I’m sorry, Dad. I hope you understand. I just registered Republican.

A bit more than 50 years ago, I registered to vote when I turned eighteen. It was expected that I register Democrat, so I did. I joked for years after that I was a Democrat for three reasons. First and most important, my family would not understand if I did not. One cousin found out that I supported George W. Bush and said I would not be welcome at funerals or weddings, the main times that we had family reunions. That cousin died soon after that, and to honor her wishes I did not go to the funeral.

Second, for many elections in my county, only the Democrats had competitive primaries. I would usually cast a token vote for the least competitive Democrat. I would justify staying registered Democrat by saying, “I get to vote in the primaries.”

Finally, when asked why I was still a Democrat, I would often say that I might need a state job someday. People would nod knowingly. For a long time, only Democrats could get state jobs in Kentucky. That is changing.

Image by Freepik.

My family was Democrat because of William Jennings Bryan and FDR. Bryan was noted as one of our famous ancestors. I would remind relatives that Bryan was a three-time loser, but that never sat well. He was admired for opposing Eastern bankers and his odd populism with agrarian interests. His work on the prosecution in the Scopes trial did not hurt.

Like many of those that were able to survive the Great Depression, my family credits Democrats and FDR with our ability to continue as dairy farmers. That is not entirely wrong. My grandfather would read the congressional record. At a time in which we were about to lose our farm to debt, he read that Congress had passed legislation that might prevent foreclosure. My grandfather contacted the lawyer John Y. Brown to take up his case. He won the case and the farm was saved.

At the time I registered, there were still a lot of conservative Democrats, particularly in the Bible Belt. I knew my family was unrepentant Democrat, but I was always a bit uneasy with it. In the first national election in which I could vote, the Democrats offered Jimmy Carter. I was fine with Carter except for the silly killer rabbit attack and the Playboy interview. I voted for Ford hoping my family would not ever know. I guess that secret is out of the bag.

I remained a registered Democrat for the last fifty years while voting almost exclusively for Republicans with a few exceptions. There were a few Democrats that I knew personally that were the same type of conservative Democrat that my father was. I had no problem voting for them because I knew them. I never regretted these votes. However, most Democrats were unsupportable.

I was never embarrassed with my registration, and I even joked about it. People understood. Just as I did, a dwindling bunch of people remained registered Democrats by inertia.

I was not bothered enough to change it. Inertia is a brutal force to overcome. After the Clinton Oval Office trysts, Obama’s instigating racial disharmony and putting a man well beyond his sell-by date into the presidency I remained a registered Democrat. I should have changed it, yet I did not.

Donald Trump has caused the Democrats to break themselves beyond repair. They now cannot applaud a young cancer patient only because that young man seems to like and respect President Trump. That is the last straw. Yes, it is way too late, but the time has come.

I will no longer be in the party of slavery, Jim Crow, killing babies, mutilating children, hating Israel, and laundering money to Democrat causes through publicly invisible government programs. I need not be concerned that people will think I support election processes that make it easier to steal elections and politicized lawfare disguised as a legal system.

Just before I started to write this, I changed my registration to Republican. I think my dad would understand. He died during the first Nixon administration and did not see his chosen party turn into something he never imagined. Knowing the type of man my dad was, I suspect he might have reconsidered having his name attached to the support of modern Democrats as well. I would certainly understand.