A Southern Ohio Republican refuses to support bush

[Norbert]

When in the course of a lifetime, it becomes necessary for a born Republican to refuse to support the re-election of the party's incumbent president, to exercise his discretion, and in all good conscience, to vote for an opponent (even a Democrat), a decent respect to the opinions of his fellows requires that he declare the causes that impel him to switch.

I am grateful to the Republican Party for the support it gave me on each of three elections as judge. I respect many of the party leaders in Ohio. Nevertheless, my loyalty to the party must give way to my love of this country. I consider it a patriotic duty to speak up when the future of our democracy is at stake.

It is self-evident that everyone has certain unalienable rights endowed by the Creator, and that among these are the right to his/her own conscience and the right to pursue his/her sense of justice. Whenever in the field of politics the party to which he has belonged, and that party's president, become destructive of his vision of what is not only right and fair but also good for our future, it is his duty to call the tune as he hears it. When that future is endangered by the present policies of the administration, it is time to act. The record of this incumbent president is a history not only of repeated violations of the key principles underlying our democracy, but of the core values of the Christian faith to which he claims commitment. Let his actions be stated candidly.

...

http://www.enquirer.com/editions/2004/10/13/editorial_blackguestopinion.html

Robert L. Black is a retired Hamilton County Common Pleas Court judge. For those that do not know, the city of Cincinnati is in Hamilton County. Although he is a Republican, I have voted for him in the past. I urge you to read the whole well-writen article. The part that I cut-and-pasted is just a warm up to his scathing attack.

I swear the worm is turning especially in Ohio

[MidwestTransplant]

1. Bravo!

[roseBudd]

2. who else has turned in S. Ohio?

[Norbert]

5. Sorry rosebud57

My headline was a little misleading. This is the first member of Hamilton county's Republican Party to deblare anything like this.

There are very many K/E yard signs in the county. Very unusual. I've even seen a few K/E signs in yards that have local Republican yard signs.

[Supersedeas]

3. loyalty to party must give way to love of country (intellectual courage)

[Cha]

4. Gotta love the Judge Black!

"He has again and again reversed the regulations and policies designed to protect the environment, always adopting a policy that favors those manufacturers and industrialists whose actions have clearly fouled the air and water. He pushes for drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and throughout northern Alaska. He is allowing the logging of our national parks. He ignores scientific findings that the world is being subjected to a warming climate change that is man-made and that could otherwise be forestalled or radically slowed down.

He has adopted or proposed regulations that endanger the safety of persons, when a Republican two-house legislature will not act in his favor. His regulations would prevent the release to the public of car safety information, such as warranty claims, consumer complaints and individual rights on safety issues; he would relax the rule on allowable coal dust in mines; he would eliminate the rule requiring employers to keep records of employees' ergonomics injuries; he has cut 77 personnel from the staff of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration; he has raised the allowable mercury content in the air."

[Bandit]

6. Kick for one of the best posts of the day

:thumbsup: for a few decent people