A Bernie Sanders Supporter And ‘Rockefeller Republican’ Call To Action
A Bernie Sanders Supporter And ‘Rockefeller Republican’ Call To Action
August 14, 2015Paul Loebe Politics
I wrote this on my Facebook page the other day and felt it was relevant to share. The partisan gridlock was not always existent in the U.S. Congress and the reason is that both parties used to have ideologies spread across the spectrum within their respective parties. That is not the case today and, quite frankly, why there is such a partisan divide on so many issues. People constantly tell me to give up on the Republican Party, switch over to the Democrats, and call it a day.
Funny thing about that: Rockefeller Republicans have been doing that for decades, switching to Independent and Democrat. It may have helped them, but it sure hasn’t helped the country. In all my research and experience I’ve found one thing: revolution comes from within, not without. If you really want to see the radicalization of the Tea Party-run GOP diminish, then it needs to be done by the Rockefeller Republicans. They need to move back from the Independent Party to the Republican Party, and pull the disenfranchised voters with them.
This is not indicative nor reflective of the positions of Reverb Press. This is my own opinion.
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I’m a Republican. I’m a feminist. I’m an anti-racist activist. I support marriage equality. I support social programs. I’m voting for Bernie Sanders. Maybe Democrats should listen up and start reaching out to the Rockefeller Republicans that actually left the party. They call themselves Independents today and make up 41% of registered voters.
I’m a Republican.
Just because morons in the GOP have clung to the Tea Party and the theocratic fascists of the fringe right doesn’t mean that I do. I admire and look up to a long history of Republicans who believed in compassionate conservatism.
Republicans like former President Dwight Eisenhower who created the interstate highway system, supported civil rights for African-Americans through civil rights legislation, created NASA, and created a strong science education initiative.
Republicans like former Vice President Nelson Rockefeller who created a free public university system in the State University of New York, established the office of parks and recreation to preserve the environment, and created the largest state medical program in the state of New York.
Republicans like former U.S. Senator Dick Lugar who backed common-sense gun regulation and assault weapons bans, who supported the DREAM act and massive immigration reform, and who pushed for the sanctions against CUBA to be lifted for years.
Republicans like U.S. Senator Lincoln Chafee who opposed eliminating the estate tax to help pay for social programs, who was a vocal supporter of marriage equality, and who was the only Republican Senator who voted against action in Iraq.
Not all of these Republicans had a perfect platform and I disagreed with them on a vast majority of issues, but those are the Republicans I remember growing up hearing about. Then the radicals overthrew the party. After that many Republicans turned Independent because they lost their voice. It’s time to take back the party at every level – local, state, and national. #NotMyGOP
I’m a feminist.
Just because people have a great misperception of what feminism is does not change what it actually is nor does it make me shy away from being one. Many third wave feminists have mismanaged the public image of feminism making it appear toxic and subjugative, and as a result many people rail against it. Feminism is merely the stance that women are equal to men. That’s what it means to be a feminist. That’s it.
Feminists believe women should have bodily autonomy and are smart enough to make choices with their own body.
Feminists believe that women should be paid on an equal pay scale with men.
Feminists believe that we should pass an Equal Rights Amendment to the U.S. Constitution.
I’m an anti-racist.
Racism is real, alive, and rampant in our nation. Both systemic racism and active racist acts. Overt and covert racism. It’s real, clear, and apparent to anyone who listens and just watches what is going on in our nation right now. I join with people of color to help support in their fight against systemic racism because it disproportionately affects blacks and people of color. I also support #BlackLivesMatter.
The average black American walks through a war zone every day. Black Americans are killed at a rate 12 times higher than whites in the United States, despite only being around 15% of the total American population. That means their likelihood of survival is equivalent to the average citizen in Rwanda, a war-torn country with a weak to non-existent central government and warlords running rampant, terrorizing the citizens.
Black Americans are incarcerated at a higher rate than any other racial group in the United States. Despite only making up approximately 15% of the U.S. population they make up 40% of the U.S. prison population. Add to that problem the fact that for-profit prisons operate these prisoners as cheap labor and you could quite succinctly state it’s a “back-door policy” for legalized slavery.
Black Americans are arrested, charged, and locked up for using drugs such as marijuana, at four times the rate that white Americans are. This is despite the fact that white Americans are using drugs like marijuana at nearly identical rates as black Americans. Blacks are clearly being unfairly targeted by law enforcement officials and the police authority figures.
I support marriage equality.
It makes absolutely no sense to try to restrict marriage to anyone who is able to enter into a legal contract and give their consent. Marriage is supposed to be the union of two people who love each other, regardless of sex, race, gender, religion, or sexual orientation. Anyone who denies that right to others is not a true supporter of compassionate conservatism and REAL small government. It’s also a great moral issue and shows just how far from reality the modern-day GOP has gone.
I support social programs.
It just makes sense, even from a conservative point of view. Why? Because you have to consider the second and third order effects of NOT creating and having these programs. My first example to pick is always the Nutrition Assistance Program. It comes at a whopping cost of $78 billion. I support it as a conservative. Why? Because I don’t buy Tea Party talking points and know that second and third order effects of not financing that program will be devastating and actually strain the system we have in even more costly ways. Right now poor children and the elderly get food from that program. It is how they get the nutrition they need to survive and keep a healthy lifestyle.
If we were to gut the program then we would see the ravages that the second and third order effects would have. People would begin to get sick (and in some cases die) because they couldn’t get proper nutrition. Likely, they are poor and would put off going to the doctor at the last-minute because the healthcare system is broken and costs more than any other major nation on earth. Then when those people do finally make the decision to go to the doctor it’s going to cost even more money and likely going to be through an ER because they cannot turn patients away. The person who can’t afford food or health insurance is most likely not going to afford the ER bill and it gets thrown back onto you and me, the people who do have health insurance and pay our bills. It just makes our bills rise exponentially further straining the health care system at a cost of FAR MORE than a measly $78 billion a year.
The fact that we even have that system shows just how immoral as a governing body we have become and despite what any pundits will tell you morality should play a role in governance. To do the moral thing when fiscally possible is what should be a shining embodiment of compassionate conservatism. And it is not only fiscally sound to keep the Nutrition Assistance Program, but it’s morally sound as well.
Just imagine the overthrow of the power elite if the 41% of registered voters who align as independents went back to the Republican party as Rockefeller Republicans
I’m voting for Bernie Sanders.
Bernie Sanders is an Eisenhower Republican. He stands for many of the exact same issues that Eisenhower stood for. The very fact that Eisenhower today would be billed as a Democratic Socialist when he was one of the greatest Republican Presidents we’ve had is very telling for how far the party has fallen.
Many Democrats tell me to turn tail and jump onto their party. Many Independents tell me the same thing as well. I tell you no. If Democrats really want to win not only the Bernie Sanders election in 2016, but many state, local, and national elections as well then you need to reach out to your friends who are Rockefeller Republicans. Reach out to the former-Republicans-turned-Independents. Stop insulting and degrading them. We can be allies. Just imagine the overthrow of the power elite if the 41% of registered voters who align as independents went back to the Republican party as Rockefeller Republicans. With the numbers of Democrats and the minority of Rockefeller Republicans we could hold a majority again in many states across this nation.
We could begin reform the likes of which hasn’t been seen or felt since the days of FDR. We won’t agree on every issue, but we’re also not insane like the Tea Party.
Ultimately, it’s up to you. You can either be the arbiter of change or the inhibitor of progress.
http://reverbpress.com/politics/a-rockefeller-republicans-call-to-action/
Another very interesting read imo...
I believe there are a ton of Republicans and RedState Independents who will change their registrations in the primaries, just so they have the chance to vote for Bernie Sanders for President in the general election.
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