Joe Walsh Leaps From the TEA Party to the Democratic Party

[summer_in_TX]

https://open.substack.com/pub/socialcontractwithjoewalsh/p/from-the-tea-party-to-the-democratic

Joe Walsh left the Republican party five years ago and became an independent. Now he has officially joined the Democratic Party.

Worth the read

From the TEA Party to the Democratic Party, all in the past 15 years. What a wild, crazy, .unprecedented political journey it’s been. My constant thread on this journey, my lodestar, has always been my reverence for freedom, democracy, and the rule of law. Along the way, I’ve rediscovered my reverence for decency and tolerance, for pluralism. Only one of America’s two major political parties today is squarely on the side of decency, tolerance, pluralism, freedom, democracy, and the rule of law—the Democratic Party. So I join that party. I proudly and humbly join the Democratic Party.

Now let’s fight! Let’s fight like we’ve never fought before.

I don’t know if anybody else finds Joe Walsh joining us officially encouraging and validating like I do, but for me after the grief I felt the first time I heard Rush Limbaugh inveighing against liberals, and Democrats, and saying that we want to destroy the country and for long after, I really was glad to hear him lauding us and what we have in common, our love for this country, its freedoms, and the rule of law.

I like the ways I’ve seen him change over time.

I’ve opened my eyes and listened to people who don’t think like me. And by doing so, I gained a greater understanding of and appreciation for LGBTQ issues, structural racism, the need for empathetic immigration reform, the dangers of climate change, and the role government must play to help care for the neediest and most vulnerable among us.
Most importantly, I’ve changed how I behave…I was passionate about my cause—so passionate that I said and did things I regret, so passionate that I became, way more than I’m proud of, a divisive political asshole. That’s no longer who I am.
After Trump’s first election, I woke up. Seven years ago, I came out publicly against Trump. Five years ago, I left the Republican Party. I’m still a conservative, but I’m not a conservative jerk. For the past seven years, I’ve been on a mission to help heal the divide in this country—the divide I helped to create.
Decency, tolerance, understanding, empathy...I now get how vital these all are to our politics, and there’s only one political party these days that values and practices these traits—the Democratic Party. Donald Trump is the worst of us, and, sadly, the rest of the Republican Party emulates his cruelty, dishonesty, and authoritarianism. We’re better than what we’ve seen every day these past four months. America is better than this. As a former Republican, I know that cruelty sells. Well, it’s time for decency to sell.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

1. I am cautiously optimistic that he's serious about his current stance.

He sounds sincere; I hope he is. We need people like him on our side!

Watch what he does.

[Tommy Carcetti]

2. He's been sincere for the past 6 years or so.

He came to a revelation towards the end of Trump's first term.

Good on him.

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. Thank you for telling me! This is important. Yes: good on him. . . n/t

[Attilatheblond]

56. Cautious optimism re Welch is a good idea

I am a bit suspicious of him. His career was OVER, and he has been checking which way the wind is blowing. Hoping he is sincere, but keeping his ambitions in the back of my mind and will keep an eye on his behavior as he wiggles back into politics and probably runs for office again. He jumped on the Tea Party band wagon with is was a growing force. Now, as the pendulum swings left... yeah, I will hope for the best, but not trust much until he proves himself beyond just talking.

[Joinfortmill]

60. I think he's dead serious... And happy to have him. More of this, please.

[TexLaProgressive]

4. May these defections be like small stones causing an avalanche

That's how my state Texas shifted from solid Democratic to evil rPukes.

[OnDoutside]

5. Lol, with Joe, and previously David Jolly joining, I'm tearing up my Bingo Card !!!

It has been a process for people like Walsh, Jolly etc so maybe it will encourage others that the water is actually warm, so come on in. It was a feeling of post 1964 about it perhaps ?

[angrychair]

13. Never

Once a Republican piece of shit, always a Republican piece of shit.

These people are still Republicans. They are here on purpose. They are meant to seem like our friends but really meant to continue to pull the Democratic Party more to the right. Maga fascist don't suddenly become Democrats.
I will NEVER except anyone that has been a Republican as anything other than a Republican.

[cab67]

23. I don't think it's necessarily sudden.

The announcement may surprise us, but he's become a lot more progressive on social issues over the past several years. And I'm not sure he was ever really MAGA, however conservative he was (and remains).

I agree that we should be skeptical of any former Republican joining the Democratic Party, but it would be misguided to dismiss the possibility of personal growth.

In my youth, I was a Reaganite. I began to seriously question my views toward #40 during his second term when I learned more about the CIA's involvement in Nicaragua. I also saw what was happening to the economy thanks to Max Headroom's policies. The final push was Iran-Contra, which I think was a bigger scandal than even Watergate. I've been a Democrat ever since.

I know people who used to have real problems with the LGBTQ community until they realized just how many LGBTQ friends and relatives they had. They decided to not be hypocrites and accept the wrongness of their prior attitudes.

Like I said, I think anyone who came from the distant right of the Republican Party has a high credibility bar to clear when they come to our side, but I wouldn't dismiss the possibility that such people are sincere. Walsh openly acknowledges his differences with many Democrats on economic issues, but is also clear about how, exactly, he's changed. This gives him some credibility, in my eyes.

[angrychair]

33. I appreciate your perspective

And the times of the 80s is very different than now. Even the Democratic party was center-right then. But the guy was in the tea party, little to no difference from MAGA. Given the current state of affairs I find it impossible at this point to reconcile with anyone that once called themselves a Republican. Perfect example of that is people like Tulsi Gabbard. Lots of people were willing to trust her but I never did because I had no doubt who she was inside.

[groundloop]

31. Don't be so sure that people never evolve.....

I know that I've made huge changes to my thinking in terms of LGBTQ and race over the years. In many ways I don't recognize my old self. I think we should be accepting of others who are ready to see the light, and give them a chance to prove themselves.

Even if a newly minted Democrat is further to the right than most of us they're still much much better than a magat, and most likely will vote along Democratic lines the majority of the time (and definitely more so than a magat).

[angrychair]

35. I just cannot

Every time we trust people like this it always comes back to haunt us. Tulsi Gabbard is a perfect example of that. Even I wanted to trust her but in the end she was exactly who she appeared to be.
The guy was in the tea party. There is little difference between them and the current situation.
I can feel this party fighting for its identity and I feel it moving more and more center-right and it has me very worried.
When people are more willing to criticize people like AOC or Frost then they are people like Walsh or Fetterman, then we have an identity crisis in the Party.

[summer_in_TX]

64. The thing is, Joe Walsh may be able to reach those who would never listen to most Dems.

In that sense, he is at the very minimum helping us. I've been reading his work for a number of years and I actually thinking he is doing a lot more. He makes the case, day in and day out, against Trump and for democracy and the rule of law.

As for whether he's changed or not, I'm thinking a "trust but verify" or "wait and see" stance fits the situation. Plus it's healthier not to dwell on our anger, which could come back to bite us.

[0rganism]

36. People do sometimes change, occasionally for the better

I see a lot of potential for this human as a Democrat.

[angrychair]

38. People have said that before

About others and it has, in nearly every case, come back to haunt us. Tulsi Gabbard is a perfect example.

[cab67]

46. Tulsi Gabbard may not be the best example.

She's always been an opportunist. She probably ran for Congress as a Democrat not because she wanted to be a Democrat, but because a Republican was very unlikely to win that seat in Hawaii.

I don't think many of her positions has changed during her time in government - only the party affiliation. They've always been all over the map. And when they've changed, it's for opportunistic reasons, e.g. reversing her criticisms of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, which happened when her nomination for DNI was in jeopardy.

[0rganism]

47. You keep bringing up Gabbard, but I don't see her as a "perfect example" -- if anything she's the converse of Walsh

But you see it differently. Would you like to clarify?

[angrychair]

48. Not sure I understand the confusion

She started life as a very anti-LGBTQ+ Republican and had a change of heart, became a Democrat , got elected to Congress, even ran for president as a Democrat and now is a full blown MAGA Republican.
I mean that is the short version but an accurate account.

[0rganism]

49. "Started life"? You mean before she was a candidate for office? When she was 20?

Your apparent thesis: No Republican may ever have a legitimate change of heart. (At least, not such that you'd recognize it as legitimate)

You've noted elsewhere in the thread that this also applies to nazis.

Are there any other groups you feel are irredeemable?

BTW, apparently Mr. Walsh "started life" as a social worker in Chicago.

[angrychair]

50. No exactly

I was giving a high level synopsis. She was brought up in an incredibly far right church and it forged her into exactly the person we would have expected. I would need to look up when her switch to the Democratic Party occurred but if I remember correctly it was after her time in the military

[0rganism]

54. Looks like she switched in or before 2002 to run for the state legislature, before her military service began in 2003

For quick reference,
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_Walsh_(Illinois_politician) < LOL broken link goes to Eagles guitarist, EarlG pls fix
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tulsi_Gabbard

[angrychair]

52. As far as redemption is concerned

Do I believe that a Republican can become a Democrat? Maybe on paper. In my experience, which is all I have to go on for first hand knowledge, often those changes in heart for Republicans becoming "Democrats" are superficial at best. He is still very much a fiscal conservative and to be clear, the tea party/Republican brand of fiscal conservatism is harmful to the most vulnerable in our society as it seeks to demonize and shame them.

[TearsOfDaClowned]

57. When You Get a Win Take the Win

...being a Democrat is not a genetic marker.... it's a choice of political affiliation. We do not need blood purity to protect us from vampires.. we need fellow humans who generally agree with us on 50% to 70% on issues. Some of the WORST who have stood against us started off as Democrats and Progressives from Reagan to Horowitz. A friend in need of a political home is a friend indeed. Let us hear each other, debate each other, learn to live with what we can't rise above and bring Buttigiegness into our hearts & minds.

[Joinfortmill]

61. "The enemy of my enemy is my friend."

With all due respect, today's Republicans are not yesterday's Conservatives, they are Magas..which is a very different thing.

[tanyev]

6. Props to him for speaking out, but it's not necessary for Republicans horrified by Trump

to become Democrats. All they have to do is STOP supporting Trump cultists. Sometimes that might mean voting for the Democratic candidate, but if more of them can accept doing that temporarily rather than “becoming a Democrat”, that works, too.

[boonecreek]

7. He was my rep for 1 term.

Back then I thought he was nuts. Now, Stephanie Miller has him on periodically.

[3catwoman3]

58. Back then, he was.

[elocs]

8. It appears as though he had the political equivalent of a religious come to Jesus experience. n/t

[Mister Ed]

9. I welcome him. n/t

[a kennedy]

10. He was on Nicole's show yesterday......this posted yesterday too.

https://www.democraticunderground.com/?com=view_post&forum=1002&pid=20364391

[angrychair]

11. Fuck Walsh forever

He is a a Republican piece of shit, I don't care what letter he puts after his name. We cannot be this gullible?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

15. Purist loyalty tests make parties small. It's happening to the maga party. . . . . nt

[angrychair]

18. I get your point

I do. I have no doubt you have the best intentions.
That said, once a Republican, always a Republican.
No one welcomed the Nazis into their political party after the fall of their party.

Fuck Nazis. Fuck Republicans. Both cut from the same cloth.

[Bernardo de La Paz]

19. He's a conservative, not a Nazi. And it seems you think nobody can ever learn important lessons

With that attitude, I wonder how you think voters can be convinced.

Seems self-defeating.

[angrychair]

26. Republicans are Nazis

There is no difference. Walsh was in the Tea Party for crying out loud. Do you remember them? Not sure how old you are but I remember them very well. I remember the disgusting and racist things things they said about Obama. There is no difference between them and the Maga crowd.
I'm supposed to trust a guy that was in the Tea Party? Have you ever heard the parable of the scorpion and the frog?

[Bernardo de La Paz]

28. How on earth do you expect to persuade voters to vote Democratic w that attitude? When you won't accept any switch. . nt

[angrychair]

37. Tulsi Gabbard

Many, even I considered the possibility, that she was a changed person. Yet everything I thought she was is exactly who she is.
As I just said in another post, when people are more willing to criticize people like AOC or Frost then they are people like Walsh or Fetterman, then we have an identity crisis in the Party. I truly feel our Party being pulled center-right despite everything related to public opinion saying we should be doing the opposite. We need to be more liberal, not more conservative. We need to be a true alternative, not just Republican-lite

[Bernardo de La Paz]

40. Okay, you've avoided the question twice. . . nt

[angrychair]

43. Because my focus is the OP

And Walsh and his theoretical change of heart from being a fascist tea party extremist.
But, to answer your question:
We encourage people to vote for Democrats but not pushing out other Democrats because they are not willing to accept the push of some to make the party center-right because they think that is the only way to save the party. People who are more willing to demonize people like AOC and Frost then they are people like Walsh.

You encourage people to vote for Democrats by actually living up to our rhetoric we have been beating the drum on for years and stop compromising the poor in some misguided attempt to get Republican support.

[BlueKentuckyGirl]

42. Perfect moniker

After reading this entire thread, your anger comes through loud and clear. Get some help.

[angrychair]

44. Damn straight

My question to you: how can you look at what is happening and not be angry?

[BlueKentuckyGirl]

65. Anger

Oh, I'm plenty angry... about a lot of things. But Joe Walsh joining the Democratic party isn't one of them.

[angrychair]

66. Walsh is toxic

It's literally like inviting Nazis into the Democratic Party.
He was in the tea party. That organization was openly racist and xenophobic and repeated referenced Obama in ways that I will not say.
He is still an extreme fiscal conservative and funny enough fiscal conservatism always seems to focus of everyone but rich white people.
Walsh is a dyed in the wool extremist and the only agenda of people like him is to pull the Democratic Party more and more to the right.
If the Party intends to cozy up to fascist then maybe I don't know my Party anymore.

[Joinfortmill]

62. So you've said...several times.

[Mr.Bee]

12. Why Do We Need TWO Joe Walsh?

I like the one who did 'Funk 49', 'Life's Been Good', and played in The Eagles!

[Zambero]

30. Only one of them has a driver's license?

Not this one:

[Justice matters.]

14. Well, welcome to the Hotel California :)

Decency, tolerance, understanding, empathy...I now get how vital these all are to our politics, and there’s only one political party these days that values and practices these traits—the Democratic Party.

The only "fiscal-responsibility" party too.

Tax the rich.

[Fiendish Thingy]

16. Um...welcome?

It’s hard to be enthusiastic about Mr. Freedom Fries…

I’m sure Walsh will be an eager, outspoken advocate of the “Abundance” ideology you will soon hear spouted by Third Way/No Labels performative centrists everywhere.

Primer on “Abundance” politics:

https://www.thenation.com/article/politics/abundance-agenda-democrats/

[markpkessinger]

22. While Joe Walsh has used the phrase "You lie," it has mostly been in reference to Trump, and . . .

. . . it's important not to confuse him with SC Congressman Joe Wilson, who famously shouted "You lie!" during Obama's SOTU in 2009/

[Fiendish Thingy]

24. D'oh!

Thanks for the correction.

The rest of my criticism stands.

[ProfessorGAC]

25. Not Joe Walsh

That was Joe Wilson.

[xuplate]

17. Is paying his child support now?

[WestMichRad]

20. A three year trial period, perhaps

And he’ll see which way the wind is blowing in ‘28….
Color me distrusting.

[defacto7]

21. I'd trust him more if he'd stayed repub but voted against them

supporting the democratic party line. I'm for expanding out party, but when you have a public persona already, changing over makes one look weak and untrustworthy.

[Raven123]

27. Nope. Don't trust him.

[JustAnotherGen]

29. hmph

It's funny - I guess this now gives him the 'street cred' to CONSTANTLY attack the Democratic Party on threads.

So just great - another mediocre middle aged Republican white guy telling Democrats how we are wrong and are not fighters. What's his angle anyways?

[colorado_ufo]

32. This actually touched my heart.

"Decency, tolerance, understanding, empathy." These are not only vital to politics, they are vital to humanity.

[Cosmocat]

41. And he directly owned his having been

A complete jackets.

Who knows, but I like to see them own what they have done.

[CaptainTruth]

34. I appreciate the fact that he owns, acknowledges, & admits to the errors of his previous behavior.

You have to understand & admit that you have a problem, & take ownership of your problematic behavior, before you can truly change & grow.

Following Joe for several years on social media I've watched him do exactly that.

What I've seen is real growth & change, & that's something we should applaud & support. We need a lot more of it in our society.

[biocube]

39. I have no interest in being an economically center-right, socially liberal party

Nothing good lies down that path.

I literally think Nixon (on economic issues) is left of the Dems economically today with his proposal of a four-day work week and starting the EPA and Pell Grants.

[angrychair]

45. Thank you

Exactly this. We are moving away from our core values in some vain hope that we can flip Republican voters. We've been trying it since Clinton and it has never worked out for us

[sprinkleeninow]

55. I got upset recently having learned that Bill Clinton was remorseful

over joining in with that group to order Ukraine to give up their nuclear arms capability.

Wasn't aware of the specifics.

Would have been a strong deterrent?

[Demovictory9]

51. Good

[DFW]

53. It sounds to me like he thought about where he was, and decided that there was no place else to go.

If he's being sincere about it, then I'm OK with it. The Republican Party is not a pleasant place to hang your hat these days unless you're an unpleasant person, yourself.

[Joinfortmill]

59. More of this, please.

[mdbl]

63. If he's leaping here to save our Constitution, then welcome.