Is a moderate Republican an extinct species? I have been a lifetime registered Republican going back 60 years. Over all those years there were a couple of times that I had considered leaving the party. One was during the Iraq War since I never believed the weapons of mass destruction thesis that was being pushed by our party. Even though I was strongly opposed to the second Iraq War I still remained with the party.
During the Clinton administration, I was called upon by Democratic Party leaders to run for Congress knowing that I was a registered Republican, albeit a moderate one.
I had given serious thought about running and my wife said that she would support my decision. Locally the Democratic Party did a poll and found that I would have strong union support. Dick Gephardt, who was the Democratic Congressional leader, had called me on several occasions and constantly updated me with…
