Why Republicans Want to Vote for Obama

With disappointment in the Bush Administration increasing steadily over the past 8 years, many Republicans have grown skeptical of their party and have expressed an interest in the practical and bipartisan policies espoused by Barack Obama. Several organized groups have formed to support Obama's election to the US Presidency. There are groups on mybarackobama.com as well as myspace and elsewhere.

Republicans for Obama is a group of Republican supporters of Obama, with about 600 members. Their group description is here:

As registered members of the Republican Party, many of us have felt consistently disheartened by our party's reluctance to work with opposition parties to foster workable solutions to issues in America today. We believe wholeheartedly in the founding principles of the GOP - we simply do not believe the GOP does anymore. We am now, and likely always will be, proud conservatives.

Despite these differing political views, We believe that Barack Obama has the capability to unite this country and find capable solutions to the problems America faces in the world today. Barack Obama has restored our faith in the possibilities of American politics, and American politicians.

We respect Barack Obama, and his will to fight without compromise against idleness in American politics. We believe in Barack Obama, and his ability to help the hard-working American citizens in our cities. We have faith in Barack Obama, and his desire to save this country from its governmental failings.

Republicans and Conservatives for Obama states their purpose simply:

We haven't had a non-divisive candidate with integrity who can communicate with all of us since Ronald Reagan. This is our chance to find out if we can vote in the Democratic primary in our states, since the Democratic nominee will become the next president. We all know it.


Conservatives and moderates alike are flocking to Obama because of his effective coalition-building and practical collaborative strategies.

One member of Reformed Republicans for Obama (which has about 300 members) put it this way:

Many moderates are disheartened by the extreme positions taken by the vocal elements of the parties. This is why moderates so often go unheard--and think that they cannot have an impact on the process. But the truth is, there are a lot of us who consider ourselves moderate, and want a political system that seeks consensus through rational thought and discussion.

I am struck by the number of times the word "disheartened" enters the discussions of Republican support for Obama. Many Republicans feel that their party did not serve their interests or the greater interests of the country at large during the Bush Administration. Government has been expanded to unprecedented levels, security and America's position in the world are threatened, taxes and gas prices are climbing, and middle class Americans are reeling from the housing crisis.

Many Republicans for Obama are furious about the way that patriotism and fear were distorted to lead this country into war with Iraq. The egregious spending of American tax dollars combined with the overall futility of the WMD search and the young servicemen and women coming home everyday in bodybags has soured the Republican position on the war and the Administration's "foreign policy" with Iraq.

They are legitimately afraid of what will happen next if their own party retains the White House. Many Republicans and conservatives echo the sentiments of this Republicans for Obama Member:

One of the reasons I am supporting Obama is his promise to change our World strategy. Right now, the Bush Administration is shamelessly unleashing Isreal to incite Iran into making a false step. No doubt, the Bush Administration is positioning itself to make its own move on Iran in the right circumstance.

This is straight from a conservative's mouths to your ears. I have had enough of Bush's bull****. We need to petition our Congressmen and women to either revoke the wartime powers act, or impeach him. What we are doing over there is absolutely wrong, and what he is preparing to do to Iran on the eve of a pivotal US election is more than shameful, its tyrannical.

Republicans, independents, and democrats alike agree that we are not better off now than 8 years ago. We are individually and collectively much worse, and it will take some serious work to climb out of this hole the Bush Administration has dug for us.

A member of another Republicans for OBAMA group said this:

Look, I'm a WASP who has traditionally voted Republican or for Perot so that is where I'm coming from. Rev. Jesse Jackson's comments about wanting to cut off Obama's nuts today make Obama a stronger candidate in my opinion.

Why?

Because Jackson's comments were because he doesn't like Obama [challenging] African-American men to take responsibility. It is obvious that the government needs to recognize and take initiatives to help African-Americans and others who are trapped in poverty. But! and this is an important BUT. All Americans regardless of race, religion or income need to stand up and take responsibility for making this country great again. Too many of us are concerned with what the government will do for us in terms of tax cuts, lowering the price of energy, saving the environment, improving the country's education system, etc. But our government can't fix these problems unless all of us get engaged and do our part.

Obama recognizes this and he is asking all of us to get engaged. He asks parents to get involved and make sure our children get educated, our younger generation to perform service for the greater good, for all of us to be more tolerant of each other and on and on. Oh and yes, he asks African-American dads to step up and be real dads. In my opinion this is the natural extension of Obama's message to all Americans to stand up and make a difference in both our own lives but our neighbors lives as well. Excusing any sector of our population whether it be based on race, religion, age or income level only erodes his message.

Respectfully, Rev Jackson doesn't get this because his whole life has been working toward improving the lives a portion of all Americans while Obama message is improving all Americans' lives. Obama's message crosses over to all Americans which is why he has such tremendous support amongst all Americans not just among African-Americans.

Obama is seen by many in this country as a force who can unite the seemingly disparate elements of society and bring forth a new breed of American politics based on values like honesty, respect, and collaboration.

In Obama's speech in Kansas on "Thoughts on Reclaiming the American Dream," he began by telling his "only in America" story. It is the story of a Kenyan immigrant and a Kansas farmgirl who fell in love and married despite the fact that miscegenation was still a felony in many states, about how Barack was raised, how he came to be a community organizer on Chicago's South Side:

Our family's story is one that spans miles and generations; races and realities. It's the story of farmers and soldiers; city workers and single moms. It takes place in small towns and good schools; in Kansas and Kenya; on the shores of Hawaii and the streets of Chicago. It's a varied and unlikely journey, but one that's held together by the same simple dream.

And that is why it's American.

That's why I can stand here and talk about how this country is more than a collection of Red States and Blue States - because my story could only happen in the United States.

That's why I believe that we are not as divided as our politics suggests; that the dream we share is more powerful than the differences we have - because I am living proof of that ideal....

We are not as divided as our politics suggest. Yes, we disagree. Yes, we have interests and ideologies that don't always align. Yes, we have real differences.

But the biggest divide in America today is not between its people, it is between its people and their leaders in Washington, DC.... That is where the real division lies - in a politics that echoes through the media and seeps into our culture - the kind that seeks to drive us apart and put up walls where none exist.

It's the politics that tells us that those who differ from us on a few things are different from us on all things; that our problems are the fault of those who don't think like us or look like us or come from where we do. The welfare queen is taking our tax money. The immigrant is taking our jobs. The gay person must be immoral, and the believer must be intolerant.

Well we are here to say that
this is not the America we believe in
and this is not the politics we have to accept anymore.

Not this time. Not now.

This content below was taken from Ben Smith's Blog...Courtesy of Andrew Sullivan--but I actually got it from American Politics-so you can chase the links if you wanna:

Boo! Im a Republican. Yes, you have found yourself in the company of a man who wears button down Oxfords, who flies his flag every holiday and prides himself in a neatly mowed lawn.

But something happened in the last few years that has brought me here to this campaign... my party changed.

Where once was a belief in the power of the individual, came a heavy, overbearing government that dared to challenge how people should live their lives.

And then came the war. Where once I viewed the party as one who ended wars and focused on balanced budgets and living the American dream, there was now one that started one and leveraged our dreams with debt.

And then came the loss of privacy. Where once there was the belief in live and let live, there was now a strange curiosity on the part of the government, to peer into the most private parts of our lives. Where once was a party with a rather sunny disposition came one that was dark, glowering and saw the future as a threat ... a place to be fortified ... where dreams had to be put aside to allow in, the harsh realities of our times.

I wanted to dream again. I wanted to crawl out of the cave that that day in September drove us to. I want to fly my flag not for our fallen soldiers but for our ideals again, I want to befriend my neighbors, be they black or white, gay or straight, Catholic, Muslim, Christian, or Jew.

I want to think that tomorrow can be better than today. I want to live free. I want to walk down a street anywhere in the world knowing that I come from a country that is admired and is a force for good.

I heard the words of Barack Obama on one cold day in January, broadcast from the frozen fields of Iowa. And it was like the wind - a chinook wind that seemed to melt away the dark and cold that was offered up by candidates from both parties. And it was like the sun - with warming words that spoke of not taking it to the Republicans with anger or revenge, but getting them to join up in something bigger than a political party ... a political force.

It dared to look at things differently like having the audacity to talk to everyone... even those we do not like be they Republicans or Iranians.

It came with an easy smile and words that made you believe it was all possible. It made me feel proud to be American again.

So here I am. Boo! And there are other Republicans in the room too.

Yes, we are a bit out of our sorts. But like you and the millions of other Democrats and Independents, we too want to believe in something again that is not weighted down by special interests and questionable ethics and certainly not a step back to any past. For we have only achieved the great things when our mind has been on the future.

I look forward to marching with you.