How a Republican Joined The Resistance

A little background into me: I have a double major in journalism and political science, with a focus on international relations. While journalism isn't my current job by any stretch of the imagination, I fundamentally believe that it remains the most important pillar of our democracy.

I've been a Republican all my life. When Trump secured the Republican nomination, I, like most of the country thought the election was going to be a complete blowout in favor of Hillary Clinton. I watched the debates, followed the news, the rallies, etc. I was repulsed by the Access Hollywood tape. Don't get me wrong: I'm not perfect by any means, I've said things in private that could probably be considered 'locker-room talk', but that was so far overboard that I still can't even adequately express my disgust. I had also began to hear the rumors of the Trump tower / Alfa Bank connection, but I didn't give them much credence in the beginning. I told my wife on several occasions during election season that I didn't see how Trump could possibly win the election, even with the Clinton email scandal and the FBI investigation; his utter lack of policy of any kind and juvenile debate antics would surely fall on deaf ears with the American people, right? Boy, was I wrong.


I did not vote for Donald Trump. Honestly, for the first time in my adult life, I didn't vote in the Presidential election period. One, as I said, I expected a complete blowout. Two, I had serious misgivings with both candidates. More so with Trump, but mishandling classified information is also a big deal. If only we knew then... Small side note for clarity: I also voted for Obama over McCain in 2008. I respect the hell out of John McCain, but his nomination of Sarah Palin as his VP is what did it for me. I guess you could say I'm more of a center-right person. I don't ever vote on straight party lines.

Anyway, election night. I'm watching and assuming all is over but the crying. Then, along with the rest of the world, I'm completely shocked. I went to bed that night feeling confused. Not really apprehensive, not angry, just confused: How in the world did we go from Barack Obama to a reality star with seemingly no political or moral compass? I decided that I was going to be cautiously optimistic. Then the news started to come out. Flynn, the dossier, Manafort, etc etc. I was perturbed by his treatment of the media and his ambivalence towards the intelligence community. I watched the damn reality TV show play out in real time at Trump tower, including Kanye West, but noticeably missing Sergei Kislyak. But still, as countless presidents have noted, the office has a way of waking you up. I was still cautiously optimistic. I guess I took the Paul Ryan approach: he's new at this, he'll figure it out.

I watched his inauguration speech and wasn't as disturbed by it as some people, but I did have concerns. My time on the periphery of the Trump Train unequivocally ended shortly after he took office. Sending Sean Spicer out to berate the media and lie about his inauguration crowd size was not only trivial, it completely wrecked Spicer's credibility from day one. Then, he went to the CIA and, in front of their memorial wall, boasted about his electoral victory and his crowed size and complained about negative media coverage. That did it for me. I have friends that have fought and died for this country, and to go to the most hallowed ground at Langley and give THAT speech showed me exactly how self-absorbed and clueless he really was.

Now, I'm of the James Clapper view: I feel like our institutions and the very fabric of our democracy are under assault. I gave it a few more weeks, but started following members of the resistance on Twitter and paying more attention to social media. I finally got tired of the misinformation coming out of some of the rogue accounts, so here I am. As I said, I believe that the press is absolutely the most crucial pillar of our democracy. They are called the Fourth Estate for a reason. The Fifth Estate is just as important, especially now that the Fourth is under blatant assault. The Fifth Estate is us: the citizen journalists, the social media resistance, etc. We are, in a way, the guardians of the Fourth Estate, and I personally think we are doing a fantastic job.

Keep up the good work. Happy resisting.