It's happening, it really is...people are waking up!...

Acebass

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Tue Apr-18-06 09:35 AM
Original message

It's happening, it really is...people are waking up!...

Edited on Tue Apr-18-06 11:03 AM by newyawker99

http://www.courier-journal.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?Date=20060418&Category=OPINION04&ArtNo=604180349&SectionCat=&Template=printart

Tuesday, April 18, 2006

A life-long Republican bids GOP farewell

I was raised in a family that consistently voted Republican. Into the voting booth I went, every November without fail, to pull the levers for my mother and father. And, more often than not, I pulled the lever with the little pachyderm on it, but also levers with Democratic names of distinction. Levers that had names on them like John Sherman Cooper, Marlow Cook, Barry Goldwater, Louie Nunn, Richard Nixon, Romano Mazzoli, Gerald Ford and Harvey Sloane were pulled, at the direction of my parents.

They taught me to vote for the best person for the job, the person who, in their estimation, was most likely to reflect their ethics of honest government, low taxes, responsible spending, provision of necessary government services, a strong defense, maintenance of a social safety net, fresh ideas for dealing with current needs, and civil rights for all. With the exception of Nixon, nearly everyone they voted for fit these standards.

When I was old enough to vote on my own, their ethics stuck with me. I worked briefly for George H.W. Bush's campaign in 1980, then voted twice for Reagan. I gladly voted for Mitch McConnell each time he ran for Senate, but also voted for Jerry Abramson and continue to support him to this day.

However, I became uncomfortable with the GOP's move to the right, and began to question its candidates' judgment. Reagan's huge deficits bothered me greatly, as did George H.W. Bush's continuation of them. In 1992, I chose to vote for Perot, ended up very happy with Bill Clinton's performance in office, as well as Brereton Jones' and Paul Patton's gubernatorial terms (with minor exception made for Patton's extramarital problems).

I have lobbied Congress a number of times in the 1990s and 2000s, as an unpaid citizen lobbyist, on the subject of civil rights. To say that I am most displeased with the quality of government we, the people, are receiving from the GOP, is the understatement of the century. The GOP is basically owned lock, stock and barrel by the DonaldWildmons, James Dobsons, Chuck Colsons and Pat Robertsons of the world, people with whom most Americans do not share a worldview, and people who want to impose their morality on the entire nation.

Anne Northup was supported by George W. Bush long before he ever ran for president, while he was still running up huge deficits in Texas as governor, deficits that have crippled that state's ability to deal with the problems of their schools, roads and infrastructure, not to mention the influx of hurricane refugees from Louisiana. Bush has continued that record as president, running huge deficits, starting a costly war on a false pretense and actively depriving people of civil rights to please his fundamentalist Christian friends. I am proud to state that I never voted for him.

A. G. CASEBEER

Louisville 40220

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