Deeds Not Words
AJ Robinson

I’m the father of a girl. I just wanted to get that out, right at the onset, so my views and attitudes would be clear. I’m also a Republican; although, I guess these days I’m a Republican in Name Only or a RINO. Funny, how my political life has mirrored that of Ronald Reagan. He said he didn’t leave the Democratic Party, it left him. That’s how it’s been for me.

The reasons I left the Democratic Party are very simple: Deeds not Words. I first heard it back some years ago; it was the motto of a military team in the movie “Megaforce.” Don’t worry if it’s unfamiliar, the movie was a complete and utter bomb! I never even saw it until it came on cable, what a turkey. Yet, the phrase struck me and stuck with me. I judge people by their deeds not their words.

As a Republican, I believe in a number of things: personal liberty, opportunity, smaller government, less regulations – yet reasonable regulations, and fiscal responsibility. Still, the so-called Republicans of today do not seem to follow those beliefs. They pay lip service to them, but look at their actions.

Right now, Republican state governments are passing all manner of restrictive laws and regulations on women, something that will affect my daughter, which concerns me. I’d like her to have the freedom to decide how to live her life. I’d like her to have the right to decide when, if, and how many children she has. I’d also like her to earn a fair wage, and have a means of redressing any injustices done to her. When the Republicans claim that they are not waging a war against women, I have a hard time agreeing with those words when I see their deeds directly contradicting them.

At the federal level, Republicans spent the last decade spending money like a drunken sailor, slashing regulations on banking, and giving massive tax breaks to people who were then supposed to create jobs. So, where are the jobs? Where is the fiscal responsibility and where is a reasonable level of regulations? Now they claim that they’ll do all these things. Yet, they didn’t create jobs when they controlled the White House and Congress, they didn’t take care of healthcare, they didn’t deal with energy independence and they didn’t reduce the debt.

So, while I hear them saying that they’ll handle all these issues, I don’t believe them – their deeds speak much louder than their words, and I’ve made my decision regarding which party to support in the coming election. It isn’t for me; it’s for my daughter. I’m thinking of the country that I’m going to leave her, and I’d prefer one where a woman has a chance at freedom and happiness.

Yeah, Obama has not delivered on all his promises, but he’s at least accomplished some of his goals to help people. That puts him ahead of my fellow Republicans.

Guess I need to re-register.