I have been thinking about this post for weeks. I have many liberal friends and acquaintances, and they are all horrified that I voted for Trump. I have said many times that I have voted for exactly three Republicans for president in my life. All other elections, from 1976 on, I voted Democrat. Why then will I never vote for a Democrat again, absent major party change?
Like Reagan, I did not leave the Democratic Party, it left me. I am a socially liberal man. I support complete, open speech on the internet and everywhere. I favor complete legalization of all drugs, pornography and prostitution. I favor legal abortion. I do not support gay marriage on semantic grounds, but I could not care less with whom you have sex, and I don't think your choice(s) is(are) a sin, immoral or unnatural. I am a singer and strongly support the arts. I am highly educated and literate, and appreciate well written things.
Everything about my values suggests I would be a Democrat, but I'm not. Why?
I was 10 in the Summer of Love, and 12 during the riots of 1969. I watched the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. I watched sit-ins, the closings of universities, loud and ugly marches, civil rights riots, arrests, burning, looting. I have listened to and read the various manifestos of the Students for a Democratic Society, the Black Panthers, the Yippies, and other groups.
For me the corollary of freedom is public responsibility for order, not enforced by police, but by common standards of decency. I watch liberals using the methods and rhetoric straight out of the 60s. This repelled me then and it still does. All the shouting, labeling, and disorder, all unnecessary and counter-productive. I don't want anything to do with those methods.
I am disgusted by identity politics. I was raised to consider all people equal, to be judged by their abilities and their manners. I don't care if the doctor who treats me is male or female, black or white or asian, gay or straight. I care they are kind and capable. Any type of admission or hiring that uses race, sex or any social identifier at all is biased. My medical school boasted it had admitted 50% male and 50% female students. I asked why this was something of which to be proud. I want them to admit the best, regardless of sex. Merit-based activities do not consider social markers. The NFL does not have a racial mix it must fulfill, neither do orchestras.
Bias cannot be judged by outcomes. Our government considers all people equal before the Law, and guarantees equal opportunity. It does not guarantee equal outcomes. Democrats consider any outcome difference as evidence of bias, since everyone must do equally well if equally treated. That fails ab initio in physical, musical and hand skill positions. It fails the same way for intellect and effort. I can think of many very capable people whose effort and character led to a lesser position and achievement (Ryan Leaf vs Peyton Manning anyone?). That is not bias, and differential outcomes by race, income and neighborhood are not a priori evidence of discrimination.
I am sick to death of hearing about abortion rights, and transgender bathroom access. The paranoia over abortion controls party choices of judges and candidates. The chair of the DNC recently said you can't be a Democrat without being pro-choice. It is perfectly insane to have biological males using women's bathrooms and vice-versa. It is so patently stupid it defies belief, and yet that is the position of Democrats. Even though I largely support the Democratic social agenda, I can't stand the stridency, and the catering to extreme, tiny fringe groups in the name of 'equality'.
I strongly support free speech. This of course does not mean freedom from the consequences of what you say. It does mean that those of opposing views must be able to speak. But one liberal group after another simply labels the opinions of those with whom they disagree as 'hate speech', and silence them. In their fanatic quest for 'fairness' these people are in fact new McCarthyites, suppressing speech and defaming people in the name of their own values. I am disgusted by this approach, and cannot vote to support it.
In 2003 I watched the National Abortion Rights March in DC. I saw one group after another that would hate me because I am a successful, white man. I deeply resent that. I am being judged by my race and sex every bit as much as any black person or woman. My anger at this kind of discriminatory behavior prevents me from voting to support such people's agenda.
These are the reasons I will not vote for a Democrat. It is not simply the candidate, it is the behavior of too many Democrats in society, academia, and the media. They are strident, grossly biased, angry, aggressive, rude, hostile. They are everything I think is wrong in behavior and thought. If I vote for a Democratic candidate, I am endorsing the behavior of people whose behavior repels me.
In their soul searching over the 2016 election loss, I have seen many Democrats put forth every excuse- Russian collusion, Comey's investigation, misogyny, sexual bias, ignorance. Everything except the fact that the candidate was historically bad and the behavior of her supporters offensive. Look in the mirror for the reasons for your loss. You lost voters like me, a socially liberal, educated man who by 'rights' ought to support you.
When you can win back people like me, you will again be relevant. Until then, I will not vote for any Democratic candidate.
For a similar argument in different terms, see this link- http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/womans-top-10-reasons-i-am-no-longer-a-leftist-goes-viral. I am not alone in my feelings.
Ted
Like Reagan, I did not leave the Democratic Party, it left me. I am a socially liberal man. I support complete, open speech on the internet and everywhere. I favor complete legalization of all drugs, pornography and prostitution. I favor legal abortion. I do not support gay marriage on semantic grounds, but I could not care less with whom you have sex, and I don't think your choice(s) is(are) a sin, immoral or unnatural. I am a singer and strongly support the arts. I am highly educated and literate, and appreciate well written things.
Everything about my values suggests I would be a Democrat, but I'm not. Why?
I was 10 in the Summer of Love, and 12 during the riots of 1969. I watched the Democratic Convention in Chicago in 1968. I watched sit-ins, the closings of universities, loud and ugly marches, civil rights riots, arrests, burning, looting. I have listened to and read the various manifestos of the Students for a Democratic Society, the Black Panthers, the Yippies, and other groups.
For me the corollary of freedom is public responsibility for order, not enforced by police, but by common standards of decency. I watch liberals using the methods and rhetoric straight out of the 60s. This repelled me then and it still does. All the shouting, labeling, and disorder, all unnecessary and counter-productive. I don't want anything to do with those methods.
I am disgusted by identity politics. I was raised to consider all people equal, to be judged by their abilities and their manners. I don't care if the doctor who treats me is male or female, black or white or asian, gay or straight. I care they are kind and capable. Any type of admission or hiring that uses race, sex or any social identifier at all is biased. My medical school boasted it had admitted 50% male and 50% female students. I asked why this was something of which to be proud. I want them to admit the best, regardless of sex. Merit-based activities do not consider social markers. The NFL does not have a racial mix it must fulfill, neither do orchestras.
Bias cannot be judged by outcomes. Our government considers all people equal before the Law, and guarantees equal opportunity. It does not guarantee equal outcomes. Democrats consider any outcome difference as evidence of bias, since everyone must do equally well if equally treated. That fails ab initio in physical, musical and hand skill positions. It fails the same way for intellect and effort. I can think of many very capable people whose effort and character led to a lesser position and achievement (Ryan Leaf vs Peyton Manning anyone?). That is not bias, and differential outcomes by race, income and neighborhood are not a priori evidence of discrimination.
I am sick to death of hearing about abortion rights, and transgender bathroom access. The paranoia over abortion controls party choices of judges and candidates. The chair of the DNC recently said you can't be a Democrat without being pro-choice. It is perfectly insane to have biological males using women's bathrooms and vice-versa. It is so patently stupid it defies belief, and yet that is the position of Democrats. Even though I largely support the Democratic social agenda, I can't stand the stridency, and the catering to extreme, tiny fringe groups in the name of 'equality'.
I strongly support free speech. This of course does not mean freedom from the consequences of what you say. It does mean that those of opposing views must be able to speak. But one liberal group after another simply labels the opinions of those with whom they disagree as 'hate speech', and silence them. In their fanatic quest for 'fairness' these people are in fact new McCarthyites, suppressing speech and defaming people in the name of their own values. I am disgusted by this approach, and cannot vote to support it.
In 2003 I watched the National Abortion Rights March in DC. I saw one group after another that would hate me because I am a successful, white man. I deeply resent that. I am being judged by my race and sex every bit as much as any black person or woman. My anger at this kind of discriminatory behavior prevents me from voting to support such people's agenda.
These are the reasons I will not vote for a Democrat. It is not simply the candidate, it is the behavior of too many Democrats in society, academia, and the media. They are strident, grossly biased, angry, aggressive, rude, hostile. They are everything I think is wrong in behavior and thought. If I vote for a Democratic candidate, I am endorsing the behavior of people whose behavior repels me.
In their soul searching over the 2016 election loss, I have seen many Democrats put forth every excuse- Russian collusion, Comey's investigation, misogyny, sexual bias, ignorance. Everything except the fact that the candidate was historically bad and the behavior of her supporters offensive. Look in the mirror for the reasons for your loss. You lost voters like me, a socially liberal, educated man who by 'rights' ought to support you.
When you can win back people like me, you will again be relevant. Until then, I will not vote for any Democratic candidate.
For a similar argument in different terms, see this link- http://thefederalistpapers.org/us/womans-top-10-reasons-i-am-no-longer-a-leftist-goes-viral. I am not alone in my feelings.
Ted
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