what the writer said?

Typical republicon redirection and projection.

They are too stupid to learn anything from their dying party.

I look forward to the official declaration of the demise of that circus of idiots.

[Kermitt Gribble]

20. Yay, another republican in the Democratic party..

Like we don't have enough already. Please go back to your party - if you don't like it, fix it. Don't fuck up our party any more than it already is.

[JoeyT]

23. I'd like to congratulate Chad Brown on his recovery from his 30 year coma.

Because if he hasn't been in a coma and he just noticed it he's an idiot.

The pro-corporates are fleeing the party because the nutjobs are costing them power. If they could still pander to the nuts and get their tax breaks and handouts for the rich, they'd still be there, no matter what they had to give the religious right or the racists to keep that power. They didn't give a damn about the culture war, but they were willing to perpetuate it as long as it got them what they wanted. Now that it's starting to cost them what they want, they has a sad.

[PowerToThePeople]

24. this is why the democratic party is shit now.

We let these fuckstains in and they bring their horseshit ideologies with them.