Politically Homeless - Left, Right And Center-ish
Real people, real letters, real problems, no solutions.
Politics these days are so divided and divisive that it’s become the norm to view the other side of the aisle as “the enemy”. People are being told to “pick a side” and that there’s no room for middle ground. We here at Phetasy believe that there are a lot more people in the middle than politicians and the media would have us believe.
We’re collecting stories from the ever growing number of people who are finding themselves Politically Homeless and posting them here on Substack. If you have moved from conservative to liberal, or liberal to conservative, if you feel you’ve stayed in the same place and your party has swerved drastically away from you, if you had a moment that awakened you to the insanity and hypocrisy on both sides, if you keep your mouth shut anytime a political topic comes up because you’re afraid your opinion will cause you to lose friends or your job, you’re not as alone as you might think.
Our goal is to shine a light on people’s earnest, individual experiences and show them they’re not alone.
Some letters have been edited for clarity and brevity. If you’re politically homeless and would like to share your story, please email us at iampoliticallyhomeless@gmail.com. All submissions will remain anonymous.
Letter 6:
Where to begin? Well, I voted for Walter Mondale on the back page of my “Weekly Reader” magazine in the 3rd grade! Raised in a mostly Democrat family, I went to UC Berkeley and voted for Bill Clinton in 1996, in my first real presidential vote.
To that point I wasn’t really political, I was a Democrat and never questioned it. However, my time at Berkeley started to change that. I found I was growing uncomfortable with the extreme left. I was told business owners were bad, people of faith were bad, the military was bad and that skin color DID matter more than the content of your character.
The problem was, I knew too many people in those categories that didn’t fit the left’s caricature. My paternal grandparents were business owners who worked their butts off and were wonderful loving people. I went to high school in a small town with lots of Christians, and while not religious myself, I had lots of friends who were. None were bible thumping zealots. I have several family members I love and respect who are veterans. And my extended family is multicultural, so I grew up with aunts, uncles and cousins who all looked different. I never thought our various skin colors mattered at all.
At Berkeley I began to question why so many of my real-life experiences differed from what I was told. It caused me to seek out what Republicans actually said, versus what Democrats said they said. I was shocked that the vast majority of what I found was much more reasonable than I expected, and I agreed with a lot of it. The pendulum swung in the opposite direction. I registered as a Republican in 2000. I started attending my state’s caucuses in 2006. I was elected to be a delegate at the state Republican convention 2 times. And then Donald Trump happened…
I was duped. I believed Republicans actually cared about good character, the Constitution, fiscal responsibility, etc. I thought the idea laughable that a philandering reality TV star, a former Democrat bathed in gold lamé and a fake tan, known for screwing over his business partners, could be a thing in the Republican party. I said as much at my 2016 precinct caucus. I told everyone they were being played for a fool. Trump was playing the part of what a Democrat thinks the average Republican was. But, I was the fool, and wrong about my party. Trump won the vote that night, and I officially became an independent the next day.
I don’t know what to call myself anymore. A classical liberal, maybe? Basically, I find all the culture war arguments exhausting, although I never considered myself a “social conservative.” I still favor small government and the Constitution. And yes, I suppose that still puts me in the “conservative” camp, but I’m not sure what that word means anymore. I find that I agree with people like Jonah Goldberg and Charles C.W. Cooke on many topics.
These days the lack of intellectual honesty is too much to take. There is almost no topic that each party won’t flip on just to fit a convenient political narrative.
Classified Documents:
2016 (R’s) Hillary is a crook! “LOCK HER UP!” (D’s) Lulz. Why do you have a problem with her yoga routines?
2022: (D’s) Trump showed a total disregard for national security! “LOCK HIM UP!” (R’s) This is a witch hunt, he was just scrapbooking!
Russia:
2012 - (R’s) Russia is our greatest geopolitical foe. (D’s) Haha! Dummies, the 1980’s called! 2016 - (D’s) Russia is a threat to our democracy! (R’s) Na they’re cool, just stop with your Russia-gate hoax.
Choice:
(D’s) Women should be able to make their own health care decisions. Well, except for vaccines. No choice there, you will lose your effin’ job if you don’t comply!
(R’s) What about babies?
(D’s) That’s different. Innocent people will die!
(R’s) Umm, my question stands.
(D’s) If you care about the innocent so much, put on a mask.
(R’s) Why don’t you weaklings toughen up! Don’t you take away my freedoms!
I could literally go on for another 97 pages of examples.
Thank you for doing this. It is important to let folks know that there are a lot of normals out there. In fact, we vastly outnumber the loud, fear and rage obsessed extremes. Perhaps once normal voices are seen as the majority we can demand better of our “leaders.” Well, a guy can dream at least. Keep it up, and GOOD LUCK!.
Sincerely,
Politically Homeless
Some letters have been edited for clarity and brevity. If you'd like to share your story, email us at iampoliticallyhomeless@gmail.com. All submissions will remain anonymous.
I didn't vote for him in the primary - my candidate dropped out after I early voted - but I don't see what was so bad about Donald Trump. So what that he and Billy Bush had a private conversation on a a bus that was no worse than things I heard in high school? Donald Trump's experiences with women pales in comparison to JFK and Clinton, not to mention LBJ. One of the sex magazines ran an article by Exavier Hollander, the high price Dutch hooker, who told about going to the White House to screw BOTH JFK and LBJ while their wives were away. JFK had women all over the place. If there was a president lacking in character, it was Kennedy. A recent book by a woman who was a 19-year old intern told how JFK popped her cherry then had her blow one of his aides by the White House swimming pool. Yes, Trump was vulgar, and he went public with comments on Twitter that other presidents kept in the White House but overall, he was a pretty good president.
As for Trump's politics, the feature that attracted voters was that he WAS NOT the GOP, which is as bad as the Democrats. After all, many GOP leaders came out of the DNC. Reagan is a good example. The man was a New Deal Democrat who changed parties. Personally, I detest both parties, but I detest Democrats more.
I’m a reversal of this piece. Raised by dyed in the wool Rs, my first D vote was John Kerry after Bush W.’s crappy first term. Voted for Obama both times. Then things got bad, but still I really wanted Hillary to win, although she was not my first choice in the primaries. I will not vote D again, at this point, but the Rs need someone besides Trump.