GOProud founder: Party 'brain dead'

GOProud co-founder Jimmy LaSalvia announced last week that he would renounce his affiliation with the Republican Party and become an independent nearly five years after he founded the group aimed at gay conservatives.

“I just came to the realization that the Republican Party doesn’t represent my principles and values,” LaSalvia told POLITICO. “I’m a small government conservative and they’re for big government. They’re happy to have big government as long as they’re in charge, More importantly, I don’t tolerate bigotry of any kind, whether it’s anti-gay bigotry, anti-Muslim bigotry. And they do and that’s just not OK with me.”


Although LaSalvia has spent the time since co-founding GOProud in 2009 working within the Republican Party to focus on the issues he cares most passionately about, he says he’s given up hope.

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“I think there’s a cultural problem within the Republican Party that’s beyond fixing. I think the leadership of the Republican Party is so out of touch with life in America today that I just decided that it’s not worth fixing. I don’t think they can win a national election again. Pull the plug on the patient, the party’s brain dead.”

For LaSalvia, the eye-opening moment came during Mitt Romney’s presidential run in 2012.

“He was so paralyzed by fear of retribution from the forces of intolerance that he couldn’t do what he needed to do to reach out,” said LaSalvia. “He admitted himself that they wrote off 47 percent of the country.”

Democrats shouldn’t get giddy at the prospect of winning a former Republican to their side; LaSalvia says he thinks “the left wing of the Democratic Party is out of touch too” and says President Barack Obama “has shown no ability to be a competent president, in my opinion.”

LaSalvia says he’s unsure of exactly what’s next for him (he left GOProud six months ago), but hopes to remain involved in making U.S. politics more inclusive of all Americans.

“They’re not going to listen to you if they think that you hate their family and friends. And you cannot change that unless you’re willing to stand up and tell the people in your party who aren’t inclusive that they’re wrong.”