Dear Republicans and Republican Supporters,

There was once I a time I voted and supported the Republican party but at that time it was a party that was about being cautious with money and cautious with action.

It is not that anymore.

Blindly supporting a party because you feel you have to is not good.

After losing faith in the modern GOP I joined the Democratic Party – briefly – and in 2010 I left the Democratic Party because I could no longer support some of their actions, some of their silence, some of their faults. I left because I did not want to appear to endorse everything they do or say – because I don’t. I am me – an individual who finds himself in-between two parties – in the middle. So when I see one of the only two parties we’re suppose to choose from present a candidate like Romney who does not understand basic geography I am worried. When I’ve seen a party I use to care about, like the GOP, being denigrated into some sort of shallow tool – I get angry. You can think what you want of Obama but if you passionately defend people like Romney who seems to be uninformed about the world it does not speak well of your resolve, of the standards you are setting for your party.

Change it.

Don’t accept weak choices like Romney.

The Republican Party of my youth was one of giants. Men in ten gallon hats who ruled the country with passion and compassion. I miss Ronald Reagan. He reflected much of what I think is great about this country – a man of principle but a man who could find it within him to make tough choices like raising taxes and granting amnesty to illegal immigrants. He understood that the country was bigger and more valuable than any party.

Mitt Romney is no Ronald Reagan.

I also supported H.W. Bush and his son George W. Bush – I still support much of what they did though I disagreed with W’s decision to go back into Iraq which I think undermined our mission in Afghanistan and endangered our troops there in a manner that was not necessary. But when I see footage of W. I am flabbergasted at how superior he was to Mitt Romney. W. could look someone in the eye and understand what they were going through. I don’t see that skill in Mitt Romney.

Chris Christie this week showed us all what bipartisanship use to look like. But the Republican party did not run Chris Christie this year – instead they gave you Mitt Romney – a man who did not even know that Iran had two passages to the sea and that it didn’t border Syria. He lacks a fundamental understanding of the modern world and he is beneath the standards that Ronald Reagan set for the party.

All of you need to ask yourself though one question – why didn’t Chris Christie run this year?

I think his actions this week answer that question – because Chris Christie, despite his campaign stumping for Romney, does not dislike the work President Obama has been doing. Chris Christie was smart to sit this one out – perhaps he saw the economy improving as people like myself rejoined the workforce after being unemployed – perhaps he understands that Democracy is messy when it is young as it is in the Middle East – perhaps he was unwilling to compromise his own voice, his own values, to attack a man he finds little fault with. You see I think Chris Christie might be the real deal and the only hope of the Republican party.

Allow Chris Christie to set the example for your party.

I support Barack Obama but I also supported Reagan and the Bush family because a party does not define me nor should a party define this country or your vote.

Next week – vote – but don’t vote for Mitt Romney – he is an embarrassment to the Republican Party. Have a higher standard. Learn from Christie. We are American first – always – we are not each others enemies. We are each others friends.

All the best

David P. Kronmiller – Editor in Chief – The Middle Nation