Kevin Nicholson is running for Senate, as a Republican from Wisconsin.  His parents are so staunchly Democrat, they donated to his democratic opponent, rather than their own son. This is no slouch son. This man is a decorated Marine Corp veteran who served this country in Afghanistan and Iraq. He has two degrees, one is a Master of Public Administration and one is a Master of Business Administration. He works now as a business consultant.
Mr Nicholson wrote an article about how he came to his life choice to leave the Democratic Party and become a Republican.
His story moved me. His thoughts mirror my own, that the Democratic Party is the party of intolerance and to say differently is false. It is not a party that advances the ideals of people becoming successful. It is “the party of closed doors and open borders.  It is the party of judgement. It is the party of identity politics.”
He believes that if people truly think about why they are a democrat and what they believe in, you can’t help but see the hypocrisy in a party that encourages dependency and discourages opportunity for everyone.
The Republican Party has its problems. But the Republican and conservative Americans are the more inclusive party, the party that seeks to defend America and protect its rule of law, its constitution and its heritage. The Republicans fight to preserve human life, preserve religion, and financial success, independence and opportunity for everyone, no matter the politics. They seek to uplift all Americans economically, not make them dependent on welfare and handouts, but to promote the rewards of hard work and family and self-esteem and self-reliance.
Mr Nicholson says that his becoming a Republican was a fully deliberate decision based on his life experience that left him no option. He points out that the old dog republicans are less than welcoming to those “new” Republicans, as though if they were not conservative their entire life, it does not count as much.
To me, it counts more. There is nothing like the school of life to teach us the lessons we need to learn. Mr Nicholson learned, took stock of what he saw, and made a change.
I am not sure who started the #WalkAway movement, but it is gaining steam. Maybe we are tired of the status quo. Maybe we are tired of the vitriol. Maybe we want to really take a look at what each party stands for in theory and in practice with fresh eyes, unclouded by what others think we should do.
We are human beings with one life to live, a choice between surviving on the dole of some government, or forging our own successes to live the life we choose to live, to worship the way we choose to worship, to protect our homeland and our families, to reap that which we sow. Yes, we are a global community, but life really comes down to each of us and our own families, relationships, job, religion. Most of us live small lives, not movie star lives, and we thrive on the small pleasures and the time with friends and family, and a job we love, and our personal relationship with our God, and the self-fulfillment of creating our own successes and fixing our own failures.
Although the Republican Party has their problems, and their “traitors”, and they need to update themselves, they are not the party of hatred that we see now sowing seeds everywhere. We do need to embrace everyone that chooses to join the party and strive to help people understand the values that we as Republicans and conservatives share. If Americans take a moment to open their minds and do the soul searching that Mr. Nicholson did, to really look at who values America, who does not want to give it away, make us dependent, stifle our opportunities, crush our rules of law, allow unfettered immigration and crime and remove the incentives for Americans to excel in life and reach their own highest potentials, the decision would most likely be the same as Mr Nicholson’s.
Image: (Photo: Scott Bauer, Associated Press)