Any names to add to this list of good Republicans?

[LAS14]

Last edited Sat Dec 5, 2020, 05:56 PM - Edit history (7)

I know lots of DUers disagree with me, but I firmly believe we need a loyal opposition for a healthy democracy. I keep my eyes open in hope for conservatives who believe in logic and science and adhere to norms. My open eyes haven't born much fruit. Here's my list. Can anyone add to it?

tia
las

Ex VA rep Denver Riggleman (saw him on Chris Hayes last night… I THINK it was Chris Hayes)

Gabriel Sterling – GA election official who made an impassioned speech against false election fraud claims and incitement to violence

Mitt Romney

The Lincoln Project
?
?
Edits from thread: Mike Dewine (gov of Ohio)
Charlie Baker (gov of MA)
Brad Little (gov of Idaho)

Spoke out against the "fraudulent election" campaign
Sen. Lamar Alexander R-TN - 0utgoing
Sen. Lisa Murkowski R-AK
Sen. Patrick J. Toomey R-PA
Rep. Will Hurd R-TX - Outgoing
Rep. Adam Kinzinger R-IL
Rep. Paul Mitchell R-MI - Outgoing
Rep. Francis Rooney R-FL - Outgoing


Larry Hogan (gov of Maryland)
Aaron Van Langevelde (Michigan state canvasser who held firm becuase he believed it was what the law required).
Pete McKloskey

My dead father. He was a Republican, would be 110 now. He was one of the good ones: brilliant, ethical, economist, compassionate, pro-choice, etc. Don't make 'em like him anymore.

[SMC22307]

1. LOL, Mitt "47%" Romney, Mr. Bain Capital...

who destroyed Mom & Pop? No *bleeping* way.

Did Gabriel Sterling stand up and denounce the threats directed toward his Democratic counterparts and poll workers in Philly, Detroit, etc.? No.

[LAS14]

7. He's a Republican. I'm not saying these people have good political ideas. nt

[SMC22307]

37. Then what makes them "good," in your book?

Why are you embracing Republicans?

[LAS14]

52. Respect for logic, science and norms. Remember that logic doesn't imply...

... agreement. You can employ logic but arrive at different conclusions. Visit any debate team meeting.

[Ilsa]

10. Honestly, Sterling may not have heard

about the harassment in PA. He's been up to his ass in alligators for a month. Any free time was probably spent sleeping or relaxing with family, not watching news.

[SMC22307]

38. Perhaps. But there was another Georgian, can't think of his exact role,

who made a statement about the dude in Floriduh who used his brother's Georgia address to register -- true voter fraud, not bullshit voter fraud. When making his statement, this guy just *had* to take a swipe at California. They're Southern Republicans and my guess is they're all of the same mindset -- and colossal assholes to boot.

[Ilsa]

60. Probably Raffensberger, the SoS. Sterling is lead Tech guy, IIRC. nt

[SMC22307]

64. Jordan Fuchs.

https://www.wsbtv.com/news/politics/florida-attorney-under-investigation-registering-vote-georgia-encouraging-others-do-same/L6LTC2AHBFDMXPOTZKVMO5ESJQ/

[aidbo]

2. I have my own list.

[Arkansas Granny]

3. I agree with you about having an opposition party. I would hope

that it would be comprised of sane, rational people who cared more about the country than their own desire for power.

[CatMor]

4. I do agree with you we need loyal opposition for a healthy democracy ..

where I disagree is there are no current good republicans in office. There have been good ones in the past but no longer. Hopefully the Lincoln Project keeps working to get rid of them all.

[Pantagruel]

5. You're setting the bar remarkably low

if your criteria is "conservatives who believe in logic and science and adhere to norms". A GOPer who believes in gravity and observes simple laws of self-preservation isn't necessarily someone I want in the family.

[LAS14]

8. I don't want them in the family. I want an opposing family that's sane. nt

[rownesheck]

6. There are no good Republicans.

If they ever switch their allegiance from money to human beings, then I'll believe there are good ones. But, i guess, they wouldn't be republicans at that point, so I stick by my first statement.

[LAS14]

9. Again. I'm not saying they're "good" in the sense that they have political..

... beliefs that I agree with, but you can be logical without arriving at the same conclusions. Visit a meeting of any high school debate team.

[NRaleighLiberal]

11. my list of good republicans is very easy to read

None

it isn't just the election, it is their values and their lock step when Mitch calls. I don't know of a single good republican idea. They are the party of racists, haters and big business. No thanks.

Not a single one - I will trust no republican ever, for the rest of my life (not that I ever did - it is not a far trip for me from then to now).

Before I disliked them. Now I hate them.

[LAS14]

20. I tried to be clear that I was not endorsing their "ideas." Just their adherence to logic...

...science and norms. You don't have to agree about conclusions to have those values. Just visit a meeting of any debate team.

[NRaleighLiberal]

28. I don't think ANY adhere to science and norms. No evidence of that, anyway

And my concern is that they may show promise, but go to home base once they are called. Lockstep.

Our Democratic tent is big enough to have meaningful debates. Until the right wing becomes actually relevant in their desire to actually move forward, I have no use for them.

[LAS14]

32. Why do you think that about the people named in the OP? nt

[NRaleighLiberal]

44. No need to even assess. Until there is a track record of any republican actually breaking not only

with trump but with trump supporters, I assume they are all of an unsavory ilk.

I won't forgive what they've done - not only during the last four years, but Reagan, Nixon, Dubya - what they did to Obama and Carter.

[LAS14]

48. The people named in the OP HAVE broken with Trump. nt

[NRaleighLiberal]

54. maybe temporarily. Not nearly enough time to confirm for the long haul.

Clearly you are more forgiving of republicans than I am - or maybe more moderate? I am very, very left wing. And not at all ready to make nice with any of them.

[FakeNoose]

12. How about Ohio Governor Mike DeWine?

I don't know, he doesn't seem too awful.

[Tracer]

17. How about MA Governor Charlie Baker?

He's not only not "awful", but pretty good. Especially regarding Covid.

I actually voted for him. Not the first time he was elected, but the second time.

[LAS14]

22. Huh. How could I forget Baker? I live in MA. Didn't vote for him, but still. nt

[LAS14]

21. Yes. I'll add him.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

65. Before you add DeWine please read this:

https://www.dispatch.com/story/news/2020/12/03/abortion-fetal-remains-cremation-ohio/3807877001/

Of course he will sign this misogynistic bill - that's what Republicans do.

John McCain also has a shit record on women's reproductive rights.

To whom are these abominable people loyal? They sure aren't loyal to women's rights.

[AleksS]

13. I'd take sterling off.

He was all for violence—right up until they turned threats against him.

Violence and threats against dems? Nothing from him.
Violence and threats against him? What!!!??? This is unconscionable!!!

He’s not a good Republican. He’s just as vile as the rest who don’t care until their bullshit turns on them.

[50 Shades Of Blue]

14. The problem with a "loyal opposition" is the things it's opposed to.

Fuck the loyal opposition. They are loyal to only one thing - their bank statements.

[GeorgeGist]

15. How about ...

Oxy Moron?

[DemoTex]

16. No.

[spanone]

18. here's a glimpse into their current mindset....

https://www.democraticunderground.com/100214664029

[LAS14]

24. Any idea who these nine are? Have they spoken out publicly? If so, they might make my list.

"2. Do you support or oppose Donald Trump’s continuing efforts to claim victory?

Oppose - 9"

[spanone]

30. Five of the nine will not be returning to congress

Sen. Lamar Alexander R-TN - 0utgoing

Sen. Lisa Murkowski R-AK

Sen. Mitt Romney R-UT

Sen. Patrick J. Toomey R-PA

Rep. Will Hurd R-TX - Outgoing

Rep. Adam Kinzinger R-IL

Rep. Paul Mitchell R-MI - Outgoing

Rep. Francis Rooney R-FL - Outgoing

Rep. Denver Riggleman R-VA - Outgoing

[CTyankee]

19. I don't know Iriggelman or Sterling but I do wonder about their ideas that a Dem could like.

Sterling made a good start from what you've said. Romney might be the last of a rare breed, so where does that get us?

IMO, it will take some time before we can wash the GOP clean of some of the most atrocious lies that are simply unbelievable at best and at worse are malignant.

IMO, the party must be thoroughly cleansed of any hint of racism, sexism, and innate prejudice against LGBTQ people.

But as it stands, the GOP does not stand for anything I believe is good and sacred. Anyone who signs up for the GOP is suspect.

Once the party can prove itself worthy of one minute of my time I will listen. But not until then.

[LAS14]

23. I didn't suggest that they had ANY "ideas that a Dem could like." I just want them..

... to respect logic, science and norms. You don't have to agree about ideas to respect those things. Just visit a meeting of a debate team.

[CTyankee]

25. Yes, but logic, science and norms don't seem to matter to repukes.

Is there a current Republican active in politics that DOES have those three qualities in their thinking? I know that I would have to rack my brain to name one who is currently a repub. in office or soon to be in office whose beliefs I could respect and vote for.

[LAS14]

27. Why do you reject the names in my OP? nt

[jmowreader]

26. Brad Little, governor of Idaho, is one of the few sane ones here

He took a lot of shit from the Legislature and the Idaho Freedom Foundation over the lockdowns he implemented in the early days of COVID, but they worked. Only after those parties basically overthrew the governor did we develop the shitshow we have now.

[LAS14]

29. I'll add him to the OP. nt

[WhiskeyGrinder]

31. None of the above.

[Solly Mack]

33. No

[maxrandb]

34. Calling any of today's Retrumplicans "good" is like

Saying Jeffrey Dame was a good neighbor because he only ate out of towners.

[Ms. Toad]

35. Mike DeWine is mixed

He's been pretty good (not perfect) but pretty good on COVID 19 (and there have been impeachment resolutions filed by Republicans who consider him a traitor).

I disagree with his politics on a lot of things (not too surprising) - but he is generally rational, listens to science on matters of health (aside from abortion). And is willing to stand up for what he believes is right against party opposition.

My parents like MD governor Larry Hogan.

Aaron Van Langevelde (Michigan state canvasser who held firm becuase he believed it was what the law required).

[LAS14]

50. Hogan already added. Will add Langevelde. nt

[soothsayer]

36. It: 25, wow! I am surprised there are so many. We have just begun to fight. Please send me a list of

Link to tweet

?s=21

Donald J. Trump
@realDonaldTrump
25, wow! I am surprised there are so many. We have just begun to fight. Please send me a list of the 25 RINOS. I read the Fake News Washington Post as little as possible!

Philip Rucker
@PhilipRucker
The Washington Post surveyed all 249 Republicans in the House and Senate. Only 25 would acknowledge that Joe Biden is president-elect. https://washingtonpost.com/politics/survey-who-won-election-republicans-congress/2020/12/04/1a1011f6-3650-11eb-8d38-6aea1adb3839_story.html…
12:54 PM · Dec 5, 2020

[Brainfodder]

39. Oxymoron IMHO, if good Republican truly, should be (I)ndependent by now?

[SMC22307]

40. Toomey? LOL

Do you have ANY understanding of PA politics?!

[FakeNoose]

41. No Toomey - NEVER

The only good thing Pat Toomey ever did was when he decided not to run for re-election. He's done in 2022 and he'll probably take a 2 year vacation until then.

[SMC22307]

43. Yep. My mother's in PA and between Toomey and nutso Mastriano...

and so many others -- YIKES!

[LAS14]

47. He was added because he was one of 9 in another thread who had denounced...

... Trump's "election fraud" campaign. This is not a list of people who have political ideas we agree with. Quite the contrary. They are "the opposition."

[Autumn]

42. I know of a few.

John McCain, Walter B. Jones Jr., Paul Coverdell, Floyd Spence, Paul Gillmor, Bill Young.

[LAS14]

45. Oh!!! John McCain!! Of course I meant to include him in the OP. Will do it now.

And will include the others you named, although I don't know any of them. Might you add 2 or 3 words of identification?

tia
las

[Retrograde]

51. McCain? Isn't he still dead?

Your post brought to mind "the only good Republican is a dead Republican". McCain had his merits - and I wanted to see him as the GOP nominee in 2000 instead of Bush. Still wouldn't vote for him, even if he could run.

[Autumn]

56. Yes he is still dead. All of the ones' in my post are dead.

[roamer65]

46. Another anti-Trumper...Larry Hogan, governor of MD.

[Retrograde]

49. Romney? Alexander? Murkowski? Toomey?

They talk big when the stakes are low. When one or more of them stand up and publicly call out Mitch when their votes will make a difference then I may be impressed. Right now, it seems that the turtle is letting their leashes slacken up a little bit here and there to make them look independent, but when it matters they're all back in step.

[LeftInTX]

53. Spoke out against the "fraudulent election" campaign

These are our allies to certify the vote on Jan 6th

Mitt Romney
Sen. Lisa Murkowski R-AK
Sen. Patrick J. Toomey R-PA

Rep. Adam Kinzinger R-IL


I am really afraid the senate will refuse to certify the vote.
This will then go to the House where it turns into a cluster fuck..where each state gets one vote to decide the president. (In other words,each state's House caucus, which is majority GOP will determine the president)

January 6, 2021Counting Electoral Votes in Congress: The Congress meets in joint session to count the electoral votes. The President of the Senate is the presiding officer. If a Senator and a House member jointly submit an objection, each House would retire to its chamber to consider it.The President and Vice President must achieve a majority of electoral votes (270) to be elected. In the absence of a majority,the House selects the President,and the Senate selects the Vice President.

https://www.archives.gov/files/electoral-college/state-officials/presidential-election-brochure.pdf

[BGBD]

59. Thats not what happens.

That is only if neither person gets over 270. An objection over certified votes just means they would separately consider it, but there is no requirement of how. They could vote or Pelosi could just say it is rejected.


The ultimate arbiter of a challenge goes to the executive of the state, by law. And all of the executives have already signed off on their state certifications.

A challenge in congress is nothing but a couple hour delay, nothing to lose sleep over.

[Brother Buzz]

55. The last Republican I held any respect for was Pete McClosky

Lifelong Republican, Marine veteran, Earth Day co-founder and former congressman

Oh wait, Pete "I say a pox on them and their values' McCloskey is now a registered Democrat

Open Letter:
April, 2007

McCloskeys have been Republicans in California since 1859, the year before Lincoln's election. My great grandfather, John Henry McCloskey, orphaned in the great Irish potato famine of 1843, came to California in 1853 as a boy of 16, and joined the party just before the Civil War.

By 1890 he and my grandfather, both farmers, made up two of the twelve members of the Republican Central Committee of Merced County. My father's most memorable expletive came when I was a boy of 10 or 11: "That damn Roosevelt is trying to pack the Supreme Court!"

I registered Republican in 1948 after reaching the age of 21. We were the party of civil rights, of free choice for women and fiscal responsibility. Since Teddy Roosevelt, we had favored environmental protection, and most of all we stood for fiscal responsibility, honesty, ethics and limited government intrusion into our personal lives and choices. We accepted that one the duties of wealth was to pay a higher rate of income tax, and that the estates of the wealthy should contribute to the national treasury in reasonable measure.

I was proud to serve with Republicans like Gerry Ford, the first George Bush and Bob Dole.

In 1994, however, Newt Gingrich brought a new kind of Republicanism to power, and the election of George W. Bush in 2000 has led to wholly new concept of governance. The bureaucracy has mushroomed in size and power. The budget deficits have become astronomical. Our historical separation of church and state has been blurred. We have seen a succession of ethical scandals, congressmen taking bribes, and abuse of power by both the Republican House leadership and the highest appointees of the White House.

The single cardinal principle of political science, that power corrupts, has come to apply not only to Republican leaders like Tom DeLay, Duke Cunningham, Bob Ney and John Doolittle, but to a succession of White House officials and appointees. The stench of Jack Abramoff has permeated much of the Washington Republican establishment.

The Justice Department, guardian of of our rule of law, has been compromised. It's third ranking official, a graduate of Pat Robertson's dubious law school, has taken the 5th Amendment.

Men who have never felt the fear of combat, and who largely dodged military service in their youth, have led us into grievous wars in far off places with no thought of the diplomacy, grace and respect for other peoples and their cultures which has been an American trademark for at least the last two thirds of a century. We have lost the respect and affection of most of the world outside our borders. My son, Peter, one of the U.S. prosecutors at The Hague of the war crimes in Serbia and elsewhere, tells me that people of other countries no longer look at the country which countenances torture as a beacon for the world and the rule of law.

Earth Day, that bi-partisan concept of Gaylord Nelson in 1970, has become the focus of almost hatred by today's Republican leadership. Many still argue that global warming is a hoax, and that Bush has been right to demean and suppress the arguments of scientists at the E.P.A., Fish & Wildlife and U.S.Geological Survey.

I say a pox on them and their values.

Until the past few weeks, I had hoped that the party could right itself, returning to the values of the Eisenhowers, Fords and George H. W. Bush.

What finally turned me to despair, however, was listening to the reports, or watching on C-Span, a whole series of congressional oversight hearings on C-Span, held by old friends and colleagues like Pat Leahy, Henry Waxman, Norm Dicks, Nick Rahall, Danny Akaka and others, trying to learn the truth on the misdeeds and incompetence of the Bush Administration. Time after time I saw Republican Members of the House and Senate. speak out in scorn or derision about these exercises of Congress oversight responsibility being "witch-hunts" or partisan attempts to distort the actions of people like the head of the General Service Administration and the top political appointees in the Justice and Interior Departments. Disagreement turned into disgust.

I finally concluded that it was a fraud for me to remain a member of this modern Republican Party, that there were only a few like Chuck Hegel, Jack Warner, Arlen Specter, Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins I could respect.

Two of the best, Lincoln Chafee of Rhode Island, and Jim Leach of Iowa, after years of battling for balance and sanity, were defeated last November, and it seems that every Republican presidential candidate is now vying for the support of the Pat Robertsons and Jerry Falwells rather than talking about a return to the values of the party I joined nearly 59 years ago. My favorite spokesmen have beome Senators Jim Webb and Barack Obama.

And so it was, that while at the Woodland courthouse the other day, passing by the registrar's office, I filled out the form to re-register as a Democrat.

The issues Helen (McCloskey) and I care about most, public financing of elections, a reliable paper ballot trail, independent re-districting to replace gerrymandering, the right of a woman to choose not to bring a child into the world, a reversal of the old Proposition 13 and term limits which have so hurt California's once superb education system and the competence of our Legislature, are now almost universally opposed by California's elected Republicans, and the occasional attempts at reform by our Governor are looked on with grim disdain by most of them.

From Helen's and my standpoint, being farmers in Yolo County gives us the opportunity to work for purposes which were once Republican, but can no longer be found at Republican conventions and discussions.

I hope this answers your questions about the party and a government I have served in either civil or military service under ten presidents, five Republican and five Democrat ... I doubt it will be of much interest other than to our friends, but it has been a decision not easily taken.

Respectfully,
Pete McCloskey

[LAS14]

63. Have added this to the OP. nt

[LeftInTX]

58. Another doomsday scenario

And, even though Trump will likely fail to convince courts to credit his allegations of election fraud, he could still press his fraud claim to Congress and urge its members to disqualify some states’ electoral votes. Given Trump’s continuing hold on Republican lawmakers, it appears not out of the question that they would take such an appeal seriously. And, as I wrote last week, if Congress cannot ultimately agree on how to count the electoral votes, it is unclear how the Presidential election would be resolved. Even if the American people wanted the Supreme Court to settle it, the Constitution and other laws would not provide clear means for the Court to decide.

https://www.newyorker.com/news/our-columnists/how-far-could-republicans-take-trumps-claims-of-election-fraud

I am thoroughly convinced that this is what Mitch McConnell will do.....

[moonscape]

61. My dead father. He was a Republican, would be

110 now. He was one of the good ones: brilliant, ethical, economist, compassionate, pro-choice, etc. Don't make 'em like him anymore.

We used to have spirited debates on issues, the way it should be.

[LAS14]

62. Happily adding this to the OP!!! nt

[Raine]

66. My father was a Republican too, a really good guy

Last edited Sun Dec 6, 2020, 04:57 AM - Edit history (1)

he would have been 101 this year. 🥰 My father loved politics, we would talk for hours on the state of the World etc.👍