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I’m writing this not as a Democrat or an Independent, but as someone who, for most of her life, was a proud Republican.
I voted for Ronald Reagan and admired his belief that “character counts”. I believed in personal responsibility, faith and country – and the Republican party seemed to reflect those values. I even rooted for George W Bush during the chaotic “hanging chads” recount in 2000, not because I thought he was perfect, but because I believed he would lead with decency and conviction.
And for years, I found deep comfort in witnessing moments of unity between former and current presidents – particularly the warm, genuine respect between George W Bush and the Obamas. Different parties. Different ideologies. But a shared belief in democracy. In service. In “we the people”.
That spirit is gone now.
My allegiance to the Republican party ended when a conman made it into office – and worse, when the party I once revered stood by and let it happen. I watched in disbelief as Republican leaders abandoned principle for power, traded integrity for influence and embraced a man who incites violence, mocks the rule of law and behaves as if he’s above the constitution.
Where is the Republican party of Abraham Lincoln? The one that once held the union together and stood for truth, duty and honor?
I am the daughter of immigrants who fled Benito Mussolini’s fascist regime – a dictator who rose to power by promising to “make Italy great again”, silencing dissent, spreading propaganda and weaponizing fear. My family knew firsthand how democracies fall – not in an instant, but in small, complicit steps. What I’m witnessing in the US today is hauntingly familiar.
I now live in Los Angeles, watching more terror being wielded by a king wannabe – a man who labels disagreement “fake”, who calls critics “un-American”, and who seeks not to govern, but to dominate. And far too many continue to enable him.
How far will they go to hold onto control?
How many oaths will they break?
How many facts will they deny?
How many felons will they pardon?
Meanwhile, vital programs that support working families, veterans and children are being gutted – all while billionaires pocket tax breaks and corporations secure secret government contracts. These aren’t just policy disputes. They’re part of a coordinated effort to destabilize and divide.
And as a Christian, I must name another betrayal: the blasphemous misuse of faith. Cruelty wrapped in scripture. The name of Jesus – who taught compassion, humility and care for the least among us – being used to justify greed, vengeance and lies. That’s not Christianity. That’s not moral. And that’s not the America I believe in.
It is not brave to stay silent.
It is not patriotic to enable abuse of power.
And it is not conservative to abandon the constitution – or our collective conscience – in favor of cult-like loyalty.
I didn’t leave the Republican party lightly. I left because it left me. It left behind the values I once believed in. It became unrecognizable – not because of changing platforms, but because of a complete collapse of principle.
I’ve waited for more Republicans to speak out. To break ranks. To remember who they once were. But the silence has been deafening.
This is not just a personal reckoning. It’s a call to conscience – to every citizen who knows, deep down, that something has gone terribly wrong.
Because if we truly believe that character counts – if we believe in democracy more than demagogues – then we must speak up. Before we lose the right to speak at all.
Even now – especially now – I still believe America can be saved. But not if we keep pretending this is normal.
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Paolina Milana is a first-generation Sicilian American with journalistic roots and the author of several books, including the memoirs The S Word and Committed, and most recently, The Caregiver Chronicles
