I Have No Party

I've been a registered Republican since I was first able to vote. I never subscribed to the theory that if you weren't a Democrat at 18 you are heartless...though I used to subscribe to the theory that if you weren't a Republican by 40 you are brainless. ; - )

But, since the election, and even before that to some degree, I've come to the realization that the Republican Party doesn't stand for what I believe in any more. Maybe it never did, and I was just fooled by the rhetoric. The Republican Party of today is all about big government, just their own brand of big government. In the Bush era, the Republicans controlled everything, and what did they do? They spent like drunken sailors, screwed up education (it was already screwed up, but they made it worse), and created a new medicare entitlement.

Now that the Democrats control everything, what is the Republican Party doing? Nothing! They aren't even trying to stop Obama and his cronies as they run up debts our grandchildren will have to pay. They aren't doing anything as the Federal Government takes control of the Banking and Auto industries. My guess is they won't put up much of a fight when the Government takes control of health care.

So, what do I want? I want a political party that believes in a limited federal government and state's rights. I believe that the Federal Government's primary role is to defend the states through a strong military. I believe the only other roles the Federal Government should have are those specifically granted by the Constitution, and those don't include Social Security, Medicare, Auto Bailouts and Bank deals. The Federal Government has taken the authority to regulate interstate commerce to the extreme, and it needs to be reined in. Above all, I believe that the people in our country function best when government gets out of the way and lets people flourish.

Yes, the Republican party has abandoned people like me. Lately they're more interested in figuring out how to out-democrat the Democrats than they are in working for the people of this country. I know there are others like me who feel this way, and we keep hoping that the Republicans will wake up and take us back. But, I fear that isn't going to happen any time soon. For now anyway, I plan to remain registered Republican, on the off chance that someone who shares my views is in the next primary. But, if a 3rd party rises up that shares my views (and isn't crazy), the Republican party will lose me.