On Being a Republican

I am the only Republican in my family. Technically, I am currently registered as an Independent. I did that to stop being pestered by political telephone calls. I still favor the Republican Party.

In the late 1950s, while earning a bachelor’s degree in finance at the University of Oklahoma, I learned that Republican policies were more favorable to the success of businesses and the economy. During my decades of working, I personally discovered that to be true.

On January 6, 2021, I watched television in amazement as President Donald Trump addressed a rally of his supporters outside the White House in Washington, D.C. He was espousing the delusional idea that he had won the recent presidential election by a landslide even though his numerous lawsuits and challenges to that effect had been refuted by the courts. I believe numerous illegal votes are cast in every election, but not to the extent he was claiming. Nevada’s voting system is particularly susceptible to large-scale abuse.

At the conclusion of Trump’s lengthy tirade, I heard him incite his supporters to march on the Capitol Building to protest Congress’s actions in certifying the electoral college votes that would make Joe Biden the next President of the United States. I continued to watch the unfolding events escalate into a full-fledged riot. The so-called protestors became a mob of domestic terrorists bent on destroying the sanctity of the great symbol of our democracy. The thugs did not accomplish what Trump had encouraged them to do. They did make fools and criminals of themselves.

Throughout his presidency, I approved of President Trump’s economic policies and his handling of foreign affairs. I disapproved of his tweets. It is an unacceptable way to communicate with the country. I particularly disliked the way he publicly abused individuals who earned his displeasure. Such actions were petty and selfish.

President Donald Trump’s actions on January 6, 2021, have not only soiled the reputation of real Republicans but they have destroyed his own legacy. I voted for Trump twice, not because I particularly liked him, but because I did not trust his opponent in either of the two elections. My choice in both elections was to select the lesser of two evils. Neither primary political party in the United States has recently advanced sterling candidates for the office of President.

I want the record to show where I stand in this matter. The attack on the Capitol Building is not acceptable. The performance of Donald Trump is not presidential. Let us hope that some real leaders will emerge from the chaos that has been created by both political parties in recent years.