To the Editor:

I was raised as a Republican and in my youth voted Republican. And I still concede that the GOP was once a political party with defensible principles that cared about middle-class Americans. But this is no longer the case.

“Republican” is now just a brand that has been sold to a handful of unscrupulous mega-donors (such as the Koch brothers, the Mercers, and Betsy DeVos) who use the trust placed in this brand to manipulate and dupe “consumers.”

Think of an American company that you've really admired for a long time that makes one of your favorite products. Now imagine that some Chinese — or Russian — conglomerate buys this company, moves the factories overseas, and begins manufacturing a cheap, shoddy, totally unreliable version of your once-beloved product. The brand is the same, but the product is not — no matter how much an expensive advertising campaign tries to convince you it is. That's the situation of the GOP today. Would you keep buying a product just because of its brand name even after it's proven itself to be degraded junk?

The GOP has been bought. It's the victim of a hostile takeover. The new owners are counting on you to maintain brand loyalty no matter what. When complaints pour in, instead of listening and making the product better, they abolish the Complaints Department. You tell them you want guaranteed coverage of preexisting health conditions, and they say, “No you don't.” You say you want to preserve net neutrality, and they say you're mistaken. You say you don't want tax cuts for billionaires, and they say, “Oh yes you do.” Finally, you say you don't want such toxic levels of corruption and criminality in your politicians, and they say, “Our politicians’ level of corruption and felony is well within the newly relaxed limits.” 

If you still consider yourself a Republican, you may be focusing more on the brand than on the actual product.  If you value healthcare, women's rights, the full Social Security benefits you’ve earned, consumer protections, and a protected environment — but are still buying the dreck that the co-opted GOP is selling — it's time for you to switch brands.

Bill Spencer

Cullowhee