(I intentionally included an image created by AI, and yes, I realize it’s completely messed up. I had to include it because I simply typed “republican” in the prompt, and without anything other context, this is the first image that it gave me, which I find hilarious, and perfect for this article.)
If you know me or have read this blog for any length of time, you’re probably thinking that the title to this piece suggests it is verifiable clickbait. Trust me when I tell you that it is not. I am being completely honest here: there is a type of Republican I could support … in theory.
First off, let me just be clear: I don’t plan on voting for any Republicans in the next election cycle, the one after that, or the one after that. As it currently stands, the Republican party is a horror show. Whereas Democrats tend to be imperfect, somewhat self-indulgent, and mostly lacking a backbone, Republicans tend toward out and out fascism. As I’ve put it before: it’s like comparing a shitty sandwich with a literal shit sandwich. So, fear not my woke warriors, I’ve not gone to the dark side.
With that out of the way, allow me to now make it clear what I mean by, “I could support one type of Republican.” It’s a type of Republican from, oh, I don’t know, twenty or so years ago. Very libertarian leaning. Anti-war (including the failed Drug War). Fiscally responsible. Not impressed by a government who tells women what they can or cannot do with their bodies, or what gay and trans folks do with theirs. You know, the type of Republican I’m not sure exists any longer.
Let’s be real, though; even back then, these types of folks were a very small minority. Since Bush (the sequel), Republicanism has been synonymous with being very much pro war. They have never even sniffed at ending the war on drugs, with Reagan and Mrs. Reagan being the loudest proponents of it. Though they weren’t entirely hell-bent on overturning Roe v. Wade until fairly recently, the wheels have been in motion for decades (feel free to do a deep dive on the decades long work done by white, conservative Evangelicals in overturning legal access to abortion). And much to the chagrin of devoutly ignorant folks like Alisa Childers and Jon Root, many Republicans have long-since punted on the issue of gay marriage, a tiny step in the right direction (though the party is also trying to bring back the good old days of LGBTQ+ hatred with their anti-trans fixation).
In spite of all this toxicity from the Republican party, those were the good old days. That’s how far they’ve sunk … where Dick Cheney and Newt Gingrich seem like moderates who were at least decent for the country and the world (news flash: they weren’t). But that’s how it feels. Because back then, you were also much more likely to find the Republican who was like the one I wish existed today: anti-war, socially liberal, fiscally responsible.
Today, that person is so few and far between, it’s as if we have only one tolerable party (and they are barely that much of the time). So even if a Republican candidate came along and checked off all the boxes important to me, as a fairly progressive, albeit libertarian-leaning older millennial, I’d still have a hard time voting for them. Why? Because that’s how far Republicans have gone off the deep end. It’s going to take multiple voting cycles to gain any semblance of trust. And even that is a stretch. That’s how ridiculous these people have become.
If they had any foresight, though, they would start going in this direction. We the people are sick and tired of war, of being broke, of being told what to do, and whom we can marry, and what we can smoke. And frankly, Democrats don’t have the greatest track record in the world when it comes to these issues. It’s just that their political counterpart is so pathetically bad at literally everything that many of us vote blue. At this place and time, there really is only one choice for me.
But maybe life will surprise me and a GOP candidate will come along and be all the things I hope for in a politician. And maybe I’ll win the lotto I don’t play, the Sharks will win the Stanley Cup, Spurs will win the Premier League, and one of my books will win a Tolkien Society award (okay, that last one is possible).
Anyway, let me know your thoughts. Could you vote for a Republican? Curious minds want to know.
Also, if you’ve been digging my work on here, and want to see me be able to continue writing as close to full-time as humanly possible, please take a look at my Patreon page at www.patreon.com/mjdistefano. Even $1 a month helps bigly!
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