I am suspending my support for the Republican Party.

by Rod Williams, September 9, 2022- I am suspending my support for the Republican Party.  I will not be sending any money to the RNC, the Republican Governor's Association, the National Republican Senatorial Committee, the National Republican Congressional Committee or any other organization or branch of the Republican Party whose purpose is to elect anyone as long as they are a Republican.  I just can't do that anymore.

This comes at a time when I was prepared to greatly increase my political contributions.  I am financially secure and am getting old and my money will outlive me.  Even leaving my one child and grandson a nice inheritance, I still have money left over.  I want to leave the world a better place than I found it. To me, that means weakening liberalism and left-wing ideologies and seeing the defeat of the Democratic Party agenda.  I want to support a future in which liberty, individualism, a market economy, limited government, respect for traditional western values, and constitutional rights are preserved and an America that takes a bold leadership role in the world opposing tyranny. I want America to continue to be that shining city on a hill. I want America to continue to be the last best hope of mankind.

Supporting these things was always consistent with support for the Republican Party. I no longer see it that way. I have not changed.  I still support the values I have always supported.  What has changed is the Republican Party. The Republican Party has become the party of Trump. Donald Trump is firmly in control. In recent Republican primaries, most of the candidates endorsed by Donald Trump won their primaries. Even those candidates who did not gain Trump's endorsement tried to position themselves as the true Trumpinista in the race. Principled and sane Republicans, for the most part, lost.  

One of the scariest things happening is that in some swing states where Trump claimed the election was stolen, the party’s nominees for key positions in the states’ administration of elections support Trump's claim that the 2020 election was stolen. When these people control the levers of power I suspect they will "find" enough votes to swing the next election to Trump or they will send an alternative slate of Trump electors to the electoral college. I cannot support these people being the ones responsible for a free and fair election. 

The premise that after a fair election, the legitimate Electoral College winner becomes the president-elect should not be controversial. That should be a bedrock principle that both Democrats and Republicans accept.  Republicans no longer do.  I cannot contribute money to candidates who do not accept that bedrock principle.

I had hoped the Jan. 6th attack on the Capitol would cause Republicans to distance themselves from former President Trump. It did not happen. Despite lack of evidence that the 2020 election was stolen, the claim that it was stolen has become an article of faith among many Republicans. Republicans have suspended reason. Republicans no longer reason; they emote and believe. The Republican Party has become more like a cult than a political party. Republicans have thrown principles under the bus. All that matters anymore is supporting Donald Trump. I would never have believed it.  

Former President Trump not only continues to promote the big lie that the 2020 election was stolen and Republicans fall in line, but it is worse than that. Trump advocates that he immediately be reinstalled as president of the United States. There is absolutely no constitutional basis for such a course of action. It doesn't matter; Republicans still support him. That would be a dictatorship and many Republicans now apparently support a Trump dictatorship.

I cannot continue to support a political party that is okay with a violent attempt to overturn a free and fair election and continues to peddle claims that the 2020 election was stolen. I cannot support a political party that supports someone who wants to take office contrary to constitutional provisions.  I cannot support the Republican Party as long as the Republican Party is the Party of Trump.

If Trump were to secure the 2024 Republican presidential nomination and run against a progressive Democrat, I will have to support the progressive Democrat.  A progressive Democrat would work to undermine our Democracy also, I have no doubt. However, as long as the Democrat advocates democratic methods of undermining our democracy, I would take the risk that we can survive four years of Democratic Party governance and that the pendulum would swing back in four years.  I think American democracy could survive four years under a Democrat president.  I am not sure our democracy could survive four more years under a Trump presidency.  

Does this mean I want Republicans to be defeated in the 2022 mid-term?  Not exactly. I want state-level Republicans in states like Arizona and Wisconsin who could, and likely would flip a Trump loss into a Trump win to be defeated.  In the House and Senate, I want not a red wave but a red trickle.  I want just enough Republicans to win to achieve gridlock and keep the Democrats from passing the Democrat Party agenda. 

Does this mean I am no longer a Republican?  No. I am still a Republican.  I will continue to be active in the Republican Party and I will continue to speak out and will work to support sane Republican and hope the Party rediscovers its moral compass. In the 2024 Republican contest for a Republican nominee, I will support the Republican candidate most likely to keep Donald Trump from being the 2024 party nominee.

Does this mean I will not be giving any money to candidates or Republican organizations? No. I will be selective, however. When I can identify a sane mainstream Republican, I will give money to that candidate directly. I may give money to our State Party and County Party. Tennessee Republicans are no risk to election integrity since our state is not in play. We are solidly Red so there is no temptation to defy the will of the voters.  I want to keep Tennesee a strong Republican state and do not want to weaken the State Party. The County Party is weak and I would like to see it strengthened.  It is not in a position to do much to advance Trumpism.

I will be doing research and in swing states where there is a competitive race between a Trumpinista Republican and a Democrat for those key positions in the states’ administration of elections, I will be sending money to the Democrat. I do not trust Trumpinistas with being in charge of election integrity.

Also, I will be increasing my support for conservative institutions, think tanks, and issue-oriented organizations. In an age of Trumpism, it may be more important to keep alive the rich tradition of conservative thought and to advance conservative policies than it is to focus on the next election. 

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