The Tea Party saved my brother, and that’s why I owe them a big thanks.
For you see, it was not too long ago that the young Tim, my dear brother, was a registered Republican. He’s 21 right now, and has always been proud that he voted for McCain in the 2008 election. Not only did he support McCain, but he also supported the war in Iraq, and was Yes on Prop 8.
Yes, in the election of 2008, our votes canceled each other out. It was disheartening and since then, I’ve been on the path to try and open his mind (not convert him). No, he doesn’t have to be a liberal; I would just like it if he could question more. Up until last weekend, it didn’t seem like I had made much progress.
But then the Tea Party came along and shook things up. As it seemed more and more dire that Tim would fall deeper in to Republican rhetoric, heroes emerged. Michele Bachmann, Rand Paul, Gingrich, the whole Tea Party movement.
I had a talk with Tim last week, and I began asking him how he felt about the Tea Party invading his Republican Party. What he began telling me blew me away. The idiotic nature of the Tea Party was what got him questioning the Tea Party and his own beliefs. Growing up in a household where our father praises Ronald Reagan as the best US president of all time (still does to this day), it’s easy to be indoctrinated in to the Republican stance. However, the close-minded thinking, the support for unqualified representatives, the racist undertones…that all stirred something in him.
He now identifies as an Independent. He regrets voting for McCain/Palin, and for supporting the Iraq War. Oh, and he recognizes that voting Yes on Prop 8 is just foolishness.
Thanks for changing my brother dear Tea Party. You’ve done more than I ever could.
