THE GOOD REPUBLICANS

When I was a child, I was surrounded by Republicans. That seems scary now, but back then it seemed like a good thing.

My father was a lawyer, and I grew up around judges, lawyers, and politicians. Most of them were proud members of the GOP. We even went to tea at the governor's mansion once, when I was about eight years old. (That was in Topeka, Kansas. I grew up in Wichita and was born in 1938.)

Back then, Republicans seemed to be the soul of good values: honesty, integrity, self-reliance, hard work, respect for others and for yourself. Respect for flag and country. Early to bed, early to rise. Always tell the truth. Always keep your word. Build trust and be worthy of that trust.

Those are damn good values.

Sad to say, today's Republican leaders are not like that. They pretend to be. They talk the talk, but they don't walk the walk.

They lie and cheat every chance they get. I wouldn't trust Mitt Romney or Paul Ryan with one dime of the family money or with one minute of my grandkids' future.

Where did the GOP go wrong? I trace it back to President Richard M. Nixon. Tricky Dick. After the L.A. Times editorial board interviewed him during a presidential campaign, one editor turned to another and said something like, "After you shake his hand, you have to look at your wrist to make sure you still have your watch."

Nixon famously tried to use the Internal Revenue Service to harass and intimidate his political enemies. He did some good things--his trip to China, for one. But he was the soul of dishonesty and deceit.

The last good Republican president was Dwight David Eisenhower, I do believe. And even he had a terrible policy toward Latin America, supporting brutal dictators for the sake of profit.

So it is up to the Democrats to protect and defend and embody the values I admire. Unfortunately, they have not always done a good job of that either. But at least they do a better job. They get my vote, most of the time.

Twice in my life, I have voted for Republicans: California state Senator Marian Bergeson and Mayor John V. Lindsay of New York. I don't see leaders like them in today's GOP. Sad to say.

What happened to the good Republicans? Where did they go? How did they get so corrupt?

The GOP's integrity has melted away, like the glaciers and Arctic sea ice that are rapidly disappearing, caused by the global warming that the Republicans deny.

May God save us, if there is a God. The Republicans sure as hell won't.

-- Roger

Copyright © 2012, Roger R. Angle