Yesterday I resigned my position in the York Township Republican Committeemen’s Organization

[kpete]

Posted on July 22, 2016 by goplifer
Below is the letter I sent to the chairman explaining my decision.

***********

Chairman Cuzzone:

We come together in political parties to magnify our influence. An organized representative institution can give weight to our will in ways we could not accomplish on our own. Working with others gives us power, but at the cost of constant, calculated compromise. No two people will agree on everything. There is no moral purity in politics.

If compromise is the key to healthy politics, how does one respond when compromise descends into complicity? To preserve a sense of our personal moral accountability we must each define boundaries. For those boundaries to have meaning we must have the courage to protect them, even when the cost is high.

Almost thirty years ago as a teenager in Texas, I attended my first county Republican convention. As a college student I met a young Rick Perry, fresh from his conversion to the GOP, as he was launching his first campaign for statewide office. Through Associated Republicans of Texas I contributed and volunteered for business-friendly Republican state and local candidates.

Here in DuPage County I’ve been a precinct committeeman since 2006. Door to door I’ve canvased my precinct in support of our candidates. Trudging through snow, using a drill to break the frozen ground, I posted signs for candidates on whom I pinned my hopes for better government. Among Illinois Republicans I found an organization that seemed to embody my hopes for the party nationally. Pragmatic, sensible, and focused on solid government, it seemed like a GOP Jurassic Park, where the sensible, reliable Republicans of old still roamed the landscape.

At the national level, the delusions necessary to sustain our Cold War coalition were becoming dangerous long before Donald Trump arrived. From tax policy to climate change, we have found ourselves less at odds with philosophical rivals than with the fundamentals of math, science and objective reality.

The Iraq War, the financial meltdown, the utter failure of supply-side theory, climate denial, and our strange pursuit of theocratic legislation have all been troubling. Yet it seemed that America’s party of commerce, trade, and pragmatism might still have time to sober up. Remaining engaged in the party implied a contribution to that renaissance, an investment in hope. Donald Trump has put an end to that hope.

From his fairy-tale wall to his schoolyard bullying and his flirtation with violent racists, Donald Trump offers America a singular narrative – a tale of cowards. Fearful people, convinced of our inadequacy, trembling before a world alight with imaginary threats, crave a demagogue. Neither party has ever elevated to this level a more toxic figure, one that calls forth the darkest elements of our national character.

With three decades invested in the Republican Party, there is a powerful temptation to shrug and soldier on. Despite the bold rhetoric, we all know Trump will lose. Why throw away a great personal investment over one bad nominee? Trump is not merely a poor candidate, but an indictment of our character. Preserving a party is not a morally defensible goal if that party has lost its legitimacy.

Watching Ronald Reagan as a boy, I recall how bold it was for him to declare ‘morning again’ in America. In a country menaced by Communism and burdened by a struggling economy, the audacity of Reagan’s optimism inspired a generation.

Fast-forward to our present leadership and the nature of our dilemma is clear. I watched Paul Ryan speak at Donald Trump’s convention the way a young child watches his father march off to prison. Thousands of Republican figures that loathe Donald Trump, understand the danger he represents, and privately hope he loses, are publicly declaring their support for him. In Illinois our local and state GOP organizations, faced with a choice, have decided on complicity.

Our leaders’ compromise preserves their personal capital at our collective cost. Their refusal to dissent robs all Republicans of moral cover. Evasion and cowardice has prevailed over conscience. We are now, and shall indefinitely remain, the Party of Donald Trump.

I will not contribute my name, my work, or my character to an utterly indefensible cause. No sensible adult demands moral purity from a political party, but conscience is meaningless without constraints. A party willing to lend its collective capital to Donald Trump has entered a compromise beyond any credible threshold of legitimacy. There is no redemption in being one of the “good Nazis.”

I hereby resign my position as a York Township Republican committeeman. My thirty-year tenure as a Republican is over.

Sincerely,

Chris Ladd


https://goplifer.com/2016/07/22/resignation-letter/

[chillfactor]

1. very powerful....

there some sane people in the republican party that recognize the threat trump is to this country's well-being. Bless this man who obviously has a conscience.

[riversedge]

2. Good for him.Thanks for post

[malthaussen]

3. Good letter.

One can only wonder how one so apparently sane (and who can actually spell and use complete sentences) could buy the fantasies Ronald Reagan was selling. "Inspired a generation," forsooth?

-- Mal

[Ellen Forradalom]

12. He must've been young then.

If he was thirty years a Republican, I'm guessing he was high-school or college age then.

[malthaussen]

15. I was young then.

I spent the night after Reagan's election throwing up.

-- Mal

[Ellen Forradalom]

18. I was under the voting age then

And was super pissed I couldn't vote against him.

But that wasn't a universally shared attitude in our generation.

[Euphoria]

20. +1

[zipplewrath]

4. Took Long enough.

At the national level, the delusions necessary to sustain our Cold War coalition were becoming dangerous long before Donald Trump arrived. From tax policy to climate change, we have found ourselves less at odds with philosophical rivals than with the fundamentals of math, science and objective reality.

The Iraq War, the financial meltdown, the utter failure of supply-side theory, climate denial, and our strange pursuit of theocratic legislation have all been troubling. Yet it seemed that America’s party of commerce, trade, and pragmatism might still have time to sober up. Remaining engaged in the party implied a contribution to that renaissance, an investment in hope.

The strange part about this is all the things he saw wrong with the GOP but stuck around. But Trump was somehow the last straw. Trump is merely the total embodiment of what the GOP has been doing for a good 30 years. He's merely their "perfection" of it. The entire time he's been a republican, they have been what he now says is too much.

[hibbing]

5. yeah...he probably voted for w twice

Oh well, if it was someone with a little more "tact" that was basically saying the same things, I have a feeling everything would be peachy keen.

Peace

[murielm99]

6. I get it.

How many time does it take for an abuser to leave her abusive spouse? How many never take that step? How many tries does it take for someone to quit smoking, or how many stays in rehab to quit drugs?

Before Gingrich, I would never have considered compared Republicans to anything this toxic. I still have Republican friends. I live in a red area.

These things have been building over time. It takes a while for someone to see that his or her entire way of thinking has become toxic to him and the rest of society. Give him credit for making a change. Give him time. This person will need to heal, and blaming him is not a good idea.

[Hekate]

8. +1

[Ellen Forradalom]

13. ++1

[Cosmocat]

25. That dogma is a virus that is fatal 90% of the time

seriously, I know a LOT of really, really good people who are full on kool aid drinking republicans, it is like some disconnect that to this day I just can't figure out.

So, yeah, anyone who sees the light is welcome.

[skepticscott]

29. if you don't want to blame him, fine

But let's not gush over him, either. Not until he's undone all the damage his 30 year support for the Republican Party has wrought. Never, ever forget that he and people like him are complicit in all the shit the GOP has done and continues to do to this day.

[malthaussen]

16. Be fair.

The guy is obviously a romantic. Romantics always believe "this time" will be different.

He was hoping for another white knight to come riding in on a horse and save the party and the nation, but now he sees that ain't gonna happen. At least he's not delusional enough to think that Mr Trump is that white knight.

-- Mal

[Island Deac]

7. Pain.....

When the pain of staying the same becomes greater than the pain of change, you'll change.

[Hekate]

9. That is a powerful testament of conscience

[63splitwindow]

10. Thank you Mr. Ladd. We can hope that many feel as you do. K & R

[catbyte]

11. Wow. This must be very painful times for Republicans like this gentleman, the ones who still have a

conscience. It must be very difficult for him to acknowledge that the decades of time, energy, money, and support he gave to them have culminated in the clusterfuck that is Donald Trump. Although, it is somewhat ironic when he invokes the ghost of Ronald Reagan. I know he will never admit this, but the Reagan Administration started us on our sleigh ride to hell. He began the income inequality we see today, the destruction of the middle class, demonization of unions, and, perhaps worst of all, kowtowed to the Religious Right by pandering to the likes of Jerry Falwell and the Moral Majority. Before Reagan, they were nothing but right wing nutjobs. Now they have infected every office from Mayor to Senator.

We must everything we can to stop Republicans in every office--local, state, and national. We must cut out the cancer now.

[skepticscott]

30. A conscience? Sorry, I don't see much of one

Not when you consider all of the horrible, hateful, bigoted, destructive shit the Republicans have done over the past 35 years, shit that this guys and millions of people like him supported, enabled, and cheered on.

[jalan48]

14. It's good to see people standing up for what they believe in.

[cloudbase]

17. This snippet should invite a little self-reflection for us:

". . .we have found ourselves less at odds with philosophical rivals. . ."

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. "There is no redemption in being one of the good Nazis". . . . nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

21. Duplicate (smaller thread) on DU

at http://www.democraticunderground.com/10028038563

[Major Nikon]

22. Saint Ronnie ushered in the GOP age of demagoguery and sloganeering

Trump is just the one who happens to be carrying the baton at the moment. If anything Trump is more Reaganesque than most of his contemporaries.

[MarkEzra]

23. Hold Our Heads Up High

I am genuinely sorry for you and your party. The basic argument between democrats and republicans was what "Provide for the common welfare" should entail. That discussion hasn't been allowed for decades. I was an independent voting for democrats until the impeachment of President Clinton. That forced me to take a clear political stand. I changed my affiliation to democrat. I have felt at war with the republican party--although not individual members I have met and broke bread with. I wish you well and pray a new day for political discourse may arise.

PS This is my first ever post on any political website

[Will Morningstar]

24. Fellow First-Timer

As Democrats we believe in the institution of government, the power of government, the goodness of government, and the necessity of government to protect the weak against the strong. Why? Because if we don't do it, who will? How? By reaching out to thoughtful conservatives, and participating in the marketplace of ideas, we show our respect for the electorate. Only by initiating this type of dialogue in plain sight can we restore people's faith in government.

[Cosmocat]

26. Yeah

I still remember the 90s like it was yesterday as a young adult.

I just did not get the vitriolic hatred of Clinton, a fairly likeable guy who was doing a good job.

At the same time, back then, they tried to put some veneer of intellectualism to what they were doing.

It was bullshit, but they tried to justify it.

I knew Bush II was going to be bad, but he was even worse than I thought.

And, my hot point was how, because I knew Iraq was going to be a disaster, that I was classified as one of those "siding with the enemy" because I opposed it.

They dropped the veneer of trying to put an intellectual rationalization for things and just bullied their way around with the, " you don't question the CIC with troops on the field!"

That of course was never again repeated once BHO took office, and having lost their edge in trying to bullshit their way through things, they regressed to just getting up in the morning and screaming about whatever was going on, blaming it on BHO.

NOW, with trump, they somehow have devolved even further, to out and out hatred and division.

Welcome to DU. I don't hold out even the first hope at this point of the "new day" but it is always good to have fresh voices here.

[Will Morningstar]

27. Welcome to Mount Everest.

I hope you enjoy the climb. We now have two jobs. To make government work, and, even more important, to convince people that government is still a good idea. We do this by meeting all comers on the battleground of ideas. We may have lost faith. We may have lost hope. But who wouldn't want to believe in America again? People are wise. Give us a reason and we will not disappoint you. We will give you our trust again.

[skepticscott]

31. No, people are not wise

the evidence is all around you. People are stupid, shallow and self-interested. They vote for politicians who tell them what they want to hear, not what they need to hear.

[Will Morningstar]

33. My dear friend, I can't say you're wrong, but...

the stupid, shallow and self-interested bullies who rouse the rabble to whom you refer, and the not-so-innocent bystanders who let them get away with it, are the true villains of the piece. Yes, people do behave as you say, but only if we lack the wit and the determination to stand up to the forces of darkness.

Wasn't Justin Trudeau able to beat them back north of the border? Justin appealed to people's better natures, and they responded in droves. Harper and Mulcair thought they had him like the meat in a sandwich. Where are they now?

[Akamai]

34. Listen to Thom Hartmann on a regular basis and you will

learn a lot about our country's progressive history --hint: we were founded on progressivism.

Learn about the stupidity of TPP, Trickle Down Economics, hear Jimmy Carter say we live now in an oligarchy.

I pay for Thom's podcast and listen to it pretty much every day. Some of his views I don't adhere to absolutely (e.g., on GMOs, or at least my interpretation of his views --although he is far more nuanced than I am and when he is wrong, he publicly states loudly).

I truly believe Thom is like a sieve who soaks up data on important matters, can't help speaking the truth, especially informed by what he has learned, and we are better off for it.

If everyone listened to Thom, the country would be far better off informed.

Thom had brunch with Bernie for 11 years and let us participate, supports Hillary completely, and I trust Thom for incredibly insightful views about politics, economics, climate change and carbon taxes and externalities, banking regulations, trade (and the TPP), progressive taxation, Citizens United, etc.

You want to learn about the important factors impacting our country then listen to Thom. Senator Al Franken was there yesterday with a wonderful give and take.

Go Thom! Go Hillary! Go Bernie's ideas!!

[Will Morningstar]

36. Thom Hartmann? Any friend of Al Franken is a friend of mine.

Once upon a Saturday night, the children of America gathered around the television and drew hope from despair, laughter from misery, and banished the darkness from their hearts, due solely to the efforts of an unknown, ill-paid, unloved staff writer who labored in obscurity until the day he found, quite by accident, the Al Franken Sense of Humor.

We were all so young then. We were all so beautiful. We knew we would live forever, and we knew in our hearts we would change the world. For one brief shining moment all things were possible, until somewhere on the road to Washington the Al Franken Sense of Humor was lost, and along with it the hopes, the dreams, the aspirations and the will for change of the children of America. Our best days behind us, we wasted our lives in cheap thrills and dissipation, as our dreams slipped away in the face of a world which would never change.

Oh, sorry. For a minute there I thought I was writing for Trump. But don't you see the power of humor? Marshall McLuhan once said, "Humour is a weapon. Laughter is a cannon."

Okay, everybody. Gather 'round. Group hug. Let's all channel our inner Al Franken. What would Johnny Carson have given for material like these clowns are giving us?

And a shoutout to skepticscott: People only behave the way you describe when they've been told they don't matter so often they come to believe it. If they call me a horse thief ten thousand times, that's nothing compared to what they've heard about Hillary for the past twenty-five years.

[Cosmocat]

40. Definitely

I like Hartman a lot, smart, easy to listen to.

[chknltl]

46. +1, Thom Hartmann rocks! nt

[BainsBane]

28. Welcome to DU!

[Rhiannon12866]

37. Welcome to DU!

And this is a post from a political blog, rather than the poster's personal experience. We're also all Democrats here and we're glad to have you with us! When I first signed up back in 2003, I'd never posted on any political website, either, and I've learned more than I can say over the years. The people here are incredibly plugged in to what's going on in this country - and the world...

[longship]

39. Welcome to DU!

[Akamai]

32. I sure agree with your recognizing how terrible Trump is for

the country.

But where were you about voter suppression? About suppressing women's health? (You trust your mom?) About climate change? Birtherism? Enabling trickle down economics? Citizens United? The absolute control by the NRA?

Please say that you have turned to the good side, the informed side, on these issues too.

Good first step!

[charlyvi]

35. Yorkville was in Hastert's old district.

So nominating Trump was probably just the straw that broke the proverbial camel's back.

[Grey Lemercier]

38. From his fairy-tale wall to his schoolyard bullying and his flirtation with violent racists, Donald

Trump offers America a singular narrative – a tale of cowards.

[RBInMaine]

41. Have this guy speak at the Democratic National Convention. :-)

[Will Morningstar]

42. RBIInMaine has hit a home run!

Yes, by all means have Committeeman Chris Ladd speak, softly and from the heart, perhaps early in the evening of the Vice-Presidential speech. This must be handled with great sensitivity, to express a sense of shared sorrow at what we, together, Democrats and Republicans, stand to lose, and not for our own personal gain. Nothing must be offered to him but compassion, the hand of friendship, and sincere understanding that we're all in this together, and unless we all hang together, we can all hang separately. (Yes, Melania, I wrote this. Honest.)

[heaven05]

43. just because he resigned means nothing

except, MAYBE one vote. He is still part of the racist, anti-everything good and decent that a lot of americans still are, maybe. We'll see in November.

I think the corporatists and bankers might just want a Trump. War means more profit. Division of races will keep our minds on the violence and chaos while they continue to rape the planet and us in the name of their New World Orde and almighty profit.

[Will Morningstar]

45. With respect, heaven05 (and thank you for your service), I disagree.

Don't you realize what this courageous man has given up? As for what you feel he is "still part of", I doubt he'll be eating lunch at the York Township Racist Anti-Everything Club anytime soon; I doubt he'll be eating lunch ever again in the tri-state area.

[heaven05]

48. okay

Now all that counts is the political demise of the trumpchumps and his minions. I am impressed with KAINE. I do appreciate your salutation.

[RapSoDee]

44. Republican cowardice: "Donald Trump offers America a singular narrative – a tale of cowards. "

Make careful note of the long and deeply troubling Republican track record of falling to their knees for Chickenhawk "leaders." Now they are doing it again.

C. Ladd: "...Donald Trump offers America a singular narrative – a tale of cowards. Fearful people, convinced of our inadequacy, trembling before a world alight with imaginary threats, crave a demagogue.

Neither party has ever elevated to this level a more toxic figure, one that calls forth the darkest elements of our national character.>>>

[judesedit]

47. Great find kpete & thank you Mr Ladd for standing up against the worst scourge to hit this country

Thanks for posting. It's hard to believe how much most repugs are like sheep. They will literally walk off the cliff if told to do so. So pathetic and scary it sends chills up my spine.