Any ex-Repubs here?

[ObaMania]

Just curious... any former Republicans on this board?

If so, what brought you over to our side, and what attracted you to the GOP in the first place?

[T Roosevelt]

1. Yeah, back when I was young and stupid

Just out of high school, into wargames, so Raygun and his anti-Soviet talk looked good (considering the alternative in '84). Of course then I entered the job market...deficits skyrocketed, Bush/Quayle rolled around...'nuff said.

[izzie]

3. Yes and I think I always voted for the GOP

I recall liking one Sen. from Maine who was a Dem and I voted for him. I really started to think about things when Reagan ran, I was a Rep as I had grown up in a family that always voted GOP.I was busy so did not think about it much. When Nam was big I started to see things in a new way and it got to me when Reagon ran. Sat down and really listed things and how I believed and I was a real old time Dem. My first vote was for Ike which I would class an old Rep. This group in now is right wing and no where near my father's GOP. It is almost a new party.

[Carl21014]

2. I was a Reagan Republican

I turned 18 in 83' and joined Reagans 600 ship Navy. The first Democrat I ever voted for was Clinton in 96' because the economy was doing great and so was I. Democrat or not I had to give him credit.

Then I was appalled at the impeachment sham that was trying to steal my vote. As Gephart was marching the Democrats out of the Capitol building just after the impeachment vote, I was filling out the back of my voter registration card to change my affiliation to Democrat. I swore that day I would never vote a Republican the rest of my life.

Imagine how enraged I became on the very next election when I was voting a straight Democratic ticket for the first time in my life and the Republicans stole the election. I don't think it's possible for me to ever forgive them.

[Ilsa]

4. I voted for Ford and Raygun

when I was 18 and 22. I think that's it.

[Redleg]

5. Yes, when I was young and dumb and full of....

... crap!

I was a Republican from age 18 until 21. My affinity for the right wing began to wane during the Iran-Contra hearings and in light of all the shitty, villainous things perpetrated by the right during the Reagan-Bush period. I was further digusted when I learned (in 1991) of their support for Iraq to include the provision of some WMD to Iraq during the 1980s. I was critical of their support for every right-wing dictatorship around the globe and got sick of their inane anti-communist, evil-empire bullshit. I also disliked that many fellow army officers (I was a field artillery officer from 1987 through 1993) were hard-right Reagan lovers.

I grew more disenchanted with the right and gradually became more liberal and a member of the Democratic party as I learned more things in graduate school about economics and employment issues and the right-wing agenda. Now I am a proud Democrat and plan to stay one!

[rogerashton]

6. I was young and dumb, too.

But it was longer ago. Too young to vote, I supported Goldwater in 1960. I actually campaigned for Charlton Lyons, the repub candidate in the 1963 (?) Louisiana gubernatorial election.

OK, give me a minute, here. At the time, I believed in the two party system. Louisiana was pretty much one-party democratic. So I thought -- well, you get the picture.

By 1964 I had grown up a little and voted for Johnson out of concern that Goldwater would get us into a war. Um, right.

I still think it would be a good idea if we had (at least) a two-party system in this country.

[Coolliberal]

7. I was a repug when I was young too....

Went in the Navy in 84, thought Reagan was cool. I wanted to help save the world from the godless communist hordes. It all changed when I went overseas and found out that we couldn't get fresh milk. Stupid Gramm/Rudman bill to cut expenses. I guess the military they loved so much was not all that important, (we started getting milk that you could keep on a shelf for about 50 years). I was pretty upset. Started really seeing what the repukes were doing. I voted for Dukakis and got hell for it too. I had a CPO that told me I should vote for Bush or we would a be screwed. Then voted for Clinton when he ran, wish he would run again.

[Ready4Change]

8. Still registered as a Republican, actually.

I'm here because I realized the Republican party, and especially the current administration, no longer reflect what I consider to be core republican values. I've considered changing my party affiliation, but I'm in a quandery regarding which party to switch TO, and apathetic about whether switching would really have much effect. At least, while still registered R, I can vote for more moderate R's, when possible.

In the meantime, I think the Democrats are our nations best chance of ousting the current administration. Since that administration is, in my opinion, so highly damaging to the interests of the people of the USA, I think ousting it is more important than holding true to my personal political affiliations. I currently intend to vote for whichever D is nominated, because I feel that is the most likely means of removing the Bush administration from office.

If I were confident that D's would win the next election I'd probably cast my lot with the Libertarians, as I feel they are the party closest to my core beliefs. However, the Libertarians don't have a ghost of a chance of beating the Bush admin.

So, for the meantime, thanks for allowing me to participate in these forums. The atmosphere in "republican" sites is downright alien to me anymore. I've found DU to be an oasis of critical thinking.

I do realize that a few of my beliefs don't exactly fit in here. (I'm a bit more Pro-Military, for example.) But in other ways I've found much to agree with. (I'm VERY Pro-Alternative Energy.) I hope no one finds my presence here disruptive, and I welcome the rational discourse I've found in these threads. Again, thanks.

[proud patriot]

13. Thank you for that comment

I wish you the best in finding the party that represents
your beliefs most accurately .

cause the republican party has left the realm of Conservative
thinking and entered into a radical destabilizing whirlpool
IMHO

[jeffrey_X]

9. Former Conservative White Male Here....

What changed me?

1.) I married an african american woman
2.) Reading James Baldwin, Richard Wright and the autobiography of Malcom X.
3.) The war in Iraq.


Needless to say....I broke free from my past.

[bicentennial_baby]

11. Rock on!

I wish there were more like you...

[jeffrey_X]

15. Thanks!

For me it was all about PERSPECTIVE. I was able to look at life, society, and culture from a different perspective.

[LondonReign2]

10. Prior to completing college

I voted for Reagan in '88 when I was 19. Mostly from being raised in a repub household.

Thank god for the critical thinking skills I learned in college! Fortunately the crowd I fell in with challenged you to back up your statements.

By '92 I was sporting a Dukakis button, my primary concern being what Bush I would do to the Supreme Court. (Prescient, huh?)

On EDIT: I got only blank looks when I argued about the impact BushI could have on the SC and the impact it could make on the entire country.

[WhataBildeberger]

12. same here

Raised Republican, and learned how fucking awful that was in college.

The saddest part of the story is that I have yet to cast a vote for a winning presidential candidate (Gore's actual '00 victory notwithstanding).

[MISSDem]

14. I was a Democrat and voted that way

all of my life until 2000. God forgive me, I was so mad at Bill Clinton for the monica thing that I actually voted for bush. If only I could take it back. Anyway I got over my childish tantrum and am back. So I guess I am proof that , even though it may not have been any of the public's business what went on in private, still it does affect things. ( How could someone who is so brillant have done something that was so dumb?(meaning Clinton, of course))