“Why I Switched—To Democrat, Then Back to Republican”
GUEST BLOG WRITTEN BY SARAH B.
Arizona Woman of Action
(I love Sarah’s story! It’s so hope-filled but also profound on the importance of values! Please share. – Kim)
Even though I was raised in a loving, conservative home, and first registered to vote as a Republican, I switched to Democrat. Why? Partly out of pressure (basically bullied by my husband), but also, like many others, I had heard liberals were the compassionate ones, concerned about protecting the rights of others.
I justified that my husband was one of those liberals, and I could help the Party by sharing my conservative ideas! But he turned out to be a leftist-- insisting we were “entitled to state benefits”, always angry about supposed racism (but without evidence), and always in fear of covid or global warming. This was not the compassion I expected from liberals, but instead a lot of ‘righteous’ anger. Eventually I woke up tired and worn out from the anger of the far left. I still have dear liberal friends, but I had to escape the mindset that took away my sanity and hope. Here’s what I learned.
1- Democrats are no longer “the compassionate ones”. They’re either old school Liberals (like John F. Kennedy or even Bill Clinton) OR they’re Leftists. The true liberals still care, but they don’t realize their party has been taken over by socialists, and it’s demolishing what they believe in—what our forefathers created in our Constitutional Republic. And the Democrat platform no longer cares about the rights and freedoms of the people; only about taking control.
2- The Democrat media is just NOT fact-based. When I registered as a Democrat, I noticed the videos posted to my Facebook made AOC look like the American Joan of Arc, standing up to Big Pharma and Big Tech. Nowhere was I shown the full sound bites where she makes no sense: ‘the Green New deal is going to save us from certain death in a decade!’ They use terms like fossil fuels as fact, but have no idea that even that term is a lie. They say renewable energy is a great innovation that will keep improving, but it’s nowhere close to beating petroleum or nuclear power – both of which help most people in poorer countries.
3- Democrat activists are kind of shady. Whenever someone found out that I was a registered Democrat, and they were too, the conversation turned SUPER secretive. They lowered their voice and looked around making sure no one else was listening, like we were part of a spy network. No joke. Every time! Once I was part of an activist group talking about staging a protest in front of a local GOP Office--again it felt shady, rather than doing good work…. Eventually, I thought to myself: if what the Republicans (my family) are standing for is so bad, why is there a need to always be looking behind your shoulder? Why is everything in the Democrat party secretive?
After four years of living like this, I was obese, SUPER in debt, angry, and impatient with people: things I never wanted to be or have my son see. It hit me one day that my parents’ “normal” life was healthy. It had schedules, hard work, gratitude and hope. Conservative values actually made happiness possible.
Leftist thinking had derailed my life. I had to make some tough choices, but now I’m free! Today, with my family’s support, I’ve lost and kept off over 20 pounds, paid off debts, been at peace with who I am, strong in my faith, and I now have the ability to be fully present for my son. (He goes to the gym with me, and we even go to Republican meetings together!) Honestly, I can say it’s when I embraced conservative thinking that we started getting healthy.
Now I’m part of Chandler/Gilbert Republican Women, I’ve worked on campaigns, and contribute research and admin support for Arizona Women of Action. I’m excited to be an activist for freedom! I hope my story encourages others to think about their beliefs, and remember WHY we’re fighting-- for a healthy, happy country.