The Pink Elephant has asked that I talk more about my years in the GOP. I covered this topic briefly in “My Closet Years – Part Five,” but for Pink’s benefit I will describe it in more detail. I joined the GOP originally because of public school education issues. All three of my children were identified as academically gifted and experienced recurring issues of not being adequately challenged in school. I believe in public education and find that generally in systems where the quality of the schools has gone down, it is usually because those parents who could most make a difference have abandoned public education either to seek a better education for their children, or – in my experience – for status reasons and/or to social climb through their children. For many of my former law partners in Virginia Beach law firms, I truly believe the motivation was the latter.
In Virginia Beach and most of Virginia, the affiliates of the National Education Association (“NEA”) are closely allied with the Democrat Party. As the father of three academically gifted children, what gifted education differentiation that did exist was not adequate, especially for my son who, unlike his sisters, has never been “a teacher pleaser” even though he is highly intelligent (he attended a gifted “pullout program” two days a week and was still able to have straight A’s at his home elementary school with no discernible effort). The main opponent for the expansion of gifted education services at the time was the local NEA affiliate. Since the local Democrats did not want to antagonize the NEA affiliate whose members overwhelmingly supported them at the polls, the GOP was the natural place to find a home in Virginia Beach if one was pushing for more rigorous education standards, fiscal responsibility in the school division, etc.
As part of my push to improve the academics in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, I ran for school board in May, 1994. Since I wanted change, more teacher accountability, and would not be easily led by the desires of the Virginia Beach NEA affiliate (“VBEA”), I was perceived as an enemy by the VBEA. As the campaign progressed, I was repeatedly represented to be part of the “Religious Right” by the VBEA and made to feel almost like a criminal. Moreover, NEA affiliates from 17 other states (including the Juneau, Alaska affiliate) sent money to the VBEA to influence the 1994 school board elections in Virginia Beach. The local NEA affiliate had needed an enemy and eminent danger to raise funds and I and several others who were candidates for other seats on the school board unknowingly furnished them with an enemy. Later Forbes Magazine did an unflattering article on the NEA and referenced what had gone on in the Virginia Beach election.
I narrowly lost to my VBEA backed opponent who subsequently (A) was found to have a bogus PhD, and (B) was convicted of soliciting bribes from contractors working with the school division, and removed from office. All of this left a very bad taste in my mouth and things were so bad at our local elementary school that we transferred my two younger children to a different public elementary school that was less VBEA dominated. Having gone to a number of politic events during the election campaign and come to know a number of Virginia Beach Republican officials, I was sought membership on and was elected to the City Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach and served on the City Committee and as a precinct captain for a number of years. I also incorporated the Republican Party of Virginia Beach, Inc., and served as the local Party's registered agent for several years.
One year I was awarded a certificate of merit by the City Committee. Another year, I received The Patrick Henry Award by order of Governor James Gilmore for my active support of good government in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2000, I was appointed by Governor Gilmore – a former law school classmate – to the Virginia College Building Authority, the bond issuing authority raising funds for Virginia’s public colleges and universities for a four year term. My last hurrah, so to speak was working on Mark Earley’s campaign for Governor and serving as co-chair for his campaign in Virginia Beach. Mark was one of my law partners and seemed a genuine supporter of Thomas Jefferson’s ideals of good government. He lost to Mark Warner and subsequently went to work for Chuck Colson of Watergate fame where, in my opinion, he must have received a “Stepford Wife” treatment and ceased to be the man I had known and respected. We disagree vehemently on the Christianist anti-gay agenda.
By this point in time, the GOP was becoming more and more controlled by the far right Christianists. A "coup" of sorts deposed the moderate chairwoman of the Virginia Beach party and the national Party continued to drift to the far right. Ultimately, I resigned from the City Committee, citing in particular my inability to agree with the mixing of religion and the Party’s legislative agenda that supported one religious view to the exclusion of all others. In short, the Party was, in my view, subverting the right to freedom of religion. Like myself, many of the moderates that were on City Committee with me have since resigned and a number have migrated to the Libertarian Party. When word of my coming out of the closet trickled back to GOP circles, I am told a lot of smearing of my name occurred in respect to “my life style choice” by some of the fundies in the Virginia Beach Party. Meanwhile, some of the Norfolk Democrat establishment embraced me. Thereafter, I more or less ceased any involvement with the GOP except for voicing concerns over the increasingly homophobic agenda of the Virginia GOP.
In Virginia Beach and most of Virginia, the affiliates of the National Education Association (“NEA”) are closely allied with the Democrat Party. As the father of three academically gifted children, what gifted education differentiation that did exist was not adequate, especially for my son who, unlike his sisters, has never been “a teacher pleaser” even though he is highly intelligent (he attended a gifted “pullout program” two days a week and was still able to have straight A’s at his home elementary school with no discernible effort). The main opponent for the expansion of gifted education services at the time was the local NEA affiliate. Since the local Democrats did not want to antagonize the NEA affiliate whose members overwhelmingly supported them at the polls, the GOP was the natural place to find a home in Virginia Beach if one was pushing for more rigorous education standards, fiscal responsibility in the school division, etc.
As part of my push to improve the academics in the Virginia Beach City Public Schools, I ran for school board in May, 1994. Since I wanted change, more teacher accountability, and would not be easily led by the desires of the Virginia Beach NEA affiliate (“VBEA”), I was perceived as an enemy by the VBEA. As the campaign progressed, I was repeatedly represented to be part of the “Religious Right” by the VBEA and made to feel almost like a criminal. Moreover, NEA affiliates from 17 other states (including the Juneau, Alaska affiliate) sent money to the VBEA to influence the 1994 school board elections in Virginia Beach. The local NEA affiliate had needed an enemy and eminent danger to raise funds and I and several others who were candidates for other seats on the school board unknowingly furnished them with an enemy. Later Forbes Magazine did an unflattering article on the NEA and referenced what had gone on in the Virginia Beach election.
I narrowly lost to my VBEA backed opponent who subsequently (A) was found to have a bogus PhD, and (B) was convicted of soliciting bribes from contractors working with the school division, and removed from office. All of this left a very bad taste in my mouth and things were so bad at our local elementary school that we transferred my two younger children to a different public elementary school that was less VBEA dominated. Having gone to a number of politic events during the election campaign and come to know a number of Virginia Beach Republican officials, I was sought membership on and was elected to the City Committee of the Republican Party of Virginia Beach and served on the City Committee and as a precinct captain for a number of years. I also incorporated the Republican Party of Virginia Beach, Inc., and served as the local Party's registered agent for several years.
One year I was awarded a certificate of merit by the City Committee. Another year, I received The Patrick Henry Award by order of Governor James Gilmore for my active support of good government in the Commonwealth of Virginia. In 2000, I was appointed by Governor Gilmore – a former law school classmate – to the Virginia College Building Authority, the bond issuing authority raising funds for Virginia’s public colleges and universities for a four year term. My last hurrah, so to speak was working on Mark Earley’s campaign for Governor and serving as co-chair for his campaign in Virginia Beach. Mark was one of my law partners and seemed a genuine supporter of Thomas Jefferson’s ideals of good government. He lost to Mark Warner and subsequently went to work for Chuck Colson of Watergate fame where, in my opinion, he must have received a “Stepford Wife” treatment and ceased to be the man I had known and respected. We disagree vehemently on the Christianist anti-gay agenda.
By this point in time, the GOP was becoming more and more controlled by the far right Christianists. A "coup" of sorts deposed the moderate chairwoman of the Virginia Beach party and the national Party continued to drift to the far right. Ultimately, I resigned from the City Committee, citing in particular my inability to agree with the mixing of religion and the Party’s legislative agenda that supported one religious view to the exclusion of all others. In short, the Party was, in my view, subverting the right to freedom of religion. Like myself, many of the moderates that were on City Committee with me have since resigned and a number have migrated to the Libertarian Party. When word of my coming out of the closet trickled back to GOP circles, I am told a lot of smearing of my name occurred in respect to “my life style choice” by some of the fundies in the Virginia Beach Party. Meanwhile, some of the Norfolk Democrat establishment embraced me. Thereafter, I more or less ceased any involvement with the GOP except for voicing concerns over the increasingly homophobic agenda of the Virginia GOP.
In January, 2004, as more anti-gay legislation, I advised the Virginia Beach delegation to the Virginia General Assembly that they were playing with fire inasmuch as it was no secret in portions of the local gay community that GOP Congressman Ed Schrock had a “secret life” that might be exposed by angry activists. The response to me was one of silence and/or nasty messages. Eventually, Schrock was “outed” by Mike Rodgers at BlogActive and Schrock dropped his re-election bid and was replaced by Thelma Drake, Virginia Beach’s current GOP representative in Congress. Other than Thelma, none of the Virginia Beach delegation has ever apologized for not believing me.
I cannot see myself (or any of my extended family that once supported the GOP) returning to the GOP any time soon. Hopefully, a major election defeat in 2008 will convince what’s left of the moderate GOP I once knew to throw the Christianists off the bus and drive them back into the wilderness where they belong. Hopefully, Pink agrees with at least some of my assessment of the current GOP.
I cannot see myself (or any of my extended family that once supported the GOP) returning to the GOP any time soon. Hopefully, a major election defeat in 2008 will convince what’s left of the moderate GOP I once knew to throw the Christianists off the bus and drive them back into the wilderness where they belong. Hopefully, Pink agrees with at least some of my assessment of the current GOP.
2 comments:
Thanks! And I do agree with you about the problem with the GOP in the 2000s. Luckily my involvement with the Party has been of the high school summer volunteer variety, and so I never had even a whiff of the prominence that would now subject me to the horrible treatment you endured. Perhaps part of the reason I am still a member is that it never got personal to me.
And chafe as I do at the current state of the party, I can't bring myself to leave entirely. First off, I disagree with the Democrats on enough issues that switching affiliations would leave me just as chafed. And as much as I like the libertarians, I might as well start my own party. Furthermore, I really don't think outside pressure is going to every have an effect. Even a bad defeat will be construed a "blip," and with almost all conservatives hating Bush's immigration crusade, there is an easy scapegoat. Finally, call me naive or optimistic, but I meet many Republicans, especially younger ones, who with a little bit of dialog turn out to be rather reasonable.
PS. I was alive when Reagan was in office--indeed, I remember (barely) the Challenger tragedy.
I understand the argument of creating change from inside the Party. Unfortunately, most of my friends who urged me not to leave the Party and work from inside have now given up themselves and resigned.
Immigration is a significant issue and obviously Bush could be scapegoated on that. However,
that does not take away the issue of the Iraq disaster, the growing dissatisfaction of moderates with the GOP obsession with the "culture war," or the middle class concern over health care cost which are sky rocketing -many families are looking at monthly heath care insurance premium costs that equal or exceed their mortgage payments.
Moreover, those most obsessed with immigration issue from what I have seen are the extreme right and the Christianist element of the GOP, who tend to make immigration a racial issue. If you don't believe me, check out some of the major "Christian" organizations and see how they talk about immigrants. White Protestants would not be treated this way.
All of these factors convince me that only a significant electoral defeat in 2008 will force the GOP to redirect its priorities away from the Christianists' obsessions to regain the support of moderates and independents.
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