(C) Daily Kos This story was originally published by Daily Kos and is unaltered. . . . . . . . . . . Forgive Me, Tim Miller [1] ['This Content Is Not Subject To Review Daily Kos Staff Prior To Publication.'] Date: 2024-08-20 Like many of you, I watched the first night of the historic Democratic National Convention, and I was captivated by it. The event was moving and inspiring, and even though it ended late, I wasn’t ready to let it go. So, I turned to YouTube, searching for discussions about this beautiful display of a united America. I stumbled upon Tim Miller from The Bulwark, who, along with a few of his buddies, was engaged in a post-convention discussion. Tim had gathered four other white, Republican men to form a panel and asked them what they thought was the best part of the evening. It quickly became clear that these Republican Never-Trumpers were not at all impressed. They didn't connect with the passion of the speakers, the stories of the people on stage, or the magnitude of the historical moment—a moment when an elder statesman was passing the baton of American democracy to the nation’s first woman of color as a nominee for President of the United States. Aside from a couple of obligatory statements about how the stories on abortion were pretty good, although the comments were cynically attributed to being well curated by the convention planners, there was no discussion about what this evening, this convention and this election means for women, and other under-represented groups in our society. My initial instinct was to turn off the screen and go to bed. It was late, and I doubted I would agree with much of what these five men had to say. But I stayed and listened—and I’m glad I did. It soon became clear that one of Tim and his friends' main criticisms was that the convention, in their view, lacked any effort to reach out to undecided voters, disaffected Republicans, and, most importantly, to them. What was in it for them? Forgive me, Tim Miller, but this is where you and your Never-Trump colleagues are missing the point. Democrats don’t owe you anything in this election. We were moved because we saw people speaking about issues that matter deeply to us: lifting up the middle class and the poor, caring for the least among us, fighting for the marginalized, and standing up for the rights of women and families. These are our principles—immutable beliefs we hold to be self-evident. They’re not just pleasant-sounding platitudes that help us sleep at night; they are the core values that guide us in life. They are what energize and inspire us. I made a surprising friend in the early 2000s—a vivacious pharmaceutical sales rep who came to the hospital in which I worked to discuss the latest psych meds with our doctors. We became fast friends, despite our differences: she was an Evangelical Christian, a conservative, and a marathon runner—things I was not. Early in our friendship, I asked her about the Republican Party’s platform. As a lifelong Democrat, I’d always resonated with the party’s ideals; they spoke to me in a way that felt innate. The only Republican I’d known closely was my stepfather, a wonderful, courageous, and kind man. After his passing, I often wondered about the political discussions we might have had—about Reagan, Iran-Contra, and the Iranian hostage situation that even I, as a 15-year-old, could tell involved some political shenanigans. Now, I had a new friend with whom I could have these discussions, without defensiveness or cruelty. My friend explained that her Republican beliefs were rooted in principles like states’ rights, personal responsibility, limited government, and a commitment to the rule of law and the Constitution. All principles that sounded good to me, it made sense why one might be a Republican. Over the course of the year, we had many heartfelt, open, and non-judgmental political discussions. I remember telling her that some Republican viewpoints seemed somewhat selfish — focused on not giving to others out of fear that they might take advantage. She thought for a moment and conceded, “Yeah, maybe it is a little.” Then came the 2000 election, and I didn’t discuss it with her as much as I wanted to, for fear of alienating her. But I wondered how the party of states’ rights could disregard a state supreme court’s decision in favor of a one-off federal ruling. Later, during the Terri Schiavo case, I couldn’t stay quiet. I questioned the apparent hypocrisy of overruling a state’s right to interpret its own constitution. To her credit, she thought it over and said, “Well, I hate to say it, but sometimes, if it’s politically expedient…” She trailed off, but I understood, and I thought to myself, “If your principles can change based on political expediency, then they’re not really principles at all, are they?” I didn’t say that to her, but that moment never left me. I loved her and knew her to be a good, kind, and devout person—a truth-teller, even when the truth was inconvenient. It was with this understanding of the Republican credo that I told a group of Democrats at an Indivisible gathering in late 2016 not to worry about Donald Trump. We were gathering for the first time since Michael Flynn had stepped down as National Security Advisor after it was discovered that he had been an undeclared foreign agent receiving money from a foreign government. We gathered at a time when information about Russian involvement in our election was growing by the hour, it seemed. I told them not to worry because if there was one thing I knew about Republicans, it was that they loved their country. If any of these allegations about Russian meddling were true, they would be the first in line to impeach Trump. Spoiler alert: I was wrong. The years under Trump have taught me that none of the things my friend told me could withstand the allure of political expediency. I realized that all their principles were subject to the pursuit of power. In the words of Stuart Stevens, “It was all a lie.” The Republican Party has no real principles for which it stands other than naked greed and the pursuit of power. But those don’t make great campaign slogans. So forgive me, Tim Miller, if I found your smug, arrogant synopsis of the first night of this most historic Democratic National Convention to be a little lacking because you couldn’t see anything in it for you. I understand your position, but what you fail to grasp is that we Democrats do have immutable principles for which we stand. We are never stronger, nor more unified, than when we are giving voice to them—unequivocally and unapologetically. As a party, we have spent decades trying to pander to that elusive “moderate Republican,” even to the point of diminishing our own fundamental commitments in the spirit of unity and collegiality. We’ve hoped to appeal to “centrists” like you, even as your party has been rotting from the inside out for decades, and you centrist Republicans neither noticed nor cared. You seem to be under the impression that if you can just loiter in the shadows of the Democratic party while we do you the immeasurable service of ridding your rotting party of the travesty that is Trump, that you can all then just pick up where you left off. Declare yourselves to be “sane” Conservatives and carry on as though Trump was an aberration. He is not. He is the end result of your party’s ineluctable slide towards power and greed. The end result of your party’s lack of principles. So forgive me, Tim Miller, if we no longer notice, nor care that you didn’t feel anything when our party spoke about its foundational principles, because that’s exactly what we were doing—talking about principles. Principles. It’s a Democrat thing. I wouldn’t expect you to understand. 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