Conservative Call For Change

A long-time friend of mine sent me this the other day under the heading "please forward." It is not political spam or some type of Kerry-coordinated scheme. He speaks from the heart.

For those of you who do not know me, I was the perfect Republican. I voted for George HW Bush in my first election, followed by Bob Dole and GW Bush. I was a member of the College Republicans, a regular reader of National Review, a fan of Limbaugh.

A few months ago, I officially changed my party registration and voted for John Kerry and in the Maryland Democratic primary. Some might say I left the Republican party. To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, the Republican party left me.

First of all, I want to say I still consider myself conservative. Anyone who knows me, how I live, my values and my way of doing things knows that.

"Conservative" can have many meanings, but for me it has always meant a respect for tradition, an understanding that history and society slowly evolve, and that what has been given to us by our forebears is the starting point for our own lives. In this sense, the Republican party is no longer conservative. It has become a party of revolutionaries who wish to remake our country and world into a social Darwinst, laissez-faire empire of American virtue and values based on their own narrow perspectives. Let me submit the evidence:

*There is nothing conservative about alienating our European allies and friends to start a war we didn't have to fight.

*There is nothing conservative about sub-contracting security operations in a war zone, something that has always been under the specific domain of the military.

*There is nothing conservative about running up our Federal deficit to unprecedented levels in the name of tax cuts.

*There is nothing conservative about adding on to the Medicare program, lying about how much it will cost, and having no way to pay for it.

*There is nothing conservative about loosening clean air rules that have been in place for 25 years.

*There is nothing conservative about opening vast amounts of our western parks and forests to everything from logging to snowmobiles, as has been done in Yellowstone National Park.

I could go on, but suffice it to say that I believe that the re-election of this president will irreparably harm our national prestige and reputation, our environment, our economy, our relationships with other nations, and quite frankly, our relations with each other.

When we were attacked on September 11, it brought our country together and our world behind us. NATO invoked Article V-the collective defense clause-and willingly went to our aid in Afghanistan. This president, by waging a needless war on an paper-tiger enemy with no realistic plan for follow up, has squandered the good will that we felt towards one anther and the good will the world felt for us. His unwillingness to carefully reason complex problems ("I don't see a lot of gray in the world") has led us into a fog with no clear solutions, and even conservatives are beginning to say that the best we may be able to do in Iraq is a military strong-man.

I am not here to say that John Kerry is perfect-his plan to balance the budget is not clear and I find his unflinching loyalty to the Democratic line on all social issues to be unfortunate. I am certain that he is better-infinitely better-than the alternative. He is a wise, brave, experienced man who does "see the gray in this world" and can heal our relations at home and abroad.

I am asking you to give him your moral and financial, if possible-now-so that he can win in November.