Why I left the Republican Party

It seems like only yesterday, but it was back in 1965 when my wife and I arrived in Fort Lauderdale to begin our adult lives together. Within a week or two, we headed to the Supervisor of Election’s office to register. Upon stepping to the counter, we were greeted by none other than the supervisor herself, “Easter Lilly” Gates, so named for the lovely Easter bonnets she wore each and every day.

After welcoming us with kind words and a big smile, she pushed a registration book toward us and handed me a pen. I looked down and observed that it was the Democratic Party book. This quickly confirmed my long-held belief as a northerner that voting fraud and corruption were the rule, rather than the exception, in the Deep South. Just as quickly I announced to her, in no uncertain terms, that we wanted the Republican book and indignantly asked why she would be so presumptuous as to think otherwise.

Her reply was a real eye-opener, both factual and instructive. In a stern voice, she said, “Young man, you obviously don’t know that political races here in Florida are decided in the Democratic primaries. Republican nominees rarely, if ever, win in the general election. So why in the world would you want to disenfranchise yourself from having a say in who gets elected to office?”

Knowing our parents might well have disowned us had we chosen the suggested registration book, we disregarded her advice and became card-carrying Republicans. And just as she had warned, the Democrats won almost all Broward County offices in 1966, our first year going to the polls here.

However, in the 1968 general election, the GOP took an astounding 49 of the 52 offices on the ballot. (This included judicial positions, which back then, unlike today, were elected on a partisan basis.) And the GOP held its own, albeit to a lesser degree, in elections throughout the 1970s.

Now fast-forward to 2018 and, more specifically, to June 1. While most people think of it as the official start of hurricane season, for me the day holds a different significance. For on that date, after a number of years of procrastination and laziness, I went online and officially changed my party affiliation. I simply could no longer disregard the reality that the Republican Party — at least the party that I once knew — had abandoned me. I had known this for quite some time, but did not come to grips with it until now.

How did this happen? Undoubtedly from the cumulative effect of a large number of ills: a deceitful and mean-spirited president; a Congress that perpetuates his brand of evil and cares little for the common folk; and a governor and state legislature that are of the same ilk. On issues such as health care, climate change, immigration, criminal justice and gun reform, to name but a few, the differences between the Republicans and me is like the difference between night and day.

So bring on those Democratic Party primaries. And oh, by the way, there is still time for many of you to join me.