The sting from the November election continues to burn for some members of San Diego County's Republican Party.
Bob Filner's win, Scott Peters defeat of GOP congressman Brian Bilbray, the election of David Roberts to the County Board of Supervisors, and the current debacle in DC over the fiscal cliff have caused some GOP-faithful to question their party and has even sent some running for the nearest exit.
That appears to be the case with longtime GOP volunteer, member of the Juvenile Justice Commission, and president of the Clairemont Town Council, Ryan Trabuco who announced that he was leaving the GOP in order to register as an independent.
In a January 3 blog post on www.ryantrabuco.com, Trabuco listed his reasons for jumping ship on the GOP.
"As unfortunate (for a number of reasons) that I felt 2008 was a bad year politically, nothing could’ve prepared me for the slaughter of 2012. Of course, in the heat of election cycles, it’s easy to re-hash the talking points of a campaign, and paraphrase why you feel it’s better that voters should choose your side. There’s facts, graphs, logic, and ideology at play. What’s often overlooked though is governing, and the plan to govern.
"There hadn’t been much thought about re-registering until recently, while watching the fiscal cliff debate play out over weeks on end. Speculation. Finger-pointing. The constant will-they-won’t-they approach to politics. Quite honestly, it was sick. For as bad as it was for Democrats, I couldn’t honestly sit back and defend the Republicans’ seemingly hands-off approach to governing.
"I admit, I said for a long time that wild horses couldn’t drag me from my party — and they didn’t. The selfish behavior of those who would rather bring our country to its’ knees, rather than face the challenges ahead of us have drug the party away from me. The constant kowtowing to the Tea Party and like-minded ideologues have damaged the brand, the mission, and the spirit of the Republican Party.
"Look at California. The Republican Party, here, is a mess. Enough said."
Of course, Trabuco isn't the first San Diego Republican to head for the door. In March of last year, a little over a month before the primary, mayoral candidate and then-state assembly member Nathan Fletcher made national headlines for his jump from the GOP.
"When Nathan Fletcher left the Republican Party last spring, I admit, I was more than disappointed and reflected those feelings to him over the phone," wrote Trabuco. "He said he was tired and over the drama. All the critics said it was political. After much soul-searching these last few weeks, I have to say that Nathan was right. I’m tired and over it, too."
Read Trabuco's entire post here.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/03/37829/
The sting from the November election continues to burn for some members of San Diego County's Republican Party.
Bob Filner's win, Scott Peters defeat of GOP congressman Brian Bilbray, the election of David Roberts to the County Board of Supervisors, and the current debacle in DC over the fiscal cliff have caused some GOP-faithful to question their party and has even sent some running for the nearest exit.
That appears to be the case with longtime GOP volunteer, member of the Juvenile Justice Commission, and president of the Clairemont Town Council, Ryan Trabuco who announced that he was leaving the GOP in order to register as an independent.
In a January 3 blog post on www.ryantrabuco.com, Trabuco listed his reasons for jumping ship on the GOP.
"As unfortunate (for a number of reasons) that I felt 2008 was a bad year politically, nothing could’ve prepared me for the slaughter of 2012. Of course, in the heat of election cycles, it’s easy to re-hash the talking points of a campaign, and paraphrase why you feel it’s better that voters should choose your side. There’s facts, graphs, logic, and ideology at play. What’s often overlooked though is governing, and the plan to govern.
"There hadn’t been much thought about re-registering until recently, while watching the fiscal cliff debate play out over weeks on end. Speculation. Finger-pointing. The constant will-they-won’t-they approach to politics. Quite honestly, it was sick. For as bad as it was for Democrats, I couldn’t honestly sit back and defend the Republicans’ seemingly hands-off approach to governing.
"I admit, I said for a long time that wild horses couldn’t drag me from my party — and they didn’t. The selfish behavior of those who would rather bring our country to its’ knees, rather than face the challenges ahead of us have drug the party away from me. The constant kowtowing to the Tea Party and like-minded ideologues have damaged the brand, the mission, and the spirit of the Republican Party.
"Look at California. The Republican Party, here, is a mess. Enough said."
Of course, Trabuco isn't the first San Diego Republican to head for the door. In March of last year, a little over a month before the primary, mayoral candidate and then-state assembly member Nathan Fletcher made national headlines for his jump from the GOP.
"When Nathan Fletcher left the Republican Party last spring, I admit, I was more than disappointed and reflected those feelings to him over the phone," wrote Trabuco. "He said he was tired and over the drama. All the critics said it was political. After much soul-searching these last few weeks, I have to say that Nathan was right. I’m tired and over it, too."
Read Trabuco's entire post here.
http://sandiegoreader.com/users/photos/2013/jan/03/37829/