Heredity wasn't the only reason for my Republicanism, however. In college, I developed an intense appreciation for Republican reformers like Theodore Roosevelt, Margaret Chase Smith and Fiorello LaGuardia. And a framed portrait of Abraham Lincoln still holds a prominent place in my office. Jr. Dr. King is as much an inspiration to me as is President Lincoln. Not only did I wish to terminate my affiliation with a racially identifiable political party, I also wished to separate from a party many of whose adherents are determined to blur, if not erase, the constitutional separation of church and state.
Republican leaders have no great love for church-state separation.
Listen to what they say, or do not say, on the topic. In fact, the Constitution itself, with the exception of the Second Amendment and the impeachment power, is rarely cited at GOP events. Finally, I have no desire to affiliate with a party that has no agenda for the future. What Republican leaders share with their Democratic counterparts is an overriding determination to be elected and to stay elected. Each party feeds off a corrupt, incestuous campaign finance system that places incumbancy above public need.