posted 07-16-2018 11:30 AM                  

The article.

I'm running for Senate as a Republican. My Democrat parents are so furious they're backing my opponent
Kevin Nicholson
By Kevin Nicholson | Fox News

My decision to be a Democrat was never a decision. It was just expected of me. It was understood. Born into a family of Democrats, my grandfather would often spend weekends talking to me about his respect for Franklin Roosevelt and his annoyance with President Reagan. I listened and absorbed, but was not yet ready to think critically about what I was told – or to decide for myself.

I love and miss my grandfather, but life has since taught me that thinking critically about the principles of the Democrat party is never encouraged because if you do, you have no choice but to leave – to walk away.

I was elected National President of the College Democrats of America in 1999, and now I’m a Republican candidate for U.S. Senate in 2018. While the Democrats’ influence over my political philosophy defined a few years in my late teens and early twenties, that influence could not withstand the test of life and experience that made me a conservative as an adult. In contrast with my time as a Democrat, my evolution to becoming a conservative Republican was a fully mindful and deliberate decision, based on my life experiences that left me with no other option.

While my choice was made clear to me through the experience of my marriage, the birth of my three children, my acceptance of Jesus Christ as my savior, my time fighting in two wars, and my experience in business since leaving the Marine Corps, it came at personal cost.

My parents have since turned their back on me, my wife, their grandchildren, and their extended family. Adding to this, they decided to make the maximum contribution to my Democrat opponent in my campaign for U.S. Senate in Wisconsin, an intentional personal blow that made headlines across the country. It was deliberate – and it is a true representation of the intolerance of a political philosophy that stands on the false platform of tolerance.

I don’t enjoy talking about this highly personal experience, but as I see the #WalkAway movement gain momentum, I feel compelled to share my story. As #WalkAway grows, conservatives need to reach out to those who were raised to believe in a Democrat Party and a liberal political philosophy that does nothing to make them more successful.

Many others who have decided to leave the Democrat Party have also likely paid a personal price for their decision. And others are not yet ready to leave because of the judgement and ridicule they will undoubtedly receive from other Democrats – whether family, friends, or co-workers. Unfortunately, their fear is founded.

The Democrat party is not the party of tolerance. It is not the party of acceptance. It is the party of intolerance. It is the party of closed doors, but open borders. It is the party of judgement. It is the party of identity politics. And that is why the #WalkAway movement is resonating. Because when you stop and ask yourself why you should be a Democrat, it is impossible to answer if you acknowledge the party’s hypocrisy, since it openly advocates for policies that encourage dependency and destroy opportunity for all of us.

As we look to the future, conservatives must aggressively reach out and welcome those who were not born into conservative families. We must continue to champion the dignity of all human life, conserve and strategically invest our financial resources, and work to build a strong defense that secures our nation’s prosperity for all. This is how I will win my election against Tammy Baldwin in Wisconsin this November, and also how we will win the future of this nation.

During my Senate race, I have learned that some establishment Republican circles are reluctant to accept new members to our party. Too many believe that they have a club that they control – and would like to keep it that way since it keeps them in power. Those who demand that people be Republicans from birth in order to have a voice in the conservative movement would shrink, not grow our party. And their short-sighted perspective on people’s ability to mature as they experience life would keep us from bringing new Republicans into the fold, like Donald Trump has done. We need to push beyond these voices, and welcome new conservatives in order to secure our nation’s future.

If you’ve decided to #WalkAway or plan to, I encourage you to find strength in those who have already walked the path. Find strength in the principles of conservatism that are founded in faith, liberty, and the Constitution. And find strength in those who have walked the path before you: President Ronald Reagan, President Donald Trump, Vice President Mike Pence, former U.S. Senator Phil Gramm – and so many others. Find strength in our decision to choose to believe in the human capacity to succeed when free, as you do the same.

Kevin Nicholson is a decorated Marine Corps veteran who served combat tours in both Iraq and Afghanistan. Following his time in the Marine Corps, he earned a joint degree at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government (Master of Public Administration) and Dartmouth’s Tuck School of Business (Master of Business Administration). He then worked for McKinsey & Co., and now works for ghSmart as a business consultant. He is a first-time candidate in the Wisconsin Republican primary for U.S. Senate.

http://www.foxnews.com/opinion /2018/07/16/im-running-for-senate-as-republican-my-democrat-parents-are-so-furious-theyre-backing-my-opponent.html

posted 07-16-2018 11:43 AM                  

The article.

Tipping Point? #WalkAway Movement Picking up Steam Among Democrats

By Rachel Alexander Published on July 12, 2018 • 22 Comments

Rachel Alexander

The Democratic party has lurched to the left, and some long-time Democrats don’t like it. Some now look at the party and bail out. It’s not their party anymore. Would FDR recognize the party? Truman? JFK? LBJ? Nope.

The Face of the Party

House minority leader Rep. Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., is predictably leftist. She’ll apparently say anything to put down Republicans. Party leaders demand open borders and abolishing ICE. They want to nationalize health care.

A socialist, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, just won a Democratic primary for Congress in New York in a landslide. DNC Chairman Tom Perez fawned over her win, declaring her “the future of our party.” Bernie Sanders, the Independent senator who has long referred to himself as a socialist, is being attacked for not being far left enough.

The problem’s not just their policies. It’s their language. Maxine Waters, D-Calif., actively calls the left to harass Trump supporters. It’s not just the constant labeling Trump supporters as fascists and Nazis. It’s the support for violent groups like Antifa, the leadership’s extreme statements on every single issue. All that alarms traditional Democrats.

Donald Trump recently called Waters and Pelosi “the face of the Democratic Party.” It’s a face lots of old-line Democrats don’t want to see.

One Frustrated Democrat?

One frustrated Democrat started the #WalkAway social media campaign. It features former Democrats explaining on video and in Facebook posts why they’ve left the party. Brandon Straka produced a six-minute video which has gone viral, getting over 2.2 million views on Facebook.

In it, Straka says: “the Left devolved into intolerant, inflexible, illogical, hateful, misguided, ill-informed, un-American, hypocritical, menacing, callous, ignorant, narrow-minded, and at times blatantly fascistic behavior and rhetoric.” He asks: “What do these people stand for? What is their platform? All I can figure out so far is ‘We hate Trump’ and ‘We love illegal immigrants.'” He rejects the Democrats’ praise for Ocasio-Cortez. “Their party has no future, it’s over.”

“Once upon a time, I was a liberal. Well, to be honest, less than a year ago, I was still a liberal,” Straka says. Explaining why he left the party, he says:

I reject a system which allows an ambitious, misinformed and dogmatic mob to suppress free speech, create false narratives, and apathetically steamroll over the truth. I reject hate. These are the reasons why I became a liberal. And these are the same reasons why I am now walking away.

On the Facebook page for #WalkAway, Straka explains, “the left has become so extreme, it’s now time to fight back.” He believes that the left “hates men because they were born as biological men.” The left “stands for censorship, oppression, intimidation, violence, intolerance and hatred against white people based solely on the color of their skin.”

Trump Attracts Gays and Minorities

A gay man, Straka notes that “gay men and women are welcomed in the pro-Trump movement.” He also notes that the movement is attracting minorities.

Straka says “the liberal media continues to perpetuate a false narrative about the ‘hateful’ and ‘bigoted’ right.” Many assume the right doesn’t like minorities, but the Democratic Party takes them for granted.

The Radicalness of Rep. Maxine Waters

One symbol of what is sending Straka and his peers away? Maxine Waters. She scares Democrats away from their party. She says opponents of Trump’s immigration policies should harass Cabinet members wherever possible. In a speech in Los Angeles a couple of weeks ago, she said, “If you see anybody from that Cabinet in a restaurant, in a department store, at a gasoline station, you get out and you create a crowd and you push back on them and you tell them they’re not welcome anymore, anywhere.”

The inevitable result of Democrat’s rhetorical violence? Increasing violence against conservatives. Breitbart counted 133 incidents of violence or harassment of Trump supporters. Straka himself got booted from an electronics store after his video hit the news.

Democrat leaders have called for Waters to stop calling for impeachment. They realize the radical position could hurt them in the midterm elections.

The movement reflects the fact that the country is undergoing a tipping to the right. It started with the election of Trump. The Democrats have finally gone so far to the left that they are alienating regular Democrats. They can no longer take the minority vote for granted, since minorities have figured out Republicans don’t hate them. Straka has tapped into the silent majority and gotten them to start speaking up.

http://stream.org/walkaway-movement-picking-up-steam-among-democrats/