44 years a Republican, 1 year an Independent, today I’m joining the Democratic Party

This was not an easy decision to make. Politics is like one’s religion, you just don’t change it unless you have a moment of clarity and realize you are on the wrong path. My family’s involvement in the GOP goes all the way back to the mid-1850s and the start of the GOP in Illinois.

My Mother’s family helped organize the GOP in Illinois. They were opposed to one human being owning another human being as chattel. They found slavery morally repugnant and were zealots in advocating its demise. My family has been GOP blue-blood.

That is how far back my roots run in the GOP. I have no roots in the Democratic Party. However, it is time for me to lay some down.

There are things I don’t like about the Democratic Party. There are people in the Democratic Party I dislike as much as I dislike Donald Trump. So, why not remain independent? There is a good reason for that.

In America, if you want to bring about change, if you want to be an agent of change and not a voice in the wilderness you must belong to one of one of the two political parties. I was a party faithful to the GOP. I often turned my nose up and voted for the GOP nominee no matter what. Some were good men and women, in fact, outstanding men and women. Others were as dumb as a rock and were still fighting the Civil War. I voted for them anyway.

Donald Trump and Bruce Rauner are the two men who drove this decision for me. They are twins. Rauner is Trump in a more presentable form. He is careful to not give to Trump, or mention his name because he knows it is the kiss of death in Illinois to support Trump. Bruce Rauner betrayed me. I worked to help elect him in 2014 and he lied to me. He is as corrupt as any Governor we have ever had.

Trump loves to attack his critics and is particularly harsh on Republicans who don’t kiss his ring. Have you noticed that Trump has not skewered Rauner for his lack of PUBLIC support for Trump? Curious, don’t you think? He will criticize Chicago, he will criticize the Mayor, he will beat up on everyone except two in Illinois: Fellow billionaire and ideological twin Bruce Rauner, and Speaker Mike Madigan. Why Madigan? You might want to look at whose law firm handles tax matters…