I am also pro-choice, pro gay marriage, and pro-affirmative action.

Lesser evils has often been how I descibe my presidential choices, particularly with George W Bush. There was no way I could have cast a ballot for Al Gore or John Kerry: both were terrible candidates for president.

Barrack Obama made a very compelling case for himself and while I have always like John McCain alot this election was anything but a choice of lesser evils.

A progressive Republican is someone who believes in smaller government and less government regulation/involvement in people lives.

A progressive Republican is someone who is tolerant of other peoples lifestyles, doesn’t believe outlawing abortion is a solution, knows that more people die from prescription drugs than illegal drugs (and by a very wide margin), and thinks that the political dialogue ought to involve more meaningful debates than what dominates political discussion today.

Teddy Roosevelt and Abraham Lincoln are prime examples of progressive Republicans.

For instance: As a Republican, strictly interpreting the Constitution, I find it impossible to be against gay marriage. The language is about “people” as in “We the people” not “We the men” or “We the white men”. As such these laws are for all Americans without regard to their gender or ethnicity. We can no more stand in the way of gay couples marrying as we could stand in the way of black people marrying. People have the right to marry; all people.

As marriage is interpreted within the religious sphere this: civil marriage is not the same as religious marriage. Allowing one does not force upon the other anything.

Further, I am an atheist progressive Republican. Now tell me thats an oxymoron.

The choice is not between change or no change (traditional view of conservative verses liberal) because change is inevitable. The choice is between unchecked, untested and overly optimistic change i.e. reckless or a careful and restrained change that honors the best of American social, political and national traditions.

You can be a ‘progressive’ AND be a conservative. You just have to be willing to move forward instead of spending all your time glorifying Reagan and Goldwater.

If a “party” or a politician has moved away from the ideas or policies you believe in then quickly and easily move your support and vote for those support what you do believe in. If they don’t stay with those ideas and policies – move your support away again.

If more Americans gave their support based on ideas and policies not parties and labels, and withheld it when the politicians deviated from those ideas and policies I bet the leaders would follow us.

If you insist on retaining the Republican label (though you have been alienated from the Old Tyme Republicans, who call you RINO), you likewise alienate the moderate Democrats who fundamentally believe in what you believe.

Good luck!

I still have a brother-in-law who is a mean spirited, evil man who looks for novel ways to express his racism and intolerance.

Nothing, nothing, nothing has pleased me as much in a long time as this long overdue drubbing of the right at the polls. I hope I am witnessing the end of the party, since long ago, the former (good) Republicans were killed off by the latter (bad) ones.

Now, for a change, we have an educated and intelligent man in office, supported by a near super-majority in the Senate. The chance to make this a permanent liberal majority is again in our hands. Now WE can gerrymander the entire country. Now WE can stack the courts. Now WE are the difficult to eject incumbents. Undoing the destruction of the Bush years is at hand. Restoring the constitution is at hand. Economic sanity is at hand.

Rejoice, former republicans…. you’re getting what you want; salvation from the bible-thumping overlords and Rich White Masters of your party. Circumstances will force small government, business innovation, American world leadership, and responsible social and environmental policy. Forget your party. Join the one that will make a difference in your lives and which will concentrate on making the NOW important, and not some mythical here-after.

The GOP used to believe in small government and fiscal responsibility. The Bush years were the exact opposite of this.

It seems you just may be a Conservative Democrat!

Why would you choose to stay in a party with people who you so obviously (and justly) dispise and disagree with?

Also, why whould you a black man (or really anyone who hate racists), chose to support a party which gets the support of the majority of racists? I have never understood that..

Anyway, I respect what your doing, I hope it picks up support.

”[Secular conservatism] is a party which never conserves anything. Its history has been that it demurs to each aggression of the progressive party, and aims to save its credit by a respectable amount of growling, but always acquiesces at last in the innovation. What was the resisted novelty of yesterday is today .one of the accepted principles of conservatism; it is now conservative only in affecting to resist the next innovation, which will tomorrow be forced upon its timidity and will be succeeded by some third revolution; to be denounced and then adopted in its turn. American conservatism is merely the shadow that follows Radicalism as it moves forward towards perdition. It remains behind it, but never retards it, and always advances near its leader. This pretended salt bath utterly lost its savor: wherewith shall it be salted? Its impotency is not hard, indeed, to explain. It .is worthless because it is the conservatism of expediency only, and not of sturdy principle. It intends to risk nothing serious for the sake of the truth.”

Our country is collapsing because we have turned our back on God (Psalm 9:17) and refused to kiss His Son (Psalm 2).

John Lofton, Editor, TheAmericanView.com

Recovering Republican

JLof@aol.com