One Eisenhower Republican not ready to surrender

As reported yesterday, John, the son of President Dwight Eisenhower, has not only endorsed John Kerry but changed his registration to Independent. Jazz over at Running Scared supports his decision to endorse Kerry but disappointed that he appears to have surrendered the Republican party to the wing nuts currently in charge.

This is a very personal story to me, however. I consider myself an old school, "Eisenhower Republican" and John's words in this endorsement ring particularly true for me and carry some very sobering connotations.

First, it seems to be a symbolic loss for our party. While it is certainly true that John Eisenhower is only one man with one vote like the rest of us, he is the progeny and legacy of the man who is arguably one of the defining characters in the Republican party over the last century. The old, solid values of the GOP which drew me to the party in the seventies have been undermined and all but erased by a radical sect of ultraconservative right wingers who have highjacked the party's platform.
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With enough dedicated effort and, hopefully, a wake-up call to the entire party by a Bush defeat in November, we could still return the party to the values that we all once embraced. I salute John Eisenhower for the independence and moral conviction to break with established patterns and endorse Kerry, but I am greatly saddened that a man in his position has given up on the party entirely and registered as an Independent.

I wish you luck Jazz. As a Vietnam era vet and someone who came into political maturity during the Vietnam war I have never been able to support either party. The first thing I really remember about politics is that both parties were lying to me. For that reason I have been a registered independent for over 35 years. I once again see the leaders of both parties lying to me about a war so I guess little has changed.