Recent events involving Republican candidates for president as well as the cumulative effect of hypocrisy, corruption, intolerance, and the stupidity over immigration have led me to the only logical conclusion possible.

At the moment, I am a man without a party.

I sure as hell am not a Republican – not after the last fortnight’s disgraceful exhibition by GOP presidential hopefuls who first, pissed off Hispanics by ditching the Univision debate, then made it a twofer by having the top tier candidates blowing off Tavis Smiley and the so-called “All American Presidential Forum” The fact that this “all american” debate forgot to put an American flag someplace where it might be visible doesn’t obviate the insult done to the organizers of the debates much less the viewers.

And then to top off GOP idiocy for September, you have war hero John McCain saying first that he couldn’t support a Muslim for President and then clarifying that remark a little later by basically saying, “Well, I can support a Muslim as long as we can be sure of their loyalty to the United States.”

How big of you, John. All you have to do is substitute “Catholic” for “Muslim” and you have exactly the right attitude – for the election of 1928. That’s when people wondered whether Catholic Al Smith would be more loyal to the Vatican or to the US Constitution.

And don’t even get me started on Larry Craig.

What in God’s name has happened to the Republican party? Is it out of fear of being asked tough questions that the candidates ducked these debates? Or was it the more practical rationale that there are no votes to be had by attending so why bother?

Your choice then is cowardice or indifference. Which was it?

To come out and say with a straight face that there were “scheduling conflicts” that precluded their attendance only reinforces the notion that the GOP is the party of snivelling liars. Nobody believes that explanation. And, of course, being so stupid allows your opponents to fill in the blanks and tell the voters the real reason you didn’t attend: You’re all a bunch of racist pigs who don’t give a fig about the concerns of city folk or black people or Hispanics.

Is it true? I don’t know anymore which is why I no longer wish to be identified with the Republican party. It isn’t a question of converting minorities and convincing them to vote for GOP candidates, although showing a little more tolerance, a little more understanding might soften people’s opposition. But there is a strong, principled conservative case that can be made that liberal policies towards minorities have done catastrophic damage to minority families, inner city neighborhoods, the urban tax base, and city schools. And while you’re talking to these voters, you could also point out that voting for people who created and continue these policies while taking the black and Hispanic vote completely for granted is akin to committing self-genocide.

This isn’t the party I enthusiastically supported in the 1980’s. That party stood up to the racial bullies like Jesse Jackson and Charlie Rangel, making the case against the welfare state with vigor and confidence. Back then, we honestly believed – still believe – that conservative policies empower people to take control of their own lives while giving your fellow American a helping hand when necessary. Community based programs and citizen action at the neighborhood level is still the best way to deal with the problems of the inner city where so many minorities live in hopelessness. Big city liberals have recognized this and tried to adapt some conservative ideas although they are still thinking in “top down” terms when it comes to the direction of these programs. Tax breaks for businesses that set up shop in poor neighborhoods – although today is carried sometimes to excess – was laughed out of town in the 1980’s. It is now part of every city’s efforts to bring jobs to minorities.

We conservatives should not be ashamed that we oppose policies that continue the destruction of minority lives and support policies that offer hope for a better future, free of dependence on government. We aren’t the only one’s preaching this sermon. Many black churches and community organizations are also for many of these empowering policies. The key is partnership. And a legitimate question can be raised asking how can you be partners with people you ignore when running for the highest office in the land?

As far as avoiding the debate on Univision, deliberately missing that event makes even less sense than missing the Smiley confab. Are we not proud to stand up before our worst critics and say we are for enforcing the law, for fairness for all legal immigrants? And if you can’t get up in front of an Hispanic audience and talk candidly about immigration and border security, you have no business asking for their votes anyway. We are always going to have race baiting groups like LULAC taking GOP concerns about border security and equal enforcement of the law and twisting those positions into some kind of racist, anti-Hispanic program where babies are going to be ripped from their mothers arms when we send the woman back to Mexico. But not standing up in front of the Hispanic community and listening to their concerns while carefully delineating between immigration scofflaws and legal immigrants is an open invitation to your political foes to feed that stereotype of Republicans as heartless monsters.

Plain and simple, it is stupid, self defeating politics.

Now what about the GOP “Muslim Problem?” This goes hat in hand with our “Christian” problem that has me constantly close to tears of frustration when trying to talk to many on the right.

For you see, according to my many critics on the hard right, evidently I am not a conservative. I am an atheist, pro-choice, gay loving, liberal weenie – despite the fact I was on the frontlines of conservative activism when most of my critics were still in books or not even born yet. There wouldn’t be a conservative revolution without people like me and it’s time you haughty, holier than thou, insufferably arrogant party destroying numskulls acknowledged it. You have turned a party with which a majority of Americans identified because of its probity, its strong stands on national defense, foreign policy, and fiscal restraint into the party of anti-abortion zealots, gay bashing louts, and obsessed morality nannies.

Obviously not all Christians are as I describe so don’t be emailing me telling me how wrong I am. But there is a sizable, vocal minority – probably close to 15% of the party – that has skewed GOP issues away from the everyday concerns of the American people and toward these religious crusades against abortion, gay marriage, and making America “moral” whatever that means. The first thing the American people think of today when they hear the word “Republican” is either “anti-abortion” or “anti-gay marriage.” To have those issues identifying the party is again, stupid and self-defeating.

I actually support some of the Christian right’s agenda with regards to the decay of cultural values (not personal morality). But kicking me out of the Conservative Book Club because I think that people who love each other – regardless of what sex they are – should be able to enjoy all the legal rights of heterosexual couples is insane. Nor should my belief that the state has a compelling interest in the life of a baby only when it is viable outside of the womb (which is not the de facto pro-choice position) be a reason to take away my key to the Haliburton executive washroom.

These are not issues to judge who or who is not a “conservative.” Nor should my opposition to the exclusionary tactics of GOP presidential candidates brand me as some kind of politically correct diversity freak. I wholeheartedly reject the notion that conservatives need to pander to any racial or ethnic group. But that doesn’t mean you have to go out of your way to insult them by showing indifference to issues that are important to them.

Perhaps some day the GOP will wake up and once again stand on principle and not cower in the shadows. If they don’t, I probably won’t have to worry about it.

They will eventually alienate so many people that they won’t be much of a political party at all.