I have been a Republican my entire adult life.
With the exception of Donald Trump in 2024, I have voted for every Republican candidate, supported conservative causes and believed deeply in the principles that traditionally defined the Republican Party.
Over the past decade, however, I have watched the party drift away from those principles. Today, I no longer recognize the Republican Party I once supported.
I grew up believing Republicans stood for limited government, fiscal responsibility, individual liberty, personal responsibility and respect for the Constitution and the rule of law. Republicans believed government should live within its means, that no public official was above the law and that our constitutional system was more important than any party or political leader. Republicans long warned that deficit spending would be worse under Democrats, and I believed that for years.
I no longer do. Republicans continue adding trillions to the national debt while asking voters to overlook conduct that conservatives once found unacceptable. The promise of a $5,000 payment to taxpayers is one example of a policy financed by borrowing and passed on to future generations.
I have also long supported secure borders and controlled immigration. A nation has the right and responsibility to enforce its laws and secure its borders. But enforcing immigration laws should not require abandoning compassion, dignity or basic human decency. We can protect our borders while treating vulnerable families and those seeking refuge with humanity and respect.
What concerns me most is the growing tendency to place loyalty to one political figure above loyalty to the values and institutions that have sustained our republic for more than two centuries. Conservatives once championed constitutional limits on power, accountability and fidelity to the rule of law. Those principles should not change, no matter who occupies the White House.
For me, this election is not about party loyalty. It is about preserving the constitutional values, fiscal responsibility and respect for the rule of law that first made me a Republican.
This year, I am voting for all three Democratic candidates on the ballot, not because I have suddenly embraced every Democratic policy. Rather, I believe the Republican Party has abandoned many of the principles that once defined it.
I encourage fellow Republicans to look beyond party labels and ask whether today’s Republican Party truly reflects those principles. Until it does, I will not support candidates who enable the current direction.
Tim McKee,
Gettysburg