On Huffington Post there is a op-ed from a guy who has spent many years arguing and disagreeing with family and friends as he is a liberal and they are conservatives.
Until lately.
Lately, something strange has overtaken these reliable conservatives and suddenly he has no one to argue with....
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/...
eric hirshberg
Eric Hirshberg wrote an enlightening column and in light of what has gone on at the National Review and other places, I have to say, it is some odd fever overtaking conservatives.
Conservatives voting democratic this year.
We have seen such noted republicans as Colin Powell, Christopher Hitchens, Christopher Buckley, Susan Eisenhower, Micheal Smirchonish, ect. running away from the gop and their nominee and publicly declaring they are voting Obama.
Now, Eric is finding this spreading among family and friends.
Now, these are not casual conservatives. These are people who, each in their own way, are deeply committed to their conservative beliefs. For most, this will be the first time they have voted for a Democrat in their entire lives. And when taken as a whole, they represent a fair cross section of the Republican Party. Some younger, some older. Some fiscally driven, some culturally driven. But almost all, up until now, have been intractable. Yet here we all are, staring down the barrel of a remarkably nasty presidential election, all in a rare moment of agreement. I figured this simply could not be an anomaly. Perhaps this was a groundswell.
Stranger and stranger, he has talked with other liberal friends and found the same thing happening with them. So, he asked some of these staunch republicans to sit for a video and tell their story and the result is as follows:
Eric also learned a few things along the way:
I fully expected the results to be compelling and convincing. And they are. What I didn't expect was the emotional wallop these unscripted interviews deliver. A combination of deep disillusionment with the last eight years, disappointment in John McCain's candidacy, and an undeniable draw to Obama brought these people to a political decision that was deeply personal and courageous. It became clear to me that these were more than interviews. These were confessions.
This is what democracy is supposed to be. These people actually listened, considered and were open to the possibility of change. They didn't support a candidate. They actually chose one. And while I'm happy this year they are voting for "my team," they also inspired me to be more open in my own political life.
Maybe Obama is slowly making those changes he talks about. To civilize our discourse and inspire us to listen and to respect those with viewpoints that don't always reflect our own.
UPDATE:
Oh my!!! Recommended list? thank you. I had to leave early last night and just got on this morning (getting over the flu) and I find this. wow.
Thank you so much everyone.
another thing, I just saw that Barry Goldwater's granddaughter has endorsed Barack Obama.
another bites the dust.
I would say that whatever is happening with republicans, it keeps growing and we are seeing so many republicans going for obama.
Isn't that fantastic?