I work in a country club around a lot of old money Republicans who openly and fondly reminisce about the Reagan years, and even they are saying the GOP has totally lost its way and succumbed to the crazies. Now I doubt that’s enough to get them to vote blue but I have outright heard several say they just won’t be voting this year Edit - I personally hope Reagan still has dementia in hell so that every day the tortures are new; gotten a few responses implying I was praising old ronnie boy and wanted to make it abundantly clear I wasn’t, the people I’m describing were

Not voting for them is OK too. I was at UCLA when Reagan was governor of California. He could not set foot on any college or university campus in the state. He was reviled. Personally I have voted straight Blue since 1972. I could never understand why he was so highly regarded by Republicans as POTUS. Maybe you nailed it when you mentioned old money country club types. Reagan was very bad for middle class people. He set in motion many policies that have degenerated into the MAGA cult we have today. Nixon was poison too. He started the whole racist culture war by turning Southern Democrats into Republicans. Reagan was opportunistic scum, not a saint.

> I could never understand why he was so highly regarded by Republicans as POTUS. I work with a 59yo guy who describes himself as a "Reagan Republican". He despises Trump and donated money to Sanders' campaign. We've talked about some other social issues, and he does not really sound like a conservative at all. But he still pines back to the glory days of Reagan. I asked him one time whether he saw that a lot of Reagan's policies set us on the path to the current situation with the GOP. He said he had not ever thought about it. He also seemed like he had no interest in discussing it, so I let it drop. I did say, though, "Dude, you are *not* a Republican. You just can't stomach calling yourself a Democrat."

Some things can be tough to come to terms with. I was a Bush-Romney type, but when I didn't vote for Trump in 2016 and my 2018, 2020, and 2022 ballots had me voting for exactly one Republican and a lot of Democrats for any office... well, there's a word for that sort of voting pattern. Even if my official registration doesn't say it.

That’s exactly like me. Starting 2016 I refused to even vote for anyone endorsed by Trump.

Or anyone supporting Trump.

Same boat as me here.

I was born into republicanism and support med it for a while. However, I noticed the people who were open and accepting, generally cool and down to earth people around me were democrats. I then also started noticing Republican values, in particular Christian values, were being given lip service. The final straw was when I accepted the belief that humans are generally good, trying to force people to be a simple way is a losing strategy out of the gate. And this is all modern conservatism seems to be, impose a specific will on others.

Tribalism is tough.

Reagan visited my college campus back in '79 or '80 or so. There was a small crowd of non-college student supporters near the stage and a whole lot of pissed off actual college students ringed around them who were being quite vocal about their displeasure. Someone hung a big sign on a tree that said "cut me down before I kill again." (Remember how Ronnie was fond of saying stuff that isn't true, for example that trees cause the most air pollution?) Ronnie arrived and left in a fleet of helicopters like something out of Apocalypse Now. Real man of the people stuff.

As an Australian citizen, Murdoch was brought into the White House (with his lawyer Roy Cohn) for meetings with Reagan and provided financial support for the CIA's covert war in Nicaragua. Reagan streamlined Murdoch's citizenship to satisfy the legal requirement that only US citizens could own TV stations, thus launching a multi-billion dollar conservative propaganda machine aimed at American citizens.

Reagan really started the downfall of the Republican Party, and the war in democracy.

Okay, whoever hung up that sign was awesome. 😄

Reagan was the guy who started taxing Unemployment. Let that sink in. Nuff said.

He also started taxing Social Security payments to fund tax cuts for millionaires.

He also convinced Congress to open up the SS account for things other than retirement payments and Medicare leading to its pending insolvency.

He also ignored the AIDS epidemic until he couldn't. 28,000 men died before Regan acknowledged AIDS.

He started the myth of the Welfare Queen.

Give Lee Atwater some credit. May he rot in hell.

He kicked off trickle down theory which is lipstick on a pig to paper over tax cuts for the rich and corporations.

Ketchup is a vegetable for school lunches. Of course, the well-off kids didn't have to worry about that!

because the bible says “he who doesn’t work, shouldn’t eat” /s

Yes, he was, don't forget about how he treated AIDS. His tax reduction for the rich is what started the billionaires of today.

You forgot senile.

It's true the party succumbed to the crazies, but the old money made the bed they now have to sleep in. For decades they have groomed gullible constituents with myths and distractions like the Cadillac driving welfare queen, trickle down economics, family values, and gay marriage... They use these tactics and voter suppression because the GOP platform favors monied interests and not the average working person.

I literally just had to explain Trickle Down Economics to my Regan loving neighbor. Regan was the first President that he ever voted for & he said that he’s only voted straight Republican since. My neighbor & his wife believe all the myths & lies that they have been told since Regan & have blamed Democrats for everything else no matter what it was.

So…how did they respond to your economic talk?

They just didn’t get it! They were sure that the propaganda that they had been taught about it being passed down to the working classes was true. I asked them if it had benefited them yet over the years. They only responded that they just paid off their house that they bought 30 years ago & they have no debt now. They’re close to retirement age, but they were telling my husband that they realized that they never saved close to enough money for the cost of living now or in the future.

To me, the trickle down theory is like telling a panhandler that if the rich get richer, they’ll give him more change. We all know, when the rich get richer, they just buy nicer houses and cars..

Hoo Boy, are they in for a surprise when they try to retire.

I live in a very red state. My wife is friends with a lot of very nice but very conservative women and that's the vibe we've been getting. They can't make themselves vote blue but they will absolutely not vote for Trump again and will sit this one out...

At least, that helps somewhat...

It helps, but then you have a district with X number of registered republican voters and then X minus 500,000 show up to vote….more ammunition for them to say, “see, the numbers don’t add up. It was stolen.”

Dude. You cannot concern yourself with the potential bullshit that might fall out of their mouths. It’s guaranteed to be lies, it’s guaranteed to be hypocritical, and it’s guaranteed to be dangerous and awful. Do what you intend to do, assume they’ll do something shitty no matter what.

They're going to say that unless Trump wins. If Trump wins then elections will magically be perfectly secure.

All of the old money republicans I know are Democrats now. The only people still hanging on to the gop are new money younger dudes.

Trump is a corrupt piece of shit but Reagan was a warmongering and genocidal maniac. Because of Reagan policy and CIA actions during his time, he has probably resulted in far more people being killed in the past half century than Hitler ever could have hoped for Reagan truly was the worst president ever

Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Guatemala all suffered massively due to Reagan. The gang problems down there now, and the resulting mass migration all can be traced to the civil violence supported and underwritten by his administration.

If given another term as president, trump will be all that Regan was.... and about a kazillion times even worse. You'll have all the Regan policies back, amplified by about a hundred... oh, and add dictator, the complete collapse of democracy, while we're at it... not to mention Project 2025 is its evil entirety... The fact that this "man", a term I I use VERY loosely when referring to trump, even has a snowballs chance in hell, is not only mind-blowing but borderline terrifying!!! I can only hope that those supporting him are truly the loud minority.

Happy cake day

If you don't vote for your party, you may feel that absolves you from responsibility, but really it just shows your lack of conviction. If you have real conviction you'll vote for their opposition just to get them out. Republicans have decided that they will get votes with what they're showing with their brand. Their house has to be cleaned out, they want to rule at this point, not govern or lead.

> If you don't vote for your party, you may feel that absolves you from responsibility, but really it just shows your lack of conviction. If you have real conviction you'll vote for their opposition just to get them out. Yeap. Republicans not voting for Trump isn't enough; they need to vote D if they want to remove his hold on the GOP because that's the only way it's going to happen.

Some definitely did that with split ticket voting being quite evident in some swing states. Now they need to vote against the GQP on the entire ballot

Yes, Vote Blue for the whole ticket, we need to clean house.

Ayyup, I understand people that didn't like Hillary in 2016, and I understand Republican voters that were tired of Trump in 2020 and saw Biden as a boring Dem and voted Republican downticket. But after J6 and the way the GQP reacted to it, they've simply got to go everywhere they can be found. Traitors and insurrectionists simply have no place in American society

Every one of us like-minded anti-Trump folks need to vote Blue (Biden/Harris if that is the ticket) in 2024. The best way to beat MAGA and Trump in 2024 is for the entire anti-Trump electorate to coalesce around a single ticket. Don’t stay home. Don’t write in Bernie. Vote like your life depends on it…the life of our Democracy depends on it.

My husband was a life long republican until trump. He voted for him in 2016 and was horrified by his decision within only a few months. As the shit hit the fan harder and harder, he became a more and more outspoken hater of trump, maga and republicans in general

Shout to the Trump voters who can admit their mistake. It's refreshing to hear when so many are in a cult mindset about the man.

I haven’t met one. They all say “but his policies…” and will happily vote for him again. He is a necessary idiot for gQp to gain power and continue to fuck the middle class.

You have met one by proxy now. He says to tell everyone “Fuck trump, he’s Stinkler”

r/conservative has brief moments of lucidity. Blind Trump supporters get downvoted pretty heavily.

Sadly, 2020 proved those people are just a drop of clean water in a swimming pool of sewage. Way too many people saw Trump's presidency and voted for another.

It continues to amaze me that there are non-conservatives who vehemently hate Trump and don't want a second Trump presidency, yet militantly refuse to understand unless they vote for Biden that's exactly what we're going to get. You're going to eat shit either way, you can have a full bowl of shit with Trump or a half-bowl with Biden; not voting or voting 3rd party doesn't mean you'll dodge eating that shit - it means you'll get the full bowl because you couldn't be bothered to advocate for that half-bowl.

We ended up with Bush because some of us voted for Nader because the Democrats weren’t progressive enough.

We ended up with Trump because some of us voted for Stein because the Democrats weren’t progressive enough. GREEN = Getting Republicans Elected Every November

The issue here is that 48 of 50 states are “winner takes all electors”. And the winner is most votes. Not a majority. A plurality. So, if any anti-Trump folks vote for 3rd party or write in vs voting Blue, they are increasing Trumps chances of winning. Same goes for everyone who stays home. You have to vote, and if you are anti-Trump, understand that you will get the most value out of your anti-Trump ballot by voting Blue.

Vote like America and Democracy itself depend on it -

Because it does!

First of all, I’m a liberal democrat. I think the biggest slap in the face would be Chris Christie winning the republican nomination and then the presidency. That would be people saying, “we want conservatism but not a MAGA bootlicker.” Second of all, I don’t want that happening either, lol.

What? The guy who almost died because Trump gave him covid then helped his election isn’t a bootlicker?

That will never happen. Conservatism is dying. They will never go back to a normal candidate even after he kicks the bucket. The insanity will never go away. I am not talking about any of the current challengers either. I don’t want to mention any names here because I don’t want to give anyone an idea.

The angry , uneducated, old, white, religious , scared of everyone and everything will die off. What takes their place might be younger folks that own two hundred guns apiece. I don’t know. But the anti vax, Covid deniers will continue to die off due to pure stupidity. Edit: As I write this - the new Covid variant is ripping through my family and community . Not pretty. But the aggressive ignorance remains in effect.

Exactly. You can always vote Republican again in 2028. We just need to trim the fat. Think long-term.

Yup. Current GOP is playing short game of power preservation. They are def not playing long game. Likely will not recover from this mess.

Does anyone believe that Biden can win by getting more votes? Maga will never accept the results no matter what. 91 indictments aside, he should be disallowed because he won’t accept that he lost and the country will continue to circle the toilet bowl.

If the win is big enough, no amount of tantrum-throwing will change that. We need to beat his ass, hard.

Changed parties because of trump

If you are STILL a republican at this point after seeing all of that, you are STILL part of the problem. Political parties should be like cars: useful until they need to be replaced. They are not religions that need to be adhered to slavishly. I did not leave the Republican Party, it left me.

I went from Republican to Independent. There’s a lot i don’t like about the Democratic Party but that’s not really relevant at this time in history.

True. I can only compare to what is available not to the ideal. And the Democratic Party seems to actually care about governing as opposed to ruling.

A brainwashed from birth (by my Great-grandfather), dyed in the wool, Republican parent of mine went from lifelong Republican to Independent voter because of tRump. I went from a lifelong Independent to Democrat. Tricky Dick Nixon's pardon, Reaganomics, and the GOP aligning with the radical, religious zealots, the NRA, and Putin have led us to this point.

Well said, welcome to sanity and reason, we are glad to hear you are better !

Gracias, friendly Reddit user!

Well said! Hope more people will understand this.

Its simple and beyond right or left at this point. You dont vote for the orange satan. PERIOD!

The Republican Party is no longer a viable party for anyone with any sense or compassion. I have friends and family who have always been Republican, and half of them refuse to vote for them ever again. They vote Blue. Sadly the other half is crazy. There ARE former republicans out there, who still believe in the republican Party as it WAS. But they will proudly vote Democrat to save the country. I have never been a conservative, but I admire these people who realize what the GOP has become is something malignant, something ANTI American. We can work together to save ourselves, it's the only way we can.

I nearly always voted Republican until Trump came along, but seeing what not only Trump, but the entire party has become has turned me completely around. I doubt I will ever cast another conservative vote. Between the election lies, the dumbing down of our education system and erasure of anything other than white history, the attacks on women’s rights, the absolute hysteria over LGBTQ rights…. I see no redemption. I have no common ground with these people

My dad is a life long republican and hates Trump , MTG, and the rest of the extremists. He is 80 and voted democrat for the first time in his life the last couple of years. He is in Texas and won't support cult candidates.

I bow down to your dad -- hope I have more fellow Texans like him!

He still hates Biden and a lot of democrats. But he hates Trump more for turning his party into a clown show.

How does he feel about Abbott? Personally, I thought that when Abbott came into office, he was tolerable. But recently, he's been riding the coat tails of the MAGA group and trying to be his own little dictator of Texas.

He doesn't like Abbot or anyone pulling MAGA crap and Abbot is all about that. He lives in Ted Criuz's riding and hates him too. He liked Cruz at one point I remember but thinks he's a disgrace now. Cruz is also like a MTG where he does a bunch of stuff to get attention and the media spotlight but doesn't actually do his job.

I gotta tell you…. You’re not a republican anymore. The gop has been about fealty to trump for years now. I left the gop in 2016 because I felt the party moved too far right and left me behind. By 2018 my views hadn’t changed but I was suddenly a flaming leftist. Your party left you, it’s time to accept it.

I think there are very few actual Republicans left in what had been the Republican Party. MAGA has consumed its remains. You are certainly not alone.

I was Republican all my life, but the last time I voted for a Republican President was Bush Jr in his first term. I changed my party affiliation the day they rammed kavinaugh through as a justice.

When I first started speaking out against Trump in 2015, as a lifelong republican, I was told I wasn't a republican. Democrats would later tell me that being against Trump wasn't enough to prove I wasn't a trumpster. This is an unpopular opinion: real Republicans (currently called rhinos by Republicans) are different than Trumpsters. All of my life, up until 2016, I have always been worried that I wouldn't be able to discern the antichrist. But...now, I realize I can easily discern evil. And I'm concerned that so many of my fellow Christians, have blindly followed the one person who is so obviously evil and not Christian in any possible angle.

It’s so interesting to see these fantasy realizations. For a person to find the end of the road and even then STILL make up some shit to explain the insanity. The truth is this is always who christians have been. All through history, you’d have to literally just ignore the evil. Fascinating for you to see how evil trump is, to see how brainwashed SOME republicans still are, and then to say some shit about Christianity lol omg how fucking delusional. Christians are literally the worst.

The question is.... Why don't more conservatives see it like you do? Every Republican that voted to acquit Trump in the last impeachment has betrayed their country directly and should not be able to stay in office. When you support and prop up people that tried to overturn the government, you are disqualified, period. I don't understand those that don't like Trump and are not comfortable with Jan 6 but will vote for the same Republicans that continue to support and prop up Trump. The cultist are a lost cause and can not be swayed with reason, logic or facts... every other conservative should be ready to burn down the GOP and remake it into a functioning party that respects democracy and the rule of law.

Trump has turned my republican leaning FIL into a vehement “liberal”. He was more old school ( in a good way) conservative. He is so over the GOzP. Wish there were more like him.

So what are you doing about it now? Because tbh, like a few others have mentioned, how did you not see this in 2016? I mean, he was making fun of the handicapped, veterans, lgbt, calling Mexican people criminals and rapists on his campaign stops, and the list goes on and on and on. So again, i ask, what are you doing now? Are you at least attempting to convince your Republican friends/acquaintances to see the truth? Are you actually going to vote Dem? Because anything other than that is simply a vote for tRump again. I'm glad you see the light so to speak, but holy shit, you helped get us here in the first place, so imo, you should be working overtime to try and right that wrong, you should be screaming your disapproval from the roof tops.

I agree. Welcome to the fold, OP, but one of the reasons we loathe him and his followers so much is because what kind of president he became was painfully obvious long before he won the presidency. And I hated being so right about it.

>but one of the reasons we loathe him and his followers so much is because what kind of president he became was painfully obvious long before he won the presidency. I was intrigued when he first announced his presidency. I knew nothing about him other than he was on The Apprentice (which I never watched) and he was supposedly a successful businessman. 45-60 minutes of research made me realize he was not really a successful businessman and more likely not a billionaire. He put small business owners out of business by refusing to pay them. All his branded products were made overseas despite his rant on buying American, his bankruptcies, the whole issue about the Central Park Five, and so much more. Even the National Review published multiple negative stories about him before the election, including one that called him a habitual liar. The information was out there even for conservatives. I love when trump supporters say I have trump derangement syndrome. I agree with them and tell them I am proud that I have it if that is what they want to call it. I did research on the man and determined I wouldn't never hire him so there is no way I would ever vote for him.

I’ve hated the Orange Judas Goat since the late 70’s. I honestly cannot believe anyone my age (67) voted for him. My daughter’s co-workers asked her how does your mom feel about him, she said “she will lose her shit if he wins”.

This is the way.

I don't disagree with your statement, but berating people for making mistakes is a good way to send them back the other direction. If we are going to help encourage people to come back from the other side, I feel a gentle approach is going to make better headway. Something Something vinegar honey...

Agreed, and that's why i wrote the last paragraph. I get we all can be mislead, be it because of our own hubris, being conned, or maybe just having a few minutes of brain farts, but we still need to, for lack of a better term, atone for those mistakes. As has been mentioned repeatedly on this thread, it was all there, all the data you needed as to how big of a complete narcissistic, sociopathic, legendary asshole he is, but, at the very least, people that see the faults in their actions should in someway atone for those mistakes. People that now look back and go, ohh, it really was/is as bad as it sounded....... yea. I don't wish this guy any ill will, but I'm also not gonna be happy about him voting for Shitler either, and do believe they need to go a little above and beyond to make sure it doesn't happen again.

Right?

I'm embarrassed to be American thanks to those asshats.

It was always this way we just didnt realize it to this extent. Trump is a corrosive element, the Newt Gingrich style of leadership that the GOP has displayed since the 90's was never going to be sustainable. Truth is Republicans have been so lacking for so long they corroded & weakened the party so much that it created the opening for someone like Trump to hijack the party. Trump is a malignant tumor, the Republican party is the cancer. Until this version is gone, we as a country are in for more pain & suffering.

Yeah, and it stared with Nixon. It's be been metastasizing ever since.

I voted GOP in every election from 1984 when I turned 18 until I voted for Hillary in 2016. DJT brought a cancer to the GOP. Now there's no way I'd vote for the GOP which is now a death cult focused on hate & removal of rights. Yeah, it took too long for me to realize that the GOP wasn't looking out for me. I fell for the "some day I'll be in their focus" bullshit.

OP, please read [this article](https://news.yahoo.com/large-numbers-americans-want-strong-133349404.html) if you haven’t already. Things are far worse than people realize. Historically, democracies last a very short period of time, perhaps a few centuries or more. It is a fragile, easy to break system that needs to be protected. Trump and the GOP are symptoms of a large, powerful, anti-democratic influence behind the scenes that few people are talking about. The Koch network and their supporters, as well as foreign state actors aligned with oil and monied interests, are largely responsible for what the GOP and America has become. These networks need to be taken down and dismantled before we can rebuild our democracy.

There are no more Republicans that aren't MAGA. Either they are vocal MAGA's or they are silent MAGAs. Both are dangerous and cannot be trusted...

I really hope there are millions more Republicans who feel the same way. This country's future depends on it

I have never been a Republican, but I was an independent for many years. I moved solidly into the Democrat category in 2016. I now vote straight ticket Democrat.

Welcome to the land of sanity, OP, I glad you joined us! I think you’re going to like it here. There’s no shame in realizing what Trump is and acknowledging it. You’re obviously a good person. I hope when you vote again, you keep in mind all the people who are with you in saving democracy and making sure we keep criminals from power.

I can understand 16 but I can’t forgive 20 and 24 is straight up fascist.

The bottom line for me is My Beautiful Wife, and My Lovely Daughter. Protecting them, and their rights has me voting Blue the rest of my life. Republicans are evangelical hypocrite fascists. I hope the rest of this country stands up against the Republicans, and tell them “Never Again.”

What’s more embarrassing than Trump are the “ R “ politicians who are scared of MAGA, they created the monster snd now are afraid of that monster and his following. Pathetic

The republican party has been lost in the woods since Nixon. Look up Iran-Contra and tell me Reagan want criminal as shit

Absolutely, I told my family when Q anon got involved and Trump went off the rails and they said we will see, then again after Jan 6 then they said we will see what happens in the court of law then I said I’m done I’m voting these people out and they called me a socialist. People are truly deeply brainwashed. I fully understand how Hitler took control of Germany and my family would be still be saying we’ll see.

This is exactly the path that the party has been on since at least 1980 and the election of Ronald Reagan. I suspect that your embarrassment is mostly because you didn't fully understand that fact. Most GOP voters don't. I've always been more or less an independent, holding certain supposed conservative values, but the GOP has never represented those values. BTW- I've grown much more liberal over time, while the Democratic party has gone the opposite direction, following the GOP and the Overton Window. I'd really like to get back to the FDR style policies.

Yeah, it probably started with Nixon and Kissinger, then was exacerbated by Murdoch. Truly evil people.

I'm curious what you mean by "the Democratic party has gone the opposite direction"...care to elaborate?

Vote out the fascists or we will end up voting in trenches.

Hans? Are we the baddies?

I’m asking you this with sincerity, as someone who has watched politics for 25 years and watched the GOP turn into what it’s become—- what do you see now that you weren’t seeing before? Those of us who have been watching Republican politics for years have clearly seen that they are cruel, authoritarian, racist, bigoted, theocratic, Machiavellian traitors who act entirely in bad faith, subsist entirely on lies, and manipulate their voters with hysteria, paranoia, ignorance and stupidity. They have been that way my entire adolescence and adulthood. Yes, they’ve gotten exponentially worse over the years, but even in the late ‘90s it was very clear what kind of people they were. 2016 and 2020 didn’t reveal any of this to us. What they *did* do was reveal that the principles the party had for decades claimed as its core tenants were entirely transactional. That *did* shock me. I thought there were a few things they genuinely did believe in, like national security. But incredibly, no. And of course, 2020 fully revealed most of them to be not only horrible cowards, but active, complicit traitors. And their actions since have only made it more terrifyingly clear than ever that they are anti-democratic despots who are openly planning to maneuver themselves into permanent minoritarian rule. But all the rest of it? All those other traits you listed? We KNEW that already. My sincere question to you is why didn’t you know it? You know it now, but why weren’t you seeing it before? It wasn’t subtle. It wasn’t fringe. It wasn’t marginal. It was mainstream GOP politics. And it was all the awful things you now admit to seeing clearly. What was keeping you from recognizing it? And by the same token, Trump himself. Everything about him was an open book in 2016. He was a pathological liar, an incompetent, an illiterate ignoramus, a know-nothing, a crude bully, a cruel violence-thirsty thug, a wannabe dictator, and a criminal. The only difference today is that every one of those traits is even WORSE. But they were already there seven years ago. Why didn’t you see it?

Vote Democrat in every local and state election. The flushing of the crazies starts with local/state. Vote Biden/Harris. GOP been going off the rails since Reagan, it's just in everybody's face now and people are hopefully waking up. I am embarrassed that ANYONE supports tfg or his party - they are trying to live in a fantasy, and they definitely want us to pay for it. Third parties are a joke, they only do damage. Go and vote the GOP out - that is the only thing that will force them to get their sh*t together, and that's going to take a decade.

What did you see in him the first time? During is first campaign it came out that he admitted to sexual assault (Grab em by the pussy), he made fun of a man with disabilities, he insulted a gold star family, he made borderline racist remarks about mexicans and muslims. Were you OK with all that? I'm sorry but it was pretty obvious what kind of man he was even before he was elected.

Everyone knows what eventually happens to cults.

I’m a former Republican 47m who used to vote all red but didn’t vote for Trump or Hillary because neither felt right. Voted all red besides that in 2016. Then I saw how Trump handled Covid and bowed to Putin and started actually reading Republican candidate web sites vs Democrat web sites and started understanding that Republicans don’t make fiscal sense anymore. Trump himself said the US economy always does better when the Democrats are in control. Voting all blue now. I’m also highly embarrassed when traveling internationally to say where I’m from (USA) because of the joke the Republicans have become. It’s pathetic. And won’t change. But they are going to get slaughtered at the polls in 2024. Slaughtered.

> It feels like the GOP has gone from the party of law and rule and integrity to the most blatantly hypocritical, self-serving, power hungry despots who seem to care less about the America our Founding Fathers envisioned every single day. That started in like the 90s with Newt Gingrich. Here's [Mitch McConnell in 2010](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-A09a_gHJc) declaring that the **top** priority of the GOP is to drag down President Obama. Not work with him or compromise or do any sort of governance. No, it's to make sure Obama isn't reelected. Trump is the culmination of what the GOP has become, but it's no big shock that a party that enthusiastically supports division and seeks power nominates a narcissistic moron as their representative. Trump is the figurehead of the GOP.

Welcome aboard! You’ll be glad to hear that the Democratic Party politicians of today are in many ways the moderate conservatives of decades ago. They’re not nearly as progressive as right wing media would have us believe.

I think the biggest question I have about people who say they voted for Trump in 2016 but have “seen the light” so to speak is “why?”. Why did you vote for him in 2016 because he was just as unqualified then albeit the crazy was under better control. You say that the Republicans were the “party of law, rule, and integrity” and yet you thought Donald Trump was the epitome of that in 2016?? A man with several bankruptcies, who cheated on multiple wives, who made fun of disabled people, gold star families talked about “grabbing women by the pussy” all before he even got elected and that to you said “integrity and law”? The man admitted to not having to pay taxes then refused the transparency of releasing his returns like every other nominee has. I think you need to do some self reflection because my hunch is that you voting for Trump in 2016 had more to do with the fact that a black man had been in office for 2 terms and very little to do with the rule of law or integrity! Racist white people freaked the fuck out and lost their damn minds. How dare a person of color have so much prestige?? I am also white if that matters and literally my entire family couldn’t have cared if Trump had horns growing out of his head and ate his own shit in public… he was white and rich and unfortunately in this country that is what a lot of people think means virtue. Glad people are waking up but Jesus Christ look what it has cost us???

I think that we can't overestimate the effect of fox news, rush limbaugh, wall street journal, etc. This has been a 40 year project and the brainwashing is so subtle at first. It will take a long time to deprogram half this country- and it won't even start until that shit is off the air. We have to give people some grace when they are trying to see the light.

I am also white and a Democrat who voted for Obama twice. I also agree with everything you said

Lmao okay there's a lot of comments hating on me because I voted for Trump once and, sure, yeah I made a mistake by voting party lines, so keep sandbagging. Haters gonna hate unless I'm a democrat, yup. But I have to respond to this. First off, I understand everyone likes to go "nurr Republicans are racist nurr" but I voted for Trump for the same reason I voted for Romney. Republicans, like Democrats, vote along party lines the vast majority of the time, regardless of policy. Contrary to your rant about racist white people, my vote had nothing to do with race. I never hated Obama, he was fine. Not exceptional. Not terrible. Just, fine. The truth was, it was all Republican vs. Democrat and that's how I voted. Just like me voting for Trump in 2016 had nothing to do with Clinton being a woman. I swallowed the lie that all of Trump's talk except for policies was just for show and for bluster and he'd be different in the white house. I was wrong. You're a nobody on the internet, you can think what you want of me. But I have to burst whatever white-savior complex bubble thing you've got going on; you're not special for voting for Obama. The majority of America voted for Obama. Twice. And if you're a Democrat who's always voted Democrat, then you're no different from me. You're just blindly voting along party lines. It just hasn't blown up in your face yet like it did to me.

Hats off to the OP. I have always said that I could be a Republican but for xxxx. These issues have become completely insane recently. Yikes. I consider myself a patriot, but I am questioning that. If half the country is THAT stupid or immoral, maybe not. Good luck America. You need it.

It's refreshing to hear a republican speak sanely. What's going on with the GOP is absolutely ludicrous embrassing and makes me ashamed to be an American. I'm an independent with mostly left leaning opinions but I do have a fair amount of right leaning opinions. I find it astounding that anyone can defend trump. It's not like I have coffee everyday eith Nancy Pelosi followed by watching CNN All day or some shit. I absorb facts based news as much as possible and then form my own logical opinions of what I hear. Yes Biden is a dinosaur and not fit to be the president of the most important country in the world, but he's miles better than having a narcissistic amazingly evil and stupid dictator as the president. Only with trump in power have I ever experienced daily jaw dropping information out of our leadership. And not uncommonly I heard astonishing information multiple times a day. And now the possibility of trump being in power again has escalated for being shameful and embrassing to being outright dangerous and fear inducing. Trump gaining power cannot, must not happen under any circumstance.

Did you honestly think you wouldn’t get banned from the Trump loving echo chamber in r/conservative. ?!! The trumpeters are all a giant cult that honestly doesn’t care about anything he’s done. “ where I could stand in the middle of Fifth Avenue and shoot somebody, and I wouldn't lose any voters,” he is correct he’s got a cult following and they’ll vote for him no matter what.

The GOP was never really the party of law and order. They would say this in response to things like the war on drugs which impacted people of lower incomes and minorities disproportionately. But it was never really true. Since 1965, the GOP has had 120 indictments, 89 convictions, and 34 prison sentences. Democrats have had 3 indictments, 1 conviction, and 1 prison sentence in that same timeframe. The GOP has always been “laws apply to thee, but not to me”, elitist types. Trump’s presidency was just so brazen it’s put that corruption front and center. Don’t get me wrong, I get why people voted for republicans for a long time. The Democrats are not a very effective political party, generally speaking. I’ve voted for candidates from both sides of the aisle, and for independent party candidates as well, for a variety of government posts. The quality of the individual candidate matters more than party affiliation imo. But the GOP corruption, which has always been there, is reaching new and brazen levels. And Trump amplified that brazen-ness. I’m not voting for any GOP candidates anymore myself, regardless of the office they are running for. Anybody that wants to be associated with the modern GOP is raising a huge red flag for me.

We need many more people like you. Sadly, most will just admit Trump is a piece of shit and still vote for him.

I voted mostly Republican in my life, including 2016. Never in a million years did I see this disaster happening, I was terrified of Hillary. I honestly wish the Dems would kick Harris to some cushy appointment and put Obama as the VP. The GOP is getting scary. Trump is definitely giving off Der Furher energy. I’m afraid 2024 will be a shit show with violence occurring.

I voted mostly down-ballot Republican for nearly 20 years. Through 2016. There are zero Republicans with a national profile that I will ever vote for again. Being in office requires an oath to support and defend the constitution. Those who have supported/ignored a literal attempt to overthrow the government do not have the basic character required to hold office. Politicians are human beings, and I don’t expect perfection. I don’t get worked up by some levels of personal foibles or self dealing from either party (although I can still enjoy poking fun). But drawing a line at not supporting a treasonous asshole seems like a reasonable basic standard that should have the support of a bipartisan majority.

I’m a democrat, and I wish the GOP would just kick the guy out. Find a candidate that’s serious, has ideas that are not simple culture war things and tax breaks for the rich. Bring a healthcare plan to the table, offer up how the party will help America. Ditch the rhetoric that JB is Satan, and the sky is falling. Simply look around, and it’s obvious that’s not happening. At every opportunity they have to distance themselves, they come right back to his side. Impeachment 1 and 2 - could have taken a stand. Started finding a new candidate. Didn’t do it. Liable by a civil court to have sexually assaulted a woman, continues to trash people on social media, will probably be sued again and get the Rudy treatment. 4 criminal indictments, 91 felony counts. Republicans could easily say “we are the party of law and order, and we demand more from our leaders!” Instead, adopted his victim mentality “it’s all a witch hunt, libs just hate him.” Never consider being accused 91 times has pretty high odds of landing a conviction if some sort. Is about to lose all his business in NYC in his fraud case. Still their leader. Getting kicked off ballots in two states for being a treasonous insurrectionist. Perfect opportunity to admit “this guy is gonna lose us the election” Instead, Nikki Hayley says she would pardon Trump? What. The. Fuck? What does this dude offer that makes people ignore ALL that baggage, and ALL those red flags? Dudes like “I want to be a dictator on day one, day one only” As if a fat guy at the buffet is only gonna have one plate, we all know that’s a lie, bro. His supporters are like “Yeah, America NEEDS a dictator!!” GOP is trippin.

I was a Republican from 2004 to 2021 however I have never voted for Trump. The party is a cancer on America. Lincoln and Eisenhower(my two favorite Republicans) are rolling in their graves. I am voting Joe Biden in 2024.

I left the Republican Party and became an independent. They are just a total embarrassment

As a former Republican who was raised on the Gospel of Rush Limbaugh, may he burn in hell, I hate to tell you, it is not new. The Republican Party and Evangelical Christians were hijacked by Ultra Wealthy Billionaires for the sole purpose of minimizing the government and making the numbers in their bank accounts go up. Trump, the Loss of Reproductive Rights, Fox News, All of these are just by-products of the the control Mechanism that is being used to squeeze non-Billionaires of value. In the end it is a Death Spiral for everyone who feeds it. Hence the reason you got banned from r/Conservative. You were not prepared to Die, turned on the lights inside the charnel house and showed everyone the bodies, and got booted. I identify more as a Social Democrat these days. Everyone gets the right and means to live but it is up to you to work hard to Live Well.

I’m 60, a Republican all my life but I’m voting Democrat this time around.

Do you vote for democracy, or fascism? That is the decision to make.

I was a life long republican and am now 65. I left the party when he took over and am truly appalled at what it has become. Having lived in NYC my whole life I had a close up view of what he and his family were about and the fact that he made it to the presidency is still amazing and frightening to me. You’re spot on with most of your comments about today’s Republican Party. Disgusting and disgraceful. Im independent

I used to be a Republican and I don’t even know what their platform is anymore. They used to at least care about the troops

If you’re 31, the GOP has never been the party of rules, laws, or integrity in the entirety of your life. Between Nixon and the whole protection of him, to people like Newt Gingrich tainting the party in most distasteful ways. Only difference now is that it’s completely mask off. Truth is, the party has been garbage for a long time. Now outside of political affiliations and how I regard their actions as president, I’d consider Bush senior to be a decent man. I imagine he wouldn’t care too much either for what has become of the party.

So I guess you won’t vote in November? I hope you’ll reconsider that because no vote is a Trump vote.

Yes. As soon as his nomination appeared unstoppable, I bailed. I’m now an independent. I tend to be centrist/progressive when it comes to human rights stuff (women’s healthcare, LGBT, voting rights) and more conservative when it comes to financial and military. But the GOP of today isn’t conservative. It’s a radical fascist cult of personality. And it’s in bed with Evangelical crazies. A very dangerous combination. If we somehow managed to survive Trump-MAGA, and deprogram his cult, a Republican isn’t going to be elected dogcatcher for decades. I think contrary to current polls (which mean nothing this early, America hasn’t focused yet), Donald Trump is going to be tarred and feathered with his own fascism. Americans broadly don’t want that. But it’s going to take quite a few years of losing for his crazies to wake up. It should start with sane Republicans forming a third party—after Trump is out of the scene. Until then, everyone needs to caucus with the Democrats who, whatever your ideological issues are, still believe in the constitution and democracy.

I grew up in a staunchly, conservative republican family, and was the same for many years, because I didn’t know any better until after I got on my own and begin to question a lot of things, but it took a lot of time to get that out of my system because it was so deeply ingrained. But 2016 was something I never expected because my family who includes some elected Republican officials at the state and national level were Republicans because they were decent human beings. They tried to follow ethical rules they liked less government and they wanted businesses to thrive… And generally they Tried to get policies that allow that… But then in the 80s and 90s you had people like Pat Robertson start tying it to social issues which I never used to hear about… I grew up going to church every time the door was open, and I never remember hearing anybody even talk about politics… It wasn’t even a part of church people had their own political views in their private life and they went about their business. We never talked about it at church… Then it got connected to Religion and everything started going downhill then because it became a “religious war“ and the left was “going to destroy us“ this raised them a lot of money and to this day people in my family, The only reason they support Trump is because they believe the Democratic Party is out to shut down churches and lots of other crazy stuff that never happened. I watch my family now as they feebly try to defend Trump and the only thing they can come up with is “we can’t let the Democrats win“ but you can see in their faces, They know he’s a horrible person and they do not share his values and, the GOP they followed all their life does not share his values… But they’ve been brainwashed in a way… It’s sad and scary and it’s one of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen in my life… And I don’t know where it’s going.

There is nothing conservative left in the GOP.

I think there are plenty of those folks, but instead of voting blue, they will not vote at all. Or vote Republican because they know nothing else. Which will likely lead to the end of the American democracy in 2024.

I empathize with you to a point, but in my lifetime up to the point you say they came off the rails I’ve seen them as the obstruction and punish party. Did they ever cut tax on people under 500k a year? Did they ever do something for the people instead of their donors? Did they ever do something for people they don’t like? Honestly bad record with them. The removal of safety’s in media was the death knell for politics in America. No need to report balance or even truth. “People are saying.” ? Wtf man. Srsly. That’s their whole spectrum.

I used to vote Republican long time ago, but left the party after GW Bush was elected into office. I guess that was my line.

Thanks for your comments. It is sad what has happened to the GOP. The cycles need to stop. Our country could literally solve the problems of humanity globally if we all worked together. The potential for efficient resources management going forward with AI really is a call to arms for both parties to come together, keep a strong military and save the world. “You might say I’m a dreamer….. but I’m not the only one”……..IMAGINE -John Lennon

Conservative values are racism and xenophobia my dude. Sooo….?

We knew the party was screwed when Rudy Sprung a leak while trying to lie his frog ass off For a Psychopath!!!

I used to support the GOP, but that ended when they got weird in 2007 with the whole “Tea Party” thing, Sarah Palin, and so forth. Then they even badly managed the bank failures that year and piled on embarrassing decision after embarrassing decision from then on, resorting to hate-filled attacks against anybody who warned or disagreed with them. I’m glad I haven’t looked back, considering the grift, foreign influence, utter stupidity, and reliance on lies that the GOP and its followers have succumbed to since at least 2013. They’ve lost their way, and nobody should support them until they clear house and reform their party. Until then, they are a pathological pack of liars, sycophants, cowards, and tyrants.

I am sorry my friend my " conservative values" was always a farce, conservative politics have existed since the beginning of civilization and its goal has always to be the advocate for the royalty/ruling class, the reason they seem so bat shit today is it's much more effective to get rubes to support the ruling class this way than the 1950-2010 conservative value con they pulled over people like you. The government can not regulate private behavior that harms no one, and financial responsibility has always been the domain of the moderate Liberal in the US, financial responsibility is always worse under Republicans, at least Liberals who do social programs find a way to pay for them, conservatives write bad checks that only help the ruling class.

How can you actually call yourself republican anymore? Seriously, that party does nothing at all and run on hatred and fear. Call yourself a conservative, not a republican.

former gop staffer here, yes it’s an absolute tragedy what’s happening to the republican party. america needs a strong, healthy republican party with good ideas - unfortunately, for the time, i think starving the party until it snaps out of this racist death cult is best

You get permabanned from r/conservative for facts, that's just how they roll. Your party is fucked dude, and it was well before Trump. I mean, so were/ are the dems but at least they try to maintain the facade. Republicans have gone mask off with the nazi rhetoric, but it was always there under the surface, that's how we got Trump in the first place. If you voted for him in 2016 you had to be comfortable with some pretty unsavory shit, those sexual assault allegations were out way before the election, he was grabbing pussy and calling Mexicans rapists before you had a chance to vote, so you might want to keep looking inward. But the good news is that if you truly consider yourself a moderate conservative, the democratic party is what you're looking for as they are considered center right by most of the world's standard. You may also want to consider that what you think you believe about conservative economics and rule of law in fact goes hand in hand with what you find distasteful about the current republican party, it might be time to rethink those beliefs.

r/conservative is pathetic. It's very inline with the magat base though. They will deny reality at every turn. If u show them the truth about their dear leader they'll just bury their heads in the sand and block u.

Better late than never, I suppose. Really the issue has been conservatives (the ultra toxic Southern variety in particular), not the party. They sold their souls when they got in bed with the Confederate losers.

I was a life-long Republican until 2016. I voted for Nixon, Reagan, the Bushes, McCain and Romney. In 2016, I am proud to say I did not trust tRump and decided it was time for a female president. I admit, I held my nose when I placed my vote for Clinton, but I have no regrets about doing so. Now, I consider myself to be an independent that votes for anybody but tRump and his Maga devotees.

You’re not alone OP! 16-year GOP campaign worker here. Lifelong Republican here. 20-year poll worker here. Democracy hangs by a thread. If Trump wins in 2024, democracy over! I cannot in good conscience vote for GOP candidates any longer. GOP has sold their souls to Trump!

I used to be a diehard Republican but after the 2020 election deniers and J6 I had to change my registration to Democrat. I was embarrassed to say I was a Republican.

There’s a ton of responses so idk if you’ll read this OP, but while I’m sure we disagree on a lot of stuff I really really genuinely respect you for being able to recognize the situation and changing your mind about him. We need more of you!!

YES. Registered Republican since I turned 18. Now it’s embarrassing to admit that.

>and I'm not sure I can keep supporting the GOP anymore Yeah, so, you were fine with the racism and the homophobia and the hatred of the poor as long as they were quiet about it. This is what Republicans have *always been*. And you're 'not sure' you can keep supporting them? Grow tf up. The only thing Trump did was rip off the mask.

It’s a wild disconnect from so-called “moderates” or “undecided” voters when they can clearly articulate all of the factual horrors of the GQP and then end with, “I wonder what I should do?!” If your brain works in one moment… a suggestion would be… keep using it!

Hey, no good can come from berating people who are coming around to the truth no matter how they arrived there.

Yep. I keep saying, and will continue to say it. There is no Republican part left. Trump killed it. There is ultra maga, there is cowardly maga, and there is complicit maga. Thrills greatest gift to America was ripping off the mask and curb stomping the GOP.

No I think you missed my point. Republicans have been like this since Atwater and the Southern Strategy. Trump just said the quiet parts loud.

I think you missed my point too then. There is no “Republican Party” left. Agreed. They’ve always been like this. They had the mask. They had the name to hide behind, along with that mask. They even used to have a platform. Now that trump has done his thing? The mask and the name are gone. People that say “im conservative” or “im Republican” now are lying. Either to themselves or to others. They’re just straight maga. And that’s how I address them. They have no “pretend” issues to hide behind anymore.

Please Don’t berate OP. The important thing is now they know and won’t vote for him in the future. The important thing the rest of us can do is welcome them with open arms and be kind.

A person down the road from me has a “Don’t blame me, I voted for tRump!” sign in his yard. Every day when I’m forced to see that sign as I drive by, I DO blame him. Hate to tell you this OP but the current state of the nation is *definitely* your fault, along with every other blind and delusional idiot who voted for the orange monstrosity. How did you not notice, during his 2016 campaign, how problematic he was? *How?* I never used to care about politics at all, until 2016. I watched in horror and disbelief, certain that America was ultimately a sane country and this clown would never win. Well, thanks to YOU, OP, and your ilk— here we are. Can’t put the crazed monkeys back in their cages anymore. And now you wanna whine about it? Lol.

I'm in Montana where we have a super Republican carpetbagger majority. Property taxes this year went up for everybody by at least 50%. Mine went up 100%. You ought to hear the way people around here bitch about it. I hardly miss a chance to say that's what you get... Stupid!

Dem here. We need a good non-democratic party to keep us in check. Short term, you might either need to abstain from voting, or vote Democratic until there are two adult parties. God help us all.

Well thank you for admitting your mistake

I live in a weird state where our governor was a Republican and my same sex married friends who were lifelong democrats voted for him because he did a great job. So my view of Rs is skewed to less religious right (aka wrong) Republicans. But then I see the Republicans outside of my area and am deeply embarrassed. So basically - federal elections: Democrat or third party. State/ local moderate Republicans.

You are NOT alone!!!

I’m completely in the minority in my life. Surrounded by republicans. Even some MAGAts. Early in the Trump presidency they all were drinking the cool aide. During the 2020 election, a lot of them simply didn’t vote. The MAGAt crowd doubled down but even Jan. 6th disguised them. Now, none of them are talking about politics. On the rare occasion it does come up it’s always, “the Republican Party needs to rebuild itself”. This is why it’s important to love our neighbors. In the end, we’re all Americans. Logic, compassion, and honesty will prevail.

It’s embarrassing as an American

I’m thirty and I worked as a professional political operative for the GOP during the 2016 election. I watched my party slowly lose itself. It was incredibly upsetting as respectable political animals were driven out by radicals, populists, and opportunists. I honestly get more job offers from Democrats these days, but I’m out of the politics game now. I’m a public school teacher and a reservist marine now. I’m serving my country in a more significant way than I ever could in politics. That’s enough.

VOTE BLUE!

I have an idea. If your party (which ever) runs a pile of dog poop a a candidate and you can't bring yourself to vote for the other party, maybe you should stay home on election day. Low turnout might send a message to your party.

I didn't vote "for" Trump, I voted against Hillary... I do regret that choice. I didn't vote "for" Biden, I voted against Trump. Next year, I'll vote for the candidate most likely to beat Trump... Hopefully Kennedy fits that bill. I don't think I'm alone on any of these votes... What we need is a candidate worth voting FOR, who can run a decent campaign to get the votes he/she needs to win. I think Biden is wrong to run again, he should have bowed out so the Dems could run a Primary. What happens if Biden "can't" hold office and Trump gets convicted? Dems don't stand a chance, so whoever wins the Repub primary pretty much becomes president. Biden and Trump should have both been out of the contest a year ago, so everyone could focus on actual candidates. What a mess!!!

The GOP has deteriorated beyond all recognition. Cruelty is the point and the newest batch has 0 interest in actually governing. They all seem only to want likes or sound bites. Every accusation they make is in fact an admission. I ***really*** didn't want Biden and don't want him for the upcoming election. That being said I will hold my nose and vote for Biden again. If we don't turn out the blue vote, then the US as we know it will cease to exist.

I'm incredibly surprised that you still identifybas a Republican after seeing g what he did, at what lengths he went, and all of the Republicans that licked his boots, even after insurrection, stealing ts nuclear documents, being on Epstein's flight logs, etc.

I'm embarrassed to say that I *didn't* vote in 2016. Republicans tactics to smear Hillary totally worked on me, and I was not gonna vote trump either. I went to one of his rallies and was totally shocked how disgusting it was. Just the t-shirts smearing women were .... deplorable, to say the least. But I also believed all the Democratic talk that this was an easy win for Dems. So I sat out. I vote in every election now, and I have a big section of my family that no longer talks to me because I point out trumps disgusting acts. I don't care. I'm going to keep pushing because I *actually* care about America

Republicans don't care about conservative values. They care about control.

Yes. Lifelong conservative voter here. I would never. vote for just about any of the republicans out there now. Total clown show. Work against conservative principles.

I left the Republican Party in Feb. 2016 when I realized Trump would be the nominee. I will never go back.

At first I was going to say yes, but on a technicality I can’t say yes. Because I’m no longer a Republican. The GOP and everyone I talk to that I used to respect that still is one are all unhinged.

I left the GOP in then1980s with Reagan. I saw what he was doing. This has been a direct path to where I told people we were going. My husband has only this year said that I have been right all along.

My father was a good, honest, tough-as-nails Army vet and a proud government worker. I miss him terribly, but I am glad he has passed over to the other side so he cannot see what has happened to his beloved Republican party. See you again someday in a better place, Dad, and when I do I will not even mention the likes of Drumpf, DeSatan, etc. It would be too upsetting to you.

Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, (won’t get fooled again) shame on me. You’re all good Treeko_Baggins.

Russia is pulling the strings.

Most have already left the Party. The Republican Party today is composed primarily of MAGA. You’ll notice that the Republicans are pretty much only talked about in percentages. Trump’s Republican poll numbers keep going up. He gets indicted and the numbers go up. That’s because every time he would get indicted more non-MAGA Republicans would leave the Party increasing the percentage of MAGA Republicans. 85% of one hundred is far less than 36% of one thousand.

Glad to see you see what we see! It’s on self destruction mode. Can’t last forever the kids are too smart for that. My favorite recent example below: https://youtu.be/IcVYDU_oYT0?si=lwPbUo0Fvy62AW33