Opinion: I left the Republican Party because it has lost its way
I was a registered Republican until I pulled my first Democratic ballot on May 8, 2018.
Like many reading this, I grew up in suburban neighborhoods that were predominately white and middle class. I grew up listening to Ronald Reagan, George W. Bush and Rush Limbaugh− remember Rush’s bit during the Clinton years about "American Held Hostage?" I went to a Baptist church on Wednesday nights and Sundays, and I lived in a household where politics wasn’t a dinner table discussion, nor was it something we seemed to ever talk about.
Many of you who identify as Republican or conservative in the wake of Jan. 6, the Trump presidency and the Dobbs decision have asked yourself the same question I began to ask myself in earnest about 15 years ago: Is this Republican Party really the party for me?
The answer has become a clear no for me.
On the economy, my former party has gone rogue.
I began my legal career in 2007 as a consumer bankruptcy attorney − which I still am to this day − working primarily with working-class and middle-class families. I spent the majority of my first four years in practice helping families across the socio-economic spectrum trying to save their homes from foreclosure, their cars from repossession and collection efforts from banks and corporations, especially payday lenders, who preyed upon these families. As the bailout was happening, I asked myself why the corporations were being bailed out, and families were losing everything.
On middle- and working-class families, my former party has given up.
I have been abhorred by the Republican Party’s, particularly the Ohio GOP’s, outright assault on middle- and working-class families. I witnessed this firsthand in the Ohio Legislature in 2010-2011 when I urged passage of a bill that would increase Ohio’s homestead exemption. After I testified in front of a House committee, I was able to watch floor debates; and, to my absolute horror, I listened as countless Republicans openly attacked Gov. John Kasich over Medicaid expansion and expressed disdain for the needs of our most economically vulnerable Ohioans.
And most recently on women’s rights, my former party has rejected protections for personal rights.
I have always supported a woman’s right to choose, and there is no place in the party for a pro-choice Republican given the continued grip the religious right and lobbyists have on the party.
This horror has continued each and every time I have petitioned at the Statehouse, which has included two other memorable meetings: the time I heard an unnamed state senator refer to Ohioans as "you people" during a meeting with corporate lobbyists and two consumer groups about legislation over Ohio’s first data security bill, and a second time where I worked against a payday lending bill only to have the Republican representative repeatedly pause in his questioning as he was getting texts of questions to ask me from the lobbyist in the corner.
My only regret from May 8, 2018 was not making the decision to become a Democrat earlier.
The Republican Party has lost its way, and I’m proud to be working with organizations across our state, like WelcomePAC (https://welcomepac.org/), that are committed to elevating candidates who can protect our state and our democracy from the GOP’s radicalized positions.
It is my hope that sharing parts of my story inspires others to not only ask themselves the hard questions, but to also leave a party that now celebrates greed, corruption and oppression.
Brian Flick is Managing Partner and Cincinnati Office Director of Dann Law, with a practice that focuses on bankruptcy, foreclosure defense, appellate litigation, and other areas of consumer law.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: Opinion: I left the Republican Party because it has lost its way
