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I recently wrote a series of articles about my leaving the GOP and joining the Democratic Party. One of the articles became a viral post on social media. "44 Years a Republican, 1 Year an Independent, today I'm joining the Democratic Party" became a sort of anthem for many who have become disgusted with the GOP. You can read it by clicking here.

I became the focus of scorn from the far right. I was going to write about that scorn today, but an email sent to me by a woman from Texas changed my mind about that. A Tea Partier and a long time friend on social media. By a long time, I mean 8 years of at least weekly exchanges on social media.

She was not pleased by my decision. Our friendship is based on things other than politics so it will survive. In her note to me, she said one thing that stands out that needs to be addressed. She wrote to me the words, "Are you just disgusted with the direction the party has taken, or do you really want to be a Democrat?"

I really want to be a Democrat, and here is why.

The Democratic Party freely admits it is not perfect. There is no pretense they have all the answers. There is no masquerade that they are somehow Anointed by God. There are no illusions about them being infallible. There are a lot of things about this feet-of-clay mentality that permeates the party that is attractive to me.

It means my opinion counts just as much as the next person. There is no attitude that the ideology of the party is always right. In fact, there are competing ideologies within the party and that is OK. They may not agree but they listen to your point of view.

Those four points are major attractions to me. I grew weary of the onslaught of personal attacks if I dared question the Holiness or even the accuracy of the principle du jour of the GOP.

Democrats are welcoming of those who want to join and engage in a dialogue. In my viral post, there is a comments section. There were hundreds of replies by my new Democratic colleagues. I was told the Democratic Party doesn't welcome centrists and I would be back "where I belong." About that topic of not welcoming centrists. There were hundreds of posts to the article. Here is a sampling of how I would be "not welcomed."

"William Carr · Cassopolis, Michigan Elizabeth Warren was a Republican until she was forty. I think your odds of being accepted depend on your embrace of our values." "Tammy Olson · Milan, Illinois Those first six paragraphs seemed as if they were written by me! I can relate 100%." "Stacy Morgan Welcome to the Democratic Party! It's refreshing to see someone with the intelligence, integrity, and courage to put country loyalty before party loyalty."

There was only one Democrat out of hundreds of posts who didn't welcome me. There were zero in the more than 1000 emails I received from Democrats, welcoming me to the party.

I agree with the Democratic Party on Women's Health. Democrats are not "pro-abortion," as the GOP says. They are pro a woman making her own health decisions without interference from the state. If that means she feels she needs to have an abortion or take a morning after pill, it is her business and nobody else's business. It sure isn't my business since it is a decision I will never have to make. The view of abortion in the Democratic Party is if you are opposed to abortion, don't have one. If a woman is going to have an abortion, then it won't be in a back alley or with a coat hanger sitting in her bathtub.

I support funding for Planned Parenthood. They provide a lot more than abortion services for women and their health. I support the UN Agency that provides women's health services that President Trump pulled money from.

I support your right to believe abortion is wrong. That might seem odd at first reading but it isn't. One of the strong values of the Democratic Party is the expansion of our protections of the First Amendment. Historically the Democratic Party has stood to protect the First Amendment from those who would seek to usurp it with the same intensity as the GOP protects the Second Amendment. If the GOP can lay claim to ownership of the Second, then it is fair to give ownership of the First Amendment to the Democratic Party.

I support open trade. There are those in the Democratic Party who don't. They have and will debate me on the topic. From past experience debating with Democrats on this topic, they came to the discussion armed with facts as well as emotions. They didn't come name calling in an attempt to bring intimidation into the debate.

Who was it that got NAFTA passed in the Senate? Hint: it wasn't Bush, it was Bill Clinton and the Democrats in the Senate. They did it because it expanded markets and gave us a greater market power to stand up against an emerging unified Europe with cheap labor in Eastern Europe, and an emerging China with their cheap labor. It was not about exporting jobs which were going on anyway. It was about giving us greater market power. If we don't have regional trading blocs, China and Europe will bury us eventually.

This is why when people tell me the Democratic Party are socialists, I laugh at them. The Democrats believe in Markets and they believe in business. They also believe business should act in a responsible manner, and so do I.

The Democratic Party has two of the richest men in the world as our colleagues: Bill Gates and Warren Buffet. Think about that then tell me the Democratic Party are socialists and say it with a straight face.

The Democratic Party recognizes America's unique role in the World. The GOP likes to lay claim to American Exceptionalism and it is not justified. Donald Trump has abandoned the principle laid out so eloquently in John Kennedy's Inaugural Address:

I believed in those words as a young man and I believe them today. The Democrats care not only about our Nation, they care about the World and those who are oppressed.

The Democratic Party cares about the marginal members of our society. The GOP tries to pick this one apart because it is their Achilles Heel. They can't without being dishonest. Who else cares about Americans with Disabilities, who else cares that poor children don't go to bed hungry, who else cares that those who have big medical bills and not enough money to pay for medical care? The GOP will tell you that Jesus cares. He better care since the GOP doesn't care. Once a baby is born, deep concern for life evaporates with the GOP. There's an irony for you. The GOP cares about life until it arrives at birth. Then they no longer care.

I support the Democratic Party's position on LGBT and Marriage Equality. While the GOP tries to say they are about personal liberty and the Democratic Party is part of a nanny-state mindset, they sure spend a lot of time worrying about what people do in their bedrooms. It's none of my business how anyone else expresses their sexuality or who they love.

I had my troubles as a youth in school. Had it not been for two Gay teachers, I would have dropped out of school. Instead, I graduated from High School and College with honors. I have had a good life because they saw my potential and intervened. They have both passed on. They both had partners who they loved and were committed to. How could I not stand up for these men who had such a profound impact on my own life?

The Democratic Party supports the wall between church and state. Just like the founders who saw that when the Church is involved in governing bad things happen. Just like in the modern day where we see Nations that are run by the Clergy being totalitarian and cruel, the Democratic Party wants to protect religion by not making it part of the government. They know that shoving another's religious principles down the throats of the nation as a whole is wrong.

Those are a few of the reasons I am a Democrat. It has nothing to do with the party in Illinois or Cook County. It has nothing to do with the Tea Party or even the GOP.

I joined the Democratic Party because it has a soul. When it starts moving away from its own soul, it has the courage to look at itself and say, "What are we doing?"

I joined the Democratic Party because I had been born into the GOP and thought that is where I should be as part of a birthright. That is the wrong reason to belong to a party.

I joined the Democratic Party after four decades of being a Republican because I am a Democrat and proud to be a member of an imperfect Party that has a soul.

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