An open letter to the Republican Party:
I have been a registered Republican for over four decades. The GOP always stood for less government, less spending and commonsense legislation.
Now, however, I find that my GOP has changed to the party of banning personal freedoms, spending the Social Security funds I have paid into for decades, since I was 15, and threatening to end those benefits, the party of sedition, the party of ending the constitutional separation of church and state, and the party of ending women’s and LGTBQ personal rights to the freedoms guaranteed by the Constitution.
In short, you have become the fascist party of America. My name came through my family from someone who died fighting fascists in World War II. Like him, I volunteered and served honorably in the military. I will not sully his name by supporting any candidates who, by their own statements, support fascist causes, legislation or edicts — including Ron DeSantis, Doug Mastriano, Marjorie Taylor-Greene, Marco Rubio and Herschel Walker, who vocally support the fascist agenda that the Republican Party currently espouses.
I will be voting a straight Democratic ticket in the upcoming election. I have never voted a straight ticket; I have always weighed the candidates on their qualifications and platforms. Today, it is clear that none of the Republican candidates meet even the most basic of these requirements.
Thanks for sending the hate mailings; they made me decide to pen this missive to you. It also reinforced my belief that the GOP as it currently stands has no place in U.S. politics.
Dean Stephens
Dubois