I'M A REPUBLICAN IMMIGRATION LAWYER--AND TRUMP IS KILLING MY PARTY OPINION [View all]
As an immigration lawyer, there is a presumption I am a progressive liberal. The fact I am former military and a life-long Republican is often greeted with incredulity, as if witnessing matter and anti-matter occupying the same space. The subsequent reaction generally is one of loathing, premised on the belief I am a Trump supporter. I am not.
The juxtaposition of the values of the Republican Party that first led me to lean to the right and the present state of Abraham Lincoln's party merits comment. But first, I must indulge myself in a retrospective journey into the evolution of my political alignment with the right.
I became of political age during the Vietnam war. Like many Americans, I saw Vietnam as an endless and deadly quagmire. Nixon's pledge of "peace with honor" was a welcome political cowbell. Later, Watergate culminated with Nixon's abdication of his presidency. The saving grace of Watergate was the Congressional Republicans placing country before party. This impressed me.
In 1979, the fall of the Shah of Iran and the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan shook me out of my post-Vietnam hangover. These shifts in the geopolitical landscape ushered in my abandonment of isolationism.
Next came Reagan's presidency. The cold war battle against the "Evil Empire" was a potent blend of realpolitik and adherence to ideology. This combined with Reagan's commitment to smaller government, fewer taxes, national defense, immigration reform and American values solidified my identity as a Republican.
https://www.newsweek.com/republican-lawyer-trump-killing-gop-1454077
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