This tale of a Republican who left his party was posted at David Frum’s site the other day.
I am an old Republican. I am religious, yet not a fanatic. I am a free-marketer; yet, I believe in the role of the government as a fair evenhanded referee. I am socially conservative; yet, I believe that my lesbian niece and my gay grandchild should have the full protection of the law and live as free Americans enjoying every aspect of our society with no prejudices and/or restrictions. Nowadays, my political and socio-economic profile would make me a Marxist, not a Republican.
The whole thing is worth a read, in part to contrast this traditional conservative’s view of Democratic policies with what we hear from the current crop of conservatives.
In the 80’s, the term “Reagan Democrat” was thrown around constantly to describe voters who left the Democratic party because of a mixture of ideology and admiration for Reagan. This guy is an “Obama Democrat Republican”, but we don’t hear a peep about a phenomenon that’s just as real as Reagan Democrats ever were.