In deciding how I was going to reconcile 20 years as a Republican with newfound support for a Democratic candidate, I had to look at what it was that made me a Republican in the first place. During one of the Democratic debates, Mayor Pete challenged Republican leaders.

“If you are watching at home, and you are a Republican member of Congress, consider the fact that, when the sun sets on your career, and they are writing your story, of all the good and bad things you did in your life, the thing you will be remembered for is whether, in this moment, with this President, you found the courage to stand up to him or continue to put party over country.”

This struck a chord with me. Not as a member of Congress but as a member of the Republican party. I realized I could not verbalize what it is the GOP believed in anymore. I searched to see what the core values were and found the Republican Party’s “list of what it means to be a Republican.”

I am not sure that the current set of politicians bearing the R next to their name have really read or understood this list. In fact, some of these seem like they fit the Democratic party more than the Republicans. I am also no longer convinced that some of these are in the best interest of the America that I want to be a part of.

I am going to address the first seven in this article and I will follow up with another article for the second seven.