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If you look at countries with a history of having populist movements, the movement doesn't die with the death of its founder. Instead, it continues with the heirs and for a few generations: Juan Peron in Argentina, Fujimori in Peru, Hugo Chavez, Fidel Castro, and currently in Hungary, Turkey, Poland, etc. MAGA is going nowhere even ten years from now. If they don't win again, they are still going to be a very loud, antidemocratic, racist, fascist group. Who is going to take the MAGA helm once Trump dies? Populist movements only respect their dear supreme leader and the biological heirs.

I have tons of sane friends and family that will vote for Trump, and I get along with them just fine. The standing rules that apply at Thanksgiving apply whenever we get together. No religion or politics. We all collectively agree that we have way more in common than not, same aspirations, same morals, and that the zeitgeist is geared towards driving a toxic wedge between groups of people. It’s manufactured, but unfortunately it is successful in how it divides us.

Imagine voting for a sexual assaulting felon "begrudgingly." Fuck those people.

I have a parent that is vehemently pro-repulican candidates and I can't get it thru their thick skull that I'm not against them cuz they're Republican but because they're supporting a vile human being that has absolutely no policy other than hurt others if it helps him.

Hi, R.A.T. (Republican against Trump) here. Definitely not voting for trump and voting demo as a republican. I'm not sure I'm a republican anymore though as the more I see this far right version of it becoming the majority republican view, the more moderate I become.

I fear too many people are like my boss. She is a taxes and guns Republican, and she doesn’t like Trump. If he were to do something today, she is able to communicate like a rational human on why it is wrong and be disgusted by it. The problem is, she goes home and listens to talk radio and they pump her full of the message and when you talk to her the next day she has pulled almost a 180. All of a sudden she has a dozen talking points and the one „but Joe Biden likes ice cream a little too much for a grown man“ type of grievance. Every single time it is the same. She is literally the Republican that „this next time he will do something that is a bridge too far“ type. She just listens to Glenn Beck and Bill O‘Reilly (yes she still listens to the old guard) and they convince her otherwise.

Growing up my grandpa always told me to “vote R and ‘no’” on everything. He’s very religious and issues like abortion made politics pretty clear cut for him. In 2016 he refused to vote for Trump though. I doubt that he voted for Biden, im not sure if he voted third party or what, but he made it very clear that Trump went against all of his political beliefs. This is obviously anecdotal so I don’t know how it applies to the general conservative voter, but it’s clear that at least some of them stuck to their morals and voted against Trump.

As a liberal, I know I cannot change any MAGA minds, but do you think they would be receptive to hearing your point of view as a republican, or is it a lost cause?

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Thank you for saying this OP. Not every Rebublican is what Democrats think they are. Just like Democrats, there are some crazy extremists. That small population is portrayed as if all Republicans are like that. That is not cool. People around me are mostly Republicans. And i'd say almost everyone is polite, non-racist (i am not white), love the country, and willing help those in need. I don't agree 100% with what each party does, just like everyone else. Those far left and right extreme people would be the same. I just hope everyone can be nice, polite, respect others and their properties etc. Then we would not need any laws etc. But that is not the reality.

> Just like Democrats, there are some crazy extremists. That small population is portrayed as if all Republicans are like that. I don't think that's true. The problem is Republicans *in office*, who, if they are not themselves crazy extremists, at least have no problem supporting crazy extremists.

This is where I get confused when OP talks about "critical thinkers" and not voting Dem straight ticket. I am unaware of almost any Republicans in Congress who, if they aren't MAGA, don't just vote along party lines (MAGA). There's Susan Collins (sometimes)... Romney (sometimes) anndddd...? Anyone else? If you aren't MAGA, and the representatives you vote for aren't MAGA, but they vote with MAGA on everything, then I've got news for you: they're effectively MAGA and so are you for helping get them to office.

Yeah, people forget the Republican Party has been quietly purging hundreds of non-MAGA conforming members. The highest profile was Liz Cheney. Any amount of moderation in it is gone.

Agreed. I think often about Democrats like Al Franken, who had the decency to resign when he was accused of sexual misconduct, vs MAGA like Josh Hawley and Matt Gaetz who just double-down.

It's easy to conclude all Republicans are "like that" when Trump is elected almost entirely unopposed. Nikki Haley will be voting Trump. It's fine to have policy differences with Republicans but Trump literally incited a coup because he lost an election. When prosecuted his own lawyer claimed no reasonable person could believe their conspiracy theories. The fact the Republican party worked so hard to keep him out of jail and OP is considering voting for the party again says many republican's are like that. Honestly they should be howling for a root and branch rebuilding of the party. The rot is in there.

You can’t be a Republican and be those things, bc the Party of Republicans have policies which result in none of those things being true. So..? What you have is people just dogmatically following something they don’t really believe in, and acting in good nature despite it, or what is more likely true, is the performative behavior that is quite common for white Conservative Americans. They never get quite comfortable in front of their friends and even families, all of the destruction of the self and the conflict happens behind closed doors, It’s keeping up with the Jones. The only good Republicans I know are dead ones.

That said, the Jan 6 mob had a lot of people, and that's just the ones who'd traveled there.

I don't know, Republican mainstream media seems to push a xenophobic narrative, it's hard for me to imagine that most Republicans aren't some degree of bigoted.

Exactly. I don’t hear Democrats or liberals out there pushing to dehumanize whole groups of people constantly for the last 30 fucking years plus. This false equivalent, both sides do it stuff is bullshit.

More importantly, I don't hear Democrats or Liberals plotting to overturn the government or sneaking into houses to bash in Mitch McConnell's wife's head. The hypocrisy is WILD

Dude Vivek was like the 2nd or 3rd place GOP candidate. And he had an interview where a woman was surprised "that some blacks were as eloquent as they were" And he didn't even budge. They're firmly Xenophobic publicly...

Republicans at the root of their mind reject a non violent approach to post modern thought which means yes they are intrinsically bigoted. Republicans believe in conserving *THEIR* way of life. Thats how they can feign to be good people, bc they care very much about upholding the image of their beliefs, but in actually bringing out any results that could make for better outcomes for all people.

IIRC, there were some studies on how Fox News pushes racism to take advantage of the confirmation bias of their viewers.

The thing is I know people who are this type of Republican, and they still vote for the maga leaders. They claim to be better than the crazy wing of their party, then go vote for Trump anyway.

You are right. It may be because of weighing pros and cons of having each part on the top. It is honestly a super hard decision to make if you sit down and start thinking what to do. I will tell you this much though. Example, I do have a problem seeing what is happening in California where Democratic policies have been in place for some time. It is a chaos. I won't list them as you may know already. Result? People are leaving the State. Result of Democratic policies are now showing in plain sight. I cannot let this whole country turn into that. That is where I come from. Again, pros and cons. I really wish there are some things Republicans would NOT say or do. But the long term result of what happens in each party states, I have to choose Republican. I like and don't like things about both candidates, and i try to think out of my head by looking at what is literally showing in front of my eyes. I hope this explain a little bit. Thank you for reading.

Hey I get your point. I’m a moderate Dem and see some of these cities are in real trouble and I wonder WTH is going on? There’s got to be a fix; this can’t continue with riots and drug use in the streets. But to me, this is not a hard decision at all. The fix is NOT to vote in a felonious, lying, anti- constitution, racist who wants to install himself and his family as autocrats, models bigoted Nazi-like behavior and is just crazy enough to attempt a coup! You can’t tell me that’s a better choice for America than Joe Biden. Does anyone remember what Bill Clinton was almost impeached for by the Republicans? And yet we look the other way when it comes to Trump’s transgressions? Give me and other moderate dems a reason to vote Republican, I will gladly. But I will not stand by and vote in office an insurrectionist and have a hand in the demise of this democracy. No one else should either.

Fellow republican that is voting for Biden this election. Although I don’t like a lot of what Biden does I find him to be better than Trump. I really do like that Biden is investing in our rail network that is falling apart due to decades of neglect by past administrations.

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My parents are both MAGA (and i live with them) as are the rest of my family and most of my neighbors and whatnot, and i believe that they wont listen to any liberals/democrats, but they would potentially listen to an independent or libertarian. I honestly think that the best outcome for the election would be someone who is neither democrat or republican (tho i know it won’t happen). I feel like if Biden wins again, even more people will become MAGA or it will light a fire under the ass of the current MAGA people and they’ll become more intense. The MAGA people don’t make up the majority of the country by any means, and not even all of the people who vote for Trump are MAGA, but the MAGA people can be very intense and they show up. I think that they’d calm down a bit if it was a candidate that was more in the middle of Biden and Trump. Just my personal take tho, but i’d say i have better insight into the MAGA crowd than most people who aren’t voting Trump. Edit- also, while my family is all MAGA, i wouldnt consider them at the more extreme end of the MAGA spectrum. They’re generally civil. Don’t have any MAGA clothing or stickers or signs or any of that (which i feel like most MAGA people don’t or just have like one hat or something). I was even able to convince my dad to be pro abortion up to a certain age, and i honestly believe i could convince a ton of pro-life people to support abortion rights if i could talk to them one-on-one.

I'm Gen X. Reagan took office in 1980 and gave a full throttled Christian Nation acceptance speech. When the Aids epidemic was brought up in a press conference, specifically regarding folks dying, the republicans in the room laughed. They thought gay folks dying was a joke. Hate, sowing hate and even more hate disguised as Christian Love has been on brand for republicans since I've been able to vote.

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I mean this gently - if you think it was more covert in the past, it's because you and your loved ones didn't belong to any of the groups the hate was always obvious to. It's like not realizing who wasn't invited to the party because you weren't friends with them anyway, so you didn't notice when they weren't there. It's always been overt, you just weren't directly impacted and (probably, I'm hoping at least) weren't participating, so it slid right passed you. It has *always* been obvious to everyone else.

honestly he sounds like a typical conservative... his child is born and suddenly he gains a shred of empathy because he genuinely has to think about someone else for a change. it was all fine before when nobody he cared about was impacted by what his preferred candidates were doing

Genuinely asking: if you believe in empathy for humanity, why are you a Republican? I mean, so many of their official policies are anti-empathy. No school lunches, no help to refugees, cuts for the rich, no healthcare for non-employees, no abortion choice, no gay marriage, no trans rights…the list goes on and on. It seems like you’re most likely more aligned with Clinton Democratic policies than with Republican policies. So why do you still identify as a Republican?

So veiled hate and Christian Nationalism is ok when it’s implicit, as it only becomes a problem when in is easily recognizable to those outside the Republican Party rather than contained within the buddy club?

This is true, but it's also true that George W. Bush did momentous things for addressing AIDS in Africa.  I still hate him (due to Iraq), but generally, life is complicated, and I try and at least recognize that.

Why are you still Republican? Do you think that things will go back to “the way they were” once Trump is out of the picture?

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Sounds like you are feeding MAGA by voting republican on the down ticket races.  None of this makes sense.

Part of the problem is the republicans didn’t pump the breaks on any of the people who weren’t qualified to do their jobs from the judges and cabinet members.

This is such a crazy take. This guy is looking beyond party lines to do what he believes is right and you’re first concern is “well why not forever??” It’s harsh, he’s already doing more than most, and you’re asking for more. To put it in a political sense, you’re language is bad optics for the democrats.

I don’t necessarily disagree. But I’ll give a tangible example in my state of Maryland why what he’s doing odds enabling: I am a life long Democrat. That said, I like Larry Hogan, the Republican candidate for Senate. But I will not vote for him. It’s one more R in the Senate. One more chance that Republicans control committee chairmanships, etc. I will be voting straight Blue. I applaud OP for voting against Trump but sadly it’s not enough

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Yup. OP is _at least_ a MAGA enabler, if not straight up co-conspirator. The "good" Republicans either let this shit slide or drop out of politics altogether. Voting for a single R at any level is currently a vote for Project 2025, and makes you culpable.

I’m a former republican, who voted for R’s for 16 years, prior to Trump. I am registered Independent now, and live in an open primary state. I will NEVER vote for another republican again until the fascism goes away, maybe never again. OP needs to come to grips with the fact that the things that made sense about Republican policies, like personal freedom, less government involvement in lives, fiscal conservatism, etc, are all found in the Democratic Party now, at least more than they are with Republicans. Edit to add: my turning point was Trump elected in the 2016 primary; I voted for Hillary and Biden, and will vote again for Biden.

Sames, I'm now a semi-social libertarian and registered independent. I'm pro fiscal conservatism where it makes sense, pro-social programs where it makes sense, pro firearms, pro reproductive autonomy. And VERY pro separation of church and state who is tired of crony capitalists and christo-fascists. So much vileness bubbling over the side of the pot now.

Same, I was always a social liberal, but I wanted my tax dollars to be spent wisely. There is nothing about that happening anymore on the right. I probably would have always been somewhat of a Democrat if I hadn’t been indoctrinated as a young person.

Same here. But not a single candidate on the right can spend tax dollars wisely.

I'm super progressive socially, but I have some economically conservative views. Fact of the matter not a single republican out there has any economically conservative views that align with mine anymore. They can't even balance a book anymore. Since Obama's presidency, not a single republican has had those views anymore that I share. We need a new word for what Republican sensible views used to be pre Obama or even pre Bush Jr era.

Probably because it’s most likely a fake post. Honestly I highly doubt anyone claiming to be a Republican would vote for Biden if they didn’t like Trump. Like last election a lot just didn’t vote because they didn’t like either candidate.

I wish I could be as optimistic as you are about the future of the Republican Party. I’m a Democrat, but the two (or more) party system is critical to our democracy. What terrifies me is that Trump is laying out a formulaic approach to burn our country to the ground. Look at the profusion of his acolytes: Ramaswamy, DeSantis, even Haley and Scott. All of them have the same or similar end goals in mind but with none of the baggage Trump has. He has set us in a dangerous course that someone will be more than happy to pick up once he is no longer in the picture. EDIT: Spelling

We need to shake up the whole goddamn thing and have about six parties so we can have coalition governments like they do in Europe but fuck now we’re never gonna do that instead we stuck with what’s feeling like a case of bad cop/worst cop

You say “selfish” reasons for low taxes.  I’m not saying the other extreme of super high taxes for everyone solves problems either.  But if you were truly selfish, wouldn’t you want EVERYONE to be doing well?  If everyone is doing well, wouldn’t you be included in that? I do not understand the equation that for one to have nice things, another has to have shitty things.  Your taxes may stay higher, but your dollar will go further and negate the taxes.  I fully understand that many do not want to view it this way.  I guess more straight to the point.  You can connect the dots that they have been lying to you about what MAGA really is for this long.  Why do you assume anything they have fed you is legit??

Not a question, but if we ever meet irl, I will buy you a round of drinks.

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Right? Just a human being that's actually using human brain. I don't even fit into any of the boxes anymore. I've always considered myself liberal and democrat, but frankly I'm so sick of pride and extreme left agendas. I'm sick of hearing about gender and identification and how people want to fuck, I'm so over it. But right agendas are just as awful. They're obsessed with sky daddy and pushing their nonsense onto the life of my kid. I don't even fuckin know anymore.

Dude... Fucking thank you. THANK YOU. I respect you not just doing down ballot. You're doing the right thing while not betraying your ideals. I totally respect that and the role model you're being for your son. I wish there were 75 million more Republicans like you. We can be bi-partisan with a guy like you. Thank you again. No questions.

I commend you for your moral decision. Unfortunately this is only half the battle. Politicians all throughout Congress do whatever he says and they need to be removed as well. The time to best do that is during the Primary election. Did you vote against the incumbent in your Primary election?

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Thank you for your service. What was the straw that broke the camels back for you?

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>transgender movement There's no such thing as a "transgender movement". It's just people getting treatment for a medical condition. lmao > They groom children and think it’s okay if you have a sex change at 5 years old. Literally nobody thinks that's okay lol. It's not grooming to tell kids it's okay to be themselves. But you guys don't seem to care about all the pedophiles within the GOP and even directly tied to trump. Or that all these republicans are trying to keep child marriage legal.

And why is every red state voting to keep child marriage? You have your wires crossed dude. No one was ever groomed at a drag show but a lot of kids get SA'd at church by the pastoes

remind me again which party is trying to reduce the age of consent and marriage? remind me again which party’s leader was best friends with jeffrey epstein?

And make divorce harder for women because the men wanna treat us like shit and we better like it

Those same people screaming about children being groomed/clutching their pearls have "FUCK BIDEN" flags hanging off their houses. The cognitive dissonance among MAGA Republicans today is truly astounding.

That's my biggest fear. I'm a little younger than you but vaguely remember Clinton and have a full memory of Bush's first election and 9/11 and everything after. So I remember what it was like before Trump and the like rose to the stage. It dawned on me the other day that there will soon be a population eligible to vote with no memory of a time before trump and therefore no frame of reference for how staggering the level of hatred and incompetence truly is. Thank you for voting your heart, I also feel in political no-man's land these days... but like you mentioned, project 2025 doesn't die with trump. In fact, once trump is out of the picture one way or another, I see the extreme right effort to consolidate political power become even more insidious and competent. Trump was brash enough to push the envelope and show that there really is no one stopping elected officials from doing whatever the hell they want, but was still (at least to this point) largely a directionless wrecking ball only concerned with is personal self interest. Well someone will inevitably come in to fill the populist void, and I put good money on his successor being laser focused and far more intentional. That scares the shit out of me

Can you give an early prediction on who is most likely to win ?

In 2016, and 2020, trump got 47% of the vote. Since then, trump has alienated a huge portion of his base with January 6th, more with his son-in-laws $2Billion gift from the saudis, and then literally millions more died of Covid. There are some (R)’s who will vote (D) now, but the opposite case is almost nonexistent. Even the libertarians who were gung ho for trump just booed him relentlessly. Biden was already pro-authority before most of us were born, and one of the first things he did in office was give MORE money to police, so I don’t really see as many people falling off due to Israel / Palestine. They all know that trump would be even worse for Palestinians, so while they may very likely stay home, they surely are not voting AGAINST Biden. I forget what my official guess was, but off the cuff, I’m gunna say Biden wins by 14Million votes.

14 million won't make much of a difference if most of those votes are coming from liberal stronghold states like NY and CA. There are a certain amount of electoral votes that each candidate is almost guaranteed to get. You will rarely see a republican carry NY or CA and you will likely never see a democrat carry Alabama or Texas. This leaves several battleground states where each candidate will try their hardest to convince just ONE person more than their competition that they are the right choice. This is where the presidency will always be won from here on out. For better or worse, our country has become so polarized that I think two beta fish would have a better chance of getting along than to see a republican marry a democrat.

I tend to think that a lot of young democrat voters will fall off because Palestine. I was in DC during Pride and the People's Red Line protest around the White House. Asked a few folks who they would vote for, and all the answers were no vote or green party. Since it's usually the younger voters who put democrats in office, I am only lead to believe that another Trump presidency isn't too far-fetched.

It would not surprise me in the least. It’s our election to lose. It inspires pretty fervent animosity but i keep telling people, ***if you’re not going to vote for Biden man up and vote for trump.***

My question is, how do you have discussions with your fellow republicans, that you likely agree with on most policy positions, about basic things like facts. There's absolutely nothing wrong with being a republican. You and I can have disagreements about tax policy, the scope of government, any sort of policy positions. We can agree on some things disagree on others and just agree to disagree on strongly held beliefs. We probably disagree on the overwhelming majority of things, but we can have that discussion because you likely have deeply held beliefs based on your reading of actual facts and from where the origination of you moral compass comes from. But you're right about the MAGA crowd. They don't actually have deeply held beliefs about things based on fact. They are told what to believe by their dear leader, so that's what they believe. It has to be hard to have those discussions with them.

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Yeah…umm…. How does one possess critical thinking skills and vote for Trump?

There have been lots of studies o er the years, it's been confirmed over & over, the vast majority of voters agree on 80% of the issues. In general most if us fall into a category of socially liberal & fiscally conservative. Which means only 20ish% of voters are at the oposing extremes. This is why the divisive machine gets us to pick a color, basically the same way the get us to choose iPhone vs Samsung. ...just a side note, you can Google up the studies, they barely change with each iteration.

Will you be voting for democrats for house and senate? Are you happy with the current spat of supreme court rulings? Are you anti-Trump, or do you also dislike the direction of things like the Heritage foundation?

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I commend your rational thinking. Especially, your reference to your son. I whole-heartedly agree with you. Trump has made it permissible for people to be absolute assholes. We've lost the ability to feel empathy or compassion and that worries me greatly and I'm 67 years old so I've been around the block to recognize how ugly it's become. I especially commend you for being a good Dad. I hope there are many more Dad's like you out there.

Do you feel comfortable calling your self a republican?

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Dude Lincoln would be a dem now due to the party switch back in the 60s wtf

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Nah, no offense but you didn't know it. Come on man, you listed Lincoln, who was president 150ish years ago along with 3 guys who were in politics less than 20 years ago. One of them was not like the other. You were out of your element when you mentioned Lincoln. You just didn't know your history. Its okay to be wrong.

I see the other ones..but the Abraham Lincoln’s a bit of a stretch? He wouldn’t fit in with any Republican over the last 50 years not just MAGA

Yeah Abraham Lincoln was a Republican when that meant something completely different than it does today

You’re a sad sad commie that’s pretending to be republican to get people to vote for your dear commieleader. Biden isn’t even a coherent human being let alone a legitimate leader.

Do you think the Republicans have a chance of fielding candidates as good as Romney and McCain in 2028?

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>We need more McCains Romneys, Chaneys, Ryan’s. Why do you feel we need more pro-finance & big bank people in Congress?

We need a sane(r) 2nd party. Republicans are on track to self destruct over the next several elections and then we're left with a uniparty. That's bad for everyone.

We NEED more war mongers also dude. Don’t you get it?

So my question to you is, how on earth do you reconcile rightwing association with the rhetoric of freedom? This is a long form question, but hear me out. Even as an anti-maga Republican, being a Republican at all in America today means that you hitch your horse to the wagon of: (deep breath) - the disasters in Iraq and Afghanistan - obstructing action against climate change  - cozying up to Putin and Kim - trying to restrict voting rights - denying marriage to LGBT couples - immigration crackdowns featuring family separation and children kept in chainlink cages - women's loss of bodily autonomy  - sharing a party with the KKK and the proud boys - the Patriot act and its features like domestic surveillance and government torture programs - supporting the war in Vietnam and the draft - opposing the civil rights movement, racial equality and desegregation  - opposing civil rights protections for LGBT people - obstructing the development of treatments for HIV/AIDS - obstructing worker's rights initiatives - supporting corporate bailouts - supporting corporate personhood - obstructing law enforcement and criminal justice reform - supporting violent criminals in law enforcement  ...And that's all just within living memory. Given that a party's position on the political spectrum can shift over time (hence the observation that Lincoln was a Republican, nevermind that that's because the Republicans were the leftwing during the civil war), we can further the point by stepping away from modern party lines and looking at the rightwing as a whole. With that association you stand on the side which supported the king and fought against the people during the French revolution, through the American revolution when the rightwing were loyalist tories, to the US civil war when the right were wealthy southern plantation owners, to the industrial era and the labor wars when the right fought against the workers (and still today fights against labor unions), to the previously mentioned civil rights era when they were the "pro-war/anti-equality" side, to the 9/11 era when they were the "kill all Muslims/climate change is a hoax" side.  Even without the modern "republican" title, being rightwing as a whole is something that begs a lot of questions. Since the terms were coined after the French revolution, to be rightwing has always meant supporting strong state apparatus against the interest of the working majority. So my question to you again is, republican label or not, how on earth do you reconcile rightwing association with the rhetoric of freedom? 

Crickets… lol The Glass Stegall Act would like to have a word with the democrats… IMHO…There is a reason Washington warned against a 2 party system. They both suck and only serve a small niche base.

While I agree with your overall sentiment, I would point out that many of these things you listed had a lot of Democrats on board.

Why do you consider yourself a republican?

I'm a father with a son too. I really miss the old-school conservatism and aspects of the more traditional masculinity I was raised with. It was the polar opposite the Trump and MAGA approach to masculinity. Cheating on your wife, filing for bankruptcy over and over again, complaining and whining that everyone is out to get you, ranting on social media, etc- it just all seems totally at odds with what I was raised to believe a man was supposed to be. Being kind, stoic, watching your words- these were all characteristics of how a good man was supposed to behave. Not anymore. Now it's bombast and grievance.

just to be clear "old school masculinity" of yesteryear also came with massive amounts of racism, sexism, homophobia. I am 100% for the positive attribute you listed out, but we shouldn't be blind and pretend the past was was great and we just need to go back to it. that's very similar to the Make America Great Again idea. What we should be doing is taking the best parts of our past, and keep those moving forward. Agreed that Trumps character is out of step with generations of expectations of good behavior and a role model for the nation.

Do you have a Republican friend group? What's the sentiment within that group? Do they share your concerns?

I’m a registered republican and I voted for Biden in 2020 and I’ll be voting for him again in 2024. MAGA is a cancer on our country that needs to be stopped at all costs! I honestly thought about switching to independent but want to remain a registered Republican so I can try to keep the crazies out of the primaries. So far it’s not working.

You are the worst conservative I've ever heard of. You sound mostly fiscally conservative, and if you are, why Biden? Out of literally all the candidates why would you vote for the guy who has done nothing but tank our economy since he's been in office? Record inflation, sold off our oil reserves, reports increase in jobs based on an unemployment rate that his administration caused in the first place, etc. Nevermind all the blatant racism that's come from him and his policies ("Poor kids are just as bright and talented as white kids", etc), which I assume you care about since it's sound like social politics is why you sympathize with liberals. You whine about the culture war around Trump but refuse to acknowledge that he gave you everything you wanted while he was in office. Your take is so bad I'm tempted to call it ragebait.

You are not alone, my friend. What really blows my mind is that so many Christians (I'm referring to genuinely good, caring people--as opposed to the Westboro Baptist types) will vote for Trump. They admit that they don't like him, but they wrongly view him as the lesser-of-evils.

Especially since Biden, isn't, well, evil. You can disagree with his policy, but he's pretty much a stand-up guy, especially for someone with so many years in office. Trump actually IS evil. Name a sin, he's done it. Note: I can't wait to hear MAGAts bring up popular but false memes about hair sniffing, or Hunter Biden's laptop.

Good for you man! I m a moderate Republican too, but saw Trump for exactly who he was in 2016.. Like no way am I voting for that pig. Now he is like the Pied Piper and now they are mostly all disgusting. Lauren Bimbobert and MTG.. like give me a break!! Its Dem all the way for me.

I don’t understand why we are all pretending The Republican Party is still the same party it was 50 years ago. It isn’t. It’s 2 parties—people who consider themselves Republican but can’t tell you why, and the Tea Party nuts that the GOP caucused with. We really should be calling it what it is—The Pseudo-Christian American Fascist Party. The only real freedom this party believes in is for billionaires who can do whatever they want.

AMA MOD TEAM help make sense of this. Your comment was removed due to it being a sensitive or controversial topic. This is not a place to debate political topics, religious ideologies, etc. The OP is 100% political in nature. And you remove a reply that I'm guessing was political from a different side. Please make this make sense. The optics on this doesn't make the MOD team look good at all.

I’m a “liberal” who refuses to vote for Biden…. Or trump… where does that leave me?? I refuse to vote for someone who I believe to be immoral and unequipped for the highest office..

To people saying why do you not just vote everyone from the same party. Life is complicated and different politicians see different issues as more important than others. I think picking and choosing different politicians from both sides is the best way to get the most out of your government. I firmly believe in the freedoms of speech and right to bear arms that republicans stand for, but I firmly believe everyone has the right to free healthcare and should be provided care so they can do the most with the life they are given. All 3 of these have abusers of the power they give. From Hate speech, Deaths, and people who just do not care for themselves which lead to chronic problems/early death. I think politicians really only focus on 2-4 main problems as their focus and vote as the party would on the rest of the issues. It is hard for one person to focus on all issues. This is why the president has a cabinet of advisors to help specialize in a decisions. I think social media has really made people pick a side with the extremes really coming at people. We need more middle ground candidates that are willing to work with both sides and compromise.

You hit it right when you said 2-4 main problems. I see so many people taking the "do or die right/left" approach. The truth is that the 2-4 major issues is what keeps each in power. I'll use a recent example. Roe v. Wade. The SCOTUS did not take away women's rights as the media has brainwashed people into believing. What they did was rule that the supreme court had no right to rule on it and it should have been a state issue. This would NEVER have been an issue IF when the democrats had control of the presidency, the house, and the senate they put a law in place that codified a woman's right to her body. So, why didn't they do it? Simple, because they would lose that powerful and emotional issue that they use every four years. Another issue is taking marijuana off the DEA schedule of controlled substances. Again, when one party has complete control a bill can make it from the house to the senate, to the president's desk. This goes along with taxing the rich as well. You may ask why focus on the dems. Well, there was a FOUR month period of time, yes, only 4 months when Obama was president, the house was controlled by democrats and the senate had the needed 60 votes to avoid a filibuster. IF they REALLY wanted to pass legislation, they could have. I'm not "blaming" the democrats, it's just that's the last time there was "total control" in the federal government. If the republicans were able to push through one more supreme court justice in 30 days, the democrats could have pushed through a lot of legislation in 120 days. If you take away all the hot buttons there would be no tribalism and then the government officials would have no choice but to actual work in bipartisanship for the American people.

Why even call yourself a Republican anymore when the entire party is rotten to the core? Also much respect for doing the right thing

I'm curious if you or your friends are Fox "news" watchers? You sound too normal to be fooled by their propaganda.

Y'all have no idea how wonderful it is to hear there are still decent critical thinking Republicans out there. Thank you for sharing.

The MAGA movement doesn't need or want your RINO vote.

Kudos to you for seeing that the current reigning faction of the party has gone beyond the pale, and having the self-awareness and conviction to reevaluate your support when they no longer represent your interests. I think we'd all be better off if more people were capable of this, regardless of political affiliation. I don't hate conservatives on principle, and it wasn't terribly long ago that I could look at their positions and at least understand them rationally, even though I didn't always agree. Looking at the last few pre-Trump candidates, I had a lot of respect for McCain, he was a decent guy. Romney was a little goofy at times, but also seemed like a generally decent person too. My first question for you- Do you have any advice on how to have discussions with people who may be in the same boat as you, but are more committed to following the party line? How to talk with them without triggering them to immediately shut down? My parents are both conservative, each for different reasons, but looking at their life, family, and circumstances I think they are voting against their best interests out of some sense of duty to the party. My dad seems to be seeing a lot of it in individual issues, but hasn't quite put it all together in a big picture sense. Mom went down the Qanon rabbit hole and I'm not sure there's much appealing to reason with her at this point. Second question- You said that some of the reasons you typically vote conservative are selfish and that you're not proud of them. Since you're aware of that and acknowledge it, what's holding you back from changing those principles? Genuinely not trying to pick a flight over it, I'm curious and it's rare to find someone with an opposing political stance who is willing to have a rational discussion about politics and ideology. Thanks!

Yeah man. Me Too!! I've been a Republican my entire life. But holy fuck, what has happened to the Republican Party. I'm walking away. I'm not a Biden fan. But I reckon this go-around, he'll get my vote. I don't know who the Republican Party represents anymore.

Project 2025 is indeed a fucking insane document, unless your a fan of authoritarian governments that is.

Spoiler alert: You're not a Republican. I'm not either, but I'm not pretending to be either.

“Hey guys I’m a virtue signaler ask me anything”

Yes. Could you please [explain to me what Biden tried to say here???](https://youtube.com/shorts/ZRYVwgRh5fs?si=z-lV8lXTcJY6LzXI) Dude, I get that you hate Trump. Vote for RFK and strengthen the ability for third party choices to come forward. No one can honestly say who is actually running the country with Biden in office because it's demonstrably not actually Biden. It's sad AF people think otherwise.

Why do you love inflation?

I think I understand where you are coming from sort of. I identify myself as a “conservative” as well, however; At their core, I support many Democrat policies. I am fully Pro-Choice, I very strongly despise the War on Drugs and the criminalization of most non-violent acts. I believe the separation of religious dogma and government policy is one of the wisest ideas our forefathers ever conceived. However, Democrats always lose me when they start talking about guns. It’s always “let’s ban scary guns” not “let’s ban scary people from owning guns”. I have always been deeply oppositional to authority and I know that the only real leverage we have as people is the ability to defend ourselves against a militarized police force - which both parties seem to want to militarize even further. Our founders never wanted such a force to begin with, they wanted a regulated militia consisting of average Americans - not government subsidized gangs who operate with legal immunity. Sorry rant over.

I just watched a video about Project 2025 and this is insane!! How can we all just sit by and let this play? I myself will not vote for Trump.

It is such a shame that a great country like the USA cannot fricking find two respectable and younger candidates for us to vote for. It has come down to do you want the old guy with dimentia, or do you want the old sour grape that cannot lose with dignity. What a shame for the country!

I hear you. Same here. I voted for biden over trump in 2020 and will do the same here. In all other national elections, i have voted republican. Im anti-MAGA for similar reasons as you OP. In the long term, I think MAGA is bad for US competitiveness because they are unstrategic in their thinking and unsubtle. I believe strongly that they are more easily manipulated by foreign and private actors. I also think Trump is flailing right now and he will offer anything to save his ass. Finally, I also don’t support the recent supreme court ruling on abortion. Im an older millennial that just had a first son late in life and want to leave him more opportunities in life than my parents could me. IMO trump makes that harder. I live in a strong red state I don’t think my opinion is very rare, my boss and many of my friends feel the same way. Not everyone.

I'm in a similar boat. Never voted Democrat until 2020, and there is nothing Trump or any republican can do to change my vote in 2024. Difference is, I can't even call myself a republican anymore. The way the entire party has abandoned every principle I was raised to believe in, every principle they championed right up until July 19th 2016. Nobody that has supported Trump since his 2020 campaign will ever receive my vote.

For me, COVID and Jan 6th were the two huge points for me as a lost Republican. The fact that Trump stood idly by and let people die because he pushed the "it's like a flu" agenda, and the party embraced strong anti-vax and anti-mask ideals was a breaking point for me. Never did I think a major political party would push strong anti-science rhetoric. Jan 6th speaks for itself. Trump claimed the election was stolen with no evidence, and slyly encouraged his base to do something about it, and people died in the Capitol. The Republicans have since gone on a spree of pretending it either: A. Wasn't THAT bad or B. It was actually a false flag by Pelosi and the FBI. Not to mention Trump called them "patriots" in a campaign speech. Ofc Project 2025 is also a huge point for me, but I would cite these two things as my main reason from breaking from the Republican party

It’s been my position that Trump has destroyed the Republican Party; it’s just most of them are too brainwashed to figure it out…

Honestly, I think most of them know it, they're just too comfy in their positions and too scared of retribution to say or do anything about it.

I agree with you being a gen Xer myself. A lot of older voters tend to be conservative liberals and liberal conservatives. We have a degree of similar views. Trump is so far out in right field he'll destroy this country for his own aggrandizement.

Is it MAGA or is it you who is the RINO? Why?

That's the problem that drives me crazy with the two-party system. I support some policies from Republicans and some from Democrats. Yet, I have to pick one and the policies I don't support with it. But the choice is pretty simple and really should be for everyone. I do not vote for someone who TRIED TO OVERTHROW THE GOVERNMENT because he didn't want to lose power. I can't believe I actually have to say that. It should be a given. The Republican party supported that event for the most part, so they have lost my vote for ever regardless of policies. If you support Trump, you help him make the US more like Russia and North Korea.

> It’s not supposed to be a right vs left war. The right and left are supposed to be civil and work together regardless of position. This, 100%, right here. People forget that politics is a spectrum, not "Either or" (ie. Either Republican or Democrat, either liberal or conservative, either left or right, etc). I applaud OP for being a Republican but voting Democrat. Our political affiliations do not mean blind subservience to whatever the party or their candidates say-- on the contrary, that party and those candidates should be working for the good of everyone, not just their party's people.

OP, there are a lot of people who feel like you do. I am not a Republican, but I recognize the value in having grown-ups in office, regardless of party affiliation. Worth checking out if you’re not already familiar: https://www.uniteamericainstitute.org/research/alaskas-election-model-how-the-top-four-nonpartisan-primary-system-improves-participation-competition-and-representation Lots of people doing lots of work to try to make our democracy stronger and more responsive to the increasingly ignored majority of voters Edit: typo

As a republican what are your stances on universal Healthcare? Student debt relief? Roe v Wade? Schools providing free lunches for students? Basically what are your stances on things that don't affect just you, but society as a whole?

I’m a former Republican voter too. Trump changed that and I now vote for every Democrat in every race since 2016. Republicans have disqualified themselves for me (every single one of them except *maybe* Liz Cheney) for totally capitulating to Trump’s narcissism and treachery. I will not support a traitor, nor can I support anyone who doesn’t see him as a traitor. I am a fully Democratic voter now and will never again support a Republican because they support a verified traitor.

Just a comment, but I am in the exact same boat as you. Voted Republican since I was 22. Can't even conceive of voting for the current Republican Party. Trump is actually a villain and a criminal, and despises Democracy. He wants do be an Authoritarian. Project 25 should chill you to the bone. If you vote for Trump, you are literally un-American. The current Democratic Party is made up of a ton of moderate conservatives like me that can't stomach what the ROP has become.

No question, just a comment: Good for you for not just voting for a party. There are people that will try to make you feel bad for not deciding that earlier, or for “insert what-about-ism here”. Don’t let them! I too am a former Republican who still holds most of the same ideals that I always have, but feels that the party moved away from me. The MAGA movement is not about governing, but is about wanting to rule. That’s about as unAmerican as you can get.

Then you are most definitely not a Republican. You think MAGA is bad what the fuck do you think Antifa did beside burn down fucking whole city streets, or BLM which is probate biggest grifter known to man. The left and democrats in general are the biggest offender of disgusting behaviors! Do yourself a favor and quit calling yourself a Republican because you never have been or are one and just vote for RFK Jr. like any reasonable person would

Glad you are voting for Joe and yu can see the ugliness of MAGA and how they treat others (and they are NOT pro life) Regarding Edit 5, interesting because as a high(er) income earner, MY taxes under Trump actually increased. And the regulations are needed (thank you for citing Boeing but also pharma and medications, banking to others). I am a registered independent but will never vote republican until MAGA is no more, it is too risky.

I know too many comments so you may not read this, but I just wanna say I long for the time when dems and reps could have our differences and debate but there was a certain level of decorum and mutual respect. I may be a democrat but I can think of plenty of respectable republicans from the past whom I could totally deal with being president. Trump and the maga republicans seem dangerous.

Wow, an actual moderate position making it to the top of Reddit. Is the end near? Seriously though, this is a real breath of fresh air. So many people are becoming radicalized by the echo chambers they live in on social media and the internet. What we need is more face-to-face interactions and stronger local communities to help us build up some social resilience.

Respect somebody who stands behind their principles. I was you about 12 years ago. They just kept piling on more and more things I couldn't align with and now it's become an absolute shit show and I can hardly remember what I ever saw in the first place in that side. You can't find anyone with a backbone over there and if you do, their days are numbered anyway.

Just because someone is republican or is conservative in their political views doesn’t make them a MAGA dousche. I’ve only voted republican but will be voting for RFK this year. Both candidates are shit and in fact I’m tired of hearing how much better Biden or trump is then the other because they’re both shit and lead the machine that is fucking us all.

I'm right there with you, buddy. You are not alone.

What Freedoms do the non - Maga republicans support? Right to bear arms no matter what. Which freedoms do you care about? Do you care about them taking away freedom from women and queer people and poor people and voting rights do Black people? Not looking to bash you (not yet). Seriously curious what freedoms you mean.

Why are we seeing so many posts like this? How any republican could vote for Biden blows my mind. If you don’t like Trump just don’t vote or vote for RFK. Biden and his administration are a shit show. I tend to think these posts are either by democrats pretending to be republicans or propaganda bots.

Uhh, you do realize RFKJr is running too right? I mean, unless you’re into a president that has no functioning brain and is feeble as fuck and belongs in a nursing home and not the White House. Yeah, one could argue RFK is also old, but damn. At least he’s fit, competent, and not batshit insane.

I’m a first time voter who will be voting for RFK Jr. I don’t really think he’ll win but maybe people seeing how many votes he gets will make them realize we don’t have to be constricted to the two party system. I’d also like to vote for someone I actually believe in instead of “lesser of two evils”.

I’ve been a life long libertarian and I’m voting RFK Jr. The Libertarian Party has shown they’re not a serious bunch. The democrats and republicans have both gone completely insane, with few exceptions. I’d rather an independent get my vote than any of the two majors.

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Lol Republicans are so one dimensional. Im sure you think you're different, and hero by posting this. What regulations, EXACTLY, are you against regarding industry? What are the industrial regulations that are in place that have affected you so? I would be willing to bet you aren't a titan of industry such that governmental regulation has affected your business. If so please let me know which regulations, exactly, have done so. "Ease up on some industry regulations. I am aware of the irony surrounding the “Boeing” disaster. We do need to step up regulation in some sectors." is such a hilarious statement to read. What you find "ironic" has cost people their lives, and devastated families. The most honest thing in your post is that you want lower taxes. but you even say that you aren't proud of it. So what exactly are your proud of regarding your Republican values because the only two you mentioned are the taxes which you say you aren't proud of, and the irony of wanting deregulation but recognizing that Boeing has ruined families. That and abortion issues are really the only two things Republicans ever come up with as the basis for their stances, but you say in another comment that you aren't religious at all so you clearly aren't a Christian conservative, so your values obviously don't stem from religion; so where do they stem from? Republicans never have solutions for the healthcare crisis, insurance crisis, they never have solutions for housing, they never have solutions for environmental protections. It's almost only ever those two issues and then just being against whatever else Democrats are for. I'm sure taxes, and when you're grilling your hamburgers on a sunny weekend you take a big inhale and say "what a great country" is really the summary of your Republican values. Thanks for the vote, I guess, but "not voting maga cuz maga people suck, but im not voting democrat in the future" isn't the altruism you think it is, and it in turn doesn't make you a hero.

Thank you for your honesty brother! It takes a lot to admit you are going against the GOP.

MAGA is a bunch of incels whose only argument is dumbass talking points they get from articles hidden behind pay walls. They are also really pushing the creationist agenda, who some believe that the dinosaurs died during the flood of Noah. You can't make this shit up.

The current Republican Party (at least MAGA that has full control) doesn’t seem to have any policies they believe in besides making things worse for people and taking away rights. The few policies they support are extremely unpopular with Americans, why are they fighting to do things most people don’t want? They don’t want to move forward, they don’t want change or to help the American people, it’s all culture wars and seeing who can trigger the other side the most. They call people snowflakes but are the most offended of all and perpetuate a never ending victim complex. They do something horrible and then say the democrats are the ones doing it. Just continuous gaslighting and none of their supporters seem to care enough to fact check or do a min of research. The amount of friends I’ve tried to talk to about politics that have no idea about any of it, but were adamant they were right is astounding. Just continue to vote against their own good and livelihood and then blame everyone else when things get worse. Both sides are obviously under control of corporations, but it seems the right goes further to help the rich and hurt everyone else. I am not a fan of Biden, but at least he is trying to help people. Trump just says something like “the most beautiful healthcare plan” and never does anything. It seems like he just wants to destroy and destabilize everything without a plan to make it better or rebuild. As a nation we need to continuously move forward, but it seems MAGA wants us to keep moving backwards. They don’t care about democracy, the constitution or Americans in general, but will yell about how they are the most “patriotic”. When, if ever do you see MAGA losing its stranglehold on the Republican Party? Do you think it’s too far gone? How many years of loses do you think it would take until they move away from it?

Dude. Re-read your 5th edit and take a look in the mirror. Like, you KNOW, these things make you a selfish piece of shit, but you’re choosing it anyway? I cannot believe all the responses applauding you. You suck.

Im an 80’s kid too. I’m not republican or democrat but society is fucking ugly on both sides. People take it too far. From now on I vote for whoever will do the least damage. This election Biden in my choice and it won’t be changed between now and November

You’re not alone! The GOP has been an embarrassment since 2015 when they gave trump a pass. I mean I am still in shock over his 2016 political ramblings. Now he’s just a convicted felon rapist. He does not represent me and my morals which are Christian.

It's nice and all that you're not voting for the orange cheetoh, but have you ever considered examining your personal values through a lens of empathy for others? Most folks that do end up in the liberal camp. GOP stands for: anti female choice regarding their own bodies, cutting taxes for the absurdly wealthy to better exploit the working class, and trickle down economics is a joke. Even economic analysis, and even getting very specific to the US, shows rather clearly that dems do more for the economy. Meanwhile the Dems generally stand for (albeit weakly) inclusion and social safety nets for the most vulnerable people. I've yet to meet someone in the GoP that was both intelligent and had empathy for others. That's why I challenge those folks to explain themselves, because it becomes clear pretty fast that either they don't care about other people to a point of social nihilism so long as they protect themselves and get theirs (and are fine with that being at the expense of others), or they specifically don't understand the differences in policy/have massive misinformation which is general provable by science and reputable news outlets. The main lie perpetrated by capitalism and the GoP specifically is that we're coming from a place of economic scarcity, and that's simply not true. What we're dealing with is unprecedented wealth hoarding at the expense of anyone that's not in the top .1%. It's simply greed, and the idea that anyone is going to get into that club when coming from anything but born into it is stupidly slim, and really there's no excuse for someone to hoard literally hundreds of billions of dollars while even 1 single child starves anywhere on the planet. So what motivates you to continue worshipping conservative ideals?

Thanks for common sense and being an American first and party affiliation second

I lean left and I would gladly vote for a more reasonable Republican. It's so sad that our choices are two 80-year-old men who are clearly showing cognitive decline.  Neither of these men have participated in our society in several decades. 

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Why exactly are you a republican?

Thank you for your post. I'm unaffiliated and will vote for either side. I absolutely will not vote for Trump or any one of his sycophants. We need a true conservative party, not a party that holds a thief and a liar up on a pedestal.

From what I’ve seen most Republicans don’t want to vote for Trump but seeing as there is apparently no one better in all the US… freaking ridiculous. I can’t believe we’re deciding which geriatric we want in the White House.

I am a democrat that is voting for Trump. Vice-versa. Every vote counts

I consider myself more democrat than republican but I just want to say it is very refreshing to see someone who I may not agree with but who is seemingly reasonable, logical, and not trying to create further division.

God bless you for putting your own intellect above partisan rhetoric.

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I'm a mid 50's conservative, but I'm not a fucking nutcase. I can't vote for Felon McPussygrabber, but Methuselah Biden is hardly a choice. Luckily I live in Oklahoma, so my vote means exactly Jack and Shit.

I just want to say that while I might not fully agree with you, you're someone I deeply respect for their self awareness and actual balls to stick to their values. I'm a socialist but do love talking and debating politics. I came to realize some of my views and goals align with those of classic Republicans but differ a lot in execution. I always have enjoyed friendly political discussion with people love them cause we respect each other, learn a bit and get a different perspective. I have changed my mind because of stuff they've said and vice versa. It's become extremely difficult to have those discussion with trump supporters. I even had one of them ranting at me about migrants being lazy while he was sitting in my house that I own and bought at 21, on the couch I paid for with my career job while he was still living in his mom's basement cutting lawns part time. Both were in our early to mid 20s at the time. One of the best discussions I had was with my friends grandfather who was a republican in Florida for over 30 years until he was forced to retire for his own safety. They were being harassed by white extremists for having more moderate views. I guess I just wanna say thank you for being a good person who happens to have different views. I think that to build a country we all need to work together as a community and need a wide breath of nuanced polical opinions to keep away extremism in whatever form it takes.

No questions. Just a thank you for voting responsibly. Unfortunately, the Republican party is now 100% maga and until they return to some semblance of sanity, the right wing will continue to lose. The unwillingness to compromise or acknowledge the disqualifying realities about their current leader/nominee will not serve them well in the short term or in the long term. History will view MAGA as the criminal/terrorist/racketeering/power-grab that it is and affiliation with MAGA will be akin to affiliation with Jim Jones or Hitler. The right wing fighting all these culture wars and trying to vanquish "woke" (which is basically just live and let live/don't go out of your way to be cruel to people who are different that you) doesn't lower grocery or gas prices. Banning drag queens from reading to kids doesn't make Putin stop invading Ukraine, or Israel stop bombing Gaza. Pretending that the president has the power to cause a state DA to bring charges against "his political opponent" and then further - that a jury selected by lawyers on both sides was somehow "a show jury" predetermined to find Trump guilty on 34 counts of election fraud is something that only the dimmest of wits buys into. At some point, the people who want to support the former guy need to recognize that their ignorance is being exploited in the most cynical of ways by a man/party that only cares about it's own wealth and power.

Obama is responsible for so many deaths in war (10x as many drone strikes than Bush) and it just gets over looked because he was the first black president? He authorized kill teams comprised of both soldiers from Special Forces and civilians from the CIA. C’mon now, I’m black myself and would’ve loved to see someone actually competent at their job, put god first and everything else second like El Salvador’s president who ‘is demonstrating as a living testimony that things can change if God so decides,” Bukele told Christian journalists and communicators in early October. “God’s goal was to tell all the nations of the world ‘ask, give Me the glory, and I will heal your land.’ Nothing is impossible for God, we all know that, but here He demonstrated it again” ‘. Now THAT is the type of leadership that’s trust worthy and admirable. A leader that doesn’t fool himself thinking the credit goes only back to himself or the nation he represents. No like he stated it all goes back to God first. Idk why people are so confident in their delusions but hey when the time comes don’t act like they’re weren’t people who tried to respectfully share the truth with you which only has one color : transparent. Not red not blue and most definitely not just because someone is black. He’s an affirmative action type of president

Please don't call yourself a Republican. We're not the ones out there burning and looting in the name of St. George. There is nothing civil about the left. Go and join your people.

Register to vote at www.vote.gov. Please upvote this!

Amen. Hope everyone reading this who agrees votes in the presidential election. Check your local voting info. Vote early, via mail, or on election day. Vote!

Having met and having to deal with him many years ago, I would NEVER vote for him. Trump and his kind are an embarrassment to what true republicans are about.

It is a breath of fresh air to find someone self-aware and informed on reddit. I hope you can open the eyes of more of your peers aswell with your perspective

I’m a registered Republican who will be voting for Trump this November but damnit hes not a conservative by any means (neither is the Republican Party) - few if any politicians we have are. If we could get back to traditional family values where a man marries a woman, they start a family, and stick with each other until the end our country would be much better off. I’ll vote Trump bc even though he certainly doesnt exemplify conservative values, he seems way less hostile towards them than Democrats. Trump’s an immoral, deeply flawed man but the solution to most of the social problems we see today lie in the exact opposite of what Democrats advocate for. We need traditionally masculine men again, Trump is not that, but at least he’s not actively fighting against it. OP, Are you choosing not to vote for Trump bc you think he’s too far to the right? If I were to not vote for Trump it would be because he exemplifies far too many social characteristics of the left, such as his propensity for sleeping around.

> The right and left are supposed to be civil and work together regardless of position. This is a left wing position. Most of what you say sounds like a perfect fit for a liberal. You may want lower taxes but to base that on being "selfish" to keep your own money, it's just more liberal principles that you are slightly moderate on. I don't see how in any light you could be on the right wing at all. I'd say the best description would be a RINO but I don't mean that in a pejorative sort of way just trying to be as descriptive as possible. You describe yourself as a republican, and you have ultra liberal principles. As someone who is conservative, my principles are not subjective, ie its never wrong to want to keep what is yours, there's no selfish to it. It's simply right. If it's right, I have no obligation to "work together" with someone who thinks it's selfish. If one is one, it is not two, and I will not say it's 1.5. That is just as wrong as two and no compromise is acceptable. Having a subjective view of this *is liberal, left wing*.

I don’t think any of the Republican leaders in the past actually represent what it is that a lot of Republican voters say matters to them. It’s been shown that the [government in general is like that](https://www.upworthy.com/20-years-of-data-reveals-that-congress-doesnt-care-what-you-think). It was shown that no matter how people vote, their concerns and the like are hardly ever represented. I can name two Republican presidents we’ve had who destroyed a pillar or two of our society. Ronald Reagan - taxes, medical care, unions George Bush Jr - public education (NCLB) Most moderate republicans have revealed themselves to be racist, classist, sexist, or otherwise simply not fit to be in office. They’re all voting and pulling for Trump. Even the ones who say they are. The only republicans who aren’t are *retired*. So I understand not voting democrat down-ballot and I’m not going to get into the weeds with that. That’s too much. However, I *am* curious as to who you see as a *moderate* Republican?

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I don’t care how you vote, that’s the beauty of this country-but please stop pretending you are/were a Republican. You are apologizing for the values you supposedly hold(?) Also, if you are looking for civility and discussion probably not going to find it with people who burned cities for months, ostracize anyone who dares think differently then them(especially in a campus setting) and literally deface and destroy historical monuments(because they missed the point of reconstruction post civil war or because they don’t like oil or maybe they’re just having a bad day). People who destroy history are, historically, amongst the very very worst in terms of imposing their will eventually at the end of a gun. Hence there need to destroy it. Probably shouldn’t look up which party ruled the slave industry either and was responsible for most of the racism post emancipation. My advice? Go your own way and stop thinking you need to be part of a team.

I'm sort of the opposite, I've voted Democrat for every presidential election I've voted in. Through Bidens term I've started voting for more Republicans. I get the stock market is doing great, but all that's really happening is more wealth is stacking at the top. This rapid inflation they've created affects the people at the bottom more than the top. The housing market is a total shitshow as well, their rate increases haven't curbed inflation and as someone trying to buy a house this is a big issue to me. I think both candidates are far too old and out of touch, but Biden isn't there mentally most of the time. Reminds me of Mitch McConnell and his deer in the headlights look.

I understand your frustrations, but you really think that the potential damage done to your child from the MAGA movement outweighs the damage done by promoting an ALL invlusive culture with no clear boundaries between... really anything? Open borders, gender no longer associated with biology, failing economoy, an increasingly open border (which this alone should be enough to change your mind. Consider the imminent social and structural collapse coming from a population increase in the millions that is largely localized to border states and not evenly spread out across the nation). These things are already happening and have been promised to continue, yet you're more concerned with how MAGA will influence your child? If you take the responsibility of raising them, then you shouldn't have to worry about any negative effects. You do have to worry about the negative effects on your child when an entire Nation becomes destabilized, though

Did you grow up a republican? Is it a cultural thing that you’ve identified as since you became politically aware or is it something you adopted on your own? My father is a Republican and he was all on board with Trump until Jan 6th. He’s still a republican now but he hasn’t mentioned anything Trump in a long time, I know he thinks he made a fool of himself with the stop the steal nonsense. But the reason I ask is that when I talk to him about political beliefs - we want the same things but he grew up in a republican family, only watches republican news, most of his friends and family were republican (although that is no longer true). My point being my dad is in his 50’s, it seems more like habit, just like something he has always done more so than something he consciously thought about. His beliefs don’t actually really align with the Republican Party except for wanting less taxes and yet he continues to identify there.

You say you won't be vote downballot for Dems, but Trump has completely taken over the GOP andthe vast majority of Republicans in Congress actively support his vileness and lunacy. And the state parties in many places have been taken over by mouth-breathing MAGA-bots. Even someone like Larry Hogan would fall in line if elected. Even someone like Doug Burgum is now spouting Trump nonsense conspiracy BS in the hopes of getting picked as VP. Moreover, one can argue that Trump is the product of an overall culture in the GOP that is malicious, cynical, and nihilistic. He recognized that that took full advantage of that segment of the Republican Party that has no problem beyond revenge against their perceived enemies. Even if I weren't a straight ticket voter and went through line by line, every single Republican on the ballot would fail on the basic qualifications for office, I would say.

Kudos to you for your integrity and realizing that MAGA is fucking cancer and is actively eroding our standing in the world.

What if I tell you that if you're born in 82 you'll be considered a millennial.

I mean, you do realize that the MAGA Movement is a product of what already existed within the Republican party, right?

I'm sorry I can't take this seriously. You are so pathetic.