A Stitch in Haste

A blogbuddy of mine, PJS of NOW a Warning???, has written a response to my recent post in which I reiterate my view that it is now prima facie evidence of self-loathing for a gay to be an active Republican. In the spirit of open discussion, I am, with his consent, making it a guest-post of its own:

After trying to assemble an explanation that would fit in a single blog post, and failing, I took a step back and realized that my position is actually pretty simple.

The historic and core principles of the Republican Party, as I studied them in my (relatively recent) formative political years, ring true for me and are worth sticking around and fighting for. I don't believe in high-tailing it out of my own party just because Jerry Fallwell's bigger than me and "he says so."

Ideas are worth fighting for, and I am a rock-ribbed, Goldwaterian Reaganite. I was a Republican before I ever heard of Karl Rove, and I was a Republican before George W. Bush was elected President. (Incidentally, my parents were union Democrats.)

I'm not going to excuse myself entirely from the American political process by wandering into a third party that busies itself with pot legalization and pet ownership issues while the world hangs in the balance. (I refer to specific campaign points I've found when I've considered supporting local Libertarian candidates.)

A reasonable person could also ask me why not just be a "conservative Democrat", but when I look at core principles of collectivism vs. individualism, socialism vs. free markets, defense vs. appeasement, I'd rather remain a thorn in the side of my true political home.

Single issue voters suck.

Makes sense to me, except perhaps for the fact that today's Republican Party is not just "Jerry Falwell, Karl Rove and George W. Bush." The "Goldwaterian Reaganite" principles of the Republican Party of decades past — limited government, fiscal restraint, federalism as a division of responsible lawmaking rather than a duplication of irresponsible lawmaking, etc., are, quite frankly, dead — with no evidence, none whatsoever, that they are coming back any time soon. "Big-tent" Republicanism does not exist today, if it ever truly did.

As for gay Republicans in particular, how exactly are you going to effect change when you are so openly and unapologetically opposed, not just by the Red State Rednecks, but also by your own leadership? What, exactly, have the Log Cabin Republicans achieved in the past six or more years? By my scorecard, exactly zero. What message does staying in the party send except, "Yeah, sure, shit all over me — I don't mind. Just lower my taxes and try to fix Social Security. (And, while we're on the subject, we'll also overlook all that "No Child Left Behind" and "Medicare Part D" and "Gonzales v. Raich" and "Bridge to Nowhere" and "warrantless wiretapping" stuff.)."

Meanwhile, any regular reader of my blog knows that I feel disappointment at best, and mocking contempt at worst, of the Big-L Libertarian Party. So PJ and I are in total agreement there. But I would propose an alternative strategy to "The Republican Party is the least worst alternative..." — namely that "The best way to fight the two-party system is by not being a part of it..." Stated differently, what is so terrible about being an independent?

Many small-l libertarians, and disaffected Republicans, are finally starting to ask a question not posited for quite a while: Is the best strategy now simply to vote "gridlock for the sake of gridlock"? I haven't voted for a Democrat since Daniel Patrick Moynihan. Maybe that will change this November or in 2008 (unlikely given the Democrats who will be presented to me — people like Eliot Spitzer, Andrew Cuomo and, ugh, Hillary Clinton).

It's one thing to grab your ball and stomp off the playground in a huff. But when the playground has a stockade fence around it, and is populated by bullies, and is contaminated with toxic waste, isn't it time to think about finding a new playground — or just playing in your own backyard instead?

UPDATE: Welcome Republic of T. and DailyKos readers!