No longer can I deny it, I signed the registration card in a ceremony at the Sussex County GOP picnic and there were a barn full of people watching. Eight days after my 47^th birthday I joined the Republican Party, which is to say I’ve been a Republican for years but finally got around to making it official. A little more than twenty nine years ago I turned 18 and registered as a Democrat. In almost 30 years of voting I can only remember voting for one member of that party. Ormie King was a city councilman in Auburn, New York and he once gave me a job at his store when times were tough. He lived a good Christian life and was the definition of public service. Having been unable to vote for the lone Democrat since the early 1990s (I moved) I’ve spent much of my later years as an independent and last week on my program entertained thoughts of getting involved with a strong third party.

Then I started talking with trusted friends and by the end of the week reached another conclusion. In my native New York State the Republican Party is liberal light and a dying light at that. It wasn’t always that way but when the liberal Republican, Nelson Rockefeller, was Governor, the conservatives bolted and formed a separate party. Now there is one large Democrat Party, a smaller and slightly less leftist, emphasize very slightly, Republican Party and a smaller conservative party. Clearly, a recipe for liberal domination of the system.

A friend in Georgia, author and columnist, Phil Kent, suggests in most states the two bigger parties have made it more difficult for smaller parties to have an influence. Fair? No it isn’t but it certainly is reality.

A friend in Delaware, Shaun Fink, believes a third party can be successful but unless there is a crisis of desperation (Do we really want a depression or civil war?) a viable “third way” is still a generation away. Another Delaware friend, John Rieley, offers a party is a reflection of its membership. So, if you fill a party with libertarians or conservatives it will become a libertarian or conservative party.

Critics tell me the GOP has really made a mash of things, going all the way back to 1994 when it made promises and then, like in Orwell’s Animal Farm, the pigs became just like the human masters. I wholeheartedly agree but then the party could use a few more flamethrowers. If you have people joining and willing to bring forth orthodoxy then you can drag some folks back into the barnyard.

Now, we still have a problem with big money influencing outcomes. Hey, I don’t have an answer for everything but believe some sound heads can percolate some ideas. Some of the conversations I had at the GOP picnic offer there are worries about finding a candidate to run for a vacated seat in the House of Representatives. A friend would do it but believes he can’t raise two million dollars, which may be needed for victory because you must buy TV and radio advertising across the state line in Philadelphia. It isn’t cheap. The longtime Republican serving in the House is vacating the seat in order to run in a special election for U.S. Senate next year. He has money and can win votes from Democrats because for all purposes he is a Democrat. He spoke at Sunday’s picnic. There were a couple of folks who turned their seats around and he spoke to their backs. At my table, no one applauded when he closed his remarks. Again, see the need for conservatives and libertarians to join the party ranks in order to enforce orthodoxy.

Lastly, what type of party do I want? One that respects the intent of the founders, which I believe was more libertarian than conservative. Let the churches work to restore faith and morals. From what I read in Monday’s paper, some churches have a much taller order, having descended to the depths of hell.

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