The Republican party has largely embraced former President Donald Trump since his ascent to the 2016 Republican presidential nomination and, subsequently, the presidency.
Trump remains the favorite to win the nomination again in 2024 if he decides to run, but a small number of Republicans have publicly denounced him. These include the late Senator John McCain of Arizona, Senator Mitt Romney of Utah, Congresswoman Liz Cheney of Wyoming, and Congressman Adam Kinzinger of Illinois, among others. Nearly all of them have become personae non gratae within the GOP.
In an op-ed for AZ Central this past week, Robert Gonzalez—a conservative lawyer in Tucson—joined their ranks.
To make matters more interesting, Gonzalez had written another op-ed only eight months earlier imploring Republicans not to abandon the party, but to work to make it better instead.
He now acknowledges that premise was wrong, and that he too would be leaving the party, writing:
"I hoped that the extremism we were seeing – those questioning the results of the 2020 election, those advocating against a peaceful transition of power, those defending the terrorists who attacked the Capitol on Jan. 6, those ignoring science and advocating for horse dewormer as a public health measure – was a fringe element."
He went on to cite the Arizona GOP's embrace of the partisan audit forced by its Republican legislature. That report only further vindicated President Joe Biden's victory in the state.
Gonzalez continued, accurately noting that any Republican who tells the truth about the 2020 election faces cancellation by the right:
"While I still hope for a reasonable, sane, principled Republican Party, I'm no longer hopeful that it can be achieved by working within. I'm not optimistic for the reelection prospects for folks like Liz Cheney and Adam Kinzinger, or for the prospects of those in Republican primaries who do not embrace the Big Lie."
Others agreed that the Republican platform can no longer be considered a workable doctrine for the United States.
There is no such thing as a Non-Trumpist Republican any more. That ship sailed long ago. They are an authoritarian anti-science movement now. \n\nI urged Republicans to stay. Now, months later, I'm leaving the party. Here's why https://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2021/10/20/republican-party-cant-leave-big-lie-why-im-leaving/8527660002/\u00a0\u2026 via @azcentral— Fred Wellman (@Fred Wellman) 1634739497
The GOP is not only a nightmare for America; it's an actual existential threat for the nation by a party gone insane and treasonous. Either America wakes up and demands accountability for treason or we are doomed and have lost what so many have given their lives to defend.https://twitter.com/maddow/status/1450907006202781705\u00a0\u2026— Gilberto cintron (@Gilberto cintron) 1634821970
You can\u2019t save a corrupt regime from the inside. Leave. Or don\u2019t join if invited.https://twitter.com/maddow/status/1450907006202781705\u00a0\u2026— Feminista\ud83d\udd25 (@Feminista\ud83d\udd25) 1634778998
While it\u2019s fun to shrug these people off as just a few lunatics, I\u2019m afraid that the author is spot on here: \u201cThe Big Lie is mainstream, no fringe movement.\u201dhttps://www.azcentral.com/story/opinion/op-ed/2021/10/20/republican-party-cant-leave-big-lie-why-im-leaving/8527660002/\u00a0\u2026— Goddamn Glenn (@Goddamn Glenn) 1634758568
There is no such thing as changing things from the inside. The "system" will either make you complicit or make you quit.https://twitter.com/maddow/status/1450907006202781705\u00a0\u2026— Leon X the Unknown (@Leon X the Unknown) 1634758435
Political parties are never better than their leaders. True of other human endeavors, like churches and community theaters.— \ud83c\udf41Graphictruth\ud83c\udf41\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89 (@\ud83c\udf41Graphictruth\ud83c\udf41\ud83d\udc89\ud83d\udc89) 1634765123
Others were less sympathetic.
Keep in mind these people were okay with everything that got us to this point. Remember it well. When they disown that part of things, I am listening.https://twitter.com/maddow/status/1450907006202781705\u00a0\u2026— Ms Madwoman (@Ms Madwoman) 1634758247
Yeah, thanks for that great service you provided to the benefit of mankind, there. You stood your ground to do what, exactly? Being a republican is like throwing yourself into a meatgrinder that sloughs you into a cesspool.https://twitter.com/maddow/status/1450907006202781705\u00a0\u2026— Tim Kirk (@Tim Kirk) 1634829069
Well, your first mistake was hoping the Republican Party could be saved.— Tantrum Dan (@Tantrum Dan) 1634758805
Another one bites the dust.
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