Yasser F. Sanchez

opinion contributor

I’ve always looked at the presidency as an office that should inspire trust, honor, goodness and respect.

But President Donald Trump has changed the Republican Party to one that embraces nativism and nationalism. I can no longer be part of it. I’ve had it with Trump’s fiscal irresponsibility, and his attacks on immigrants and any else who disagrees with him.

The GOP was supposed to be the party of fiscal responsibility, the one that could reach across party lines to work on balanced budgets.

Instead, we're now promoting a budget that will add $2 trillion to the national debt. We pushed through tax cuts that were not deficit neutral.

Yet conservative voices kept quiet.

Why I'm finally leaving the GOP

The partisan response to the mass shootings in Dayton, Ohio, Gilroy, Calif., and El Paso, Texas, took a toll on me. The party’s response was the typical talking points based on ideology and ties to gun groups.

I've been a registered Republican since 2000. Yet I can no longer support a party that cannot come to the table with real solutions for America.

We must move forward, call out special interests and the inspiration that Trump has given white supremacist groups. They like his talking points on how immigrants are invading our nation and bringing diseases and drugs with them.

This sickens me.

Immigrants are the backbone of our nation and their labor, entrepreneurial spirit, quest for freedom and appreciation for our nation truly make America great.

Few Republicans have challenged Trump. Former Sens. Jeff Flake and Bob Corker did, but they faced the might of the Republican base and now are out of government.

Trump happened to my party

As a young immigrant from Mexico, I have fond memories of how President Reagan and Bush Senior respected my people. They often spoke of how immigrants strengthened our nation. These men were not perfect, but I knew they did not hate Mexicans or immigrants.

They embraced us.

Fast forward to June 2015, when Donald J. Trump – a self-promoting reality TV star and known womanizer – announced his presidential bid, promising to put an end to the rampant invasion of undocumented immigrants.

He promised to build a massive wall and that Mexico would pay for it. Which, by the way, American taxpayers are now paying through money allocated by Congress for the military, since even Congress did not want to pay for it.

What I know about the words 'go back'

Many knew Trump was intellectually, temperamentally and psychologically unfit to be president. But his mastery of messaging and lack of political correctness appealed to a large group of GOP voters, tired of scripted politicians and political dynasties.

Trump went after the late Sen. John McCain, saying he wasn’t a war hero because he had been caught and imprisoned by the enemy. He disrespected every U.S. prisoner of war and a great man who had given his life in the service of his nation. Many in the GOP called him out on it, but nothing slowed his momentum.

Recently, he attacked four congresswomen of color known as “the Squad,” saying they could “go back” to where they came from.

For those who have been on the receiving end of those words, we knew that there was a sentiment of superiority and ingrained racism.

Countless times, I saw my party stand in silent shock for a day and a half and then after they received their talking points, go on the attack.

I saw Republican pundit after pundit make the nonsensical claim that saying "go back" wasn't racist or nativist. I reject that.

I will no longer be an accomplice

No wonder the Republican Party is shrinking. You are either a warrior for Trump, or there is no place for you in the modern day GOP.

The party of Reagan has been fundamentally transformed. It’s now Donald Trump’s party. There is no room for anyone that dare speak against either a policy or the tone of the president.

I didn't vote for Trump but still stayed with the Republican Party. I can no longer stand by and wait for the storm that is Trumpism to go by to feel comfortable defending a party that crazily doesn’t want brown people or minorities in it.

I will not be an accomplice to what is happening in America. I have donated tens of thousands of dollars and thousands of hours to help elect Republican candidates and further conservative causes. But I've changed my voter registration. I'm now an independent.

I think that Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush and John McCain would be proud of the choice I made. I am a proud compassionate conservative, but no longer a Republican.

Yasser F. Sanchez is an attorney and Latino community leader from Mesa. Twitter: @AbogadoAZ